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Crosswinds seeks township, community support
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From left, Crosswinds spokesmen Frank Ellias, attorney, and Lonie Glieberman,
project manager, listen to Grant Township residentsí questions and comments at a recent township meeting. Also pictured
areTom Beveridge, Grant Township supervisor, third from left; Richard Tester, township trustee, foreground; and Eileen
Plescher, township treasurer. Not pictured but also present at the meeting were Clyde Wescoat II, township trustee;
Harlan Wieland, township clerk; and Kelly Coltas, deputy clerk.
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Residents voice concerns at Grant Township Board meeting
COPPER HARBOR -- Appearing at a recent Grant Township Board meeting in Copper Harbor, spokesmen for Crosswinds Communities sought community input on their Mt.
Bohemia Ski Hill development from local residents, but met with strong opposition and
hard questions from an audience of about 40 people who filled the Community Center.
"Tell us your concerns," said Lonie Glieberman, Mt. Bohemia project manager, who was
accompanied by Crosswinds attorney Frank Ellias. "What are your worries . . . your fears . . . your hopes?"
Sandy Britton of Lac La Belle asked, "How do you plan on building the buildings without building permits?"
Glieberman did not answer her question but later said Crosswinds did have plans to construct the ski lifts before the November referendum.
Britton said her main concern was not the ski area but the development expected to
follow it. She said more utilization of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge would be preferable to additional development at Lac La Belle.
"The Mountain Lodge is there," Britton noted. "Itís a Keweenaw tradition. Itís a
treasure. I think it should be more fully utilized than it is. And itís needed. Itís a very
good thing for the county. I donít believe that the additional development is going to help
the county. I believe itís going to drive our taxes up. I believe itís going to cause law
enforcement to have to expand their budget and will soon cause Grant Township to have to expand their firefighting budget."
Several residents voiced concern about how the November referendum on zoning changes would affect the location of the proposed cabins or condominiums.
Britton asked, "Can you tell us where youíre going to put the cabins and also the condos that you mentioned in Michigan Skier magazine?"
Noting he wanted to clear up misconceptions about condominiums, Glieberman
explained that the definition of a condominium refers to a type of ownership and does
not necessarily mean high rises. In Keweenaw County, Resort Service building codes do
not allow high rises, he added, so there is no danger of high-rise condominiums.
"The log cabins will be built," Glieberman said. "Weíre looking to build them alongside the slopes so you can ski in and ski out."
Richard Powers of Copper Harbor asked whether a referendum vote against the zoning
changes from Conservation-Environmental Protection to Resort Service on the upper
area of the hill would mean the cabins would be built farther down the road in what is already zoned Resort Service.
Glieberman said that was an option, although he noted no cabins would be built the first year.
When Glieberman said he wanted to hear residentsí objections to the appearance of the
hill, several people mentioned the lack of trees, the fact that the parking lot is cleared
right to edge of the Lac La Belle Road with no vegetative buffer and the generally scarred look of the mountain.
"Weíve tried to leave as many trees as we can," Glieberman answered. "It will be the premiere ski area in the Midwest."
John Grohs of Calumet, a regular visitor to Lac La Belle, said he understood a
referendum vote to reject the zoning changes could prevent the building of the ski resort,
since the top two thirds of the area designated for it - more than 600 acres - would remain in CD-EP.
Said Grohs, "If the referendum goes against you, then there wonít be a ski hill - Is that right?"
Glieberman indicated he did not really think the referendum would help those who want no development on Mt. Bohemia.
"Itís our interpretation the ski area is legal," he said.
Grohs said he was opposed to the ski hill for both aesthetic and economic reasons.
"I think people come up to the Keweenaw . . . to look at the beauty of the wilderness,
the quiet and serenity," he said. "They donít come up here to look at a ski hill and a bald mountain."
Grohs also noted the ski hill would require additional costs, including infrastructure, police protection, emergencies, road crew and road commission.
"One patrol car and one officer will eat up all the taxes youíre bringing in (over a
five-year period)," he said. "Youíre going to have to have police protection and emergency services."
Vern Le Blanc of Betsy also expressed concern about taxes and liability insurance costs
for the county, since increased winter traffic could mean more accidents and resulting
litigation. He called for an outside, independent tax assessment of the ski hill.
Crosswindsí five-year plan is not sufficient for a project with the impact of the ski hill, noted Janet Shea, Copper Harbor resident and business owner.
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Copper Harbor resident and business owner Janet Shea stands to have her question answered
by Crosswinds spokesmen at a recent Grant Township Board Meeting in the townshipís Community Center in Copper Harbor. Also
pictured are, background from left, Lac La Belle residents Gary Barker, Barbara Battersby, Don Johnson and Diana Jones;
seated, foreground, is Lac La Belle resident Sandra Britton.
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"Iíd like to see more than a five-year plan," she said. "Youíre talking about a year-round
resort, which makes it hard for Copper Harbor to compete. What are you going to do so our businesses donít suffer?"
Glieberman said he believed his advertising campaign, with its emphasis on the
"wilderness atmosphere," would help local businesses as well as Mt. Bohemia.
However, some residents said they felt Crosswinds was destroying their wilderness.
Said Lac La Belle resident Frederika Cote, "Youíve ruined my summer. Youíve ruined my future up here . . . Youíve raped the land."
Cote said an immediate issue for her, because of the location of her home, was the
constant truck traffic and also the massive burning, which affects her breathing since she has a weak lung.
"I hope there will be some warning when you have massive burning," she said.
Glieberman said he would arrange to meet with Cote and the contractors to seek a remedy for these problems.
During an informal session after the meeting, Glieberman fielded more questions and
grievances from Grant Township residents who remained for a question-answer period.
Susie Le Blanc of Betsy, as well as Barbara Battersby and Diana Jones of Lac La Belle,
noted Crosswindsí failure to take the initiative to contact the local community before
beginning the project - a failure they termed lack of respect.
"You keep telling us itís good for our community, and you donít understand how we feel," Susie Le Blanc said.
Copper Harbor resident and Grant Township Deputy Clerk Kelly Coltas countered, "Who owns the mountain? This is property rights."
Coltas, a Mt. Bohemia supporter, is running, so far unopposed, for the position of Grant
Township clerk on the November ballot. She was referring to the fact that the landowner, International Paper, has leased about 900 acres of land in the area of Mt.
Bohemia and Lac La Belle for the ski hill project.
Battersby told Glieberman, "Youíve put such a rift between the people of Copper
Harbor and the people of Lac La Belle . . . and itís (your) total disrespect for the people
of Lac La Belle that riles people . . .Youíve made a lot of hard feelings . . . These are our lives that youíre playing around with."
Glieberman said he would be glad to meet with Battersby to discuss her grievances.
Tom Poynter, president of the Copper Harbor Improvement Association and co-owner,
with his wife Lani Poynter, of the Delaware Mine, said he thought the meeting went pretty well.
"I was impressed with the way Lonie handled it," he said.
Noted Glieberman, "It was good to get peopleís comments."
- Michele Anderson
August 18, 2000
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