Laserfiche WebLink
MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />September 12, 2022 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 4 of 9 <br /> <br />need of supporting the wall so the hill does not cave into the lake. The received an emergency variance, <br />the project has been completed, and now the hill will not go anywhere. <br /> <br />Seals is married to an engineer and when an engineer is willing to sign off and put their license on <br />something the City Council should trust the engineer. <br /> <br />Seals moved, Crosby seconded, to approve LA22-000038 - 1354 Rest Point Circle, Variance - <br />Resolution No. 7280. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 0, Walsh Abstained. <br /> <br />FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT <br />Finance Director Olson gave a presentation noting they had a very good month in August for building <br />permits at around $93,000. They are at 83% of budget for building permit revenue and he thinks they will <br />probably exceed budget on that line item. <br /> <br />COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR REPORT <br />Oakden shared her department is very busy and they have issued six new homes since the last City <br />Council meeting, five addition or interior remodel homes, and 97 total permits were issued since the last <br />meeting. They also closed 25 code enforcement cases with 35 open cases. <br /> <br />CITY ATTORNEY REPORT <br />Attorney Mattick had nothing to report noting they would discuss labor negotiations in the Closed <br />Session. <br /> <br />CITY ADMINISTRATOR/ENGINEER REPORT <br /> <br />19. Fox Street Preliminary Planning and Engineering Presentation <br /> <br />Edwards gave an update noting the City has been looking at the eastern end of Fox Street for a number of <br />years regarding a pavement repair project. In April the City Council directed Staff to make it a focus for <br />the 2023 construction season. The road presents some unique challenges and opportunities so they looked <br />at a feasibility study by Bolton and Menk. He also shared the City received a neighborhood petition <br />asking the City to ask about dedicated bike and pedestrian facilities within the right-of-way; since then <br />they have had comments in support and against such features. Edwards stated one person who wanted to <br />be here tonight was unable to and asks the City to postpone. <br /> <br />Dave Martini, Bolton and Menk gave a presentation on the Fox Street improvements noting it is a <br />blacktop road that varies from 4 inches to 18 inches. There is cracking and settlement due to the unstable <br />base running through wetland areas. Mr. Martini showed photos of the road on screen and shared <br />potential options including mill and overlay ($463,750) which is less expensive and extends the life of the <br />pavement. However it does not provide a long-term solution to the wetland area, and flooding that <br />happens. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh stated in 2014 when they visited this, they City Council did not want to spend a half million <br />dollars for a temporary fix. This is the approach they have started taking regarding more of Orono’s roads <br />which is why they are seeing more curb and gutter in the City to guide the water. The reason they put this <br />project off is to be sure the City had enough budget to solve the nature of this road that was not <br />constructed correctly. Mayor Walsh thinks mill and overlay should not be the option as they said no to <br />that six years ago.