04-26-2021 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,April 26,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 12. PARKS COMMISSION CHAIRMAN'S UPDATE—Continued Mayor Walsh said the good news is many times there are partnerships such as Hackberry Park with the Baseball Association,grants,and park dedication fees.They also recognize with the vision to keep that going there must be a fund established in the budget.They are currently at$50,000 and are committed to getting to$100,000-$150,000 this year so there are known,committed dollars to keep things up and running and to plan for things in front of them. Chair Roath thanked the Council for their support and said after a long time of not doing a lot with parks, the last 10 years have been full of good activity and he hopes they can keep that going.He continued on with the golf course and as he said earlier,the Commission sees the golf course as having a lot of opportunity for winter activities.There is a long tradition of sledding at the golf course and there is a lot of activity there. In the summer,it is a business to be run so the approach has to be a lot different. Chair Roath is putting his business consultant hat on for this and said whether park or business,the goal is to maximize the value to the residents of Orono.The benefits come in terms of return-on-investment and in order for the golf course to make money,they need to put some money into it.He noted there will be some money asks of the Council and he asked them to think about it in a different way rather than just capital improvement plan(CIP)money that would go into a different park. The vision statement for the golf course in winter is Orono Golf Course is a park perfect for adventure sledding and other winter activities. Orono sponsors the expansion of winter activities but it is partially supported from revenues from possible sources such as parking permits, trail permits, annual memberships,food and drink sales, voluntary donations, etcetera. Chair Roath does not know what of those they will call on,but primarily this is a park so there is not a revenue return-on-investment associated with it.They want to start with sledding and build to offer a winter wonderland of activities; ideas include developing groomed trails for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing,fat tire biking,having the clubhouse open more regularly(especially on weekends),installing a year-round gas fire pit,the clubhouse hosting birthday parties and sledding parties, setting up lights near the sledding hill,selling s'mores,hot chocolate,snacks,hand warmers,and beer in the clubhouse.He noted none of those have been decided.Moving forward,the Commission will come to the Council with requests through the CIP process.He asked if there is feedback on the winter side. Crosby knows there are some water holes at the golf course,so what about a skating rink. Chair Roath said they will certainly add that and there was some discussion about building a pond and noted that would be great. Johnson said using all parks year-round is really important. Chair Roath said switching over to the golf/business side,the Commission sees the stars aligning and this is the perfect time to make some changes.Joey Brettingan,the new golf course superintendent,brings a lot of experience and new ideas and has been working with the Commission and neighbors on this.The time is right to do something because they have a supportive Council and a supportive neighborhood that understands and wants to do something there. He stated the prevailing attitude is that it is okay for the City to make some money at the golf course,and they should not feel ashamed if it is making some Page 4 of 10