"It's not in stone, yet," Cousins said last Friday. But I am 99 point nine percent sure it's going to happen." Cousins has been the manager of the Village of Kalkaska for five years. An executive search firm contacted Cousins concerning the position.

"They came to me," he said. "It's going to be very hard for me to leave here. "It was an opportunity for me to advance my career and be closer to all of our kids and grandkids."

Cousins said the move will reduce trips that he and his wife, Meredith, take to see family from three hours to an hour or less. Cascade Twp. is 34 square miles and is located on the east side of Grand Rapids and in Kent County. The population is 15,000.

"It's a little smaller than the normal township," Cousins said. "Grand River cuts through the northeast corner.

"The whole west end is urbanized and the east end is farms. It'll be a great place to live."

Cousins said there is an ongoing project for expanding motorless trails and a fabulous library.

Cascade Twp. was looking for someone with problem solving and communication skills.

"I enjoy problem solving and try to be a good communicator," Cousins said. "I

like dealing with people." Cousins said that although he does not yet have a contract with the township, he expects to have one and issue his notice to the Village of Kalkaska by Thursday, Sept. 27.

"Every time I move, I put my wife out of work," he said. "So, if she wants to, she'll have to find a new job."

Meredith currently works at Birch Street Dental Care in Kalkaska.

"It's going to be very hard for me to leave here," Cousins said. "I'm not leaving to get out of Kalkaska. I'd really like to take Kalkaska with me."

When asked about the top three projects of which he was most proud during his time at the helm in Kalkaska, Cousins said it would be tough to choose.

"The top would be the iron removal plant," he said. "To be able to obtain the grant and turn our water from yellow to clear and replace a lot of water mains was a wonderful achievement and great for the village."

Cousins said the waste water treatment plant project was onethird complete when he came on board in Dec. of 2002. He added that he inherited the street scape project.

"The grant was written in 1998," he said. "In 2003, it was being thrown in the trash by MDOT and we were able to resurrect it."

The third project he noted was the Kalkaska Area Recreation and Transportation Trail.

"The credit goes to the people," he said. "All I did and all the village did was fill out some paperwork and handle the administrative portion of the grant -but what an absolute positive thing."

Cousins added one more accomplishment achieved by the village during his time of service.

"Buying a new village office is another one," he said. "Instead of paying two to three million to build a new village hall, like some other villages, we only spent a half million. "From a service aspect, I think this building has been a tremendous improvement."

Cousins said that he will work with the village council to create an exit strategy. Once he receives his contract, he will give a one month notice.

"I will be available by phone or Internet," he said. "Or I'll come in on a Saturday."