05-26-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, May 11, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 of 22 Crosby moved, Seals seconded, to approve the Consent Agenda as revised, with Item Nos. 4 and 7 being removed from the Consent Agenda. Roll Call Vote: Ayes 5 (Crosby, Printup, Seals, Johnson, Walsh), Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS Matt Peterson, 1255 Woodhill Avenue, asked the reason for No. 7 being taken off of the agenda. Walsh explained that No. 7 was taken off the Consent Agenda, which is an automatic vote where the Council approves everything under it. He stated that the Council wants to discuss it and there are people in attendance that want to talk about it, so he knew it would be taken off of the Consent Agenda. PRESENTATION 13. DIAMOND LAKE REGIONAL TRAIL PRESENTATION BY THREE RIVERS PARK DISTRICT Marge Beard, District 1 Representative, thanked the City for giving them the opportunity to share some important information. She said there was a kick-off the past fall at Orono City Hall. Council member Seals, City Administrator Rief, herself, and Staff members were in attendance. There has been a lot of progress made, including a February meeting with the Park Commission where they worked through some potential trail routes. She said they would discuss trail background and potential trail routes and are asking for Council feedback. Danny McCullough, Regional Trail Manager, stated he would go over the regional trail system and display images of how they envision particular areas of the trail such as the width and environment of the trail. He displayed the 2040 Regional Trail System Map and said the dotted orange lines are Planned Regional Trails, which are identified future trails they want to develop, while the solid blue lines are the existing regional trail network. There are 165 miles of existing regional trail and 58 miles in the planning process. There are also 172 miles of search corridor. He noted the orange dashed line that goes from Crow River to Lake Minnetonka is the Diamond Lake Regional Trail (DLRT) corridor. The future regional trail will cross 7 communities -- Dayton, Rogers, Corcoran, Medina, Long Lake, Orono, and Wayzata -- and is approximately 21 miles long. As part of the master plan process, they are looking for one final preferred route. When they create the master plan, they may be in a position in the future where they need to acquire land or right-of-way. The trail will be developed as funding allows, opportunities arise, and a cooperative agreement with the City is created in 2021. He displayed several slides and said the intent of this corridor is to be a destination trail, which is more wooded with a park-like setting throughout the route. While displaying photos, he said at some points of the route they will advocate for a separated grade crossing like a bridge or tunnel. It will also be necessary to build boardwalks when going through low-lying areas. Although it is a bit more expensive, it gives the user a very cool experience. He showed examples of infrastructure along the system, explaining they typically place kiosks every 1-2 miles with maps, information, and amenities like a bike repair station. All regional trails are paved, and they strive for a 10-foot wide path with a 3-foot wide clear zone on each side. Stephen Shurson, Project Manager, reminded the Council that the project was introduced to them in January. They have been working in partnership with all 7 cities along the corridor. They met with the Orono Park Commission in February, who helped them evaluate the routes in and around Orono. They also met with Staff to confirm what they heard from the Parks Commission to make any necessary