Leighton Township continues to show telltale signs of growing pains.
Planning Commissioner Steve Shoemaker pointed this out directly Thursday night at the board meeting by reporting that the township not long ago was projected to reach a population of 7,000 by the year 2040. But, he noted, “We hit that number in 2020.”
The signs of growth keep pouring in.
The Township Board spent a lot of time trying to figure out expansion of the township hall and library parking lot to accommodate at least 21 new spaces. Apparently, there are traffic bottlenecks on election days.
Fire Chief Matt Weston again noted that the number of call his department has received by the end of October is just shy of the final number last year.
The number of building permits doesn’t seem to be slowing down much, as a total of 43 have been granted to new homeowners this year, at an average value of $364,065.
In other business at Thursday night’s meeting, the Township Board:
- Learned that the Planning Commission spent a great deal of time reviewing and mulling over the planned unit development (PUD) request from Clark Galloway, owner of the Galloway Landings air park. His plans include demolishing two hangars and putting up a new one.
- Approved payment of $9,943.11 for at-large special drain assessments. Maintenance will begin next spring on the McConnell Drain, starting at 142nd Avenue and Kalamazoo Avenue and running southwest through 12th Street.
- Was told the generator the township ordered has arrived and will be started Monday.
- Learned from Weston that the Leighton Township Fire Department’s ISO insurance rating was lowered to a 3, putting among the top 10 percent of departments in Michigan. Weston added that the move will save Leighton Township residents on their insurance costs.
- Defined duties and pay for Steve and Becky Deer for being caretakers of Lakeside Park at Green Lake. The pay is $600 a year.
- Approved the agreement and right of way access for 123.Net for providing high-speed Internet services to township residents.
- Reported that the township offices will be closed between Christmas and New Year’s, as well as the week of spring break in late March and early April.
