Laserfiche WebLink
MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PARK COMMISSION MEETING <br />Monday, November 7, 2016 <br />6:30 o'clock p.m. <br />City Administrator Loftus stated the City's operating budget or General Fund is meant for day-to-day <br />maintenance, which should handle all of the normal maintenance. For the past five years, the City <br />Council has been looking at different options for funding the seal coating of the roads. Loftus stated the <br />right way to do it would be to seal coat the trails at the same time the roads in the area are being done and <br />that it should be included in the yearly maintenance fund. <br />Loftus stated capital improvement expenditures are typically defined as anything over $5,000. Loftus <br />stated the reason the City looks at capital expenditures in that way is because it opens up different funding <br />options for the City. Park dedication funds are only paid at the time of new developments and the Park <br />Fund is a continual tax on the residents. Loftus indicated the Park Dedication Fund is restricted in how it <br />can be used by the State Legislature. <br />Loftus stated over the years there have been a number of challenges from developers on the Park <br />Dedication Fee. Currently the City asks for between $3,250 to $5,550 per dwelling unit. That rate has <br />not been increased since 2002. Loftus stated what has to happen is a study that identifies what the City <br />would like to purchase or other capital improvements the City would like to do as well as the costs <br />associated with those. The City would then arrive at an estimate of the number of dwelling units that <br />potentially could be developed. Those numbers would be divided to arrive at the fee. <br />Loftus stated currently the City has identified $22 million in improvements. If a developer or the City <br />decides that a neighborhood park is not required, the developer would make a cash contribution into the <br />community fund, which is known as the Park Dedication Fund. Those fees are typically used for large <br />capital expenses, such as creation of a park or trail. Loftus stated routine maintenance should be handled <br />through regular ongoing tax dollars, which would be included in the Park Fund. <br />Meyers asked if the City's need of $22 million is included in that calculation. <br />Loftus indicated it is. Loftus stated the City conducted a study ten years ago regarding that so it could <br />justify its fee per unit. Loftus noted the City is currently close to being fully developed and that she looks <br />at the City's Park Dedication Fund as not increasing substantially in the future. <br />Brenda Johnson asked if there has been any discussion about increasing the General Fund to cover park <br />maintenance. <br />Loftus stated there has been a discussion about that and for the past two years the City Council was <br />willing to increase the levy. The Council designated that increase toward road maintenance and that she <br />considers trails to be part of road maintenance. For the previous five years the Council decided to not <br />increase the levy due t6 the poor economic conditions. <br />Loftus stated the City is currently short $1 million a year for road improvements. Loftus stated road <br />improvements are on the Council's radar and a top priority but that the City has S 1.5 million in need each <br />year. Loftus noted City has had $400,000 available in road improvement funding now for the last two <br />years. <br />Edwards stated all the trail numbers in the Parks CIP come from the Pavement Management Plan. <br />Levang commented the City is doing what they can to address roads and trails. Levang noted the City did <br />get one trail done this year and that the other trails are on the plan but financing is an issue. Levang stated <br />Page 5 of 13 <br />