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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, March 28, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 12 of 24 (7. OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD RECONSTRUCTION, Continued) since a substantial amount of fencing would be required. Kempf stated that while it has to be noted that this is a beautification project and will make the gateway to the schools look much different and better, the landscaping is also serving a real function. Dennis Walsh asked why the City is having a beautification project at all. There are a number of rural communities that are grinding up the pavement and going to gravel since the costs for pavement are about $600,000 and only $80,000 for gravel. Walsh commented he is not sure who came up with the idea for the third roundabout, but if the school is pushing for that, they need to discuss why they need something or don’t need something. Walsh noted it does not appear that the School District has been very involved in this process. Franchot noted the roundabouts were brought up by the City, with the School District being initially opposed to them. Following the studies and computer simulation that demonstrated the superiority of the roundabouts, the School District changed their minds. Franchot stated the school has been closely involved in all of these discussions from day one and that it was not a casual decision on the design. Franchot stated in his view this is the best design for the needs of the school and the City. Franchot noted they discussed this project with representatives from the School District in a work session held earlier this evening and that the school has stepped up to help the City by agreeing to assist in the maintenance of the landscaping and accepting the cost of the west sidewalk. The school has also been very accommodating with the easements. Following a number of discussions, the School District requested the third roundabout be included, which the City agreed to. Franchot commented that there has been a good partnership between the two parties and contributions have been made on both sides. Printup commented he finds it interesting that the School District would have issues with something the City decides to do for their taxpayers. Printup noted the taxpayers located in the Mound School District would also be paying for this project. Franchot stated in his opinion the school board would be disappointed with the Council flipping on this issue. McMillan pointed out on this road there are a lot of left hand turns which cause a great amount of stacking. In the school’s view and the city engineer’s view, the roundabouts help to resolve that issue and address the school’s traffic problems. McMillan noted there needs to be a median to prevent left-hand turns and that the Council elected to go with a 10-foot landscaped median versus a 4-foot median. Bremer stated in her opinion Robert’s Rules of Order should be followed and that the motion has been amended and called. Bremer stated there has been a lot of good discussion on this issue but that unless there is something new that has not been previously discussed, the motion should be voted on. VOTE: Ayes 3, Nays 2, Franchot and Bremer opposed. Kellogg stated his understanding of the motion is that the landscaping at the roundabouts will be limited to shrubbery. There was discussion at a previous meeting that the tree replacement would be limited to trees removed as part of the project. The current plan shows those trees being installed around the roundabouts at the perimeter. The amount of trees on the roundabouts is equal to the anticipated number of trees being removed as part of this project. Kellogg asked whether that is still the way the Council wants to proceed. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 04/11/2011 Approval of Council Minutes 03/28/2011 [Page 12 of 24]