Marshall will run Dexter campground this year

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DEXTER — The Dexter Town Council faced a dilemma last week after two local men expressed interest in leasing the community’s campground for the upcoming season.
    The camping area was conveyed to the town about 20 years ago by the Dexter Fish and Game Club and has been leased by various individuals since then.

    But last year, the area near the town’s beach was plagued by vandalism, despite the best efforts of the lessees and town officials.
    After listening to proposals from Nick Pinkham and Larry Marshall at a special meeting last Thursday, the council voted 7-0 to accept Marshall’s proposal, even though he only offered $500 to lease the property compared to Pinkham’s $2,000.
    Councilor Mike Blake made the motion to accept Marshall’s offer. “I think he’s a pretty good businessman. He works on campers and the money he’s offering is close to what we’ve been getting. If he can make the place go, we can adjust it next year,” Blake said.
    Blake added that “the other guy (Pinkham) is a nice fellow, but we need someone who’s innovative and I think Larry is the guy.”
    Council Chairman Fred Banks said that Marshall’s idea of holding events at the campground “once a week for families is a plus.”
    Marshall’s brother, Gerry, said that he and Larry used to operate a dance hall years ago. “If you go to some of your campgrounds nowadays, every Saturday night they have something going on,” said Marshall. “It’s very easy to do. All you have to do is ask your local talent to show up for a jam session. Put on a bean supper. If you’re part of the jam session, you get your meal free.”
    Councilor Missy Smith said she was pleased that Marshall also planned to host some activities for youngsters. “It’s not always sunny days when they can go swimming (in the summer),” Smith said.
    Pinkham recapped his experiences — including some unpleasant ones — while working at the campground last year. “I chased most of the riff-raff out,” he said. “I even had people (defecating) in the urinal last year.”
    He proposed charging the same rate as last year — $21.40 per night — but said that he didn’t have a huge turnout. “I think the reason it was so slow last year because of all the rain,” he said.
    Pinkham said he was also told not to turn on the hot water in the restrooms and showers for swimmers, but just for campers. “They said the showers weren’t for the public,” he said. “We had a lot of people mad about that for a while.”
    Marshall made his pitch to the council via conference call, and said that he would probably charge close to $25 for one night’s camping and probably less for multiple nights. “If we can lock someone in for the whole summer, it will be better for them and better for us,” Marshall said.
    Like Pinkham, Marshall said he would stay at the site in a recreational vehicle and will take out a $1 million liability insurance policy. But he resisted increasing his offer of $500 per year. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to do a good job, but I won’t be held up like this,” he said. But Banks emphasized that money wasn’t the primary issue. “We’re still in the discussion stage,” he said.
    After a short discussion, Marshall’s lease was signed and approved.