SN 3-16-2024

The Sun and News, Saturday, March 16, 2024/ Page 7

Thornapple Twp. board

approves 2024-25 budget

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Thornapple Township plans
to dip into its savings by more
than $117,000 in the general
fund portion of its budget
during the new fiscal year that
begins on April 1.
The Township Board on
Monday approved the budget
for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Taking in all funds, the town-
ship plans to take in
$3,374,950 in revenues while
spending $3,394,620, accord-
ing to the budget resolution
document.
The general fund portion of
the budget, the one most
impacted by property taxes, has
the township taking in
$1,087,200 in revenues while
spending $1,204,870, resulting
in the use of $117,670 in fund
balance. The township has
about $1.9 million in reserves
in the general fund, according
to the budget resolution docu-
ment.
No comments were received

by the board during a public

hearing that took place before

the budget was adopted.

Also in the budget is pro-

posed spending of $722,

in the fire fund, $1,069,600 in

the ambulance fund, $228,

for sewer and $170,000 for

capital improvements in

emergency services, accord-

ing to the budget resolution

document.

The new budget includes

increased salaries for

Supervisor Eric Schaefer and

Clerk Cindy Ordway, both of

which were passed by the

board in motions separate from

the budget resolution.

Schaefer’s salary for his

statutory duties as supervisor

will increase from $38,633 to

$40,000, while Ordway’s sala-

ry will rise from $37,612 to

$40,000. Both salary resolu-

tions passed on 6-0 votes, with

Schaefer abstaining from the

vote on his increase and

Ordway abstaining from the

vote on her raise. The board

also voted to keep the salary

for Treasurer Laura Bouchard

at $47,082 from the 2023-

2024 fiscal year.

Yankee Springs board approves

ban on commercial short-term

rentals in residential areas

Greg Chandler

Staff Writer

The Yankee Springs

Township Board Thursday

passed an ordinance that bans

so-called “commercial short-

term rentals” from areas of

the township that are zoned

for single-family residential

use and requires anyone look-

ing to rent out a property they

own to get a permit from the

township zoning administra-

tor beforehand.

The ordinance, which

passed on a 4-1 vote, will go

into effect on March 24. It will

allow owner-occupied short-

term rentals, which would be

defined as a “traditional short-

term rental,” in all residen-

tial-zoned districts in the

township, including those

around Gun Lake.

Commercial short-term

rentals would be banned as a

special exception use in the

suburban residential, resi-

dential single-family, resi-

dential lakefront and Gun

Lake residential lakefront

zoning districts. They would

be allowed in all other zon-

ing districts, according to the

ordinance language.

“Everything we do in our

zoning says residential areas

don’t have commercial use,”

Township Clerk Mike

Cunningham said. “This is

certainly, undeniably, com-

mercial use. To me, it doesn’t

belong in a neighborhood.”

Cunningham was joined in

support of the ordinance by

Supervisor Rob Heethuis,

Treasurer Deb Mousseau and

Trustee Larry Knowles.

The ordinance had been

recommended for approval by

the township Planning

Commission in February. An

eight-member subcommittee

had proposed changes to the

township’s short-term rental

ordinance in the wake of com-

plaints by residents about

noise late at night, drunk and

disorderly conduct, illegal

parking and littering, particu-

larly near Gun Lake.

The Township Board last

October approved a six-

month moratorium on new

STR permit registrations

while the township reviewed

the ordinance that was origi-

nally passed in March 2021.

The moratorium only affected

new permit applications but

did not affect properties that

already have such a permit.

The township had 32 proper-

ties registered as short-term

rentals last year.

The new ordinance would

require each owner of a short-

term rental to designate a local

contact person “who has

access and authority to assume

management of the unit and

take remedial measures.” That

person must be available 24

hours a day during the rental

period and must be within 45

minutes of travel time of the

property being used for the

rental, according to the ordi-

nance language.

In addition, the township

will provide the phone num-

ber of the local contact to all

neighbors within a 200-foot

radius of the rental property

boundaries. All parking asso-

ciated with a short-term rental

must be out of the roadway

and entirely on-site. No more

than three vehicles may be

parked at a rental at any one

time during the rental period,

according to the ordinance

language.

Trustee Dave VanHouten

was the lone no-vote on the

ordinance. He suggested

having better enforcement of

noise, parking and safety reg-

ulations would be a better

way to address the concerns

some residents have

expressed.

“It’s going to result in quite

a loss of sales at local busi-

nesses (that rely on vacationers

renting cottages during the

summer),” VanHouten said. “I

think it’s going to hurt entre-

preneurs, and that really hurts

me because that’s how I got

my start ... I had five rentals. I

took care of my rentals, and it

got me off into business. This

is really going to cut down on

really nice rentals (on) lake-

front properties.”

John Cremer of Jenison,

who owns and operates three

short-term rental properties in

the Gun Lake area, expressed

similar disappointment with

the vote. He raised a particular

concern about the township

providing neighbors within the

200-foot radius of an STR

with the phone number of a

property contact.

“If I got that letter, and I

lived next door, I may freak

out, too, because it’s a freak-

out letter,” Cremer said. “It

scares me to think that there’s

going to be scary stuff, here’s

the person to call if something

scary happens. I get that it’s

going to happen. But the per-

spective that people have com-

ing into this, a lot of times, is

from the 1969 (party) thing.”

Cremer said he ran into

resistance from some of his

neighbors last Memorial Day

weekend when they learned he

was renting out his property

and they got one of those advi-

sory letters.

“These are just regular fam-

ilies (who rent my properties).

They take good care of it, we

have a list of rules (they have

to follow),” he said.

The Yankee Springs board

earlier this year approved a

one-year agreement with

Granicus, a private company

that helps municipalities

enforce short-term rental ordi-

nances, to conduct ongoing

monitoring of vacation rental

websites such as Vrbo and

Airbnb to find out what prop-

erties in the townships are

being made available to rent.

The contract will make it pos-

sible for lakeside residents to

call in complaints about prob-

lems at short-term rentals to be

investigated.

The board also approved a

fivefold increase in the annual

permit fee for an STR, from

$100 to $500, to help cover the

cost of contracting with

Granicus and address other

administrative expenses tied to

regulating STRs.

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Caledonia Drone program

qualifies five teams for

championship event

Caledonia EnrichED’s

RAD Drone program con-

tinues to soar.

The program set the

bar high in its first two

seasons and remain a top

contender in the region,

qualifying five teams for

the 2024 North Central

Aerial Drone

Championship. The event

will be held on May 17

and 18 at Kettering

University.

The competition season

launched in January with a

two-day event in Flint.

Caledonia’s Calvin &

Hobbes made up of Jackson

Bernal and Hailey LaPrath

were named Skills

Champion on day one, and

received both the Think

Award and the Teamwork

Champion Award on day

two, advancing them to the

championship. The

Dronebones, featuring

Grant Feldpausch and Grant

Morrell received the Think

Award on day one, and due

to their skills score, were

also invited to the champi-

onship.

The program’s success

continued at the 2nd

Annual West Michigan

Aerial Drone Competition

in Fennville on March 9,

where Caledonia took

home seven of the 10

awards. The Fly Guys,

with Gavin Grysen, Owen

Marshall and Nicholai

Nonhoff, qualified for the

championship after secur-

ing three awards at the

event: Teamwork

Champion, Middle School

Skills Champion and

Middle School Excellence.

Calvin & Hobbes once

again prospered, receiving

the Excellence Award and

being named Skills

Champion. Liam Langeweg

and Liam Ryan’s Team

Team received the event’s

Think Award, as well as the

Teamwork Champion

Award, qualifying them for

the championship. Due to

multiple double qualifica-

tions, Landyn Bennett and

Owen Williams of the

Nightrunners were also

invited to the champion-

ship, having one of the top

skills scores in the state.

From left to right, Liam Langeweg,

Liam Ryan, Gavin Grysen, Nicholai

Nonhoff and Owen Marshall, who

belong to the teams Fly Guys and

Team Team.

Dronebones and Calvin & Hobbes,

two teams that compete with the

Caledonia EnrichED’s RAD Drone pro-

gram, are pictured here. They include,

from left to right, Grant Feldpausch,

Grant Morrell, Jackson Bernal and

Hailey LaPrath. (Photos provided)