By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
While many residents in Orion Township have enjoyed the area’s bountiful green spaces and trees, not many have actually glided through the forest canopy.
Orion Township has decided to change that.
At their board meeting Monday night, township trustees voted to draft a final contract for a lease agreement with ArborTrek Canopy Adventure LLC.
In return, ArborTrek would build an $800,000 eco-adventure park at Camp Agawam, located at 1223 W. Clarkston Rd. including zip line canopy tours, aerial trekking courses, and an adventure challenge course aimed at a variety of user groups.
The rest of the park will remain open and available for outdoor use and rentals.
The board approved the motion to draft a contract with ArborTrek LLC with a unanimous vote of 6-0. Treasurer Mark Thurber was absent.
ArborTrek has advised and/or constructed an upwards of 15 aerial adventure and educational programs courses in the United States, and more than 100 throughout the world. Local projects include General Motor’s Buzzard Ridges Course at the Lake Orion Plant and the high ropes course at Lake Orion High School.
Although details are still in the mix, Orion’s proposed aerial adventure course would initially occupy six acres of the 143-acre campground that in years past was used by local Boy Scout troops. Depending on community participation and desire, additional adventure elements could be added to the park at the township’s consent.
Final course layout and design will be worked out according to project principals and township officials once a more formal survey of the property, trees and soil is conducted.
With Monday night’s go-ahead, the township is working to get a contract approved by the board so construction can begin this fall.
According to the conceptual lease arrangement, which is subject to change, ArborTrek would acquire a ten-year lease for the specific site area with renewable options, and Orion Township would receive an escalating share of the revenue.
President of ArborTrek and 40-year Oakland County resident, Michael Smith, said the park would gross between $700,000 and $800,000 in the first year, and move towards an annual projected gross income of $1 million, if no other elements are added to the park. Plans are still in the preliminary stage, but Township Supervisor Chris Barnett predicts Orion Township would pay an upwards of $200,000 to $300,000 in investment and infrastructure.
‘Since we’ve decided to keep Camp Agawam, we believe it is important to provide recreational opportunities for our community as well as look for revenue streams that will ensure the viability of Camp Agawam for years to come,? he said. ‘We believe this partnership does just that, while limiting the risk of the township.?
Smith said Orion could not be held liable under Arbor Trek’s insurance policy.
If the board approves the final contract with Arbor Trek in the future, the land, which is currently zoned as residential, would have to be rezoned to recreation.
Among several benefits Smith listed for the township, including revenue generation, expanding recreational opportunities with a environmentally-neutral project and reinvigorating the property, the proposed project could create an upwards of three full time jobs and 20 to 40 full-time summer positions.
‘Not only is it in an opportunity for parents to engage in outdoor activities and talk about safe risk taking with their children, but it often is the time for children to see their parents in a new position, continuing to talk about the great outdoors,? Smith told the board. ‘The best way to protect our green space is to get people out in it.?
The course elements are designed to serve a broad range of ages and fitness levels, including children ages four and older all the way to active seniors. Programs will be geared towards family fun, active couples, and the general public with custom programming aimed at school and youth groups, businesses and community organizations. Adventure challenge programming will also promote team building and leadership development with custom-built school programs. Price ranges depending on activity, typically with a $10 admission fee and up to $50 or $60 for adult canopy tours.
For multiple reasons, Barnett believes ArborTrek is the way to go to secure a green future for Camp Agawam.
‘I’m in 100 percent. This is an amazing opportunity, and I’ve constantly heard from the youth in our community that there are not enough fun things to do. So we purposely set out to try to find cool things that we can put not just in Agawam, but in all of our parks,? he said.
And, the park name can still contain Camp Agawam.
‘A really important part of our program is not just the adventure activities, but the story that goes along with it. And Camp Agawam has a really important story,? Smith said.