Orion Township Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk is asking the residents of Orion Township who join the board of trustees in opposing a proposed land swap for Bald Mountain property with a private developer, to pick up their pens, take to their keyboards and write their government representatives.
Although the United States Department of the Interior (USDI) National Park Service recently drafted a letter favoring a recommendation made by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) that would support the township’s position not to swap the state land on M-24 for a piece of property located in Oakland Township and owned by developer Mike Weger, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is set to push the deal through by Sept. 9.
In July, the SEMCOG’s Clearinghouse Committee recommended the MDNR purchase Weger’s property outright, rather than swapping state land for it.
Dywasuk said a letter from the USDI wanted to know how the MDNR was addressing Orion Township’s concerns.
In the letter from the USDI to SEMCOG, the USDI said protests from Orion Township and Village of Lake Orion residents would be included in the documentation if and when the MDNR chose to present their case for the swap.
The USDI must approve the swap because the purchase of the Bald Mountain property in question by the state involved federal grant money.
In a notice received Aug. 20 by Orion Township, the MDNR said the proposed sale of the private land offered for state land on M-24 would appear on the Natural Resources Commission Sept. 9 agenda.
The meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. at the Lansing Center in Lansing.
‘Orion Township strongly opposes this proposed land transaction,? Dywasuk said. ‘If approved, it will give a private developer a large portion of state parkland that was restricted to public recreational use in perpetuity.?
‘We will actually lose the rights to that property,? said deputy supervisor Jill Verros. ?(Weger) will probably develop it, and we’ll probably be in expensive litigation fighting it.?
‘This is an unfair burden to the taxpayers of Orion Township,? Dywasuk said. ‘It is also not a fair exchange of value.?
Dywasuk said the property Weger was offering was ‘undoubtedly valuable from a naturalist’s perspective, but it is incomparable from a market value standpoint, having inferior size and location, no major road exposure and limited development potential.?
Dywasuk and Verros are asking residents to speak at the NRC meeting during public comments, or to write to the MDNR and/or NRC regarding this issue.
‘We want the citizens to write to state their opposition,? Verros said. ?(Representatives of the township) will be going up there.?
Write to the MDNR at: Carol Larsen, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Office of Land and Facilities, PO Box 30448, Lansing, MI, 48909-7948; or email larsencb@michigan.gov. The phone number is (517) 335-3324
The NRC is located at Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan, Lansing, MI, 48909. To schedule a public appearance at the meeting, contact Theresa Gloden at (517) 373-2352.