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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, October 28, 2019 <br />7:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 5 of 9 <br /> <br />is activity, and with the funds from the grant and with City funds, the goal is to get anybody with any kind <br />of disability from the three main areas to one another. Other aspects of the grant include a pavilion-like <br />structure up in the lookout area and provision of some ADA bathroom features and installation of <br />interpretative signage, but those are smaller items. <br /> <br />Seals asked if those trails are intended to connect. <br /> <br />Edwards stated they are. Currently the park is covered with an easement that was granted by the City to <br />the Watershed District. Within that easement is the recreation area and the lookout area, which is where <br />all of the construction of the pavilion and the bathroom will happen. The easement does restrict what can <br />happen in the natural areas and prohibits the use of asphalt or concrete on the trails, but the City is able to <br />use a rock type surface, which is what is planned. <br /> <br />Seals asked what the priority of projects is within the grant since there is no guarantee there will be <br />enough in donations. <br /> <br />Edwards stated the grant was written and granted based on providing accessibility. Currently the plan <br />includes two bathrooms at a cost of approximately $70,000 apiece. If there is a budgeting concern, the <br />City could drop one of the bathrooms. Staff is currently working with the engineer consultant and <br />landscape consultant. One bathroom would be placed near the visitor’s center since it would be easier to <br />maintain. <br /> <br />Seals asked whether the City is obligated to fund everything if sufficient donations are not received. <br /> <br />Edwards stated the City would be reimbursed for half of any money that is spent on the project under the <br />grant. <br /> <br />Walsh pointed out the City portion is coming out of park dedication funds and not the General Fund. The <br />501(3)(c) was formed specifically to help raise funds. Currently they have pledges for $40,000. <br /> <br />Walsh commented there is tremendous history associated with the island and the Veterans camp has been <br />there since World War I. There also used to be 40 cabins out there as well as an amusement park. Over <br />time it is the City’s goal to have an archeological study completed of the island. <br /> <br />Johnson asked if part of the grant incudes a responsibility for the City to maintain a dock. <br /> <br />Walsh stated when the City purchased the property, there was an Island Management Plan that was <br />adopted, which provided access to the veterans, and that a dock is necessary. <br /> <br />Rief stated a dock is already a requirement. <br /> <br />Johnson asked what assurances there are that the bathrooms will not be vandalized and whether the City <br />has looked at seasonal structures rather than something permanent. <br /> <br />Edwards stated the City has looked at using temporary structures but there is no way to get a weekly <br />service truck out to the island. The other structures that were on the island were predominantly <br />constructed out of wood and built more to a residential standard. Staff has looked at best practices at <br />other park systems and what is being considered is a preformed concrete structure with large vault type