09-10-2018 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCILMEETING Monday,September 10,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS None 5. APPROVAL TO REMOVE LMCD ORONO REPRESENTATIVE Seals stated if anyone has attended or watched a City Council meeting in the past year,they know the Council is frustrated with how the LMCD is functioning and that the organization,along with Orono's representation on that board,is ineffective and is not giving the residents of Orono what they deserve. As a consequence, Seals stated in her view Orono's representative should be removed from the LMCD Board and that she would recommend not appointing anyone else. Walsh noted also part of the issue was the lack of communication from Orono's LMCD representative even though a number of the Council members have attempted to contact him. Walsh stated the LMCD representative acts on behalf of the City Council and the residents and that it is important to have communication with him. Seals moved,Printup seconded,to approve the removal of the current LMCD Orono representative and to not appoint a new representative. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. PUBLIC HEARING 11. ORONO OAKS PRIVATE ROAD MAINTENANCE Edwards stated the purpose of this item is to address concerns raised by a resident regarding the lack of maintenance and safety issues associated with Orono Oaks Drive. Orono Oaks Drive is a private road and is privately maintained by the local homeowners' association. As with most private roads in the City, there is an underlying easement that sits underneath the road that allows the City to step in when it deems there is a safety issue that needs to be addressed, In the case of Orono Oaks Drive,several issues were brought to Staff's attention,include potholing, vegetation encroachment,and the main issue relating to safety posed by a partially excavated culvert in the roadway. The culvert in its present condition poses an issue for not only transportation of routine vehicles using the right-of-way but also for emergency response vehicles. In addition, Staff recently received a phone call from the Orono School District Transportation Office saying that school buses were unable to make it down the road. The City has several options that it can take in addressing the situation,and are as follows: 1. The City could make emergency repairs to replace the culvert and patch the street above it. 2. The City could replace the pavement/repair the culvert and manage the vegetation in the Right-of-way. 3. If petitioned by the residents,the City could make the road a public road. In doing so,the road would be brought up to current City standards with all necessary repairs being made. While initial expenses would likely be borne by the residents of Orono Oaks,the long-term maintenance,including winter maintenance,would then be borne by the City. Page 2 of 9