Hi Chris,

Prior to the flood, the 4 dams were owned and operated by Boyce Hydroelectric.  Tge dams were nearly 100 years old.  The flood bankrupted Boyce Hydro.  The 4 dams are now owned by Midland and Gladwin counties.  But, they are managed on behalf of the county governments by the 4 Lakes Association, a group of lakefront property owners.  The 4 Lakes Association convinced the county governments to form the 4 Lakes Special Water District, which gave them the power to levy annual water district assessments to pay for the cleanup, rebuilding, and operations of the 4 dams.  This assessment shows up on my property tax bill every year.  Long story short, the dams were rebuilt and operated by private money.  The 4 Lakes Association is like a super powerful neighborhood homeowner’s association.  Lots of oversight and snooping.

I can’t launch my boat from my property.  But, my subdivision has a launch ramp about 1/4 mile from my house.  No mooring out is allowed.

Of the ~k$90 damages, ~k$45 has already been spent back in 1990 to remove flood debris and stabilize the shoreline.  We were counting on the class action lawsuit settlement to pay for most of the remaining repairs (replacement) to our dock, sea walls, and steps.  We’re retired and living on a fixed income.  With no settlement, we’re going to have to drastically scale back our plans, if we do anything at all.  Another option is to sell the boat.

This is the sort of thing that really shakes one’s faith in the judicial system.

Sorry to be such Debbie Downer; but, I needed to vent!

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
1978. Sanford, MI
Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 26, 2026, at 8:18 AM, Chris Geankoplis <chrisgeankoplis at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Wow, Roger,
> That is really bad. Insurance doesn’t cover and though the state built the dams ( is that correct?) they are putting a lot of the burden on you.  Sorry to heat this. Can you launch the Rhodes from your property?  Mooring the boat and dinghy out?  I hope you can get some sailing in soon!
> Chris Geankoplis
> XENOS
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Apr 26, 2026, at 6:59 AM, ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Nearly 6 years after the 4 dam failures and the subsequent flood, our dam has been rebuilt.  All State and Federal permits have been signed off.  Refilling Sanford Lake commenced on April 15th.  The lake should be at normal summer pool level by Memorial Day.  Secord Lake dam and Smallwood Lake dam are scheduled to be complete and lake filling to commence around Labor Day.  Wixom Lake dam won’t be ready until the summer if 2027.
>>
>> My property taxes have tripled to pay for all this.  The courts have ruled against the property owners in our class action lawsuit vs the State of Michigan.  The property owners will get nothing.  My property losses are about k$90!  + the 3X increased annual taxes!  It’s the biggest financial hit in my life.  Our side is appealing the case; but, this iis certainly not good news.
>>
>> In a final irony, I’m still waiting for the State to approve the permit for my dock.  So, I will have a lake, but no dock this summer.
>>
>> Other than that, life is dull.  I hope you all are having a better spring than me.
>>
>> Roger Pihlaja
>> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>> 1978. Sanford, MI
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>>> On Apr 26, 2026, at 12:58 AM, Paul Rhodes <plrhodes29 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Fellow Rhodes 22 clan members, especially ye who own or have seen a boom
>>> room with your own eyes, does the attached photo show parts to a Boom
>>> Room?  We've never seen one beyond a picture lacking much detail, but we
>>> want one, and if this is part of one, we hope to start with it and complete
>>> our own.
>>>
>>> If you own a boom room, pictures and other details would be a tremendous
>>> help!  (If you have one you would like to sell, that's even better.)
>>>
>>> May you all have a wonderful start to the 2026 sailing season once
>>> Puxatawny Phil's six weeks are past,
>>>
>>> Paul and Nancy Rhodes
>>> SV New Mercies
>>> -------------- next part --------------
>>> A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
>>> Name: 20260210_155428.jpg
>>> Type: image/jpeg
>>> Size: 3927195 bytes
>>> Desc: not available
>>> URL: <http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20260211/a227f6f2/attachment.jpg>