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L <br />MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, March 28,2005 <br />7:00 o’clock p.m. <br />(17. PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR THE ACQUISITION OP THE BIG ISLAND <br />VETERANS CAMP PROPERTY, CoMtinued) <br />that obtaining the parcel was the most important first step, and should be put to rest before the City <br />spends a lot of time deciding what it should do with it <br />Gehring indicated that he believed there should be greater accountability to the tax payers than the <br />opinion diat we think the City should obtain the property at any price. <br />Baaed on his public contact Sansevere pointed out that Gehring had been the only person to step <br />forward to disagree with the direction the City was headed with the property. <br />White maintained that any community would move forward with this purchase, when it is so <br />evident that this is for the community good as a whole, for perpetuity. He argued that this is a once <br />in a lifetiiiK opportunity to save this property and keep it in the public domain as opposed to losing <br />it to development for good. <br />JeffPattison, 4340 North Shore Drive, indicated that he was in attendance as an observer to learn <br />more about die acquisition. <br />Gehring asked to see the true costs broken out now before proceeding. <br />Sansevere stated the City Council works very iiard to keep taxes low, in fact, Orono has one of the <br />lowest tax rates in the state. He maintained dut the purchase was not a frivolous decision by the <br />City and pointed out that past Mayor Jabbour had b^ very diligent in lending his assistance to <br />this matter. <br />Murphy acknowledged that Gehring had many excellent questions which, he pointed out, would be <br />addressed as the City proceeds with the process. He noted that abandoning the purchase to <br />development was a poor option to the city, noting that, at this time, the purchase could even fall <br />apart at the legislature. Murphy stated that he objected to wasting time and taxpayer resources to <br />break out cost details when the City may not be successful in acquiring the property. <br />Gehring asked whether there could be a potential conflict of interest having past Mayor Jabboin: <br />involved in the purchase. <br />While he admitted that this was no small undertaking, Mipphy stated that, as a Council member, he <br />felt authorized to proceed for the greater good. Since the City was unsure of how the process was <br />going to pan out, Murphy stated that they could not answer all of Gehring’s question to his level of <br />satisfiKtion at this time. He reiterated that it was clear to him that virtually everyone, except <br />Gehring, the Council had heard from felt it was very important dut Big Island kept in the public <br />domain. <br />White inteijected that, as with any of the City parks, there arc not always visions for use when they <br />are obtained and there are always costs involv^ with their maintenance. Nevertheless, the City still <br />feels those are worthwhile endnvors, as is this scenario. White reiterated that, once in the public <br />domain, the City would love public input. <br />PAGE 12 of 14