07-27-2020 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 27,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Ms. Beth Davis, 220 Wakefield Road, said her kids spend a lot of time at the beach. They put their hammocks up where the building is proposed. They love the beach. She stated she received Julie's letter and is thankful that Julie sent it or she wouldn't have known anything about it. She indicated, in Julie's defense, it's nice to be notified. She said Julie underestimated the size of the building in her email but is glad they were able to find out about it at this stage of the game. Crosby thanked everyone for sharing their thoughts. He knows it takes guts to walk up to a microphone and address the Council. He agreed with the lady who said everyone needs to be a little kinder to each other. If there are boats on the lake going after rowing boats, it is not acceptable; and Orono residents putting each other's safety at risk is not acceptable. Everyone needs to take it to a higher level and have this discussion on a nice, civil, friendly discourse. Printup stated he liked the comment from somebody about it's a good idea but the devil is in the details. He is okay with starting the conversation but not okay with selling City land. Seals said the City Council does not sell City land. Printup commented that the issue comes up from time to time,that the City is selling a fire lane or a park, but the City does not do that. Walsh stated the Council is not going to make any decisions regarding building size but they are giving guidance to the Applicant so they know if they should move anything forward. The Applicant has put effort in talking to neighbors, obviously. The question is, is the City interested in having the discussion about a public-private partnership with some kind of facility that works for the beach,the residents,the LLRC, and how that is going to be sorted out. Regardless of who knows about it or not,there have been meetings for the Park Commission,the Fire Department has hosted some meetings,the topic has come up at the work session. The question is, does the City Council want to continue to talk about the public- private partnerships. There are a lot of them in the parks already, and it is not Orono who is taking care of a lot of the things that are at the parks. Soccer teams, baseball teams, and lacrosse teams are funding and using those facilities, so they are the ones who are making sure the sand is good,that things are getting fixed. The City is mowing the grass and doing things in the park as well. It's a partnership for both people. Orono has a very well-to-do community, and he asked if the community wants to have rowboats sitting in the woods where they have to put locks on them. He asked if the City Council wanted to continue the conversation to see where it goes with the Club,with the community. There would need to be more input and strategy sessions on what works,what doesn't, how big, how small, etc. Crosby said he would like to see what kind of community tie-in there can be such as more community input, something with the school district. Seals stated at one time there was a structure on Big Island where community ed did things. Crosby asked if that was the one that was burned. Walsh said that was burned down. Seals stated there was a partnership there and there was a value to the community and it wasn't restricted. She said it sounds like there's no alignment with a lot of neighbors and community and asked if there is a happier medium. There will be more discussions going on, but the size of the building needs to be kept in Page 14 of 21