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! You can always find more information on our
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Township Growth Continues
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The Township’s population will continue an upward↑ trend given the strength of new construction permits. Current estimates place the Township’s 2018 population at about
17,208, based upon construction permits.
The population of Grand Haven Charter Township has been increasing↑ steadily since 1990. (GHT estimates that each single family home has 2.9 residents and each apartment or mobile home has 1.5 residents.)
The official 2010 Census indicates that Grand Haven Charter Township’s population is 15,178, which was an increase of 1,900 residents (or about 14.3%) above the 2000 census (i.e., 13,278). This was an average of 190 new residents each year since the 2000 Census.
However, staff now estimate that the population has increased to about 17,208 residents based upon construction permits. This is an increase↑ of about 2,030 residents since the 2010 census … or an average growth of about 253 new residents each year. This trend is expected to continue; albeit the average annual increase may decline slightly.
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Grand Haven Charter Township experienced the second highest year in building with
$54.4 million in new construction.
$51 million was residential (
which is a new record) with 72 single family homes, 224 apartments and 65 mobile homes.
Commercial construction added
$3.4 million to the total; but, industrial was very low↓ at only
$20k.
Township staff did note that some of the construction permits were related to the July 7
th storm damage. Specifically, 16 properties pulled a total of 19 permits to repair storm damage.
In total, about
$455k in
storm damage was incurred by these 16 properties – with one home having to be essentially rebuilt at a cost of about $200k. The
median building permit for storm damage was about
$15k.
- 14 permits (or 73%) were related to roof damage
- The lowest damage was $800
- The highest damage was $200,000
- The average storm damage was $24,000
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Growth in Township Housing Stock
Since 1990,
4,116 new housing units were constructed in the township while 151 units were razed.
About 65% or 2,671 units were single family homes while 14% or 597 units were mobile homes placed in River Haven Village. The remaining 21% or 848 were multi-family units.
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Given the record year in residential construction, how did the public rate the Building Department?
At the conclusion of every building permit, the Township sends a letter requesting that the builder and/or owner complete a “
Customer Feedback Card”. For 2017,
57 of these cards were returned and – using a four-point scale for the responses – indicated the following:
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Some of the comments received included:
- Scott was very helpful with insurance company
- Good people to deal with, helpful, courteous and professional
- Barton and Scott were really good to work with
- Very patient and helpful
- Thanks so much for all the assistance and patience
- Things are improving
- Very friendly and fast service working with all you guys and gals
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Fire/Rescue Emergency Calls
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2017 was another record year for the Fire/Rescue department in terms of emergency responses – with a total of
1,198. This is a
6.2% increase↑ over the previous record from 2016.
The Fire/Rescue Department has 7 full-time and 25 part-time employees. It is the only ALS (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.
Fire/Rescue Chief
Tom Gerencer
tgerencer@ght.org
616-604-6322
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Wildlife Management Concepts was hired to complete a forestry plan for the Witteveen Farm property at an estimated cost of about
$1,150.
The plan envisions that the non-native pines will be harvested and chipped commercially for either blueberry fields or for a new chip board industry located in Grayling. (
The area of white pines would remain; but, would be thinned to allow these trees to grow and thrive.)
The resulting “stump” field, with branches and tops left after the harvest, would be rotovated and converted to native trees, shrub, grasslands and wildflowers with 20 to 30 two to three acre plantings of grasses, native shrubs and pines and deciduous trees.
The goal will be to create many oddly shaped blocks of herbaceous grasses and wildflowers intersected by rows or corridors of woody trees with walking trails winding throughout.
To gain a better understanding, the book “
Landscaping for Wildlife” published by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources can be referenced.
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Water main breaks are fairly infrequent in the Township because the water distribution system is relatively “new”. That said, an 8 inch, cast iron fire line ruptured under 172nd Avenue, south of Hayes Street (
i.e., the Actoflex, Inc. facility at 14260 172nd Avenue
).
Because this fire line was installed in the early 1970’s and because the break in the fire line is located within the public right-of-way under 172nd Avenue and because there is no agreement regarding the maintenance responsibility for the fire line,
the Township assumed the costs for the repair and replacement of this 8″ line from the main to the property line.
Further, because this 8″ fire line is cast iron (
which becomes more “brittle” with age), the entire fire line from the water main to the property line will need to be replaced. (
The Township no longer uses “cast iron” for any water mains – rather, our standards require cement lined, ductile iron water mains.)
The Township replaced a section of the 8″ line on January 10
th since the break was significant (
i.e., the entire diameter of the cast iron main separated) and to minimize further disruption in the Spring when another portion of the cast iron fire line will be replaced.
The road has a temporary cold patch repair until the asphalt companies open this coming Spring.
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