Property Owners Meeting 10-2020

Put-in-Bay Property Owners Meeting 10-2020

President Bob Smith opened the Property Owners Meeting 10-2020 with special thanks to Perry’s Cave for providing a Covid-19 compatible meeting area. He then introduced the speakers. Jake Market told how in 2017 the Miller Boat Line decided it needed an additional boat to make it easier to take a ferry offline.

The new boat, the M/V Mary Ann Market, would be similar to the Put-in-Bay, but with more attention paid to passenger comfort, e.g. air conditioning, two heads, wider stairs, and a wheelchair-accessible lower cabin. The naval architectural firm they chose, Elliott Bay Design Group, has 120 years of experience with ferries ranging from Martha’s Vineyard to Seattle. This was announced in Put-in-Bay News as well.

Their design featured three 800 horsepower engines providing power on demand for the bow thrusters and loads from zero to 380,000 pounds. Jake had high praise for them and for Frasier Shipyards, which used new technologies to build the boat in eleven sections that were assembled in the dry dock. Each weld was inspected by the Coast Guard.

The finished vessel will carry 28 cars or five semis. It can carry 600 passengers. Compare her 140-foot length with the just-under 65-foot South Shore which carried nine cars tightly packed together by deckhands who had to exit, NASCAR style, through open windows.

Dianne Smith announced at the Property Owners Meeting 10-2020 that the Senior Center would not open in September. If conditions, not yet determined, are met it might open in late October. Put-in-Bay and the United States are still some of the best places to travel after the Pandemic.

Police Update Property Owners Meeting 10-2020

Police Spokesman Captain Mark Hummer, a veteran of the Perrysburg police force and the Lucas County Sheriff’s office reported for the police at Property Owners Meeting 10-2020. He worked the past eight weekends and noted that policing is an issue not just here, but across the nation. Hummer said that in 2021 there would be a strong message that Put-in-Bay Golf Cart Rentals are not Cedar Point rides. However, the police department does not have sufficient personnel to ticket every violation due to the costs involved.

Officers frequently ask open container violators to dump their drinks on the ground because a ticket requires the arresting officer to preserve the necessary evidence – at a cost of $140.00 He suggested asking legislators to expedite the paperwork to allow the police to do their jobs. Read more in Put-in-Bay Police News.

Mike Drusbacky, the Deputy Director of the Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency described his agency. Drusbacky indicated the four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery. The Agency does not have first responders, but always has the responsibility of coordinating communications between and among involved agencies.

Preparation, for instance, might involve informing isolated populations that they should be self-sufficient (food, water, heat, etc.) if an emergency denied first responders access to the locations. Bob then thanked the Volunteer Fire Department and the Emergency Medical Services and presented checks for $750 to Greg Dobos for the Put-in-Bay Voletter Fire Department and Patrick Rogers for the EMS. Covid-19 restricted their fundraising activities, but not the calls upon their services.

A discussion was held about Put-in-Bay 2021 Events and how they would be handled. Bob noted that Judy Berry had accepted an appointment to fill a vacant seat on the Board of Directors of the PIBPOA.

Winter Wild Bird Seed On Sale

Have your winter wild bird seed supply delivered to your island residence! The Lake Erie Islands Conservancy will be selling Winter Wild Bird Seed again this fall. Titgemeier’s Feed and Garden Stores will be supplying us with the following types of seed: niger/thistle, black oil sunflower, cracked corn, and mixed birdseed of several grades.

Titgemeier’s is a family-owned feed and garden store in business since January 12th, 1888 at 701 Western Avenue in Toledo, Ohio. A most unusual store, their products range from grass seed and fertilizer to pet, wild bird, and brewing supplies. Please get your order in before November 1st to have it delivered to
your island residence.

This can help Put-in-Bay remains one of the top 5 birding spots in Ohio. To order, check out our website at www.lakeerieislandsconservancy. org or call Kelly or Marty Faris at 419-285-4772 or kelmar@thirdplanet.net or leiconservancy@gmail.com. Delivery will be in mid-November.