Saug Twp board: Situation not desperate

SAUGATUCK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - Saugatuck Township already has spent about $250,000 defending itself against a lawsuit that billionaire Aubrey McClendon has filed.

So, one of the major purposes of Wednesday night's board meeting was to find the money needed in order to keep defending the township against the lawsuit, and to stay afloat.

"It's not desperate," said Chris Roerig, a township board member. "We're simply trying to look for money where we can. That's the way we do things."

But Saugatuck Township board members say they're running lower than normal on funds this year -- mostly because of the lawsuit McClendon filed in federal court, which says he's not being treated fairly as a landowner.

"I don't agree with him." Roerig said.

So, on Wednesday the board spent a significant amount of time examining the money it has already spent. Members also discussed new ways they could raise funds in the future; such as harvesting timber.

"I'd say it's a real shame that the township has had to spend $250,000 on having to defend locally determined zoning from a billionaire CEO," said David Swan, of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance.

But McClendon's attorneys say he is the one who has been wronged.

No one representing McClendon was at the meeting, because the council wasn't discussing the lawsuit or the property in question, an attorney told 24 Hour News 8 in a phone call.

However, McClendon does have some supporters.

"This is the best thing for us, our grand children and our great-grandchildren," said R.J. Peterson during the meeting's public comments section.

Board members couldn't comment specifically on the lawsuit.

"All we want to do is treat every land owner fairy and uniformly -- that's all we're trying to accomplish," Roerig said. "What he wants to accomplish is outsiders-only laws, and we can't change for one person."

Saugatuck Township attorneys have asked that the case be dismissed from federal court. The outcome of that decision is expected later this month.