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MINUTES OF THE
<br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
<br /> Monday,July 27,2020
<br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m.
<br /> Mr. Tom Bergstrom, 1509 Long Lake Boulevard,Orono, said he has lived on the north side of the lake
<br /> the last four years. He is not saying anything against the numerous benefits of the club. What they offer--
<br /> the activity,the sport,the scholarships--exist whether or not the new building is built. Those things don't
<br /> change with the new building;they stay exactly the same. The scholarships are still here. The kids are still
<br /> able to go out and row. He has personally been out at Birch's as recently as four hours ago to look at the
<br /> space and inspect it. He asked what LLRC has done to address the safety concerns at Birch's.They've
<br /> been there the last four years and are claiming it's unsafe.He asked why continue to operate in a space
<br /> that is deemed unsafe; it makes no sense. They've talked about security issues. He went down there.All
<br /> of the boats, less one boat,were hovered by the elements. He asked, if the boats are so expensive and so
<br /> important to be protected,why aren't they locked, why aren't there security cameras. These are small,
<br /> basic things that could be done that are not done. This building is a private club so that 90 people can
<br /> enjoy it. They say they want to "never grow." If they want to never grow, he asked why the current
<br /> square footage that is at Birch's would fit in about 33-50%of the size of the building they're requesting.
<br /> With the 4,500 square foot bay, you could double or triple the capacity of the boats. He asked why would
<br /> you need or want a building with that amount of space. It makes absolutely zero sense. They should get
<br /> security cameras at Birch's if they're so concerned. He stated the boats are a lot bigger in person,and
<br /> nobody is just going to steal the boat. You cannot put it on the back of a truck;you need a semi-truck. He
<br /> does not know how people get them down to the water. In reference to the comment about rowers
<br /> bringing them up and down the hill,they stay at the bottom of the hill. He lives on the top of the hill on
<br /> the north side of the lake. He has to walk down with his coolers, etc. If the City Council is giving away
<br /> park land,he would like some because he is sick and tired of walking up and down his hill,too. The boats
<br /> are brought down once a year and are stored down by the shoreline and brought up once at the end of the
<br /> year. There could be an argument that this is good exercise, which is what the club does. As far as a$1
<br /> million fundraiser,they're not even providing simple security,things to protect their current investment,
<br /> and asked how are they going to raise a million dollars to build the facility. They're claiming it's not safe
<br /> and they have storage concerns,there's no locks, etc. They are not doing the basics of what they're saying.
<br /> He stated this is not a partnership;the City is trading a park for some public bathrooms and a bench. If the
<br /> City wants that type of stuff, sell part of the land,take the proceeds of that,put in a playground, put in
<br /> public bathrooms.A small fraction of the size could be sold and the footprint that this new building would
<br /> take.As far as the baseball analogy, 90 people don't play baseball;thousands of people play baseball. He
<br /> can take his kid to the park and swing a bat and play for the afternoon. He cannot go to this facility
<br /> because it is a private club that he has to sign up for which is extremely expensive. This is not for the
<br /> enjoyment of everybody in the community. It's for people who have a lot of money; it is a very expensive
<br /> sport. He hopes someday his kids can go out and row,he thinks it is great and fantastic, but the proposal
<br /> does not solve anything different than the current situation. Everything will currently exist as-is, as it will
<br /> in this building, but now the City will not have a park. But the City will have bathrooms and a bench.
<br /> Ms. Eleanor Winston, 765 Spring Hill Road, Orono, said she has lived on the east end of Long Lake
<br /> longer than most people present have been alive. What bothers her is the size and placement of the
<br /> building. She said the little park started out many years ago as a resort,had platform cottages on it, and
<br /> people would bicycle over there. It's nice that other parks have been developed for athletics like
<br /> Bederwood, but it's also nice to have a park on a lake that is still in the natural way as its donor gave to
<br /> Orono because it was such a nice, natural setting. She said it's a big building for such a small park and sits
<br /> right in the middle. It does not look on the drawing the way it will if people go to the park and look and
<br /> drive in the driveway. She cannot see how it will not affect the activities in the park, especially now that
<br /> Three Rivers Park is looking at routing their Diamond Lake Trail up to Rogers from this area,along the
<br /> East Lake Trail,because that is going to bring more people by the park. She noted at one of the other
<br /> meetings the rowers said they come early and are just there for a few hours, but what's saying that the
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