Board approves increase in cemetery rates starting April 1

Township OKs expansion of Gibson Cemetery and, in other business, plowing unpaved road.

Fall colors at Gibson Cemetery, 6487 138th Ave. in Laketown Township, in this 2022 photo.

The Laketown Township Board of Trustees on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, approved an increase in the cost of burial plots at Gibson Cemetery effective April 1.

The cost of a plot for a resident will increase from the current $100 per plot for the first two plots to $250 per plot for the first two plots. Each additional resident plot remains $500 each.

Non-resident costs increase from the current $600 per plot to $1,000 per plot.

The old rates did not reflect the true cost of developing and maintaining burial plots.

“Continuing with the existing pricing model would result in a growing gap between revenue collected and actual costs incurred, shifting more of the financial burden to the general fund,” Deputy Clerk Zoey Hallam wrote in a memo to the board. “The cemetery is meant to be a service to the community and not a revenue generator, however the gap has grown.”

The board also approved putting “sufficient funds” in the 2026-2027 budget to support expanding the cemetery, 6487 138th Ave., by 160 plots. Supervisor Steven Ringelberg said the expansion could cost between $21,000 and $26,100.

The board will continue discussing cemetery rules and appoint a sexton at its March 4 meeting.

61st Street north of 138th Avenue on Feb. 19, 2026.

Other business

In other business, the board:

  • Directed Manager Stephanie Fox to coordinate with the Allegan County Road Commission to provide snowplowing, grading and graveling for the 0.35 mile dead-end section of 61st Street north of 138th Avenue. The seasonal, unpaved road is not plowed by the county.
  • Tabled discussion on paving the 0.35 mile of 61st Street north of 138th Avenue until the March 4 meeting. The township in October approved paving the dead-end road, then in January voted to postpone the paving due to easement issues.
  • Approved paying Allegan County $11,748 for standard and side-view aerial imagery by EagleView.
  • Approved Ordinance No. 219 that rezones property on 145th Avenue from R-1 Rural Estate District to R-1.5 Very Low Density Residential District. The planning commission recommended the rezoning at its meeting in January.