The Nov. 28 Lake Orion Village Council meeting was confusing to say the least and highly questionable as to proper procedure.
After discussion of seven of the 17 agenda items, including a presentation of the village audit and another on DDA finances that was not on the agenda or in the meeting information, they approved the agenda.
Shouldn’t the agenda be approved at the beginning of the meeting, not in the middle?
Public comments about public safety were made and ignored by the council, as they were in the past. These included:
· The outside stair at Wine Social has yet to meet the minimum requirements of the Michigan Building Code. The DDA has agreed to fund additional work with no restrictions even though it is unknown if the work will comply, and based on only one unqualified bid amount.
· The pedestrian crosswalk signal button at the Paint Creek Trail and the north side of Atwater was run over three months ago and remains missing. Vehicles no longer stop for pedestrians, and there are a lot of pedestrians, young and old. Would they wait this long if a traffic light was gone?
· Lighting on the Paint Creek Trail? There’s money for all new lights downtown but no money to replace a lightbulb on an often-used walkway in the DDA district.
Then there was the resolution for how future DDA TIF funds will be distributed. It was dated, signed, and certified by the clerk before the meeting and vote ever took place.
Questions were asked, no answers were given. It makes one think this decision was made long before the meeting and vote took place.
Looks like it is going to be an interesting two years until the next election.
Stay safe if you can and watch your tax dollars, if they let you.
Cory Johnston
Lake Orion