Fire Department has not approved event since 2021
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — Although a recommended motion to approve this year’s Lake Orion Lions Club Jubilee was on Lake Orion Village Council’s agenda on Monday, council members voted 4-2 to postpone the approval for a maximum of 30 days due to fire safety concerns.
Council Members Carl Cyrowski and Alex Comparoni voted against postponing the decision, believing the council should have approved the event. Village Council President Teresa Rutt was absent from the meeting.
The Orion Township Fire Department has not approved holding the Jubilee since 2021, according to Council Member Michael Lamb. The village does not have the fire department’s approval on this year’s required event permit application.
For this reason, action was postponed for Village Manager Darwin McClary to meet with the village attorney, fire department and members of the Lions Club so that the council has each party’s input for the next meeting. The event’s approval will be voted on during that meeting, according to President Pro-Tem Stan Ford.
“In clear conscience, I can’t support moving forward when the expert that we’ve asked to approve the plan tells us that the plan is flawed,” Council Member George Dandalides said.
Orion Township Fire Chief Ryan Allen said while the fire department can make accommodations, and a contingency plan was provided to the village, he added the event and placement of rides and other structures is a risk to people in the area at the time, along with downtown businesses.
“The things I’ve heard so far (include), large carnival rides in front of buildings, make it impossible for the fire trucks to adequately fight the fire,” Lamb said.
Lamb added his issue with approving the event without approval from the fire department is the liability and risk to citizens.
Allen also said the village was designed during the 1800s when streets were smaller than today, and firetrucks have gotten larger as time progresses. Allen said the event may have been code-compliant in the 1980’s, but codes are updated every year and get stricter almost every time.
He added that, “from the water system all the way through the electric system,” the village has an aging infrastructure.
“And when you’re looking at the modern fire loads that we’re placing and everything, things are burning hotter, they’re burning faster, they’re burning quicker,” Allen said. “And when you’re asking the fire department to supplement that by adding all the people and all the additional things and all the additional hazards in the area, it does raise a concern for your fire department.”
Council Member Carl Cyrowski said he appreciates the fire department’s rule and regulations, but added the council rarely gets the fire department’s approval because of how tight the regulations are. He also said fire concerns have not been a problem over the Jubilee’s 60-year history.
“On many events down here, I’ve been involved in the Christmas Parade, we’ve had a difficult time getting approval – (a) very difficult time,” Cyrowski said. “And I understand that they have their standards, but we also have a life.”
Council Member Alex Comparoni said he “100%” agrees with Cyrowski.
“Nobody supports the police and fire more than I do, trust me,” Comparoni said. “But the bottom line is if they had their way, we’d all stay home. Stay home and everybody would be safe.”
Comparoni said he thinks the council should vote to approve the event and then change their mind if their attorney says the village council should not have done so.
“The fire department, they got a truck that could squirt water from (village hall) to freaking (M-24) and then go over other the buildings,” Comparoni said, adding “there’s got to be ways, you know, it don’t take a mental heavyweight to figure that out.”
The Lions Club Jubilee is currently scheduled for June 19-22. The village council’s next meeting is on May 12, at 7:30 p.m. The Jubilee is one of the signature fundraisers for the Lions Club.
During the Jubilee, Broadway Street is shut down from Shadbolt Street to Front Street and Flint Street is shut down from Anderson Street to Lapeer Street.