11-04-2019 Park Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday,November 4,2019 6:30 o'clock p.m. attending Orono Schools. The Club has been able to provide them with five to six years of rowing experience and training,which allows them to attain scholarships at high-level universities ranging from Brown, Dartmouth, Syracuse,Washington,Notre Dame, and other universities all over the country. Rowing has become a very attractive sport and the Long Lake Rowing Club produces some of the best rowers in the state. Two of the Club's high school rowers placed first at the Head of the Charles race, which is one of the most highly profiled races in the country. The program, with its dedicated coaching staff, have been able to produce high-level rowers. The Club also prides itself in offering rowing to people of all ages, including a master's program that services rowers up to 80 years old. The Club has worked on integrating the community into this sport and developing a life-long passion for the sport. The rowing club utilizes Long Lake and currently is storing its equipment outdoors at Birches Restaurant because they do not have a building. The rowing club currently has over$200,000 worth of equipment sitting in the woods,which can be a security risk,and they are in desperate need of a home. McCarty indicated the Long Lake Rowing Club is willing to partner with the City for use of the Summit Beach Park location. Craig Martin, Peterson,Keller Architecture, stated the Long Lake Rowing Club reached out to their company several months ago about designing a boathouse and training facility. The Club would like to enter a private/public partnership between the Long Lake Rowing Crew and the City of Orono to create a neighborhood rowing facility and also to update Summit Beach Park. At this time they are proposing a park pavilion with toilet facilities,outdoor patio space with picnic tables, a small playground, a two-story rowing crew boathouse consisting of approximately 9,000 square feet, and dock amenities. The project intention and goals include promoting the education of rowing within the Orono community, establishing a home for the Long Lake Rowing club,building on the improvements Orono has been making to the Summit Beach area,providing a presence in the neighborhood to promote safety and security for patrons of the beach and neighbors,and creating a timeless beach destination that generations of neighbors can continue to use. Summit Beach Park is located on the southeast corner of Long Lake. There is existing parking for approximately 24 cars,temporary toilet facilities, a large lawn area, and a wooded hill area. Currently there are a few picnic tables on site. In conjunction with TBL Studios, a concept master plan has been created for what the park could look like. Being proposed is a paved parking lot for 24 cars and additional space for up to 36 spaces. The goal is to keep it fairly small at this point. The boathouse is proposed to be built into the hillside. The grassy knoll area was considered but it was felt it would be a little too damp and not safe for rowers moving their equipment in and out. Instead they are proposing to nestle it into the hillside to decrease its visibility for the neighbors. Also looking at a small pavilion,which would contain toilet facilities for park goers, and possibly a few picnic tables. Travis VanLear,landscape architect,noted he met with most of the Park Commissioners approximately one month ago at their work session. He has attempted to take that feedback and apply it to the concept plan that was presented at that time. As Craig elaborated,the goal with the overall project is to have a minimal impact on the design of the park and to use the existing attributes as much as possible. They would like to minimize tree removal and utilize the existing parking as much as possible to reduce cost Page 2 of 15