Voters will have not one, but two bond proposals to consider when they head to the polls this May.
It was long thought that the Orion Township Library was targeting the May 8 election for their proposal.
But, in addition to placing the library bond proposal on the ballot, the township board also decided to put the safety path millage/bond proposal on the ballot.
The board approved of both proposals after hearing presentations at their Jan. 16 meeting.
‘Any time something like this comes up, it should be up to the voters,? Treasurer Alice Young said of her decision to put the items on the ballot.
‘It’s just a coincidence that they happened to pop-up at the same time,? Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk added, saying that the responsibility falls on the two groups to educate voters.
Dywasuk said there is little correlation between what might happen with these two issues and what took place when the tri-township senior center proposal was voted down last November.
‘It’s a separate thing all together,? he said. ‘If you talk about safety paths and the library, everybody can use them.?
Library Director Linda Sickles was pleased that the board took the issues to the voters.
‘It’s their responsibility (the board’s) to put things on the ballot and they determined that both of these issues were important,? Sickles said.
The last approved library proposal (from 1986) is completely paid off, meaning there is no tax currently being levied for the library.
A six-mill proposal was defeated in 2002.
‘We were in a position of needing space then and we are literally at our last square inch of space now,? Sickles said.
For the library, voters are being asked to consider a 20-year, 0.625 mill bond, meaning a home with a taxable value of $100,000 would owe $63 per year.
The proposal (as profiled in the Jan. 10 Lake Orion Review), would more than double the size of the existing library at 825 Joslyn Road.
If approved this May, the construction, which would occur in phases so not to disrupt all library services at once, would be completed in the spring of 2010.
‘We hope the voters determine our request is worthy,? Sickles added.
The board waited to hear both presentations before making its decision about the ballot language.
The library item passed 6-0, while the safety path issue passed 5-1.
Michael Brinkmann, speaking on behalf of the Orion Safety Path Advisory Committee (OSPAC), noted that the path project is 62 percent completed.
He added that it would take more than 50 years to complete the project under the current millage.
Approving the new bond and millage proposals would allow the more costly (and more important in the eyes of the committee) projects to be finished first.
It calls for a 20-year bond worth $7,850,000 for the purpose of constructing approximately nine miles of additional safety paths.
The second part of the proposal says that once the bond has expired, the current millage would be renewed for 20 years. This renewal would allow for ongoing construction and maintenance of the paths.
Brinkmann said that passage of both proposals would allow for completion of the remaining 14.5 miles in the township system.
Trustee Matt Gibb said the library and safety path items are not competing with each other and having both on the ballot could encourage voter turnout. He cited the recent Parks & Recreation survey to that effect.
The library and paths & trails were identified by that survey, completed by Leisure Vision, as the two community things used most by residents.
Gibb is not the only one who thinks having both proposals on the May ballot could be beneficial.
In response to questions raised by the township board, OSPAC wrote that ‘both proposals are quality-of-life items which benefit 100 percent of the citizens and improve property values.
‘As such, they will complement each other on the ballot.?