06-01-2020 Park Commission Packet

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION Monday, March 2nd, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 13 of 20 division for rowers as opposed to people who want access to the beach. She stated when it comes before the City Council, she wants to make sure she knows what was important to the Park Commission. Edwards indicated most of those considerations are in the packet under “Considerations.” Carter said he read the considerations and had a hard time answering them. In response to Ms. Seal’s questions, he can support a partnership. He would try to keep it natural and create divisions. Yes, it will bring more people to the park; but he is not sure if that is a good idea. He knows they have changed the park dramatically with the closing of the road and other developments, and he would like to see that play out. He reiterated there is a better process and he would support the idea of a second date, but he does not want to have a yes/no vote on this proposal. Berg said she agreed with Carter’s thoughts. Klaahsen stated that she is supportive of the partnership, and the time the club would be on the water and using the space is not prime family beach time. She is very concerned about swimmer safety and having a roped-off area and boats being diverted away from the beach. She believes there would be more use with the addition of the LLRC, including winter use and having a multi-use building with community ed. She thinks LLRC sponsoring part of the playground would allow the City to upgrade from their previous plan and make it more of a destination. She said Orono has a lot of “secret beaches” which offer no amenities other than access points, picnic tables, and sand. This is the only beach that has the opportunity to become more of a destination beach because it has a little more space. The City has an opportunity to put a playground there, the rowers would be out there, and there would be trail connections. She thinks it can be done in a responsible way, and the rowing club has demonstrated responsibility with the environment and community. She would want new trees to replace the trees that are coming down, swimmer safety, multi-usage of the building, as much public access as possible, and some playground sponsorship. Roath noted something could be put in place to restrict hours of practice/usage at the facility if needed. Carter indicated he is very involved in Big Island Park where they are developing accessible trails, a bathroom, and maybe a shelter. It has been a very long process with a lot of public engagement. When he lived in Minneapolis, he was on a citizens advisory committee for Brownie Lake. He recommended there be something like a citizens advisory committee that either represents the interests of the rowing club or works together with the rowing club to try to come up with a workable solution. Ms. Feldmann suggested “partnership” be defined because the agenda states the proposal is very specific for a boathouse in Summit Beach. She stated there needs to be guidance whether a boathouse in Summit Beach should continue to be discussed, because that would help decide how the committee could be formulated, and who would be put on the committee. It’s not about the partnership with Orono and the boating club, because that partnership is going on; there’s no need for a “second date'' for that. This would be to bring clarity to whether or not there should be a building that is going to take up space on Summit Beach Park to store boats. She suggested waiting until the playground was put in and the other developments and see what that does as far as use. She is worried about the safety aspect also. Berg commented that it is about a partnership as well as how the LLRC will develop what they need for their part of the partnership and how the Commission will approve it. With the partnership comes the building and how the LLRC will utilize the beach and park.