Supervisor, 2 other Republicans seek township trustee seats

Thu, Jul 31, 2008    to del.icio.us

ROBINSON TOWNSHIP — Three Republican candidates will be trimmed to two next week to face a sole Democrat in the Nov. 4 general election for a pair of Robinson Township trustee seats.

Bernice Berens, 63, is stepping back from the township supervisor post she's held for the past four years to seek a trustee spot on the board. She started scaling back last summer when she appointed Milton Reeths Jr. as deputy supervisor — splitting the $14,500 supervisor salary and duties with him.

"I have enough going on with my life with running a business, but I still want to be with the township," said Berens, who owns and operates IB Compost at 10501 Fillmore St. "Everybody has one vote, so it just depends if you want to be on the side of the table or in the middle of the table."

The other two Republicans running for trustee are Marian Karell, 39; and incumbent John Kuyers, 56.

The top two vote-getters in the Aug. 5 Republican primary will face Democrat and former township planning commissioner Rick Brown, 49, in the November general election.

Karell, 12978 Buchanan St., is the transportation supervisor and a driver for St. Patrick's Catholic Church. The first-time candidate said the township needs to curb some of its legal expenditures.

"I would like to get a little more involved in my local community (the township) because I do a lot in Grand Haven, like the Kiwanis Club," she said.

Kuyers, 10100 120th Ave., owns a dairy farm and the Pigeon Creek Golf Course in Robinson Township with his brother. He has been a member of the Township Board for the past 10 years.

Kuyers said reducing legal expenses and getting water to township homes are the two priorities facing the Township Board.

"We have got to get good water into the township," he said. "There's people in the township with bad water."

Clerk and treasurer races

Contested treasurer and clerk posts in Robinson Township will be decided Aug. 5, as two Republicans face off in the primary for each post and the winners will go unchallenged in November.

Donna Weyek, 47, is challenging incumbent Jackie Frye, 64, for the township clerk job; and Sonya Vander Zwaag, 28, is challenging incumbent Cheryl Clark, 41, for the township treasurer post.

Frye, 11662 N. Cedar, has lived in the township for 40 years and has held the clerk post for the past 10 years. She has been the township's personnel manager for four years. Frye also operates a tax and accounting business with three employees and 700 clients, she said.

"The biggest issue facing Robinson Township at this time is infrastructure — mainly unpaved roads and residents without water or that have bad water," Frye said. "There has not been any road paving, resolutions to the water problem or money set aside for infrastructure in the past four years."

Weyek, 10710 Osborn, is the office manager for S&M Gravel in Robinson Township. She said township officials need to "tighten up" areas where they are overspending township funds.

"Another issue is road safety," she said. "The Osborn/104th Avenue intersection is a prime example of poor road safety. It seems that nothing has been successful in stopping the accidents at that corner."

Clark, 11078 Tiburon Drive, has served as the township treasurer for the past nine years. Prior to that, she worked in the Ottawa County treasurer's office for eight years and in the county property description and mapping department for three years.

Clark said she's been able to help the township financially by negotiating increased interest rates on township accounts, saved $6,000 in legal bills by administering escrow fees for various applications, and redesigned the township newsletter and included it with tax bills to save postage costs.

"One of the steps that I have taken to improve the lines of communication is to start including a township newsletter with the tax bills," Clark said. "Starting in July of 2007, I included the newsletter with the summer and winter tax bills."

Vander Zwaag, 10203 Lake Michigan Drive, does the accounting for Precision Lawn Care LLC — the business that she and her husband, Brian, have owned and operated for the past 11 years. Vander Zwaag said she decided to run for township treasurer because of "past dealings with the township."

"Instead of talking about it, I want to do something about it and make some changes," she explained.

Issues that need to be addressed by township officials, Vander Zwaag said, are an infrastructure fund that the current Township Board has allowed to be depleted and an incomplete master land use plan. She said the township needs to hire a professional to help them properly plan for future land use.