03-13-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, February 27, 2017 7:00 o'clock p.m. 17. BIG ISLAND DOCK PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT (continued) The only thing that I was upset with was the way the City of Orono had treated Susan E. Lurton Park and not taken of it in the early years. It took several meetings with the Orono city employees and getting Mayor McMillan and Gabriel Jabbour to get things corrected. Our family gratefully appreciates all that Mayor McMillan, Gabriel Jabbour and all the other city employees have done in helping to make the Susan E. Lurton Park what it is today. My wife loved animals and she would be very happy to see the park being used as a dog park. So I want to thank each of you responsible for that becoming a dog park today, but I also needed everyone to hear this. I sat in each of those meetings with Gabriel Jabbour, Jim White, Barb Peterson, and my father-in- law. The whole thing was that it was always going to be open and accessible to all people. So to hear what was said in the last meeting was very upsetting. Ross McGlassan, Tonka Bay, stated he is a Vietnam veteran, served seven years on the Minnetonka School Board, served on the LMCD for three years, worked on the Minnehaha during its restoration and was its first captain. McGlassan stated they held many, many successful events out at the campground and that he thoroughly enjoyed that. McGlassan stated he is also one of the founders and past presidents of the Lake Minnetonka Rotary Club. When the Rotary Club was formed, a commitment was made that the differentiator of our club would be the stewardship of Lake Minnetonka. McGlassan stated the first thing they did was they got a law passed outlining phosphate fertilizer from running into the lake. McGlassan stated he then met with former City Administrator Ron Morse where the Rotary Club offered to build an ADA adaptable asphalt trail up the hill from the end of the dock. McGlassan stated it is one thing to have a dock there, but if it simply stops at a pile of sand, wheelchairs cannot make it through. McGlassan stated from the beginning they were thinking forward about all the possibilities that could happen out there. McGlassan stated little did they expect that they would be put into a negative position by the City Council. McGlassan stated they are all constituents of the lake and that he would like to thank the City of Orono for assuming the responsibility for being the owner. McGlassan encouraged the City Council to find a solution to this, noting there are multiple groups of people that can help come up with a viable, long-term solution to protect this most precious asset. Bill Cochrane, Eden Prairie, stated he was born and raised in this part of the country and that he still has extended family in Orono. Cochrane noted his brother-in-law just recently moved away but that he still has friends on the lake. Cochrane stated he and a grade school friend were drafted after graduating from college and that when they were younger, they would go to Big Island in the wintertime. Cochrane commented it is a special spot for him. Cochrane noted he is the vice chair for the Veterans for Veterans Trust Fund and also the senior hospital representative at the VA Hospital. Cochrane indicated he has put in approximately 7,500 hours of service time there. Page 5 of 23