02-06-2023 Park Commission Meeting Minutes

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION February 6, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 14 Porter said there's a lot of what both members said that he absolutely agrees with. I think we've been asked about this for a long time. And we do need to make some progress forward. I also acknowledge that we have to listen to our community and understand what are those reservations? We have a long list of them. So ahead of that March meeting to make it as productive as possible, why don't all of you think about what you would need to help make a better decision, and let me know so that I can come prepared. I do want to just remind everybody that it's not pickleball or golf. We are making a lot of improvements in the golf course whether we're doing pickleball or not. Josh and team have done a fantastic job on the golf course making it much more playable. And that's has nothing to do with whether we're doing pickleball. I love golf, I've golfed there many times, I'm not looking to destroy the course or take away from the playability of the course by any means. So again, it's not one or the other. With that I also recommend we meet in March with option two Roath opened the discussion up to public comment. Ben Jaffray. I've had the privilege of living at 320 Orono Orchard Road for 42 years, therefore I've driven by this beautiful golf course a million times. I was interested however, in the correspondence. This project was called the Orono Golf Course Park. I have never thought about the golf course as a park. I've thought about the golf course as a real treasure for so many reasons. And that's why I use the word privilege to live in Orono. And I should also say it's been beautifully managed in those 42 years. I would like to hear a little bit more about the cost, I think I heard a million dollars -- the source of that money, what kind of return we expect on that money, and so forth. I'm sure that will all be forthcoming. I'm one of those that says we can consider it for six months, but I'm adamantly opposed because this is part of Orono, it's part of our character. And we don't want to make this beautiful site a playground as much as those playgrounds are needed somewhere in Orono. This is not a playground, that golf course. This is a treasure. TJ Bonnett, 40 Smith Avenue, said he had some concerns. It feels like a lot of people want option three around here and it seems like just tabling is a kind of delaying the inevitable. The neighbors I've spoken with that live around the park are very concerned about the noise and the parking. We came out here it was a beautiful rural community. We didn't really move to Chanhassen because we wanted a bunch of pickleball courts. I certainly wouldn't go to a pickleball court and say I want to build a golf course in the middle of it. I think it just really takes away from the appeal of the golf course, and just the general beauty and nature of it. I know we're out here to fix the world's problems. Golf is a great place to start. Craig Kraig Polly Pauly?, Plymouth. Cameron, are you sure you've been playing on the same golf course I've been playing? No offense, Josh. We've been through this, but it needs work. It does. And it needs money and resources. So I'm not sure if we're in the same ballpark here. As President of the Tuesday night men's Twilight League, the oldest golf league in the State of Minnesota, I'm proud to say that our home golf course has been here in Orono since 1946. That's how old our league is. With that being said, we want resources put into the existing golf course grounds and facilities, not a golf course enhancement