Lawsuit Seeks To Return Ownership Of Twin Lakes Park To Grand Traverse County

Did Grand Traverse County have the legal authority to transfer ownership of Twin Lakes Park to Long Lake Township? That question is at the center of a new lawsuit filed at the end of December, which could reverse the recently completed land transfer. Plaintiffs say the 170+ acres that make up Twin Lakes were deeded to the county for the express purpose of being used as a county park, and that transferring the lands to Long Lake Township represents a breach of both “implied contract” and public trust.

First, some background: Back in the fall of 2021, Long Lake Township put forward a proposal to take over ownership of Twin Lakes Park from Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation, citing a desire to “add new and enhanced visitor experiences while honoring the park’s history and the vision of those that were instrumental in its creation.”

Parks and rec commissioners turned down that proposal in December 2021 – taking issue, in particular, with the township’s suggestion that Grand Traverse County kick in $50,000 annually for four years to fund continued maintenance of the park. But since county commissioners had the final say over approving or rejecting the proposal, talks about the ownership transfer continued – with commissioners ultimately voting 4-2 in March 2022 to give the park to Long Lake Township. The county also agreed to pay just over $31,000 annually for four years to assist in covering maintenance costs.

The decision didn’t come without criticism or backlash. Ryan Walsh, then interim director of Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation –current director John Chase started in April 2022 – described the transfer as a “big mismanagement of county resources,” while several people running for county commission at the time fretted that the decision would open the door for the county to dispense with more parkland in the future.

Nonetheless, in September 2023, nearly 18 months after commissioners voted to give Twin Lakes to Long Lake Township, the transfer finally became official, marking the apparent end of what County Administrator Nate Alger described to commissioners as a “long, cumbersome process.”

But the story might not be over yet, after all – at least, not if a pair of Long Lake Township landowners get their way. Ten days ago, those landowners – James Gallagher and Chazz McCall – filed a lawsuit against both the township and Grand Traverse County, alleging that the transfer of Twin Lakes was unlawful because it violates a deed restriction from the 1940s.

The lawsuit, filed on December 28 in the United State District Court for the Western District of Michigan, lists two plaintiffs – Gallagher, trustee of the James K. & Patsy A. Gallagher Trust; and McCall, trustee of the Charles William McCall Trust – both of whom own land that abuts the existing Twin Lakes Park. The plaintiffs are represented by Brace Kern of the Traverse City-based BEK Law, PLC. In their complaint, plaintiffs argue that the very origins of Twin Lakes Park make the transfer of the property illegal.

Twin Lakes Park took form in 1941, when Parm Gilbert – a Grand Traverse County judge – conveyed 25 acres of land to the county “as a county park, to be owned, improved and used as such and for recreation purposes.” The county’s board of supervisors accepted the offer, and on October 29, 1941, the first pieces of what became Twin Lakes County Park came under the ownership of Grand Traverse County.

Twin Lakes grew from there. In the next few years, Judge Gilbert conveyed two more land gifts to the county, totaling 50 acres, to be added to the existing park. Then, in the 1970s, two more gifts grew Twin Lakes even further: a 40-acre conveyance from Wilbert and Beulah Lautner, on the northwest side of the park; and another 40 acres from Frank and Dorothy Stulen, on the northeast side.

“For the next 50 years, the County respected the intent of these dedicators by owning, using, and improving the dedicated lands as a County Park,” the lawsuit states. “The County’s current Board of Commissioners has forgotten the past, failed to honor the intent of the dedicators, and violated the restrictive covenants by dispossessing the County of ownership, use, and improvement of Twin Lakes County Park.”

“A dedication for a specific purpose, i.e. a County Park, may not be changed by the legislature, a municipality or its successors, nor the general public, whether the use be public or private and even though the changed use may be advantageous to the public,” the complaint continues.

Plaintiffs suggest there are two legal paths forward for the Twin Lakes property: Either the transfer of the property must be reversed and the park returned to Grand Traverse County, or the land “must revert to the original proprietors” – which is to say, the heirs of the aforementioned dedicators. In the latter scenario, plaintiffs argue that “the adjoining property owners would be uniquely and substantially harmed by the loss of neighboring 171 acres of County Park.” To avoid such an outcome, plaintiffs are seeking “a judgment declaring that the publicly dedicated lands are restricted to ownership by Grand Traverse County for use and improvement as a County Park.”

Defendants in the lawsuit have been served and have until January 19 to submit their written answers to the complaint. The case has been assigned to Judge Jane M. Beckering of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Alger and Long Lake Township Supervisor Ron Lemcool confirmed that both Grand Traverse County and Long Lake Township have been served with the lawsuit, but both declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

When asked about the status of Twin Lakes Park, though, Lemcool notes that Long Lake Township has already started investing in improvements for the property, including new roofs for the lodge and dormitory buildings, gutters and other drainage improvements for the buildings, and more. Additional tasks remain on the docket for the spring and beyond – bathroom upgrades in the dorm building, for instance – and Lemcool tells The Ticker that the township will continue working through that checklist until told otherwise.

“[The lawsuit] is a diversion, but we’ll keep moving forward,” Lemcool says. “This place has always been a park and our goal is to maintain it as a park. We just want to bring it up to a good standard and make it a great place for people from Grand Traverse County and surrounding counties to use, because that's what we do with all the rest of our parks.”