Lexington and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources have formalized their long-standing harbor relationship with a new lease agreement — and this one is built to last. The renewed agreement runs for 30 years, providing both the village and the DNR with a clear, stable framework for how the harbor will be managed, maintained, and accessed for the next three decades.
The harbor has been a shared responsibility between Lexington and the DNR for years, and the renewal of that arrangement comes at a particularly meaningful moment. The village is in the middle of significant harbor and park improvements — including new floating docks being installed by the DNR and a $17 million Army Corps of Engineers project to dredge the channel, repair the break wall, and remove accumulated navigation hazards. Locking in a 30-year lease agreement at this stage establishes the governance foundation for all of that investment and ensures both parties have defined roles as the improvements unfold and the harbor’s upgraded facilities are put into long-term service.
What the DNR Is Responsible For
Under the terms of the new agreement, the DNR will manage and maintain the harbor and boat launch area. That is a significant operational responsibility — covering the day-to-day management of a working state harbor that sees seasonal boating traffic, requires ongoing upkeep, and needs consistent oversight to function safely and effectively.
As part of the arrangement, the DNR will be provided with 53 designated parking spaces reserved in the general parking lot area. Those spaces are specifically allocated to support harbor users — boaters launching and retrieving vessels, overnight transient boaters, and seasonal slip holders — and their reservation ensures that harbor access is not undermined by general parking congestion during peak season.
What the Village Has Committed To
Lexington’s obligations under the agreement are equally concrete. The village has agreed to update its parking ordinances to accommodate overnight parking for seasonal well users and to support regulation enforcement of the designated parking spaces. Overnight parking for boats and boating equipment is a practical necessity for transient boaters using a harbor as a waypoint, and updating the ordinance ensures the village’s rules align with the operational realities of a working harbor under DNR management.
The village has also taken on responsibility for developing the buried fuel tanks and fuel supply lines running to the piers as part of the Tierney Park development project. Once that infrastructure is developed, it will be turned over to the DNR for ongoing maintenance and operation. That handoff model — village builds, DNR operates — is a practical division of responsibility that leverages each party’s role in the project. The village is driving the Tierney Park development, making it a natural fit for the village to handle the initial construction of the fuel infrastructure within that project’s scope, while the DNR’s ongoing harbor management role makes it the appropriate entity to maintain and operate the fuel system once it is in place.
Public Access to the Landscape Island
One detail in the agreement worth highlighting involves the landscape island located south of the Harbormaster’s building, which contains the buried fuel tanks and various harbor utilities. Under the new agreement, that area will be open to the general public for recreational use.
Making that space accessible to the public rather than restricting it entirely due to its utility infrastructure is a thoughtful decision that adds usable recreational area to the harbor environment without requiring additional development. Visitors and residents who want to enjoy the waterfront can access the island area for general recreational purposes, while the underlying utility infrastructure continues to serve the harbor’s operational needs.
A 30-Year Commitment With Long-Term Implications
The length of this lease — three full decades — is significant for several reasons. It provides the stability that major infrastructure investment requires. When the Army Corps of Engineers commits $17 million to harbor improvements and the DNR installs a new floating dock system, both agencies need confidence that the governance framework supporting those investments will remain in place long enough to justify them. A 30-year lease provides exactly that confidence.
It also gives Lexington residents and the boating community who use the harbor a clear picture of how the facility will be managed well into the future. Knowing that the DNR will maintain management and maintenance responsibility over that timeframe, with clearly defined parking allocations and operational standards, creates the kind of predictability that lets businesses, seasonal boaters, and the community plan around the harbor as a stable and reliable asset.
The new lease formalizes and deepens a partnership that has served Lexington’s waterfront well over the years. The Lexington Harbor improvements already underway — the dock replacement, the Army Corps dredging and break wall work, and Harbor Park’s June reopening — are all being built on the foundation that this 30-year agreement provides. Having the lease in place before those improvements are fully completed ensures that the management framework is ready to receive and operate the upgraded facilities when they come online.
The broader pattern of DNR investment in Thumb-area harbor infrastructure has been visible throughout the region this spring. The Port Austin State Harbor ribbon cutting proposal — emerging from the same Michigan State Waterways Commission that toured multiple Thumb harbor facilities including Lexington — reflects the DNR’s active engagement with the region’s waterfront infrastructure needs. Lexington’s 30-year lease agreement is another piece of that same investment picture, formalizing the state’s long-term commitment to one of the Lake Huron shoreline’s more active small harbors.
For boaters and visitors planning to use Lexington Harbor during the 2026 season and beyond, the Michigan DNR’s boating and harbor information provides updated details on state harbor facilities, dock availability, and seasonal operating information across Michigan’s Great Lakes shoreline. And for those wanting to understand how Michigan’s state harbor lease agreements work and what the DNR’s harbor management responsibilities typically include, the Michigan Waterways Commission oversees state waterway infrastructure and maintains information on harbor agreements and facility management standards statewide.
