Lakefront property owners can’t figure out what’s gong on with the Orion Township Board of Trustees.
One time they’re expecting to have a public hearing on a proposed Special Assessment District for weed control. Now they’re being told the township can no longer process those types of SADs.
The board was recently informed by a township attorney that lake improvement SADS must be under the jurisdiction of a lake board.
According to Orion Township Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk, that information just became available. The township’s attorney’s office was asked to provide a written opinion on how requests for lake improvement SADs are to be handled legally by the township.
Homeowners in Marina Park Estates had submitted a petition to the township asking a previous weed control SAD, now expired, be started up again.
It was the attorney’s opinion the petitions weren’t valid as they have less than two thirds of the freeholders for all of Lake Orion. Lake boards can’t be formed for a portion of the lake — it would have to be the entire lake.
At the June 20 trustees? meeting, resident Dick Sullivan asked what’s changed from the original statute that allowed the first SAD to be established. ‘It clearly says SADs can be used for quality control throughout Michigan,? he said.
According to attorney Kristin Bricker Kolb, a more recent state Inland Lake Improvements Act supersedes any charter township or general township statute.
‘It’s very specific on lake improvements,? she said.
‘I think you’re wrong,? Sullivan said. He asked the board to seek a second opinion from the state’s attorney general’s office.
‘If we don’t take our attorney’s opinion, we could be in jeopardy. We don’t want to overrule our attorney. It’s up to you to go to the attorney general,? Dywasuk told the homeowners. ‘It’s not the township’s position to go the attorney general. We’ve got to follow the rules.?
Trustees decided to return the petitions back to the circulators and mail information to canal property owners about complying with the state law governing improvements to lakes and giving them an explanation of procedures that needed to be followed.
Orion Township Clerk Jill Bastian said she would also contact the Michigan Township Association for its opinion on the township attorney’s ruling.
Christine Tucker, who was involved in the petition drive, wanted to know how soon that would happen.
‘We’re under a time frame. This needs to be done by the end of August so it can get on the December tax rolls (for next year),? she added.
Bastian said she would contact the MTA the day after the board meeting. ‘There might be some amendment (to the state law) we don’t know about,? she added.
She said she would also send the same letter that was being mailed to homeowners to local newspapers asking them to print it.
This year because there was no SAD, property owners on the canals collected their own funds for weed control. Bastian suggested the homeowners could do that again next summer.
According to Dywasuk, existing, confirmed lake improvement SADs can stand as they are until they expire.