09-10-2020 Park Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Wednesday,September 10,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. at what level of service and rules the City wants to put in place at the lake access points. Regarding timeliness,there has been feedback from the surrounding communities on two of the four active points about how they're being used. He said in particular two are being used as ad-hoc boat launches and that has been causing concern from neighboring residents,although some of the neighboring residents are using them for that purpose and the ensuing parking of vehicles with trailers in those neighborhoods poses a problem. He said if they look at access point No. 15 which is on Park Avenue,that road is about 16 feet wide,a narrow,tiny alleyway,so any vehicle parked there is a challenge. It is the same with No. 22 which is off the end of Loma Linda, a narrow and winding road. He said he'd like the Commission's feedback as he doesn't want it to just be him making recommendations to the Council. He noted the recommendation may be to do nothing and leave it as it is,but perhaps they can look at some solutions. Klaahsen said she thinks it's a good topic and she's had some resident feedback regarding lake access points being taken over by neighboring homes and somewhat claimed as their own and not being very public. Edwards noted encroachment on some of those lake access points has been a historical issue. Klaahsen noted especially the one on Casco, and said she thinks it's a good thing for the Commission to establish standards and if they need to invest in some gates,no parking signs, etcetera,to better enforce their purpose... Berg said the Carman Street lake access points have been an issue. Edwards agreed that Carman Street has been an issue. He noted some of the current Commissioners were here when they had problems with that access point and said one of the lake access points is timely as they will have a major road reconstruction project next year, so if they want to incorporate some changes that is the ideal time if they want to put curb,concrete or different drainage improvements in. Roath noted they hear Edwards' request and when they get to the new Item No. 10,they will take that up. 6. PUBLIC WORKS PARKS UPDATE SPECIAL COMMITTEE REPORTS—ADAM EDWARDS Edwards reported they are still in the midst of summer maintenance so Parks Supervisor Jason Goehring and his seasonal employees are out there doing all the routine maintenance. He noted one change in the structure:they created a part-time position in the City. He said they eliminated their contracted Custodial Services as they were having some issues and hired a part-time Custodian and to round-out that position, they allocated approximately 1/2 of his time to routine park maintenance. Edwards explained the Custodian comes to the building in the morning, does the cleaning and custodial tasks, and spends the afternoon at the various parks doing the simple maintenance tasks. He said that added a bit of seasonal part-time effort to the parks and so far, it is working well. Edwards said in the next couple months they will be transitioning,sadly,to Fall and Winter and all that entails. He said he is hearing from Goehring regarding that revenues at the Golf Course are up 60%over previous years which is fantastic considering there was a month-long period where they were figuring out how to open the Golf Course in the COVID- 19 pandemic environment. However, once they solved it, it's been gangbusters at the Golf Course, as they've had good weather and many people who have time to do other things and are looking to the City's Golf Course. Regarding projects,major construction at Biederwood is complete and priority is establishing the grass on the playing field;they've taken that on in-house and Goehring has been leading Page 20 of 27