Residents in Clark Township will see construction begin on a new store in Cedarville as early as this month. Downstate developer Joseph Perazza plans to begin clearing land on a 40,000-square-foot plot on the northwest corner of the M-129 and M-134 intersection to make way for a Family Dollar store.

The Clark Township Board of Trustees unanimously voted to rezone the property from agriculture to commercial at a special meeting Thursday, November 5, based on a recommendation from the Clark Township Planning Commission. The rezoned property adjoins other commercial properties in the township's commercial corridor, allowing for the zoning change under the township master plan.

The rezoning will allow Mr. Perazza to move forward with the development of an 8,000-square-foot retail store, which is an acceptable use for a commercial plot under the township zoning ordinance. He said he will work with township officials to meet aesthetic wants of the community, such as landscaping and placing a screen around the dumpster area, even though they are not required under township zoning.

Jim Granger, an engineer who represented Mr. Perazza at the meeting, said they hope to get as much work as possible done on the property before winter weather becomes a factor. Mr. Granger is from Granger and Associates of Cheboygan.

Several township residents spoke out against the rezoning, saying the franchise store does not fit with the small town character of the community and sharing concerns about the proposed location. Whether to allow a franchise store or any other kind of business at that location was not in question, however, and was not to be considered in the rezoning decision, Supervisor Gerald Hill reminded the public.

"That corner is such an important corner to the character of the community and is the gateway to Cedarville," Cedarville resident Linda Hudson said. "If we develop our primary gateway to Cedarville in such a manner, we are going to be and look like every other place in the U.S.A. That corner itself serves as a gateway, a statement, and a flagship of who we are, and I think we need to protect that."

Treasurer Katie Carpenter reminded the 25 members of the public who attended the meeting that the township master plan does not prohibit franchise stores from being developed within the township.

"With respect to redoing the master plan and the zoning ordinance, there have been numerous public hearings within this community, where if the community wanted to step forward and say, 'We don't want change. We don't want franchise businesses,' that was the time to do it. Nobody came forward and said that. A lot of the people we're hearing from now did not participate in a lot of those community input sessions we had, where we all spent hours debating these issues," she said. "Our master plan was created out of those sessions. Nowhere in there does it say, 'We don't want chains or franchises in this community.'"

The planning commission had voted 6-3 to recommend rezoning the land during a public hearing Thursday, October 22.

Wind Turbine Donation Mike McMaken, owner of Green Energy Solutions in Cedarville, wants to make a $10,000 donation to Clark Township in the form of the purchase and installation a verticalaxis wind turbine to offset electric bills at Hessel Marina, with little cost to the township. The township would be responsible for up to $1,800 for electrical hook up to the power grid and permit costs.

The 30-foot-tall Mariah Windspire Mr. McMaken wants to install will generate 1.2 kilowatts of power, enough to produce most of the power required at the marina each summer. The turbine, manufactured in Manistee, has a 35- to 40-year life expectancy and requires little regular maintenance.

"We got this idea from Mackinaw City. On their pier, they've installed eight wind turbines to gain the lake wind and produce energy to offset cost of electricity for their municipality," said T.J. Waybrant, Green Energy Solutions manager. "It's relatively small, but can produce enough power to offset the cost of your [monthly electric bills] at the marina in Hessel."

The township board wants to discuss location of the turbine before giving Mr. McMaken the go ahead with the project. The proposed site for the turbine is between the marina building and gazebo to the south. Township officials and Mr. McMaken will find a suitable location that will optimize energy production and not interfere with marina events like the Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show and Music and Arts Dockside festival.

"With this wind turbine you would be able to produce power during the months that you're not open, which would get you a credit to your bill," Mr. McMaken said. "We would like to make sure that you could gain wind from all directions. We would hate to put it too close to the building so you couldn't gain wind in some areas."

In August, Mr. McMaken's company offered free on-site evaluations for renewable energy sources at township properties. The company will present the results of those evaluations at the board's regular meeting Thursday, November 19.