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MINUTES OF THE
<br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
<br />Monday, July 27, 2020
<br />6:00 o’clock p.m.
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<br />Page 11 of 21
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<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.
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<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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