Allegan County Commissioner Gale Dugan Thursday night told the Watson Township Board the county has had a lot happen recently, and as a result, there may be some challenges ahead.
Dugan noted that Allegan County has ben declared the third fastest population growth county in Michigan, which has caused some headaches in finding affordable housing.
Furthermore, Dugan noted that the county has more than 180 children in foster homes. “That’s something we need to work on,” he said. “We need to take care of our kids.”
Dugan also said the County Board last month agreed to seek a renewal of 0.4823 mill for senior citizens.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on in Allegan County,” he said.
The commissioner said the county has seen an increase in state equalized valuation (SEV), taking the total past $13 trillion. The reasons for that burst are new construction and a boom in buying and selling properties.
In other business at Thursday night’s meeting, the Watson Board:
- Agreed to spend about $10,000 to replace a culvert severely damaged in a recent spring storm.
- Noted an additional $13,317 has been set aside for work on the Veterans Memorial, bringing the total to $36,399.
- Was told by Township Treasurer Tera Davis that the budget now stands at $436,874 with $222,635 earmarked for roads.
- Received a letter from its trash hauler that the service at Miner Cemetery will be discontinued if there are more incidents involving feces being left. Trustee Michelle Harris said the animal feces were left inside a Halloween bag.
It was decided to put the trash receptacle in the font area of the cemetery, perhaps making the culprit more observable.
Harris speculated, “I think someone’s doing this from their home.”
• Agreed a month earlier to place on the Aug.4 primary ballot a proposal to renew the township road millage.
