Two tax proposals aimed at constructing and operating a tri-township senior center will be on the November ballot following a thumbs up from both Oxford and Addison officials.
‘It’s time that we acknowledge the needs of our senior citizens and (their) caregivers,? said Helen Mann, an Oxford resident of 33 years, who helped pitch the proposal to both township boards. ‘With the Baby Boomers entering senior status, it is imperative that we begin the process now.?
Oxford officials approved the proposals? placement on the ballot at their July 12 meeting. Addison did so at its July 17 meeting (see next story). The Orion Township Board gave their okay two weeks ago.
Voters of all three townships will be asked to approve a bond proposition totalling $9.85 million to construct, furnish and equip Phase I of a centrally-located senior center to serve all three communities.
‘This is a great opportunity for all of our communities to jump on the bandwagon and provide something for not just the seniors in our community, but the people that are going to be living here and becoming seniors,? said Orion resident David Hodges. ‘We’re all going to be seniors sooner or later. It’s inevitable.?
Currently, each township has its own senior center limited to ‘one or two rooms,? but members of the Senior Center Feasibility Task Force, formed in July 2005, say that’s not enough.
‘At present, services that are available to older adults vary from community to community and none is adequate,? said Jim Milford, of Orion, who also helped pitch the proposal to township officials. ‘Senior services and support mechanisms that facilitate the ability of people to grow older with the highest levels of health, vitality and independence need to be available on an equal basis to seniors in all three communities.?
If the bond is approved by voters, property owners in all three townships would be asked to pay the same approximately 0.2-mill tax over 20 years to retire the bond debt.
A mill is worth $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.
Even though residents of all three communities would pay approximately the same millage rate on the bond, the amount contributed by each community to the $9.85 million pot would vary according to each’s total taxable value. Oxford would contribute $2.815 million, Addison $1.085 million and Orion $5.95 million.
To operate and maintain the center, voters in all three townships would also be asked to approve a 10-year, 0.25-mill tax levy. So, the total levy would be approximately 0.45 mill, which works out to $45 for every $100,000 of a property’s taxable value.
‘For less than $50 a year, or 12 cents a day for most taxpayers, we can build and operate this senior center,? Milford told officials.
Conceptual design and site plans for the proposed center on a 10-acre site were presented by Architect John Waldrop, of the Rochester-based French Associates, Inc.
Mann stressed these are only conceptual plans. ‘Final design decisions have not yet been made,? she said.
At just under 50,000 square feet, Waldrop said Phase I would consist of a full-size gymnasium, aerobics room, locker rooms, kitchen and dining area, adult daycare program for residents with Alzheimer’s disease or Dementia, offices for the North Oakland Transportation Authority, administrative office for the center, a series of multipurpose program rooms, wood shop, art room, conference rooms, large multipurpose room with a stage, small library and general storage.
While Phase I would be paid for with the $9.85 million bond, if approved, there would be an attempt to pay for the later Phase II with ‘grants, sponsorships, partnerships,? according to Lisa Sokol, director of the Orion Senior Center.
The plan is to ‘look to private funding to assist us with the additional things,? Sokol said.
For Phase II, ‘our plan is to do it without millage, without bond,? Milford told Addison officials.
‘If we are unable to do that, then we can look at a second bond project for certain components that we would choose to build once we got to that point,? Sokol told the Addison board.
The approximately 38,000-square-foot Phase II would consist of a swimming pool, additional exercise room, enclosed garage space for NOTA buses, an additional large multipurpose space and additional storage, according to Waldrop.
Sokol noted the pool is a ‘key, crucial point to our wellness and health program that we’d like to institute.?
Leisure and recreational activities for seniors are ‘really critical to sustaining, not only physical health, but mental health,? she explained.
Oxford Township Supervisor Bill Dunn asked the Task Force representatives if they have a site for the center picked out yet. Mann said they do have a location selected, but ‘we’re not at liberty to discuss it yet,? not ‘until everything is ironed out.?
‘We can tell you it’s centrally located,? Milford added.
It was noted at the Addison meeting that the Task Force is expecting the land to be donated.
Dunn asked Paul Wyzgoski, the attorney who drafted the ballot language and serves as bond counsel, about a portion of the bond proposition which reads ? ‘The authorization in this proposition shall not become effective unless and until the electors of the Charter Township of Orion and the Township of Addison shall each approve similar propositions authorizing (each township) to issue general obligation unlimited tax bonds to pay their respective shares of such costs.?
‘If it fails in Addison and passes in Orion and Oxford, does everything go away?? Dunn asked.
‘This is presented as a joint project and financing so the electorate of all three townships have to approve it in order for it to move forward,? Wyzgoski answered. ‘If two pass it and one does not, they cannot go forward with this project, with the financing of this, the way it’s presented.?
Dunn then asked, ‘Does it keep going to Addison until it’s approved??
‘It can. Yes, it could go back,? Wyzgoski replied. ‘One option would be to go back to that township, if it’s Addison, to go back to Addison, ask the voters to approve it at another election. If it passes, then the project and the financing can go forward. And there’s not necessarily a time limit on that.?
Trustee Sue Bellairs, who cast the lone dissenting vote against putting the tax proposals on the ballot, inquired about the survey which the Task Force conducted that was generally favorable to the proposed project.
‘Who did the surveys go out to? And how many people did they go out to?,? Bellairs asked. ‘I know how percentages can be moved around and made to be anything you want (them) to be.?
Task Force member Alice Young, who also serves as the Orion Township treasurer, said the goal was to distribute and collect 10 surveys in each square mile of all three townships. ‘We didn’t totally succeed because as you know there are some places (where) there are no houses,? she said. ‘And so we doubled up in other ones.?
In all, 420 responses to the survey were collected in the three townships by volunteers. The goal was 1,080 or 360 from each township. Of those, 45 percent said they would ‘definitely? support the concept of a tri-township center and 27 percent said ‘maybe yes.?
Only 26 percent said they would ‘definitely? vote for a construction bond, while 30 percent responded ‘maybe yes.? As for the operating millage, 33 percent said they would ‘definitely? vote ‘yes? and 29 percent indicated ‘maybe yes
‘We tried very hard to be as scientific as volunteers could be,? said Young, noting the survey was random. ‘We did hit a lot of age groups, not just senior citizens.?
To keep things objective, Oakland University tabulated the survey (free of charge), not the Task Force.
‘We didn’t even see (inside) the envelopes,? Young said. ‘When they came back, they were sealed. They went to Oakland University sealed.?
Some audience members spoke in favor of the proposed tri-township center. Randy Davisson, of Oxford, said the tri-township center would help attract seniors to the area, which in turn is good for the local economy.
‘When a senior comes to an area, they bring their savings with them, usually the equity from home,? he said. ‘They bring their pension check. They bring their Social Security.?
Davisson noted seniors ‘eat out a lot,? a positive for local restaurants, and require medical services.
He cited a University of Alabama study which found that ‘one senior is worth four industrial jobs? to a community. ‘I think we want to make our seniors as comfortable as we can? and ‘do what we can to keep them here,? Davisson said.
‘I think it’s an investment in all of our futures,? David Hodges said of the center. ‘We’re all growing older and we’re all going to be using this.?