Beulah Brainstorm

 For Immediate Release:

March 7, 2008

Beulah Moves Forward with ‘Brainstorm’ ideas

Council approves spending on new benches, signage and more

BEULAH – The Beulah Village Council has unanimously approved the first set of recommendations from the Beulah Brainstorm, a recent set of public meetings on improving Village parks, streets, and waterfront.

At the Council’s March 6 meeting, the Beulah Brainstorm committee presented a summary of short- and long-term actions that resulted from the meetings. The Brainstorm committee received approval to move forward and spend up to $10,000 on items like new benches, bike racks, and attractive signage for parks, parking, and amenities, such as the Betsy Trail. The council also gave its go-ahead for a Brainstorm project involving area students in painting Village trash receptacles.

The full summary of recommendations, along with meeting notes and comments, is available at the Village Web site: www.villageofbeulah.org.

“We’re pleased that the Council gave this unanimous support to getting the Brainstorm recommendations underway,” said Beulah resident and committee member Phil Downs. “We’re excited to work with so many interested citizens now involved in the process.”

The purpose of the Beulah Brainstorm is to help the Village set priorities for both the short term and the long term. The Beulah Brainstorm committee – comprised of Village Council and community members – welcomes others who would like to participate. Contact the committee via Brainstorm@VillageofBeulah.org or mail comments to “Beulah Brainstorm” c/o Village of Beulah, 7228 Commercial St., PO Box 326, Beulah, MI 49617.

 

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MEMO

March 6, 2008

To: Beulah Village Council

From: Beulah Brainstorm Committee (Pat Elliot, Patty Cantrell, Vicki Carpenter, Phil Downs)

Re: Initial recommendations and request for spending approval

The three Beulah Brainstorm meetings held over the last six weeks have been a remarkable success. At each meeting we had good public participation and much appreciation of the Village’s effort to work with the community on improvements to village parks, waterfront, and streets.

This memo organizes community priorities from the Brainstorm meetings into:

1.     Low-cost steps to take now with Council’s spending approval.

2.     Maintenance steps to arrange for this spring/summer in consultation with Village staff and Council president.

3.     Moderate-cost steps to investigate for potential spending approval.

4.     Longer-term steps to pursue for funding and implementation in 2009-2010.

Note:

·       The Beulah Brainstorm Committee requests Council approval tonight for Item # 1 above.

·       Complete notes from each Beulah Brainstorm are in tonight’s materials and on the Beulah Brainstorm Web page at www.VillageofBeulah.org.

SUMMARY OF PRIORITIES

1.     Low-cost steps to take now with Council’s spending approval

We estimate the following steps will come to approximately $10,000. With Council approval, the committee will work with Village trustees, staff, and community members to accomplish these items this spring and early summer.

·       Benches — additional benches, more locations (downtown and for sunset watching)

·       Bike racks – additional racks, more locations

·       Flower boxes – larger, more flowers

·       Trash cans – additional cans downtown and along beach, painting of blue cans (and benches perhaps) by school students

·       Use village property between Library and downtown main street as a park

·       Signage – new signs with uniform, inviting look directing people to parks, parking, and amenities like bathrooms and Betsie Trail

·       Business brochure/map (to work with signage effort also, to include events, hours …)

·       Establish tasks and procedures for volunteer help (such as flower box/landscape maintenance and staffing trailhead)

·       Beach sand – replenish (provided for in existing budget, not part of $10k approval)

2.     Maintenance steps to arrange for this spring/summer in consultation with Village staff and Council president.

·       More frequent trash pickup

·       More frequent beach cleaning

·       Tree trimming (Main park, Fair Park, Library park)

·       Park grounds – establishing the park space, keeping clean

·       Tennis courts – keeping clean

·       Main village parking lot striping (per plan from library’s engineers)

·       Crosswalk striping (plus approval and posting of policy that cars stop for pedestrians in crosswalks)

·       Explore near-term, low-cost parking solutions, such as angle parking on Benzie Blvd and options for boat trailer parking, i.e., near Trapp (skate) Park.

·       Explore parking use of recycling area in summer and area where village stores sand and salt.

3.     Moderate-cost steps to investigate for potential spending approval.

·       Irrigation for main park

·       Drinking fountain in main park

·       Landscaping for parks (additional, particularly main park and trailhead + amenities i.e. dog walk)

·       Tree planting (along beach etc., consider option of smaller trees in barrels for streetscape and planting later)

·       Dock and buoys off Fair Park for day mooring

·       Boardwalk along beach (from playground to parking lot near Cold Creek)

·       Fishing dock – any short-term fix for stability, usability?

 

4.     Longer-term steps to pursue for funding and implementation in 2009-2010.

·       Moving rental docks off beach

·       New dock for incoming boaters

·       New lighting/light poles

·       Light pole lines underground (Note: current sidewalk project should include use of removable brick pavers for later burying of lines)

·       Additional decorative items for streetscapes (banners etc.)

·       Further work on parking, particularly for boat trailers

Beulah Brainstorming:                        Streetscape Meeting                        3/4/08

 

Committee:  Pat Elliott, Phil Downs, Vicki Carpenter, Patty Cantrell

Pat welcomed folks and gave the overview for the evening’s work.  He also shared budget information and current plans on sidewalk/curb plans and sewer project impacts. Public parking, other than the streets, is found behind the library and at the trailhead building.

Comments and Ideas for Streets:

·      Trees for downtown

·      Eliminate the overhead wires downtown

·      Planning ahead for underground wiring as we redo sidewalks

·      Update the benches downtown

·      Tie the soon to be painted trash cans along with the benches with a theme

·      When the village gets sidewalks done, could the contractor be asked if he would offer better rates if residents are interested in new sidewalks as well

·      Upcoming sidewalk repairs were shared

·      Street lighting be changed into something more aesthetically pleasing

·      Safety issues regarding crosswalks (Are cars required to stop when pedestrians are in the crosswalks?  Cars stop in TC on Front St., however the  crosswalks in TC are marked.)

·      Currently the village has covered all sidewalk costs although the ordinances state the property owners are responsible. This would open up more funds for the village

·      Recycling area is hodgepodge, can it be redesigned?  (library shared a design for the parking lots with the village)

·      Is there another place to store sand/salt which would open up more space

·      Need to have better parking for boat trailers and for business owners/employees

·      Better signage for retail, especially for those off the main street (some preliminary work on a ‘map’ type document is in discussion) 

·      Additional signage for parks is needed, using the trailhead building

·      Signage on the street identifying who and what

·      Signage limits when you’re out of the downtown area, parking is limited and could there be some reserved parking for specific businesses. Current parking is often taken up by boat trailers, especially on weekends

·      Earlier proposals made suggestions of one way streets which would offer more angle parking spots

·      Limited parking spaces downtown may be keeping businesses away as well as customers

·      Signs that identify where you are and what’s where (signs like those in malls that indicate what directions you need to find your destination)

·      Signs that indicate at the entrance to the village (Benzie Blvd and Spring Valley) about the Trailhead bldg and even the bike trail

·      New banners to replace or alternate with the US and MI flags

·       New banner company makes banners that advertise specific events (short term items and costs back to the event sponsor, could return revenue to the village, he shared an example) or promote the village or themes, etc  (Crystal Mt has done this as well as Interlochen)

·      Any new light poles can be purchased with the hardware in place for flags, banners, etc.

·      Sponsor a banner by businesses and events

·      Lake Street could have a boardwalk on the beachside, playground to launch area (this could keep people from having to walk in the street or congregate)

·      Should it be considered to widen the current sidewalk and add vegetation on the beach side, may not be enough room to do both

·      With the prevailing winds at the current ramp, could Fair Park be arranged with boat docking

·      Boardwalk should take as little beach as possible, have it up to the curb/pavement

·      Develop the lake frontage as a valuable asset (spend money there rather than on street lights as that is what draws people here)

·      Extend the current sidewalk area (from the playground area, which already has benches on it) to the ramp.  This keeps the kids slowed down and the beach a bit more separated from the street.

·      Grant dollars may be available to do many of these upgrades and would need to be explored.  Members of the community have grant writing experience and have offered their skills.

·      Could the recycling area be relocated to another area and open the parking up (over by Brookside?)

·      Upgrades on downtown building facades, are any ordinances in place to address this, can there be resources discovered to encourage property owners to clean it up.

·      Some unfinished buildings are in litigation.

·      It was felt that once folks see upgrades happening, they may be more motivated

·      Flower boxes, trees, perhaps to be bigger for impact/flowers maintained, should shrubs/bushes be considered, barreled trees on the street and then moved to other city areas for transplanted, putting flowers along curbside (such as Onekema, Charlevoix) and ways to water/maintain

Categorize the ideas:

Accessories:  signage, flowers, benches, banners, maps, vegetation restoration, trees

Sidewalks:  underground wiring, resident upgrades/village prices, crosswalks,

Lighting:  sponsor poles, look to replace poles with more options for brackets/lights, etc.

Parking:  trailers, signs to locate, traffic flow, better/more, move recycle bins/increase space,

Boardwalk: along current street/curb, extend current sidewalk from playground to ramp

Fair Park/Boat Dock (move to waterfront info), buoys that transient boaters can clip onto

Some activities, such as accessories ideas , may be short term while most of the others would long term due to money or time to research. 

Keep in touch on the website:  villageofbeulah.org  then click on brainstorm    You can put comments on the website.

Closing thoughts:

·      A letter to the editor to share the status of our meetings and of our efforts

·      People want to help the Beulah Brainstorming committee, contact any of the members or call the village office and leave a message.

·      Encourage folks to attend the village meetings

·      Engage CLCBA in this process

Beulah Brainstorm

NOTES: Waterfront Meeting 2/19/08 

Led by Brainstorm committee:  Patty Cantrell, Phil Downs, Vicki Carpenter, Pat Elliott

 

Patty welcomed folks, gave the overview of the evening’s work and a brief review of the parks meeting (2/5/08).  She reviewed the PowerPoint presentation and fielded questions on the waterfront and the trailer park.  She clarified that the Village owns the waterfront and the spaces for docks is available only to property owners in Beulah and a wait list exists.

 

Ideas/Comments on Waterfront:

• Is there a place for visitors to anchor boats so they can visit Beulah (there was a proposal years ago to put in a public dock but the Council didn’t choose to do so)
• Without a public marina, loss of revenue for the Village
• Parking for vehicles and trailers (while parking, you can temporarily moor to the outside of the boat ramp)
• Resident offered his empty lot behind his lot (any ordinance to permit or prohibit?)
• Currently parking behind the Village offices is available, on Lake Street (watch the signage)
• Parking by the pump house off of Spring Valley is reserved for the trailer park residents to put their trailers
• Earlier estimates for ramp repair costs may not require all the allotted/budgeted funds
• Need trees along the road side of the beach, provide more shade
• Earlier plan showed some beachfront improvements, such as a boardwalk
• Can the current space allocation for docks be reviewed to open up more beach space, it appears that the beach area is not public but private
• Consider a different configuration to accommodate more boats with less space
• Review the space fees ($275/each) and increase accordingly (compare with other places)
• Dock space is for property owners, impact on residents who already pay taxes if fees raised
• Should the Village buy docks and make the look more uniform and adjust the fees (Village would need to have space to store and provide put in and take out services)
• Earlier plan called for up to 3 larger T docks to accommodate rentals/hoists
• Group dock would open up the beach to more use
• The space with docks, even though it’s public, has the appearance of private and not very inviting (reluctant to use beach where folks have docks)
• Who is the customer?  (residents, businesses, what is the clear purpose?)
• With limited funds, selective use of funds to dress up the beach front to make it more appealing
• Where to put a boardwalk or trees? (entire beach area or just sections)
• Beachfront hasn’t changed in many years
• Member of the Crystal Lake Watershed Organization shared:
  • DEQ has rules about # boats, what amount makes you a marina and need licensing
  • What is the zoning impact
  • Dr Stacy Daniels has studied Cold Creek and he has applied for a grant (salt impact from drain-off is a one concern)
  • Permanent water level gauge is being explored somewhere on the lake
  • System of washing off boat hulls before going into lake to try to keep invasive species out of Crystal Lake (where could this be done w/o impacting water quality)
• Environmental considerations throughout any decision making on waterfront
• Beach sand needs to be replenished along the whole beachfront
• Cold Creek enters into the lake and how it moves also impacts the 3 docks that are in that area, especially with the low water level and impacts boat launch/ramp
• Keep beach area clean (litter, tree debris, trash pick-up, etc)
• More trash cans, especially along the beach area
• Village has ‘beach cleaner’ equipment but it is done as time is available to Village crew, rx to be done more often/on a scheduled basis
• Volunteers can be used but limits/barriers may exist, signed waiver
• Charge to use the boat ramp (how to staff, auto pay, honor system, etc/Leland)
• Historically there was a ‘box’ to pay, didn’t seem to work
• Eliminate the many signs, have a more inviting/positive system (less signs but get the info out)
• How to decide the priorities: accommodate residents with boat space/bring visitors to Beulah/get people here for businesses/how to get people here to use it all
• Empty buildings/businesses is unfortunate, impacts how people view the Village
• Have a specific area improved for the ‘public beach’ and the rest designated for residents
• Parking problems as folks stop and visit on Lake Street
• People may avoid the beach area because of lack of parking
• May want to invite Craig Seger, works for county, to look at street/parking needs
• When the new DNR boat launch opens, will there be an impact in Beulah (parking, wait list for dock space, etc.)?
• Added outside showers several years ago, add a drinking fountain, more trash cans and dumped more often, more benches
• Why were the trees on the beach removed years ago? (is there a reason we can’t have trees out there?)
• A sidewalk exists near the half wall now, review that as a bench area or start of boardwalk
• More flowers (need watering)
• Look at grants to help fund these ideas (folks have skills and are willing to help write)
• Volunteers to do specific/discrete things on a scheduled basis (flowers, trash, wash off boats, etc.)
• Testing for e-coli, who does that now and who should be doing it (take samples to health dept)
• Beulah shuts down during the summer about 5 pm, with the exception of Hungry Tummy and Cold Creek (some nights at East Shore), who would be the group to look to help bring businesses to town (compared to Frankfort’s downtown)
• Liquor license status, economic development needs exist
• Beach has a 10 pm posted curfew (recommended to keep and enforce)
• Life guard on beach/teach swimming lessons (GT Tribe helped with $$ years ago)
• Current T-dock use (update, fishing, safety, reuse as transient boat dock)
• Transient dock needs to be secure enough to tie boats off when the waves/winds pick up each day

 Categorize: discussion to take the different ideas and see where they fall into like-categories

• • Beach ( board walk, signage,. keep it clean, trees, add sand, drinking fountain, businesses close down)
  • Boats (transient docks/day-public use, rent space, trailer parking, DNR issues, T dock, boat fees, dock configuration, who benefits)
  • Environment (water levels, run off, invasive species, swimmers itch)
  • Beulah as a destination (residents, visitors, all the above apply, what benefits which part of the Village)

 

Short term: (these items were identified as short term and perhaps more do-able w/o high costs or within current budget): trees, landscaping, boardwalk, beach sand, signage, benches, trash cans, drinking fountain, volunteers

 

Comments from the audience on the evening’s work:

• good to hear the remarks (second meeting), thanks, it’s stimulating to hear
• swimmer’s itch hot line shared (this will be put into the next newsletter)
• resident offered a supply a bench
• sponsor a bench idea
• paint a bench idea
• good discussion, umbrella idea for shade on the beach is good but the wind in the afternoon isn’t realistic/trees will be better for shade
• would like to see something happen, not a dead end like before
• new business owner (5 Corners) wants to be involved, thanks for the meeting to get input from residents and businesses
• grants in Frankfort for ramps/docks for fishing, donation list in  Frankfort for items too
• let’s use our resources to improve the area, make people proud of their work, good ideas
• wants to see these ideas work this time, not ‘fail’ like before
• keep the curfew (kids are crazy down there at night) good meeting
• good meeting, again
• here to support the village and make the village better for everyone, thanks to Al Brown for his ongoing support of Beulah (donated sand for the beach and dirt for the library)
• good ideas, short term items should be do’able
• ‘diamond in the rough’, good resource, encouraged that we’ll make some progress
• proposal to Village and CLCBA association will be made to support the middle school art students to paint the blue trash cans later in May as a project (council member offered to deliver the cans to the school as he works there)
• encourage folks to attend the Village Council meetings
• go to the web site, give us feed back, thanks for coming