05-24-2010 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday, May 24, 2010 • 7:00 o'clock p.m. (13. REVIEW PRELIMINARYDAKOTA TRAIL PARKING OPTIONS, Continued) the same elevation as the trail. Another possible area is 400 to 500 feet along Northern Avenue almost directly north of the townhouses on Livingston, but there is a ditch between the trail and the parking. McMillan asked if the ditch is an issue for parking or for access to the trail. Gaffron indicated it is related to accessing the trail. Gaffron requested the City Council provide direction on how Staff should proceed on this issue and whether there should be a public hearing concerning the Railroad Avenue parking and the use of the Navarre municipal lot as suggested by the Three Rivers parking study. White suggested entering into a short-term lease for the Snyder parking lot for the summer since the store is empty. White stated in his view there should be a public hearing since it will impact various neighborhoods. Bremer noted the majority of the spots are located in Orono and that it would be preferable to have parking in both Spring Park and Orono. Murphy suggested asking Three Rivers to review the parking spots again and that in his view there should be a public hearing on this matter. At the present time people are informally parking across from the Post Office and that is along a county road. Murphy commented he is not sure what Three Rivers' rationale is • for selecting Railroad Avenue. Murphy stated he would like them to address what they are doing for parking in other cities but that they need to address the parking issues in the very near future given the fact that summer is almost here. McMillan stated in her opinion the trail heads and parking should be where the commercial areas are in Wayzata, Navarre, Mound, and St. Boni because they offer amenities such as food and restroom facilities. Three Rivers should identify how many spaces can be allocated for the trail in the city -owned parking lot. McMillan stated she desires informal parking areas for the citizens of Orono to access the trail. This same issue also occurs with the Luce Line. McMillan stated she is not in favor of Railroad Avenue or removing the basketball court. McMillan suggested Three Rivers look at the Navarre area a little closer since there are different ways to access the trail from the Navarre area. McMillan stated providing parking in that area would also help the businesses in Navarre. McMillan suggested the Council direct Staff to take a look at the difficulty and costs of finishing the sidewalk along the west side of County Road 19 to provide a direct connection to the businesses. Michael LeQuay, P.O. Box 94, Crystal Bay, stated he is here tonight representing four people, including Mr. Lasher, his mother, and his young minor daughter. Due to the shortness of the notice for tonight's meeting, Mr. LeQuay indicated he was only able to speak with Mr. Lasher for a few minutes, but that Mr. Lasher and his mother asked him to tell the council that they are opposed to parking in the area around the Crystal Bay post office. LeQuay stated he would like to clarify that the residents in his mother's neighborhood are not the ones who requested parking but that the request came from the residents of Bayview Place (in Navarre). The • City's Comprehensive Plan has guided the area as rural. In 1965, Brown Road was a single country dirt lane as well as Willow Road. Based upon a check of the recreational parking in the area, the State, along Page 5of11