09-25-2023 City Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING September 25,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. Veach said she was aware there were persons in the audience interested in this item and she asked to hear from them. Sandy Rasmsssen, 1186 Wildhurst Trail, said she is very involved in pickleball and is an alternate to the Park Commission. She said the unique thing about pickleball is that it is a drop-in sport.Players show up and rotate in and can be pretty much assured if you have courts, someone will be there and you can play. It has become an incredibly strong pickleball community and many of us are driving long distances to play outdoors, she said. The group is looking for bare bones,no lights or amenities,just courts and fencing. She said the new proposal is a great site and will bring more attention to community garden. There are few houses nearby but at Bederwood there would be more houses closer. They liked the idea of shared facilities at the park but the noise can be a deterrent, she said. The community is looking for an outdoor place to play without having to drive 20 miles and in her opinion this site is the second best next to the golf course. She added pickleball is played by a wide range of ages,not just older adults. It is a multi-generation sport. Michael Miller, 1987 Fagerness Point, said the proximity to fire station and City hall to the proposed site could offer the ability to have informal employee leagues. It could be a wellness program. Janie Delaney, 1315 Woodhill Avenue, said she is in favor of the donation garden area as a pickleball site but said the donation garden has been there since 2011 and she wants people to understand the volunteers use organic no-till farming methods so it's not possible to just come in with a bobcat to move the garden. They have amended and added to the soil to keep microorganisms in. She is concerned about the displacement to the garden if there are four to six courts put in. She wanted the Council to consider what it means to significantly relocate the garden. She asked if they could you consider fewer courts there and putting others someplace else. She also said the City hasn't looked enough at the other suggestions like working with the schools. She said maybe just draw it out on a napkin and see what everyone is thinking before spending money on a feasibility study. She cancelled an order for compost for the garden when she saw this item on the agenda and is concerned that they won't be gardening next summer. It doesn't impact just the volunteers but also local food shelves, churches and other charities that receive food donations, she said. It's an important community outreach.Twice a week they have about 12 volunteers parking there and others are there almost every day.Last year the garden donated 2.5 tons of food and the need at the food shelves has almost doubled in the last few years,she said. Johnson said she raised good questions because the donation garden has a cycle and they need to know how it will be affected.He said he was glad she brought this up so that everyone understands what it would mean to move the garden. Walsh said he is a big supporter of the donation garden and pledged to work with them. Benson said she did not know that the donation garden serves that many people and organizations,so she was glad to know that. She said she was aware of interest in pickleball in the community for several years and supports community recreation but said the City has paid for concept plans for a couple of projects in recent years that have not come to fruition. There are real dollars being spent by the City of Orono in a lot of areas and the levy is increasing this year.A dollar is a dollar. passing To her contracting for a concept plan is an indication that the City is ready to fund this initiative and she doesn't see the money is there to fund pickleball as much as many in the community wants it. She said she supports the playing of pickleball but also has questions about partnering with the school or other sites that would not impact the Page 9 of 13