It has been asked of me to make this post. George Nitti Owner of Hunters Point Resort on Mille Lacs Lake would like some feed back on this. In the past few years on Mille Lacs they have had media stories on this subject along with many conversations.
The question is and has been “what is a fare access fee for a wheel house being pulled out on the lake”?
What should the weekly, weekend, and per day rate be?
George would like your feed back on this,
Thanks in advance,
Funny this came up, I actually went around a little with George on this when I had Dmans wheelhouse up there about 7 years ago. I only had it there for the weekend, and I was only charged vehicle access by the bartender ( $8 at that time). I think we settled on $50 for the weekend. I think if you put a wheelhouse out for the season, then regular rates should apply, minus the storage fee of course. A wheelhouse is really a portable, that you paid thousands instead of hundreds for. I don’t think you should be too penalized. JMO
big g 
I’m sorry to say that if all a person is doing is bringing their house up behind a truck and no one has to plow a road to it then regular rates should apply. I don’t get charged for bringing a trailer behind my pickup.
Once again call me ignorant, but I guess I’m just not aware of the reasoning behind charging people.
Bill, could you explain a little about what that wheel house fee pays for? I have never brought a wheelhouse up there, so I guess I know little about it.
Bill? Or Bob?
I think it would depend on what kind of service you want. You want a road to your wheel house? You pay regular year rates. You want to keep it there a weekend? Daily rates should apply. Like Glen said, it is nothing more than a portable that you pay many more $$ for. If you go up every weekend to use it, you will be paying $10 per day when you go up to use it. So George should make money either way. What am I missing? It can’t be this simple. 
Bill…er Bob 
, & Chris. Where we ran into trouble was, we had the house out there 3 days technically, and we had snowmobiles and 4 wheelers to run around. With a portable, you typically do not spend the night on the lake and it costs you $10 everyday you go out. With a wheelhouse, you can come up friday night, pay $10, and come and go as you please with your wheeler ( which we went to the resort and ate & drank ) and leave sunday night with it only costing $10 lake access. I did agree with George that $10 was too little, and thats when we settled on $50, cause we spent about $300 on food and booze over the 3 days.
Big g
I think the biggest issue is the wheelhouses where being charged the regular road pass fee, then leaving the houses out there for the next weekend or next trip up. That’s all fine and dandy until the house is not accessible because its blown in with 4 ft drifts around it and needs a road plowed to even get to the house again. All this for $10 bucks.
People are under the impression that the larger fees charged by the resort is for the pulling of the shacks out and a few moves a year and bringing it back in. The cost of keeping access to them maintained when you want to get out to it is the other half of the story. Costs to keep plow trucks gassed and wear a tear on a plow truck and hire of the help is not cheap.
If I remember correctly. The news stories where not only about the wheelhouses but paying access to even use the roads. Those crying about that obviously never fished Mille Lacs before or they squeak when they walk.
Tuck- remember fishing Friday – Monday not by choice that weekend about 10 years back? We where stranded with 5 vehicles and when the plow finally did make it to us we had 30 minutes tops to get off the lake or it wasn’t going to happen. The resort help did stop in and check to see that you had supplies to be comfortable and weather out the storm. Money well spent or there would have been more structure in Mille Lacs that spring then there is now.
Wheelhouses come off or pay daily in my opinion.
Or have a set fee for the season to access and leave it or whatever they choose to do.
my 2cents.
Private property owners have the choice of who they allow to access their property and consumers have the choice of how to spend their money. IMO they should ask for a fair daily rate to access the lake from there property. This could vary depending on what you are accessing with (sled,wheeler,truck,truck & wheel house). Post the fees and let the consumer decide if the benefit justifies the cost. Everyone know’s that most of the benefit comes from the roads & bridges, but the lake is public domain. I believe the resorts deserve to recover the costs, but most are also collecting income from providing a service on public property also. This is what I believe is fair.
Special extras would also cost extra, unless you have a seasonal agreement.
I remember the story last year, one of the north end resorts. What was happening there, somebody was plowing a road from the Malmo access, right to the Resorts roads, and then you could go anywhere, with even a Civic. The Resort owner was then plowing the access from the public access road shut, and thats where the heat was turned up. I agree, more than $10 for a weekend is fair, thats why I paid $50. I also remember one of Georges first years with the resort, they pulled a brand new Resort Plow truck, (F250 white in color) off the lake, with the rear axle laying in the box. OUCH !!!
Big g 
I have never brought my own wheel house or portable up to the pond. I usually just rent a shack for the time I am going to be up there. Unlike some of the other lakes that I have fished,(Winnie and Faribault lakes even LOW) the pond actually has roads that are clearly marked and plowed. Now if anyone has drove on them other lakes, you can understand that the $10 daily fee is well worth it. Maybe I am misunderstanding the question, are people complaining about the fee all together or does he think he wants to raise the rates. The way gas prices are today, every other company in the country is charging a rate for fuel. It can’t be cheap to keep them roads in shape.
Not arguing your point at all! Yes I remember that day! When they come out and plow you out, they should do it for $100! Unless you rent one of their houses, you should pay $10 per day access fees. Enforcing that will be difficult because of access to the lake by wheelers and sleds. But I say, special services? Plowing, changing gas cylinders? Zuke ’em big! I am in their corner on this one! 
My opinion on this is the same as many above. Charge the same for a regular car pass. If special services are required to get them on or off, ( plowing and whatnot ) charge them extra.
I was in a situation once on a big lake in a white out where a resort owner plowed the public access closed at shore. We hunted for his resort and paid him at the top of the hill where he was waiting for us. He has left the lake but never got another dime of mine till he sold.
I think many would agree to have a $10 daily fee no matter what you’re pulling around. So to bring a wheel house for the weekend would cost $30. From there their would need to be a menu. Its a tough situation that involves a lot of honesty. I don’t know….This is a tough one. You’d practically need your own law enforcement. And you can’t keep everyone happy. But just having george ask us what we think is significant enough to reflect good business ethics. Thanks George,….you’re alright in my book.
Just my take on it… Wheel House owners might not like it BUT because of what their needs are the resorts should be able to make more off of them. If they dont like it they have the option of going out of a public access instead of using the resort! OH WAIT… How can you drive out of a public access in a truck pulling one of these??? Well there you go you need a plowed road! Looks like the thing to think about is this… You cant get to where you want to in one of these without a plowed road, So go ahead resort owners make what you can! If the owners of these houses dont like it they can spend the money that they would pay for your access to buy a plow for the front of their truck and some chains and go use the PUBLIC ACCESS FOR FREE… FYI A new plow for your truck so you can save a lil $$ by not paying a little more at the resorts will only set you back about $1900.00!! No one take offence, this is just my opinion… sooo… a little more at the resort each time out OR $1900.00 and go out a free access??? Hmmmm 
This seems extremely more difficult than what it should be……..
Why not sell passes for the day, 2 days, 3 days whatever?
Something similar to a camp ground?
If the resort goes on the lake and makes roads from their resort and maintains them, they should collect fees for usage.
I am a wheel house owner and I will say that I am fine with $10 per day or what ever they are charging for a car pass. I am not opposed to paying more if a wider bridge/ramp/access is also available so that I do not cause any damage to my wheel house or snowmobile trailer for that matter.
I believe that KARMA will come back to those that try to knowingly and willing take advantage of others.
I have used a wheelhouse for over 5 years on Red and LOTW.
We pay the regular road fees on a daily basis and leave our wheelhouse there when we leave. These resorts do not plow roads to our houses, but rather plow side roads off the main road for people spread out. If you want to get a private road you can ask and it will cost you about 20 bucks, if we come back the next weekend and we cannot get to our wheel shack because we ventured out too far off the road and it snowed a lot, or the road was moved because nobody was using it then we pay again. All told I more than likely spend over $250.00 per season for fees on LOTW and Red combined, I never stay at one more than a week or two.
A lot of times we just use the wheel house as a base camp and move around anyway.
If the winter brings a lot of snow it does limit your movement but that’s the way it goes. I have never seen a resort plow in a wheelhouse on Red or LOTW if it was left there for the week, but I have heard of this happening on Mille Lacs.
I kind of like the idea of a seasonal charge for plowing and in and out privileges. No one offers this on LOTW or Red.
My 2.5 cents
Thanks
Are you guys talking about permanent shacks that are on wheels and left on the lake?
Quote:
I remember the story last year, on the Red Door. What was happening there, somebody was plowing a road from the Malmo access, right to the Red Doors roads, and then you could go anywhere.
Big g
Actually that was Fishermens Wharf who was plowing the roads shut along with plowing in Mille Lacs lakeshore owners fishouses who brought there houses onto the Lake from the property they own.
The guy from the Red Door is nut’s also, he’s not the owner the owners are good people but the Iceman liked to threaten people.
He once told me if I go within 500 feet of any of there houses he would run me over with his plow truck. 
Hard Side Houses with retractable wheels.
Quote:
This seems extremely more difficult than what it should be……..
Why not sell passes for the day, 2 days, 3 days whatever?
Something similar to a camp ground?
If the resort goes on the lake and makes roads from their resort and maintains them, they should collect fees for usage.
Thats exactly where it gets complicated because:
1) some people leave their wheelhouses out there.
2) Some people drive on, on public access’ then leave it on
resorts road.
It should be run like a campground. Thats the best analogy yet for this situation. The problem is the 
that takes advantage of the fact the lake is public. I hate it when people say that. A good honest person knows what he/she owes. A good example is Big G’s scenario. So the biggest problem is lack of moral. Thats just the problem today,…few take anything seriously until its on paper with their signature underneathe it.
My answer to this is: if you’re on the lake with anything on the resorts road, you pay $10 a day. If person is going to leave their house up there for while. Their should be a weekly/monthly fee $15/week or $50/month. Then they should still pay the daily road pass when they come back.
Another idea would be to give them a pass or something to identify the house to see if a house is paid for on the road/plowed area. If its outdated plow the cheatin lowlifes in!
This seems like a good system to me but enforcing it and getting the system up and going could be pain. I think it would maintain good business though. Just make sure the customers receive a flyer explaining it.
Here is a real novel idea,
When I lived in Fond du Lac and spent a lot of time on Lake Winnebago all the resort owners connected their roads to each other and you could buy a sticker at a resort or local bait shop for about $50.00 per year and they split the fee. That was in 1992 so I am sure it has gone up since. Lets say how about a $100.00 pass for Mille Lacs.
On Winnebago, if you drove on from the east side you could drive across the lake and get off on the west side if you had a sticker.
Matt, your point is well taken, but in snowy years it’s a long shot to get on the lake at a public access with a wheel house.
Al,….all in good humor,…..When was the last snowy winter we’ve had on mille lacs?? 
Funny thing is mille lacs is the only lake where its this big of an ordeal. Simply because everyone and their mom, wife, dog, aunt, and uncle are on the lake any given weekend. Theres bound to be conflict when the population on the ice is bigger than Saint CLoud. Oh well…
Matt,
You got a point, I drove around the lake last weekend and it look like a carnival out there. Car races, snowmobile races, kites….Never see this on LOTW or Red.
Now that you mention it I remember that too. I’m mean holy crap………. Send them to URL where they wont be in the way of anyone fishing Theres actually good fishing on Milly. Take the car racing and kites elsewhere. I drove down the west side on Sun on my way home from Red and it looked like the state fair out there minus the tank tops and butt cracks 
So in MN, you have to pay to have those on the lake?
Only if you’re going on the lake by resort and want it plowed out Etc etc.
Now that is funny… 
Bobber, I think that all the resorts should ask the same fee for their lake access! I have no problem paying a $10 fee each time I go on the lake using their roads, not at all, and if a group is staying for the weekend, then it should be $20 up front! But if a resort asks me to pay $30-$40 to use thier roads because I have a wheel house, well then I say……
One last thing, if one can travel from a public access to any resort road on the lake, well, so be it! This is free, NO RESORT OWNS ANY PART OF THE LAKE EXCEPT THEIR PRIVATE ACCESS!!
I think that the resorts on Mile Lacs would have no problem if they would just charge one flat rate just like they do on LOW and on URL!! The resort owners that charge more for the people pulling wheel houses are common day thieves and don’t deserve the business! 
I think George needs more input on this one…
i want to know what all the wheelhouse owners are going to do when we get a little snow one of these winters? the last 3 years that i have lived here on the lake, there hasn’t been any snow to speak of. there is going to be a year when we get some real snow storms (normal snow fall for the year) and going cross country with a pick-up will be tough let alone trying to pull a wheelhouse behind you. all these people with wheelhouses will be flocking to the resorts to gain access via a plowed road, then how much will it be worth to get your wheelhouse out to the boot flat and off of the road to where you want to fish. you have to understand that when there is more snow, the snow is piled higher on the sides of the road and trying to smash through it will only get you stuck.
here is a idea… truck with wheelhouse-$50
if you come off the ice that day, bring in the road pass and get $40 back. if you stay 3 days, you get $20 back. if you come in to the resort for lunch or dinner, bring in your road pass and receive a $10 credit on your dinner tab. $10 credit on saturday night dinner and $10 credit on sundays breakfast, this would be marked on the road pass be the waitress/bartender to keep people honest. this idea needs somemore tweeking but i think that it is a good option……tom fellegy
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