Orion Township is increasing the number of trails available to residents, has doubled the state equalized value (SEV) in the past eight years, and is an all-around great place to be, according to Orion Township Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk.
Dywasuk addressed the Orion Area Chamber of Commerce at their March 3 meeting, to deliver his ‘State of the Township? address. The meeting was held at Orion Township Hall on Joslyn Road.
‘We’re remarkable as a township,? Dywasuk said. ‘The township was founded in 1824, before Michigan was a state.?
Dywasuk said Orion Township was a mostly rural area back then, which he said helped prepare township officials for what they have today.
‘We had forward thinkers,? he said. ‘We are on the right track.?
Dywasuk said Orion Township’s SEV, the value of all the property and buildings in the township, took 150 years to reach $1 billion.
In just eight years, that number was doubled to the township’s current $2 billion SEV.
‘It’s happened at a time when it’s really come to our advantage,? he said, adding that the quality schools, many of them Blue Ribbon award winners, in the Lake Orion School District were a draw for incoming residents.
Dywasuk said the township is in the process of acquiring a mile of old Canadian Railway track in the township to be turned into a trail.
The township is also looking into having a trail along the pipeline Consumer’s Energy will begin installing in the township this spring.
‘It just makes us a great place for people to come out and walk and bike,? he said.
Dywasuk noted that Orion Township operates the township hall on their general fund, which is only a mill.
‘That’s one of the lowest millage rates in the county,? he said.
The township also has $5 million in surplus that has been put into the general fund balance, Dywasuk said.
Regarding the township’s population, Dywasuk said the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) predicted Orion Township would grow to 45,000 in the next 20 years.
The township’s current population is about 34,000 people.
‘The current board is looking for better ways to improve our operations,? said Dywasuk, adding that the township’s website, www.oriontownship.org, was tied for fifth place in the state.
Dywasuk said Orion is fortunate to have two congressman within the township’s 36 square miles.
‘Joe Knollenberg has taken an important position in appropriation (for widening Baldwin Road),? he said.
Regarding the Baldwin Road widening, Dywasuk said there was currently a ‘struggle? over the budget for preliminary engineering work.
‘There is a reauthorization, to release the money by the end of May,? he said. ‘Then it will be a 5-6 month process to get the engineering.?
Dywasuk said he had been asked about the future of M-24, and that reopening the M-24 Task Force was a possibility.
‘But without the money, we don’t know what the alternatives are there,? he said.