Purchase of Keweenaw Mountain Lodge On Hold

The following statement was released by Keweenaw County:

Last Thursday (10/5), USDA-Rural Development informed Keweenaw County that a complaint was received by the State of Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) concerning the possible acquisition of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge (KML) by Anthony Lane Partners (ALP).

The County has not received a copy of the complaint and the exact contents of the complaint and when it was made are unknown. The County has been told the identity of the person who made the complaint, but the information is hearsay and has not been verified.

After receiving the complaint, SHPO or Rural Development retrieved documents showing that the County agreed in 2006 to negotiate and record a historic preservation easement that would submit future changes to KML to prior review and approval by SHPO. Copies of the documents were forwarded to the County by Rural Development last Thursday when it notified the County of the complaint.

It appears from the documents that the County’s agreement to negotiate and record a preservation easement was made in order to obtain the loans which Rural Development provided to the County for the improvement of KML.

Current County officials were unaware of the County’s commitment to negotiate and record a historic preservation easement prior to last Thursday. It appears to the County that no such historic preservation easement was prepared and recorded; however, this needs to be further researched and confirmed. If no such historic preservation easement was prepared and recorded, the County anticipates that there will be discussions with SHPO and Rural Development on the historic preservation issues in the near term.

Negotiations with ALP are on hold at ALP’s request while the historic preservation issues are investigated and clarified.