Spring Lake Town Manager Jon Rorie presented the town’s top proposed priorities for projects and improvements during a commissioners’ meeting on Monday.
The four objectives were selected after months of strategic planning sessions held by town officials and community members between January and March. They are meant to help build the resilience of the town, should an economic downturn occur.
During the meeting Monday, Rorie detailed the effects that local governments have seen due to economic downturns in recent years, including the Great Recession of 2008 and the Covid-19 pandemic that began in 2020. Following President Donald Trump’s April 2 announcement on global tariffs, J.P. Morgan placed the likelihood of an economic downturn in 2025 at about 60%. Goldman Sachs placed the probability around 45%.
The town board will address the proposals at its next meetings, where commissioners could be asked to adopt the plan as an official town resolution. Here’s the breakdown.
Water, sewer, and stormwater
The Town of Spring Lake will aim to continue rehabilitation and replacement efforts for water, sewer and stormwater systems, a frequent topic for the board for several months.
The product of years of neglect, Spring Lake’s water and sewer lines and systems have sustained major damage, causing widespread leaks. Beyond the trouble for residents, these issues have become expensive for the town.
At the commissioners’ April 14 meeting, Rorie explained that the town’s budget of over $1 million for nine months of water purchases has been exhausted just six months into the term, prompting the board to allocate about $350,000 to cover the extra water needed. These overages stem from leaks in the town’s water systems, with purchases increasing from 19 million gallons per month to about 23 million gallons per month.
By making this a key area of focus, the town wants to maintain the system, repair or replace problem areas, and perform regular assessments to ensure safe, reliable and sustainable services.
Revitalizing town infrastructure
Another key objective for Spring Lake is the revitalization of infrastructure, including roads, streets and individual properties. Blighted properties are a problem for the town, Rorie said.
“The police department has done an assessment of our entire community, two of our four zones,” he said, “and we have identified over 100 blighted properties.”
Rorie explained that the town does not have the authority to clean up blighted properties, but the goal is to look into any legal options they may have.
The town will also work to find funding options for infrastructure revitalization from private and public sources, like through federal grant opportunities and by establishing a loan program to improve properties. These funds would then be paid back and redirected to other revitalization projects throughout the town.
Safe, vibrant, and healthy community
Spring Lake will also tackle community matters, like providing public safety information and services through the police and fire departments, to focus on reducing the severity and frequency of crime.
A few of the initiatives in this focus area aim to evaluate staffing, facilities and policing.
The goal is to direct public safety services to implement community policing tactics focused on interaction and participation, especially among youth.
“It’s not about hiring police officers. It’s not about hiring firefighters,” Rorie said. “It’s about anything and everything you can do to enhance public safety.” Rorie illustrated his point through an example — walking on the sidewalk instead of on the street.
This focus area will also aim to increase the availability of affordable housing for Spring Lake residents by assessing options that are currently available, by encouraging banks to provide loans to projects aimed at creating affordable housing, and by using town or grant funds to protect housing that is at-risk.
Economic Development
In a final strategic focus area, Spring Lake aims to encourage economic development through town beautification projects and regular events in commercial districts, and through the use of marketing tactics like signs and banners that will help encourage tourism and show visitors what is available in downtown Spring Lake.
The town will also establish an economic development plan and an advisory committee composed of community leaders to identify economic opportunities and resources that will help the town meet the plan objectives it has set out.
The next Spring Lake Board of Commissioners meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 12, at Spring Lake Town Hall, 300 Ruth St.
