Z EELAND R ECORD THE
Vol. 129-No.35
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Zeeland, Michigan
Schipper and Eickholt Elected to OAISD Board During a special Board of Education election meeting tonight, delegates from 11 public school district boards of education cast their votes for candidates vying for two open seats on the Ottawa Area ISD Board. Incumbent Randy Schipper, a Holland resident and West Ottawa School Board member, was re-elected for another term. Grand Haven resident and Grand Haven Area Public Schools Board member Marc Eickholt was elected to serve his first term on the OAISD Board. Schipper and Eickholt will begin their six-year terms on July 1, 2023. OAISD Board President Carol Slagh believes both individuals bring a wealth of experience, passion, and strong commitment to education that will contribute to the continued growth and success of our educational community. “In their role, Randy and Marc will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on shaping educational policies, fostering student success, and representing the interests of our community,” Slagh said. “We have full confidence in their abilities to learn, serve, lead, and collaborate effectively, ensuring that the needs of students, families, and educators are prioritized.” Newly elected Board member Marc Eickholt said he is honored to be chosen to serve the OAISD’s community of diverse learners and stakeholders as a Board member. “I was lucky enough to spend several years working at OAISD (2016-2021) which gave me great insight into what a special and invaluable organization it is with the breadth of services offered to both learners and local districts throughout the area. With this sort of a homecoming, I’m looking forward to collaborating with my fellow Board members, OAISD administration, and wonderful staff to further the mission and vision of this great community asset,” Eickholt added. Incumbent Randy Schipper was thrilled to be re-elected and serve another term supporting the district. “I’m very thankful for the support from our local school boards and would like to express how much I appreciate receiving their votes of confidence. I’m looking forward to continuing my service to the OAISD students, families and staff,” added Schipper. The other three candidates were Vanessa Wilhelm, Grand Haven; Roger Williams, Grand Haven; and Eric Miller, Zeeland. Nine of the 11 local district boards of education cast their two votes for Schipper and Eickholt and include Coopersville Area Public Schools, Grand Haven Area Public Schools, Holland Public Schools, Hudsonville Public Schools, Jenison Public Schools, Saugatuck Public Schools, Spring Lake Public Schools, West Ottawa Public Schools, and Zeeland Public Schools. The Allendale Board of Education voted for Vanessa Wilhelm and Roger Williams, and the Hamilton Board of Education voted for Randy Schipper and Roger Williams. OAISD Superintendent Dr. Kyle Mayer added, “On behalf of Ottawa Area ISD, we extend our congratulations to Randy Schipper and Marc Eickholt on their upcoming service as board members and look forward to their invaluable contributions and the positive impact they will make in their respective roles.”
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Serving Western Michigan for more than 128 Years
• June 22, 2023
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Cost$1.00/copy $30/year
Correction In last week’s article “Half-days Torpedo Proposed Teacher Contract” there were two errors in the article. The first error was reporting on how Trustees voted on the teacher contract. Board President April DeWitt, Treasurer Tom DenHerder and Trustee Linda Bush voted in favor of the contract. Voting against the contract were Board vice president Rick Dernberger, and Trustees Heidi Geerlings, Betsy Kikstra and Chad Creevy. We had inadvertently switched the votes cast by Geerlings and DenHerder. We also had erred in listing Rich VanDorp as board vice president instead of Rick Dernberger. We apologize for these errors.
Township Adopts Park Ordinance Having issues with beer cans littering restrooms, illegal activity from visitors, and trash scattered through its parks, the Zeeland Township Board recently approved an ordinance that established park hours and conduct. “While we had all these illegal activities occurring in our parks, our Sherriff deputy advised us that we didn’t have an ordinance that they could enforce, all they could say is ‘don’t do that’,” explained Township Supervisor Tom Oonk. The new ordinance would govern conduct and activities at the township’s Drenthe Grove Park, Van Zoren Woods, the Community Center, and any other township owned and maintained place of recreation open to general use by the public. With the ordinance the parks will now have official hours and be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. “We open the parks early because a lot of people like to use them to walk and run the trails. With the closing we wanted a hard time, so people knew when the park closed, and not just saying ‘dusk’. The 11 p.m. closing time was selected because we rent the Dozeman Center at the Drenthe Grove until 10 p.m. and this allows renters an hour to cleanup afterwards. Lastly, we wanted all the parks to have the same hours of operation,” explained Oonk. Trash and litter have been an issue for the township with reports of the portable restrooms being unusable at times due to the trash and empty beers lodged in the facility. “With the new ordinance no person may dispose of any litter in a township park receptacle which is not generated through permitted use of the park but is rather transported to and brought into the park,” he said. The ordinance also prohibits the transportation, use or possession of any alcoholic beverage or controlled substance. Visitors are also prohibited from discharging a firearm, hunting or trapping in township parks. Ordinance violators will be charged with a civil infraction and fined not less than $100 for the first offense and not less than $200 for subsequent offenses along with court costs.
The residence at 132 E. Lincoln Avenue in Zeeland is going under a significant transformation. The house was recently jacked up and moved backward to align with the residence to the east to provide a larger front yard. The owner is planning to pour a new full basement where the house is currently standing. Once the house has been lowered on to the basement/foundation, the garage which previously was located in the rear yard will be moved forward and attached to the house.
Council Tables Action on BZA Appointment The Zeeland City Council tabled action on the reappointment of Board of Zoning Appeals Chairman Doug Barense on Monday evening and will wait until their first meeting in August to determine whether progress has been made on his home at 134 E. Central Avenue. The council voted 5-1 to table the reappointment. Councilman Jim Broersma cast the lone dissenting vote, and Councilman Phung Lam was absent. “The city doesn’t have a policy regarding appointments of residences to city boards, so I don’t see an issue in reappointing. Should we have some type of policy, probably, but we don’t at this time,” said Broersma. The issue for councilmember is the condition of the home at 134 E. Central, which is Barense’s secondary resident, was brought up during the June 5 City council meeting by Councilman Rick VanDorp during the reappointment process. “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 at the June 5 meeting. At the meeting on Monday evening, June 19, Barense offered to resign from all three of his board positions, Planning Commission, West Michigan Airport Authority and the BZA. The Council took no action on his offer to resign. “Have I done wrong, yes, and I apologize. But if you don’t think that I have the integrity to serve, I will resign all my positions, not just the BZA. You have seen the work that I have done at my residence at 330 W. Main Street, it is top notch. It is going to take some time on this project,” he said.
Barense explained to the city council that he keeps opening walls and finding more damage that needs to be repaired. “I don’t know when the project will be done, the scope keeps changing. I need to jack up the house and put in a new basement. The foundation is crumbling under the house, so I need to fix that first,” he said. Barense has been working on the home since February 27, 2017, when he submitted plans and was issued a building permit. In April 2018 he purchased the residence at 330 W. Main and moved his family to the new home. Later in April 2018 he received a building permit for renovations at 330 W. Main. In April 2019 city staff contacted him regarding the slow pace of work at 330 W. Main and the condition of 134 E. Central. In June 2020 city staff contacted Barense regarding the condition of 134 E. Central, construction debris and inoperable vehicle on the site. In August 2020 the vehicle and debris were removed, but there were no changes to the dwelling condition. In March 2021 Barense contacted the city that he planned to remove a rear addition to the home and address the exterior issues at the property in the summer of 2021, but was undecided on a time frame for full renovation. With no changes occurring at the property since August 2020, the city issued a formal notice of city ordinance violations and required the exterior of the structure to be repaired by August 31, 2021. In September of 2021 the structure was reinspected and found that the exterior had not been repaired, which resulted in a second notice of violation being issued. In May of 2022 city staff contacted Barense regarding expired permits at both (Continued on page 10)