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Crosswinds seeks community involvement despite opposition
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This aerial view of Mt. Bohemia, taken July 11, shows the ski trails leading to the
proposed site of the lodge on the north side of the Lac La Belle Road and the parking area on the south side of the
road.
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HANCOCK - Representatives of Crosswinds Communities held a press conference this
morning to announce their intention to form a Mt. Bohemia Advisory Committee for
community involvement in Keweenaw County. Meanwhile a local television poll
reported more than three fourths of local residents participating in the poll oppose the Mt. Bohemia ski hill now under construction.
An email poll by WBKP, Channel 5 in Calumet showed 76 percent opposed and 24
percent in favor at midnight Monday, but their Web site went off line Tuesday afternoon, and further statistics were unavailable.
"It's not just a ski area," said Crosswinds spokesperson Lonie Glieberman. "We need
Houghton and Keweenaw County businesses. It's not just about the snow."
Glieberman added that skiers would come to the Keweenaw to enjoy the attractions of
communities and areas such as Eagle Harbor, Copper Harbor, Lac La Belle and Eagle
River for experiences other than skiing. In order to involve these communities in the Mt.
Bohemia project, Crosswinds plans to establish an advisory committee. According to
this plan, each community in Keweenaw County would select two representatives to
serve on the committee, which would meet once a month. The meetings would be open to the media, Glieberman noted.
He cited four goals of the committee:
1. To help Mt. Bohemia better understand the concerns, problems and needs that the
community has with the ski area;
2. To help provide the community with a forum to update them with what is going on at
Mt. Bohemia and to help them better understand Mt. Bohemia's concerns, problems and needs;
3. To utilize the Mt. Bohemia project as a catalyst to better help the Keweenaw community work together as well as strengthen it economically;
4. To answer rumors.
One rumor Glieberman wished to dispel, he said, was the idea of a possible casino.
"We are not building a casino," he said. "We will not sell land to build a casino."
Peg Kauppi, Copper Harbor resident and Grant Township School Board president said
the advisory committee idea is a positive step on Crosswinds' part that would help clear up misunderstanding about the project.
"I think it's a way that people can become involved in this -- to learn what the whole
development is about," Kauppi said. "It opens up the lines of communication that have
deteriorated. I think there's been a lot of speculation that was thought of as truth (but wasn't)."
Gratiot Lake resident Bud Avery had a different reaction.
"I don't think they are reaching out to the community," Avery said. "This getting together
is just a smokescreen. They are depriving us of our right of petition, referendum and the right to vote."
Avery referred to Crosswinds' contention that the petitions for a referendum on zoning
changes are illegal--a subject that is expected to come up at tonight's meeting of the
Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners at 7 p.m. in the Courthouse in Eagle River.
The petitions have not prevented Crosswinds from clearing trees, grading and blasting to prepare the ski trails and parking lot.
Construction of the ski trails which began over a month ago, is on schedule, according to Walter Elander, principal of Snow Engineering.
"Clearing (for the ski trails and parking lot) is essentially complete, and grading for the
ski trails is in the early stages," Elander said. "Grading for the parking lot has not begun, but I think it will start this week."
He said he had been told erosion controls were in place, and he planned to visit the site today.
"Because of sloping terrain, erosion control is very important," he added. "We feel good about the contractor."
While the two chairlifts should be completed by mid-fall, the lodge and maintenance buildings are still in the design stage, he noted.
"The lift equipment itself is being prepared off-site. It will start arriving in two weeks,"
Elander explained. "It will be assembled here like an erector set."
Because of the petition for a referendum on the zoning changes and amendment to add
ski hills to Resort Service zoning, permits for building the lodge and accessory buildings
cannot be obtained unless these are built in areas zoned RS. The pending referendum
puts on hold the change from CD-EP to RS and the amendment to put ski hills in RS .
Walt Arnold, director of marketing and sales for International Paper's Forest Resources
Group, said the main purpose of the zoning change is not for the ski hill itself but for future development plans, i.e., the cabins.
"That's in the future sometime," Arnold said.
Keweenaw County Building Inspector Bill Kovaleski said there have been no
applications for any building permits yet. The county is waiting for a response from the
Michigan Department of Consumer Industry Services concerning permits for the chairlifts, he added.
"They (Crosswinds) have not submitted any plans to us ... for their proposed building sites," he said.
Said Crosswinds' attorney Frank Elias, "We will continue to obtain all necessary permits ... under the law."
Present plans are to put the lodge and parking lot in Section 32, according to Pat
Coleman, president of U.P. Engineers and Architects. Crosswinds is working closely
with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for a lagoon and sewer system, Coleman added.
"The final location is still being analyzed," he said. "It's up the hill from the base lodge site."
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Crosswinds spokesperson Lonie Glieberman displays parts of a marketing brochure for Mt.
Bohemia during a press conference at the Ramada Inn in Hancock this morning. In the background is Chris Koren of U.P.
Adventure Travel. Koren and his cousin Brian Koren will be leading kayak trips for Crosswinds.
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Crosswinds' attorney Frank Elias holds a map showing the area of the Mt. Bohemia Ski
Hill project
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- Michele Anderson
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