A Local Issue in Leelanau and Beyond

An e-mail message from the president of Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, Bob Sutherland, has been making the rounds this week. The issue is important not only for Leelanau County but for every high-end tourist region in the country. When I asked Bob’s permission to post his message on Books in Northport, he sent me a slightly reworked version, so here is Bob Sutherland on the subject of affordable housing in Leelanau County:

Finding workforce housing is an increasingly daunting challenge for my southwest Leelanau-based company. Housing in Glen Arbor and Empire is difficult to find, and when it can be found, it is too expensive. Many of our employees will purchase a house in a more affordable area, like Benzie County, and drive 30 minutes or more to Glen Arbor. Turnover is much higher with these employees, because long commutes diminish their time with family and their quality of life.We continue to pay some of the top salaries in our region. But our employees are often competing against owners of second homes, who are making $200,000 or more. As the second-home owners purchase more of our properties, Empire and Glen Arbor are becoming even emptier in the winter. This challenges the businesses that try to stay open year round, it challenges the schools, and it even challenges the psyche of those that stay. And for us, without being able to find affordable housing, it becomes even more difficult to find employees during the summer. 

What can we do? One thing is to set apart land in Glen Arbor and Empire for year-round housing. We can put an affordable price on it and specify it be sold only to people that can prove they live and work in one of those towns. If that sounds like a pipe dream, it’s not. There are state and federal programs available to help make this possible. It’s already happening all across the country in regions similar to ours. From Ann Arbor to Aspen, Colorado, affordable housing is successfully being built. 

To make this happen, cities, counties, and townships are providing local funding. It isn't going to happen in any significant way in Leelanau until local contributions, whether in land or money, are provided.We know that it would be better for our company if we moved our offices and factories to an area with access to more affordable housing. But in the last two years, we chose to do the right thing for our communities, for our school, and our county. We chose to build and grow here in southwest Leelanau County. We want to be a part of building and cultivating a thriving year-round economic base for the area. 

To do that, however, we need the county’s help. We need the help of our villages and townships. We need the non-profit organizations. We will donate as much as we can to supporting these initiatives. It is going to take money, land, hard work, dedication and vision to make it happen. But if we all work together, we can succeed at this.

Bob’s original message prompted a quick reply from Andy Thomas of Thomas & Milliken Millwork in Northport, Petoskey, and Traverse City, who also gave me permission to reprint his message to the community group, and here’s Andy on the same subject:

Bob’s letter captures the essence of the environment that owners of small and growing businesses face in this area.  Their presence here is the main bulwark against the potential loss of genuine community, a place that provides work, home, school, and recreation.  Competition for the privilege of owning property in this unique and beautiful place can pose a danger of hollowed out towns and waterfronts.  Resort and seasonal property owners help provide tax revenue and support our restaurants and shops, but must be brought to see the value of an intact and healthy year-round community.   It is in their interest that our towns be capable of not only providing a broad range of goods and services for their seasonal stay, but a stable and thriving community should they discover that they or their children would like to live here year-round, whether employed or as retirees.   

We now need to support Bob and others like him.  He is pounding a stake into the ground and saying, “ We are here and we are staying here because we love this town.  We will do whatever it takes, but we need everyone’s help to make this happen.”  As stakeholders we are tying the future of our businesses and welfare with the faith that our community will be a supportive partner.  It is time for us as community partners with our area employers  to gather a broad base of support so that we provide this missing asset which is the availability of employee housing.    

For each community, this need for employee housing can be divided into three groups:  

·     Year-round employees 

·     Seasonal agricultural employees 

·     Seasonal resort and retail employees  

Having employees living in the community will mean they will spend money here, and in the case of year-rounders, send their children to school here, and perhaps become stakeholders themselves.  

We are all stakeholders.  The challenge has been identified and quantified.  It won’t be solved with a single development, but using the Aspen model and dividing efforts into categories could get us started.  I will volunteer for the Northport year-round team.

I was curious about Andy’s reference to the “Aspen model,” since I went to Aspen for a weekend conference back in the early l990s (my only visit to the area; note that in 1994 the average home price in Aspen had risen to $2 million) and was shocked at the price of housing. My rough estimate, based on prices I saw, was that any comparable home in Leelanau County would have an additional zero at the end of its price in Aspen. I was told that workers in Telluride, Colorado, were enduring longer and longer commutes, as rents soared in that Western ski town.

(By the way, for general informational purposes I recommend the City Data site. You can find facts for just about any town in the United States, and not just housing costs but just about anything else you want to know.)

Whether you are a year-round Leelanau resident, a summer person, an occasional visitor, a worker needing housing or the owner of multiple properties, as Andy says, "We are all stakeholders." All of us want the place we love to continue to be a real community, with space and welcome for people from all walks of life.

Arts & Crafts & Foods -- & Books (As Always)

Today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (it’s already started!) a holiday arts and crafts bazaar is taking place across the street from Dog Ears Books, upstairs from Lelu Cafe. With over 20 vendors participating, there’s a lot of variety in their colorful offerings. I was there early this morning as people were just setting up their booths.

Right at the top of the stairs I found Madeleine from Idyll Farms setting up a table of goat cheese. Ooh, that rich aroma!

Marjorie Farrell is so creative, there's no telling what new items she'll have from year to year:

Local photographers Sharon Kalchik and Karen Casebeer always have beautiful, tempting tables:

The maple syrup lady! Margo! She's here, she's here!

Sally Coohon from Dolls and More was getting a helping hand from her husband, Bill. I don't know what Bill thought he was doing here, but it looks like he's impersonating a reindeer!

The holiday bazaar is sponsored this year by the newly formed Northport Arts Association, the same lively, enthusiastic, idea-driven bunch who brought us Leelanau UnCaged in September. Carrying over from previous years’ bazaars (sponsored by a different group) is the idea of donating a portion of money from sales to the Leelanau Children’s Center.

With the sale on Waukazoo Street this year (instead of over on Mill Street – a different world!), I’m hoping Northport shoppers will keep in mind that today is also Small Business Saturday. Did you rush off to the big box stores yesterday? Today’s the day to think small and to think local.

Unlike giant chain retailers, my little bookstore doesn’t raise prices and then knock them down to make you think you’re getting a bargain. My new books in stock are full price, because that’s what fits the reality of my small town business, and my customers generally understand that and want my continued (modest) success. I sell my book bags for nine dollars apiece, which may seem high at first, but when I tell people, “You’re not just buying a bag – you’re supporting an independent bookstore,” they make no further objections and often turn to their companions to say proudly, “I’m supporting an independent bookstore!” The majority of my stock is used books. There are a lot of bargains to be had here throughout the year. There are also some very special treasures.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Whenever you purchase locally, goods or services, you are supporting your community, and that means local jobs and support for local families -- and kids! 

P.S. I’ve set up a new blog for my meditation drawings and will post them there from now on instead of here.

Second Time in a Row

No, I haven't given up writing for this blog, but yes, I'm sending you elsewhere again today. What are your interests and concerns? Because you know what mine are, and this interview with Winona LaDuke touches on so many of them I don't want to excerpt from what she says, because it's all worth reading.

I'm very happy that Northport's summer Farmers Market has grown to be one of the most successful in Leelanau County. Northport has a new wind turbine, too, leading the way in Leelanau County for its investment in renewable, self-sufficient energy. As important as either of these initiatives, in my view, is the fact that recent local meetings looking to the future are bringing back together white and Native American community members. This is particularly important given Northport's unique history, the community having been founded by Chief Peter Waukazoo and Reverend George Smith.

There is a long way to go, but every journey begins with the first steps.

Why Should I Be Surprised?

I’d say it’s the last straw, but I’m sure it isn’t. It never is. There’s always another outrage coming. What is it this morning?

My stepdaughter posted on Facebook a link to the latest murderous move by the online behemoth bookseller whose name I do not include here because they already get enough free publicity day and night from news media, and this is my blog, thank you very much, so please respect me and don't put their name in any comments, either!  What’s their deal now? This is it: You, the buyer of books, can go to your local bookstore, scan an item, walk out without making a purchase, order the item from Behemoth, and they will pay you five dollars! I’m sure Behemoth will have takers on this one, but this is not my world, and it’s not a world I want any part of creating. We are involved, you know, in co-creating the world, by every choice we make, every action we take. Five dollars. Are you for sale that cheap?

In my world, Leelanau County, bookselling has always been a collegial affair. From Glen Arbor to Northport, those of us in little bookshops see and treat one another as colleagues. We send each other customers. We believe every town deserves a bookstore, and we want all county bookstores to succeed.

Obviously, we are living in La-La Land, wouldn't you say? The new bookselling model is not cooperation but warfare. Exterminate the “enemy” in every city and small town across America! Again, not a world I want any part in creating.

Have you noticed that there is no link in this post to the fabulous online deal? Again, why would I advertise for someone intent on exterminating me?

Don’t forget tomorrow’s event at Dog Ears Books in Northport. Come at 5 p.m. for a reading by and discussion with Susan Newhof, author of Spirits and Wine. We will have fun! But please don’t bring a scanner and don’t mention that hated name to me! Susan is coming to help me sell books in my bookstore! My little corner of the world!

I'm sorry. I'm still having trouble believing it. It's so hard to believe that people in the business of selling books, of all things, would be so intent on total world domination. Selling books/promoting reading + total world domination: can you put those two pieces together in any coherent way. I just can't.