09-02-2014 Park Commission Packet - Cancelled

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Another alternative would be to have Prairie Restoration design a plan that includes select native plantings to be interspersed amongst boulders around the sign, setting off the sign with a natural look that will require less maintenance than annual flowers. 2, We have installed the two park benches in the woods along the trail. If you would like them moved to a preferred/different location please let us know. 3. Have the parking lot paved as soon as possible because the appearance of the gravel lot is not meeting the donor's expectations. The Orono Public Works Department will need to schedule this work for fall 2014. The estimated cost is $6,000. 4. Mulch for the trails in the woods will need to be added every other year due to decomposition. 5. Concrete pads underneath the picnic tables might make them more appealing and less maintenance. 6. Provide screening from the roads. Mayor McMillan suggested we could plant a few clumps of oak trees that would survive future prairie burns and be a more natural selection. Lurton Fund Update • In 2006 a transfer from the State of Minnesota revenues to the Big Island Fund resulted in a fund balance of $103,284 for maintenance of the park. • By 2010 the interest earnings increased the fund balance to $130,573. • 2011 had the following expenditures: o Bench and table $2,605 o Sign $1,000 o Erosion control, soil, and mist for parking lot installation by public works $640 • In 2012 the City paid Prairie Restoration $40,291 for the prairie burn, reseeding native plantings and buckthorn removal. This brought the funds balance down to $88,654. • 2.0.13 expenditures included $3,602 to Prairie Restoration for maintenance of the native plants and $1,009 to Hennepin County to spread wood chips on the trails. The year end fund balance was $84,484. • Expenditures to date in 2014 have been just over $800 to Prairie Restoration, bringing the current fund balance to approximately $83,650.