Orion Township Parks and Recreation Director Rock Blanchard said the parks and recreation advisory committee will recommend to the township board of trustees on July 6 that spending money on additional lighting for athletic fields is not a priority at this time.
The advisory board was to have discussed the request, made by the township board at its April 19 meeting, to make a recommendation to the board on whether or not additional field lighting was needed at this time. Blanchard said he believed the request was made to the board of trustees by trustees Will Wilsher and Richard Tomczak.
‘There are different prices depending on how many fields you light,? Blanchard said. ‘Some cost $46,000…some are $50,000. It could be up to as much as $500,000 to light four ball fields.
‘These are just estimates,? he said. ‘I think it would cost about $100,000 to do any field. But the advisory board has said they don’t think there’s an immediate need for (additional field lighting).?
Dee Gordon, a member of the advisory committee, wants people in the township to be aware of what action the advisory board planned to take, and to know that the request for field lighting was ‘something that’s popped up out of nowhere.?
‘The board has said there are earmarked funds…It’s like you use it for (lighting) or you don’t get it, and that’s not fair,? she said.
Gordon wants to see things done with parks and recreation that will benefit all the citizens of Orion Township.
‘It’s not getting out to the people, because it’s not televised,? she said of the advisory committee’s meetings. ‘The township came up with ‘X? amount of dollars for lights at the soccer fields…Parks and recreation keeps getting their budget cut. Where did this money come from??
Blanchard said the idea that the township had already earmarked funds for athletic field lighting was ‘speculation.?
‘We weren’t told that,? he said. ?(The advisory committee) was just asked to come up with a recommendation for the board, if there was a need for lights. A lot of the members of the committee think that there are other things that are more important (to spend money on right now).?
Gordon said any funds the board might earmark could easily go towards cutting grass (which she said had funding cuts), or building a skate park or amphitheater.
‘If it was earmarked for parks and recreation, that’s what it should go for,? she added.
Blanchard said lighting for athletic fields is included in the township’s parks and recreation master plan.
‘They were put in there five-six years ago,? he said. ‘But the advisory board thinks there are more pressing things. They’ll be recommending to the township board on July 6 that lights are not necessary at this time.?