Pivot Energy's 159-acre Beard Road solar plan: Perry hearing Oct. 15

A solar developer wants about 159 acres along Beard Road in Perry Township rezoned for a solar energy project, and the public's chance to say something about it is now set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the Township Hall.

The Perry Township Board heard the update at its Sept. 2 regular meeting. According to the approved minutes, the Planning Commission "met and discussed the Pivot Energy application to rezone approximately 159 acres on Beard Road for a solar energy project," and "the requested public hearing has been moved to October 15, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Township Hall." The minutes say the township will send the required notices to nearby property owners and publish the hearing notice.

That is the extent of what the public record now shows. The minutes do not identify the parcels, the landowners, the current or requested zoning classification, how large the array would be, or any lease terms between Pivot Energy and the owners of the land. Nothing in the minutes records comment from neighbors — the two public comment periods at the Sept. 2 meeting each drew none. Those details would normally surface in the application file at the Township Hall and at the Oct. 15 hearing itself.

Beard Road has been township business for other reasons this year. The Current reported in August that the board approved a $30,450 crack sealing bid for Beard Road, along with about $12,075 for Britton Road.

The Sept. 2 meeting also carried a cost that will land on winter tax bills. The board voted to raise the ambulance special assessment from $130 per unit to $140 per unit for the 2026 winter taxes, after the Shiawassee Area Emergency Services Authority notified the township of the increase. The minutes note the increase "was kept under the 10% threshold to alleviate the necessity of full public hearings." Treasurer Troy Parmalee moved; Trustee Francis Griffith supported. The roll call was Parmalee, Griffith, Supervisor Mark Fulks and Clerk Veronica Howard all yes. Trustee Mark Fraser was absent.

Parmalee also reported that two new four-wheel-drive ambulances bought with a State of Michigan appropriation have arrived but are waiting on state licensing. They will serve as the primary 911 units, with one stationed in Perry and one in Durand.

On the same 4-0 pattern, the board signed a Public Safety Revenue Sharing Agreement designating $3,784 in restricted state public safety money for use by the Shiawassee County Sheriff's Department, and adopted a budget amendment creating a 249 Building Fund after the state reviewed the township's trade inspection program and asked that the proposed 549 fund be set up as a 249 special revenue fund instead. The board also voted to send letters to all four owners adjoining a small, landlocked township-owned parcel on Ruess Road north of Boulder Lane, after one neighbor asked about buying it; because the parcel is landlocked it would have to be combined with an adjoining property.

What happens next: the Pivot Energy rezoning hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Township Hall, with notices to be mailed and published beforehand. The board separately expects to hold public hearings in October on industrial facilities tax renewals for Spartan Fence and Nelson Metals Inc. DBA Lifetime Metal Sales, plus anticipated applications from Kingsley Cabinet Shop and Redinger Steel, and discussed combining notice publications where allowed to cut costs. The higher $140 ambulance assessment appears on 2026 winter tax bills.