Some thoughts on Beaver Island Economic Development & Sustainability

BIA Board Member Jim Jones has been actively involved with the Townships’ joint effort to obtain federal funding for a “Broadband Initiative” and related discussions about the Island’s economic future. The BIA Board considered these matters at its most recent meeting and reached consensus around the principles and proposals in the following article, written collaboratively by Jones and BIA President Paul Glendon. We believe it is similar in some ways to the case statement submitted with the Broadband grant application and incorporates many ideas discussed by individuals and groups involved in that effort, but it is not an official statement by any of those individuals or groups. The BIA Board hopes it will be a conversation starter and prod for action, and we invite BIA members and all interested persons to join the conversation by communicating their views to the BIA Board and Township officials.

Beaver Island is a safe, mostly pristine, family-oriented place, with a year-round population of 600 to 700, a seasonal population of more than 1,500, and a visitor population between 50,000 and 60,000 per year. Economically, today’s year-round Islanders live on three months of tourism, seasonal residency and construction activity (mostly residential) that varies in volume and value depending on multiple factors but especially general economic conditions, which recently have been and for the foreseeable future are likely to be weak. Apart from such construction activity, during the other nine months the Island has strictly a service economy, consisting of its small permanent population providing goods and services to each other.

As we all know, the population swells in late spring, summer, and early fall when folks come to rent, visit or occupy their seasonal residences. There is good reason to believe that many others would like to live on the Island, seeing it as a great place to raise families, but limited opportunity for transportation to and from, and contact with, mainland Michigan and the rest of the off-Island world significantly impede growth and prosperity. Today’s limited economy affords meager year-round work opportunities, and the limitations of current communication and transportation services make growth and economic development a challenge.
The Island’s natural advantages (especially its isolation) are inherent economic disadvantages in some ways, because they preclude large-scale economic or commercial development that is not tourism based. Therefore Beaver Island’s recovery from the current economic downturn and its future economic growth and sustainability depend almost entirely on increasing the number of tourists and permanent Island residents.

In addition to traditional forms of leisure tourism, Beaver Island is an ideal place for the growing phenomenon of eco-tourism. But strong, well-focused efforts are needed to capitalize on this trend. People who want to get back to nature and raise families or just enjoy life in such a great natural setting also could be attracted to permanent residence on the Island, especially when many employers are reducing facilities cost by permitting and even encouraging their employees to work from home. But professional service workers will be reluctant to move here unless they can reach the rest of the world whenever they need to through reliable and efficient communication and transportation services. Many retirees already have been attracted to the beauty and serenity of the Island for permanent residence, and it is reasonable to believe many more might feel the same attraction. But if the Island is to attract more retirees and keep the ones who already live here, they have to be confident that late-life medical needs can and will be met here safely and efficiently. In short, all these trends could help improve the Island’s economy if it had better internet communications, transportation and access to full-service health care.

Recently Peaine and St. James Townships formed a nonprofit organization to apply for $1 million in Federal stimulus grant money for a Beaver Island Broadband Initiative whose goals are to:

Increase effectiveness of public safety and emergency services

First responders (the Fire Department, EMS, 911 Dispatch and Deputy Sheriff’s Office) will be able to integrate their communications through the improved wireless system, enabling them to reduce response time and work as a more effective team to save life, limb, and property.

Increase access to vital educational resources

All three educational institutions (BICS, CMU & Lighthouse School) will use the wireless system to give students and teachers access to currently unavailable educational resources such as foreign language instruction, advanced math and science. Professionals and tradesmen will also be able to pursue the education needed to maintain certifications and stay up-to-date in their fields without leaving the Island.

Increase access to and reduce cost of health care services

Provide a virtual doctor for patient consultation and diagnostic services. With more than 2,500 patient events annually, this service would qualify BIRHC as a no-bed hospital, a status that would provide access to a variety of now unavailable services, funds, and programs and reduce patients’ medical costs.

Increase virtual employment opportunities

Provide wireless broadband capabilities to conduct more island business, minimize off-Island travel expense and keep islanders more competitive with mainland sources. Visitors contemplating living and working on the Island will no longer be discouraged by the absence of high-speed Internet service.

Expand eco-tourism business

Exploit Internet advertising capabilities to broaden awareness of the Island's rich eco-tourism and extend the reach of our market at a cost we can afford.

Increase communications options through wifi enabled devices.

Mobile phone service is spotty at best. Increased wifi will broaden areas for making calls. (TDS already has installed equipment for near-Island-wide DSL service, subject to completion of certain mainland-based relay arrangements, so if the Broadband project is funded it is anticipated that every Island residence will have the option of TDS DSL or Cherry Capital WiFi Internet service).

Increase telephone service options and reduce costs through VoIP

(Currently, calling anywhere other than another Beaver Island number is long distance.)

Sixteen of Beaver Island’s anchor institutions are committed to this Broadband Initiative: Beaver Island Rural Health Center, Beaver Island EMS, 911 Central dispatch, Beaver Island Lighthouse School, Central Michigan University Biological Station, Fresh Air Aviation, Island Airways (with its Air Ambulance and Transport Services), Beaver Island Transportation Authority, Beaver Island Boat Company, Beaver Island District Library, Beaver Island Community School, Beaver Island Fire Department, Beaver Island Community Center, Charlevoix County Sheriff & Island Deputy, and Peaine and St. James Townships.
The Beaver Island Association endorsed the effort and provided a letter of support to be submitted with the grant application, and we were pleased to learn recently that this project it is one of eight “Last-Mile Michigan Applicants” Governor Granholm recommended to the U.S. government for funding consideration. According to Peaine Township Supervisor Jack Gallagher, the “first cut” at the federal level is expected by November 15. If the Beaver Island Broadband application survives that, it is uncertain when a Phase 2 final decision will be forthcoming.

Approval of that application (or not) is only part of the story, however. As mentioned above, one of the main goals of improved communication services – attracting more permanent residents who will be able to work on Beaver Island in “virtual workplace” employment – will be difficult to achieve without significant enhancement of transportation services to the mainland. Although there is reasonably reliable transportation to Charlevoix by ferry and airplane, there is no regular transportation to a major airport. Therefore scheduled, affordable flights two or three days per week to a major commercial airline hub such as Milwaukee should be another major component in attracting virtual employees to permanent Beaver Island residency. If Milwaukee is not feasible, then regular flights to Traverse City (or perhaps a different Wisconsin airport near train service to Chicago) would seem to be a minimal requirement to attract this group of people.

These details aside, and whether or not the Broadband funding is approved, it is essential that the planning for Beaver Island community airport improvements include this critically important element. There also should be a broader, well coordinated, expeditious effort (independent of but in parallel with the airport planning process) to investigate the feasibility of establishing such service with airlines, state and federal aviation agencies, and potential grant-makers that might provide early-stage subsidies for scheduled flights to such a destination.

Transportation issues are equally important to retirees, who require convenient, anytime access to high quality, full service healthcare facilities. Many people do not consider Beaver Island a good place to live in retirement because of the difficulty of reaching a major hospital. A closely related concern is lack of a suitable facility for dealing with mass casualties (e.g., injuries from a fire at the school or any large public gathering). Thus the Island needs another, less weather-dependent option (in addition to Island Airways’ recently certified air ambulance service) for fast flights to Petoskey for emergency medical services, as well as an effective way to attend to group injuries pending off-island medical transport. These concerns also should be included in the airport planning process, but in the meantime they could be investigated and addressed jointly and expeditiously by the Airport Committee, the Beaver Island Rural Health Center and EMS.