09-26-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING September 12, 2022 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 9 Mr. Martini agreed and said over the last several years they have taken the approach of being strategic and thoughtful about budget and drainage. He thinks a successful solution to this project is a combination of mill and overlay with partial reconstruction. It would be a 3 inch mill and 3 inch overlay in those upland areas and reconstruction of approximately 1,100 feet with lightweight fill and reconstructing the area near the wetland and provide some stability. Estimated cost of this option is approximately $1,100,000. This option would provide a longer term solution, a more stable base and road structure, and will help mitigate the flooding issues. He spoke about widening the road 4 feet for the pedestrian and biking options which would have some wetland impacts and have an additional cost of about $675,000 which includes wetland banking credits. Bolton and Menk proposes striping the road with a center line and fog lines. Staff’s recommendation is to pursue the mill and overlay with the partial reconstruction. The City Council discussed the materials used to build up the base of the road, the weight impacts of continuing to add mill and overlay on top of the existing pavement, and the cost of widening the road. Mayor Walsh thinks whatever width they can go out they should. Crosby agreed. Johnson asked with the striping if they can favor one side to allow a little more shoulder for pedestrians. Mayor Walsh suggested hosting an open house to receive comments from the public on the preliminary design. Penny Saiki, 2874 Casco Point Road, thinks it is safer to have a road that is a constant width because there will be speed. She thinks it would be better to have a well-built single speed road. Mike Olson, 1860 Fox Street, asked to postpone the portion specifically related to pedestrian and bike space because the person who has been leading that was unable to attend due to an illness. Mayor Walsh noted he has no problem with the group coming back and putting it on the agenda to talk about it. However, the City Council will still move this project forward in the meantime. If in a couple weeks they want to come back they can have more conversations about it. Joan Migliori, 1655 Fox Street, would like to remind the City Council of the safety aspects of the road. By widening it, it may encourage bikers to use the hills and valleys of the road to gain speed. There are many private, hidden driveways that are obscured by trees and it is very difficult to get out right now with the traffic speed. She asked the City Council to think about the safest thing to do for the drivers and pedestrians. She also asked to consider the environmental impact of widening the road and disrupting the water flow from the Watersheds. Jon Miller, 2980 Casco Point Road, noted it is a horrible road and is an interesting case because engineers are looking at what can be done, and it looks like the built a road through a swamp and then it was developed. Now homes are there and they must fix the road. Mr. Miller stated that road is horrible and it does not look that old. Where he lives there is a similar road that passed the engineering report and he would say that report was wrong as no one expected the water to flow the way it does. Mr. Miller thinks it is good to reflect on how the things they choose to do now impact the future.