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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />MONDAY, OCTOBER 13,2003 <br />PARK COMMISSION COMMENTS —RICK RICE, RESPRESENTATI VE <br />Rice arrived and apologized for being held up by work. <br />Rice stated that Pat Wolfe had followed up on White's suggestion for finding alternative <br />funding for playing fields. They contacted the Wild regarding a hockey rink. The Wild <br />do not have any funding in place for such projects, but would help with fund raising by <br />sending a team member and some merchandise to fund raising events. The Twins do have <br />a matching grant program in place, but the City would have to have their portion of the <br />funds in place before iq>plying for the Twins grant. <br />He stated that on November lO"* they would present the Friends of the Paric award to Barb <br />Wulf for her work at the Seven Nations Park. <br />Sansevere asked Rice if he could help them understand w hat the Park Commission wants <br />from the Council. Rice stated that they want to be on par with Wayzata regarding hockey <br />rinks, parks, etc. <br />Rice stated that the Commission was concerned that the fire department got over 50% of <br />the property in Navarre that was purchased partially with Park Funds, and the park area <br />will be difficult to develop, and it is currently being used as a construction dumping <br />ground. <br />Murphy stated that in the current Commission minutes, it seemed there is a philosophical <br />contest going on between the Park Conunission and the Council. He asked how they <br />could get on the same page. <br />Rice stated that the Park Commission is made up of talented people who want to be <br />making a difference in the community. He felt they were frustrated because of an <br />inability to act due to a lack of funds, which then created the current conflict. <br />Murphy stated that parks were not the highest priority in the City; that safety came first. <br />He felt the Park Commission didn’t want to work until they received money, while the <br />Council wouldn’t grant funds until they saw a worthy plan of action. <br />Rice stated there is an unwillingness to raise taxes to support the parks, which upsets the <br />Commission. <br />Sansevere asked if the Commission felt Orono’s parks were inadequate. Rice stated they <br />did not, but that they would like to develop a well-used trail system. Sansevere stated that <br />they could not force people to use the City's trails, no matter how good they might be. <br />Muorse stated there is a work session scheduled for November 13 '*' that could be a joint <br />work session with the Park Conunission.