Grebe Point dock extension approved after nineteen months of measuring

GREBE POINT — The Grebe Point Township Board voted 4-1 Wednesday evening to approve an eight-foot extension to the municipal fishing dock, bringing to a close a planning process that began in October 2023 with a handwritten note in the suggestion box.

Measurement dispute resolved

The project stalled repeatedly over disagreements about the existing dock's length. Trustee Marion Vess insisted the structure measured forty-two feet from shore to end post, while Trustee Dale Kuiper maintained it was forty-three and a half. A third measurement, conducted by retired shop teacher Leonard Goss with a cloth tape borrowed from the high school, yielded forty-two feet eleven inches.

"We couldn't move forward until we knew what we were extending," said township supervisor Rachel Ohnstad. "It would have been irresponsible."

The impasse broke last month when Ohnstad's nephew, a surveying student at Northern Tech, brought a transit home for spring break and established the official length at forty-two feet seven inches. The board accepted the figure by consensus.

Extension details

The approved extension will add eight feet to the lake-facing end of the dock, bringing the total length to fifty feet seven inches. Funding will come from the township's waterfront maintenance fund, which currently holds $3,847 following the Lenten fish fry fundraiser.

Construction is scheduled to begin after ice-out, weather permitting. The board has not yet determined who will perform the work, though Trustee Kuiper suggested his brother-in-law "knows a guy."

The lone dissenting vote came from Trustee Angela Rhee, who argued that any extension should be nine feet to accommodate the turning radius of mobility scooters. "Eight feet is a compromise with nobody," Rhee said.

Public comment included support from the Grebe Point Anglers Club and a question from resident Tim Fahey about whether the extended dock would require a new coat of paint or could be patched to match. Ohnstad said the board would take the matter under advisement.

I watched three people measure the same dock with three different tools and get three different answers, which feels like a decent metaphor for local government. The meeting adjourned at 8:47 p.m., which might be a Grebe Point record.