03-23-2015 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, March 23, 2015 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 14 of 18 (8. #15-3723 SOURCE LAND CAPITAL – LAKEVIEW PROPERTY – 405 NORTH ARM DRIVE – FINAL PLAT APPLICATION – PRELIMINARY REVIEW continued) McMillan stated some examples of the public park or statute would be helpful prior to the next City Council meeting. Johnson stated he can provide some examples. Johnson stated this will be a passive park with essentially a trail and a few benches and provide an educational and historical focus by with some signage. The group may have a few trees planted, but this will not be an active recreational park. That is the vision that everyone has for this area. Levang asked if the legacy organization will own the park at some point. Johnson stated the private organization will own it because Source Land will be selling it to the citizens. The donors will have provided the funds to purchase the park and essentially develop the park. The homeowners association will handle the ongoing maintenance and have extra funds for long-term capital improvements. The Citizens for Lakeview Preservation is a board of seven people and is backed by private individuals. Levang asked if the homeowner’s association will provide maintenance. Johnson indicated private organization will provide the ongoing maintenance and there will be a homeowner’s association member on the board as well. Jeff stated one of the challenges was selecting a general contractor and have the project completed by July 24. One of the key elements is obtaining IRS approval, which can be a lengthy process. Johnson stated he has been on the phone with the IRS over the past several months and completed the application at the beginning of February. A letter received this weekend that indicates they received the application and that we would either hear within 90 days if they did not require any additional information or 180 days. McMillan stated the Council would like to know about parking at the park and if there is an intent to open this up to the general public. Johnson stated they did consider parking and there was not a real appetite to provide parking at the park. Part of the basis is the realization by having done the analysis that there are nearly 2000 people within one mile of this park and that is the focus of the people the group is looking at. They feel it will be a neighborhood park and do not have plans at this point to have parking available. McMillan stated she does not want people to be parking in the development in order to access the park. Levang asked if he would like to comment on the names of the streets. Jeff stated they would like to use Lakeway Parkway for the main road but if that is an issue, will come up with something different.