The following was written by the Community Center board.  It is published here in its entirety. 

In response to the letter from Flip Reynolds:

The Clark Lake Community Center board is doing its best to guarantee the long-term future of the Center. In doing so, and with the help of a potential donor, we are embarking on an exciting project to build an outdoor pavilion that will greatly enhance use of the Center and increase our annual revenues. We need more revenue in order to keep the Center properly maintained and repaired. This historical structure is now more than 120 years old, and much needs to be done.

In order to make this project successful, we need to work with the county, as it owns the land that the Center sits on and where the Pavilion will be built. It also has awarded us a $30,000 grant for the Pavilion project from monies acquired from the passage of a county parks millage last year.

Because the Center sits in a county park, county officials at the end of our licensing agreement, which must be renewed every 5 years, could require us to move or demolish the house if they no longer wanted it on their land. However, if the county owns the Center, and gives us a 100-year agreement, we would be assured that the Center could operate independently and yet remain in its present location for the long term.  

These are difficult decisions to make – and NO decisions have been finalized yet. But we see some significant advantages to having the county own both the Pavilion and the house itself.

1.    It would significantly reduce our annual expenses, which total $10,000-$12,000 a year, and allow us to use more of our money on keeping the Center properly maintained and repaired.

2.    It would allow us to have full control over use of both the Pavilion and the house. We would be in charge of bookings for the pavilion as we are now doing at the center, and all of the monies would go to us for maintaining the center.

3.    The county would be responsible for grounds maintenance, maintenance of the pavilion and insurance for both buildings. We would be responsible for maintenance of the center and the gardens.

4.    It would preserve this precious asset for generations to come. Right now, that is not guaranteed.

5.    It would give us a partnership with the county that would benefit both entities.  

We appreciate your input, but please allow us to let this process move forward in the best way possible without unnecessary controversy. All of us agree on the ultimate goal: to preserve this part of Clark Lake’s history forever. That’s exactly what we are trying to do.

Sincerely,

Clark Lake Community Center Board

John Karkheck, president (517) 745-2929

John Deming, treasurer (517) 529-9117

Editor’s note: 

To read Flip Reynold’s letter to the Community Center, please click here.

To read the original story on this website, please click here.

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