Laserfiche WebLink
MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING � <br /> Monday, April 27,2009 <br /> 7:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> (12. DISCUSSION REGARDING BIG ISLAND REGULATIONS, Continued) <br /> vandalism. Jabbour expressed concern that providing that type of bathroom facility could <br /> potentiaily generate some unintended consequences, such as bad publicity for the City. <br /> Mattick stated it is not his intention to change anything that the committee has recommended but <br /> merely to get some clarification from the Council on what they envision both long-term and <br /> short-term for Big Island. Mattick indicated he is aware of the substantial amount of vandalism, <br /> especially as it relates to the bathroom facilities, and that there is an issue from the City's <br /> standpoint that when there are a large number of people visiting the island at a single time,there <br /> may be the necessity to have five gallon buckets with sawdust if other options are not feasible <br /> given the vandalism problem. <br /> Murphy stated his comments are coming from his role with the Minnehaha and not as a council <br /> member. Murphy noted he and Jabbour serve on the Lake Minnetonka Museum Board. In the <br /> beginning of this project,there was the issue of how the public would have access to the island, <br /> which evolved into having the Minnehaha make runs out to the island. Due to the other issues <br /> that arose along the way, a plan has been compiled to assemble natural environmental tours <br /> across the island. During the planning process for the tours and setting of the Minnehaha <br /> schedule, it was felt that people could be dropped off at Big Island at approximately 10:15 a.m. <br /> on a Saturday morning, the boat would then continue on to Wayzata, and then the boat would <br /> return and pick people up from Big Island at approximately 2:15 p.m. Murphy indicated he is not <br /> aware of another way to set up the boat schedule. <br /> Murphy stated that schedule resulted in the issue of people arriving back to the dock in time for <br /> the boat and also for the need of some type of restroom facilities to be available to the public <br /> since the people visiting the island would be there for three or four hours. One option discussed <br /> was that it could be made very clear that any visitors to the island off of the Minnehaha would <br /> need to use the bathroom priar to going on the island or wait until they reboard the boat. Murphy <br /> noted the committee spent a considerable amount of time at their last meeting discussing this <br /> issue and other potential issues. Murphy stated the restroom issue is still unresolved as well as <br /> liability issues the City could potentially face with allowing visitors on the island. <br /> White stated the problem is basically with the people aboard the Minnehaha and that in his view <br /> the people will simply need to be informed of the situation. <br /> Franchot commented that he has repeatedly heard the concern raised regarding the lack of adult <br /> supervision with these various groups. Franchot asked if they were still going with the tour <br /> guide. <br /> Murphy noted that Gabriel Jabbour has withdrawn his offer of serving as a tour guide but that he <br /> has had other discussions with other people about performing that duty. Murphy noted they are <br /> on a time deadline to get these issues resolved since the materials have already been published. <br /> Franchot stated based on his attendance at two of the committee meetings, it was his <br /> understanding the majority of the issues had been addressed and that it was his understanding a <br /> decision had been made to have a boat with a bathroom available for the groups and to have a <br /> person on the island during heavy usage times to provide supervision. Franchot stated based on <br /> PAGE 13 <br />