MARSHALL, MI (WNWN/WTVB) – A petition drive calling for a city-wide vote on a rezoning request connected to the new Ford Motor Company electric vehicle battery plant at the Marshall Megasite has failed.
Marshall City Clerk Michelle Eubank sent a Certification of Insufficiency Letter to petition organizers last Friday which said the petitions were rejected due in part to a lack of valid signatures.
WWMT-TV reports that while petition backers known as the “Committee to Save Marshall not the Megasite” claimed they submitted over 800 signatures, a legal review determined only 136 were valid.
The group needed to collect at least 580 valid signatures or 10 percent of registered voters in the city.
In a statement posted on the web site www.choosemarshall.com, the petition also failed as the targeted ordinance was not subject to a referendum because it included an appropriation of money.
The Committee to Save Marshall not the Megasite said on their Facebook page they plan to take legal action on the insufficiency reasons put forward by the City. They stated, “Seeking the referendum would provide City of Marshall voters a say regarding the future of the community. Voting is something that citizens have requested on multiple occasions after being made aware only months ago that the massive Megasite was already in the works and had been planned for over two years.”
Despite the group’s opposition, Choose Marshall CEO Jim Durian said in a statement on www.choosemarshall.com, “The BlueOval Battery Park Michigan project enjoys widespread public support.” He went on to say, “With this petition drive now rejected, we can focus on the exciting work ahead of creating local jobs for people today and long into the future so young people in our community won’t have to move away from the Marshall area to find a career.”
Backers of the BlueOval Battery Park claim it will create 2,500 jobs when the $3.5 billion facility opens in 2026.
