Highlights of April 21 Casco Township Board of Trustees meeting
- Julie Cowie
- Apr 25, 2025
- 5 min read
The Casco Township Board met for their regular meeting on Monday April 21, 2025 at 7:00 pm at the Casco Township Hall, 7104 107th Ave, with all board members present. The following is a summary of public comment, reports, old business, and new business.
Public comment: Alex Roelandt and Shannon Williams of Kalamazoo introduced themselves and spoke about a proposed, upcoming music event to be held at Daydreamer Domes, for which they seek a permit. The permit paperwork has not yet been filed so no action was taken by the Township.
South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES):
Standard operating procedures are in a review and update process.
SHAES held events at South Haven High School and the Chamber to promote career opportunities.
Staff received training through a geocaching exercise and also on heart pumps so EMS staff know how to respond to heart pump patients.
The Casco 66th Street station is undergoing roof repair after recent high winds.
Diversion to Holland/Kalamazoo/St. Joe hospitals due to staffing issues at South Haven Bronson is no longer an issue.
130 calls YTD exceeds the record.
Police, Deputy Hoyt reporting:
Deputy Hoyt is monitoring speeds through the North Shore roundabout.
He has lent assistance to the Glenn School area due to speeding through the 45 mph zone during school dismissal times.
Larcenies increase as weather warms. Please keep valuables locked up.
Fraud is on the increase, particularly when Google play cards are involved.
Deputy Hoyt's work hours are now noon to midnight.
Allegan County, Commissioner Brad Lubbers and County Drain Commissioner Chris Machiela reporting:
Although Casco wasn't affected, Commissioner Lubbers reported on the recent natural gas outage impacting Fennville, Douglas, and Saugatuck. Crew from 5 states, numbering 200 people, assisted with this emergency caused by an excavating crew hitting an 8" trunkline with 750 psi of natural gas. The fire, police, and involved communities will debrief the emergency incident that impacted 5,200 homes. The debrief will give good emergency response practice for future training regarding the restart of the Holtec nuclear power plant.
The County Deputy Treasurer is now Jennifer Tien, an elections specialist from the County Clerk's office.
Funds frozen by the Trump Administration are negatively impacting the County Health Department. Programs funded by federal grants may need amending, especially at Community Action Agency. Headstart is on the chopping block; Commissioner Lubbers encouraged those present to contact their legislators.
Drain Commissioner Chris Machiela reported that the County has increased the funding for the Drain revolving fund from $250,000 to $625,000. The additional funding came from a legal settlement with Monsanto regarding pollution in the Kalamazoo River.
Fennville District Library: Copies of the annual report were available for review.
Clerk: Rachel Ridley proposed changing the publication vehicle for Township legal notices from the South Haven Tribune to the South Haven Beacon. The reach is greater and the cost is less. She will research this further.
Treasurer: Kenny Clevenger reported the following fund balances (rounded); General Fund, $1.593M; Road, $1.375M; Fire, $956k; Police, $140k; Parks, $211k; Cemetery, $100k; Senior Services, $81k; Collected tax, $114k.
The Township is now able to accept credit and debit card payments; security, compliance and policy issues need to be addressed and updated. The Township has also invested $600,000 from the General fund in CD's at Sturgis bank.
Planning Commission: Work on updating the master plan continues. Some members of the commission plan to attend an upcoming Allegan County Housing Summit designed for Township leaders; the Summit provides education on making zoning more friendly to housing.
The Commission is considering expanding rural residential zoning to include all land north of 107th and west of 196, some of which is currently zoned Agricultural.
Parks and Recreation: The committee reviewed areas of maintenance to be tackled by Brian Ridley. Decision was made to revise the current budget to add 450 hours for Brian's employment for next fiscal year plus 130 hours for May and June maintenance. Additionally, the Committee sought $1500 for wood repair and up to $1200 for power washing, both of which were approved.
Senior Services:
unduplicated persons | January | February | March |
Casco | 11 | 13 | 10 |
South Haven | 118 | 112 | 136 |
Activities | |||
Casco | 69 | 72 | 60 |
South Haven | 742 | 952 | 1,123 |
Mary Campbell questioned if the Casco Senior Advisory Committee is redundant to the Van Buren Senior Services Board, to which Julie Cowie is the Casco representative. She also reported that the Older American Act funding that provides $6,000/yr to the Area Agency on Aging is at risk.
The Allegan County transportation program will take residents shopping between the hours of 11a and 2p with several days' notice.
South Haven Area Water Sewer Authority: Supervisor Overhiser announced an upcoming public hearing on April 24 at 4p at the South Haven Township Hall, focused on expanding the authority to accept sewerage from Covert, Holtec, and the Van Buren State Park. It is an $82M plan. Covert has issues with its drainfield. Holtec plans to install modular reactors over its drainfield. If this project materializes, SHAWSA will have to reprioritize capital expenditures.
Old Business:
Mount Pleasant resolution: Supervisor Overhiser presented a commemorative resolution honoring Mount Pleasant subdivision on its 100th anniversary. Mount Pleasant Board member Lois Schwartz accepted the anniversary plaque on behalf of the community.
State Grant Agreement: The Supervisor, Clerk, and project facilitator Julie Cowie had a brief meeting with the State regarding reporting requirements for the $200,000 State Appropriation to renovate the fire station side of the Township Hall for senior programs and general Township use. The Township voted to continue the project, with the next step being the bidding process.
New Business:
Frontier broadband: In correspondence, Carl Ystremski, representing Frontier internet, asked the Township for a letter of support for their BEAD grant application. Frontier hopes to connect customers in Casco not currently slated to be served by MEC and 123.net. This was supported.
Al-Van contract: the Board voted to pay $5,000 to Al-Van for services related to cats, dogs, and managing strays, a renewal of last year's contract.
Expansion of Deputy Treasurer's hours and compensation: Nate Sherman, the Casco Township Deputy Treasurer, was hired on March 1. The Board approved paying him $20/hour retroactive to March 1 and expanding his hours to 15/week to provide office hours on Monday and Friday.
Budget Revisions: The draft budget of the fiscal year that begins July 1 will be available in May.
Disinterment fee: The board approved raising it from $1100 to $2300 with the possibility of leveraging additional fees when a disinterment requires removing the stone and restoring the gravesite.
Julie Cowie's Consultation Services: Julie Cowie has been facilitating the process regarding the proposed Township Hall renovation. She distributed a scope of work to continue in this role, managing the bidding process and completing the required reporting for the state appropriation. Her proposal was accepted.
Planning Commission: Irene Wood has resigned from the Planning Commission. Supervisor Overhiser appointed Paul Macyauski to fill the open seat, which was approved by the Board.
Salary Resolutions: Elected official salaries for the 2025-2026 budget were set, increased at the rate of the consumer price index, as follows:
Supervisor, $47,806
Clerk, $50,003
Treasurer, $41,240
Trustees, $5694.50
Casco Nature Preserve, Davis Landscaping final payment: This payment is on hold because a 10' section of sidewalk has a grade that exceeds ADA requirements and will be replaced.
Public Comment:
Nina Bell, of Mount Pleasant, asked if there is a strategy in place to remediate the deer overpopulation. The response is that this falls to the Department of Natural Resources.
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