Worried riparian owners breathed a sigh of relief Monday after learning sheriff patrol boats would arrive on Lake Orion as usual this summer.
The Orion Township Board of Trustees voted 6-0 to approve about $20,000-$25,000 in funding for the patrols, which were axed from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office budget last fall amid some $13 million in budget cuts implemented by Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
‘Those patrols were paid for with funds the county received from the state,? said Oakland County Commissioner Mike Gingill, who addressed the board at Monday’s meeting, noting much of that funding’funneled from the Department of Natural Resources, has dried up.
‘Ultimately, that means Lake Orion, one of the main lakes, one of the busiest lakes in Oakland County, will not have any marine patrol,? Gingill said. ‘In my opinion, it’s a serious public health, safety and welfare issue.?
Gingill asked the board to approve allocation of the funds as a ‘stopgap? to protect citizens while he and others research other options’such as a legislative measure’for a long-term structural remedy.
‘We don’t have a solution at this point, but we believe it is essential that marine patrols continue in the future,? said Orion resident George Hanley, who’s been active in matters related to the lake. ‘When you start to pull back, compliance with rules and regulations will begin deteriorate, and the quality of life on the lake will begin to deteriorate.?
Hanley said he’d like to see a fair and effective solution, but noted the cost should be shared.
‘We don’t think the riparian owners should pay for it exclusively,? he said. ‘It is a public lake and there are far more people on the lake than just the (home)owners.
In the past, he said, the lake typically saw between 600 and 900 hours of police marine patrol Thursday through Sunday, as well as on weekday holidays
But, he noted, fewer’about 450-500 hours’should cover the season effectively from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Although various methods of funding the patrols were discussed over several months, the board acted in anticipation of the rapidly approaching boating season.
The 500-acre lake has 22 miles of shoreline, a high density of homes, three marinas, public access and hosts some 2,000 watercraft over the course of any given day, Hanley pointed out.
Jerry Richard of the Lake Orion Lake Association said safety is a big issue on the lake.
‘A lot of boaters out there don’t have a good education about how to operate a boat safely,? he said. ‘We’ve sponsored boating safety through public access, and it’s always a surprise to see people who don’t have the required equipment’like enough life jackets. We’ve had some serious boating accidents, including some