06/02/2026
Good Morning Members,
Summer may finally be here…we can tell by the Mosquitos and black flies! But we can also tell by all the friendly faces back in the area enjoying our Club.
As we quickly approach our busiest time of the year I’d like to ask for your help on a lingering issue for the club, and that is the garbage bins provided at the Club offices and garbage services provided for our cabin guests. You have probably observed, or heard of some of the challenges with providing that service to members, and our BOG having to search for potential solutions. I have included a few pictures from this most recent Memorial Day weekend to help articulate the challenges. First please take a look at the picture of the sign posted at the dumpsters site with the rules associated with leaving household garbage. I’d like to add that if the dumpsters are full to the point that the doors cannot be closed completely if more garbage is added, you are not allowed to leave your garbage. That includes on top of the dumpsters, behind or around the dumpsters, or leaving the dumpsters doors open to pile garbage higher.
In the pictures included, simply from one weekend you will see numerous violations of our rules. I don’t know if we have a formal rule prohibiting simply throwing your loose garbage over the fences area at the cabins, but common sense should prevent this. Garbage left outside of the dumpsters is tore open and spread by birds and animals and creates additional work for staff cleaning up on a daily basis. When we are unable to close the lids of the dumpsters, it is almost impossible to keep birds and scavengers out. We are routinely up charged from our disposal company for prohibited dumping, in the one picture you will see an obvious violation of a recliner that is thrown in two pieces on the top of the dumpster preventing lids from being closed. In 2025 the Club spent $27,232.86 for the dumpster service, and this number does not include the hours of work done by staff associated with supporting the service. That is about $23/member, and has creeped its way up to about 5% of the dues you pay, before we talk about the diversion of our staff.
The dumpsters have surveillance cameras, and we recently reviewed footage and have clear pictures of individuals breaking the posted rules. Our policy states violators should be referred to the Grievance Committee for review and fines of $250 for first offense. Many times our staff don’t recognize the individuals, which means we’d have to share or publish their pictures to get assistance with identification. No one wants to have to go through these procedures, so I am simply asking all of our members, who have made the choice to be part of our Club with a mission to maintain pristine woods, waters and Club property for the recreational enjoyment of our membership, to simply do better and hold each other accountable.
Thank you for your consideration,
Joel Schultz
Manager
Hiawatha Sportsman’s Club
N7269 Lake Blvd, Engadine MI 49827
906-477-6592
