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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL <br />Monday, January 24, 2011 <br />7:00 o'clock p.m. <br />(8. OLD CRYSTAL BAYROAD RECONSTR UCTION PLAN UPDATE, Continued) <br />reasonably priced. Franchot suggested drip irrigation be considered as opposed to spray irrigation, which <br />would help to reduce water usage. <br />Printup asked whether there is a way to do the landscaping and the median treatments without vegetation <br />this summer and having involvement from the community landscape it at some point in the future. <br />Kellogg indicated that was the direction they had received from the Council last fall when the project was <br />initially approved. Kellogg stated the landscaping/median costs outlined in the feasibility study were <br />considered too expensive. Kellogg stated another option would be to include the landscaping as an <br />alternate. - <br />Franchot commented he has a concern with the amount of community involvement they would actually <br />get. <br />Printup stated safety is the main concern with the road. Printup expressed a concern that residents <br />without students attending Orono schools would pay for landscaping this road. <br />n <br />U <br />Franchot indicated the past philosophy of the City has been that the residents of the City would share in <br />these types of expenses rather than just paying for what goes in front of their property. Franchot noted <br />that another similar project was completed on Casco Point Road. Franchot stated in his view this is not • <br />an egregious use of funds since it is the educational center of the city and provides access to city hall and <br />is likely the most public street in the city since there are no private residences located on the roadway. <br />Bremer indicated she is in agreement with Council Member Franchot but that she has a concern with the <br />number of trees being proposed. Bremer stated she would like to have a 10 -foot median with vegetation <br />with a reasonable budget. Bremer indicated she would not be opposed to delaying the landscaping and/or <br />eliminating some of the trees to enable the City Council to visualize the street. <br />Kellogg noted there are 123 boulevard trees being proposed, which amounts to $61,000. Kellogg <br />indicated he is in agreement that the number of trees could be reduced given the amount of existing trees <br />in the area. <br />McMillan stated the best approach would be to replace any trees along the boulevard that would be lost as <br />a result of the construction work. McMillan commented she likes the three roundabouts and that the latest <br />design appears to accomplish the objectives of the school. McMillan stated she also likes the roundabouts <br />since they eliminate the turn lanes, but that a wider median would essentially add another lane and widen <br />the roadway. McMillan stated she also is concerned about long -term maintenance of the landscaping <br />within the median and that she would like to have some type of plan in place regarding that before <br />approving any type of landscaping. Additional landscaping could be added at some point in the future but <br />that the City could avoid overplanting. <br />Franchot stated it is unfair to hypothesize things that no one is talking about doing, such as overplanting <br />or irrigation. The perspective of the footprint of the roadway would be cut down with a wider median and <br />landscaping. If a reasonable median is not constructed with a reasonable amount of vegetation and a • <br />barrier, the safety of the pedestrians would be not addressed and would add to the appearance of a lot of <br />Page 10 of 15 <br />