A proposed waterway project that would allow people to boat from Lake Michigan to downtown Grand Rapids will not have the support of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners moving forward. Citing the lack of support from country residents and environmental concerns, officials voted 9-1 in opposition of the Grand River Waterway Project.
The proposal would require dredging portions of the Grand River, digging deep enough that vessels 26 feet and longer could safely navigate the waterway.
According to a study conducted by the Anderson Economic Group, the proposal would generate nearly $60 million over ten years in economic activity, while increasing property values on the Grand River an additional $54 million.
Ottawa County Board of Commissioners Chair Greg DeJong said, local residents didn’t seem sold on the idea at a public hearing earlier this month.
“One of our largest crowds ever came out in big, big numbers and spoke in opposition to doing anything to the river whatsoever,” DeJong said.
The lone vote in favor of the proposal came from Commissioner Randall Mepplelink, who argued that the proposal is an opportunity to take a hard look at what lies underneath the bed of the Grand River.
“We had a great opportunity to learn more about the river,” Mepplelink says. “I sure wouldn’t want to tell my granddaughter, ‘we had an opportunity to clean it up, (but we didn’t) and I am sorry the river is the way that it is.’”
Meanwhile, the County Commissioners vote is really a symbolic one, as the State could still ultimately approve the project.