Spring Lake Village - Government

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚! 👋🏼

𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐎’𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐟𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭

Spring Lake Township and the Village of Spring Lake welcome Johanna O'Keefe as a front desk receptionist at the combined village and township hall, located on the corner of Savidge and Buchanan streets downtown Spring Lake.

O’Keefe is part of a team of receptionists whose responsibilities include answering and directing calls to appropriate staff, assisting residents with questions or concerns, and processing water bills and tax payments. The front desk staff also helps citizens with permits, park reservations, and many other varied inquiries. She started in the position on April 20, 2026.

O’Keefe attended Central Michigan University and has a background that includes aquatic biology, owning a local small business, and receptionist work, but she said her favorite job has been raising two daughters in Spring Lake.

“To work as a receptionist for the village and the township you have to know a little bit about everything it seems, as we get new inquiries almost every day,” O’Keefe said. “Village and township staff have been incredible at onboarding, educating, and helping me learn all of the nuances of supporting not one but two small governments. I’m really enjoying being part of this professional, family-oriented, and public servant team.”

O’Keefe and her husband, Dan, a fisheries science educator for MSU Extension, reside in Crockery Township and have two young adult daughters in college.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞!

A new apartment complex downtown Spring Lake held its official grand opening ceremony on June 11, with remarks provided by developers and Village of Spring Lake officials to the crowd gathered.

Located at 106 S. Buchanan Street on the corner of Exchange Street, Winsor Place features 41 total units, with studio, one-and two-bedroom apartments, and townhome units. Plans for Winsor Place were first brought to the village in 2022 and approved in 2024.

A number of units in Winsor Place will be reserved for renters who fall within a certain area median income (AMI) ratio to provide some affordable housing options.

“We’re glad this is here,” said Mark Powers, Spring Lake Village President. “We’re looking forward to people moving into these units and bringing something to Spring Lake that hasn’t been here before.”

The development was built on the site of the childhood schoolhouse of cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay, who is best known for the comic strip “Little Nemo” – which was published between 1905 and 1914, and had a short revival in the mid-1920s – and the 1914 animated film “Gertie the Dinosaur.” McCay's cartoon work is represented via a mural at the corner of Buchanan and Exchange streets, where a historical marker is also available to read the history of McCay, who attended Spring Lake schools. The mural was painted by local artist Christi Dreese.

Updates from the monthly Village Council meeting, held on Monday, June 8.

💧𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 💧

With a very hot week in the forecast ahead, it's a good time to share some water-saving tips from the Northwest Ottawa Water System (NOWS) and Ottawa County. According to the county's Be Water Wise campaign, municipal systems like those that serve Spring Lake Township and the Village of Spring Lake can face production challenges during times of high water usage.

Plant superintendent Eric Law noted that the current capacity of the NOWS water system is 23.25 million gallons per day. Due to increased lawn irrigation in particular, during morning peak hours the system is processing 19.4 million gallons - roughly 84% of plant capacity.

How can residents help lessen the load? Changing landscaping habits. Here are a few recommendations:

🚰𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬: By installing smart devices like rain sensors, smart controllers or flow sensors, thousands of gallons can be saved per year.

🪣𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐬: Catch rain runoff to water landscaping. The barrel can be connected directly to an irrigation system, or soaker hoses can be attached.

🌱𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰: Mow strategically by cutting grass to no less than 3 inches in height, or no more than ⅓ the total. Longer grass blades provide more shade, keeping the ground moist longer.

🏡𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐧: Turf grass covers most of the average yard. Consider planting turf only where it is needed. Low-traffic areas can be converted into gardens or buffers planted with low-maintenance natives that need little water and provide habitat.

💧𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬
For more details on these recommendations, general water conservation and landscape best practices, and links to partner resources, visit miottawa.org/be-water-wise See less

Please note that the Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting scheduled for June 11th has been cancelled.

Thankfully, there is still the whole summer ahead for splashing fun! We hope to have another update soon.

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

On Wednesday, June 3, 2026, Spring Lake Township officials hosted a community kick-off and hands-only CPR/AED training with the HEARTSafe Community initiative. Spring Lake Township, the Village of Spring Lake and the cities of Grand Haven and Ferrysburg recently adopted resolutions to become HEARTSafe communities. Approx. 70 community members and municipal leaders attended the kick-off at the Spring Lake Community Center.

Attendees heard from cardiac arrest survivors, observed a live rescue demonstration, and participated in hands-on CPR/AED practice with LIFE EMS/Spring Lake Fire Department staff.

A local mother (featured in the third photo) shared a brief but powerful account of her daughter’s experience with cardiac arrest:
"As a Village resident, I'm grateful our community is empowering people to save lives! My daughter suffered a cardiac arrest at just eight years old. Thankfully, her school was prepared and had an AED available, which helped save her life. Every second counts during cardiac arrest. Call 911, start CPR, and send someone to get an AED. There's no time to wait for an ambulance. It takes all of us to act quickly and save a life."

Michael Campbell, vice president of the national HEARTSafe Community program, emphasized the importance of awareness, saying, "I want people to know that sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, and that survival rates without immediate intervention are very low, about 10 percent outside of a hospital. Our goal is to train as many people as possible so that if someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest, a bystander is there who can become a lifesaver by knowing what to do. The more people who are trained, the more likely it is that someone will survive.”

Spring Lake Township and the Tri-Cities area are committed to the safety and well-being of residents, and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with HEARTSafe as we continue our pledge to become a HEARTSafe community.

Take 90 seconds to learn how to save a life at www.heart.org/HandsOnlyCPR

𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐋𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, 𝐀𝐓 𝟕 𝐏.𝐌.

𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 - 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝟑𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕

𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄 that on Monday, June 8, 2026 at 7 p.m., at the Barber School Community Building, 102 W. Exchange St., Spring Lake, Michigan, the Village Council of Spring Lake will hold a public hearing to consider adoption of the proposed operating budget for the Village of Spring Lake for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝟏𝟎.𝟑𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝟗.𝟗𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝟎.𝟒𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬.

A copy of the proposed fiscal year 2026-2027 budget is available for public inspection at the office of the Village Clerk/Treasurer on any day of the week except Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If you would like to watch a livestream of the meeting, please visit https://www.youtube.com//streams

As a reminder, all Village meetings are livestreamed.

𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄

𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬
River Street (from Meridian to Prospect Streets) and Visser Street infrastructure work is scheduled to begin 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔. Signage will be going up Monday and road milling (removal) is scheduled to begin Wednesday, June 10.

The Department of Public Works will keep residents posted as it progresses. The project is expected to be completed by Sept. 4, 2026. Work within the Prospect Street intersection will be substantially complete and open to school traffic with finished gravel grade by Aug. 21, 2026.