MONTAGUE — White River Township Supervisor Ron Bailey said during Tuesday's regular monthly board meeting that the segment of Meinert Park Road that was washed out by heavy rainfall in April should be repaired sometime in June after correspondence with Muskegon County Commissioner Kim Cyr.
The road, which was also addressed by a public commenter during the meeting who was concerned that some homes were only accessible on foot, will also receive a new culvert, Bailey said, in order to stabilize the ground and prevent a recurrence of the issue on the road. Bailey said he was originally told that the repair work would be done by Memorial Day, a timeline he felt was pretty ambitious at the time, and said he's since been told it will be done next month.
The board issued a 4-0 approval (trustee Deb Harris was absent) to replace 10 road signs in the township - four signs identifying the township and six identifying roads. The board's approval was for a cost not exceeding $500, as Bailey said he anticipates the signs will cost up to $40 each to replace.
"I see it as a priority, personally," Bailey said of the sign replacements, noting that two of the road signs to be replaced spell the name of the road incorrectly and another recently was hit by a car.
The board also authorized by a 4-0 vote the pursuit of a permit with the Muskegon County Road Commission that would allow the township to construct a portable toilet on Ferry Street. There used to be such a facility there, and a recent planning commission survey showed respondents wanted it restored. Bailey said the board will have a cost estimate for the construction next meeting for its approval.
Laura Anderson, the township's representative on the White Lake Ambulance Authority board, noted that four of the five participating municipalities in the WLAA have approved a measure that would permit Fruitland Township to join the WLAA if a millage vote this year is successful. The Montague City Council has not yet approved the measure but is expected to address it at its May meeting. She added that the WLAA recently purchased the nearly-new ambulance from the Norton Shores Fire Department that she mentioned at the township board's April meeting. Apart from needing to be repainted with WLAA colors, Anderson said the ambulance is in terrific shape.
"This 4x4 ambulance will be a great addition to our fleet, especially during snowy road conditions," the WLAA stated in a Tuesday Facebook post. "Once this ambulance is fully in service, we will continue operating with four ambulances and will be selling our oldest unit."
Bailey, the township's representative on the Montague Fire board, shared that the board will decide on its new chief at its June meeting after the retirement of Ron Anderson. He added that the department's recent move to an on-call system in which someone is always ready to respond to a call has been very effective and produced rapid response times, in at least one case less than a minute.
Upon a request for an update on the appeal regarding Michigan Public Act 233, Bailey said a ruling was handed down last week that, according to articles he has read, was favorable to both the appellate class and the state. (The Oakland County Legal News reported that the ruling said the Michigan Public Services Commission made two procedural errors but otherwise had correctly interpreted state law.) Township attorney Cliff Bloom is working on a thorough breakdown of the ruling that he will soon pass along to the board.
