Last Saturday, homeowners in Lake Orion’s Bunny Run subdivision refurbished their community ball field. Residents brought their own equipment, and spent the day cleaning, cutting trees and filling holes at the field on Orion Terrace.
‘We thought this would be a great story for the paper,? said Bunny Run homeowner and clean-up organizer Chris Stewart. ‘We thought it would be great to say, ‘look what we did when we came together.??
Stewart said that kids who were ‘bad-mouthed and disrespectful? had been digging three and four foot holes in the ground of the field to create bike jumps.
Others were using the field as a dumpsite, leaving couches, chairs, and other furniture.
A large dumpster now rests in the middle of the field, packed full of the loads of trash that had been scattered throughout the park.
When residents realized the rapid deterioration of their field, it was clear to them that they would have to take action.
Stewart sent an open letter to the community, calling for a meeting to decide what would be done to restore the park.
Approximately 30 residents attended the meeting, and decided to attempt a restoration of the park by themselves, after some failed solicitations to the township.
Approximately 15 of those who made this decision met on Saturday for the clean-up.
A number of local businesses donated equipment for the clean-up, including back-hoes and dumpsters. Jet’s pizza and Little Caesar’s Pizza donated food.
The holes are now filled in, and nearly all of the overgrown brush that previously hid drug and alcohol use has been cut away. Stewart is glad that the field ‘looks super again.?
Stewart, who was overwhelmed with the efforts of her fellow homeowners, said, ‘It’s unbelievable that all these people came together.?
Orion Code Enforcer Patrick Damman offered his assistance and that of the township on Saturday. It was Damman who suggested the idea of the residents taking matters into their own hands.
However, Damman is quick to note that Stewart ‘was the driving force behind this whole thing.?
‘I was just the kick in the pants to get it started,? he added.
With more open, unguarded space, and the prospect of fencing around the entire park, Stewart and Damman predict that the dumping and digging will come to an end.
However, ‘no trespassing? signs posted on the field’s backstop during the Saturday clean-up have already been torn down.
Stewart will likely start an association that will work to curb this type of behavior, as well as manage field upkeep.
If Stewart and her fellow Bunny Run homeowners form this association, they will be able to open the field for use by the Lake Orion Youth Baseball League and a local soccer team that has expressed interest in using the field for practice.
If these groups use the field, they may also pay for and oversee restoration and upkeep, which would ease costs for the homeowners who currently own and pay for the field.
On Sept. 15, Bunny Run homeowners will reconvene in the subdivision’s country club to decide the future of the park. But from discussion between Damman and Stewart, a field association appears imminent.