Dundee Township continues to be a hot spot over a possible data center being built.
At the township board meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 25, in addition to several comments and concerns raised by township residents, the board read out a letter they received from State Rep. Reggie Miller, which expressed her opposition to the data center.
“While economic growth is important, this project carries significant risks that outweigh its potential benefits,” the letter read.
The meeting also featured flyers from Cloverleaf, the company looking to bring the data center to the township, which invited people to a series of “small-group discussion sessions,” where project representatives will discuss why the project is located in Dundee Township and answer questions from the public.
According to township clerk Karla Ziesmer, the board hasn’t been in contact with Cloverleaf, and they plan to extend the 90-day moratorium they signed on Oct. 14 at the Dec. 9 meeting. The moratorium, posted on the township’s website, puts a 90-day pause on all data center projects, wherein no new applications can be submitted, no zoning, rezoning, site plans, or land-use permits for data centers will be accepted or processed, and anything already in process is frozen.
“We are trying to collect facts as you present them, and as we find them to try and come to a good solution,” said township trustee Gary Lazette. “Nobody has taken a vote. I’ve never asked anybody what they think about any of this. We’re trying to be as neutral as we can until we have all the information.”
Previous meetings have seen attendees grow passionate in their opposition to the data center, citing concerns about any potential for rising utility bills, noise pollution, and water contamination. At the meeting on Oct. 28, a representative of Cloverleaf was heckled off the podium by attendees when he tried to speak.
Despite opposition, Cloverleaf is still intent on addressing questions from the public through things like the small-group discussions.
“We understand that the community has concerns about things like energy rates, noise, light pollution, water consumption, and we’re happy to sit down with people and address those concerns,” said Cloverleaf’s chief development officer, Aaron Bilyeau.
Though Bilyeau said he’s not aware of any direct communication between Cloverleaf and the Dundee Township Board, it was his understanding that the township is working on enacting zoning to support data centers. Dundee Township officials couldn’t be reached for confirmation.
— Contact reporter Connor Veenstra at CVeenstra@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Where does Dundee Township stand on the proposed data center?
Reporting by Connor Veenstra, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
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