Township chooses one finalist for manager position

Public meet-and-greet for Stephanie Fox is 11 a.m. Monday, final interview at 6 that night.

Stephanie Fox was chosen as the only finalist to be interviewed for the position of Laketown Township manager. The interview is 6 p.m. Monday, July 21, 2025, at the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road.

The Laketown Township Board of Trustees narrowed its manager search to a single finalist, choosing Stephanie Fox to be the first candidate to interview a second time.

Fox, the current executive assistant to the Mayor of the City of Kentwood, will participate in a community meet-and-greet at 11 a.m. Monday, July 21, 2025, at the Graafschap Fire Department station, 4534 60th St., then meet with and have lunch with the township staff, and then will take a tour of Laketown by Interurban Bus, before a public interview at 6 p.m. at the township hall, 4338 Beeline Road.

After that interview, the board could vote to offer the manager position to Fox.

At their special meeting on July 15, board members said Fox answered the difficult questions during her 30-minute interview, examined the township audit thoroughly, and showed a strong moral character while being humble.

Of the four candidates for the manager position, Fox was the only applicant to receive unanimous support from the board members for a second interview.

The other three candidates for the position are Howard Fink, current manager at Park Township; David Grumney, current full-time administrative captain on training and health/safety at Graafschap Fire Department; and Lynne Ladner, former town manager of the Town of Ocean Ridge, Florida.

The board unanimously agreed to inform Fink and Grumney that they remain candidates for the position until the manager job is formally filled.

Longtime Manager Al Meshkin retired earlier this year. After finalists for the manager position declined offers in January, the board put the search on hold while members received training on the manager-council form of government from an outside firm and learned to better work together.

On June 11, the board unanimously agreed to begin advertising the full-time manager position with a salary and incentive compensation range of $115,000 to $135,000 not including benefits.

The board received 45 applications and chose five candidates to interview. One of the candidates withdrew so the board interviewed four.