[0:00] I to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it

[0:06] stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

[0:13] » God bless America. >> Remain standing for prayer. Father we

[0:17] thank thee for this evening. We thank thee for Salem Township. We thank thee

[0:21] for those that have been in positions of leadership. We pray

[0:27] for our leaders. We pray for our country. We pray for our neighbors. We

[0:32] pray that we uh love one another and care for one another. And we know we

[0:37] have a lot of elderly people in our township. We pray for them. We know a

[0:41] lot of them are hurting. We lift them up tonight. We just thank these so much for

[0:46] how much you love us and how much you care for us. And we again we ask that uh

[0:50] you would bless our community, bless our families, draw us close together. Thank

[0:55] you for all you've done in Jesus name. Amen.

[1:02] Okay, welcome again everybody. Hopefully you got something to drink or

[1:08] eat back there. Help us out. So

[1:15] make sure your mics are on so we can hear you

[1:20] and uh roll call tonight. Everybody's present.

[1:25] The agenda's before us. Do we have any additions or deletions at this time?

[1:34] All right. So, the agenda stands as approved. We have a few presentations

[1:39] tonight. So, please be patient with with us. I I appreciate it. So, tonight first

[1:44] we're going to have our our annual audit. We have Matt with us from uh

[1:49] Cambridge and uh we're going to give you the floor now.

[1:53] Just tell us how much money we're making

[1:59] while

[2:03] I have a draft in front of you. Mic on right now.

[2:09] » Is the mic on right now? >> Push the green button.

[2:12] » Oh, yeah. >> So, I believe you all have should have a

[2:16] draft in front of you. Uh, paper copy of the report. Uh what we always like to

[2:20] point out first is on page one of our physical page. This is the opinion the

[2:24] town should receive. You receive an unmodified opinion. Doesn't actually

[2:28] explicitly use those words, but that's what you guys should expect to receive

[2:31] every year. Um it's my guarantee. So congratulations on that. Um mainly it's

[2:36] you can rely on that the financial receipt are accurate.

[2:42] So next I'd like to go to page seven. This is a comparative statement in net

[2:45] position showing how the balance sheet years depended year-over-year the last

[2:49] two years. Um overall no real major change of changes

[2:55] this year uh for current assets uh current liabilities

[2:59] assets long-term assets are increasing largely in part to the infrastructure

[3:04] streetscape project that was going on and the finalization of the water and

[3:08] sewer plan. You can also see the um long-term and short-term liabilities.

[3:13] Really no major change there. Page nine

[3:18] comparative state of activities showing the income.

[3:26] So there we see no real major changes uh besides operating grants and

[3:29] contributions and capital grants just with all the funding of a couple of

[3:33] those projects were ongoing and the finalization of most water and sewer

[3:39] projects that have been going on. And then expenditure is also saying

[3:43] fairly steady. This is on the full approval side. So it doesn't really

[3:46] recognize that one time expenditure of the street safe project which we'll talk

[3:50] about in a little bit. So we go to page 17.

[3:56] This is the balance sheet or the fund statement for the general fund which you

[4:00] can see at the most recent year end with a unassigned fund balance of roughly

[4:03] $19.5 million. Uh so that's for the current year 308% of your annualized

[4:08] expenditures. Meaning if you spent like this past year you'd be able to go

[4:12] through three years. Obviously you did have that kind of onetime expenditure

[4:15] this year with the streetscape project going on. Uh so if you remove

[4:20] that it's actually closer to 900% to your average annual insurance probably

[4:24] $2.1.2 million. So meaning you can go 9 years without receiving any revenue.

[4:30] That's a very healthy fund balance. Obviously Salem is in a different

[4:34] position than a lot of townships where you don't need that operating tax

[4:37] royalties. It's kind of a different ball game than a lot of townships. So

[4:43] page 19. This is a just a change in in fund balance per year for the general

[4:48] fund. Really again just pointing out that that public works is $4.5 million

[4:53] this year. That's that's not a normal number one time, but that's why you had

[4:57] an abruptly $700,000 decrease in fund balance.

[5:02] All the past few years, it's always been abruptly $2.5 million increase. Okay,

[5:07] it's kind of a change this year, but still very fun balance and one time

[5:14] page 22 and page 23 are the income and cash flow statements

[5:19] for the water and super fun enterprise funds which are accounted for slightly

[5:22] different than governmental funds and general funship.

[5:26] Um you can see the operating income income loss operating losses for the

[5:32] water and sewer fund. Uh it's kind of a standard with the depreciation of

[5:35] non-cash transactions ongoing there. Um that will obviously increase

[5:39] significantly as those two projects come fully on.

[5:44] Um we also see the charges for services increasing as well hopefully. So next is

[5:49] next page is the cash flow statement. So this is something I'd always just

[5:52] monitoring in the future. Obviously the system just being built you don't really

[5:55] have hopefully a lot of infrastructure build up that's needed after that for a

[5:59] while. But it is something to monitor long term with those projects if you

[6:04] want to self fun with cash you got out of hand versus uh doing debt financing

[6:08] which is what a lot of cities and buildings end up doing. So that's always

[6:12] something to pay attention to in the future but kind of long term in there.

[6:17] Then next page page 44 big jump to the budget in between there is just the

[6:22] footnotes a lot of talking about what represents cash how cash is made up

[6:28] and other assets liabilities so it's very exciting read that future uh so for

[6:35] the budget segment I always love to be able to point out that you guys have no

[6:38] budget exceptions so not going to get any love letters from the states saying

[6:42] budget how are you going to fix this in the future so obviously you guys are

[6:45] reviewing and amending that is necessary so always great to see as well. Um,

[6:49] besides that, we had no findings on the report on internal control. So, uh,

[6:54] no control deficiencies that we noted, no

[6:58] major issues that we saw with the financial information we received coming

[7:03] in to what we used to generate the report. So, it's always a great feel to

[7:07] say as well. Thanks to the staff controversy

[7:16] any questions for the auditor board members.

[7:20] » How when you do your benchmarking township to township? How do we

[7:27] » So like I said you guys are kind of in that special situation which is nice. Uh

[7:31] you have that landfill running. As far as most townships you are on the

[7:36] very high end for fund balance in terms of fiscal health I would say

[7:42] top you might want to look at a different

[7:46] way down is not quite the way it work but

[7:50] that kind of thought process of at some point building there is exist

[7:59] for capacity and DQ or agility or whatever named that here um isn't going

[8:05] to approve a permit or something. Maybe they will maybe they'll keep doing

[8:09] perpetuity, but at some point if you do it where you don't have tax, that's

[8:13] always probably the best use of resources for

[8:17] resources

[8:22] and kind of be good stewards, right? So far,

[8:29] » I think u Joe, your uh the owner of whatever the company, they've always

[8:34] said, "You need to spend some money, you know." So, we finally

[8:39] » did a project out here finally and it's taken forever, but uh we're kind of

[8:44] winding down on it. So, >> that is kind of answer that question.

[8:48] You do have to take that back where it is. You have too much, right? probably

[8:52] if you're not signing more tax but can't go lower than zero.

[8:59] » Any other questions for the auditor? Anybody?

[9:05] If not, thanks Matt. We appreciate it. >> Yeah, thank you for your time.

[9:08] » Appreciate that. You and Lori and all work together and uh appreciate Lori and

[9:13] everybody started working the office getting stuff together and getting what

[9:17] you need to make it complete. So, thanks again. Appreciate you.

[9:23] All right, moving down to the next presentation is

[9:28] uh speaking of the uh landfill GFL.

[9:35] You all know Mr. Seager, general manager and he's got somebody with him tonight.

[9:42] » Welcome. >> I'm Tammy Craig. I'm the area landfill

[9:46] director for GFL. I'm just going to grab my computer.

[9:51] got a slideshow for you.

[10:03] » Yes. >> Do we get to turn our lights on?

[10:21] HDMI 2.

[10:38] » Why didn't we have popcorn tonight?

[10:52] Just wanted to present this to the board and to the township uh folks so kind of

[10:57] aware of what's going on at the landfill. Uh make sure you're informed.

[11:02] Um so that's kind of why we decided to do this tonight. Um try to keep you in

[11:08] the loop, right, of what's going on.

[11:19] Yeah.

[11:32] » Remember Dave, our meetings are no more than 45 minutes.

[11:38] as good as there's left. So knock out 45 minutes.

[11:43] » All right. I will try to make it quick for you. Um

[11:49] we are also presenting at the county MMP meeting uh tomorrow and again next

[11:56] month. Tomorrow is uh focused on sighting criteria.

[12:02] Next month will be uh more compliance focused and they're hoping to have some

[12:08] folks from Eagle there to speak on our behalf,

[12:14] you know, uh yay or nay on whether they believe what we're saying, but we've got

[12:21] a pretty good relationship, so I'm confident it's going to go well. Um

[12:26] we've got the 2026 aerial photo. Uh you can see the current landfill right there

[12:32] in the center. Our proposed expansion would be north of 6 Mile Road. It's

[12:40] going to be about 90.5 acres.

[12:47] Um right now we've got our core parcel where the landfill is now. We have a

[12:54] south area uh which houses a gas to energy plant, a gas to RNG

[13:04] facility. We have a MURF and we also have the uh

[13:11] household hazardous waste collection. Um on the east on the east side of

[13:17] Napier, it's a buffer between us and the

[13:21] community. There's a wetland out there. um some gradient wells and then the

[13:26] north area where we propose to expand that is where our compost operations are

[13:33] currently happening in our borrow area. Um with the expansion we currently meet

[13:40] all of the county sighting criteria um with the exception of the wetland

[13:48] permit which we have applied for. Um it's common

[13:54] uh to mitigate wetlands for landfill expansions. As far as the state

[14:02] regulators and the EPA, it is a more accepted a better practice than

[14:12] citing a green field landfill in another location.

[14:18] So Arbor Hills has been in operation for 50 years. Um

[14:24] we manage close to 50% of the waste generated in Washington County and we

[14:31] also manage um about 25% of the waste overall in southeast Michigan.

[14:39] Um GFL acquired the landfill in 2020 um within days of the attorney general

[14:49] filing a lawsuit against the previous operators

[14:54] for environmental compliance issues. Um, we like to think, uh, Dave came on board

[15:02] at that time and it was pivotal and there has been much progress since then.

[15:09] We're we're both very proud to work there and very proud of the things that

[15:12] we do every day. Um, as far as the design and compliance,

[15:21] uh, thoughts for our neighbors, we are designing it with a planned thousand ft

[15:27] setback from Napier Road to preserve that buffer. um the steeple

[15:37] chase which will be the closest subdivision,

[15:40] it nearly doubles the distance between the current landfill and the nearest

[15:45] neighborhood steeple chase and what it will be at that time. Um

[15:57] so these are some of the items on county's list of sighting criteria.

[16:04] um distance from designated historical sites, flood planes, water speeches. Um

[16:11] the parcel that we proposed to site the landfill expansion meets all of those

[16:16] criteria. It's

[16:21] well outside of that distance. Here you can see the outline for the proposed

[16:25] footprint for the landfill. Um as you see

[16:30] the eastern border of it intersects the center of the current compost

[16:36] operations. Um we are proposing to find a new

[16:41] location for the compost operations and actually

[16:46] invest in and create a better operation to manage odors. It's

[16:52] called a bore system. Everything's covered. It's got irerration. um

[16:59] that those type of systems are also used to manage food waste and avoid odors. So

[17:06] we feel that that would be a plus to the community and the county as a whole.

[17:14] » So the 91 acre expansion at current waste intake rates would

[17:20] provide about 10 years of additional waste capacity.

[17:25] Um, in discussions with the county, you know, at the beginning there was a lot

[17:33] of hesitation regarding an expansion at Arbor Hills Landfill due to the record

[17:39] prior to our acquisition. Uh, permitting it for 10 years

[17:46] shows an end date. You know, we're not asking for a hundred years and we get it

[17:52] and things fall back the way they were. That's not going to happen.

[17:59] So, sighting and regulatory, we meet all the sighting regulatory requirements. We

[18:05] actually had a pre-application meeting with Eagle last month. Uh, show them all

[18:12] of our hydrog work for the post expansion.

[18:16] um they were happy about it. They didn't ask for any changes. So they plan to uh

[18:24] begin reviewing the draft of the hydrogel here soon.

[18:33] Uh as you can see here, this is the distance to the neighboring

[18:37] neighborhoods which I was talking about. Currently,

[18:42] we're just under 1,500 ft from steeplechase. We're going to be over

[18:48] 2100 ft with the expansion. We're backing away.

[18:56] We had uh one of our engineering consultants do a line of sight

[19:01] projection for Northville. Um, we have three different points

[19:08] within the county that I brought with me today. Um, one of them is the park over

[19:16] on uh, Beck Road. We've got some viewpoints from

[19:21] Steeplechase subdivision from the one south of

[19:26] 6 mile. And um because of the smaller footprint, it

[19:32] restricts the elevation, the final elevation of the landfill. And at final

[19:37] buildout, there's one home in the subdivision

[19:41] south of 6 mile that will barely see the crest of the landfill over the trees

[19:48] from their second story window. So, we're thinking of our neighbors.

[20:05] So, this just talks about our commitment to environmental compliance. Uh, as far

[20:12] as the enhanced monitoring and maintenance that goes on the landfill

[20:17] currently, um, not only because we have been trying

[20:23] to improve it, but there are requirements from the consent

[20:27] judgment that was signed, negotiated as part of the settlement of the AG's

[20:33] lawsuit, but we have already committed to the AG to continue the requirements

[20:39] of consent judgment in the expansion area.

[20:44] Um the current landfill, one of the things that

[20:50] we've always posted about was the liner system of the landfill and we use

[20:55] utilize a double composite liner system. We're going to continue that in the

[21:01] expansion um system integration.

[21:06] The leech and the gas will be connected to the current systems

[21:12] so that the leech gets the same pre-treatment before it goes to yaka

[21:18] and the local sewer system and the gas will go to the R&D facility.

[21:27] Uh this is a summary of our environmental monitoring. You know,

[21:33] these are several that of the things. I'm not going to go through all of them

[21:36] because I know that's a quick meeting, but we've got copies.

[21:41] I mean these are a lot but definitely not all-encompassing of the things that

[21:48] we do daily, monthly, quarterly land very small.

[22:01] Um, as far as air quality, if you look at this slide, um, this slide actually

[22:06] came from CTI consultants who Northville contracted

[22:14] last year to evaluate our air compliance at the landfill.

[22:20] Uh if you look at the methane plume above Arbor Hills landfill,

[22:27] uh 31 I believe it's kilograms per hour compared to all of the other large sites

[22:36] in southeast Michigan. Um we have this demonstrates that we have a lot better

[22:43] control on our gas collection and control system.

[22:52] Uh continuing on with our landfill gas

[22:56] collection. Um upon acquisition, one of the things that we negotiated with the

[23:05] gas developer for the RNG plant is for us to regain

[23:11] control of the landfill wellfield, the gas well field. Uh previously under

[23:18] advanced disposals ownership the developer maintained the wellfield

[23:25] um which it was about profit not

[23:29] compliance. So it was our stipulation in that contract that we regain control of

[23:36] the wealth field. We maintain it for compliance.

[23:41] Um every day we've got at least eight people

[23:46] monitoring, tuning, repairing things in the wall field. Um the last three cells

[23:54] that were built on that northeast corner, um there were protections in

[24:01] place as part of the CJ for earlier gas collection

[24:07] and also odor control. We implemented those

[24:13] um with each cell. We got better. Um the first two

[24:20] odor complaints rose when we started putting waste in those cells. With this

[24:26] last one, we implemented um bond collection in the

[24:34] cell, a very robust series of horizontal collectors. And when we began placing

[24:41] waste in that cell, odor complaints went down.

[24:48] We feel like we're on to something. And we've actually GFL as a company, we have

[24:53] implemented that same system at all of our other landfills in Michigan that

[24:57] we've constructed new year.

[25:06] Uh this is the air quality compliance record. Um last 6 years under previous

[25:14] ownership they've had 32 air quality compliance violations mostly

[25:21] related to odors. Um since we have acquired it they immediately drop.

[25:29] Um, we've had 12 total in the last 6 years. And unfortunately, the one that

[25:36] we just received recently was administrative.

[25:42] When we acquired the landfill and put all of the

[25:47] uh compliance deadlines into our tracking system, the stack testing for

[25:53] the flare was missed. It should have been done in 2024.

[25:58] Um, as soon as we discovered it and Eagle

[26:03] discovered it, uh, we had it scheduled before we even received the violation

[26:10] and it was completed before our response was due and both of those players

[26:16] passed with right around half the allowable admissions. So it was

[26:23] unfortunate but it was a good outcome if there is one um

[26:29] perimeter and school monitoring. We have continuous

[26:33] uh methane and H2S testing um at the north and east sides of the

[26:40] current landfill. We will install more around the expansion area. Um those help

[26:49] us detect problems on the hill. They're very uh they've got a low threshold

[26:56] alarm. Um as far as emissions on the hill, 500 parts per million is an

[27:03] exceedence on a surface emissions inspection right on the landfill cover.

[27:08] These detect methane at 40 parts per million at the perimeter of the

[27:13] property. Um, we have voluntary third-party monitoring

[27:22] uh for odors around the landfill and throughout the

[27:26] community. They monitor monitor about 40 different points

[27:32] around the landfill and the community every morning and every evening. and we

[27:38] immediately receive those reports so that you know we know if there's a

[27:43] problem. Um that is something completely

[27:46] voluntary.

[27:50] Um we also have a continuous H2S monitor at Ridgewood Elementary

[27:58] uh that was installed a little over 5 years ago as a result of uh consent

[28:05] order. However, that monitoring requirement expired last December

[28:13] and we reached out to Ridgewood Elementary and offered to extend it for

[28:18] an additional 5 years. It has never registered

[28:23] uh and exceeds

[28:33] uh legacy environmental issues. uh that we inherited.

[28:38] There was a fire at the MURF in 2016. Several fire departments responded about

[28:46] the fire with HF Aqua's film fighting foam uh which has

[28:52] since then been banned for use due to POS.

[28:58] We have cleaned up storm water ponds. Uh the remaining PAS due to that incident

[29:06] is in a protected wetland on the site. We had a third party consultant do a

[29:14] short-term water characterization study for the site and the recommendations

[29:19] that they gave the site Eagle was to sequester it leave it in place. Well,

[29:28] we have since discovered that it is seeping under the railroad bed

[29:35] into our storm water pond and we reached out we reached out to several

[29:41] departments with Eagle had a meeting early this year. Uh we are waiting on

[29:47] approval of permits from both the wetland department. And it has to go to

[29:52] the EPA too because of the number of acres, but we are waiting for them to

[29:57] let us clean this up. Um,

[30:03] so that's where that is. We we can't touch it until they let us. We even

[30:09] reached out to see if they would let us lower the levels in the wetland while

[30:16] we're waiting for the permit, and they still have not responded. I don't think

[30:20] they know who can make that decision right now. Um, with the last three cells

[30:28] that were built, we relocated waste which was pre- subtitle D. It was

[30:34] outside of liner. So that's an environmental protection

[30:40] for the community. Get that within a line cell where we're not going to have

[30:44] the risk. um and Wayne County road permits.

[30:49] Uh we do pay permits and bonds to both Washington and Wayne County. And

[30:57] uh we perform, we contract and pay for repairs to the road that the county

[31:04] determines are due to the truck traffic coming to the landfill.

[31:12] uh our community stewardship. I think most of you already see what Dave does

[31:18] for the community. Um we are happy to support. We enjoy it. Um anything from

[31:26] cleanup, sponsorships, you name it. Dave has a hard time saying

[31:30] no.

[31:34] Uh, Arbor Hills Landfell, besides

[31:40] your auditor's report, um, Arbor Hills Landfill actually has a $40 million

[31:46] annual impact throughout the state and the local

[31:51] communities. Uh, not only for we employ

[31:57] I believe it's over 40 people at the site. uh many of which are union

[32:03] operators. Um the rest goes to community support,

[32:10] uh local goods and services and our hosts and permit fees.

[32:19] Uh Arbor Hills Energy, the electric plant, uh that was the primary

[32:26] gas energy plant for the site. uh it now operates on demand. They have a contract

[32:33] with DTE that uh they send there and create electricity to support the grid

[32:39] in times of peak electricity usage.

[32:46] Emerald RNG the new RNG plant uh capacity is about 10,000 SCFM. It is

[32:53] large enough to handle the gas generated in the proposed expansion area. Gas

[33:00] generation once we close the current landfill hill will begin to go down.

[33:06] Gaps will go up. So it should stay pretty steady. Um, the plant creates

[33:14] enough clean renewable fuel power uh to fuel the equivalent of 11, 1100 CNG

[33:22] trucks or to heat about 22,000 homes.

[33:31] I'm not sure what these green headers are up there, but citizen convenience

[33:36] area that we provide for the community. Um, San Township residents can bring

[33:42] waste and recycling in for free. Uh, other areas of the local community can

[33:49] bring recycling in for free. Uh, but there's a standard fee for waste drop

[33:54] off. Um,

[33:57] we process about 4,500 tons of waste through that citizen area and it's it's

[34:03] a safer alternative than sending small vehicles up the hill.

[34:09] It's quick and easy access. Um the household hazardous waste. Uh this was a

[34:16] facility that Dave actually negotiated during the consent judgment. rather than

[34:23] pay a huge amount of fines to the state that no one will ever see locally,

[34:30] they took the initiative to uh

[34:35] offer ideas that would directly impact the community. So, this was done in a

[34:40] partnership with Washington County. Um, we built and totally fund all the

[34:48] operations there along with uh the proper disposal of household

[34:54] hazardous waste and the facility is operated by county.

[35:04] The leech pre-treatment facility uh has been in place for several years now. Um

[35:12] treating the leech prior to it going to yucka. Um last year we received reduced

[35:20] limits for PAS arsenic ammonia. So we have been working with Yaka and

[35:29] engineers to uh upgrade the facility.

[35:34] We found that we are able to get the PAS close, you know, where it needs to be,

[35:41] not completely consistently, but we're having a hard time with the

[35:47] species of arsenic that we're seeing. So,

[35:52] the original plan was to upgrade the uh granular activated carbon system that we

[35:58] have and we've now learned that we're going to have to re-engineer it and move

[36:03] to reverse osmosis so that we can make that

[36:11] uh I already talked about the compost operations. Um,

[36:17] I believe that's actually supposed to be 90,000 yards of leaves, uh, grass

[36:23] clippings from local residents, landscape contractors, residential

[36:27] subscription haulers. Um, you know, we want to move that and convert to a

[36:33] better system that will help support the county and local communities

[36:38] sustainability goals. The materials recovery facility processes about 20,000

[36:45] tons per year. Uh was recently expanded and they have also installed uh

[36:54] new shredding equip equipment to uh increase the capacity and they are

[37:00] also looking to diversify the types of materials that they can process there.

[37:10] So continue capital investment. I think that you know a lot of that I've already

[37:15] talked about as far as uh mitigating the PAS impacted areas

[37:22] uh improvements to the lease system, the gas collection system,

[37:29] uh site and operations

[37:34] postclosure uses. Uh that's one thing that the county has wanted to talk

[37:40] about. However, it's still an active site. It's a little premature. Um upon

[37:47] final closure, you know, we will still be responsible for many

[37:53] years of care and maintenance, a minimum of 30. And we carry financial assurance

[38:00] bonds to make sure that that is taken care of. Mhm.

[38:04] » Um the and when it is finally closed, I

[38:11] mean, we look forward to working with the community and the county to

[38:17] uh find a better use that works for you. Um,

[38:26] one of the things I'll touch on very quickly, you can see it in the back

[38:30] because I know we're getting long here, but um, disposal capacity in Southeast

[38:36] Michigan, the maps that you have there

[38:43] demonstrates the landfills that are going to be closing, they're currently

[38:47] open and are going to be closing in southeast Michigan.

[38:51] Um, if you go to the next,

[38:57] this is 5 years from now, and this does not take into account

[39:03] diversion from any of the landfills that will be closed by then, including Harbor

[39:08] Hills. And then 10 years from now, still not redirecting any of the waste from

[39:16] those landfills that are closing, we're going to be left with two

[39:20] landfills in southeast Michigan uh able to accept waste. Um

[39:28] it's it's pretty concerning reality. I mean,

[39:34] » you know, the farther you have to go, the more trucks you have on the road,

[39:39] the more emissions. You know, the longer a driver's on the road, the more risk.

[39:47] I think it's very important to know because there's some misinformation out

[39:51] there. We post a bond for the landfill go bankrupt tomorrow. We turn the bond

[39:57] in, there's money there to take care of the landfill. It's not you only got a

[40:02] $3,500 bond. It's enough in that bond that we'd have to call the bond in or

[40:08] state would call a bond in and collect all the money to close the site. So

[40:13] people have given numbers that are nowhere close to what that bond is for,

[40:17] but that bond is reviewed every year to make sure it would cover if we all

[40:22] packed our bags and took off tomorrow. Um, so it's important that this this

[40:27] landfill has two liners. Most landfills only have one is a double composite

[40:31] liner which is kind of unusual. Um it's just an extra safeguard for the

[40:36] landfill. I think that's very important. Again, there's things we do because of

[40:40] the consent judgment. Um but we go we we want to be above compliance right at all

[40:47] times. All you know uh I say it every day to my employees and they know we go

[40:52] to work every day to do the right thing, right? It works out in the long run.

[40:55] That's been my model for 40 years. It's worked very well for

[41:00] so we run a very good landfill. We run a great landfill. Uh we just kind of want

[41:06] to get everybody give you some information. There's a lot of

[41:09] misinformation out there which is very uh misleading and very uh

[41:15] um it's not right that long reach out

[41:20] there. Um, we see a lot of it. But again, you can check with Eagle, call

[41:25] Eagle, uh, and ask where we're at. Uh, folks will talk to you. I think it's

[41:32] it's, uh, it's too bad that people are kind of using fear to put fear in the

[41:37] neighborhoods and fear, you know, in in local residents um, by misleading

[41:42] information. I don't believe that's right.

[41:47] » Thank you very much. >> All right. Do we have any questions?

[41:52] Yes. >> The actual distance from uh the landfill

[41:57] to the power line, >> the landfill to the power line, uh about

[42:01] the same as what it is now. >> No, no, I don't have that measurement.

[42:05] » Yeah, it's actually further away. There's a zone in there where there's

[42:09] some infrastructure, uh maintenance building and all that. So, there's quite

[42:13] uh a distance on that side, too. I can't remember. Right off the top of

[42:16] » the village kind of right next to Kelly there. So, it'll be a ways away from

[42:21] Italy's there's a power line and I can't I don't have the distance right off the

[42:26] top of my head. There's a maintenance facility. There's some infrastructure

[42:29] that'll be in that. It'll be a lot like the other side. We're not going property

[42:33] line to property line. Right. So, >> there'll be no BM or anything that

[42:38] you'll put on the on the west.

[42:43] » Hey, and just a couple quick questions. uh

[42:48] third party monitor that you folks utilize. Who is that company and I

[42:52] assume it's computerized in some way, shape or form that they are able to

[42:56] track 40 different locations? >> Actually, no. They get in a car and they

[43:01] drive to them locations every morning and every afternoon at random times and

[43:06] they use a good old sniffer or nose. They smell something. Um, they have what

[43:11] they call nasal ranger that they stick up their nose and then I think it's like

[43:15] one to five or something and they turn it up, you know, they start at five and

[43:20] turn it down so they can smell it. Um, and then it's it's a rated on one

[43:24] through five. Uh, they can smell something.

[43:27] » Is that how they uh do their checks at the elementary school as well?

[43:31] » No, that's that's a that's an air monitor that's computerized that's live.

[43:36] Um, and again there that's been in place 70 probably when I first got here 2020

[43:42] right before that that was installed. Um, it's never had a hit above that

[43:46] ground and that's all computerized >> that and the perimeter monitors

[43:54] along our property line. Those are all 24-hour

[44:00] monitoring and those go to a publicly facing

[44:04] website that anybody can access. >> It's a computerized system that takes

[44:08] all the wind, the parametric pressure. It takes a lot of things into account.

[44:12] It gives us a back trajectory to where possibly that odor could be coming from.

[44:16] It kind of ges out on it. You look at on the computer, it gives you

[44:21] pretty good stuff. Pretty good. Do you have any uh projections on future

[44:29] road improvements for five mile road east of Napier going toward Ridge?

[44:35] » All of the future development that's occurring, the new meer that's going to

[44:38] open up. U there's already two new businesses that have got situated uh

[44:45] North Lumber and something that's happening on the

[44:50] » That's a good question. So there's a lot of truck traffic that's complained about

[44:53] from the landfill. There's the warehouses which means the goods will be

[44:56] trucked in trucked out company trucked in trucked outer truck in truck out and

[45:02] then the new cable company adding more trucks to that. But what I've done uh

[45:06] since I've been here was before I got here was we spent u a minimum of

[45:11] $150,000 a year on any improvements as part of our road bond from Napier to

[45:18] M14. that's back the five mile to nap. Um any improvements that are needed on

[45:23] that I meet with the county every year and they give me a list of things they

[45:28] want done. So 3 years ago, four years ago, I spent $450,000

[45:34] on the clover just north of the railroad tracks was put in in 1920s 1930s was

[45:40] disintegrating. So I replaced that with a box culver this year. Actually Friday

[45:45] we sent bids out. We're going to repair the whole intersection at five mile an

[45:50] acre. So that's we uh the county I met with the county. We talked about it. Uh

[45:58] » so I talked to the county about it. They gave me all the uh the requirements. Uh

[46:03] we built the blueprints and they were sent out Friday. So, I'm rushing to get

[46:07] the uh the uh bids back and get it going as quick as possible because it's

[46:12] Michigan and it's going to get cold and I want to get it done uh this year. So,

[46:17] um next year we could probably go north to

[46:20] the other intersection. >> Yay.

[46:24] with that area being designated by the state for you know economic development.

[46:30] Uh is the state willing to belly up to the bar and help with uh reconstructing

[46:37] that section of five mile between Napier and Ridge or is everybody looking to you

[46:43] good folks to bite the bite the apple >> TV? So, I'm not sure um I'm not sure

[46:51] what's happening with that along in there. Um I can't answer that question

[46:56] other than >> they fixed Plymouth did get some grant

[47:00] both sides. So, they are going to put that money towards that level.

[47:04] » I hope so. It'd be great. I am going to fix the intersection. I know it's been

[47:07] bad for a long time and kind of been going back and forth about that, but um

[47:14] » it's coming. So, coming sooner than later.

[47:17] » Thank you. appreciate the response. >> No, I think it's important that we talk

[47:21] about that the wetland relocation and we've seen that on the blogs. Um, we

[47:26] bought a nice piece of property, uh, the Bot Farm on Curry Road, 5 mile north and

[47:31] south of 6 mile. We have a design for that. There's going to be walking paths

[47:35] in there, a parking lot, a pavilion. It's going to be turned into a park uh

[47:40] for the community which you probably read on some blogs that you guys get the

[47:45] park and um you know we're moving wetlands and it's two to one so for

[47:52] everyone we make two more um so it's a huge improvement more wetlands we're

[47:57] going to get a beautiful park again talk about the construction on five pile what

[48:02] have we got for that have we has any is anybody replacing that with

[48:07] all that habitat that was in there for that wildlife that's now destroyed. I

[48:11] highly doubt it. But we're doing the right thing.

[48:16] » Good to know on the wetland that we are creating on the box property that will

[48:23] carry a 50year uh conservation ement where it can't be.

[48:36] Just one other question about the >> POS

[48:39] » project that you're doing. >> Is did you say that that's leaking from

[48:44] somewhere or is this from was it from the fire? So I'm getting that mixed up

[48:49] from the fire. >> Yeah. So there if you when you go to the

[48:51] citizens area to drop off, you see like the little above the BMB and there's the

[48:55] trees there. That's a wetland in there and it's federally protected. Right. So

[48:59] the pond next to it had PAS in it because that's where all the storm water

[49:03] uh drained from the murf and then it went from there and drained into the

[49:06] wetlands. Uh so we cut off cut it off so nothing could drain anywhere anymore.

[49:11] But it had already happened, right? So I went in and cleaned the big pond up that

[49:15] you see next to the blue tanks. We went in there and cleaned that up because we

[49:18] could. Um our next step is is the wetland area and that's why we got to

[49:22] relocate it. We we originally decided okay just let's leave it in place but we

[49:27] did find out that it is is drained through the ground right to our storm

[49:31] water pump. So you see that uh on certain things that the landfills

[49:38] uh discharging POS it's not actually the landfill it's from that wet land right

[49:43] so um we we figured that out that it's it's going through the ground so we want

[49:49] to clean that wetlands up and we'll make it so it doesn't do that anymore they

[49:53] have to get all these there's a lot that goes into a lot of agencies a lot of

[49:58] permits uh we got to just wait for them to They go ahead and as soon as they

[50:03] give us a green light, we'll vote for it. So, uh, that'll stop that.

[50:08] » Beautiful. Any other questions? All right. Appreciate you guys.

[50:14] » Thank you. >> Appreciate everything you do for the

[50:16] township.

[50:20] » All right. So, moving on down to public comments.

[50:25] » Remember, our public I know some new people here. We get three minutes and uh

[50:30] so keep it short. Yes, Jay. >> Thank you for the smooth road.

[50:41] » Okay. Anyone else? >> Yes.

[50:44] » Um I have a question regarding the board meeting minutes. Um the online are only

[50:49] available. I wonder why that is. And

[50:56] I'll check on that.

[51:06] » I didn't check it.

[51:11] » All right. Thank you. All right. Anybody? Yes.

[51:14] » Hi. Uh, my name is Rochelle. I am the manager and president of Midwest Private

[51:19] Rescue. Um, currently we're in Plymouth, but we have to leave Plymouth. We've

[51:24] been there for 21 years. Um, every municipality within Michigan knows who

[51:30] we are. Calls upon us if they find a domestic rabbit running their yard. We

[51:35] are licensed with the Department of Agriculture and get inspections every

[51:38] year. We wanted to move to Salem, Salem Township, specifically uh 5 mile and

[51:45] eight trail. There's been uh a building that's been vacant for over a year. Um

[51:51] it was perfect in my vision of what we would love, what we would need. Um these

[51:58] are indoor animals only. They don't run around loose. We don't have we don't

[52:01] they're not supposed to be in a barn. Um we give them spay and neutered. We adopt

[52:05] them out. Um I also do programs with the National Honor Society, with the

[52:11] schools, uh with the colleges for volunteer.

[52:14] um haven't done it in a little bit because of COVID, but we also work with

[52:18] the court system. So, someone may have to do community service

[52:22] volunteer. So, we would love to move into Salem. Um

[52:26] by doing so, I have at least 15 to 30 volunteers that come out every day to

[52:31] help clean and do all of that. And uh so that would also bring y'all if you have

[52:36] small businesses. Volunteers would frequent those businesses and spend

[52:41] money. So, um I don't know what is involved to get

[52:46] it approved for us to move in. Uh there is a cemetery right next door, so I know

[52:51] they're not going to complain. Not enough, you know, pretty far away

[52:56] from anybody. I mean, currently we are in downtown Plymouth. That is where

[53:00] we've been for 21 years. Um haven't had any complaints. Everybody loves us. Um,

[53:05] but with the ordinances in Salem, I'm not I'm kind I clearly don't understand

[53:11] uh because there's horses right down the street, regular horses.

[53:16] » Sure. >> So,

[53:18] » okay. Well, thank you. Just if I can use this public comment, I'm not supposed to

[53:23] talk, but if if you would just uh call the office here and uh make an

[53:29] appointment with uh our planner. He's here Tuesday from uh 9 till noon. Okay.

[53:36] And make an appointment with him and come on in and uh we'll get all the

[53:40] information and help you out. >> Yeah, we'd love to be a part of

[53:46] » No, it sounds interesting. >> Is that the uh Is that the Is that the

[53:50] Brownie? Is that the Brownie sign building

[53:54] » something we're talking about? Yeah. >> All right. Well, thank you very much.

[53:59] » I have a vision. Sure.

[54:03] » Really pretty.

[54:06] » Sounds good. >> Thank you for being here tonight.

[54:10] » Okay. Who's next?

[54:15] » Okay. If not, we're going to go down. Oh, I'm sorry.

[54:21] » I'm sorry. I didn't see your hand. >> That's okay. I was keeping it really

[54:24] discreet. >> Hi everybody. I'm Davey. I'm a Salem

[54:29] precinct delegate. We've got some other Salem precinct delegates in the room.

[54:32] Would you please raise your hand? >> Yay. Um, just to let you know that we

[54:38] meet monthly to bring our neighbors together so we can just talk about

[54:42] what's going on locally in Michigan and nationally. We start

[54:47] with snacks and chat and pledge and prayer and then we just kind of hash

[54:52] things out. We share information. The next meeting is September 24th.

[54:57] And we are being hosted by Three Seaters. Um, so come on down. Uh, I'm

[55:05] sure we'll get some donuts inside. >> Thanks, Three.

[55:11] » So, um, there's some little leaflets on the back. Please take one and join us. I

[55:16] also want to give an update on the citizens only vote amendment.

[55:26] Um, our board of elections and Michigan board of canvasers, in my opinion, have

[55:31] failed the voters it serves.

[55:37] Over 79,000 voters signed petitions to get the

[55:44] amendment on the ballot. That's 79,000

[55:50] voters who are now disenfranchised.

[55:56] This is an 8020 issue. This is nonpartisan.

[56:02] Over 80% of Michigan, 82% of Michigan voters want only

[56:09] citizens to vote. 84 to 87 of Americans want only citizens

[56:16] to vote. And yet this amendment failed in the process.

[56:25] Petitions were turned in in March and then they were slowwalked for five

[56:31] months, leaving the sponsors only a few days to

[56:37] support any challenges that were made. The board of canvasers comprises of two

[56:46] Democrats and two Republicans and the vote at the end of the day was

[56:53] along party lines. This is not a political

[56:59] issue. It shouldn't be a political issue,

[57:03] but we've been failed. I also have personal concerns. So, I've

[57:10] been involved and embedded in this petition process for all of these

[57:15] people. I've sat through a 7-hour board of

[57:20] canvaser meeting where they quibbled over does this signature match this

[57:26] signature? And the sponsors provided affidavit

[57:31] where signatures were challenged. The sponsors provided affidavit of

[57:37] people saying I, you know, Joe Smith attest under penalty of perjury that

[57:44] yes, I signed my name to that petition. And yet, not all four of the board of

[57:51] counselors accepted that. It's a travesty. It's a travesty for all of

[57:56] Michigan. People who only want citizens to vote.

[58:01] My personal concerns are around the process.

[58:05] Um, the process was supposed to select out of that 700,000 signatures,

[58:13] select a random 1,000 signatures to be held. And yet the

[58:21] algorithm and the computer program that selected those random signatures are not

[58:27] trans.

[58:33] There was no fair play. About three weeks prior to this citizens

[58:40] only vote petition process, another Michigan money out of politics amendment

[58:49] sailed through. And when when the attorney had to get involved

[58:55] and they looked at what standards were being used for Michigan out of politics

[59:00] and the standards for rejection for citizens only vote, they were miles

[59:05] apart. That's not fair.

[59:13] The transparency of what goes on behind the scenes is

[59:20] going to be investigated. It's too late to get the petition on the

[59:26] ballot for 2026.

[59:31] I just hope that you think deeply how elections matter and elections have

[59:39] consequences and this is one of those consequences.

[59:45] That's it. >> Thanks.

[59:47] » Thanks. >> Thanks.

[59:50] » All right. Nobody else? If not, we're going to the consent agenda for Wel.

[59:58] » Very good. I move that Salem Township approve the following consent agenda

[1:00:02] items. We have dispersements for um August of

[1:00:07] out of the general fund of 493,656

[1:00:13] and52 payroll of $57,246

[1:00:20] escrow fund $4,530 sewer fund $23,96549

[1:00:30] and uh the MEC water fund $1,557.87.

[1:00:38] Now for the invoices for the month of September out of the general fund,

[1:00:44] $529,83.97.

[1:00:48] Escrow fund $11,9158.

[1:00:53] Sewer fund $10,228.19.

[1:00:57] Water fund $1,557.87.

[1:01:02] And lastly, uh, invoices for the MEEDC fund, $93,4168.

[1:01:11] Do we have a second on all these? I'll second.

[1:01:16] » Okay, John. Any other questions for members on the consent agenda?

[1:01:24] If not, all those in favor say I. Any oppose?

[1:01:29] Consent agenda is Yes.

[1:01:34] All right. Moving down to uh business items is the conditional land

[1:01:40] use for key capture energy project at 6709

[1:01:45] East Joy Road. So, I have a motion here and I move that

[1:01:50] Salem Township approve or deny the conditional land use permit and primary

[1:01:56] site plan to allow construction of a battery battery energy storage system by

[1:02:04] Key Capture Energy on the parcel located at 6709 East Troy Road, West of Curtis,

[1:02:12] as known as tax ID A0132 400.

[1:02:17] -002 subject to and conditioned upon the

[1:02:21] applicant agreeing to and meeting the conditions on the use is recommended by

[1:02:26] the Salem Township Planning Commission on July the 20th, 2026 and the

[1:02:31] conditions for approval as described in detail in the attached exhibit A.

[1:02:41] So we have um several of these in the that are listed

[1:02:47] uh is is in the exhibit is the emergency operation plan safety sound and the

[1:02:55] security repair minor site plan amendments and host community agreement.

[1:03:03] um hazardous substance. Um

[1:03:10] and then um the last one was added the uh the township the application for the

[1:03:17] renewal ready for the communities awards and uh that have been talked about as

[1:03:24] far as uh the um

[1:03:30] grants and everything that are out there to receive. So that's uh number eight.

[1:03:35] So, we have them listed here. I think most of you might have seen them. I

[1:03:38] think most of you know that the planning commission has dealt with this for

[1:03:42] several years and u and uh they had as we said on the 20th or what date was it?

[1:03:51] Yeah, July 20th that uh they passed it 5 to2 in favor of uh passing it on to the

[1:03:58] board and now we're here addressing it. I know we had talked about this at our

[1:04:03] last meeting and um we did have a a good uh meeting with a lot of people. We

[1:04:12] invited a lot of the public and we invited board members, planning

[1:04:16] commission members to go with a facility up with to co cold water, Michigan to

[1:04:21] visit a plant there to see firsthand and listen to some of the uh operations that

[1:04:28] go on there. and uh everybody came away with a positive re

[1:04:35] positive uh outcome of what we had seen. Um

[1:04:41] I know we had I think a couple things we had talked about as we went up there we

[1:04:45] noticed that they did have fire hydrants. We've asked Key Capture to

[1:04:50] consider putting in a well for us at that facility. And it just I mean not

[1:04:58] not to worry about all the details, but as far as if these batteries catch on

[1:05:03] fire, we know about batteries with cars that you do have to let them burn out.

[1:05:07] Um and um but the main thing is to keep the others cool during the time so that

[1:05:13] they don't ignite and start on fire. So uh I believe we have a a storage

[1:05:20] facility of tank of is it 30,000 gallons of Jim along with um providing a well

[1:05:27] that provides u 60

[1:05:33] » per minute and uh so anyway kind of twofold if you ever been around with

[1:05:39] fires around here because we don't have public utilities

[1:05:43] um it's good to have that kind of facility in an area where even if a

[1:05:49] house meets and we need to fill the trucks up more with water, we have

[1:05:53] something that's close in that town. So, it helps not only with this facility

[1:05:57] that's going there, but also um other, you know, things that might happen with

[1:06:05] house fires and different stuff in the area. So, um

[1:06:10] what else? Any other questions? Go ahead, John.

[1:06:14] » Yeah. In regards to the batteries, how are they cool or are they?

[1:06:19] » Yeah. >> Water involved.

[1:06:22] » You mean if they're >> just keeping the batteries?

[1:06:25] » Yeah. Now, the the company's here tonight, so Brian, you're more than

[1:06:29] welcome to come on up here. We can fire questions at you.

[1:06:35] » Absolutely. Uh thank you. So the uh the batteries

[1:06:40] are cooled um with a uh uh glycol ethylene glycol water mixture. Um and so

[1:06:47] it's uh it's it's enclosed within the battery units

[1:06:52] themselves. Uh they're little uh tubes that run through the um the actual

[1:06:58] container and help cool down the batteries during operation. So it's a

[1:07:02] closed loop system. >> Correct. Yes.

[1:07:06] Any other questions?

[1:07:12] I'll ask one a little on the subject. Um, in the

[1:07:19] materials that I review that this battery storage system that

[1:07:26] would be in our township would help stabilizing the grid and provide backup

[1:07:31] electricity. Does our community actually benefit from

[1:07:35] such a system if Hollywood is out like lots of homes?

[1:07:43] » Uh well the the benefits of the facility um would be more regional. Um so while

[1:07:53] Salem Township would have some benefit because facilities like battery energy

[1:07:57] storage projects uh help stabilize the grid by releasing power when uh when

[1:08:04] there's excess uh demand and storing power when there's uh excess supply. Uh

[1:08:10] it helps regulate the the overall stability of the grid. So, uh, that

[1:08:15] ability in your own backyard to have that source of power would help

[1:08:20] regulate, um, uh, power flow and power supply, uh, and and potentially help

[1:08:27] with preventing, uh, a blackout or or brown out, but I couldn't guarantee that

[1:08:31] the facility itself would um, be able to, you know, on its own prevent a major

[1:08:38] issue or disruption with the grid at large. All

[1:08:44] right. If I can add just separate the transmission lines if

[1:08:50] they're broken through the weather batteries won't help anybody help us

[1:08:56] wire back in. So that part of it can't help but but the rest of it you talked

[1:09:01] about browns and all kinds of

[1:09:06] those things regional will be good.

[1:09:12] But it won't work as a backup.

[1:09:18] » Well, uh, no. But >> so I mean getting into sort of the

[1:09:25] concept of the grid and how does, uh, energy get generated and then consumed.

[1:09:31] So one particular battery energy storage project as a 100 megawatt facility like

[1:09:36] us um you know that would be enough electricity to power

[1:09:42] um you know thousands of homes but uh but it it it couldn't offset a major

[1:09:49] grid disruption that um you know to to Bruce's point if a major 500 KV or or uh

[1:09:57] 325 KV line went down that is a a much broader and bigger issue than our

[1:10:04] project could uh help mitigate.

[1:10:12] » Okay. And um yeah, where does the power come to charge these batteries? Where

[1:10:17] did that come from? You got to charge battery. How do you how do you charge

[1:10:20] your battery? >> Yeah. So, the power comes uh from any

[1:10:24] number of sources that are uh generating electricity at the specific time the

[1:10:29] battery is charging. So it's energy agnostic. It could be from wind. It

[1:10:33] could be from solar. It could be from coal. Could be from natural gas. We just

[1:10:38] absorb the excess power. If BT

[1:10:43] uses all our power, you'll get to charge your batteries basically. Uh yes, that's

[1:10:48] right. So who's who's

[1:10:53] cross the road? I just

[1:10:57] need to power. >> Well, that's a complicated answer, but

[1:11:01] yes. >> Yeah. You're going to have a big wire

[1:11:03] from their big wire go your battery and you're going to charge it and

[1:11:06] everybody's power is on it. >> Yeah.

[1:11:10] » How much acreage is this battery storage facility going to be located?

[1:11:16] » Uh roughly 10 acres.

[1:11:20] » Okay. The actual footprint of the facility would be smaller than that. is

[1:11:24] probably about eight. But um our our lease area from our land land owner is

[1:11:30] about 10 acres. Um and our land owner, just uh for context, he owns about 134

[1:11:37] acres there. Um and so 116 of that will remain a perpetual farmland conservation

[1:11:46] unit. Um and so the balance of the property will be protected. Um and this

[1:11:53] little 10acre uh set aside will enable uh him to keep the property in his

[1:12:00] in his family. >> How many batteries are included in this

[1:12:04] project? >> 132 at full buildout. 110 at initial. Uh

[1:12:10] so um just like your phone battery starts to lose its um ability to charge

[1:12:18] over time uh we have to augment the facility roughly every 5 years with a

[1:12:23] couple additional batteries. So um so it's 110 at initial and then 132 planned

[1:12:30] at uh the end of the project life.

[1:12:38] Yep. >> Just real quick, I know back to the

[1:12:40] safety issue and fire issue. We're 100% relying on water to put these out or or

[1:12:45] to contain them. Is you see more and more of these fire blankets? Some I

[1:12:50] missed it. Are there any fire blankets that would constantly drape over these

[1:12:55] batteries and if there were a fire that they would drop on them and help slow it

[1:13:00] down or contain it? >> Uh I'm not aware of any uh type of

[1:13:04] blanket technology. I think the the recommended uh response from our our

[1:13:09] fire uh protection engineers is to let the let the battery burn. Um and the the

[1:13:17] water is there to uh help cool any adjacent uh containers so that it

[1:13:22] doesn't spread. Um which has not happened uh uh at any any facility uh to

[1:13:29] date. Um so so really the objective would be to isolate that container, let

[1:13:36] it burn. Uh would take you know roughly um 20 hours or so for it to probably uh

[1:13:43] fully extinguish um and uh and then just keep the the adjacent batteries cool.

[1:13:51] » Thank you. >> Yes.

[1:13:56] Um can we expect in the event of a unfortunate fire can we also expect

[1:14:02] toxic fumes to be circulating in the air and what measures would counter that?

[1:14:11] » Yes. So uh we prepared a plume study uh which evaluated uh a worst case

[1:14:17] situation where all of the modules uh contained within one of the containers

[1:14:24] were on fire. Um and uh we worked with uh Chief Rockwell and his consultants at

[1:14:31] Stan uh to evaluate what the constituents are um that would be

[1:14:37] generated and how far those would uh would travel off the site. Um

[1:14:45] maybe you can help me out. I don't have the final number but right off the top

[1:14:48] my head. Yeah. So, so it's obviously weather depending and storing, but the

[1:14:53] biggest

[1:14:57] consistency of the direction and the evacuation distances with the setbacks

[1:15:02] were all modeled in the planning commission and talked in depth. So, this

[1:15:06] is talk a little while around this. Suffice it to say that it has been

[1:15:11] studied. It has been looked at. Um obviously anytime bring any industry

[1:15:16] into a into a residential area have impacts but I'm confident to say with

[1:15:22] what we looked at there would be enough time to either shelter through place or

[1:15:26] evacuate and the expectation is that um the way the designs are we don't have

[1:15:32] the final design because they don't have their permit and technology changes

[1:15:36] daily that we're comfortable that with the added water and some of the

[1:15:42] consensus that they made for wells that uh the supervisor talked about would

[1:15:46] allocate some protection against the residents and as also believe that this

[1:15:51] is a relatively rural area with 165 acres. So a lot of that you're asking me

[1:15:58] can it hit a a resident? Yes, but it depends on the wind conditions

[1:16:01] everything would have alignment and then you're

[1:16:06] looking at possible evacuation depending what the meters would tell us. We would

[1:16:12] do real time on

[1:16:19] » um Brian if you want to uh you know one of the things that I had asked is if you

[1:16:23] want to just elaborate a little bit about on site during the day like who's

[1:16:30] monitoring this or was going to monitor it

[1:16:34] if you want to talk a little bit about that.

[1:16:37] » Yes. So the facility is uh remotely monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a

[1:16:42] week. Um and additionally we would have uh staff

[1:16:48] on site uh one plant operator um who would be there during traditional

[1:16:54] business hours say 8 to 5 Monday through Friday. Um and uh supplementing that we

[1:17:01] probably have technicians. Um you can imagine a specialist being on site to do

[1:17:07] some specific work um maybe two or three um twice a week. Uh but but it would be

[1:17:16] continuously there would be a plant manager on site Monday through Friday

[1:17:20] and then additionally uh remotely monitored um to the uh get information

[1:17:27] um collection system that uh uh trans transponds information um like frequency

[1:17:36] uh temperature uh gas data information. Um so someone is is sitting at a

[1:17:43] computer um at a at a remote location monitoring that to make sure you know uh

[1:17:50] that the facility is is operating within uh normal limits and uh can dispatch you

[1:17:57] know additional um assistance if if something looks off to come out and uh

[1:18:03] do the emergency type work. Okay.

[1:18:08] Question. Um, how many of these sites are around the country for your that you

[1:18:13] control and key capture? >> Yeah, Key Capture operates uh 11

[1:18:18] projects in Texas and three in New York. Um, those are all operating facilities.

[1:18:24] We have a number of projects also in development stage. Um uh so similar to

[1:18:29] here in Michigan um we have another project in Michigan that just uh

[1:18:35] recently got an approval and uh another one that's in active active as well.

[1:18:43] D if I could um I'm going to Seline Township in October to look at their

[1:18:49] battery storage. So is it your key cash? No, it's a

[1:18:56] different company, but still battery the same.

[1:18:59] » Yes. >> BSS storage. So that's supposed to be

[1:19:02] operational. We need this month and in October we're supposed to get a tour. So

[1:19:07] we're going to have one in Washington County in your backyard. So if you're

[1:19:11] interested in there, we can probably set you up with the one lot closer.

[1:19:18] » Okay. If no more questions. Yes. Um, as far as like breadth of the I'll call it

[1:19:24] a plant for lack of a better word, is there a certain threshold that requires

[1:19:28] like an on-site fire facility or water truck something and like all that you

[1:19:34] have in Texas New York so on and so forth?

[1:19:36] » No. uh there's no no specific water requirement and in fact uh you know the

[1:19:42] recommendation again is is not to fight any uh any fire associated with a

[1:19:48] battery incident um with water. So on the rare occasion as Supervisor

[1:19:55] Whitaker mentioned, the Cold Water Township uh happened to have hydrants

[1:20:00] nearby and so that was you know uh permitted a couple years ago and um and

[1:20:07] so they made use of that proximity. But um it having water on site I think is

[1:20:13] something that makes people feel better but it is not a requirement or um

[1:20:21] you know something that I think actually you know probably benefits that much.

[1:20:26] » So basically like it having someone there regardless of water whatever the

[1:20:31] the um solution would be it's just going to

[1:20:35] burn it doesn't matter. >> Yes.

[1:20:37] » Okay. And the fire chief is going to make the

[1:20:41] the decision and part of the one condition we didn't mention is that the

[1:20:45] developer works with the chief to create a emergency operations plan so that he's

[1:20:49] got it all locked up and provide any training that the department needs. Um

[1:20:53] but it's a case

[1:20:57] district I believe we do have fire blankets around those

[1:21:02] now they're more practical vehicle been some recent studies out of UL

[1:21:10] so that has limited use more for exposure protection and that's probably

[1:21:14] what we use more than that practical the goal is is to minimize you limit it to

[1:21:20] that one device They protect all the other devices to prevent them from

[1:21:26] » going into a thermal because once that device is gone, they're writing it off

[1:21:30] themselves.

[1:21:34] » Okay. Uh, any other questions? So, we do have a motion on the table. Do

[1:21:40] we have a second on this? >> Yes.

[1:21:42] » Could you clarify the motion? Cuz when you read the motion, you said approve or

[1:21:47] deny.

[1:21:50] » Just clarify it. So, we're we're making a motion to approve.

[1:21:54] » Okay.

[1:21:58] All >> Daniel Seconds and we'll need a roll

[1:22:03] call vote. Mr. Winsel. >> All right. We have um a roll call vote.

[1:22:12] John Daniel. >> Yes.

[1:22:17] Luca, >> yes.

[1:22:19] » Alo, >> yes.

[1:22:21] three. Yes. >> Trent,

[1:22:24] » yes. >> Winsley, yes. And

[1:22:28] » yes. >> So, uh, I'd like to, um, just make a

[1:22:33] little comment about Key Capture and the folks that are here tonight. Um, first

[1:22:38] of all, I has it been three has it been three years since we've been dealing

[1:22:42] with this close to it. >> Yeah. So, and I have to tell you that

[1:22:47] when you first came in here, and I think we talked a little bit about this, but I

[1:22:50] want the public to know, make this public record, that

[1:22:53] » I was one for alls, totally against it. And um just maybe the way I don't know

[1:22:59] if you had some other people come in here, the way they handled it, I was at

[1:23:02] the planning commission meeting and we're just ready to say, "Hey, we'll

[1:23:06] take us on." Now, we know the state has taken the rights away from local

[1:23:10] jurisdiction and we uh formed an ordinance. um everything went that way,

[1:23:16] but we were determined to say you guys need to go away. We tried to figure out

[1:23:21] different location and you worked with us. Um and again, people don't

[1:23:26] understand that what the township would lose on this would be um

[1:23:33] you know, we would basically get nothing. The state's taking it out of

[1:23:36] our hands and basically we have uh really some good firming that they're

[1:23:40] proposing to put in. Um uh we created or negotiated a host agreement. It's

[1:23:48] 100,000 a year and I want to say the grants are um that are be is a half a

[1:23:55] million or is it's about half a million dollars uh that

[1:24:01] will be uh the township will receive. So again, and the residents that live close

[1:24:08] by, um I mean not they're quite a ways from it, but every one of them have come

[1:24:14] in. I want to thank our planning commission. They went through this thing

[1:24:18] uh night and day. people have done a great job and your company has done a

[1:24:22] great job and talking to the residents and giving them as much information and

[1:24:28] uh so I couldn't ask for better people to help uh uh get our community

[1:24:33] comfortable with this and uh to see the outcome. I I think it's uh it's a great

[1:24:39] thing. So we want to thank you and we're look forward for great uh uh partners

[1:24:44] and maybe give us more money down the road.

[1:24:48] No, we do. We do appreciate it. So, thank you. Um, all right. So, we're uh

[1:24:55] done with that and we got the financials. We're down to reports. Chief

[1:24:59] Rock, >> thank you, Mr. Supervisor. Just uh real

[1:25:01] briefly, it's been a long meeting. Uh obviously, we had the storms over the

[1:25:05] holidays. Uh um we had a number of residents, kind of isolated residents

[1:25:11] that got wires down. You'll notice a couple wires down, which fires in the

[1:25:15] area. the wires. There's not a lot we can do. Um so, um just stay away 20 ft

[1:25:21] and get those into DC. I also want to thank the road

[1:25:26] commission. A lot of times you guys don't see the road commissions. They're

[1:25:29] out there pulling a lot of these big trees off the roads and stuff like that

[1:25:32] today, especially our rural roads with um some of them very lined with trees,

[1:25:36] the dirt roads. So, uh they certainly we certainly with uh our firefighters cut

[1:25:41] smaller trees, but they can come up with big uh big equipment. We had one on sale

[1:25:45] road that um they just uh helped pull down and make sure the roads open up

[1:25:49] quickly and safely. So um thank the road commission. A lot of times we you you

[1:25:54] don't really see all the work that they do. So they did a great job. Um our

[1:25:57] brush 96 is finally labeled, marked, lighted. The only thing we have yet to

[1:26:03] put in there is the uh watermission package and it'll be fully functional.

[1:26:08] So it's it's about 90% there. Um, it's been a journey to say the least, but uh,

[1:26:14] thank you board and uh, soon as it's all done, I'll bring it by

[1:26:21] over it. Mr. Paris loves it, so I don't know if he'll get it out of his hands,

[1:26:25] but >> thank you for that support. All right,

[1:26:28] chief. Thank you. >> Okay, down to just some board

[1:26:32] discussion. So, um, heard Jay mention about the road. So, I hate to inform

[1:26:37] everybody, but the the road is not done right. And um I can't believe that uh

[1:26:44] we're going after all the meetings that we have had with uh the contractor and

[1:26:51] uh and sure they're devastated about it. But if you if you uh ever get you're

[1:26:56] driving through the hamlet, if you go down by the Bible church there and just

[1:27:01] park on the north side and look on the as people are coming to the west, you'll

[1:27:07] see the road just uh dipping. I mean, it's a lot better than it was, but it's

[1:27:12] not right. And I I I just we I I don't think we can live with that. And I think

[1:27:18] we've got to get this thing done right. And so, we had uh the road commission

[1:27:23] out there. We've had our engineers out there and uh they've all said, so

[1:27:27] they're doing some testing on the ground seeing why is it doing what it's doing

[1:27:31] or uh because we have pictures. Thankfully, we took pictures uh before

[1:27:36] and after and the road was a lot better than it is now. I mean, it uh especially

[1:27:42] that end. So, what I'm what we're looking at is doing um um we're at least

[1:27:48] coming up to Salem Road going west. So, it's about 500 ft. We're thinking that

[1:27:53] that just needs to be grinded out again and redone. So, I hate to be the spirit.

[1:28:00] I mean, some of the neighbors are not going to be happy cuz we, you know, you

[1:28:03] got to have the road shut down a little bit. People go to work early in the

[1:28:07] morning. So, anyway, it's um we're just doing the best best we can on it, but we

[1:28:12] want to get it right. U the other thing if you notice coming in tonight, um Dick

[1:28:19] Dickerson Street here has been finally we've got the new curbing alongside

[1:28:24] there and now there's going to be brick that's going to be put in. Um It's about

[1:28:30] uh is it 7 and 1/2 ft? Is it? I can't remember.

[1:28:34] » 8 foot six on both sides of the road going

[1:28:38] down to the driveways down here. That will improve this road here. You can see

[1:28:43] we've got the new drains in there now. So, now we're getting quotes on uh the

[1:28:50] more brick. There's a lot of brick going in. We're going to re-brick uh in front

[1:28:54] of the Roroff's house there, that spot there that needs to be done to complete

[1:28:58] it. Uh and then we cut this little angle off in front of the general store. Made

[1:29:03] that one. So that that's been taken out that's going to be replaced. And what

[1:29:08] else are we doing? We got a few other few other projects. So, uh this new

[1:29:16] brick that's coming in that we're doing is not into the budget. So, we're

[1:29:19] getting quotes on that now. and we're going to uh finally get this thing done

[1:29:24] behind us. So, and then we're, like I said, uh we'll know more about when

[1:29:29] they're going to redo do the road. Um so, that's about that. As far as the

[1:29:36] USD, no new news. We don't have any updates. Of course, they're doing the

[1:29:40] engineering still on that. So, um, we're just waiting for them to get back to us

[1:29:45] and Eagle to agree with some of the proposal of that 11 mile pipe that's

[1:29:50] going to be going in um through Plymouth, Canton, and Van Beer and

[1:29:55] Township. Um, what else?

[1:30:01] Any other questions? Any questions about the any projects going on or concerns,

[1:30:07] please? Yes. Thank you.

[1:30:11] Um I I would just like to make a comment. Yeah. I'm delighted that Key

[1:30:16] Capture and Salem Township have been able to work together on this project

[1:30:21] and that is all, you know, pathetic. But it's just a reminder that the reason

[1:30:28] that this three-year negotiation had to take place is because our local

[1:30:33] townships lost their authority to manage themselves.

[1:30:38] And that is another consequence of elections. So elections have

[1:30:43] consequences. Be pay attention. Know who you're voting

[1:30:48] for and why you're voting because it affects all of us on a dayto-day. Thank

[1:30:55] you. >> Okay.

[1:30:57] » All right. So um another um uh before we go to public comment before

[1:31:03] we close uh I got an announcement. So, our

[1:31:09] ex uh treasurer, Mr. Dale Convers, the back here is getting married. You want

[1:31:14] to stand up, Dale? You're

[1:31:20] for many years. Him and I were uh running uh together years ago and uh I

[1:31:27] don't know how many years you've been gone from us here, but uh you left me

[1:31:31] and now, you know, I'm I'm still stuck here. So,

[1:31:37] I appreciate the congratulations. >> Congratulations. Be praying for you too.

[1:31:41] And I happen to know uh the gal you're marrying, so she's a good gal. So

[1:31:47] hopefully everything goes fine. Congratulations.

[1:31:51] All right. Um All right. Public comment. Anybody else?

[1:31:59] If not, uh

[1:32:03] » sorry, Mr. Just a quick question. We used to get reports from the Washington

[1:32:08] County Sheriff. >> Yes.

[1:32:09] » Kind of curious what's going on. >> I just uh got one.

[1:32:12] » Okay. >> So, they're putting a new form. This is

[1:32:15] Northfield Township, >> right?

[1:32:17] » And uh I just got one. Um and then what we're going to do is print

[1:32:23] them and then everybody will get it. We'll try to get it in the board packet

[1:32:26] before the >> before the meeting. But we had like 222

[1:32:30] calls last month. >> Really?

[1:32:33] ICO everywhere. >> Yeah. And uh we uh and then uh I get a

[1:32:39] few call few calls from the truckers and uh so they're not uh real happy with

[1:32:46] that. But what we did is just so you know cuz I don't want it. It's on social

[1:32:51] media and everybody talks about it. I don't I'm not on social media but other

[1:32:55] people send it and it's just ridiculous. and and basically the the people know

[1:33:01] it. So what we did is we sent a letter out to all of our trucking companies on

[1:33:05] Chub Road and let them know that enough is enough. You know, we've been trying

[1:33:11] to let them know we really haven't had u the enforcement because I can't stop

[1:33:18] trucks and I've chased the trucks and got in trouble for doing it. But it's

[1:33:23] it's uh you get so aggravated and I know the people are aggravated. People get

[1:33:28] very um upset about it and and once again not to

[1:33:35] keep giving Dave I don't want to get you know we just want money Dave on you. We

[1:33:39] don't want you to pay that. No, but Dave, uh, Landfill, I mean, the

[1:33:44] the stretch between, uh, Napier Road, between u, uh, North Territorial and

[1:33:51] Five Mile, it's like I it it is it is just the people are so happy because I

[1:33:58] can they can text me, I let Dave know, he catches them at the scales are going

[1:34:03] in there and they just like they got people are watching. So, we got a

[1:34:07] communication and it's helping people over there to settle down and they got

[1:34:11] other streets. So, we still got the same problem, but now they're enforcing it

[1:34:15] and people are calling and saying, "Hey, can you help us out?" Well, you've been

[1:34:19] warned. You've got letters on it and so we have to enforce it. So, just so you

[1:34:24] know. So, watch your speed and um any other public comments before we close.

[1:34:32] All right. Thanks for being here tonight. We got plenty of food. There's

[1:34:34] extra bags here if you want to take some donuts home. Um, but we appreciate you

[1:34:39] being here. Sorry for a long meeting and just really our meetings sometimes

[1:34:43] they're only a half hour. So, sorry for the long

September 8, 2026 Board Meeting

Transcript