FRANKFORT — Frankfort wants to see the money.
The Frankfort City Council voted 3-0 with one abstention and one councilman absent to table whether or not to extend the city’s deal to host the Ironman 70.3 Michigan triathlon event. The vote was at Tuesday’s council meeting in Frankfort.
“We need money for all sorts of things,” Mayor pro-tem Brady Olsen said. “We got two bathhouses we can’t afford right now. Buy us a bathhouse. Give us money for the lighthouse. Give us 25 percent of the profits. This is where I stand with it. We need to negotiate with them and play hardball. Start high, and let’s meet somewhere.”
City Superintendent Josh Mills said the council would schedule a meeting within a week to determine its demands of Ironman.
Traverse City hosted Ironman’s inaugural Michigan race in 2019, but traffic issues and complaints from some Leelanau County residents led to a relocation to Frankfort in 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s stayed in Frankfort since, including the fourth time there in mid-September, one of only 29 such annual events in the United States.
“The cat’s out of the bag that Ironman wants to go back to Traverse City, and Traverse City is playing hardball with them,” Olsen said. “They’ve said, ‘We want money if you’re going to come in and profit a couple million dollars. Where’s our piece of the pie here?’”
Christine Murphy owns the Frankfort Tackle Box on Main Street, which is closed to vehicles on race day. She said they stay open, but don’t do much business that day in comparison to the rest of summer.
“Ironman doesn’t want to do it (in Traverse City) because they’re asking for money,” Murphy said to the council after the vote. “I feel like they’re looking at us as chumps. ‘Look at this town. We can get everybody to volunteer. Everybody’s in, they’re all doing it. We don’t have to pay a darn thing.’ That’s my opinion. I do think that you’re on the right track … figure it out, ask for the moon, take the stars.”
Olsen made a motion to deny approving the extension, but no one on the council seconded it.
He then made a motion to table a decision until financial compensation can be determined.
After a long silence, JoAnn Holwerda seconded the motion, on the condition they come up with a list of financial demands within a week. That carried on a 3-0 vote, with Ed Carrella abstaining and Councilman Dale Charters absent.
Olsen was the lone “no” vote in the city’s decision in September to tentatively bring back the event after a special meeting to hear public input.
Holwerda said Ironman has a deadline of Oct. 22 to extend the race.
Ironman’s website lists Sept. 14, 2025, in Frankfort on its schedule and reads “2025 Registration Opening Soon.”
The council had public input early in the meeting, with several residents supporting the race, and several questioning why the city doesn’t get paid to host it.
“Many businesses benefit from Ironman,” said Stormcloud Brewing Company co-owner Rick Schmitt. “Mine is one of them.”
Attendees at the city’s special meeting in early October to listen to public input on the matter were largely in favor of hosting the event.
“I’ve talked to businesses that say this is like our Super Bowl, this event, and what does that do for their business or their employees and the amount of money they can give back to the community?” Carrella said. “I make it a point to make sure that I have a portion of my business. I get back to schools in certain events like this help with that.”
Carrella also owns Vita Bella Italian Kitchen & Market, a downtown restaurant.
“They should be a part of giving back to the community, … I agree with that wholeheartedly,” Carrella continued. “But I wanted to be a voice of those businesses out there that this is a big deal for them.”
Olsen agreed but said there’s also a flip side to that coin.
“I’m not going to argue that, but I’m going to stand with the businesses that suffer as well,” Olsen said. “There are many businesses that it’s a hardship on. I spoke with the owners of Riverside Canoe over the weekend. They decided to shut down. On a beautiful day like that, that’s a $20,000 day.”
Olsen also pointed out that Ironman uses the city’s barricades for the event.
Frankfort Fire Chief Mike Cederholm said there were two instances where his personnel were slowed by the racers in responding to calls, including one where cyclists were drafting off an ambulance and getting in the way of the department’s Suburban that was trailing behind.
Cederholm also said he had to set up a temporary fire station in Elberta to make sure they could cover areas where the race course would make it difficult to reach from Frankfort.
City Clerk and Treasurer Christine Ward-Spence said she’s submitted a bill to Ironman for $9,431.51 for expenses incurred by the city on race day. That includes $8,321 for the fire department, $377.03 for police and $733.48 for public works.
“Let me ask you a hypothetical,” Olsen said to Cederholm. “If I live in Crystal Downs and my house is on fire, you coming to put it out that day?”
“I’m going to do everything I can,” Cederholm said.