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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9,2004 <br />Sansevere stated that the Park Commission should petition Council with such ideas before <br />proceeding with them. <br />McMillan asked about the Saga Hill land transfer. Moorse replied that the DNR is totally <br />on board. They need to write a revised agreement that describes how the exchange will <br />occur. The closing should be scheduled within a few weeks. The price differential had <br />been worked out. <br />Murphy asked if the memo about taxes was representing the opinion of all members of the <br />Park Commission, or one person. Rice replied it was not the position of all of the <br />Conunission members. <br />Rice stated that he regretted missing the November joint work session. <br />White stated that Rice brought a good perspective to the Commission and the last meeting <br />he’d attended had been the most productive he'd seen in a long time. White stated that <br />only 2% cf Orono's property is industrial/commercial, so any tax increases hurt the <br />homeowners. A lot of people can ’t afford the increases. Raising taxes is not a creative <br />solution. <br />Sansevere stated that even if the taxes were raised, the priority level of parks would not <br />change. Safety issues related to the parks are a high priority, but other improvements <br />come after general safety issues. <br />Rice asked if there could be a line item donation to fund parks on the taxes. Barrett stated <br />this could not be done. <br />Mayor Peterson stated that the Commission has tried some fund-raisers in the past that <br />have not proved very fruitful. She felt the Commission should focus on the trail from the <br />Dakota line to NavaiTC Park. <br />Sansevere stated that Council made it clear months ago that they will not have an ice rink <br />near the fire department, and the Commission needs to move on. <br />Rice asked if they were wrong to advocate for funds as they did in the memo. Sansevere <br />and Mayor Peterson stated it was not their role to pursue funding through taxes. <br />White stated that there is a grant that expires in October for $200,000 that nobody is <br />applying for. If they have a clean-up project, they should ^ply for the funds. <br />iiiiliite <br />I