LOWELL, Mich. — The City of Lowell is no longer playing a role in the development a potential data center in Lowell Township and, as of Tuesday afternoon, has not commented further on the matter.
In a statement posted to its website and Facebook page on Friday, the city said it was "suspending its participation."
"If and when the prospective tenant comes forward and provides specific details about what they are asking for in terms of water and wastewater use, the city would be open in reengaging in this project," the city said.
The announcement comes days after neighbors in the area packed the Lowell Township hall for a public hearing on the potential development, surpassing the building's capacity and forcing the meeting to be postponed to a later date at a larger venue.
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If approved, the data center would be located at Covenant Business Park in Lowell Township, which holds water and wastewater agreements with the City of Lowell.
In an interview with FOX 17 on Tuesday, Lowell City Manager Mike Burns said that, regardless of whether a data center is built and allowed to do business in the area, the city needs to expand its water plant.
"No matter what situation we have, we have to upgrade this facility," said Burns, detailing a desire to increase the plant's capacity from 1.5 million gallons of water a day to 3 million gallons of water a day.
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During the interview, Burns also said the developer of the business park, based on a preliminary estimate, believed the data center would likely use around 30,000 gallons of water a day, which would amount to one-percent of what would be the plant's expanded capacity.
"I have seen no indication that makes me believe there's going to be any issues with providing water to the community," Burns said at the time, citing a recent city study.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the City of Lowell has not yet responded to FOX 17's questions on whether it stands by its previous comments on the water supply and whether the data center's development can continue without the its participation, given the city's water and wastewater agreements with the township.
"As a Lowell Township resident, my number one [concern] is the water," said Jamie Thompson, a founding member of Residents United for a Healthy Lowell.
In a virtual interview on Tuesday, Thompson and Kathryn Robertson, who is also a part of the local group, said they don't feel as if they've gotten a straight answer from the city relating to the potential data center's water use.
"I have two young kids that I plan on raising here," Thompson said. "So, it's important for me to have more information."
"A lot of these centers are popping up so quickly that we don't have guidelines, enough guidelines," Robertson said. "Are those guardrails enough for your community?"
The public hearing for a rezoning that will allow the data center to be built at Covenant Business Park has been rescheduled for Monday, January 12 at 6:00 p.m. at Lowell High School Performing Arts Center.
