05-05-2014 Park Commission Packet

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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION DATE: April 12, 2004 ITEM NO.: a Department Approval: Administrator Reviewed: Agenda Section: Name Gregory A. Gappa�/% Public Services Director's Report Title Director of Public Services �jJ+/ Item Description: Request From Orono Baseball Association for Expanded Use of Bederwood Park Introduction We have received a request from the Orono Baseball Association (OBA) to expand it's use of the baseball field at Bederwood Park from two evenings per week to five evenings per week and on Saturday after 8;00 a.m. The attached letter from Tom Palmquist, OBA treasurer, details their request. Mr. Palmquist also presented OBA's request to the Park Commission at their March I' meeting, and the minutes from this Park Commission meeting are attached for your review. In order to put this request into context, a brief history of the development of this park is provided below. A meeting notification was sent to the 20 residents closest to Bederwood Park informing them that the Council would be considering OBA's request at the April 12' Council meeting and that both written and oral comments would be considered by the Council. History of Bederwood Park Development and Use by the Orono Baseball Association The 8.8 acre Bederwood Park parcel was purchased by the City from the Larson family in 1974 for $22,000. There do not appear to be any restrictions on the development of this park, based on the purchase information in the City files, One of the park system needs, when this property was purchased, was ballfields and tennis courts. This land was valuable because of its larger size and the lack of recreational facilities in this area of the City. At this time, the Orono School District ballfields were already being used to their full capacity. The 1/3 acre property at the southeast corner of Bederwood Park, on which the parking lot is located, is the site of the old Stubbs Bay Dairy. The date that this parcel of tax forfeit land was acquired by the City is unknown. A project to use surplus fill from a sewer project to construct a ballfield in Bederwood Park was completed in 1975. In 1979, there were discussions with the Orono Baseball Association (OBA), about construction of a Babe Ruth size baseball field in Bederwood Park, but this project was never completed because of a lack of funding.