By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
ORION TWP. — The state of Orion Township is strong, said Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett during his 12th State of the Township Address on April 10 at Woodside Bible Church.
During his address to the community, Barnett said Orion Township is a strong, safe community, rife with business and infrastructure development, recreational opportunities for residents and new projects on the horizon. But it is the people who live and work within the community who make it a special place, he said.

As with his previous addresses, the 2025 State of the Township had a theme. This year’s was “Choose Adventure” and asked residents to explore the Orion community to see the variety of amenities it has to offer.
“Our Orion community is not measured by its size, but by its heart – by how deeply it loves and how far it dares to see,” Barnett said to the hundreds of spectators gathered in Woodside Bible Church for the address.
People
Barnett said it is the people who make Orion Township a special place to live and highlighted several citizens who have made an impact both in the township and around the world: NASA astronaut Drew Feustel and retired NFL player Jeff Heath, both Lake Orion High School graduates; Della Woods, Lake Orion’s own drag racer who is in the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame; Dan Dewey, an Orion Township runner and volunteer who delivers coffee to area seniors; and JoAnn Van Tassel, who has held nearly every public office – from township supervisor and board member to village manager – in the Orion community and has a pedestrian bridge named in her honor on the Paint Creek Trail.
Public Safety
Orion Township remains the safest community in Michigan with a population of more than 25,000 residents, Barnett said. Orion Township has approximately 40,000 residents and the sheriff’s office responded to 19,178 calls for service last year.

“We want to thank the men and women of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office,” Barnett said, adding that the township has the longest contract with the sheriff’s office at 70 years.
The fire department hired seven new firefighters in 2024, and received its new fire engine the previous week. The fire department responded to 4,114 calls for service in 2024, with 3,136 calls being for rescue and emergency medical service incidents.
Orion Township is also starting an emergency alert notification system for residents. Those who sign up can receive notifications by text message, email or voicemail that directly impacts them. Notifications could be anything from traffic accidents and down wires to fires and emergency vehicles shutting down roads.
Development
The township is currently in phase 1 of its renovations at the Orion Community Center (formerly the Great Lakes Athletic Club), with focus areas on dedicated senior spaces, childcare, employee offices and multi-purpose rooms.
Orion Township issued 2,344 total building permits in 2024 and 606 in the first quarter of 2025. Some of the permits include Cottage Inn Pizza, Victory Motors, Serra auto dealership, Tropical Smoothie Café, Iron 24 Fitness and Recovery, Culver’s, Hyatt House, Chick-Fil-A, the Lumber Yard at Paint Creek redevelopment and GM.
The township has several residential areas under development, including the Baldwin Village and Hudson Square condos. The township has launched a new online tool – “They are building what? Where?” on its website so residents can see what areas are currently under development.
Parks and Recreation
The township is creating a new pocket park on Pasadena Drive and Baldwin Road that will have green space, benches, walking paths and native plantings. The park was established through a grant from CN Railway in partnership with America in Bloom. Orion Township has been recognized by America in Bloom for improving green spaces and preserving natural beauty and will host the national symposium in September.
The township is converting the field in front of the Orion Municipal Complex, 2323 Joslyn Rd., to native prairie habitat, and recently held a controlled burn at Friendship Park and removed invasive species.
Other highlights:
• The Orion Township Clerk’s Office now offers passport applications for both new applicants and renewals to residents, who can schedule an appointment online, oriontownship.org.

• The township participates in boat shrink wrap recycling, offering an opportunity for boat owners to safely dispose of their boat wraps. To date, the program has saved 688.5 gallons of oil, 5,865 kilowatts of energy and 1,020 cubic feet of landfill space, Barnett said.
• The LOve, ExpLOre, LOcal initiative invites residents to share what they love about Orion, what makes Orion home; to explore the “hidden gems” and natural beauty of the township; and explore local amenities, businesses, parks and events in the community. The township has created a Summer 2025 Adventure List (like a bucket list) of local places and events that residents can visit.
• The Orion Community Foundation aims enhance the quality of life in the community by serving as an endowment maker, grant builder by supporting community improvements, partnerships, scholarships and events.
• The bi-annual community survey will return later this year. The survey asks residents questions about several areas of the township, from business and residential development to what features they would like to see in the township. The township administration and board use the survey to plan what they should focus on over the next few years.
• The township is in its fifth year of partnering with Orion.Events to bring concerts to Wildwood Amphitheater. Free concerts on Thursdays will continue throughout the summer.
• Niche, an online ranking of communities, ranked Orion Township as one of the best places to live in Michigan, giving the township an overall A ranking, including A rankings for public school and being good for families, and A-minus ratings for housing and jobs.