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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday March 13, 2017 <br />7:00 o'clock p.m. <br />Walsh stated the penthouse would need to be included in the 30. <br />Barnhart stated the direction he has heard from the Council so far is to limit the height at 30 feet and that <br />they would like neighborhood input. In addition, concerns were also expressed about the traffic impacts <br />and the need to have a better understanding of those impacts. <br />Crosby stated the dry buildable on this site compared to all the lots would be interesting. Crosby stated <br />the main issue is to get the input from the neighbors and make sure the residents in the area are aware of <br />what is going on. <br />Seals commented she understands the public hearings are further down the road but that she would like to <br />get the word out earlier. <br />Goodrum stated they did reach out to everyone within 350 feet and that they will do that again. <br />Dankey encouraged them to go beyond the 350 -foot area. <br />Crosby commented he still has a major concern with traffic. <br />Dankey stated it is very difficult to pull out of Lund's since there is always traffic there. <br />Alex Ugorets, 175 Brentwood Avenue, Tonka Bay, stated he bought the Freshwater business center and <br />tried to bring it back to life. Ugorets commented it is a lot of work and cost a lot of money but that he <br />gets a lot of compliments from people stopping by. Ugorets stated he is very proud of that project and <br />that in his view it will be very successful. <br />Ugorets stated his taste is very contemporary and that he noticed Byerly's and Lund's have been doing <br />similar things. Ugorets stated the whole neighborhood is becoming more modern and that this building <br />could be apartment units or condominiums or senior care but that he just wants to know what size box <br />they can put in there. Ugorets stated it could also be turned into a parking lot for the Freshwater Business <br />Center. <br />Dankey suggested he consider a little smaller box than what he is proposing. <br />Ugorets stated he has had a lot of requests to turn it into an event center and that his original idea was to <br />turn a portion of the building into an event center. Ugorets indicated he has people who would be willing <br />to run it and the neighbors have indicated they would like to have weddings there. Ugorets stated he put <br />that on hold given his concerns with parking, but if this project does not go through, one of his options is <br />to add more parking for an event center. Ugorets stated that is not a bad use for the neighborhood but that <br />they will be looking at a parking lot rather than a building. <br />Ugorets indicated he will do just fine with a building or without a building but that this project would be <br />an asset to the city and to the neighborhood. Ugorets commented there are a lot of older people who <br />would not mind living in the penthouse and that it is a major feature of the building. Without the <br />penthouse, it will be just another ordinary building, which he does not really want to build. Ugorets <br />stated he wants it to be a nice property for the people who can afford it and enjoy it, but if the building is <br />reduced in height, it will be a different building. Ugorets stated the penthouse will bring in enough <br />revenue to make the building feasible. <br />Page 7 of 8 <br />