08-13-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, July 27, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 10 of 21 almost the same exact size as their house in that beautiful park, which is the only park that's left with a beach in Orono. The rest of the little beaches that are in Orono have fire access, and so this beach and park is special. Its green space is also special. She has videos on her phone of people having Frisbee parties and people playing fun games there. She said she has a lot of concerns. The City should not give this away. They moved to the area because of that beach. Walsh noted that the City Council is not giving the land away and it will be Orono land no matter what. Printup said the City is definitely not selling park land. Ms. Johnson said if the LLRC is putting their building there, they are not going to be owning it unless they're purchasing it. Walsh said the LLRC would just be leasing the land for a period of time. Ms. Johnson asked how much it would be leased for. She heard it was like a dollar. Walsh stated they are far away from those discussions; those discussions are not happening at this time. Seals commented she thinks that is the problem, they haven’t even had that conversation, and it's hard to shut it down when you hear all the wrong information. Walsh said they brought the parks back in the last six years from not being managed at all to spending a lot of time getting them back up to speed and spending probably $1 million. For example, Bederwood is now completely flat and beautiful for soccer fields and lacrosse, so kids in the City do not have to go to Wayzata or Delano to play soccer or lacrosse. Being able to do that in your own community adds value in your community, to want to be and live here, which brings more value to everyone's property. Ms. Johnson said she hoped so. Walsh said they have been working on all of the parks. Ms. Johnson said it is a big concern to them that they will be looking at the back of a building. Walsh stated she could be a potentially good Park Commission member because Park Commissioners are responsible for different parks because they live by them. Ms. Johnson said that her husband would probably be even better. She hopes the City Council will understand that this park is very special; it is the last one in Orono. Printup noted, in regard to the last two speakers and the neighborhood app, he purposely stays away from it because social media is nuts. He also referenced the comment, "I heard it was a dollar," and said that people hear a lot of things and the City does not sell land. They create resolutions, but the City is not selling their park land. The City does not want more houses. Taxes are fine; the tax base is fine. Walsh stated that does not mean future Councils couldn't do that, but he wanted to be very clear that this Council would not be doing that.