By Scott Sullivan Editor A Saugatuck Township Fire District board meeting Monday expected by many attending to address Friends of the Blue Star Trail-proposed Blue Star Bridge lane reconfigurations didn’t. Formally, at least. The 501c3 nonprofit Friends have been working for nine years to build a 20-mile non-motorized trail, largely on the west side of […]
News
Ridl solves Douglas laureate debate
By Scott Sullivan Editor The name of Douglas’ first poet laureate should be no surprise: It’s Jack Ridl. City council Monday cited the retired Hope College English professor and multi-decorated scrivener, to the unpaid post for likely a lifelong term. He was nominated for the position at the Aug. 5 council meeting by Respite Cappuccino […]
Six departments respond to douse Fennville blaze
A fire Monday caused severe damage to a Wilson Street home in Fennville and took crews from six area fire departments almost three hours to put out. Saugatuck Township Fire District IT Director Erik Kirchert reported his department took a call to assist at 11:44 a.m. after the first-arriving Fennville unit encountered heavy fire showing […]
Planner pass 4-3 no-pot counsel on to council
By Scott Sullivan Editor Hopes of parties who want to sell marijuana legally in Saugatuck may go to pot with the planning commission voting 4-3 Aug. 15 to recommend city council maintain its ban on medical and moratorium on recreational substance uses. Still, burning questions remain. By law, the appointed commission advises and elected council […]
Two indicted for repair fraud
A federal grand jury has indicted two Allegan County men who defrauded an elderly Holland homeowner out of nearly $300,000. Tyler Maurice Harris, 24, was taken into custody by a Homeland Security Investigations agent in Otsego Aug. 13 and appeared Wednesday before a federal judge. Whereabouts of James Robert Black (aka “Jim Gribble” and “Victor Valentine”) […]
Saugatuck, Fennville football teams enter season with high hopes
By Jason Wesseldyk Sports Editor SAUGATUCK Saugatuck’s opponents are probably breathing a sigh of relief this season. Why? Because the Dunn boys are finally done. With the graduation of Brad Dunn last spring, this will be the first time in six seasons at least one of the Dunn brothers hasn’t been the focal point of […]
Township undoes disputed fire code change
By Scott Sullivan Editor The International Fire Code amendment that launched 1,000-plus recall votes was undone by the Saugatuck Township board Aug. 7. The pre-recall board voted in August 2017 to amend the then-applied 2012 version of the Code — citing some area builders’ complaints that Saugatuck Township Fire District leaders’ interpretation and enforcement were […]
New Coghlin docks link more boaters to downtown
By Scott Sullivan Editor New Coghlin Park floating docks that will accommodate boaters looking to visit and shop downtown now await your vessels after being installed last week. Starting with Saugatuck-Douglas Chamber of Commerce seed money, the City of Saugatuck last year matched a $180,000 Michigan Department of Natural Resources Waterways Grant with $90,000 of […]
Saugatuck wades into Kal Lake invasives
By Jim Hayden Correspondent Saugatuck City Council is cautiously wading into ways to eliminate a growing aquatic weed problem in Kalamazoo Lake and will most likely hold off any treatment until next spring. “I’d like to keep the process moving,” Mayor Ken Trester said at Monday’s meeting after council members backed off approval of a […]
Peterson named new Saugatuck mayor pro tem
By Jim Hayden Correspondent Saugatuck City Councilwoman Chris Peterson was named mayor pro tem Monday’s council meeting. The former mayor replaces Jeff Spangler, who resigned last month. The mayor pro tem sits in and runs the council meetings when the mayor is absent. The city is also seeking residents to serve on the Construction Board […]