The Oakland Township Board has scheduled a SPECIAL MEETING for November 10th at 7 PM at the Township Hall to presumably make a decision on the location of the mandated water storage facility for the Southwest Water District of Oakland Township. Hopefully this time all of the Board members will show up for this critical decision.

Here is a copy of the agenda for this meeting:

As a reminder, the State of Michigan has mandated that the Township provide a 1 million gallon water storage facility for the residents located in the Southwest water district of our Township. Here is a map showing the various water districts in our Township. The residents directly affected live in the yellow area. They use the water mains shown with the green lines on the map.

The Township Board has settled in on two possible locations for the storage facility. One is in The Crossings subdivision off Kern Road. The other is on near the corner of Adams and Gunn Road. Here are the two locations shown on an arial view map.

Here are closer arial shots of the Kern Road proposed location, as well as a view from the cul-de-sac of those most impacted by selecting this location.

The Adams Road/Gunn Road location is a parcel that has the potential of being donated to the Township as part of the PUD agreement a developer has made with the Township. The approval was contingent upon a water tower location being selected (the deadline for that agreement has passed, but apparently the offer is still on the table). The Township is considering using that location for a Firehouse, and a possible Police substation. A question was raised by Trustee Elder as to whether the 5.7 acre parcel could also accommodate the water storage facility. A DRAFT plan was developed that show how such a plan could be accomplished. It also shows the water storage facility in Commerce Township as well as some architectural ideas on how the site could be made more appealing by taking on a farming community theme. Here is a copy of that plan:

Here are sight lines from the road showing how berm and tree plantings could be used to block the view from the road.

The agenda also has an item that appears to be aimed at trying to deflect criticism for why 4 of the Board members did not show up for the Special Meeting that was scheduled and posted for last week.

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?

The decision the Board will presumably make will have an impact on the Township for many years. Once the storage location is chosen, it will probably never be moved. The Board has delayed making this decision for years. Those delays have resulted in the cost for this facility being much higher than it could have been a few years ago.

The residents in The Crossings have made their preference for the Adams Road location known to the Board. The purpose of the meeting on Thursday is to make a decision. Your input could influence where it goes. Each of the Board members should make the rationale for their decision very clear. Our next election for the Township Officers and the Trustees will be in 2024. Many citizens will look back on this decision when they make THEIR decision in 2024.

Richard Michalski