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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PARK COMMISSION MEETING <br />Monday, November 7, 2016 <br />6:30 o'clock p.m. <br />Bryce Johnson noted the money would come from the Park Dedication Fund and that a number of cities <br />say that the money from a development has to be spent within a certain distance of the development. <br />Loftus stated Orono does not do that. <br />Ruegemer commented the Park Commission feels that is the spirit of the law. <br />Levang stated there is not a geographic nexus currently for allocation of Park Dedication Fees. <br />,Meyers stated there is the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, and the spirit of the law is that there <br />should be some connection with the development from where the funds are collected. <br />Bryce Johnson stated the Park Commission has talked about this previously and that it is not a new <br />concept since a number of other cities currently do it. Johnson stated the general philosophy of the Park <br />Commission is that some of that money should be used in the area of the development. <br />Meyers stated the fact that they are putting a new housing development in near the dog park helped the <br />Park Commission make a decision on the dog park and that the Park Commission attempts to anticipate <br />where there will be new housing. Meyers noted since the Council decides how to spend the money, they <br />can be the letter of the law and the Park Commission can be the spirit of the law. Meyers stated the Park <br />Commission felt it was worth spending $135,000 to develop the dog park since it will connect to those <br />developments. Meyers stated the Park Commission looks 20 to 30 years down the road and not just at <br />what exists currently. <br />Levang stated the City Council cannot factor that into their decisions and that there is a difference <br />between the spirit and legislative intent of the law. Levang stated the City Council has to be conscious of <br />what the law says and then use the Park Dedication Fess in a particular way. <br />Levang stated the Park Commission may think about how to creation recreation areas for people but that <br />they have to be mindful of the City across the whole board. Levang commented it would be wonderful if <br />the City could designate a certain amount of money to a particular area but that there has never been a <br />geographic component to it previously. <br />Bryce Johnson stated the City believes that all of Orono is the nexus and that he is saying there are a lot of <br />municipalities that have looked at it and have said there is a relationship between where the money comes <br />from and the area where it is used. Johnson stated he understands and accepts that Orono does not do <br />that. <br />Meyers stated in his view part of the Park Commission's purpose is to bring a nexus to it. <br />Levang noted Long Lake is in the middle of this and that the trail will be going through their city if they <br />decide to pay for it. <br />Edwards stated Long Lake will pay the majority of the costs associated with Phase I and that Phase II <br />consists of some Long Lake and some Orono. <br />Meyers asked if the Park Commission is interested in the trail extension. <br />Page 8 of 13 <br />