Jennifer Davenport

Saugatuck City Council 102 Butler Street Saugatuck, Michigan 49453

Re: Water Service Shutoff/Boil Order May 5-8

Dear Councilmembers and Mayor Anderson, My name is Jennifer Davenport. My husband Steve Boyd and I own the Judson Heath Colonial Inn at 607 Butler Street in Saugatuck. Our water and sewer service are located on the Francis Street line and we are in the affected area. We are asking you to reschedule the water service shutoff and boil order scheduled for May 5-8 that we were notified of on the afternoon of Friday May 1, 2026. We cannot operate our bed and breakfast without water service and/or potable water. If the preventive maintenance to replace the water valves goes forward as scheduled, we will be forced to close our business from May 5 through May 8 due to the water shutoff and 48 hour boil order. As of May 1st the guest reservations that we would need to cancel amount to 25 room nights. This amounts to over $10,000 in lost income. We will file a claim with our insurance carrier under the business interruption clause of our policy. Our carrier will in turn look to claw back that loss in a subrogation suit against the City of Saugatuck. As Saugatuck taxpayers we do not want to see that happen and hope this can be avoided. Additionally, we are not the only lodging property that will be forced to close from May 5-8, not to mention the restaurants. Preventive maintenance of critical infrastructure is essential. This work needs to be done. But timing is everything. Tulip Time Festival May 1-10 in Holland is the soft opening to the summer business season in Saugatuck and our region. Visitors and our guests from around the world book months in advance to attend this event. Among those visitors we have VIP guests arriving from France on May 5th who booked months ago who we would now need to cancel. Frankly, it’s embarrassing. In addition, May 5th is Cinco de Mayo. For restaurant owners coming out of the off-season, this is an incredibly busy day and a welcome restart to earning again. We are small business owners, as are most of the businesses in Saugatuck. In January 2016 we purchased a property that was widely known as the blight of the town. We invested well over a million dollars, which at the time was substantial, and created our inn. We love this town. There is one industry in this town: Tourism. That has not changed for well over 100 years. It’s what brought most of us here. Without it there would not be the restaurants and shops that we all enjoy.

Our ask: Move the preventive maintenance replacement of the water valves to a date in November after the season. The impact of a water shutoff/boil order on our business as well as all the Water Street lodging partners and restaurants will be significant. While this should be done, it is not an emergency. Thank you,

Jennifer Davenport & Stephen Boyd Judson Heath Colonial Inn 607 Butler Street Saugatuck, Michigan 49453