Despite plenty of discussion, questions and one vote against the resolution due to a commissioner feeling uninformed, the Sanilac County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution opposing Camp Grayling’s requested 20-year-lease of additional land to the training facility.
Before joining 56 other township and county boards across Michigan in opposing the lease, they heard a presentation from Jim Knight, a trustee from the Bear Lake Township board in Kalkaska County and advocate against the expansion. The resolution cites contamination by the military training facility and noise pollution as reasons for opposing the camp’s requested lease.
While there were discussions of tabling the resolution so more research could be done before next meeting, with District 7 Commissioner John Moody saying he wanted to hear from officials at Camp Grayling before deciding, all commissioners but Moody voted to approve the resolution, and thus oppose the expansion.
The Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, including 148,000 acres in and around Grayling, is the largest National Guard training facility in the United States. Michigan military leaders last winter proposed a lease of up to an additional 162,000 acres of state forest land around the existing camp to conduct training activities such as drone operation, cyber and electronic warfare and operation of space and communication systems.
In addition to this resolution, the Sanilac County Board of Commissioners also heard a presentation on the 2022 annual drain report, and approved the purchase of vehicles and firearms for the sheriff’s office.
