What’s better than ‘Sasquatch and S’mores? near the summer solstice? ‘Music in the Moonlight,? maybe? ‘Tall Tales and Teepees??
Lisa Sokol hopes Lake Orion-area families will come find out for themselves.
‘We’ve added a lot of new programs with the idea of engaging families we haven’t engaged in the past,? said Sokol, Orion Township’s community programs director. ‘We want to bring families together to talk about how they can appreciate parks and nature.?
The township’s parks and recreation department recently instituted several new programs, including Park Pal and Park Patron, to get people involved while also helping to support Orion’s parks.
Designed primarily for kids and singles, the Park Pal program comes with a certificate, membership card, Park Pal pin’and the opportunity to collect other specially designed pins’as well as admittance to Barn Daze, Big Rig Gig, Summer Sizzle and other special events. Participants can also enjoy members-only perks, Sokol explained.
Likewise, a $45 membership in the Park Patron program comes with certificate, automobile pass, admission to special events, a five percent discount on park classes’regis tered for on-site at the parks and rec office only’and other events held exclusively for Park Patrons throughout the year.
‘We knew the economy was impacting people’s ability to leave town and go places,? Sokol said. ‘The goal is to build rewards for being a supporter.?
For example, members will be allowed to enter some events early.
‘So if they’re going to Big Rig Gig, the kids get to come in and climb on the vehicles before the big crowds arrive,? she said.
The parks and rec department is also offering a series of ‘Growing Green? activities, as well as developing programs for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to earn merit badges and working with Moose Tree, which was recently’but temporarily’rescued from the Lake Orion Community Schools? budget chopping block.
‘We’re so lucky,? Sokol said. ‘We have township parks, village parks, county parks and state parks. Not every community can boast the kind of extensive green space we have.?
So’even after slicing a big chunk from her won budget’Sokol’s hoping that luck won’t run out.
‘We want to get people engaged as supporters for their own health, and to appreciate the natural environment,? she said, ‘But in reality, we also need to create revenue to sustain park programming. I cut the (2010) park budget by 20 percent?$200,000’that’s huge. We’re all doing more work, and working harder to achieve what at we need.?
With municipal budgets continuing to whither, new sources for park-specific funding are the only way to stay afloat, she pointed out.
‘The reality is we all have to be as fiscally sound as possible, and look at new sources of revenue to keep existing and offering the things the community has come to love and expect,? Sokol said. ‘If we’re not able to sustain we’ll have to look at potential cuts.?
Orion Township offers programming and services at Friendship Park, Civic Center Park, Jesse Decker Park’formerly Stonegate Park’and on the township’s extension of the Polly Ann Trail between Joslyn and Waldon Roads.
For more information, contact the Orion Township Parks & Recreation office at 248-391-0304, ext. 143 or visit www.oriontownship.org