Ottawa County voters overwhelmingly approved a 0.5-mill renewal levy for seniors programs on the primary election ballot last week, while Danbury Township showed strong support for a 2-mill replacement police levy.

The voting was down this year because of difficulties with the mail-in ballot format, said Director Carol Ann Hill of the Ottawa County Board of Elections, but went well despite all of the difficulties.

“We want to give a shout out to everyone who helped make this election happen, and run so smoothly,” said Hill. “We were thrilled that The Beacon and other newspapers in the region published the mail-in ballots, and the various grocery stores that distributed ballots, and even made copies when the printed ballots ran out.”

Hill said that Bassett’s Markets, Community Markets and Kroger’s all stepped in to help.

“In Ottawa County, people always are ready to help out,” said Hill, “whether it’s to assist us at the Board of Elections or to help their neighbors.”

The Senior Levy raced to victory with voters giving it an 87% approval, providing $800,000 per year for the Ottawa County Senior Resources. The agency offers a wide variety of programs and services for the county’s seniors, from home-delivered meals to funding the county’s six senior centers.

The vote approving the Senior levy was 5,580-827.

The Danbury Township Police levy was approved, 661-169. The levy will replace both a 1-mill levy from 1984 and a 1.5-mill levy from 1994. It will generate about $700,000 annually. Property owners will pay about $51 per year on the average home valued at $100,000.

The levy was needed to allow the Danbury Township Police Department to maintain the present services to the community, said Police Chief Mark Meisler.