Things might be pleasant on the Old Mission Peninsula, but they’ve been anything but quiet. The past year’s seen a controversial development proposal, the upheaval of township government, and uncertainty over the future of the community’s elementary school.

In this week's Northern Express - sister publication of The Ticker - investigative reporter Patrick Sullivan goes behind the scenes to explore the politics, players and proposals shaping the future of Old Mission. The proposal to develop the Boursaw farm sparked 18 months of conflict on the peninsula, though it all began very quietly in January 2015. For months, as the development proposal wound through the township approval process, no one noticed. Kadee Tseitlin was perhaps the first neighbor to raise an alarm about the proposal — called The 81 on East Bay, a planned unit development that would that would clear forest and flatten a lakeside bluff to build 41 homes with 40 boat slips at a central dock. 

“For me, personally, it felt like it was getting passed through in the dark of the night, and no was was watching," says Tseitlin. "No one was keeping guard.”

Uproar over the development — and a perceived lack of transparency in the approval process — led a slate of seven challengers to run for each elected township seat in August. Each one of the challengers won, leading to a complete overhaul of township offices that will take effect in November. “I think the 81 development was probably the catalyst for people to start wondering why they weren’t being heard or didn’t feel like they were being heard in meetings,” says incoming Township Supervisor Rob Manigold.

Controversy over the 81 development has turned up the ears of residents to new development proposals in general. Residents also have questioned the next development proposed after the 81, a condominium neighborhood — 47 homes on 28 acres — proposed for the other end of the township, near the Pelizzari Natural Area. Meanwhile, if Manigold and the six other newly elected officials were swept into office amid uproar over the 81 development, Manigold says they came together in a shared concern over the fate of Old Mission Elementary. With an $800,000 donation offer on the table to keep the school open, Manigold he's "enthusiastic about what’s happening with the school. I think it’s a great opportunity for the Peninsula Township residents to work with the school board and get our school back.”

Read more about Old Mission Peninsula and the proposals and projects impacting the peninsula community in this week's Northern Express, available online or at one of more than 600 distribution spots across 14 counties. And, stay connected with the Northern Express throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.