By Sterling McGinn
Nearly 50 property owners of North Manistique (Round) Lake attended a meeting in the Pine Performance Center at the Erickson Center for the Arts complex in Curtis on Wednesday, November 6 to learn about the proposed special assessment district and lake level updates after recent Environment Great Lake and Energy (EGLE) requirements have been put in place.
The meeting was held by Mike McTiver, Luce County Road Commission Engineer and Manager; Brandon Wheeler, Luce County Commissioner; Stacy Hissong, attorney from Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes; and Luke O’Brien, engineer with Spicer Group.
All inland lakes in the State of Michigan that contain lake level orders are under review following the Midland dam failure in 2020.
Round Lake and Big Manistique Lake both have established lake levels.
The main topic of the meeting was the proposed special assessment district, which is a funding mechanism for repair and improvements to the water control structures, dam inspections, and court fees for updating orders. The district will be made of properties that have private legal access—direct or lakefront, or closest to the lake, or indirect (deeded or platted).
The assessment costs are not a tax or a lake use fee, but an assessment that benefits the property, not the person. The assessment would be placed on the property owners’ winter taxes as a line item that will say “North Manistique Lake Level.” Hissong, whose firm is representing the county, said that the assessment will not be on this winter’s taxes but likely will be for next winter.
The assessment will not be assessed every year and will only be used when costs occur.
The decision to establish a Special Assessment District was approved by the Luce County Commissioners earlier this year. The Luce County Circuit Court will be responsible for establishing the boundaries for the district. Spicer Group, an engineering firm, was retained to create proposed boundaries of the special assessment district. “We met with the county equalization to get information and we met with the assessors and reviewed the plats,” Hissong said. ‘There are 201 parcels on the lake, nine parcels that are backlots that have some sort of deeded access, and the county, and the township will also be part of the district.”
The meeting also touched on the Round Lake levels. “We want to make sure the physical level matches the court-ordered level,” said Hissong. Both McTiver and Hissong noted that the legal level matches the physical level, but the survey datum will need to be updated. “We need to make that the conversion to the new datum that surveyors use is added…it’s like going from centimeters to inches. There is not going to be major changes to the water control structure, there is not going to be any changes to your physical level, and there is not going to be changes to when your draw down is going to be.”
Round Lake’s court ordered levels were set in 1958 and the lake has a smaller water control structure.
“When a lake gets an established level by the court, the county board of commissioners takes jurisdiction of the water control structure in managing the lake level,” Hissong said. “The board takes jurisdiction, but they appoint someone to be the delegated authority.”
For Round Lake, the delegated authority is Mike McTiver from the Luce County Road Commission.
“The day-to-day activities of managing the lake, operating, and maintaining it, etc. are to the delegated authority, and the big decisions with regard to the lake level itself and the levying of special assessments are made by the county board of commissioners,” Hissong said.
McTiver will handle the dam inspections every three years.
“This is a very simple structure, so any repairs that need to be done will not be excessive,” McTiver said. “The structure is over by Mr. Goldthorpe’s house and currently the last inspection I did in 2022 shows it to be in good repair and the only thing that has been recently updated were the dam control boards—some new 2x6s.”
The current lake levels for Round Lake are 713.0 above mean sea level for summer and 712.5 above mean sea level for the winter, starting October 1. The order currently does not include a variation level or confirmed special assessment district boundaries.
“The good news is that you have summer and winter levels operated by your road commission, and the dates of October 1,” she said.
The updated Round Lake order will also contain variation language that will be implemented if severe weather occurs that affects the water level beyond what the dam handles.
Hissong said that she anticipates the Round Lake circuit court hearing to take place in the spring of 2025, but it depends on the court’s schedule. Judge Brian Rahilly has recused himself from the matter and another circuit judge will handle the order.
Property owners will receive a letter with the date of the circuit court hearing. Property owners are welcome to attend and speak at the hearing; though their attendance is not mandatory.
More information and a copy of the meeting slideshow presentation can be found online at www.manistiquelakelevel.net. This new website contains information about both Round Lake and Big Manistique Lake.
