Many township residents will spend a good deal of their summertime on the fields and playgrounds of Orion Township Parks.
At the same time, talks have rekindled about the northwest portion of Friendship Park, where a donation of fill somehow went awry.
In a report in The Review last summer one resident said that pieces of brick, muck and even broken glass have been found in the dirt, posing a safety issue.
The board discussed the issue last summer during an executive session, but Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk said no action was taken.
Now the item appears headed back to the board again.
Concerned resident Will Wilsher addressed the board on the issue for the second time in as many months last week and has filed the proper paper-work to get it on the agenda for next Monday’s meeting.
‘Basically, they’re spending a half-a-million dollars to fix a mistake,? he said.
Wilsher served as a trustee on the board in 2003-04 after Eric Wilson left for the county commission.
‘I just want what’s best for the township,? he said. ‘The first question I want to know is how did this happen and why hasn’t anything been done about it??
Wilsher said the fix should not be the taxpayers? burden.
‘They spent that money on an audit,? he noted. ‘If they’re going to spend money on that, then they need to look into this $500,000.?
For his part, Dywasuk said he followed the same steps with the park issue as he did with the investments issue.
‘I brought it to the attention of the board,? he said, ‘but nothing happened.?
Dywasuk did note that the item has been discussed in multiple executive sessions since then.
Both the cost of the clean-up and the reason for the strange items in the fill have never been publicly discussed by the board.
The clean-up has yet to take place, though Dywasuk said the mess might not be as severe as initially indicated last year.
‘There is no hazardous stuff,? he said. ‘There are things that shouldn’t have been put there.?
Dywasuk said he is unsure how the board will respond if the item is indeed added to Monday’s agenda for open-to-the-public business.
‘It’s got to get cleaned up,? Wilsher said. ‘I have confidence that the board will do the right thing.?
The area in question is at the very back of the park, in part of a larger area that has been roped off.
That portion of the park is where construction of a gas line took place, triggering the donation, which was planned for future athletic fields ? perhaps as early as this year.
‘If somebody is at fault, then we need to hold somebody accountable for it,? Wilsher said. ‘If the contractor is at fault, then we need to go after the contractor.?
‘We also need the parameters in place so this won’t happen again,? he added.