News

Jan 14, 2024

Manistee Planning Commission OKs golf cart rentals

Randy Zakrajsek speaks to the Manistee Planning Commission during a meeting June

Randy Zakrajsek speaks to the Manistee Planning Commission during a meeting June 1 in city hall.

MANISTEE — It may soon get a whole lot easier to get around the city of Manistee.

The Manistee Planning Commission determined with a 7-0 vote during its June 1 meeting golf cart rentals are sufficiently similar to a retail business and therefore permitted by right within the city's C-3 business district.

The decision allows Randy Zakrajsek to proceed with his plan to bring golf cart rentals to Manistee out of 443 Water St., the former site of Amor Sign Studios.

"The plan is to put my private real estate office in the front of the building. It's 8,000 square feet or so — 2,200 of it is in front for office space," Zakrajsek told the commission. "That would be refreshed a little bit. .... And then with the 6,000 square feet of shop space in the back we have been in the process with the Filer Credit Union to acquire 15 golf carts to have as rentals for the public."

Zakrajsek told the commissioners he believes his rental business, Z's Cart Rentals, will fulfill a need in the area.

Plans are in the works to turn this building, located at 443 Water St. in Manistee, into a golf cart rental facility.

"Since the city council approved golf carts in the city there's been a swell on demand from residents and from vacationers alike to have that service," he said.

Zakrajsek's wife, Aimee, said the fleet will have three six-seat models and 12 four-seat models, with rentals available for two, four and 24 hours.

"For the four-seaters the two-hour rate would be $95, the four-hour rate would be $125 and the 24-hour would be $175, and any additional days would be $100 on top of that," she said. "... We're going to offer free gas — they can come back and we'll top their gas off during our business hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ... And then for the three six-seaters, the two-hour is $125, the four-hour is $150, 24 hours is $200 and any additional day is $125.

"These are comparable prices to Traverse City, South Haven, Key West."

Zakrajsek said the golf carts will be gas-powered.

"We considered electric golf carts but the recovery if (a battery dies) involves winching them onto a trailer," he said. "If one of them runs out of gas it's as easy as showing up with a gas can."

People must be 21 years old to rent the carts, and 16 with a driver's license to operate them.

"We're going to include the city ordinance within the rental agreement," Zakrajsek said.

The rentals would be available May 1 through October, depending on the weather.

"As soon as Filer Credit Union says OK (we'll be ready to go)," Zakrajsek said. "... We've got a number of commitments (to work) from folks that work at the school. It kind of falls in line with their offseason."

Mark Wittlief, planning commission chair, said he looks forward to seeing the building being put to good use.

"I'm glad you bought the building and started renovating that," he said. "It's been needed a while."

The building has been vacant since 2018, when Amor moved to a new facility located at 1965 Pine Creek Road in Manistee Township.