Lake Orion’s Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors held a special meeting on Sept. 27 where the board approved a request for proposal for legal services as well as appointed three board members to an evaluation and interview team.

Currently, the DDA and Village share the same attorney — Mary Kucharek of Beier Howlett.

The decision to hire a different attorney came after several months of legal back and forth between the village and DDA board member Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett over the village’s attempt to remove Barnett from the board earlier this year. Concerns of a conflict of interest began to arise first, when the DDA was billed in error for the village’s legal services during their June meeting, and again at their July meeting when DDA Executive Director Molly LaLone told the board that she had found items on that month’s bill that did not belong and had requested they be removed prior to the meeting.

During their meeting on Aug. 10, the board voted 6-1 (Barnett casting the lone nay vote) to continue using the legal services contracted by the village with Beier Howlett but to use a different attorney at the same $135 hourly rate — and to request a statement of ethics from the firm.

During their recent special meeting, the board voted to approve an RFQ (Request for Proposal) for legal services and appointed Lloyd Coe, Joan Sheridan, and Monica Squarcia to the evaluation and interview team.

The attorney selected by this team is expected to be a “backup” in situations when the contracted legal firm cannot perform a service for any reason. The RFQ deadline is 4 p.m. on Oct. 22 and will be reviewed on Oct. 25. — By Megan Kelley