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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PARK COMMISSION <br /> Wednesday, September 10, 2020 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 2 of 27 <br /> <br />of the Park Commission for the year, and there will not be a meeting in December. They will meet again <br />in January 2021. <br />Edwards noted they are late in the year regarding the meeting schedule and asked the Commission how <br />they want the calendar laid out in 2021, do they want to keep the once a quarter formal meeting with the <br />informal meetings on the other two dates. He said there has also been discussion about the time of the <br />informal meetings, as they were staggered so one month it would be at 6:00 p.m. and the next month it <br />would be a 2:00 p.m. meeting. He noted that may have worked for the old Commission but may not work <br />for the new Commission. <br />Roath said he’d still like the formal meeting and two work session meetings schedule in 2021. He then <br />asked if the January would be the formal meeting. <br />Edwards answered in the negative, saying January and February would be work session meetings and <br />March would be a formal meeting, and it would be the third month of each quarter with the exception of <br />November as there are no meetings in December. <br />Roath clarified the formal meetings in 2021 would be March, June, September and November, they would <br />skip December and the remainder months are work sessions. <br />Keller asked if March is too late if the Commission wants to plan anything for spring or summer for <br />parks, noting they would have the work sessions but if they wanted to get anything approved or make <br />decisions it might be hard. <br />Roath asked Edwards to articulate the difference between what the Commission can do in a formal <br />meeting versus a work session. <br />Edwards said a formal meeting is when the Commission can take a vote on something. In particular, they <br />look for votes on things that will be formally brought before the City Council for their decision regarding, <br />for example, funding. He said formal meetings are a good time to talk about things like the Capital <br />Improvement Plan, the Budget and other things the Council is looking for input on in the next few <br />months. One thing he has learned from watching many Commissions over the years is that the January <br />meeting tends to be unproductive as far as a formal meeting. His impression is that it tended to be more <br />of a regrouping meeting which may actually be better in a work session format, suggesting they could <br />look at what the goals are for the year and who wants to do what in January. As far as the cycle of the <br />year goes, if they are looking at projects, having decisions or input in March is perfectly fine in the <br />construction schedule as they’re not awarding projects until April and May. <br />Roath asked if they get to January and find they have something pressing, how easily can the Commission <br />convert February to a formal meeting rather than a work session. <br />Edwards replied it’s pretty easy as long as it’s on the calendar, Staff just needs a month’s notice so the <br />City Clerk can repost the meeting, as formal meetings need to be advertised and a notice must be put up at <br />the post office announcing the formal meeting. <br />Roath asked if it’s easier to convert the meeting from a formal to a work session.