Welcome to the electronic newsletter from
Grand Haven Charter Township!
Stay informed on what is happening in the township. This newsletter will deliver up-to-date information including upcoming meetings, development news, township services and more!
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Hofma Park and Preserve - 52% Area Increase |
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The closing the Groesbeck Street parcels (i.e., about 15 acres total) occurred on December 22nd with a purchase price of about $350k.
This parks land purchase will be funded – in part – with a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) grant (i.e., $246,300).
The parcels were added to the Hofma Park and Preserve during a recent Board meeting – which is a necessary step to ensure that the rules and regulations that govern the Township′s park lands are fully applicable.
Further, staff are completing a bid package to raze the residential structure and two accessory buildings and to also remove the chicken coop, tires/junk, rotting boat, and the log and brush piles.
Hofma Park and Preserve has increased from 386 acres in 2015 to 583 acres today – an increase↑ of 51% over the past seven years. This recent expansion of Hofma Park and Preserve includes a land donation of 138 acres in 2016 from Esther Witteveen and two MNRTF Land Acquisition grants for an additional 55 acres.
Staff and the Parks and Recreation Committee will complete a design for a small entrance into Hofma Park and Preserve from the Groesbeck property over 2023 – with an expectation to apply for a MNRTF Development grant in 2024.
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New Parks Reservation System |
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With the New Year, the process for parks rentals has been upgraded to a different company called RecPro. All the same rentals will remain for fields and shelters/pavilions with the new facilities at Schmidt Heritage Park being eventually included.
RecPro has users create an account with their personal email address. This allows for that unique email to store reservations, receipts and other information for reoccurring use. The site will allow for credit card payment at the time of reservation.
The Township′s web site has the necessary changes made in the background and the RecPro system is now “live” and accepting reservations and payments.
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Winter Property Taxes Due - February 14th |
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Winter property taxes are due on Tuesday, February 14th.
Winter property taxes can be paid using the on-site drop boxes, mail, or an on-line option bsaonline.com.
Residents can also pay their taxes in-person at the Township lobby during normal business hours.
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Assessing Director/Deputy Treasurer Larrison notes that the State of Michigan has released the “Inflation Rate Multiplier” that must be used for 2023. Although inflation resulted in 7.9% increase to property values, Proposal A “caps” any inflationary increase↑ of the Taxable Value (TV) to a maximum of 5%. (Owner occupied residential properties are taxed based upon the Taxable Value of their properties … not the higher Assessed Value.)
This is the first time since Proposal A was passed in 1994 that the inflation rate has exceeded the maximum increase↑ allowed and resulted in the 5% maximum being applied to the TV. (Comparatively, the 2022 TV increase↑ was 3.3% and the 2021 increase↑ was 1.4%.)
Further, the Ottawa County Equalization Department has provided tentative “target” Assessed Value (AV) numbers for all property classes – Residential, Agricultural, Industrial and Commercial. The largest increase is in the Commercial class with a 25% increase↑ of Commercial AV numbers with lessor increases for Agricultural AV numbers (i.e., 14%), Industrial AV numbers (i.e., 11%) and Residential AV numbers (i.e., 7%).
Assessing Director Larrison is now responsible to spread these AV increases↑ required by the County Equalization Department throughout each class of property. For example, within the Commercial class apartments have seen the largest increase↑ in value based upon sales. Therefore, the increase↑ to apartments might be greater↑ than 25% while the increase↑ for buildings with retail sales might be less↓ than 25%.
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The drop-off program for Christmas trees will continue through Tuesday, January 24th. |
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Fire/Rescue - Record Year |
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2022 was another record year for the Fire/Rescue department in terms of emergency responses – with a total of 1,502 (or about 4.1 responses per day). This is an increase↑ of 7.2% over the previous record year of 2021 with 1,401 emergency responses.
The Village at Rosy Mound accounted for about 6.45% of the emergency calls (i.e., 97) followed by Health Pointe accounting for about 6.19% of the calls (i.e., 93).
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The Fire/Rescue Department has 8 full-time and 26 part-time employees. The Township department is the only Advanced Life Support (i.e., paramedic) certified department in West Michigan. The station is staffed with two fire fighters 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week, which allows the initial vehicle to leave the fire station within an average time of about 30 seconds during daytime hours for all emergencies.
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The Township has been accepting payment by credit card since 2014 through a third-party processor. Since 2014, there have been many advances in online and electronic payments that add convenience and increased security.
To take full advantage of these advances, the Township changed our third-party payment system and are contracting with InvoiceCloud as the new payment service provider.
InvoiceCloud offers many more ways to make payments including: pay by text, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, online, phone, autopay, recurring scheduled payments and bank bill pay. Customers can easily manage their accounts online through a link on the Township’s website.
Please note that InvoiceCloud collects the following convenience fees for all payments they process:
- Credit/Debit card fees: 3.25% with a minimum fee of $1.95
- ACH or E-check fees: $1.95
- IVR (Phone Payments): $0.95
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Lions Deliver
Township Manager Cargo promised Public Services Director Chappell – who is a Lions “superfan” and season ticket holder – a bouquet of flowers if the Lions had a winning season.
Promise kept …
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Township Questions?
If you have specific questions about Township operations, please send an email to bcargo@ght.org .
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