10-27-2003 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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I ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13,2003 PARK COMMISSION COMMENTS—RICK RICE, RESPRESENTATIVE — Continued White suggested they look into YWCA progranis. The YWCA runs programs at no cost to cities in paries all over the metro. It draws the community into the parks and all the cities have to do is approve the YWCA’s use of the park. He suggested the Park Commission review what other cities, besides Wayzata, do in their paries. Sansevere stated that the Council and Commission needed to agree on a philosophy so they could work together. Mayor Peterson stated she liked the idea of having Kevin Garnett fund a half-court and put his name on it, which had been reported in the Park Commission minutes as a suggestion made during the meeting. She stated that Wayzata has much more commercial area than Orono, and Orono has more rural property, so there is a disparity in the amount the cities can raise in taxes for things like parks. She stated that the Park Commission has a fhistrating negativity toward the Council. Murphy stated that the Park Commission should forget about money for a while and develop a five-year plan, without regard to cost, then seek approval based on feasibility. Mayor Peterson stated that the Park Commission had done a spending plan, but now should do a plan to decide which projects should go where and when. Rice stated that one factor in Orono is that people use the lake as their major source of recreation, have big yards, and/or leave town to vacation. Orono doesn’t necessarily need a world-class park system. Moorse stated there are lots of resources in Orono. He suggested the Commission look at what is already here, whether it is City owned or not, then try to fill gaps. White stated that kids aged ten to twelve are ripe for gang recruitment and after-school programming for that age group could be a focus of the Park Commission. Murphy stated that the Park Commission has a victim mentality regarding the Council and that he resents it. He stated they should fight harder to accomplish the projects they believe in, and actively pursue other sources of funding. Rice raised the matter of public beach use. Mayor Peterson stated that small beaches are primarily for neighborhood use because they are too small to support public use. Larger beaches, like Summit Park, are more appropriate for public use. Rice stated that fencing of)'public beaches so there ’s no motor vehicle access seems I i