Green Oak Township could be home to new Michigan National Guard "readiness center"
A 93-acre parcel of land in Green Oak Township could become the new home of a Michigan National Guard training facility.
CBS News Detroit learned from Township Supervisor Mark St. Charles that the land has been under the control of the Michigan Department of Corrections for as long as he's been around.
"This is just knowledge that has been handed down to me. This was part of the W.J. Maxey Correctional Facility for juveniles," said St. Charles, who has been the township supervisor for the last 26 years.
In recent years, the MDOC has made improvements and used it for training, but over the last couple of weeks, control of the 93 acres has shifted to the Michigan National Guard.
"The state-of-the-art training facility is actually a really nice set of buildings, modernized. And it has its own shooting range," St. Charles said.
On Oct. 5, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 478, which transfers the land from MDOC control to the Michigan National Guard. That clears the way, according to an analysis of the bill by the Senate Fiscal Agency, for a new National Guard "readiness center."
CBS News Detroit reached out to the MDOC and the Michigan National Guard on Tuesday but did not hear back. Whitmer and Sen. Sue Shink, who sponsored the bill, were unavailable to comment.
St. Charles said he hasn't received any additional information from the state government about the change, but he has read the bill authorizing the transfer.
"There's an opportunity for the National Guard to use this as a training facility. It makes perfect sense in my mind," he said. "When I sit there and look at this, I don't see anything that would be concerning right off the bat."
