Rapid City and Clearwater Township, Gateway to the Chain of Lakes
Clearwater Township, located in the northwest quadrant of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, occupies an area of extraordinarily beautiful topography and is known regionally as the “Gateway to the Chain of Lakes.” Traversed by the Rapid River, bounded on the north by Torch Lake and on the west by the Torch River and Lake Skegemog, the Township is advantageously positioned along the major waterways of The Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed. This watershed drains fourteen lakes, and their interconnecting rivers, in a 500 square mile area of land across Antrim, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse and Kalkaska Counties. The waters of this watershed finally reach the mouth of Elk River in Elk Rapids, where they flow into the Grand Traverse Bay and join Lake Michigan.
Reflecting the important presence of these waterways in Clearwater Township, approximately one quarter of the Township’s land area is devoted to public recreational uses such as hiking, fishing, swimming, boating, and camping in the summer and hunting, snowmobiling, snow-shoeing, and cross-country skiing in the winter in the Township’s forests, conservation areas, rivers, lakes and streams.
Announcements

CLEARWATER TOWNSHIP
SPECIAL SESSION DECEMBER 4th
The Clearwater Township Board will hold a special meeting on Monday, December 4th, at 10:00 am at the Township Hall, 5440 River St.
The purpose of this meeting is to conduct business consisting of the review and approval of the following February ballot proposals:
1) Renewal of the Township road millage
2) Renewal of the Fire Equipment millage
3) Restoration of the Township Operating millage
No other business will be conducted at this meeting.
This meeting is open to the public.
Tom Backers, Supervisor
Clearwater Township
CONTRACTOR WANTED
PUBLIC NOTICE
CONTRACTOR WANTED
Clearwater Township is seeking a licensed Contractor to provide repair and remodeling projects. Must be licensed and insured. Contractor will be responsible for all aspects of “in house” repairs and renovations; assessing other projects for costs and requirements, and provide information and qualifications required for any outsourced contracting.
Pay commensurate with experience and qualifications, references/referrals required.
Applications for this position are available online at: clearwatertwp.com or at the Township Hall office Mondays through Thursdays 10 am to 2 pm.
For questions contact:
Tom Backers
Supervisor
supervisor@clearwatertwp.com or 231-709-0474.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Clearwater Township is seeking bid proposals for the installation of composite siding and trim on the Township Hall garage. This project consists of the installation of blocking, siding and trim on the gables and eave surfaces. Contractor is responsible for providing all labor and equipment for the project, materials are on site. Site visit
required. For appointment to inspect the site, contact the Supervisor at:
supervisor@clearwatertwp.com or 231-709-0474. Or the office at:
office@clearwatertwp.com or 231-331-6249
Bids will be presented at the December 21st meeting of the Township Board.
Mail bids to: Clearwater Clerk PO Box 1, Rapid City, MI 49676; or deliver to the Township Hall, or email quote to the above.
GYM/OFFICE CLOSURE
The Clearwater Township Gym and Offices will be closed from December 15th through December 26th for the refinishing of the gym floor. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to the renters of the gym. Any issue requiring administrative action can be arranged by appointment by contacting the Office administrator or Supervisor at: office@clearwatertwp.com or, supervisor@clearwatertwp.com
or call the office at 231-331-6249
Tom Backers, Supervisor
Clearwater Township
CLEARWATER TOWNSHIP
Budget Workshops
The Clearwater Township Board will hold meetings on the preparation of the fiscal year 2023/2024 budget on the following dates:
Saturday, October 7th at 1 pm at the Township Hall
Saturday, November 11th, at 10 am at the Community Center
Saturday, January 6th, at 10 am at the Community Center
No official Township business will be conducted at these meetings, until the January 6th meeting. All meetings are open to the public. Zoom will be available.
Tom Backers, Supervisor
Clearwater Township
Public Notice
The draft agenda being posted on this website is a courtesy and NOT a requirement, as a draft, it is
subject to change prior to, or at the meeting. It can be found on the Public Notice page, or by the link here:
Board Agendas
PUBLIC NOTICE
***HELP WANTED***
Clearwater Township is seeking local public service minded individuals to fill anticipated vacancies on the Township Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. Contact the Office administrator or Supervisor at:
office@clearwatertwp.com or,
supervisor@clearwatertwp.com
or call the office at 231-331-6249
Sign up today for free alerts on ANY document recorded with your name match. Once a document is recorded you will be contacted by phone or email within 48 hours.
Your contact information is not shared with any entities; it is used strictly for notification purposes. Please contact JoAnn DeGraaf, Kalkaska County Register of Deeds with any questions 231-258-3315.
7:00pm- 9:00pm
Mondays
April 24th, July 10th, October 9th, 2023 and January 8th, 2024.
LRSH/Community Center
The Road Commission Committee
Meetings are open to the public.
Meetings are every 3rd Tuesday of the month
At the Community Center, located at 5407 River St Rapid City Mi. This will be an organizational meeting to discuss the committee's formation, and to create a plan regarding the prioritization of repair and maintenance of public roads throughout the township.
This committee will meet on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, for the next several months, or until a comprehensive plan is established and presented to the Regular Township Board for approval.
Other items to be discussed will be the township's Road Fund, the township’s road millage, the current status of our township's roads, and estimated costs of repairs.
This meeting is open to the public and a draft agenda will be available prior to the meeting. Clearwater Township will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services to individuals with special needs who plan to attend. Please contact the township clerk at 231-331-6249 or by email at clerk@clearwatertwp.com for arrangements.
Jim Leffew - Public Road Committee Chair
Job Posting
ZBA Alternate Member
4-30-23
The Zoning Board of Appeals acts to hear
dimensional non-use variance requests by homeowners seeking to construct structures, such as a house or a garage, close to their property lines, when a proposed structure does not meet the minimum setbacks as listed in the Zoning Ordinance.
There are five regular members and there can be up to two alternates.
The regular members vote at the public hearings.
The ZBA would like to have interested candidates please apply to the Township to learn more about this process, so that they could become an alternate member, and then to become a regular member in the future.
The ZBA currently has 5 members and 1 alternate.
Seeking 1 candidate to be an alternate this year, at the present time.
Likely seeking another alternate candidate in 2024.
Please apply to the Supervisor or Clerk.
clerk@clearwatertwp.com
supervisor@clearwatertwp.com
In the interest of keeping the residents informed of what is happening currently in their community, the monthly Sheriff and Fire reports will be posted in the 'Government' drop down menu...You can find the monthly Sheriff's report here:
Sheriff's Page
The Public Safety Committee is looking for public
input and direction regarding all public safety issues
in our area.
The Committee meets every 3rd Monday of each
month at the Clearwater TWP Community Center,
5407 River St, Rapid City, MI.
Please visit our Public Notices page for other important announcements.