07-27-2020 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 27,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. 9. LONG LAKE ROWING CREW PROPOSAL FOR A BOAT HOUSE IN SUMMIT BEACH PARK-INITIAL COUNCIL INPUT/GUIDANCE Edwards stated the Long Lake Rowing Crew(LLRC)will present to the Council and receive initial feedback on a proposal for a partnership between the City and the club for a facility at Summit Beach Park. The proposal has been discussed at two Park Commission meetings in November and March and was put on hold while everyone waited for some of the COVID stuff to be resolved.Now the Applicant will give the initial briefing to the Council to receive feedback. Based on what the proposal would be, there will be a continued formal process if the Applicant decides to move forward and present an application to the City. That would initiate a Conditional Use Permit(CUP)process, which would include the public hearings and procedures that go along with that, eventually coming back to the Council. Mr. Rob Burrell, 2740 White Oak Circle,thanked the Mayor and Council for their time. He said he has condensed his information from the Parks meeting in March. He asked if the Council wanted him to go through it again or if they felt they had enough information based on the packet he provided. Crosby asked Mr. Burrell to go through the information. Mr. Burrell said they are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit,volunteer-driven organization with a mission to bring the lifelong sport of rowing to Orono, Long Lake, and the surrounding communities and provide education for classes for youth and adults, special programming for community groups. Their vision is to be the most all-inclusive fun and competitive rowing club in the Twin Cities. Their mission is to provide expert instruction,promote personal and competitive achievement, and enrich their members and community through the sport of rowing. Their goal is to build a permanent home for the LLRC at Summit Park in Orono that includes storage for boats and equipment, space to conduct indoor training, and the opportunity to better serve the community through the increasingly popular sport of rowing.Past highlights for community involvement include helping stain the pier at Nelson Park,painting picnic tables at Nelson Park. They are a member of the Long Lake Chamber, an exhibitor and contributor to annual silent auctions and other activities at Corn Days, and are part of the fall festival for the annual Mayor's Challenge Race and Battle of the Badges for the Fire and Police Departments of Orono and Long Lake. The club is a constant surveillance of Long Lake as far as water quality and safety concerns such as the recent algae blooms. They filled their spots in community education in both 2019 and 2020 with just Orono residents. The rowers and their families bring retail patronage to the communities of Orono and Long Lake each day during the season, resulting in a positive economic infusion to local business. In 2018 they received a special commendation from the Long Lake City Council for the club's ongoing commitment to service within the community. He said in January they started holding individual meetings and the invitation was extended to Park Commissioners, City Council Members from both Long Lake and Orono. They had some small-group meetings with neighbors at the fire station,they had individual meetings with a number of lakeshore and city residents on January 8, and sent out invitations for another small-group meeting at the end of January. They fielded numerous phone calls from residents who could not attend for more information on their goal to get a permanent home. After the first Parks meeting,they reduced the overall size/square footage to approximately 6,900 square feet, about 24%less than the original plan. That includes a 4,400 square foot footprint and another 2,500 square feet would be above that. The overall height of the building was decreased from two stories to 1'/2. The public restrooms were moved to the back of the building and will not require a second structure,reducing the amount of new hardcover. They are flexible on where the docks would be located,either side of the site. The new plan would be to keep them towards the east end of the beach, away from the beach and more in direct line to the house. They will not be using or occupying the beach. Their goal is to minimize environmental impact Page 5 of 21