TWIN LAKES PARK: A BROKEN PROMISE

It started with a judge and a vision for his community. In 1941, retired Grand Traverse County Judge Parm C. Gilbert donated 25 acres to the county with one legally binding condition: the land must remain a county park forever. He added two more parcels over the next three years, bringing his total gift to 75 acres.

In the 1960s, Wilbert and Beulah Lautner donated 40 acres on the northwest side. Frank and Dorothy Stulen added 40 more acres on the northeast side in 1972. Every deed carried the same understanding; this land belongs to Grand Traverse County, for the public, as a park, permanently.

The county first floated the idea of transferring Twin Lakes to Long Lake Township in 2004. The township said no.

In 2014, a Parks and Recreation Commission president proposed selling the park to be converted into a rehabilitation center — an idea so unpopular it went nowhere.

That same year, the county's own Prosecuting Attorney issued a formal memo warning that Twin Lakes could not be transferred or used for any purpose other than a county park without releases from relevant parties. The warning was noted and ignored.

In Fall 2021, Long Lake Township submitted a formal proposal to take over the park, citing plans for "new and enhanced visitor experiences." The county's Parks and Recreation Commission voted 7-0 to reject it in December 2021.

Two months after their own Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously rejected the township's proposal, the GT County Board of Commissioners voted 4-2 to transfer Twin Lakes anyway.

Commissioners Betsy Coffia and Brad Jewett voted no. Commissioner Bryce Hundley abstained due to a conflict of interest.

Before the vote, commissioners amended their own property disposal policy on the spot to exempt transfers to other governmental entities — bypassing required steps like property appraisal, surplus declaration, and a competitive transparent process.

County parks staff opposed the transfer. So did YouthWork, a program serving at-risk teenagers that operated out of the park and stood to lose their home.

As part of the deal, the county agreed to pay the township $124,000 upfront, $31,000 annually for four years, and hand over a cell tower lease worth nearly $900,000 over 70 years.

On September 8, 2023, County Commission Chair Rob Hentschel signed the quit claim deed making the transfer official; Twin Lakes County Park (176 acres of publicly dedicated land) as now Long Lake Township's property.

The township immediately began making improvements using the county's $124,000 payment plus an additional $126,000 from selling township property. By 2024, the township had incorporated Twin Lakes into a master plan envisioning multi-use development including housing and businesses — a far cry from what Judge Gilbert had in mind in 1941.

Around this time, Interim Parks Director Ryan Walsh resigned, publicly stating the county had "engaged in unlawful actions" and that he had been trying to expose the misconduct since early 2021.

In December 2023, neighboring landowners (including Chazz McCall and James K. Gallagher, whose properties border the park) filed a federal lawsuit arguing the transfer violated the 1941 deed restriction and asking the court to reverse it.

In May 2024, their attorney Brace Kern offered both the county and the township a free settlement: return the park, drop the lawsuit, no cost to anyone. The township rejected it 5-0.

The county discussed it publicly for the first time on June 5, 2024 (the first the public even knew a lawsuit existed) then retreated into closed session for over an hour and voted 6-3 to reject it with no public deliberation.

Commissioner Ashlea Walter later said: "I thought an open session about the potential lawsuit and ongoing issue with Twin Lakes would be good for the public benefit. There is so little public information about the transfer and what really motivated the former commission to unload the property."

In July 2024, Kay Ingraham filed a second lawsuit alleging the county violated Michigan's Open Meetings Act in how it handled the case.

Both lawsuits remain active. The deed restriction case was moved from federal court to the 13th Circuit Court in Grand Traverse County, where it sits pending.

Taxpayers continue to fund the county's legal defense of a transfer that the county's own prosecutor warned against over a decade ago.

On June 5th, 2026, exactly two years after the county rejected the free settlement, attorney Brace Kern submitted a new complaint letter to every member of the GT County Board of Commissioners, offering one final opportunity to resolve this without returning to court. The county board meets June 17th, 2026.

Twin Lakes is currently not on the agenda.

Updated: 6/15/2026