retired engineer speaks against the marshall megasite. part one ~ Regis klinger

Marshall Mega-site Part 1 - By Regis Klinger
* Marshall City Council and Marshall Twp Board have approved of Land Transfer from Marshall Twp to Marshall City after public hearing speakers were overwhelmingly opposed to it.

The Marshall City Council and Marshall Twp Board have now both agreed to the Public Act 425 land transfer from Marshall Twp to the City of Marshall, even though input from speakers at the public hearings were mostly against the land transfer and the process it would start. This land transfer starts off the process for the City of Marshall and the Marshall Area Economic Development Association (MAEDA) to prepare the transferred land as a Mega-site for heavy industrial use. While this land transfer has been planned by MAEDA, The City of Marshall and Marshall TWP for some time, it has only recently been brought to the attention of the residents and taxpayers of the City and Twp. The public hearings were the first opportunity for input from the public on this transfer and project.

Marshall is a small, but vibrant, town which is one of the main reasons people chose to stay here and move here. Most Marshall residents are for economic development and the benefits of added jobs and money it brings into the community. They are not for growth and development which will drastically change the size and character of the town and area they live and work in. Citizens want to have input on economic development to advise planning leaders on what is wanted and what is not.

* Mega-site would be up to 1,900 acres when only a small portion of that is actually is needed for a large industrial plant. Smaller sites at existing industrial parks or brownfield sites could be developed instead.
The proposed Mega-site area would be up to 1,900 acres and stretch from 12 Mile Rd to 15 Mile Rd along C Drive N in Marshall Twp (to become Marshall City after the land transfer is completed). It has been suggested that the site will be for a battery assembly plant or semiconductor plant. A review of the 4 battery assembly and related plants that General Motors has announced in Delta Twp (Lansing), Orion Twp (Auburn Hills), Spring Hills TN and Lordstown OH, show that those plants are planned to be between 2.5 million sq ft and 3.0 million sq ft at existing plant sites. That area is the equivalent of 58 to 68 acres. If additional land is assumed for parking, storage, distribution and landscaping, at 5 times the original area needed, that area is still only 290 to 340 acres. This is a similar size to the new battery component plant being built near Big Rapids. What is going to be done with the other 1700 acres? We can only assume that there will be multiple plants in addition to the original mega-plant. The effect of a single battery or semiconductor plant bringing in 2,000 to 3,000 jobs would greatly impact the city and surrounding area. A large number of these types of plants or feeder plants, would drastically change the character and size of the region into a metropolitan area. Most people in Marshall and the surrounding Twps live here, or have moved here, to get away from metropolitan areas.

* Mega-site is primarily farmland which will be permanently lost if developed for heavy industry.

Unfortunately, the Mega-site is primarily farmland and located very near to the north side of the Kalamazoo River. The loss of 2000 acres of prime farmland is significant especially in this county because of all of the recently installed marijuana-grow farms, solar farms and windmill farms in the rural areas. Additional lose of this farmland would mean that these 1,900 acres would be gone forever. In the case of a heavy industrial site, it would be very unlikely that this land could ever be returned to farmland. The cost to remove and cleanup the site would be prohibitive to return to farmland, with the only possible reuse being more industrial uses.

I have been involved in the planning, design and construction of large projects for many years. I know the amount of planning, coordination and resources it takes to develop a project of this size. I also believe that the old way of doing economic and project planning is outdated and needs to be changed. It needs to be changed because of climate change, increasing human population and resource use, and loss of farmland to drought, flooding and urban sprawl. We need development, but not at the expense of clean air and water, loss of farmland to feed the increasing world population, and just as important, preserving the lifestyle that people have chosen in this area. Marshall would be
much better off developing on a smaller scale. A scale that can be better controlled and regulated. Development that preserves the character and lifestyle of the residents and taxpayers of the area If you want to help keep the Marshall Mega-site from becoming a reality and keep Marshall development under control, go to http://www.michiganmegasite.com Sign the petition and contact
the Save Marshall group to help.

Summary

* Marshall City Council and Marshall Twp Board approved of Land Transfer from Marshall Twp to Marshall
City after public hearings where speakers were overwhelmingly opposed to it.

* Mega-site would be up to 1,900 acres when only a small portion of that is actually is needed for a
large industrial plant. This implies multiple plants are expected and planned for.

* Mega-site is primarily farmland which will be permanently lost if developed for heavy industry.

Regis Klingler
Marshall Resident