Z EELAND R ECORD THE
Vol. 129-No.34
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Zeeland, Michigan
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Serving Western Michigan for more than 128 Years
• June 15, 2023
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Cost$1.00/copy $30/year
BZA Appointment Tabled Due to Ordinance Violation Concern The feeling that elected officials and members appointed to city boards are held to a higher standard was put on display last week Monday evening, June 5, with the Zeeland City Council considered the reappointment of Doug Barense to the Board of Zoning Appeals where he serves as chairman. “The city loses credibility when a member of the Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals, which creates and enforces city ordinance, has glaring violations on his own personal property,” said Councilman Rick VanDorp. Barense has been working on his secondary residence at 134 E. Central Ave since 2016 when he received a permit for demolition and alterations to the structure. His primary residence is 330 W. Main Ave. Council members tabled the reappointment and have asked the City’s Community Development Department to prepare a report and appear at the council’s meeting on Monday, June 19. The council has also requested the appearance of Commissioner Barense. Besides servicing on the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals, Barense is also the city’s representative on the West Michigan Regional Airport Authority. “Doug does a great job serving the city on various boards. He is well prepared, knowledgeable, and asks great questions,” said Mayor Kevin Klynstra. Monday was not the first time that the appropriateness of Barense being reappointed was raised. VanDorp raised the issue two years before when Barense was up for reappointment to the Planning Commission. “This has been going on for several years, and there has been no improvement. In fact, it keeps getting worse,” said VanDorp. On May 17, the City’s Community Development Department sent him the most recent letter on corrective actions that he needed to take on the property at 134 E. Central. The letter required by May 26,
that the grass and weeds exceed 10 inches in height and have to be mowed, and that the construction debris and material must be removed and properly disposed of. Construction materials were permitted to be stored inside of the building if active construction is not occurring. The letter also stated that by July 31, 2023, that the dwelling must be reroofed so that the roof covering is in good condition, free from vegetative growth, broken or deteriorated materials and weather tight. Barense was also instructed to fix the exterior of the structure to make it completely sided and weather proof. The front porch ceiling material is also missing, and the city is requiring Barense to install appropriate finish material to protect the structure against decay from the elements and prevent the nesting or entry of animals. Lastly the city is requiring that all wood surfaces including trim, cornices and decorative features where paint is missing, peeling or flaking be scraped and painted. Barense was also issued a demolition permit for the rear portion of the structure on October 11, 2021. The permit expired and was extended on May 10, 2022, to expire on September 10, 2022. On September 9, 2022, Barense requested another extension which was granted and is set to expire on July 31, 2023. “As several extensions have been granted and Section 4.122 of Volume II of the Zeeland City Code requires completion of building projects within one year, no additional extensions will be granted without the above required work being completed by July 31, 2023,” state City of Zeeland Building Official Ron Johnson in his letter to Barense. If Barense fails to comply with the city’s request to fix the exterior of the home at 134 E. Central, he could be cited with a civil infraction for violating City Ordinances. “The issuance of a civil infraction would require him to contact the 58th District Court to claim responsibility/nonresponsibility, at which time fines and costs may be assessed,” explained Johnson.
Council to Consider Tweaking Snowmelt Special Assessment Downtown property owners may see some financial relief from special assessments for the downtown snowmelt system following a public hearing last month. At the Zeeland City Council’s work session on Monday, June 5, city staff presented several options for leaders to consider after property owners voiced their concerns. One of the main concerns raised regarded the $2.11 per square foot assessment that consists of two components, a commodity charge and a capital charge. The commodity charge represented the costs to operate the system, and the capital charge was to be used to set aside funds for future maintenance and component replacement for the snowmelt system. “Throughout our cost sharing conversations, the concept of an endowment has been mentioned to fund at least a portion of the operation and maintenance special assessment,” explained Assistant City Manager/Finance Director Kevin
Plockmeyer. But according to Plockmeyer the funding of the endowment was the biggest factor in not originally pursuing the idea. That was until the city received an unbudgeted $1.5 million from the State’s Personal Property Tax reimbursement. In the past the city has received Personal Property Tax reimbursements in October, and recently received an additional unbudgeted and unexpected check in May. “Of this $1.5 million, we would propose to use $900,000 to cover the funding gap of the Main Avenue project, and after some consideration would like to propose using the remaining $600,000 to start an ‘endowment’ to fund future capital costs for the snowmelt system. Housed in our Snowmelt Special Assessment Fund, this $600,00 would cover the capital special assessment for downtown property owners for approximately 12 years,” he said. The original proposed special (Continued on page 11)
The Mainstreet Snowmelt project began this week with construction crews tearing out the sidewalks in front of Cityside Middle School. That section of the project was started first to have it completed by the start of school in August. At the Board of Education meeting on Monday evening an easement was approved to move the sidewalk further onto the school property and to relocate the Zeeland Recreation Sign on the corner of Maple and Main.
Board of Education Purchases Property for Future Athletic Fields For nearly 20 years the Zeeland Board of Education has been working to acquire the property along the north side of Zeeland East and West high schools for future use. That work came to fruition on Monday evening as the Board approved purchasing 34.41 acres of land from John and Sally Janssen at a cost of $1,543,950 plus closing costs. “I have served on this board for a long time, and I am glad that we finally got this accomplished,” said Board Treasurer Tom DenHerder. The district is planning to use $800,000 from the 2021 bond issue and the remaining funds will come from the district’s sinking
fund to fund the purchase. “We will receive the parcel directly north of Zeeland East in October and the parcel north of Zeeland West next April,” explained District Chief Financial Officer Lynn VanKampen. The property will be used to create dual use turf fields for soccer and lacrosse, tennis courts, storage facilities and team rooms. “We expect to have plans finalized in the next six months now that we have officially secured the property,” said VanKampen. The 2021 bond issue has $7.6 million set aside for new athletic facilities.
Half-days Torpedo Proposed Teacher Contract A proposed one-year contract with the Zeeland Education Association for local teachers met opposition at the Zeeland Board of Education meeting on Monday evening as nearly 100 residents appeared to oppose a contract provision that created 24 half days. The board rejected the proposed contract with teachers and staff on a 3-4 vote. Voting in favor of the contract were board president April DeWitt, and trustees Heidi Geerlings and Linda Bush. “We have negotiated in good faith with the ZEA, the contract is only for one year. In six months, we will begin negotiating the next contract,” said DeWitt. Opposing the contract were board members Treasurer Tom Den Herder, Vice
President Rick Van Dorp, and trustees Chad Crevy and Betsy Kikstra. “I have never not voted in favor of a contract. I wish we could vote to approve the contract and settle on a calendar later. I am voting no so that we can go back and work on the calendar,” said Dernberger. The 24-half days were proposed for Professional Development to allow teachers to collaborate on best practices for learning, handling difficult students and different ways to present curriculum. “24-half days, not a lot of work accomplished in a half day. West Ottawa has 10 half-days, Hamilton has 4 half-days. Last year we had 20 half-days of school, the kids don’t learn much in a half day,” said (Continued on page 11)
