The board will go forward with preliminary work on a potential public safety complex after a work session that multiple members labeled as ‘productive.?
The possible complex would include the township’s Water & Sewer Department, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department Orion Substation and a centrally located fire station.
Township Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk said the township department heads raised issues and some board members? concerns were alleviated as a result of the work session, which took place prior to last Monday’s regular board meeting.
‘We haven’t had the opportunity to sit down in a work session like this,? Dywasuk said.
Representatives from Plante & Moran’s CRESA group were also involved, and the board voted during the meeting to reduce their monthly rate from $7,500 to $3,500 for the next few months.
‘They gave us a reduced rate,? Dywasuk said, noting it appears CRESA does not need to be as involved in the earlier steps of Phase 1 of the project. ‘We’re going in steps.?
Trustee Matt Gibb said the idea of the discounted rate actually came from CRESA.
‘I think they saw that there were a couple of us on the board that were frustrated with spending so much money,? he said. ‘They offered to scale it back.?
The board also accepted a proposal by Nowak & Fraus to complete survey work on the Joslyn Road land, just north of Orion Oaks Elementary School, owned by the Water & Sewer Department.
The $14,000 proposal was put on hold back in December, pending the results of the work session.
In addition to the survey work, the board authorized proceeding with conceptual engineering plans, based on French Associates? concept plan, at a cost not to exceed $5,000.
‘The great thing that came out of the work session was that it defined the scope of the project,? Gibb said, noting that scaling the project back a bit will make it more realistic.
‘The Water & Sewer Department has to do something with that property,? he added. ‘If we scale back the project it’s possible that nobody involved will have to borrow money.?