The Schmidt Heritage Park Dedication Ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, June 28th at 11:00 a.m.

The first phase of the park includes:

In addition to the generous land donation that allowed for the development of Schmidt Heritage Park, Jim Schmidt recently paid for a portion of the improvements at Schmidt Heritage Park – contributing $69,400 to pay for the following improvements:

Also, it should be noted that Jim Schmidt has provided a fund through the Grand Haven Community Foundation (i.e., Fluor Schwartz) that can provide assistance for the ongoing maintenance of the Park.

Jim — a proud alumni of Michigan State University — paid 100% of the cost of having the MSU mascot – Sparty – attend the dedication of the Schmidt Heritage Park.

Schmidt Heritage Park will strictly prohibit all pets, regardless of whether they are leashed or unleashed.

Further, to protect both the surface of the jogging trail and users on the trail, bikes will be prohibited from the JoJo Jogging trail.

And finally, the sports fields′ turf will require a full growing season to be ready for play. Use and reservation of the sports fields will not start until the Spring of 2024.

The trails in the 583-acre Hofma Parks and Preserve have been re-mapped and marked – both to include the new trails and replace those signs damaged by vandals or the passage of time.

The Ottawa County Road Commission will begin a “Chip Seal” program on Monday, June 19th along certain section line roads in the Township. Chip sealing is one of a “mix of fixes” that is used for pavement preservation and rehabilitation.

The process involves spraying a thin film of heated asphalt liquid (emulsion) on the road surface, followed by the placement of small aggregates (chips).

The chips are rolled to orient the chips for maximum adherence to the asphalt. Excess stone is swept from the surface.

Surface preparation varies depending on road conditions and includes — but is not limited to — patching potholes, repairing road edges, wedging of the pavement surface and crack sealing.

Specifically, the following Township roads will be chip sealed:

For more information about the “chip seal” process, you can view this Road Commission video.

The recent hot and dry weather has resulted in an increase in lawn sprinkling, leading to record water demand on the system supply. To meet the system demand during these peak flow periods, the Northwest Ottawa Water System (NOWS) filtration plant needed to flow at 93% of its production capacity. 

NOWS and the water plant staff are concerned that current weather patterns and increased water use demands on the operating system could bring about inadequate daily water recovery periods, making it very difficult to maintain water storage for system fire protection. To avoid low or no-pressure situations within our system, we are asking for your help.

Effective immediately, NOWS officials are asking for you to voluntarily adjust your lawn sprinkling to an even-odd day schedule. This notice applies to the entire NOWS service area consisting of Grand Haven Township, Spring Lake Township, Spring Lake Village, Crockery Township, The City of Ferrysburg, and the City of Grand Haven. 

Some portions of the Township are on Grand Rapids water (or are on well water) and have no limitations. Also, exceptions will be made for newly planted or seeded lawns.

State law requires the Township to re-assess about 20% of the properties each year. To comply, the Township contracts with Property Assessment Solutions, which will soon begin their field appraiser work.

The initial area of focus are the neighborhoods on the westside of the US-31 near Robbins Road and Lakeshore Drive. In total 1,140 properties are scheduled to be audited this year.

Letters are sent to each property owner prior to the visit to allow the property owner an opportunity to call with questions or concerns.

Ottawa County remains the fastest growing county in the State of Michigan. And, since 2020, 15 of the 24 local units in Ottawa County saw population growth with the largest growth by percentage being Port Sheldon Township (4.1%) with Grand Haven Charter Township having the second highest↑ growth rate (3.9%).

If you have specific questions about Township operations, please send an email to bcargo@ght.org .