On the agenda: Sidney September 14, 2026 — data center (Sep 14)

Sidney Township Board Minutes
September 14, 2026
The Sidney Township Board meeting held at the Sidney Township Hall at 3019 S Grow Road Sidney, Michigan
on September 14, 2026 was called to order by Supervisor Peterman at 7:00 p.m. followed by the pledge of
allegiance.
ATTENDENCE: Supervisor: Terry Peterman, Clerk: Carrie Wills, Treasurer: Corinda Stover Trustees: Ray
Leyrer, Erik Benko
AGENDA:
A motion was made by Leyrer and seconded by Benko to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried.
APPROVE MINUTES:
A motion was made by Leyrer and seconded by Benko to approve the minutes from the August 3, 2026 board
meeting as presented. Motion carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Clerk
Wills reported that the budget for year ending March 2026 was completed. All forms have been submitted to the
state and everything is good. Wills and Stover had the auditor spend time with them going over the audit report
to explain the financial statements
Wills prepared an expense sheet for the special use permit for the new mechanic shop on County Farm Road.
Total expense was $2756.50 and fee for the permit was $1100. Some of the fees included were not a cost for
the permit but were costs for amending the zoning ordinance to add Section 16.09(00) Machine Shop to Section
5.03 (B) Section 16.09. The figures were adjusted and the total was more than the price of the special permit.
Notices were received from the Drain Office for brushing to be done sometime in the near future on Denmark,
Sidney & Hansen Drains.
Wills told the board they need to figure out what to do with the money we received from the state for the Public
Safety Revenue Sharing, By law 75% must be used for a law enforcement agency and the remaining 25% must
be used for other non-law-enforcement public safety purposes. The total grant was $4257.
A motion was made by Stover and seconded by Benko to approve sending 75% ($3192.75) to the Sheriff
Department and the remaining 25% ($1064.25) be split half to the Sheridan Fire Authority and half to the
Stanton Fire Department. Motion carried.
Wills commented that she would like to see better minutes from the Planning Commission. More information is
needed to show which ordinances are being discussed, amended, and approved.
Supervisor (Park fence & cemetery grave headstone)
Peterman reported that a headstone that was found in South Sidney Cemetery was moved to the Sidney
Township Cemetery. History of the name on the headstone showed that the deceased was buried in the
township cemetery.
The fence at the park has been installed and the work on the driveway at the cemetery has been completed.
GUEST SPEAKERS:
None
TREASURER’S REPORT,
The Treasurer presented her report.
Current checkbook balance as of August 31, 2026 is $36,534.72
Current balance in the park fund is $4,731.87, the fire bond is $66.54 and the weed accounts are Derby Lake,
$52,759.64 and Nevins Lake $4,314.10 CD balance is $29,587.85
MICHIGAN CLASS FUNDS:
MI CLASS Fire Truck: $181,899.01
MI CLASS General $221,608.04
Money was transferred from Michigan Class to the General Fund to cover the costs for road maintenance.

A motion was made by Wills and seconded by Leyrer to approve the Treasurer’s report as presented. Motion
carried.
CLERK’S REPORT:
Wills presented a list of expenses for the month. Total expenses reported was $162,302.97 which includes
payment to the Road Commission, balance paid on park fencing and the audit report for March 31, 2026.
A motion was made by Leyrer and seconded by Stover to approve the Clerk’s report and pay the monthly
expenses. Motion carried.
PLANNING COMMISSION
Leyrer reported that he had attended the last MTA meeting. Speakers at the meeting were from the West
Michigan Regional Planning Commission and Michigan Economic Alliance. Each provided good information.
He reported that Montcalm Community offers a class on grant writing. Planning Commission member would like
to take the class; they may be able to apply for grants to construct a path to the Trail from the park and even
from the local lakes.
Leyrer would like to contact Foster Swift to see if they can use the data center ordinance sample from MTA with
the draft from Foster Swift to create an ordinance for the township to approve.
Next Planning Commission meeting is on December 1, 2026.
COMMISSIONER’S REPORT.
County Commissioner Adam Petersen gave an update on County business. The budget has been completed,
negotiations are ongoing with the Sheriff Dept and Emergency Services, Commission on Aging will be putting a
proposal on the November ballot to retain the current millage, the Equalization director will be resigning at the
end of the year so applications will be taken for her replacement, the road commission will soon be getting their
funding from the state.
ZONING
The paint booth at Nevins Lake has moved to a new location. Letters were sent to two residents to mow their
lawn and, Sheridan hospital will soon be starting their project.
There have been more complaints about the house on 2891 West Sidney Road. There is trash that has been
spreading onto the neighbor’s property. The home is still not livable but there is no limit on how long a
homeowner can wait before obtaining an occupancy permit. The generator is still running all day even on sunny
days when the solar system should be working. These problems have been ongoing for seven years. We need
to make this a priority matter since there have been numerous complaints and it has been going on for so long.
The property has a motor home and a trailer on site. If people are living in both that would be considered as
three dwellings on one parcel. By law only one dwelling is allowed on a parcel. It is unclear if they are being
occupied on a temporary or permanent basis. It was suggested that the Panning Commission see about making
changes to the zoning ordinance to regulate how long a property can go before hooking up to the electric
service, using electric instead of the generator to charge solar batteries, and setting a time limit on how long a
temporary solar power system can be used before being required to use electric power service. The zoning
ordinance covers the use of a trailer as a dwelling while the home on the property is being constructed or
repaired. The ordinance could be amended to regulate how long a trailer can be used as a dwelling while the
home is being constructed or repaired.
A motion was made by Benko to contact Foster Swift to see what can be done to put an end to these problems.
There was no second so the motion failed. Dale will talk to the Sheriff and fill out any forms needed to proceed
with enforcing the ordinance. Copies will be provided for the Prosecuting Attorney as well.
All STR’s have renewed their permits except the home owned by Friar and that property is up for sale. A new
STR is located at 2567 Spring Grove Road; Dale has inspected the property. That makes a count of seven
STR’s on Derby Lake.
FIRE DEPARTMENTS:
Sheridan & Stanton:
Benko reported that Sheridan held a special meeting to discuss hiring an auditor.
The Village has acquired an Emergency Alert System and are asking each entity in the authority if they would
be interested in joining the system. There would be a fee to join and the system would cover all of Sidney
Township. The board took no action on this matter.
OLD BUSINESS
Sidney Corner Lights Update

The lights have been shipped and will be stalled very soon.
NEW BUSINESS:
Weed Annual Report
Nevins Lake and Derby Lake assessments to remain the same.
Nevins Lake
Front Lots $100 Back Lots $50
Derby Lake
Front Lots $50 Back Lots $25
Both associations want to continue with the same amount as was assessed last year. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Wills and seconded by Leyrer to approve assessing the same amounts as last year for
the weed control on both lakes.
CITIZENS COMMENTS
Jennifer Petersen is new to the area and is considering building a home in our township. She wondered what
the status is on data centers and the wind and solar farms. She is concerned about how those projects would
affect the quality of water and air.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Stover and seconded by Leyrer to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Motion carried.
Carrie Wills
Sidney Twp Clerk