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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO PARK COMMISSION <br /> Monday,March 2nd,2020 <br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> asked Mr. Burrell to reconcile the matter and asked for more detail such as when they would be there, <br /> what does it look like when they are there,are the boats on the lawn, is the equipment on the dock, etc. <br /> Mr. Burrell said the boats would be in the boathouse and people would gather a little early to practice. <br /> During the summer,they have two morning practices for the boys' and girls' youth program, and in the <br /> afternoon,there is one combined practice for the more experienced rowers.There are three early-morning <br /> practices for the adult program: one is Saturday morning;the other two are during the week. There are <br /> also two nights a week where adults are rowing,Mondays and Wednesdays. At practice,most of the <br /> activity is going on inside the building. Rowers get their oars and set them down by a spot by the launch <br /> dock along with possibly a water bottle, etc. If it is a four-person boat, four people would go back up and <br /> get their boat off the rack,walk it down,drop it in the water next to the dock, grab their oars, get in the <br /> boat, and they are off the dock and gone.It takes 15-20 minutes to get everybody off during a practice <br /> because multiple boats would be launched at one time. In an entire week, it is a short period of time that <br /> boats are being taken to the dock and launched. On the way back the same process happens:they get to <br /> the dock, come out,take off their oars,put them on the lawn,the boat goes back in,they go back and get <br /> their oars and put them away.After that,the activity would be going on inside the building. <br /> Roath asked how he would be impacted if he had his kids at the beach. <br /> Mr. Burrell said he would not be impacted because they would not be accessing the beach because they <br /> would be using a different route. <br /> Carter asked what they would do if they were not able to use Summit Beach Park. <br /> Mr. Burrell said he did not know at this point.They would have to continue to row out of Birch's and <br /> explore other opportunities.They do not have solid Plan B's at this point.He reminded everyone it is a <br /> volunteer club;they all work jobs and it is off-hours for them, so they only have so many hours to explore <br /> other options.This option presented itself,so this is the path they are going down right now. <br /> Carter asked if they would be interested in Summit Park if there wasn't a building. <br /> Mr.Burrell said that at this point he did not see why they would move if there was not a building. <br /> Ruegemer noted kids are not just at the beach, it is a park and they are everywhere in the park. She <br /> expressed concern about safety for others at the park when they walk their boats to and from the dock. <br /> Mr. Burrell said there are people around the fire pit,throwing bags,and other stuff at Birch's when they <br /> launch. They are very careful about telling people that they are coming and to watch out for them. If <br /> people are out on the dock,they respectfully ask them to move. They do not get too crazy if people want <br /> to be on their dock. They are used to activity around them while getting off and on the water because they <br /> deal with it on a weekly basis. It's basically all hands on deck in terms of keeping people safe. <br /> Berg asked if there are any thoughts on increasing hours if they get the building. <br /> Mr. Burrell said there are no plans to increase hours on the lake. The growth could come in the off-season <br /> by getting more people involved in winter training on rowing machines.Another potential growth area <br /> would be offering more community education classes during the week in the summer just to give people a <br /> taste of it. Just like any other club,they lose and gain members continually. <br /> Page 7 of 20 <br />