LYON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – An effort is underway to recall all seven members of the Lyon Township Board of Trustees following months of resident opposition to a proposed hyperscale data center known as Project Flex.
The Oakland County Election Commission approved recall petition language on Monday (April 27).
The petitions do not mention the data center and instead cite the board’s decision to raise township employee salaries, according to organizers.
Craig Kreutzberg, who lives about a mile from the proposed site, is part of the group No Data Center Lyon Township, which has been dedicated to fighting the project.
“This is going to suck up a lot of resources, this is going to impact our infrastructure quite heavily, this is going to be something of an eyesore,” Kreutzberg said. “This is going to drive down property values in the nearby area.”
Organizers have tried three times to get recall language approved. Kreutzberg said the group was advised that the salary-related wording had the best chance of being accepted, even though it doesn’t reference Project Flex.
“On the advice of the attorney that we had been working with, he said this was our best chance at getting the recall language approved, even though it did have nothing to do with Project Flex,” Kreutzberg said.
Project Flex would span about 1.8 million square feet between Milford Road and South Hill Road. The proposal includes six buildings and an on-site utility substation.
Since the property was already zoned for industrial use, the Lyon Township Planning Commission was not required to hold public hearings before it conditionally approved the project.
Local 4 reached out to all seven trustees for comment on the recall effort.
Trustees Lise Blades and Sean O’Neil said they share concerns about the data center but that the decision was out of their hands after the planning commission vote.
O’Neil told Local 4 by phone that the vote to increase salaries was part of the annual salary approval process. O’Neil said the board has no legal avenue to stop the project now that it’s been conditionally approved, but that trustees are looking at ways to update ordinances to better regulate data centers.
In March, the board passed a six-month moratorium on approving any additional data center proposals.
Blades sent the following statement to Local 4:
“The Township was very transparent in identifying Project Flex as a data center on the September 8, 2025 Planning Commission agenda.
It is unfortunate that some residents are attempting a recall against the Board members for doing what we took an oath to do, which includes voting on salaries.
Many of us in the community are upset that Verrus chose Lyon Township for their data center location.
But my elected position does not permit me to vote on projects that do not come before the Board.
This issue never came to the Board for a review or vote. Let’s be honest: the recall language has nothing to do with the data center, but the recall effort has everything to do with it.
I am just as worried about public health and safety in regards to a data center as those who are trying to recall me.
The perpetual worry of health, safety, and energy consumption of data centers seems to be a David and Goliath story across the state of Michigan. To put it simply, legally speaking, my hands are tied.
The Board has no legal authority to overturn the Planning Commission’s approval of this project. Attempting to do so would more than likely cost the Township residents millions of dollars, and we would still end up with a data center.”
Lise Blades, Lyon Township trustee
“The recall language concerns my vote in favor of an annual cost-of-living wage bump that was in the approved Township budget,” said Trustee Kristofer Enlow. “This was extended to all Lyon Township employees. If voters feel as though we should not be giving cost-of-living raises during these economic times, then they can continue with the recall effort.”
Trustee Robert Swain also provided a statement to Local 4.
“While I respect the right of residents to pursue a recall, it is important to clarify that this petition is based on a routine, legally required salary vote with an inflationary adjustment that applied to every township employee—not the ‘Project Flex’ data center.
My understanding is that the Board of Trustees has no authority to overturn the Planning Commission’s decision on the data center and attempting to do so would likely trigger a multi-million dollar lawsuit at the taxpayers’ expense without actually stopping the project. I sincerely empathize with the frustration many feel.
We have already enacted a moratorium on similar developments and are updating our local ordinances to better protect the community moving forward.
I encourage everyone to work with us on these proactive changes, as this is the most effective way to shape our township’s future while protecting our community and tax dollars.”
Lyon Township Trustee Robert Swain
The remaining trustees did not immediately return requests for comment on Tuesday.
Kreutzberg said residents believe township leaders should have done more to inform the community before the project moved forward.
“The Board of Trustees and the Planning Commission were obligated as our local government officials to do a much, much better and proactive job of informing citizens about what Project Flex would entail,” Kreutzberg said.
Developers have said the facility would be more efficient than traditional data centers. Jeff Bladen, head of energy at Verrus and the developer for the project, previously told Local 4 the facility would use significantly less water by recirculating the same supply and would avoid diesel generators, reducing noise.
Bladen also said the project could create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of full-time positions once the campus is built out, spanning information technology to operations and maintenance.
To put the recalls on the November ballot, organizers must collect about 3,000 signatures for each trustee and submit them to the Oakland County Clerk by July 31.