Wheel Houses on Mille Lacs

I would have posted this on the ice fishing forum, but it really has more to do with business, and not fishing exactly. Another big debate has been brewing up at Mille Lacs about the resort owners charging $30-$35 for wheel house owners as lake access fees. It has turned into a peeing match between both parties. Channel 9 news is even getting involved. We saw them up there Saturday. I spoke to George Nitti of Hunter’s Point Resort over the weekend to address some of his concerns. What they see happening often times is that wheel house owners pay their $10.00 for a day on the lake. But they will often leave the units on the lake for a week or months. Often times they will ask for roads to be plowed, gas tanks be changed, and other services usually provided for full time rentals of the resort. All for $10.00! I see the resort owners frustrations, but what about the guys who are truly using it for 1 day of fishing? You would think a compromise could be reached. The popularity of these houses is growing. Something is going to have to be done eventually. WHat are some of your thoughts? I have some I will share as we go.
Tuck

I think that the tv crews should stay out of this. Resort owners up on Mille Lacs are having a tough enough time as it is. Yah, $35 to pull your house onto the lake seems high, but if you don’t like it, go somewhere where you pay $10. There are plenty of places where you only have to pay $10 a day.
If they are leaving there house on the lake for a week or months, then they will have to pay the $10 every time they cross the access. As far as resort owners taking care of them when they only pay the daily fee instead of a yearly pass, well I wouldn’t feel inclined to plow them off a spot or a road to their house if they were trying to skeez by…

But really, the news channels need to leave these guys alone.

I don’t think rate is the issue for resorts… it’s a symptom. I’m sure most would agree that $10/per 24 hrs sounds reasonable… fish Friday to Sunday and it’s $20. Leave it out a week it’s $70, leave it out the 8-10 weeks of good ice and $560-$700. It would be almost double the resort rate for permenant storage which should make guys like George happy.

So why do they charge more than $10? Governance. No resort owner in their right mind likes to pay someone to sit on their road and look for violators. Hillman’s does it at times on Red, but I don’t see much of it on Mille Lacs. I think they charge the higher rates because they *know* wheel house owners, on average, will take advantage of the $10 daily rate for more than 1 day. Additionally, as Tuck points out they figure the “requests” might come from people to plow roads, fill tanks, and alike.

Until resort owners commit to better governance of their accesses, they will continue to charge padded rates to cover their anticipated losses.

My 2 Cents…

Btw… I wanted to stop in the bar this weekend and say hi but didn’t get a chance… — my dad was convinced we would have a better time taking my money in cribbage this weekend.

With the one kidney working full blast, my bar time consisted of 2 eggs over easy with hash browns and sausage! My drinking days are done! LOL!
Tuck

Boy….. I don’t have one of these houses but I would think if they’re wanting roads plowed, tanks filled and the like that $35 is’nt asking to much, especially if they’re out there more than a weekend. I plow in the winter and I make more than that on some of the driveways I do.

I think if the owners of these houses want to leave them for a month so be it. they have every right to that lake too.
but if they want roads plowed to their houses and tanks filled then they pay for it. plus their $10.00 to use the road when they go to their house. i don’t think it’s fair to charge them more money because of what kind of house they have or what they do with it. the resort oweners need to stop driving buisness off that lake and stop crying about how much money they think they are getting screwed out of . sometimes they think they can set the rules for the lake, we all have equal rights to fish it and access it. i under stand that they plow the roads that is what a access fee is for
i got my 2cents in

Quote:

---

With the one kidney working full blast, my bar time consisted of 2 eggs over easy with hash browns and sausage! My drinking days are done! LOL!
Tuck

---

And you will live a hec of alot longer too that way. And that means ALOT more fishin Bud.
Thanks, Bill

I’m not looking for a battle here but why couldn’t the $35.00 fee be a desposit. Come off the lake within 24 hours and get your $25.00 refunded. Stay on and pay more.
Seems rather simple.

Quote:

---

I’m not looking for a battle here but why couldn’t the $35.00 fee be a desposit. Come off the lake within 24 hours and get your $25.00 refunded. Stay on and pay more.
Seems rather simple.

---

That sounds fair.
Thanks, Bill

the resort owner owns the access. it is not public. they can charge what ever they want, last summer izaty’s charged $20 just to launch your boat. most resorts charge $10 to launch in their protected harbors. so if a resort owner wants to charge $30 to drive on his lake road with a wheel house he can. you can always go to the next resort or just drive on at any one of the public accesses….tom f

Sportsman’s is always a good choice Tuck — lol

I think Brian MN makes a good point… and it’s exactly what I am saying… governance. If they had different “rules” and methods to enforce them — then great. But they don’t, and until they do the current state will exist and a lot of wheel house owners will continued to be mad.

I have a permanent shack at Nitti’s… I pay nearly 500 a winter for that luxury… prorated to daily that is just less than $10 a day, he’s got an contract for the term.

George has little enforcement.. while him and his employees are out filling tanks, plowing roads, and moving shacks — whose got time to “watch the roads” against those $10 a launch guys who stay all wweekend (or weeks) and try to screw him? If people had better morals — should he have to watch them?

Problem is not everyone has morals and thus he has to charge more to make up for it.

Another example… I shoot my bow at spring lake park reserver in Dakota county. I buy an annual pass to the park.. it runs me $30 or so.. They have an honesty box there for daily shooters. How many times have I been checked? None. BUT — why do I buy the annual pass? Because I happen to have morals. Bottom line.

For resort owners to lower prices for wheeled houses they need to make sure people don’t rip them off (fat chance) or they need to be able to monitor their traffic through governance.

(That’s 2 more cents and I dunno if I can afford anymore!! hehe)

I think a good idea would be to have stickers (with to and from dates and times) – like those use parks and the such. They could have a daily one for $10.00, weekly for $35, one month $50 and 3 months for $65. Stickers must be posted on the outside of the ice house and when the person who is out there plowing, providing gas and the what not, stickers can be checked at the time. If you are caught (the sticker would require you to provide a I.D. of some sort so as to track names and addresses), then there will be some sort of fine/late (getting off the ice) fee that must be paid to reenter the lake/launch.

i buy a tag that i hang on my rear view mirror. it says winter pass. which means it good for all winter at hunters point. a day pass has that date written on it. all the fishhouses that the resort pulls out are numbered. 3 months is the whole winter season. resorts must get at least $500 a year for storage and road pass and the first pull out and the pull in. they charge extra to be moved to another spot. it’s all figured out, losses are factored in, just like any other business. i don’t think it’s a secret, resorts that have good ice operations can make more money on the ice than they make all spring, summer and fall.

I happen to agree with all of you. Unfortunately, there are those without morals who will take advantage of resorts. Is it fair for the resorts to take advantage of wheel house owners by charging them extra at the ramp? No. I think resort owners may be over reacting to what will indeed be the future in more and more wheeled shacks. I think they see the resource (Permanent shacks.)and the income reducing somewhat. I do feel however that alienating groups of people just because of the shack they own is wrong. If you have an Otter as opposed to a Fish Trap, will you have to pay an additional fee? If you have a 10″ auger as opposed to a 8″ auger, will you have to pay a diameter upcharge? Personally, I think you treat it the same way as anything else. If it is a wheel shack, you pay $10 to get on the lake. If you want a road plowed once you are there, it is $X amount. If you need tanks exchanged, it is $XX. The owner can choose to by a season pass, or pay daily. Owners of the shacks have to be cognizant of the fact that these resort owners are trying to make a living at this as well, and pay accordingly. If a person has a wheel shack, and pays only $10 for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, that is $20 per car/shack that the resort misses out on. I can see both sides.

Tuck

this is a good thread. i really don’t have a answer. something is going to have to be worked out. $30 is a little steep if you are just going out for the day. on the other hand the resort owners are loosing money when people go out and stay for a few days and only pay once. i guy i work with went out and spent a few days on the ice without going in to shore. on about the third or forth morning the resort owner came knocking, demanding more money. next thing you know my coworker is chasing the resort owner around and they jumped in their trucks and the argument went all the way into shore. as far as i know my coworker paid up, and was going to on his way off the ice. the way he explained it to me, he had no reason to go in, so he was going to stop and pay when he was leaving. i think this happend at the red door. my coworker is kind of a hot head at times so this story could be a little one sided. what do you guy’s with wheel houses think is fair? lets see some opinions!!! tom f

just a side note, last summer at izaty’s, the sign at their boat launch read $20 a day to launch your boat. that was for condo owners and the general public alike. that was double anybody else on the lake.

The whole idea behind these wheel houses is to be able to move around from one lake to the next, and still have all the comforts of a permanent shack. Thats great, but think about this. When there is a good snow cover on the lake, where is that wheel house going to set up at? On one of the roads the resort has plowed? Is the wheel house owner going to plow out his own spot? Is the wheel house owner going to crowd into a spot that was cleared by the resort for one of his seasonal customers, and take away from the quality that his customer is entitled to, or maybe even force the resort owner to clear another spot to move his own customer to.

There is a science to the job these resort owners do in the winter. To some extent, wheel houses disrupt that to some degree. The fact that the house is not a permanent customer of the resort does not exempt that house owner from having to pay his fair share of the burden to use those roads and fish those waters made accessible by that resort owner.

I had a wheelhouse and went out of Hunters many times over the years. If I left it out and expected the road plowed next weekend it was paid for in advance. Just need to talk to George and he will take care of you for reasonable $$. Some just ruin it for others I guess. Plow trucks are money pits, it’s amazing to see somtimes what these resorts put them thru to keep the roads open.

Quote:

---

on about the third or forth morning the resort owner came knocking, demanding more money. next thing you know my coworker is chasing the resort owner around and they jumped in their trucks and the argument went all the way into shore. as far as i know my coworker paid up, and was going to on his way off the ice. the way he explained it to me, he had no reason to go in, so he was going to stop and pay when he was leaving. i think this happend at the red door. my coworker is kind of a hot head at times so this story could be a little one sided.

Quote:

---

---

It was not the owner of the RED DOOR resort they are really nice people, It was the biggest JERK [censored] ice man on the lake,I forget his name but he’s an [censored] and often threatens people.

One of his favorite lines “I’ll run you over with my plow truck” or “if you put your house any where near my house I’ll burn it.”

You hear stories regulary about him.

Sounds like Henry before he sold Lakeside!

I thought he was talking about Bill, who used to own Barnicles!

Bill and Henry had a todo one year on the flats! I heard they were ready to go toe to toe……..over their roads crossing one another?

I guess I have a problem understanding what the resort owner is charging for. If I come to fish with my Otter, snomo trailer, and vehicle…I pay $10. I thought the $10 was for the access to the lake, and the road, not how long you stay out there. I thought the lake was for everyone to use. Aren’t the fees we pay for licenses for the use of the lake?? Why should it matter if a fishhouse on wheels stays out there overnight, for a two day stay, or whatever. If you use the road once, going out and coming in, and use his access twice, getting on and getting off……what is his gripe. It just seems the resort owners feel they own the lake as well as the property around it. What happens if there is no snow on the lake, it doesn’t need to be plowed, then who gets screwed, the guy that pays for a road…The way I see it, the resorts want to control everything, and get paid for anything they can screw you out of. Pretty soon they will want payment for using the water to run your boat on.

TBO/MN says it best.

What is the reason to launch your boat or use the road? It is a one time deal, right?

Now, if people are using your resort as a public access to the lake, then I would recommend that the resort owner police his business.

However, if the person uses the access once, than so be it……$10 bucks is fair.

It is not the resort owners responsibility to plow roads, deliver fuel, or anything else for that matter….Unless the person requesting the services pays an separate fee for those services.

In my opinion there is something wrong with that arguement. Is the $10 access to a lake for a single day or for as long as I feel like it?

Should I expect that since I paid 10 whole dollars to bring my wheeled house out there that the roads to my house will be maintained even if I want to stay out there a week? If I’m snowed in during the week should they have to plow me out because I paid my $10 access fee and I haven’t come back in through the access?

That just doesn’t seem right. In my opinion it has to be daily or for a set timeframe for them to make any money.

Sure it may be the case that early in the year they don’t have to plow… but 2 weeks ago I was up there and they were plowing non-stop from the drifting alone.

Also, I agree with Gary when he says that “if people are using your resort as a public access to the lake, then I would recommend that the resort owner police his business.”. To fix the issue they need to monitor their roads… it’s that simple… but it’s also a shame that people won’t follow the rules such as the ones puddlepounder posted.

if the resort owner wanted pull rank, they should check you when you come off of the lake. no season ticket or daily road pass, go baha through the deep snow to the next set of roads or to a public access. it costs money to have somebody sit there and check, most likely not worth it or they would be doing it.

Quote:

---

I’m not looking for a battle here but why couldn’t the $35.00 fee be a desposit. Come off the lake within 24 hours and get your $25.00 refunded. Stay on and pay more.
Seems rather simple.

---

Brian mn why do you think you have to pay to fish on that lake? you have to pay an access fee to use their road not an additional 10 a day to fish. they dont own the frickin lake its not a camp ground.

Hey guys, if you don’t like/want to pay the fee to get on and off the lake safely, go use one of the many public accesses on the lake. If a resorter catches you driving on HIS road, you will still have to pay to be on it. If you get stuck in the snow trying to use the non-plowed public access, just try calling a tow truck out onto the ice to get you out!! LOL

IMO I think wheel shacks should have to get a contract like us permenent house owner do to get on the lake. And the up side of that is you get lake service and a plowed road
the resort I am at states??? that they will not plow a road for a wheel shack and that is the fishermans wharf

on that note I had a guy in a wheel target drive down the driveway to my shack and ask me to move my truck so he get on the other side of me( if you are that erigant you just put a target on your shack)

Quote:

---

If a resorter catches you driving on HIS road, you will still have to pay to be on it.

---

I see your point but the Resort owners do not own the Lake, roads or bridges they erect, those are public property, they own the lakeshore access and should be able to charge what they want to use their access, just as I own my lakeshore on Mille Lacs.

Should I have to pay when I drive out of my yard that I pay taxes on,when I drive onto the Lake…..? According to the DNR….NO

ggoody-

You are 100 % right. No one person or resort owner owns the lake, we all have a right to be on it. If I happen to drive on a “road” that a resort owner plowed, I have no obligation to pay anything to anyone!!!

Since when does plowing a road equal ownership ?!