03-02-2020 Park Commission Packet

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, January 6, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 6 of 11 Carter confirmed he was referring to community and neighbors, close-by neighbors, the people mostly affected. Carter said if Davis were to become a Commissioner it would be a no-brainer, but if she's staying as an alternate, maybe somebody else would take her place with Ruegemer and himself. Ruegemer said she will continue on Trails and pointed out North Arm Trail was missing on the list. Commission members and Edwards discussed it may be called something else, including Lakeview Legacy, but agreed to call it the North Arm Trail. Chair asked about the level of activity around the trails both now and in the coming years. Carter said he felt pretty good about it. They met and have a giant map of the potential trails that were being talked about and discussed whether there were some things that were a potential that weren't being considered. A list was created of eight priorities, and there is a set of six notes that talk about things that they would do or not do. He thought they did a comprehensive job, although they didn't necessarily say exactly how it related to the next five years' capital budget and what’s going to happen next year. Chair asked if the City Council had what they need as far as Trails go. He personally thinks it is a big trail development and should be an area of focus for communities. Walsh said Edwards is trying to get all the trails connected, there are a lot of things in the works, and everyone is on the same page. Between himself, Councilmember Seals, and Edwards, they are on track. Chair said he had asked Carter how he felt about the level of activity around the trails, whether more or less needs to be done. He wanted to make sure the City Council felt the Park Commission was going at the appropriate speed. Walsh thanked Johnson for helping restart the Park Commission and his hard work and dedication. He expressed appreciation for the work Johnson has done for the Park Commission as well as for the City. Johnson said it's a great group to work with and appreciates the continuous support by everyone. Chair brought up the item Big Island. Carter said because Edwards obtained a $200,000 grant from the DNR and the City was willing to pledge $80,000 of that and Johnson wrote five out of the seven panels, his job has been to keep track of things. The 80% drawings have been reviewed. The challenge is to get the last 60,000. He thinks there is about 60 committed through Big Island Legacy and he feels confident they will get the other 60, which means they will be able to spend $350K-360K on hard costs of the project: the trails, the panels, a bathroom and potentially an overlook. They will have to work around eagle-nesting season because the eagles nested in the middle of the project. Johnson said Big Island has been a fantastic learning opportunity because it has such a rich history. He stated he learned a lot from the draft of a book written by Paul Marbellous and wondered if there was a way it could be introduced and combined with the activities at Big Island.