Manchester Township Board Meeting report – Township approves Thorn Lake Solar consent judgment

Manchester Township Hall

by Sybil Kolon

All board members were present at the November 15 township board meeting. Also present were fire chief Bill Scully and many other members of the public. 

There were several public comments about the legal appeal filed against the township regarding the denial by the planning commission of the commercial scale solar facility proposed at Sharon Hollow and Herman Roads. Several people spoke against the project; a few people commented about positive aspects of the project.

Fire Chief Scully provided the monthly report for October. The new fire truck is now projected to be ready in June 2023. There were 82 calls for service, including 38 EMS responses, five fires, and four HAZMAT incidents. The board approved hiring Bailey Elliott as a Firefighter, as recommended by Scully. Elliott has prior experience and the required training. 

There was discussion about the failure of the Headlee roll back offset for the fire millage. No one could recall that this millage had ever failed. This will not immediately affect the fire department budget, as the township plans to put it on the next ballot and the existing millage will not expire before then.

Zoning administrator Carl Macomber was not present. Supervisor Ron Milkey reported that permits had been issued for one new residence, one remodel, two garages/pole barns and one swimming pool.

Trustee John Seefeld reviewed the recent planning commission meeting. Revisions to the proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance regarding Agri-tourism and camping on private property were discussed. Action on these two items is expected at upcoming meetings.

Milkey reported he had been contacted by the Washtenaw County Conservation District regarding a presentation they are offering about land preservation options. The board agreed to set a date for the presentation on February 16 at 7pm.

The board went into closed session with township attorneys for about a half an hour to discuss the appeal by Thorn Lake Solar of the planning commission’s denial of their project. When the board returned, they asked the township attorneys to explain their recommendation. The attorneys explained that the township planning consultant had indicated the Thorn Lake Solar facility application does meet the requirements of the relevant ordinance and that the court could rule against the township, possibly allowing the proposal to be built without the additional conditions the applicant had agreed to in its most recent submittal.

The township attorneys recommended that the board approve a Consent Judgment that has been negotiated with Thorn Lake Solar to include many conditions that go above and beyond the requirements of the ordinance. These include: upgraded fencing and landscaping, limits on construction hours, additional funding to address impacts to road infrastructure, sound limits, methods of addressing resident complaints and guarantee of tax income to schools and the township even if legislation changes personal property taxes on solar facilities. The bond to guarantee removal of the project at the end of its life will be subject to periodic review to address inflation and other increases in cost of removal. The requirements will run with the land, even if the ownership of the project changes hands. The circuit court will retain jurisdiction and the township can bring enforcement actions.

The board unanimously approved entering into the Consent Judgment based on the recommendations. Several board members spoke about the difficulty of the decision but that it was in the best interests of the entire township.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.