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All this is to say that when it comes to engaging the community on this <br />project, we have always welcomed it. While attendance at our meetings <br />with lakeshore residents was lackluster and somewhat disappointing, we <br />found the opportunity to engage with residents to hear their concerns and <br />ideas to be absolutely valuable. The public hearings at the Park <br />Commission and City Council meetings also yielded a great deal of useful <br />feedback that informed the design of our building. We were very happy to <br />have met and talked with dozens of residents who preferred to get the <br />correct information rather than take their chances with the innuendos and <br />half-truths being debated on social media. <br /> <br />We want to correct some misinformation on a few topics for the record <br />because it’s been our experience since we set out on this path that when <br />people are misled, some feel inclined to take matters into their own hands <br />out on the lake. Our kids are on that lake as well as our adult rowers, so as <br />an organization, we have a responsibility to make their safety a priority. <br /> <br />First, regarding the Dayton Family Letter and the Land Easement <br />Document: <br /> <br />Before preparing for our first presentation to City Council and then again <br />before starting work on our CUP application, LLRC confirmed with the City <br />that there were no conditions tied to the Summit Park land donated by Mr. <br />Bruce Dayton. The city again verified this in January when an open space <br />easement document from November 1979 was being touted as proof there <br />should be no buildings built on Summit Park land. There are 2 surveys on <br />record to confirm that this open space easement document in fact <br />describes an entirely different parcel of land. <br /> <br />Upon the release of Mr. Brandt Dayton's letter on behalf of his family, 2 <br />hours before the January 18th Planning Commission meeting, the LLRC <br />Board of directors voted to table our application immediately out of respect <br />for the Dayton family. This letter was not shared with LLRC—we only <br />discovered it on social media at 4:00 pm on January 18th. After what we <br />understood had been a thorough search of City records, LLRC, until that <br />point, was assured there we no documents giving direction by Mr. Bruce <br />Dayton about how Summit Park was to be used, or not used for that <br />matter. It was never LLRC's intent to defy any recorded instructions about <br />how the City of Orono was to use Summit Park, or to in any way usurp the <br />vision of Mr. Bruce Dayton.