By Megan Kelley

Review Writer

The Lake Orion Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors met on Tuesday for their regularly scheduled meeting and discussed lighting up M-24.

During the meeting, the board discussed moving forward with funding for lighting on M-24.

This project would provide private business owners who own lights along the M-24 portion of the village (out to Heights Road) with LED lighting that would match the lighting in the central downtown.

“Their lights would match ours,” said DDA Executive Director Molly LaLone. “The request would be for them to install a timer, or have at timer, so that the lights come on and go off at the same time. We have the uniformity of the lights coming on at the same schedule and also of their being the same color lighting. That’s for $4,960, approximately $80 a light bulb.”

The lack of uniformity in the downtown lighting was also noted by both township Supervisor Chris Barnett and village Council President Ken Van Portfliet.

“My biggest pet peeve,” Barnett said. “Not just in the village, but we (the township) did the same thing. We have six different colors of lights and it just looked not professional.”

Board members expressed concern over the lack of a plan.

LaLone explained that as DDA executive director, she needed approval before she discussed the plan with the businesses that would be impacted. The LED bulbs would not be purchased until businesses had agreed.

The board passed the motion unanimously.

Also at the meeting:

LaLone informed the board that the previously planned repair for the Front Street and Anderson Street parking lot repair was not completed due to an unforeseen issue.

The board had previously approved $7,500 to repair the wall in the public lot on the corner Front and Anderson streets.

However, after initiating the repair, the contracting company, Simiron, found that the bottom edge of the wall needed to be sealed where the wall meets the ground.

Board members raised concerns about whether it was too late in the season for such work to be completed.

The decision was tabled until the next meeting on Dec. 10.