Gallie announces retirement as Amber Township supervisor

Gallie announces retirement as Amber Township supervisor

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

AMBER TOWNSHIP — Amber Township Supervisor Jim Gallie, Sr. has announced he will be retiring effective Dec. 31. Gallie notified the township Board of Trustees during its regular monthly meeting Monday, Oct. 23.

Gallie has served as township supervisor since April 2013 when he was appointed to replace Larry Donovan who passed away in March 2013. Gallie had previously served as a trustee since 2008. He was elected supervisor in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.

As a result of Gallie’s resignation, the township board will need to appoint a supervisor to fill the remainder of Gallie’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2024. That person may chose to run for election during the 2024 Presidential Election which takes place in November 2024.

The supervisor position is part-time and currently pays $19,500 a year.

“We got a lot of stuff done in the past 15 years and I am proud of Amber Township and the way it has developed,” Gallie said. “The township is progressing very well with a lot of new businesses, new buildings and new jobs.”

Gallie said the township board has made roads a priority.

“We have made a considerable effort to paving many of the township roads and maintaining a lot of the paved roads. There are currently only about seven miles of unpaved roads. Last year we passed a road millage to assure that we are able to continue to invest in the roads.”

According to the latest census records, 2018, Amber Township has a population of 2,576 people, making it the second most populated township in Mason County (Hamlin Township’s population is 3,464 and Pere Marquette Charter Township’s population is 2,436).

Gallie’s family roots date back to the beginning of the township in the early 1870s. His maternal family are the Conrads, who homesteaded in the township in 1873. He spends a lot of his personal time devoted to preserving the township’s two cemeteries, Ricky Cemetery on Conrad Road and Towns Cemetery on Johnson Road.

Gallie is a 1964 graduate of Muskegon Heights High School and served eight years in the U.S Air Force. Afterwards, he attended and graduated from Michigan State University. He then worked 23 years as a conservation officer for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Following his retirement, he managed the Ludington Municipal Marina for 12 years.

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