11-07-2022 Park Commission Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION November 7,2022 6:00 o'clock p.m. at the park which is parking and when it is busy people park up and down Highway 112 which is a concern. Chair Roath suggested increasing parking fees and asked Park and Golf Course Superintendent Lemons what his plans are. Lemons is looking at other parks in the surrounding areas and where they are at with annual passes.He will make the case when he presents fee schedule changes to be in-line with other communities. Chair Roath stated currently it is $25/year for Orono residents and$40/year for non-residents.He noted in the beginning the City intentionally did not have a lot of enforcement of those permits and utilized the on- your-honor type of approach. They are at a point now with Ms. Williamson voicing a common opinion that those who pay for parking at the dog park cannot find adequate parking. Long-term, Chair Roath thinks they need to talk about expanding the parking lot. He proposed raising the price of permits in the ballpark of$15,not to earn money for Orono,but to save up for a parking lot expansion in the future. Regarding enforcement, City Code says if one has a parking violation(including at the dog park),that is a misdemeanor. Staff is looking at the Code to look at an administrative fee rather than a misdemeanor. When that happens,Chair Roath thinks it will be easier to enforce. Porter asked Lemons when looking at neighboring parks if he would also look at how they are enforcing or offering access to dog parks.A parking pass versus an entry to the park feels like two different things. If they utilized an RFID tag people would have access to the park rather than just parking at the park. Carter thinks a fob would be a no-brainer because no one would park there if they cannot enter the park. Edwards clarified the Chief of Police is asking the City to look at the administrative fee as he does not feel comfortable sending police officers to the dog park regarding a misdemeanor. Duval asked about verifying vaccination status of dogs. Lemons replied in the permitting process people are agreeing that their dog is vaccinated. Carter asked if they can specify those numbers as approximate while Lemons does his research. Chair Roath agreed. Roath moved, Carter seconded,to recommend a fee change for Lurton Dog Park to approximately $25 to $40 for residents and from $40 to $55 for non-residents. Porter would like to earmark that money for improvements such as RFID to help solve the problem of people utilizing the park without a pass. Edwards noted dog fees are collected and put into the Lurton Park fund. Duval does not know about charging more to everyone because of the bad actors and asked about a significant fee is one is violating the park policies and perhaps allowing for reporting to happen. The Commissioners discussed signage and communication with the public through the website and Friends of Lurton Park Facebook page. Page 2 of 5