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1 <br />MINUTES OF ORONO COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 26, 1990 <br />single tennis court is $17,000. Four or five pieces of • <br />playground equipment would cost approximately $7,000. He said <br />that the present fee schedule is not generating anywhere near the <br />money needed to do a decent job with the parks. <br />Mr. Flint said that there is no need to raise money unless <br />there is a purpose for the funds. He said that the Orono Park <br />Program has been run on a "lick and a promise" in the past. He <br />said there is not much of a park program in Orono and that most <br />residents are not aware of the location of the parks. He said <br />that due to the regional recreational sources and the open, <br />undeveloped nature Orono had in the past, parks were not as <br />important as they are becomming today. He said that the Park <br />Commission feels it is important to lay the groundwork for the <br />future. One way to do that will be to impose a realistic Park <br />Fee for subdivisions while subdivisions are prevalent. Secondly, <br />Mr. Flint suggested that a consultant be hired to work with the <br />Council and Park Commission to prepare a Comprehensive Park Plan <br />for Orono. He said that Plymouth prepared a Comprehensive Park <br />Plan 10 years ago at a cost of $31,000. <br />Mr. Flint reiterated that the cost of the bike /hike trail <br />will be $620,000 if constructed with bituminous at a 6' width. <br />Councilmember Nettles asked what the cost would be if gravel <br />were used rather than blacktop. <br />Mr. Flint said the cost would be cut approximately in half <br />if ag -lime were used. He said that the Park Commission is going <br />to try to minimize the cost of the trail by using other materials <br />and piggy- backing on other road construction projects that may <br />occur in Orono. He cited an example where the City is installing <br />a shoulder along East Long Lake Road and the Park Commission is <br />going to put in some ag -lime for a bike /hike trail in that area. <br />Mr. Flint said that the Council had asked the Park <br />Commission to show that there is a need for an increase in fees. <br />Flint noted that the $620,000 needed for the bike /hike trail <br />would be twice the amount of Park Commission revenues generated <br />in the last 13 years. He said that placing 10 tennis courts at <br />the school would cost $300,000. He said that the intent of <br />increasing the Park Dedication Fee was to bring Orono more in <br />conformance with other communities. He said that a survey of <br />other communities indicated that Park Fees are 7% to 10% of the <br />fair market value of the property being subdivided. The <br />majority of the communities in the survey charged on the high <br />side of that range. <br />Mr. Flint said that there had been discussion regarding <br />phasing the increase in gradually. He said that the majority of <br />the Park Commission felt that the proper fee should be • <br />established and used immediately. The Park Commission <br />anticipated that major development would be occurring now. <br />W <br />