COMMUNITY PARK
A preliminary drawing for our park has been produced by our design engineers. We are waiting until we have two new trustees aboard following the November election before we proceed with funding options. The park will be an attractive and useful addition to our township and we are excited about it. The plans are available for review at the township hall and we welcome community input.

Cedar Springs Area Parks & Recreation
www.csaparksandrec.com

SEWER UPGRADES
Big Brower Lake has served the Township well since the fall of 1978. The system was designed and built to serve homes on or near the lakes; it did not include much additional capacity.

Inquiries into sewer service from two proposed housing developments adjacent to the existing sewer district caused the Township to evaluate the ability of the existing system to accommodate the proposed increase in flow. The capacity evaluation determined that the existing system lacked the additional capacity for the proposed developments without upgrades to six of the ten lift stations. The interested developers committed money to upgrade those lift stations in exchange for sewer capacity for the homes in their developments. The township authorized engineering work to begin on the 2004 Lift Station Upgrades Project in late spring of this year after the necessary agreements were in place with the developers.

Five contractors submitted bids to perform the work. Franklin Holwerda Company (FHC) of Grand Rapids was the low bidder. The Township Board Voted to award the contract to FHC at their regular meeting on October 6, 2004. Work is scheduled to begin in the next few weeks with a scheduled completion date of December 31, 2004.

Existing users of the system are not bearing any of the cost for this project. The cost of the lift station upgrades is borne primarily by the two developers that requested sewer service. The Township has contributed some money to the project to reserve capacity for the new fire substation, Rockford Public Schools, and a few additional connections not allocated at this time. The Township will be reimbursed with sewer connection fees when the new users connect to the system.

All portions of the collection system will remain in service while the work is being completed. Service to existing users should not be interrupted at any time during this project if the work goes as planned. Existing sewer users benefit greatly from this project. Old pumps that are nearing the end of their service life are being replaced with new pumps with a greater capacity in over half the lift stations in the system, all at no cost to the existing users. The project is a winning proposition for all parties involved.

 

SAYING GOOD BYE
There have been many changes in Courtland Township over the past 34 years, but there has been one constant and that has been Mildred Post. For 32 years she served as the Treasurer of our community and has served as Trustee for the past year and a half.

Millie was born in Courtland Township, moved to Algoma Township as a child, and graduated from Sparta High School. She married Merrill Post in 1953 and they purchased a farm in Courtland Township. Millie was elected Treasurer in 1970. For 20 years, she worked out of her home, collecting taxes and administering the finances of our sewer system. In 1990, when our township moved into the computer age, Millie began working at the old township hall on 13 Mile Road. By 1999 it became evident that the old hall no longer met our growing township's needs, and a new hall was constructed on
M-57.

When Millie first began as treasurer the total property tax for the township was $258,000, with 1,345 parcels of property. In 2003 the taxes totaled $5,544,955.69,with over 3,000 parcels. In 1970 the population of Courtland Township was 1,555, and our 2000 census registered us at 5,817. We are probably over 6,000 by now.
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Millie was also a part of the early planning process that attempted to make Courtland Township an attractive and desirable place to live. Prior to 1970 and until 1973 a Zoning Board dealt with zoning issues. A Planning Commission was created in 1973 to develop a Master Plan for the township. Our first master plan was written in 1975; and updated in 1990. Millie served as secretary on both the Zoning Board and the Planning Commission, then continuing on the Planning Commission for seven more years.

In 1978 a sewer system was installed around Myers and the Brower Lakes providing hook ups to the Grand Rapids system for lakes residents. Today there are over 400 users, with upgrades planned to accommodate approximately 200 additional customers.

As mentioned earlier, Mildred directed the sewer finances - collecting quarterly payments, issuing permits, and overseeing bond payments.

As for fire protection, Courtland, Nelson, Spencer, and Oakfield Townships together formed the Harvard Fire Department. In 1989 Courtland established its own fire department, building the fire station on M-57. At the present time (2004), we are opening our first substation at Myers Lake Avenue and Peninsula Drive.

Over the past 34 years, about 28 miles of Courtland Township gravel roads have been blacktopped. The goal of the township has been to blacktop one mile every other year.

In 2003, Millie resigned as Treasurer and exchanged places with Jerry Davis, a Trustee. She continued to serve as deputy for Jerry for one year.

As Millie leaves the Courtland Township Board, she would like to thank the people of this municipality for their friendship and support over the years, and says that it has been a pleasure to serve the people of Courtland Township.