03-14-1994 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO PARK COMMISSION MEETING THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1994 VO 3. Identifying issues. 4. Developing goals and standards. 5. Establishing those standards. 6. Develop the Park Plan for adoption by the City Council. Moorse suggested that perhaps an intern could assist with the survey and other aspects of the proposal. Shardlow commented that they have found it works best to move rapidlv through the process to avoid delays and people losing interest because of the length of time involved. Moving quickly keeps interest levels up and the program moves smoothly the expeditiously through the process. He discussed special interest groups and stated that choices will have to be made, based on a prioritized system of needs being determined. He outlined the process by which the community has input into determining the main issues regarding the development of the Park Plan. He stated they had used workshops to determine the main points. Discussion ensued regarding the possibility ot using a mailed survey to get input from a variety of different interest groups. Moorse commented that perhaps a citizens advisory committee could be established to assist the Park Commission in developing the plan. Shardlow commented that was an exceUent suggestion. McMillan inquired if there were things that had come up over time which had affected the sizes of the trails and Shardlow responded that the amount of land required for trails has increased dramatically, and that the demand for soccer fields has increased greatly over the past ten years. He commented that the needs of a community have to be identified based on the information of today because it s being done in the present. Obtaining the land is the most important thing because there is no more land available, and dcvciopment is always increasing. White stated that an inventory has been done which shows all the parks throughout the City. He noted that one survey had been done and baseball fields were low which created a discrepancy between the sury ey and those who favored baseball fields^ He felt it was time to begin the process of developing a comprehensive Park Plan for the City ot Orono. Discussion ensued regarding the amount of money available. It was noted that a proposal to develop a plan had to be put together so that the City Council could allocate funds for the plan to be developed. Shardlow stated that he they would be willing to assemble a proposal for the Park Commission to submit to the City Council based on the available information, and including an estimate of the costs involved based on a specific program for developmg the plan. He stated they will also design a program for developing the plan which wou include a number of options, and to give the City their best recommendation for an outline for accomplishing this. Discussion ensued regarding the various steps which