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MINUTES OF THE
<br />ORONO PARK COMMISSION
<br /> Monday, March 2nd, 2020
<br />6:00 o’clock p.m.
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<br />Page 3 of 20
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<br />gave the Summit Beach property to the City. He is convinced Mr. Dayton’s vision would be to remain a
<br />natural and public space as much as possible. He does not believe Mr. Dayton would think a private entity
<br />building and a dock complex as maintaining natural and public spaces. He read a letter from Ron Bowen,
<br />founder/owner of Prairie Restorations, Inc., who is familiar with the area. Mr. Bowen indicated it would
<br />be inappropriate to turn the public space into use for a rowing facility, since it would serve a small
<br />number of people and would not meet Mr. Dayton’s vision. He asked the Commission to seriously
<br />consider maintaining the area as intended. He does not view it as a case of “Not in my backyard” but
<br />views it as a sincere desire to maintain an unfettered public space per Bruce Dayton’s vision, generosity,
<br />and foresight.
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<br />Carter arrived at 6:25 p.m.
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<br />Mr. Neil Weber, 2280 Watertown Road, Long Lake, stated he and his wife use the park and future trail at
<br />least once a day. Referencing a plan of the park, he indicated the drainage area for the new construction
<br />completed is a Torrens piece of property and there is nothing on the property as far as he is aware. The
<br />proposed boathouse location is abstract property, although he has not found the abstract. He pointed out
<br />an area that was dedicated as a permanent easement to the City of Orono by the Daytons and today the
<br />current owners have the easement on the property. He read a portion of the easement that was filed in
<br />1980: “No structure shall be constructed, erected or placed upon, above, beneath the land including,
<br />without limitations, principal or accessory buildings, fireplaces, etc. No trees or shrubs or other vegetation
<br />shall be destroyed, cut, or removed from that land.” He believes the land where the boathouse is and
<br />previous resort was donated in 1971 and the easement indicates it was originally registered August 17,
<br />1972. If Mr. Dayton put that kind of restriction on a 90-foot strip, he believes there would be restrictions
<br />on the main part of the park, which requires finding the abstract.
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<br />Mr. Weber said he knows there are public-private partnerships. As a former Three Rivers Park
<br />Commissioner, they encouraged public-private partnerships, but as far as he knows, they never leased
<br />land to a private entity. They have leased to entities that provide services to the public; in other words,
<br />facilities that are open to the public within certain hours. He said if the building is owned privately or by
<br />the 501(c)(3), they lease the land at whatever rate the City determines and they also pay property taxes.
<br />He named several sailing clubs in the area that pay taxes, most of which ranges from 2½-3½%. He said a
<br />lot of entities raise money for a facility and then have difficulty keeping it operating. There is also a
<br />liability issue the City takes on if they lease land to an entity. When he was on the Board, they went
<br />through the process of creating Lake Minnetonka Regional Park. Regional parks are unique because 20%
<br />is the maximum that can be developed. Aside from what Mr. Dayton wanted for this park, another
<br />problem is the vast majority of the area is not very usable because of the drainage circumstances. This is a
<br />neighborhood park, and the dominant use would be taken up by this particular use. He understands
<br />increasing the usage of parks; however, it’s not just the increased people, it’s how it is used. Given the
<br />setting it’s in, especially with the new improvements, it will increase the use of the park the way it is right
<br />now.
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<br />Mr. Peter Vladimirov, 3236 Pin Oak Road, Medina, stated his family has been boating for 15 years and
<br />Long Lake is their favorite lake. They are aware of the algae, swimmers, jet skis, other boaters, and
<br />recognize almost every boat on the lake in addition to the rowers. He stated the row club has been
<br />successful with their outreach to members within the community, but not outside the community. He does
<br />not feel that is a fair outreach for the City’s consideration. He realizes the City’s position is that their
<br />responsibility ends at the dock and that everything else is DNR, but the City’s decision will impact the
<br />footprint of the lake. He stated that if a rowboat is in the water with their long oars moving at 20 mph, it
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