SL Village push for cityhood may be coming to an end

The long push for cityhood may be coming to an end for the Village of Spring Lake after productive talks with Spring Lake Township. Village Council will vote at 7:30 p.m. Monday on a recommendation to table cityhood efforts. The meeting will be held at Barber School, 102 W. Exchange St.

Marie Havenga

Spring Lake

Apr 16, 2011

The recently formed Village/Township Way Committee — which includes council members Jim MacLachlan and Marv VandenBosch, Township Clerk Carolyn Boersma and Township Treasurer Jim Koster — has been discussing previous points of contention between the two municipalities, including fire service costs and joint park expenses.

Committee members have also discussed future collaboration in the areas of staffing and equipment.

Both VandenBosch and MacLachlan recommended that Village Council formally postpone cityhood. However, Cityhood Chairman and former Councilman Jeff Ferguson said it is his goal to proceed with the march toward becoming a city, no matter how council votes Monday night.

“We can’t stop,” Ferguson said Friday night. “This is a phase 2 committee. The phase 1 committee voted unanimously to go forward with cityhood and our committee is charged with getting petition signatures. We can’t just drop it. We have to honor the phase 1 folks who put all their time into this and see it through. If the people of Spring Lake vote it down, that’s another issue.”

For more of this story, see today's print edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.