At the latest Lowell City council meeting, Mayor Mike DeVore moved to suspend any discussions or decisions regarding future development agreements with Lowell Township.
“The changes to the existing water and sewer agreements being proposed at all levels will impact our residents and our community for decades. And there needs to be clear, concise, and honest communication in good faith to that end. That has not been the case to this point, and it is unfair to the community we were elected to represent, to allow that to continue.”
Lowell Township Supervisor Jerry Hale tells WGVU he was surprised by the mayor’s comments.
Hale says he has reached out to city leaders without a response, noting they have had a seat at the table throughout all discussions.
While the city remains contractually bound to provide water services to the township, the vote halts further changes to the agreement.
That includes negotiations involving Microsoft’s proposed plan for a $1 billion data center in the township.
Lowell city leaders maintain that a multi-million expansion of its aging water plant and wastewater treatment facilities is necessary to support population growth -regardless of whether the data center moves forward.
Meanwhile Lowell Township officials say their immediate focus is on finalizing a data center zoning ordinance before taking any further action.
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