WALKER, Mich. — Property owners in the Northview area are frustrated that they are paying for a pumping station that will keep water levels of Dean Lake under control.
"Seventy-four people signed a petition that said, 'Please stop, at least let's investigate the cost and see how we got here...'" said property owner Steve Harpold when FOX17's Waleed Alemlah checked on the issue earlier this year.
Since then, owners of property on the lake were informed they had until a date in July to decide if they were paying $23,000 now or $2,000 per year extra in their assessment for the next 20 years. Including the interest, their final cost is estimated to be around $34,000.
Dean Lake, located on the southern edge of the Northview area, is classified as a drain lake, meaning water from surrounding areas drains into it but has no outlet, causing water levels to fluctuate with runoff. The proposed solution involves pumping excess water from the lake into a storm drain near Plainfield Avenue once water reaches a certain level.
While Kent County will oversee the construction of the pumping system, property owners will bear the costs. Kent County Drain Commissioner Ken Yonker noted that initial cost estimates presented to the community were not comprehensive.
"The engineer had to throw together a ballpark what it was going to cost to do the pump and put that in. But what he doesn't include in that price was all the studies that have to be done," Yonker said.
Originally estimated at about $1.5 million, the project's costs have ballooned to approximately $3 million to $4 million after two years of planning, during which inflation and the pandemic have impacted expenses.
"You're sold an inaccurate bill of sale," said Logan Mirandette, whose property is on the alek. "Here's what potentially the cost will be, would you be okay with that, kind of informal, yes, no, and then all of a sudden now it's $3 million ... We never had a vote on this. We never went to the ballots to say, yep. It was just applied. So I mean, I guess a warning to the community that like the drain commissioner's office can just place this on your taxes."
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