Data Center Donations Raise Questions Over Who Benefits in Saline Area

Photo: Saline Mayor Brian Marl speaks during a community meeting at The 109 Cultural Exchange in downtown Saline. Photo by Heather Finch

A $10 million pledge for the Saline Rec Center by the team behind the data center known as The Barn could help reshape one of the area’s most-used public facilities. It has also raised a harder question for residents watching the Saline Township data center project unfold: Who gets to decide what counts as a community benefit?

The pledge was announced June 1, and The Barn team described the money as support for aquatics and childcare improvements at the city-owned Rec Center.

But the reaction since then has shown that the debate is not only about whether the Rec Center needs investment; it is also about process, geography and fairness.

Why the Rec Center?

Saline Mayor Brian Marl said city officials discussed a range of community needs with Related Digital. He said he could not speak to the company’s full decision-making process but believes the project team gravitated toward the Rec Center because it is used by people across the broader Saline community, including users outside the city limits.

Marl has emphasized that the money remains a pledge, not a completed agreement. No final timeline, project list or terms have been approved. Any agreement would need review and approval by the Saline City Council, and Marl said he wants guardrails making clear the city owes the companies nothing in return.

Marl has also referenced other data center-related commitments, including previously pledged funds for the fire department, Saline Area Social Service and Saline Main Street, but details are still emerging.

In Facebook comments responding to the announcement, some residents questioned why the largest named community pledge was directed first to a city-owned facility when the data center itself is being built in Saline Township. Others asked whether township residents, nearby property owners, water infrastructure or other local needs should have come first.

The concern also surfaced during the Saline Township board meeting. Saline Township Supervisor Tom Hammond said the $10 million pledge to the City of Saline “doesn’t sit right with me,” noting that the data center is being built in Saline Township. He said he hopes township residents receive some form of benefit.

At the same time, the Rec Center is not used only by city residents. Marl has noted that it draws from the broader Saline area, and other referenced recipients, including the fire department and Saline Area Social Service, also serve Saline Township residents.

Documented Needs

Those concerns do not erase the Rec Center’s needs. A 2023 needs assessment found significant capital priorities at the facility, which is more than 30 years old, including pool deck repairs, aging equipment, locker room updates and other improvements. Community feedback also pointed to the aquatic center, family play features, locker rooms and additional multipurpose space.

Marl has said possible uses could include relocating Kids’ Corner to the ground level, expanding summer camp capacity, modernizing locker rooms and overhauling parts of the aquatic center.

He said he also wants any agreement to set aside part of the money for future needs.

“I think it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to spend all of those dollars,” Marl said, adding that a portion should be set aside in an endowment fund for future operating and capital needs at the Rec Center.

Marl said one lesson from the Rec Center’s early years is that not enough money was set aside for long-term care and maintenance. He also hopes the final terms allow some flexibility for improvements within Tefft Park, which includes the Rec Center, tennis courts, trails, ball fields and play areas.

Fire Donations Follow Different Path

The fire services discussion is following a more formal public process.

At its June 3 meeting, the Saline Area Fire Board reviewed separate memorandums from Fire Chief Jason Sperle about two proposed donations: one from Related Digital and one from Jupiter Power. Sperle’s Related Digital memo described equipment and capital needs totaling about $7.55 million and recommended that the board allow him to continue working with Related Digital and Saline Township with legal counsel involved.

The Jupiter Power discussion involved a separate proposed donation.

The fire discussion shows how public bodies still have to work through details after donations are proposed, including what is being given, who will own it, how agreements are written and how the donations fit into long-term planning.

Schools and Indirect Benefits

The school funding piece is also more complicated than broad public benefit language can suggest. Saline Area Schools has said data center tax revenue could affect millages, bonds and debt funds, but district officials have cautioned against describing the project as a direct general fund benefit to Saline schools. For now, the debate remains less about one check than about how community benefits are defined. The Rec Center may be a worthy public investment. The fire department may have long-standing needs. Schools may see indirect effects. But residents are still asking who benefits first and what safeguards should exist when public institutions accept money tied to a controversial private development.