A ‘Gator? may not be welcome downtown.
Lake Orion Council members on March 22 were leery about a possible purchase of a John Deere Gator (a small utility vehicle) by the Downtown Development Authority Board.
Buying the vehicle came up when council members were discussing several requested budget adjustments from the DDA.
‘I have a real problem with that (buying the vehicle). I’m worried about safety and liability. Those things can go fast,? councilman Tom Albert said.
One of the budget adjustments was to provide money to hire a seasonal laborer and to provide equipment for the person’s use to plant flower beds in the downtown area, prune and weed the plants, water them, pick up litter, remove trash, sweep gutters as needed and other similar tasks.
According to LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel, the person would work about 20 hours a week. The Gator or whatever vehicle is purchased would be used by the DPW crew when it wasn’t being used by the laborer.
‘I’d rather see someone work out of the trunk of their car,? Albert said.
In the past, the village has hired several private contractors, one to plant, weed and water the flower beds, another to water the hanging flower baskets.
Van Tassel said the private contractor for the flower beds last year didn’t work out too well.
‘The intent is a year from now this person (seasonal laborer) will also do the watering of the hanging plants. The DDA had informally agreed to a two year contract for the person watering the hanging baskets,? she added.
Albert questioned if a vehicle like a Gator could even be driven on the street.
Van Tassel said the laborer would probably work in the early morning hours, about four hours a day.
According to Becky Goodman, the downtown coordinator, the DDA members are still considering whether or nor to purchase that piece of equipment.
The budget adjustment also provided for $15,000 to be transferred out of the line item involving contract services for the possible historic district designation and $9,000 out of the North Park Blvd. study.
These monies will be used to update the police dispatch center to make it more user friendly.
Van Tassel said this request was deleted from the 2003-04 Capital Improvement Fund budget because there weren’t funds available.
Orion Historical Society member, Sara Van Portfliet, questioned why money was taken away to hire someone to finish the historic district process.
‘This is a critical component to complete the historic application. We’ve delayed on this for a long time,? she said.
‘If the money wasn’t spent before the end of June, it wouldn’t automatically stay. It would rollover into the general fund,? Van Tassel said.
She assured Van Portfliet that the $15,000 will be back in the 2004-05 budget.
‘The (DDA) board felt they were being generous. The intention behind this was to be helpful to the DPW and the police,? Goodman said.
Council members approved the budget adjustments for the DDA, but asked the board to come before the council before any utility vehicle is bought.