By Jim Hayden
Correspondent
The Laketown Township Board at a special meeting March 12 paused paving a dead-end road for financial concerns. They the week before had green-lit paving 61st Street north of 138th Avenue for about $441,000.
The decision, though, came too late in one respect — the Allegan County Road Commission has already put the project out for bids with the bid opening set April 1.
If bids come in over $441K the board could abandon the project, Laketown manager Stephanie Fox told members Friday, March 13.
The matter will be on the board’s next agenda Wednesday, April Fool’s Day at 5 p.m.
Road Background
The township last October OK’d paving the gravel dead-end, then in January postponed doing so due to easement issues. One landowner did not want the road through his land.
Holland Western Horse Park, 3856 61st St., which supports having the road paved, instead gave an easement to the road commission to realign the road so it can be paved.
On March 4, the board asked the ACRC to pave the 0.35-mile dirt road this year, setting the bid process in motion.
Bid Documents
Bid docs and specs are on the ACRC website at www.alleganroads.org under “Projects & Bids,” then choose “2026 Projects & Bids.” The documents state:
PROJECT NO. 400194 – 0.35 miles of roadway reconstruction including clearing, grade establishment, sand subbase, aggregate base, culvert replacements, hot mix asphalt paving and restoration on 61st Street from 138th Avenue to 0.35 miles north in Laketown Township, Allegan County.”
The engineering estimate dated March 13 is $339,634.50.
Bid opening will be 11 a.m. April 1 at the road commission office, 1308 Lincoln Road, Allegan. It is open to the public.
March 12 Meeting
That night a landowner next to the unpaved road told the board and said he was unaware beforehand of the board’s March 4 decision and that spending $441,000 on the road is not in the best interest of the township.
Another property owner submitted a letter stating, “we do not believe the project is warranted given the limited function and use of the roadway.”
A recording of the March 12 meeting is available at laketowntwp.org under “Boards and Commissions,” and scroll to “Recordings of Meetings.”
A 61st Street resident who has been at several meetings advocating for the paving, and representatives of Holland Western Horse Park who also supported paving, were not at the March 12 meeting. The topic of reconsidering the earlier paving decision was not on the agenda ahead of the meeting but added to it after the meeting started.
The board does not normally meet on Thursdays. The special meeting was called so members could vote on the 2026-2027 budget, submission to the state for a grant to build stairs at Laketown Beach, and address any other issues that came before it.
Supervisor Steven Ringelberg voted against the paving at both March meetings, saying it’s not good financially and there are safety concerns about people using the dead-end for illegal purposes.
Trustee Mark Timmerman and treasurer Jim Johnson, who both supported the paving March 4, voted eight days later to pause the work.
Trustee Mike Koeman, who supported the paving March 4, was not at the March 12 meeting. Clerk Jim Delaney was not at either meeting.
“This is strictly a financial thing with me,” said Timmerman. He asked manager Fox to get costs for maintaining the road as gravel.
The board encouraged residents to voice their own views via office@laketowntowp.org.
After deciding in January to postpone the paving work, the board asked Fox to coordinate with the ACRC to provide snowplowing, grading and graveling unpaved road. The current seasonal road is not plowed by the county.
The township in 2023 green-lit an updated roadwork plan through 2030. To devise it, Laketown looked at the year the roads were last resurfaced, visually inspected them and used the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) system.
In the 2023 update, 61st Street was listed for reconstruction and pavement in 2026.
