05-07-2018 Park Commission Packet

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Tuesday, January 2, 2018 6:30 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 9 of 10 work will need to be done to make the water potable. Edwards stated he believes the original intent was to use the well for ice rink flooding and that it was left there for irrigation of the baseball fields. 8. NAVARRE PARK SPORTS COURT – BRIAN ROATH Roath reported the City did not receive the grant for the Navarre Park sports court and that the City’s grant request was not scored very high. Roath stated overall there were 17 requests from various organizations and 14 of them received some money. Roath stated he has learned a lot from working with the program director about the City’s score and how it can be improved. Roath stated the grant program has two components to it. One is a facility grant, which awards higher dollar amounts and is given once a year, and the other is for equipment grants, which is given twice a year. Roath suggested they reapply this spring for an equipment grant. The maximum amount that can be received on the equipment grant is $10,000. Roath stated he would propose the Park Commission move forward with the equipment grant, which could go towards the project for the basketball court. Roath noted at the last meeting there was discussion that if the City did not get the grant, they would reapply their efforts and focus from the sport court project in Navarre to Bederwood, which is another option. Roath indicated the equipment grant would be due at the beginning of March, with a decision being made by the end of March, which would allow them to still move forward this spring with the project if they receive the grant. Edwards stated another decision is whether the project should remain as is and that he would recommend keeping the project scope as currently proposed. Edwards stated the basic project consists of moving and expanding the sports court and that they could possibly cut $5,000 to $10,000 out of it by removing the extra benches and soliciting donations for other portions. The total project estimate is $47,245. Ruegemer asked if one of the reasons the City’s grant did not score well was the fact that they did not have a partner in the project. Roath stated that was one of the reasons but that there was a more direct correlation between the project and youth participation. Roath noted approximately half of the grants were from school districts and that the others had baseball or football associations that backed them. Roath stated the neighborhood parks scored lower. Ruegemer stated they were attempting to cover the kids that cannot afford the big organized sports. Edwards stated the biggest score relates to partnership, and on the City’s previous equipment grants, they partnered with the Orono Baseball Association. Edwards stated the City will still get scored on partnering on the equipment grant but it is not as crucial. Williams asked if there is an after-school program the City could partner with. Ruegemer indicated they did obtain letters from WeCan and other organizations but that the grant program was looking for more of an organized association. Roath noted they scored high on stewardship, which means they thought the project was a good idea.