Village Council approves proposal for DPW to clear the sidewalks

By Jim Newell

Review Editor

The Lake Orion Village Council voted 5-2 to pay nearly $44,000 for a tractor for Department of Public Works employees to plow village sidewalks, and accept an agreement with the Downtown Development Authority to clear additional sidewalks in the business district, which the DPW had not done in the past.

President Ken Van Portfliet and Councilmember Michael Lamb were the dissenting votes.

The Lake Orion DDA Board of Directors voted during its Dec. 8 meeting to pay the village DPW $11,301.50 for one year to clear the sidewalks in the business district, about an additional 3,580 lineal feet.

Many of these sidewalk areas are in front of the shops downtown and it is the responsibility of the business owner to clear the sidewalks, even if the business is closed.

The council approved the agreement with the DDA, subject to a review by the village attorney, and approved the village manager signing a contract with the DDA for snow removal services.

“I think it’s a great idea and it’s warranted. But I disagree with the plan. So, I’m not in favor and I’m not going to support it at this time,” Van Portfliet said. “My opposition to it is that I think we should collect some additional money higher than what we are going to receive from the DDA.”

Van Portfliet, who is the council representative on the DDA board, seconded the motion at the DDA meeting in support of paying the $11,301.50 to contract the village DPW to clear the sidewalks, but said he did not like the plan presented at the council meeting.

Lamb said that he wanted a multi-year contract with the DDA to support the cost of the equipment purchases. He also questioned buying the equipment without having an actual contract with the DDA.

The DDA’s payment includes the cost of a DPW employee’s wages and rental fees, village Manager Joe Young said.

Several businesses had requested that the DDA pay to have the sidewalks cleared, Young noted. In the past, the DDA had not received reasonable quotes for the sidewalk snow removal. This year, the DPW has agreed, with conditions, to offer snow removal services for the public sidewalks as a pilot program.

Council President Pro-tem Jerry Narsh supported the idea and thanked Young and acting DPW Director Wes Sanchez for working on a plan to plow the sidewalks in front of businesses.

“This is something that has bugged me for a long, long time. I’ve pestered and annoyed the last two DDA directors that we need to look at a uniform way to remove snow from our downtown,” Narsh said. “From a downtown standpoint…nothing says ‘go away and sue me while you’re fleeing’ our downtown is having snow and ice-covered sidewalks. It’s not welcoming, it’s not friendly and that’s everything that we’ve been trying to do in the last 20 years.

“For many, many years it has been nothing but a thorn for both the police department and the code enforcement to try to maintain it. We have business owners who are sometimes in poor health, or that can’t get to their business or their employees don’t do it,” Narsh said.

The Lake Orion Police Department’s ordinance officer’s report for January 2021 noted that there were 38 “Snow on Sidewalk” violations issued. In January 2020 there were three violations for businesses not clearing its sidewalk.

According to village ordinance 92.13, Snow and Ice on Sidewalks, business owners in the downtown area are responsible for clearing snow “accumulations of two or more inches of snow that falls or ice that forms, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., shall be removed immediately.”

The ordinance also states that the village manager can direct the DPW to clear a sidewalk in front a business and then charge that business for the village’s “actual and administrative costs and expenses.”

Many of the small businesses in the downtown district are not open seven days a week, and many do not stay open until 9 p.m. Several restaurants in the district are closed multiple days each week.

With the vote, the village will purchase a Ventrac Tractor from Wiengartz Supply Company for an amount not to exceed $43,973.20.

The new tractor includes a cab, v-blade, broom and other features for a more efficient, safer, warmer and longer use by the operator, village Manager Joe Young said.

The current ATV and snow plow that the DPW uses does not have a covered cab and exposes the driver to the cold weather. It takes one person up to six hours or more to plow the sidewalks in the village, said acting DPW Director Wes Sanchez.