Board approves paving dead-end section of 61st Street

The Laketown Township Board of Trustees on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, approved paving a dead-end stretch of 61^st Street in southeast Laketown Township.

In a 3-1 vote, the board asked the Allegan County Road Commission to pave the 0.35-mile dirt road this year.

The township in October approved paving the dead-end road, then in January voted to postpone the paving due to easement issues. A landowner did not want the road to encroach on their land. Holland Western Horse Park, 3856 61^st St., which supports having the road paved, instead gave an easement to the road commission to realign the road so it can be paved.

The work is expected to cost about $441,600.

Supervisor Steve Ringelberg opposed the paving, saying the work is expensive for a short road.

Trustee Mike Koeman said landowners on the road worked closely with the road commission to make the project work.

“I don’t see any reason to put this on hold,” he said.

Treasurer Jim Johnson agreed, adding, “We should fulfill our past commitment and move forward.”

Trustee Mark Timmerman voted for the paving. Clerk Jim Delaney was absent.

Last month, after the board had decided to postpone the paving work, the group directed Manager Stephanie Fox to coordinate with the road commission to provide snowplowing, grading and graveling of the unpaved road. The seasonal road is not plowed by the county.

In 2023, then township Manager Al Meshkin presented the board with an updated road plan for work through 2030. To come up with the road map, Meshkin looked at the year the road was last resurfaced, visually inspected the roads and used the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) system. In the 2023 update, 61^st Street was listed for reconstruction and pavement in 2026.