PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Park Township has purchased the former Holland Coast Guard station, completing a years-long effort to strengthen water rescue capabilities along one of Michigan's most visited stretches of shoreline.
Interim Park Township Manager Bill Cousins said the township acquired the station in January.
"Today is the culmination of about a two to four year process of the township being interested and then taking action to purchase the Coast Guard station," Cousins said. "Finally got the deed, and I went up to the county to have it registered, which we took care of that yesterday, got it back today, sent it to the Coast Guard so they have their copy and it's all ours."
The purchase comes nearly four years after the Coast Guard closed its Holland station in May 2022, a closure that Park Township Fire Chief Scott Gamby said created an immediate gap in water safety coverage.
"The day after they moved out, we started looking, as it left a vacuum in this area," Gamby said. "Unfortunately, we have about 20 to 25 calls every year for service for water rescues. We have 2.5 million people actually go through the state park every year."
The fire department is responsible for 18 miles of shoreline across Park Township, 6 miles along Lake Michigan and 12 miles along Lake Macatawa.
To meet that challenge, the department established a Marine Division equipped with two jet skis, life sleds, and will eventually aquire a fireboat. The division also partnered with the Holland Aquatic Center to certify firefighters as lifeguards through the American Red Cross.
"We got about 25 firefighters now that are certified lifeguards. We work with the Holland Aquatic Center in doing that, they were a great partner of helping teach that," added Gamby.
The division's training was put to the test in 2025.
"In '25, we literally had four rescues ourselves, where we able to get them people out of the water. We did get called out about 19 times," Gamby said. "Some of them, people were rescued by other jet skis or passer buyers in a boat before we are able to get out there. But they still need medical attention after that, and we still had to transfer quite a few of them to the hospital."
Response time was a driving factor in the decision to acquire the former Coast Guard station.
"One of the big factors that we needed was this location, because from the time the call comes in to the time that we get to the patient, it has to be within five minutes," Gamby said. "If it's not, it now becomes more likely a recovery. And we wanted to try to eliminate that."
The station will serve as a shared public safety building for the Park Township Fire Department, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Marine Division, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
"It doesn't matter if you're on the DNR boat, or if you're on the fireboat, or if you would be on the county boat, they want to get you out of the water, and we want to make a difference to them," Gamby said.
Cousins said the facility will also serve an educational role.
"We're not going to be doing any enforcement activity, but it's mainly this to help people that are in trouble to prevent and put out fires if and when they happen," Cousins said. "The other thing that we can do will be to provide more education for boaters of all ages, so that they help to keep them from getting into trouble in the first place."
Renovation plans are still being developed. The fire department will work with the township board to determine available funding.
"It's going to be a work in progress, you know, we'll see how much funds are available, and what we can do on that," Gamby said. "The nice thing about the whole Marine Division, it's very dynamic. If it's not working, we're willing to change it and make it where it does work."
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for mid-to-late April, though a specific date has not been set.
"Sometime in April, we don't have a date yet. We're gonna let the fellas get in here and clean things up a bit and get it set up for operations this spring, and then we'll have a ribbon cutting, probably mid the end of April," Cousins said.
For Holland Aquatic Center lifeguard Bo Coffman, the news is welcome.
"I think it's a great direction for anywhere by the water, any city by the water," Coffman said. "It's very nice to be here at the waterfront and know that there are those resources that are available and those trained professionals who can make a rescue when that is needed."
For Coffman and many neighbors, the park is more than a destination, it's a refuge.
"Every time I want to get out of the house or just get out of my head, I come here to the park and just enjoy the weather, even on a day just like today, it's pretty cold, but it is beautiful out here. I love it," Coffman said.
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