06-08-1998 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FOR JUNE 8,1998 ( #2) Saga Hill Park Access Information Meeting - continued Joan Valek, 4720 Tonkaview Lane, thought one of the problems was that the Saga Hill Preservation Society originally proposed the park as open space, and now there are discussions about the City developing an active park. Goetten stated that for years there have been two parcels discussed for the park; one parcel was purchased by the Saga Hill Preservation Society, the other was a tax forfeit parcel the City acquired. Steve Valek, 4720 Tonkaview Lane, commented that Council indicated that they would like to see the property left as open space. He felt that the public and newspapers lead the neighborhood to believe the park was to be an open space area. He noted that when the City acquired the property, access was an issue. He thought Garden Lane could have been considered since it was already in existence. He suggested the City spend the money to build the road at Garden Lane. Steve Bell, 4455 West Branch Road, stated he had been following the Saga Hill discussions and meetings for 3 -4 years and was puzzled that there was misunderstanding about the access and proposed use of the property. He clearly recalled access issues and park use being openly discussed at public meetings. He would favor as much open space as possible, but the City needs to consider the bigger picture. 60 acres of open space and 1/4 acre of active park would be preferable to the I development that could have taken place. Gail Blackstone, 4465 Forest Lake Landing, stated that she was a member of the Saga Hill Preservation Society. She understood that at least a portion of the property could be developed into a neighborhood park and supports the City acquiring accessibility to the park. She noted that at this time there was no clear path to the park. She felt the City needs more neighborhood parks and prefers relatively passive recreational activities. Her sister on Rest Point Lane and mother on Rest Point Road also support gaining accessibility to the park. Patti Affeldt, 4760 Tonkaview Lane, has been with the Saga Hill Preservation Society since its inception. She understood that the Society would prefer to have everything left as open space and thought that was the City's intention also. She shared a City resolution stating that the City-intended to acquire the tax forfeit parcel for open space. She asked if there was a reason for the change from passive to active use with a ballfield. With the small area that the park is in, an increase in traffic using a ballfield would be a problem for the neighborhood. Kathleen Kasprick,1067 Orono Lane, has been a member of the Saga Hill Preservation Society since 1996, which is about the time the tax forfeit parcel was brought before the City. She outlined the parcels in question on an overhead map. She noted that the Saga Hill group had not done anything with the City's parcel and didn't think the group could speak about land they didn't own. 5