By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — Lake Orion’s Village Council awarded the contract for its sidewalk improvement program district one project to Santos Cement 1 Inc. in the amount of $17,607, and adopted a resolution for the project to make corrections and confirm the special assessment roll on May 12.
The project will be paid by special assessment, and the special assessments will be placed on the village’s tax roll for collection. Village Manager Darwin McClary said the revised special assessment roll is based on the unit prices contained in the bid.
The district one project involves the removal and replacement of “deficient” sidewalk slabs abutting 45 properties within the district, according to McClary. The property owners are responsible for the improvement costs.
“Costs of sidewalks abutting private property will be specially assessed against those benefiting properties with special assessments to be spread over up to three years in $500 increments,” McClary said.
Balances not paid in full in the first year will be subject to 6% interest rates for each year. Property owners may pay their assessments in full by the 2025 summer tax due date and incur no interest costs, and opt out of the program by notifying the village.
ADA ramps will also be removed and replaced at two street intersection locations, which the village will pay for. The village will also cover sidewalk damage done by a utility company at a property on North Washington Street, and cover the difference in cost to repairs on Flint Street.
For this reason, the property on North Washington Street will be removed from the special assessment roll. A property owner on East Flint Street will be removed from the program at their request so they can complete the repairs themselves. The work needs to be completed by the owner this year, McClary said.
Other corrections still needed from the village council were approved when the resolution was adopted.
Twelve companies successfully submitted bids for the contract, with Santos Cement bidding the lowest amount.