05-29-2018 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday,May 29,2018 7:00 o'clock p.m. 16. EAST LONG LAKE ROAD DISPOSITION—DISCUSSION—Continued Possible options for the northern section of the roadway are as follows: A. Reconstruct the road. This option would include rebuilding the roadway by stabilizing the lakeshore,rebuilding the subgrade,raising the roadway elevation through the lower areas, and repaving. The estimated cost of this option is $1.3 million. If this option is selected,the Council should direct Staff to conduct a feasibility study with a goal of completing the reconstruction in 2019. B. Convert road to a bike trail. This course of action would include the removal of the existing asphalt,stabilizing the lakeshore where required,construction of a 10-foot wide multifocal trail and a turnaround feature at the northern end of the southern section. The estimated cost of this option is$500,0000,with grants being available. Edwards noted the disadvantage of this option would be the removal of a north-south transportation corridor,with traffic being pushed to Ferndale or Brown roads. C. The third option is to do nothing and to keep the road closed. Staff recommends Option B. Mayor Walsh opened the public hearing at 7:15 p.m. John Goldsby, 1025 Spring Hill Road,asked if the road was reconstructed whether it would be similar to the construction along Highway 112 where they removed all the trees and re-enforced the road to keep the soil in place. Edwards stated in some sections of the road the trees would need to be removed in order to shore up the soil and in other sections where the road is offset more from the lake the trees could be saved. Walsh commented the road is in a unique location,with likely runoff into the lake,and that there are a number of factors that will need to be considered. Joanne Pastel,951 Spring Hill Road,stated even though the road is closed,cars are still going down the road. Pastel stated if the road is permanently closed,they will need to do something different than simply placing a sign there because the sign has been moved. Pastel stated since she has been living there,people have used the road as a shortcut,which has improved somewhat since Highway 112 has opened up,but that cars like to travel fast down the road. Pastel expressed concern about getting hit by a car when she walks on the road because they are going so fast. Pastel requested the City Council take that into consideration when making their decision. Walsh noted one option the City Council is considering is eliminating it as a road and making it a trail. Pastel commented it would be nice to see a bike trail. Page 3 of 11