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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO PARK COMMISSION <br /> Tuesday, September 7, 2021 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 2 of 6 <br /> <br /> <br />Edwards asked for a list of signatories. Ms. Schmidt will submit those the following day. <br /> <br />CHAIRMAN’S REPORT <br />a. Park Chairman’s Update <br />Chair Roath stated there has been a lot of public discussion on social media regarding the City of Orono <br />and activities within the City’s parks, specifically Bederwood Park and Lowry Woods. The Park <br />Commission wants to provide some clarity on those matters and will submit a statement. Chair Roath <br />noted he visited Bederwood Park the previous night with his child as he wanted to be sure he had all the <br />facts and information. He believes Hudson and Berg also went recently and asked if any of the <br />Commissioners had comments about what they saw. <br /> <br />Berg was there on Saturday and saw a woman walking her dog but no one on the trail. Most of the cars <br />there were for the Luce Line trail. She did not walk through the woods. <br /> <br />Chair Roath saw almost zero sign of anyone back in the woods, no fresh cut trees (fresh meaning in the <br />last years), and no misuse of the woods whatsoever. He suggested an edit to the Commissioner’s <br />statement on point 6 that says: to date there have been no negative impacts from mountain bikes in the <br />woods at Bederwood. In fact, any impacts are all positive. We appreciate the mountain bike team <br />removing debris and dead branches. If in the future we hear of misuse in that part of the park, the City <br />Staff and Park Commission will take this matter up and understand the impacts. <br /> <br />Chair Roath read the following joint statement from the Orono Park Commissioners: <br /> <br />There has been public discussion on social media about the City of Orono and activities within the City’s <br />parks, specifically, Bederwood Park and Lowry Woods. The Park Commission wants to provide some <br />clarity on those matters. <br /> <br />1) Everyone on the Park Commission understands the importance and duty to preserve and protect <br />Orono’s natural areas, including the precious Big Woods located in our community. All commission <br />recommendations and activities are consistent with these values. <br /> <br />2) The Park Commission meetings are open to the public. Commission discussions and recommendations <br />about parks occurs at public meetings and are a matter of public record. The videos and minutes of the <br />meetings are available online. <br /> <br />3) Because the Parks Commission is an advisory group, we do not make any decisions about parks – only <br />recommendations to the Council and City. <br /> <br />4) Orono routinely partners with youth organizations to make improvements to our park amenities and to <br />promote responsible use by all community youth and adults. These organizations include the mountain <br />bike team, soccer club, baseball and softball associations, lacrosse club, football association, rowing <br />club, hockey associations, scouts, etc. Partnership with these community organizations for the betterment <br />of our parks and their enjoyment of them as residents, is a key component to maintaining and managing <br />our park space for the entire community. <br /> <br />5) Lowry Woods: Last autumn, the City’s Park Commission had an informal discussion with the Orono <br />Mountain Bike Team to consider their request to use the Lowry Woods trails for mountain bike practice.