10-09-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING September 25, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 8 of 13 PARKS REPORT 20. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN APPLICATION FOR A HENNEPIN COUNTY SPORTS FACILITY GRANT FOR HACKBERRY PARK – RESOLUTION NO. 7402 Park Director Lemons asked the City Council to approve by resolution an application for a Hennepin County sports facility grant for Hackberry Park. He said the maximum amount of the grant would be requested for parking, a t-ball field, multi-use sports field and drainage. The maximum amount would be $300,000 and require a 50 percent match. The total cost is estimated at $1.1 million. The City has a scope of the project but is still meeting with residents and the sports associations, he said. The plan is still developing at this point, but they know the scope of the project is those four items. Within the grant changes could still be made to configuration as long as those needs were covered. The application is due in mid-October. Benson said she had some comments after reading City and Parks notes since 2016 when the City purchased the house in the middle of the park. Youth sports groups have been engaged informally for years and needs for drainage and parking are known. What she didn’t see in those notes until recently was larger engagement of the community and surrounding neighbors. That began recently. She has not seen any savings in parks funds in seven years for these projects. It has not been budgeted for. The cost to the City and partnerships if the City received the grant would be over $800,000. There are many unknowns here, not the least of which is finances and there are still many concerns. She said she has concerns about applying for a grant when the City doesn’t have reserve funding for the City and partnership portions of the costs. She noted grants are a lot of work and there is only three weeks to apply. Items like drainage and trees could be addressed in the meantime. Walsh said this is a first step to move forward and have funds allocated. He said it is necessary to have something to move forward. In the past there has not been money budgeted for parks, he said, but that has changed under this Council. When the City would have access to the house in the park to remove it was also an unknown that prevented money from being set aside because it could have been years down the road. Veach moved, Johnson seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 7402 authorizing an application for a Hennepin County Sports Facility Grant for Hackberry Park. VOTE: Ayes 3, Nays 1 (Benson). 21. APPROVAL OF PICKLEBALL CONCEPT SERVICES Park Director Lemons said he was seeking approval for hiring Bolton and Menk to develop a concept for pickleball courts behind Fire Station One near the donation garden. The plan includes a timeline with an open house on the various concept designs with approval in February of next year. He said they were looking at something similar to what was proposed at the golf course with four to six pickleball courts. Veach asked what had happened to the idea of pickleball at the golf course. Lemons said an overwhelming majority of neighbors and golfers were opposed to adding pickleball to the golf course. It has been about two years since the City was first approached by residents about having pickleball courts in the community. After the golf course the Park Commission looked at two sites, Bederwood and the donation garden. Bederwood had a number of drawbacks including the need to move the playground.