Residents will have a chance to voice their opinions on the idea of going with one of four options for an Orion Township community center on April 19.
The board of trustees heard a presentation on the final feasibility study report by Tom Chen from Skanska USA Building at the April 5 meeting. Chen presented four options for moving forward with a center, including possible millage rates if the issue were to be placed on a future election ballot.
Chen said the study began in May 2002 and was conducted in several phases. First, demographic and market data was obtained to see if there was enough interest and population in the seven-mile service area of Friendship Park (corner of Clarkston and Baldwin) to support a center.
Next, volunteers conducted surveys to validate the information, including scientific surveys done by contacting every 20th person voting in the last township election, and also by holding several community forums.
‘This allowed citizens to come in and tell us what they think about what programs the center should have,? said Chen.
Next, focus groups were assembled, including Lake Orion High School students, seniors and students at the elementary level. Finally, Chen said he met with the township’s parks and recreation department.
‘We were able to put together a program with service options for you to consider,? Chen said.
The first option includes a center at Friendship Park, with a pool, aerobic area, outdoor (possible skate park) area, indoor track, two-station gym and meeting rooms. This plan also includes an option to renovate the existing senior center and have spaces in the new center dedicated to youth and seniors.
‘They would use (the new center) as an annex,? Chen said of the seniors.
The second option is similar to the first, but includes a plan to move the senior center to a more prominent area, and constructing an addition to the community center for a ‘senior wing.?
‘The seniors could share with some of the community center’s assests…like the whirlpool,? said Chen.
The third option would have a community center constructed first, then erect a separate, new senior center as a separate entity from the community center, at a yet to be determined location.
‘There would be a fourth option…we would need to acquire land,? said clerk Jill Bastian.
Chen said he had spoken with area realtors, and 16 acres would be a buildable site for a center, with room for future expansion.
‘With water and sewer improvements,? he added. ‘It would be hard to run a pool without those improvements.?
According to Chen, the cost was estimated at $300,000 to $600,000 per acre, with a public access road. He said the feasibility study cost estimate would be $400,000 per acre.
Breaking down total costs for each of the three community center options, not including the fourth option to obtain land, Chen said option one would cost $24,200,000; option two, $29,400,000; and option three, 34,200,000.
‘Right now the township operates on less than one mill,? said trustee Michael Gingell. ‘We had talked before about user or membership fees??
Chen said the community center was not planned to have a membership fee, and he hoped it never would.
‘This facility, being publicly owned and supported by taxpayers, is not to have any membership fees, a yearly fee,? he said. ‘People would pay to go in and use the facility for a day.?
A user fee would help pay for operating costs, like personnel, maintenance and insurance.
‘If someone is using it a lot, you could buy an annual pass for ‘X? number of dollars, we’ve estimated it at $300 a year. That’s less than $1 a day,? said Chen. ‘But there is no requirement for membership.?
Chen said a $6 per person daily user fee could be charged, or $450 a year for a family of four. He said a non-resident daily fee could be $8 a day, as the center could draw people from Oxford and Independence Township.
‘How do we stay sensitive to local businesses while providing services (at a community center) for citizens?? asked Gingell. ‘How would we position our community center against local businesses, many of them providing the same services. Can they coexist??
Chen said they would compliment each other.
‘We did Dearborn’s center, for example, and it’s more than breaking even,? he said.
‘Two years ago, 950 people signed a petition asking for a feasibility study,? said supervisor Jerry Dywasuk. ‘We authorized $10,000 to do this study…I encourage the board to keep an open mind and do what’s right for the community.?
‘We also have a responsibility to the citizens to hear what they have to say,? Bastian said, adding that those unable to attend a public hearing could submit their comments in writing prior to it.
The hearing will be held at 8 p.m.during the board’s regular meeting in the board room at Orion Township Hall on Joslyn Road.
‘We need to make sure all the facts get out so people can evaluate all the information,? said Gingell.