05-13-2019 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETEING Monday,MAY 13,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Walsh noted the City Council discussed this at a work session and it is their belief it fits pretty well with the City's overall philosophy. Crosby moved,Printup seconded,to approve the city mission and vision statements and goals. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. 28. PROPOSAL TO PURCHASE PID#34-118-23-32-0051 Rief stated the City of Orono owns Parcel ID 3411823320051 located between 340 Willow Drive and the Long Lake municipal boundary on the east. A interested party was looking to do a development on these three parcels. During that process, Staff identified this lot as being city-owned and the party is here tonight to ask what the Council's opinion is of the lot. If the Council is interested in possibly selling this lot,the second step would be to determine pricing for the lot. Walsh noted the developer has not brought forward any formal proposal, so discussion on this item might be a little premature. Walsh suggested the developer bring a proposal forward and then the City Council can discuss it. Walsh noted the City's donation garden is located on that property and that he would like to hear from that group tonight as well as in the fall. Walsh commented the community garden is a great asset. Printup noted previously there was a proposal for some density housing for this area,which was not too different from what is being proposed. When that area was developed,there was an Option 3 in 2011, which was to designate the city-owned property as a park. Printup stated it was important to him at that time to call that piece of land a park. In addition,the City has a vision statement that they just approved tonight. Printup stated while that area is very small, it is still one of Orono's parks,and he is not interested in selling city land in general because it opens the City up to different things. Printed noted there was a license agreement for the community garden but that agreement was not included in the packet that was delivered prior to the weekend but it has been made available today. That license agreement is in place until 2022. While the City still has ownership of the land and can pull that agreement with 90 days' notice, he would like to extend the agreement past 2022,which would make a bold statement that the City is not interested in selling this piece of land. Crosby noted the fire department also utilizes that parcel for training purposes and that he agrees with Council Member Printup. The residents of Orono want open space and the City can control what happens on city-owned land. Crosby asked what would stop the City of Orono from calling it the Fireman's Park to honor past firefighters who have served the Orono community as well as keeping the community garden. Seals stated the City Council should be completely bold and say they are absolutely not interested in selling the land. If the City has to have high density, that can be done along Old Highway 12, and that the City Council does not have any intention of letting the density creep. Seals indicated she was a little taken aback when the City of Long Lake showed her this plan and that the City Council should make it clear that they want certain areas left as open, green spaces, and place higher density elsewhere. Barnhart stated from a land use perspective,the City has identified this area for medium density housing. While the Council has the ability to dictate land use, if this area remains green space, it will be necessary Page 18 of 21