Petition updateDonated to the Public, for the Public: Keep Summit Beach Park 100% Accessible to all.

Special Committee Formed by Orono City Council

Friends of Summit Beach ParkOrono, MN, United States
Jan 31, 2022

Supporters of Summit Beach Park - 

Orono City Council met on January 24 at 6PM CT. After the closure of Public Comments, Mayor Dennis Walsh and several City Council members made comments regarding the 1/18/2022 Planning Commission meeting during which many community members spoke up regarding the recent Development Proposal for Summit Beach Park.

Those comments can be observed using the link below:

Video Link
(This link should to you immediately to the relevant time block on the video, which is between 3:00 - 25:35)

During this time, a special committee was formed to determine the future of Summit Beach Park. If you watch from 12:23, City Council Member Victoria Seals makes a motion to....

"create a committee that includes...

Victoria Seals (Orono City Council)
Brian Roath (Park Commission)
Rick Carter (Park Commission)
Mark McCutcheon (Planning Commission)
Adam Edwards (City Administrator)

...to decide the "master plan" of what should we do, what can we do [with Summit Beach Park] and then bring it back [to Orono City Council for review].’

At 25:31, this motion was seconded by Council Member Richard Crosby. At 25:33 the committee was unanimously approved for formation by the Council.

Since this committee was formed and approved by Orono City Council, it is subject to MN Statutes Sec. 13D.01 and 13D.04, specifically...

  • That a public notice of meeting "shall be posted and mailed or delivered at least three days before the date of the meeting"
  • "the journal or any minutes used to record votes of the meeting... must be open to the public during all normal business hours where record of the public body are kept, and...”
  • "... at least one copy of any printed materials relating to the agenda items of the meeting prepared or distributed by or at the direction of the governing body... shall be available in the meeting room for inspection by the public while the governing body considers their subject matter.”

Given these statutes, the community encourages Council Member Victoria Seals and members of the Special Committee to not only abide by public meeting regulations, but also would welcome the opportunity for a Public Forum at one of the Special Committee Meetings to allow the public to voice their ideas, hopes, and vision for the future of Summit Beach Park.

What can YOU do?

There are two concrete actions YOU can take TODAY to help preserve Summit Beach Park:

1. WRITE to the Special Committee members about the vision that YOU as a community member have for Summit Beach Park and encourage the Committee to host a Public Forum to allow the public to voice their ideas.

Special Committee member emails can be found below:

2. WATCH for a Public Notice regarding this Special Committee's meeting date, time, and location. You can find these postings by...

  • Checking the City of Orono website (Found here)
  • Subscribing to the Orono "Agendas & Public Meeting Packets" (Sign up here)
  • Browsing the Laker Pioneer Newspaper (Public Notices found here)

With the formation of this Special Committee, the future state of Summit Beach Park remains very much up in the air.

Please continue to SPEAK UP and STAY INFORMED!

Copy link
WhatsApp
Facebook
Nextdoor
Email
X