House subcommittee hears Mundy Township residents, officials raise transparency, water and land-use concerns about MEDC-backed 'mega site'

LANSING — Residents and municipal officials from Mundy Township told the Michigan House Oversight Subcommittee on corporate subsidies and state investments that state-funded preparations for the so-called Mundy "mega site" lacked transparency, harmed neighbors and risked local water and ecological resources.

Don Ludwig, a Mundy Township resident, said he first learned of the project in March 2023 and that the site — which the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and local partners prepared with roughly $259,000,000 in state funding — remains vacant with no committed buyer or delivered jobs. "We owe it to the people of Michigan, the taxpayers who fund these failed projects to ask tough questions and demand real answers," Ludwig told the panel during a fact-finding hearing.

Why it matters: witnesses and local officials told lawmakers that the Flint Genesee Economic Alliance (FGEA) and the MEDC assembled land and began site work that led to demolitions, tree removal and alleged wetland violations without broad local notice. Witnesses raised concerns about leases, timber proceeds, and whether public funds were routed through private entities. Township officials emphasized limits on their authority, while urging legislative oversight.

What witnesses said

Don Ludwig described community organizing, an online clearinghouse he started in April 2023 and a petition with more than 1,200 signatures asking for a one-year moratorium. He recounted property transactions placed in the name of Maple Hill LLC and said residents perceived "a clear conflict and muddying of…