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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PARK COMMISSION MEETING <br />Monday, January 5, 2015 <br />7:00 o'clock p.m. <br />Meyers stated he personally owns two dogs and that when he is on the trail with his dogs, the bicyclists <br />tend to not like dogs since they have a general perception that their owners do not pick up after them. <br />Meyers noted some of the dog parks have bags available. Meyers stated that concept could also be <br />implemented on the trails but that another issue is that there are not enough garbage cans available. <br />Meyers stated he is aware that some people will leave the plastic bags on the trail. <br />McCullough stated there are some bag stations available on the Dakota Trail and that Three Rivers' <br />officers do enforce their dog ordinances. <br />Meyers asked if there is a law that says a person has to have a bag with them to pick up their litter. <br />McCullough stated the trail is technically a park and that Three Rivers' ordinances would apply. <br />McCullough stated they are required to have their dog on a leash and to pick up their waste. <br />Meyers stated in his opinion the officers could ask people with dogs if they have a plastic bag. <br />McCullough stated the people with dogs are required to have a cleanup device and that the officers do <br />enforce that. McCullough stated if Three Rivers receives complaints about a specific area, the officers do <br />saturate that area and enforce the different ordinances. McCullough stated if Orono receives a number of <br />those types of complaints, they should call him. <br />Meyers noted the City does not plow the trails in the winter and in the summer Three Rivers does all the <br />maintenance. Meyers asked why Three Rivers allows the cities to do the maintenance during the winter <br />rather than doing it themselves. <br />McCullough stated traditionally Three Rivers has not maintained the trail system in the wintertime but <br />that it is a topic of discussion on a regular basis. McCullough stated with the end of snowmobiles on the <br />trails, there became a lot less people on the trails, but now with the popularity of winter sports, the trails <br />are becoming more heavily used. <br />McCullough stated maintaining trails in the winter is very expensive and a huge labor commitment. <br />Traditionally Three Rivers has not maintained the trails in the winter due to staffing but that Three Rivers <br />does have some cross-country trails and downhill ski operations that have to be maintained, which keeps <br />Three Rivers staff busy during the winter. Communities have the option of maintaining the trails in the <br />winter, which has been the case for the past 20 to 30 years. McCullough noted Three Rivers is currently <br />in the process of looking at that and compiling costs related to that work, which is an unknown at this <br />point. McCullough noted there is presently over 170 miles of trails throughout Hennepin County from <br />Maple Plain to Richfield. <br />Meyers stated he is not sure whether every trail has to be plowed and that the paved trails are probably <br />easier to plow. Meyers stated perhaps Three Rivers could designate some trails that could be plowed. <br />McCullough stated paved trails are easier to plow and that the only reason it is not being done currently <br />by Three Rivers is the cost. McCullough stated Three Rivers is looking at all options, including a tiered <br />system and paved versus unpaved. McCullough stated he is not sure Three Rivers wants to plow every <br />trail in the system since some people like to snowshoe or cross-country ski on the trails. McCullough <br />stated Three Rivers is looking at a number of parameters associated with that. <br />Page 2 of 11 <br />