01-06-1994 Park Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMIS5ION MEETING THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1994 Wilson commented that the Park Commission had asked to have a Park Plan done a few years ago but there was not sufficient funding available at that time. Ilse stated that she thinks that the Park Commission has been acting in a reactive mode rather than a proactive way and she feels it is time for a plan to be developed. McMillan concurred. Moorse stated that presently there are issues coming before the City which have required decisions to be made regarding land use which have not been fully explored or examined. He stated that it was time to move forward with the plan because funding was available to do this. He noted that the City Council believed that developing such a plan would be a means to address some of these needs. He discussed the needs of the school district and as the City grows, the municipality may need to provide some of the needed facilities. He stressed the need for citizen input. McMillan commented that she would like to have a consultant advise the Commission on issues that regularly arise and Moorse responded that the Park Plan would theoretically provide that assistance; however, there were many parks that were a half acre in size, which was quite small. Shardlow commented that the best use of the land is one aspect of a park plan, but the plan would also establish goals and standards by translating policy that has been set by the City. This can be done by the Commission through surveys and public input. He noted that the City was pretty well developed but with Highway 12 being upgraded, it will increase property values, and it would be best to determine where parks were needed or wanted before that occurred. He stated that neighborhood parks are usually identified on an official park plan and these parks were created using park dedication fees. He felt that the first step would be to establish goals and policies and then development standards could be determined. The final step would be to determine the sites which would be acquired. Case commented that the City of Orono may have a set of standards which would apply given the diversity of the area within the City. He felt that an inventory of existing parks within the City needed to be done and a determination made regarding whether they met the needs of the City. Shardlow stated that the public needed to be informed of the e�risting park system and alerted to other factors which may impact that system. This should include everything that provides recreational facilities for the City. He commented that the community wide sutvey was an excellent tool for obtaining citizen input into this process. He noted that the following steps were utilized in implementation of a park plan for a community: 1. Inventory and analysis of existing parks and recreational facilities. 2