Panel approves recall petition language against Eagle Twp. supervisor

EAGLE TWP. — The Clinton County Election Commission has approved language for a recall petition targeting Eagle Township Supervisor Patti Schafer over actions related to a potential large development.

The three-member commission unanimously approved the petition language during a clarity hearing Thursday. A receipt posted on the county's website listed township resident Troy Stroud as the submitter.

The petition language says:

"In the spring of 2022, Eagle Township Supervisor Patti Schafer signed a non-disclosure agreement pertaining to the potential large-scale development of land in Eagle Township. This act limited the information available to Eagle Township residents affected by the potential development."

The recall petition doesn't identify the development linked to the non-disclosure agreement, but officials have been discussing a 1,400-acre mega site that business leaders envision as a multi-million-dollar high-tech campus in Eagle Township. State officials and local business leaders are marketing the site to microchip and electric battery makers, as well as similar large-scale companies.

An attorney for Schafer said she plans to appeal the decision.

“The NDA was approved by township legal counsel and all the Trustees voted in favor of executing it," Chris Trebilcock, of Clark Hill PLC, said Friday in a statement. "To recall a public servant like Patti for fulfilling her oath of office by performing the ministerial act of signing the NDA is disgusting and hypocritical.  On appeal we are confident that the court will see the reason as stated does not meet the applicable legal standards.”

Some residents who live near the proposed site have been organizing to oppose against the plan.

The site has been publicly marketed since at least fall and is one of three large Michigan parcels with more than 1,000 acres that come with financial incentives to be developed. The property is owned primarily by Michigan State University and marketed by Lansing Area Economic Partnership, which tries to steer development in the region.

Bob Trezise, president and CEO of LEAP, has argued the proposed location is the right one because it's located close to Lansing and easily accessible to the entire region. The site, most of which is owned by Michigan State University, represents less than 0.4% of agricultural land in Clinton County, he wrote in an opinion piece for the State Journal, and has the potential to create thousands of good-paying jobs.

Contact Ken Palmer atkpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.