Fact Sheet
The Lakes Preservation Committee Request for Expansion of the Sewer District in Courtland Township
Situation Analysis:
·
Two
new proposed residential developments in Courtland Township are adjacent to the
sewer district around Myers Lake:
1.
Post
Farm Planned Unit Development, 76 homes on 90 acres.
2.
Stone
Crest PUD, 69 homes on 106 acres.
·
The
Stone Crest developer, Ed DeVries has now received an option to purchase an
additional 140 acres directly north of the original 106 acres. This additional property is also on the
sewer line. This additional property
borders Stoner Lake, which heretofore has had only limited development.
·
In
addition, a Rockford Public Schools proposed elementary school and the future
site of a fire department substation would be located directly south of the
Post PUD.
·
Public
sewer was extended to the Myers Lake area in 1978 for the primary purpose of
preserving lake quality.
1.
Courtland
Township currently has 396 sewer hook-ups around Myers Lake and Brower Lake
with very few additional lots within the sewer district to build on.
2.
The
contract with Cannon Township has capacity in the Cannon interceptor for 900 or
more additional sewer units in Courtland Township.
3.
The
two residential developments, the elementary school and the fire station would
utilize approx. 240 of the remaining 900 unit capacity. (This number of units is subject to final
confirmation)
4.
These
developments are located on land adjacent to Myers Lake on fields that
partially drain toward the lake.
5.
A
Kent County Park, Myers Lake Park, with swimming area, is located on Myers
Lake.
6.
The
existing sewer line and sewer district is adjacent to both developments and
both developers want to utilize the public sewer for their homes. Hook-up could be easily accomplished without
significant expansion of the sewer district.
Rationale:
·
Rationale
for expansion of the sewer district to include the above developments, Rockford
Public schools and fire station property:
1.
Myers
Lake is a valuable township and county resource that must be protected for
future generations.
2.
Lake Quality. The quality of the lakes
were improved and preserved by the creation of the original sewer district in
1978. The addition of these new
developments to the sewer district would continue to protect the quality of
Myers Lake from contamination.
3.
Ground Water Protection. There is no public water system available in the area, which is
the most densely populated area in the township. Public sewer would eliminate the risk of ground water contamination
from sewage disposal.
4.
Open Space Preservation. The use of public sewer would allow for “cluster” development of
these properties. The proposed average
lot size in these developments is between 25,000 and 30,000 square feet. Both developments set aside 47% of their
area as common open space, which will be preserved in a natural state forever.
·
The Alternative:
1.
`One
option is for a private community system which would utilize a centralized
drain field located within 1000 to 1600 feet from the lake shoreline.
2.
A
second option would be individual septic tanks and drain fields, with some
located as close as 300 feet from the shoreline.
·
Summary:
The expansion of the sewer district provides a
one-time opportunity to assure protection of Myers Lake from potential contamination
of the lake and ground water. It was a
wise decision to create the sewer district around the lakes in 1978 and it
would be an equally wise decision to expand the sewer district in 2002. The expansion of the sewer district is an
obvious decision that is clearly in the public interest.
Current Status as of April
14, 2002:
1.
James
McIntyre, Township Supervisor, wrote two letters dated December 18, 2001 and
March 11, 2002 requesting the expansion of the sewer district.
2.
A response from the Eric R. DeLong, Deputy City Manager of the City of
Grand Rapids dated March 26, 2002 stated that “we will need to defer action because of current unresolved issues”.
“Current Unresolved Issues”:
What does Eric R. DeLong,
Deputy City Manager, refer to as “unresolved
issues”?
Courtland Township, along with its partner communities (the City of Rockford, Plainfield, Alpine, and Cannon Townships) are working together as the North Kent Sewer Authority (NKSA). For nearly 35 years, the NKSA has had agreements in place with the Kent County Department of Public Works (KCDPW) to construct and operate a municipal sewage collection system. The KCDPW signed an agreement with the City of Grand Rapids for the transport and treatment of sewage from the NKSA customers. This agreement between the KCDPW and the City of Grand Rapids expires in 2008.
The City of Grand Rapids is proposing a new and radically different agreement. The proposed new method of calculating Grand Rapids’ charges to the NKSA changes and increases the charges from the City of Grand Rapids to the NKSA. Grand Rapids feels that their new rate base is fair and defensible. The NKSA is attempting to find a fair and acceptable resolution to its dispute with the City of Grand Rapids.
The NKSA is also considering another option, that of building their own clean water plant in Plainfield Township.
This is a brief description of the “unresolved issue” that is causing Grand Rapids to defer decisions on sewer expansion in Courtland Township and to other NKSA customers until agreement is reached on the contract that expires in 2008.
After meeting with Curt Kemppainen, Director, Kent County Department of Public Works, he offered another possible definition of the unresolved issues. Mr. Kemppainen has been working closely with Mr. DeLong to reach agreement on the boundaries of the NKSA under the current agreement. In addition, the agreement would allow for expansion of the current boundaries by an agreed upon amount, providing new land was adjacent to the current sewer district boundary. The discussions referred to by Mr. Kemppainen are currently on hold.
Position of
Courtland Township and the Myers Lake Improvement Association:
It appears that in the foreseeable future it would be possible to receive authorization to connect the new developments in Courtland Township to the public sewer. Unfortunately, the township is faced with providing approvals now that in the absence of approval to connect to public sewer, would cause these developments to develop community septic systems.
We feel that the reasons to expand the sewer district in Courtland Township, as outlined above, are logical, highly compelling and clearly in the public interest. We feel that in this instance the decision to expand the sewer district should not be tied into the dispute between the NKSA and the City of Grand Rapids. We feel that the decision to expand the sewer district in Courtland Township should be based on the current Agreements between Courtland Township, the NKSA, the KCPWD and the City of Grand Rapids.
Again, our interest is in offering the best possible protection to Myers Lake and all of the lakes in the township for future generations. This objective can be easily accomplished by expanding the sewer district to include these 240 additional sewer units.