12-09-2019 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,December 9,2019 6:30 o'clock p.m. Johnson asked if the City had the option of letting the neighborhood make a trail on City land and the City could wash their hands of it. Walsh noted that it is really steep and asked Johnson if he had walked it. Johnson said he had. Walsh said it is not something where you would just clean the brush and start walking down it, especially if it's wintertime, because you will just slide down the hill. Johnson said if the neighborhood didn't have an opinion, he would be prepared to do what's proposed. He is not worried about the even exchange. If a resident gives the City some land to make it better for public use and they get some land out of it and the City is not going to use it, it's fine. But it's clear the neighborhood does not want this. The hammerhead was put in because the City thought they might as well make it a little better because it's a new road, and let the citizens of that street know they can go on City land to get to that trail and leave it up to them about exactly how that goes. He said the applicant has every right to keep people off his property. The neighbors are saying they don't need the City to solve this problem for them. They'll find a way with their machetes or whatever they want to do out there. He asked if the City has the authority to say, "Yeah, go ahead. You can use the City property to gain access." Walsh said the City does not need to give the residents permission. It's already City property, and they can go through it any time they want. Crosby asked about going farther down, do the hammerhead, and then let the citizens connect the trail. Walsh stated the Council can't say, "Let them build a trail." Johnson stated just walking it is not the problem,that they're talking machetes and chain saws. Mattick noted he hears some support for the idea of getting rid of some of the area. The legal standard is whether the City needs all of that Right-of-Way and whether it's in the interests of the public to keep it. If the Council were saluting the plan,then there would be a clear plan going forward in terms of what gets vacated. He is hearing, "We'll maybe try and keep the trail within our Right-of-Way." At this point it is unclear, if you break away from the cul-de-sac and go to a hammerhead and keep the trail that goes forward,what the City is going to need and what the City may be willing to get rid of. If the answer is no, this spring when it's time to put the hammerhead in,part of the direction can be, "And design us a trail and show us what land we need left."The Council can City-initiate a vacation. Walsh asked if the Council could say, "Design a trail and let's figure out what it actually would cost." Mattick noted the Council could be here tomorrow trying to figure out the best route with the hammerhead versus the cul-de-sac versus the trail through the hill,having residents do City work and figuring out the liability on that. He said the City Council can put together a plan,but this proposal started out as a street vacation and then the horse trading started. It's been expressed there's a public need for this land for a certain degree of street and trail. What exactly is needed is not known, but we also don't know that we do not need it at this point. If it's premature for what the Council needs based on what's been heard from the residents, he suggested taking action accordingly. It is in the design phase as far as what the Council wants. Page 18 of 34