Belleville Moose Lodge to dissolve due to COVID

The 400 members of the Belleville Moose Lodge #934, Chapter #1135, have been called to a special meeting at 6:30 p.m., May 5, at the Lodge at the corner of Sumpter and Harris roads in Sumpter Township to voluntarily dissolve and forfeit their club’s charter.
A letter sent out to the approximate 250 male members of the Lodge and the 150 members of the Women of the Moose on April 22 states that COVID-19 has kept the Lodge closed for essentially 13 months.
“The lodge has been deprived of over $100,000 in potential revenue due to closure. In addition, the State of Michigan has closed poker rooms indefinitely which deprives the Lodge of an additional $20,000 to $30,000 in revenue,” the letter states.
“In any event, with little money left in the bank, very little money on the horizon and bills beginning to be past due, the Board of Officers have called a Special Meeting for a vote to dissolve the Lodge and surrender our charter,” the letter said.
The letter also included Moose General Law 27.1, which states: Sec. 27.1 – Requirements – A Lodge may voluntarily dissolve by complying with the following requirements: 1. Prepare a Notice of Special Meeting and submit to the Chief Compliance Officer for approval. 2. At least seven (7) days in advance of the special meeting, send by first class mail a “Notice of Special Meeting” informing each active member of the Lodge that the purpose of the meeting is to vote to dissolve and forfeit the charter. 3. Submit a properly completed “Resolution to Dissolve and Forfeit Charter” to the Chief Compliance Officer for approvals. 4. A Lodge can voluntarily dissolve by a majority vote of members present.
“We’re out of time, out of money and COVID is not going to end any time soon,” said Robert Coutts of Van Buren Township, Lodge administrator, on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s COVID and its very unfortunate what it’s done to us,” he said.
Coutts said in the 1980s and 1990s, there were 3,000 members in the Belleville Moose. That’s when Rawsonville Ford and Hydromatic were going full blast, he said.
When the Lodge had money problems in 2013, it sold its 3.98-acre property on the lake at 831 E. Huron River Dr. in Van Buren Township to the BYC, a private men’s club, for $251,000.
Then it bought the former PNA Hall at 45476 Harris Rd. on a land contract from Sumpter Township for $175,000.
Coutts said the land contract is with Moose International and Sumpter Township is the vendor.
He said Moose International can sell the property or do nothing and it would go back to Sumpter Township. He said there are six acres there worth from $350,000 to $400,000.
In an April 10, 2014 story in the Independent, Coutts said they had 2,200 members in 2001 and after the turndown of the economy and many members lost jobs and lost homes, the membership dropped. Then when the Lodge was closed for a year during the sale of its lakeside property and the move to Sumpter, the membership dropped even more, to 500.
Coutts said when he started as administrator in 2010 the Moose was going through some hard times with available funds not being dispersed wisely. The IRS and DTE were not being paid and locks were put on the Lodge door several times for non-payment.
“Now, we’re healthy. No debt at all. Our future is very bright here,” Coutts said in 2014 when they were settling into their Sumpter location.
Then came COVID.