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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PARK COMMISSION <br /> Monday,November 4,2019 <br /> 6:30 o'clock p.m. <br /> Carter indicated he would be fine with that. <br /> Johnson stated they should have looked at the fund as having a fixed amount of money and that he would <br /> be cautious of spending all of the money. Johnson noted the City never had a discussion for what they <br /> envisioned long-term for Summit Beach and now they have been forced into having that discussion. <br /> Ruegemer stated it was her impression that Summit Beach would basically stay the way it is,and that the <br /> proposal by the rowing club totally changes the park for everybody. Ruegemer stated a 9,000 square foot <br /> building is huge and takes over the park. <br /> Hudson commented they did a better job at explaining what would be available for the public at the <br /> workshop. <br /> Roath noted the Park Commission talked about doing a long-term planning session for the park,but that <br /> has not been done. <br /> Edwards stated the strategic plan was done a year ago, which is a 10-year planning document and is <br /> included in the Comprehensive Plan. <br /> Johnson stated they have not had a brain-storming session in the past few years on what they envision for <br /> the City going into the future,which would be very helpful. <br /> Roath stated if there is going to be another source of funding for the parks,that would change the plan. <br /> Carter stated they did that to some extent with the trails but not the rest of the parks. <br /> Berg commented things change as the community changes,which also needs to be taken into <br /> consideration. <br /> Johnson noted the Trails Committee has as its top priority doing the trail construction along North Arm <br /> Drive,which was originally proposed in 2016. There was a safety component added to it, which is <br /> needed now more than ever. When the Park Commission did the prioritization,it was based on both <br /> safety and doing it with the road improvement project,which has been delayed now to 2023. <br /> Johnson stated he never thought they should be spending that much money on the North Arm trail for <br /> what they wanted to accomplish, and that they should look at that trail as a second imperative. The City <br /> already had a study done by Bolton&Menk to arrive at this number and the Park Commission felt the <br /> scope of the project was over what was needed and not necessarily meeting that safety component. <br /> Johnson stated he would like to allocate some amount of money to take another look at that and just <br /> leaving it in the CIP as a placeholder. If it going to be tied to a road improvement,the road improvement <br /> should perhaps be moved up since the trail provides a safety path to a park and eliminates the need for <br /> people to walk on the road. Johnson stated he would like to put on the record that the Park Commission <br /> should allocate some money to have Bolton&Menk relook at it. <br /> Edwards noted the Park Commission meeting is in January and that is typically when they set their <br /> priorities for what they would like to accomplish in 2020. <br /> Page 13 of 15 <br />