MONTAGUE — White River Township Supervisor Ron Bailey informed the township during the board's regular meeting Tuesday that due to there not being a completed application for a solar energy facility on file with the Michigan Public Services Commission, last week's scheduled hearing has been postponed to an undetermined date.
The MPSC awaits a completed form from Lakeside Solar, which is seeking approval to construct a 1,575-acre energy facility in the township. Once one is received, a new hearing would be scheduled within 60 days. The MPSC continues to accept public comment from affected landowners, with a link available at Geronimo Power's project website, geronimopower.com/in-development/lakeside-solar-storage-project.
Bailey said over 90 participants joined the meeting online, including many township residents.
Also of note during the meeting, township zoning administrator Bill Schmiege reported that he had been approached by a developer within the last month regarding interest in constructing a data center in the township. The developer, whom Schmiege declined to name after the meeting due to it being such an early stage in the process, claimed to have an agreement with Chemours to construct a data center on their land, but Schmiege said Chemours relayed to him that no such agreement is in place at this time. Schmiege did say that he reported the township ordinance's limitations on data center construction, including the inability to build them in the township's Renewable Energy Overlay district, in critical dune areas, or in waterfront areas zoned residential, the combination of which takes up over half of the township.
Claire Schlaff spoke during public comment on behalf of the Chemours Environmental Impact Committee, again sharing the group's dissatisfaction with Chemours' proposed cleanup plan for its environmentally damaged land in the township as presented in June. She added that CEIC is working to obtain a technical report regarding what it thinks is a lack of monitoring at the Pierson Creek Landfill and hopes to secure sediment testing in the area, as well as an independent investigation of Chemours' costs as it proposed in its cleanup document presented to the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
During the meeting, Aaron Bodbyl-Mast, chair of the Muskegon County Parks and Recreation Commission, made a presentation regarding the parks millage set to appear on the November ballot. The millage request will ask for 0.5 mills, which would be used to fund maintenance and improvements at county parks. Ballot language says the request, if granted, would raise $3.625 million in 2027. Three of the four county parks - Meinert Park, Blue Lake Park and Twin Lake Park - are located in the White Lake area. Bodbyl-Mast said that if the millage is approved, the county would waive parking fees at all four county parks.
As he has at prior presentations, Bodbyl-Mast reported that 30% of millage funds would be set aside for distribution to county municipalities who opt in. The funds would be distributed on a per capita basis, with White River Township's share projected at about $8,500 per year, a figure trustee Deb Harris said found disappointing. Bodbyl-Mast offered that because Meinert Park is located in the township, it would be receiving additional money indirectly through improvements made to the park.
Bailey reported that the pedestrian bridge at the end of Lau Road is slated to be updated in spring 2027, with work likely to last through much of next summer. A temporary bridge will be in place as a replacement for the duration of the project.
