Help for clean-up of the debris left behind by a devastating ice storm over a week ago is on the way for Orion Township residents.
Trustees at a special meeing on April 15 voted to budget up to $100,000 for emergency clean-up. A contractor will be hired to pick up branches and debris that has been stacked along the road edge or curbside of properties.
The debris will have to follow guidelines for pick-up that will be published with a pick-up schedule in newspapers, on cable and on the township’s website at www.oriontownship.org, as well as the hotline at 393-7048.
In addition, Waste Management has agreed to allow Orion Township residents to haul their branches and debris to Eagle Valley Recycling Center on Silverbell Road at no charge April 18-26. This is for Orion Township residents only and ID is required.
The hours for Eagle Valley are Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday, 7 a.m.-12 p.m. The facility is closed on Sundays. They will accept wood waste only. Please separate two-inch diameter branches from smaller debris and brush. Do not place in plastic bags.
If funds are available after paying the contractor, the township may be able to reimburse residents who have already paid for disposal of debris. Residents are instructed to save their receipts.
According to Orion Township Jerry Dywasuk, the township has already applied for emergency assistance through the county, with the township declaring a “state of emergency’ on April 5.
“We’ve been gathering information and finding out where the funds are at,” he said. “I was in (the office) on the Saturday after the storm, and we were one of the first communities (to apply for assistance). About 3 p.m. on Monday, they said you have 24 hours to turn in a report of damage.”
Dywasuk said supervisor’s assistant Elizabeth Balch, building official Tom Berger and township assessor John Atwell met and determined a figure for damage from the storm to the township. The figure they arrived at was about $6 million.
“We have 14,000 parcels…so they figured an average of $500 per lot or parcel, with some being $1,000 or more (in damage),” explained Dywasuk.
“We sent the report to the county, and they quizzed us on it. It seems like a lot, but if anyone was to do it personally…like if we were to contract with a company for the whole township…that’s about what it would cost,” he said.
Dywasuk said the township has been working with the village to clean up, and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department Boot Camp was out on Friday cleaning up some public areas, like parks, and some yards for senior citizens.
“Our first concern was just the health and safety of our citizens,” Dywasuk said.. “Thankfully, no one died…I didn’t hear of any serious injuries.”
For residents looking for ways to dispose of brush and limbs, burning is not the answer, at least for now, according to Orion Township Fire Department Chief Jeff Key.
“We can’t burn until the conditions are right,” he said. “We are waiting for the grass to green up…we don’t really have a specific date set. It depends on the kind of winter we’ve had.”
If the area gets some rain in the near future, things could change.”If it stays nice and things start to green up, then maybe,” Key added.