Could a new home development in the village become a breeding ground for mosquitoes?
The developer of Village Homes, located in the Converse Court area, is being asked by Lake Orion officials to correct problems with a detention pond on the site.
The pond often has standing water in it. If designed properly, storm water should drain away.
According to LO Village Manager JoAnn Van Tassel, the pond, located in the southeast corner of the development, wasn’t constructed according to the approved plan.
Developer Sam Yaldo was at the village council meeting on Oct. 14 and told the council he would correct the problem. He said the grade isn’t at a level required in the original plans. If the pond elevation is brought up, storm water should flow into a nearby catch basin.
Yaldo plans on placing additional soil within the pond, but told council members he would like to delay fixing the pond until the weather gets colder.
According to Yaldo, the soil currently in the pond is soft and won’t support the equipment needed to repair the problem. He wants to wait until the ground is frozen.
If the problem isn’t corrected, the village has the right, according to the master deed, to take care of any repairs and bill the developer for the expense, plus an administrative fee of 25 percent of all costs incurred.
LO Village Clerk Arlene Nichols said there is still a bond for the Planned Unit Development on file at the village hall.
“We have not yet approved that site. It’s not closed out even though the state has issued an occupancy permit. There are required items that must be checked on and this (the pond) is one of them,” she added.
Van Tassel suggested village staff, village engineers and the developer work together on a better solution to the problem.
“I attended a seminar on Innovative Storm Water Management. Representatives from Hubbell, Roth & Clark also attended. There may be a better way to handle storm water than has been designed for Village Homes,” she told the council.