A resolution presented at Leland Township’s August 5 planning commission meeting is urging the township board to reconsider authorization of the full payment for legal fees incurred for outside counsel for the Youth for Christ (YFC)/Apollos Properties special use permit application matter.
The resolution comes after concerns from the planning commission chairperson, Lee Cory, were brought to the attention of the township board earlier this year regarding the $12,612 invoice for services from attorney Thomas Grier, who provided additional findings/analysis reports to the planning commission to make its final decision in April to deny the Apollos Properties application for a special use permit to operate a YFC club center at 110 N. Lake Street in downtown Leland.
In May, the issue of the unpaid invoice to Grier was deliberated amongst the board, and the township supervisor Clint Mitchell recommended that the board approve a payment of $2,000, the original amount the township approved for the additional legal services in February.
While the township board has since only approved of the $2,000 payment to Grier, the resolution ultimately requests that the board reconsider its prior decision limiting payment to $2,000 and to pay Grier’s $12,000-plus invoice in full.
The resolution outlines the planning commission’s formal account regarding the engagement of Grier and his work serving as outside counsel to the ongoing YFC matter.
The timeline, as noted in the resolution, states that in February, the planning commission voted to seek outside legal counsel to assist with its review of the Apollos Properties special land use application. The township at the time had approved and allocated $2,000 from the planning commission’s legal budget for work done by outside counsel.
According to the resolution, the planning commission chairperson, Lee Cory, consulted with township clerk Lisa Brookfield, “who advised that $10,000 had been budgeted for planning commission legal expenses in 2026 in anticipation of litigation” related to the YFC matter. The formal account continued, and said “based upon information provided regarding available 2025 funds and budgeted 2026 legal expenses, chairperson Cory reasonably believed that up to $12,000 was available for planning commission legal services related to the YFC/Apollos matter.”
Grier was then brought on as outside counsel and provided two thorough findings of fact and analysis reports for the commission — one report highlighted reasons to approve the application, and the second cited findings for denial.
The resolution continues, and states that Grier agreed his fees would not exceed $12,000 “regardless of the number of hours required to complete the work,” and he provided “significant legal services at a discounted rate in order to remain within that amount.” During the course of Grier’s engagement, the resolution states that correspondence related to the matter was transmitted to township officials, however, no concerns regarding the scope of Grier’s work or the extent of his services were raised with the planning commission.
Brookfield responded to the planning commission resolution at the township’s regular meeting on August 10, recounting the timeline of Grier’s work and correspondence with the planning commission. On April 2, Brookfield said in her response that she had a phone call with Grier where she reiterated the township’s $2,000 authorization, but Grier “did not indicate how much he’d spent to that point.” Brookfield said on April 24 during a phone call from Cory, she relayed that the board had budgeted $10,000 for planning commission legal expenses for the 26-27 fiscal year, which started April 1.
“I did not authorize her to spend it nor would I have the authority to do so. I reiterated that the board had approved only up to $2,000 for an outside expert,” Brookfield said. “We discovered later in Tom Grier’s invoice that nearly $18,000 in billings had been accrued to this point already, mostly prior to March 31. Any inference that I suggested or stated to Lee that she had access to, or authority to spend, the 26-27 legal budget on Tom Grier, or for any purpose, is categorically false.”
Cory spoke during public comment at the township’s Aug. 10 meeting, responding to Brookfield’s statement and the ongoing invoice issue. Cory said the planning commission did everything that it could in good faith to get the best lawyer/ legal counsel that they could.
“I was operating in good faith. I had no reason to question you. I had no reason to think that you were making this up. I believed what you told me, I believed in good faith that I had access to $10,000 in addition to the $2,000 for a lawyer,” Cory said during public comment. “Also, this is one of the most consequential issues that will ever face this township, you all know that. So I am really mystified as to why this board is so intransient about not reconsidering its decision. You all know that Tom Grier did an absolutely fantastic job. And the job that he did, for if you pay him $12,000, that is an extraordinarily low amount of money for the work that he did.”
No further action on the outstanding invoice for Grier’s work as legal counsel was taken at the meeting.
