Grand Haven Charter Township received the maximum $10,000 grant from the Michigan Fire Equipment Grant Program – a one-time grant program designed to assist local governments in purchasing turn-out gear for the part-time fire fighters with small departments. (The Township Fire Department has 8 full-time and 25 part-time fire fighters.)

Each set of fire fighter turn-out gear costs about $3,600.

Pets are still allowed in Hofma Park and Preserve; but pets must be on a leash that is no longer than six feet in length and the leash must be held by a person.

Pets are prohibited in Schmidt Heritage Park, Pottawattomie Park, and Mercury Park. 

Further, pets are prohibited in both the Lakeshore Cemetery and the Historic Cemetery. 

And finally, all parks will begin the process of closing at dusk (as opposed to 10:00 p.m.). “Dusk” is typically defined as occurring after sunset when there is no longer any sunlight in the sky. 

The dates for the 2023 Fall leaf drop-off will be Monday, October 16th through Sunday, November 19th. The operating hours are:

The drop-off location for leaves is 13300 168th Avenue – behind the Township Public Services Building. The site only accepts leaves and grass clippings. No wood, tree limbs or brush will be accepted.

Grand Haven Charter Township is moving to the next phase of registration for residential rental property registrations and inspections, which includes the long-term rental of single-family units, duplexes, quadplexes, etc. This phase includes all long-term rental properties except apartment complexes. 

Letters have been mailed to all property owners identified as long-term renters, which is approximately 200 properties. These property owners must have their rental application submitted by October 22nd along with a $150 fee plus $25 for each additional unit. Each rental unit will then have a subsequent inspection, as arranged by the Township, in alignment with the guidelines outlined in the International Property Maintenance Code. Each long-term rental must be registered yearly. 

Additional information, copies of the forms, ordinance, etc. can be found on the Township′s Rental Guidelines webpage.

During 2024, the Township will construct a third water transmission main connected to the North Ottawa Water System (NOWS) that will traverse Ferry Street in the City to a meter station that will be constructed on property that the Township recently purchased just south of Robbins Road along 172nd Avenue at a cost of about $132k. (See aerial photo below.)

  

The cost of the transmission project will be about $6.0 million with the Township using about $1.15 million of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies received from the federal government, $1.35 million of cash reserves from the Water Fund, and $3.5 million from bonds sold through Ottawa County.

Most of the Township water customers are connected to the Northwest Ottawa Water System (NOWS) that operates a water treatment facility located within the City of Grand Haven. However, some Township water customers near the M-45/US-31 intersection or south of Little Pigeon are connected to the Grand Rapids Water System that operates a large water treatment facility located within the Township.

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