The Sun and News, Saturday, June 4, 2022/ Page 7Gaines planning board seeks parks plan bids
James Gemmell
Contributing Writer
The Gaines Township
Planning Commission voted 6-
at its May 26 meeting to recom-
mend the township board accept
an $8,740 bid from M.C. Smith
& Associates Inc. to prepare a
Parks & Trails Master Plan.
Secretary Lani Thomas was
absent.
The township budgeted for
the Parks & Trails update last
year and posted Requests for
Proposals on the Michigan
Association of Planning website
April 12 for prospective con-
tractors to bid on the project.
The deadline to submit the
RFPs was May 15.
Five firms completed and
submitted RFP applications.
They were asked to create a list
of goals and objectives, provide
a plan review, and submit inven-
tory and needs analyses.
The lowest bid was submit-
ted by East Grand Rapids-based
MCSA, and that is the one the
planning commission is recom-
mending the township board
approve. Bids also were submit-
ted by Cascade Township-based
Fleis & Vandenbrink, Flint-
based Rowe Professional
Services Co., Northville-based
McKenna Associates and
Grand Rapids-based Viridis
Design Group. All have offices
in Greater Grand Rapids.
Community Development
Director Dan Wells said all the
applicants have a solid track
record in planning and design.
“We do want to get this in the
hopper so that we can start plan-
ning and get the (parks and
trails) master plan completed by
next year, so we can apply for
DNR grants,” he said. “Once
we have a compliant master
plan, then we can do individual
park plans.”
Township staff have dis-
cussed the possibility of apply-
ing for DNR grant funds to
leverage investments in Prairie
Wolf Park and several other
green areas around the town-
ship. “Once we get the parks
plan in place, we can identify
opportunity sites and come up
with a barebones plan for each
one. And then, we can apply for
DNR funding and leverage
whatever other sources of
money that might be out there to
do improvements on those,”
Wells said.
“Can we start to think about
requiring more greenspace,
based on some of the push
we’re getting from developers?”
Planning Commission
Chairwoman Connie Giarmo
asked. “I think I’d feel a lot
more comfortable with some of
these developments if we could
be assured that we would have
adequate parks and greenspaces
in there.”
The parks and trails master
plan will be devised this sum-
mer, after the township master
plan and future land-use plan
are drawn up. Public input is
being sought for the township
master-planning process
through July 15. Surveys can be
completed at the township hallor on the township website,
gainestownship.org. Residents
also can scan a QR code to
access the survey.
Township planners recently
hosted a pair of open houses at
the Gaines Library and Dutton
Fire Station to gather public
input on how the township mas-
ter plan should be crafted. It will
guide residential, commercial
and industrial growth over the
next ten years. The township
master plan will be completed at
the same time as the future land-
use plan. The parks and trails
master plan will follow.
In other action:- The commission voted 6-
to recommend the township
board reject a request to rezone
an undeveloped parcel of land at
1120 60th St. from Residential
(RL-10) to Multiple Family
Residential (R-3). The location
is east of Eastern Avenue.
Wells said the applicant who
submitted the request, Duane
Kooiker, did not submit a site
plan for the 1.54-acre parcel.
Nine residents living near the
site spoke in opposition to the
rezoning request at the planning
commission meeting. Several
expressed concern that an apart-
ment building might be built
there.
Neighborhood resident
Shawn Rasmussen said there is
a lot of wildlife in the area
around his home and he was
concerned what the impact
would be if a multi-family resi-
dential facility were built there.
“I personally think there’s not
enough space for the wildlife
already,” Rasmussen said, add-
ing that he also was concerned
about his children’s safety if an
apartment building were added
to the neighborhood, which
consists of single-family homes.
“We’re here in opposition to
the rezone, we’re not here to just
ask questions,” Josh Greer said.
He pointed out there are wet-
lands in the area that would be
adversely impacted.
“If you put an apartmentcomplex in there, I can guaran-
tee (there will be) not just a little
more car traffic, but a lot more
car traffic,” he said. “And
there’s so many kids ... that’s
another reason we oppose it. It’s
just for the safety.”
Christina Frazier lives on
61st Street. She said the neigh-
borhood has several wetlands
and is a nice place to live. But
she said adding an apartment
building and an accompanying
driveway to it would lower the
value of existing homes along
that street.
Commissioner Brad
Waayenberg said he had a hard
time supporting the rezoning
request because of neighbors’
concerns. Commissioner Tim
Haagsma said there is not much
space for development there and
only 90 feet of frontage along
60th Street.
“I don’t think this rezoning
request makes any sense,”
Haagsma said. “I think it’s spot
zoning, for one, because we’re
zoning one little piece of proper-
ty that has no other (similar)
zoning around it. Second of all,
I don’t think that use is compat-
ible with the surrounding uses.”
“And I think the size of the
property is an issue, too,”
Giarmo said.
However, Wells noted that,under the township’s future
land-use plan, the parcel was
designated for higher-density
residential development and
three to six units could be built
under the multi-family residen-
tial designation in accordance
with the township ordinance.
“It is somewhat considered a
right to rezone,” he said.
But Giarmo said the size of
the parcel, the wetlands and
drainage issues around the site
were all reasons to deny the
rezoning request. She said the
primary problem is multi-family
residential is not a compatible
use for that area. At that point,
the planning commission voted
unanimously to recommend the
township board deny the rezon-
ing request at its next meeting.
On another matter, the plan-
ning commission voted 6-0 to
approve a site plan for a
7,100-square addition on the
back of Pine Rest Mental
Health’s Rustic Market at 389
68th St., and a parking-lot
expansion. The addition will
allow the Rustic Market to
expand its retail consignment
operations to help fund men-
tal-health services. It is a non-
profit facility operating in an
Office-Service zoning district.
There will be 77 total parking
spaces on site.to raise awareness regarding
addiction and an adaptive
water-skiing program for peo-
ple with physical disabilities to
water-ski on Campau Lake.
Also, a women’s pool league
at the tavern each year picks a
different charity to support.
This year, the league has
raised more than $20,
Green Gables Haven domestic
violence shelter in Barry
County.
VanderVelde said she is
thankful for the community
support she has received over
the years.
“I’ve had a great life. My
family has had a great life,”
she said. “Obviously, we
couldn’t have that without the
community support all these
years. I’ve had a great staff. I
want to make sure everybody
knows how thankful I am. I
get recognition sometimes, but
I could never do it by myself.
So, past employees, past staff,
and then my current staff –
I’m just super blessed to have
great people on my side.”
HERO, continued
from page 1
What investors can – and can't – control
As an investor, you can
easily feel frustrated to see
short-term drops in your
investment statements. But
while you cannot control
the market, you may find it
helpful to review the fac-
tors you can control.
Many forces affect the
financial markets, includ-
ing geopolitical events,
corporate profits and inter-
est rate movements – forc-
es beyond the control of
most individual investors.
In any case, it’s import-
ant to focus on the things
you can control, such as
these:- Your ability to define
your goals – One area in
which you have total con-
trol is your ability to define
your goals. Like most peo-
ple, you probably have
short-term goals – such as
saving for a new car or a
dream vacation – and long-
term ones, such as a com-
fortable retirement. Once
you identify your goals
and estimate how much
they will cost, you can cre-
ate an investment strategy
to help achieve them. Over
time, some of your person-
al circumstances will like-
ly change, so you’ll want
to review your time hori-
zon and risk tolerance on a
regular basis, adjusting
your strategy when appro-
priate. And the same is true
for your goals – they may
evolve over time, requiring
new responses from you in
how you invest.- Your response to mar-
ket downturns – When the
market drops and the value
of your investments
declines, you might be
tempted to take immediate
action in an effort to stop
the losses. This is under-
standable – after all, your
investment results can
have a big impact on your
future. However, acting
hastily could work against
you – for example, you
could sell investments that
still have solid fundamen-
tals and are still appropri-
ate for your needs. If you
can avoid decisions based
on short-term events, you
may help yourself in the
long run. - Your commitment to
investing – The financial
markets are almost always
in flux, and their move-
ments are hard to predict.
If you can continue invest-
ing in all markets – good,
bad or sideways – you will
likely make much better
progress toward your goals
than if you periodically
were to take a “time out.”
Many people head to the
investment sidelines when
the market tumbles, only
to miss out on the begin-
nings of the next rally. And
by steadily investing, you
will increase the number
of shares you own in your
investments – and the larg-
er your ownership stake,
the greater your opportuni-
ties for building wealth.- Your portfolio’s level of
diversification – While
diversification itself can’t
guarantee profits or protect
against all losses, it can
help greatly reduce the
impact of market volatility
on your portfolio. Just how
you diversify your invest-
ments depends on several
factors, but the general
principle of maintaining a
diversified portfolio should
govern your approach to
investing. It’s a good idea
to periodically review your
portfolio to ensure it’s still
properly diversified.
The world will always
be filled with unpredict-
able, uncontrollable
events, and many of them
will affect the financial
markets to one degree or
another. But within your
own investment world,
you always have a great
deal of control – and with
it, you have the power to
keep moving toward all
your important financial
objectives.
This article was written
by Edward Jones for use
by your local Edward
Jones Financial Advisor.
Edward Jones, Member
SIPC
284 N BRIGGS ROAD - MIDDLEVILLE, MICHIGAN 49333
269-795-9091 / FAX 269-795-181853YANKEE SPRINGS TOWNSHIP
SPECIAL MEETING NOTICE
JUNE 22nd, 2022 @ 6 PMPROPOSED 2022-2023 BUDGET
PUBLIC HEARINGThe Yankee Springs Township Board will hold a Spe-
cial Meeting to conduct a Public Hearing on the pro-
posed Township Budget Fiscal Year 2022-2023 at the
Township Hall, 284 N. Briggs Road, Middleville, MI
49333 on:Tuesday, June 22nd, 2022
At 6:00 PMThe property tax millage rate proposed to be
levied to support the proposed Budget will
be a subject of this hearing.A copy of the proposed budget is available for public
inspection at the Township Office on June 17, 2022
during regular office hours.American with Disabilities Notice: The Yankee Springs
Township Board Will provide necessary and reason-
able auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for
the hearing impaired and audio tapes of printedMaterials being considered at the meeting to indi-
viduals at the Meeting upon 5 days’ notice to the
Township Clerk, 284 N. Briggs Road, Middleville, MI- Phone 269-795-9091/Fax 269-795-
Mike Cunningham
Yankee Springs Township ClerkThis elevation shows where an addition will be built soon on the back of the
Pine Rest Rustic Market, as sketched by The Architectural Group Inc. (Source:
gainestownship.org)