By Scarlet Thalman
BCR Correspondent
THREE OAKS, MI — The village of Three Oaks regular council meeting took place November 12, 2025, at 7:00 pm. The meeting involved many discussions focused on investing in the future of the village, including notable topics such as updates to ordinances and technology.
The meeting began with a public comment from a village resident who expressed concern about regional data centers. She pointed the council’s attention to the increasing number of proposed data centers in nearby municipalities, highlighting potential issues involving energy consumption, strain on local electrical grids, noise pollution, and potential groundwater impacts. She noted how these concerns have made the topic controversial in Indiana, where these centers would be located, and raised the question, “Do we have any liaison into the municipalities and what’s going on?” to address how these negative effects could harm the village. The council responded by stating that the township is “working with the cross-collaboration group, and they are looking to hire someone to be the liaison on economic development.” They directed concerned citizens to the township meetings for further information.
Discussions continued with the new police radio encryption mandate. The police department presented a status report on meeting the statewide requirement that all public-safety radio transmissions be encrypted to prevent unauthorized monitoring, protect ongoing investigations, safeguard victim information, and prevent interference with officer response. The council discussed the financial impact, including hardware replacement, software licensing, and training officers and dispatchers. Implementation will be done in stages to minimize disruption, and coordination with the regional 911 dispatch center is underway to prevent gaps during the transition. Police leadership also requested approval to purchase a new LIDAR unit — a speed-monitoring tool that would offer extended range, data logging for repeat-offender tracking, and enhanced optics for low-light operation — to address ongoing resident complaints.
Another notable advancement discussion that took place revolved around the organization of important municipal information. There is reportedly an ongoing initiative to modernize the town’s ordinance management system by converting paper ordinances into a searchable digital database accessible to staff and residents. The council also discussed the cost of updating the town’s ordinances on American Legal Publishing, an online platform used by many municipalities, which utilizes an AI feature that helps users search ordinances by keywords, bringing relevant sections to the front and making it easier to locate specific ordinance numbers or topics. If successful, the project would bring all ordinances from the past six years into the updated system, making them properly indexed and accessible online.
Overall, the meeting highlighted the Village of Three Oaks’ commitment to updating its systems, adopting modern tools, and preparing for future technological demands.