05-10-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 26, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 6 of 10 12. PARKS COMMISSION CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE – Continued serving drinks and so forth. Chair Roath shared the ideas from the group, including establishing a marketing program to help sell people in coming to the course. They would like to expand capabilities to offer additional food and beverage items, food trucks, and adding music on the deck. Crosby asked what food the golf course is offering now. Chair Roath replied a lot of chips, candy bars, canned beer, and hot dogs. He noted they are limited to pre-packaged right now and there are some questions about what they are licensed to do and what they want to be licensed to do in the future. He said now they need to establish some group packages and pricing, rebrand the course, put together a new website, and understand what they want people to think about when they think about the golf course. Renaming is not out of the question. Crosby noted on the new website they could make everything efficient, including payment, tee times, etcetera. Chair Roath replied there is some new technology they can integrate in to the new website. Seals asked what the original name of the golf course was. Chair Roath noted it was Orono Orchard Golf Course. He stated nothing is decided but he wants to get the Council excited about some of the things they are thinking about. They also think about building a small, 10x20 shelter with a metal roof for people to gather during a storm as there is limited clubhouse space, and expanding the lower parking area. This would all culminate in the 100th anniversary. Crosby likes the idea of rebranding from a dingy, public golf course to a small executive track that is attractive to the community. Seals asked if this is the time to shore up hole 7 which is the handshake agreement sitting on someone’s property. Could they acquire some more land back there? Edwards noted the owner was not interested in that. Seals noted some golf families she knows all go to Pioneer Creek or Baker Park because of the driving range. She loves the idea, the food truck concept, and thinks it is a great idea. Chair Roath stated obviously, many of these things will take money and most will go through the CIP process, operational budgeting, and there are some things that should be done operationally now. The suggestion or ask is to add money to the operational budget for 2021. The first is investing $10,000 in food capabilities including an ice machine, popcorn machine, and capability to sell keg beer; these are a one-time investment that will pay off in the next two years. He said second is $5,000 for deck seating, including a third deck table and chairs and some foliage, and third is a marketing budget (ongoing investment) to pay a consultant to help rebrand, build the website, and reach people through social media.