At their Oct. 30 meeting, the Orion Township Board approved giving Community Development Block Grant money to several worthy causes in the area — but it was the one organization they weren’t helping that generated the most discussion.
The township is eligible to receive over $70,000 in CDBG funds for the 2007 program year.
Their CDBG Committee recommended, and the board ultimately agreed, to give $26,696 to NOTA to help fund public transportation. They also budgeted $5,000 for HAVEN, a shelter for abused and at-risk families.
The remainder of the CDBG money must go to non-public services. The board approved giving $33,741 to the County Home Improvement Loan Program, with the remaining $5,000 going to the County Mobile Home Repair Program.
The Mobile Home Repair Program is a new program administered by the Oakland County and OLHSA, and will help residents in the Orion Lakes Mobile Home Park on Brown Road.
In the past, the Senior Center has received some of the non-public service dollars while Orion Area Youth Assistance has been helped by the public service dollars.
The Senior Center has over $37,000 remaining from previous years? allocations, but OAYA officials were surprised to learn they wouldn’t be able to count on their $5,000 in CDBG money next year.
However, all involved on both sides of the issue say a resolution almost certainly will happen.
‘We’ve already budgeted $10,000 for them, but there have been some problems with their other revenue sources,? Township Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk said.
Dywasuk and OAYA Caseworker Tom Swieboda have discussed the possibilities since the Oct. 30 meeting.
‘We’ve had conversations with the Supervisor and they’re going to see if they can secure money from some other source,? Swieboda said.
One option, according to Dywasuk, would be to use a projected 2006 budget surplus as a source.
‘Legally we have to be careful because there are certain restrictions in place,? he said.
‘We’ll visit it again,? Dywasuk promised of the funding issue.
‘If it doesn’t come through, we’re just going to have to limit our campers,? Swieboda said.
Swieboda said it costs about $200 for each weekly camper, so the $5,000 loss would translate into the loss of roughly 25 campers.
The issue, however, pertains to 2007 OAYA budgeting and Swieboda said the camp season starts in June, so there is time to rectify the situation.
In the meantime, Swieboda and OAYA will be in attendance at the board’s Dec. 4 meeting to make a presentation.
‘We want them to know who we are and what we do,? he said, noting there are new people on both the township board and the OAYA board that would be well-served by the meeting.
Swieboda added that the presentation would be a good step toward ensuring the ongoing and positive relationship between the township and OAYA.