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City Council Minutes <br />September 13, 2010 <br />Page 3 <br />Eric Toth, 1023 Manor Place -his property adjoins the property. He indicated that this is a <br />very pristine piece of property that he believes should be shared with the public and he <br />believes the city is a good buyer. He would like to see the residents be part of the planning <br />process. He also indicated that he would be willing to acquire the easement Mr. Anderson <br />spoke about if the city is not interested in deeding it. <br />Don Schumacher, 212 Norfolk Avenue -stated the city has ample parkland and doesn't <br />understand why the city would take this property off of the tax roll. He added that he <br />doesn't believe the city should be spending money this way. <br />Dave Anderson, Parks and Recreation Commission Chair -stated this is a rare opportunity <br />for the city to purchase a beautiful piece of land with history and lineal riverfront footage. <br />He indicated that approximately 10 years ago when the Parks and Recreation Commission <br />prioritized future land purchases for park use, this piece of property was identified as the <br />Commission's number one priority. <br />Mary Emhart, 201 Norfolk Avenue -stated her property is the most impacted by this <br />development. She expressed concerns with losing the privacy she has enjoyed fox 30 years <br />with development of the park. She noted that she didn't believe any other city park impacts <br />personal lives like this one would. <br />Nancy Thielke, 250 Norfolk Avenue - is in favor of Bailey Point being a park because the <br />beauty of the park should be shared. She stated it would be nice to have a park on this side <br />of Highway 10. She also stated that she would rather see the city purchase the property to <br />create a park than have a private developer purchase and develop the property. <br />Council discussed purchase of the Bailey Point property and the following were items of <br />consensus: <br />^ Not interested in raising property taxes to fund the purchase <br />^ If purchased, they would like the property to remain passive park property <br />^ If purchased, the Parks and Recreation Commission should lead the planning of <br />the property <br />Jerry Jackson, 82 Morton Avenue -stated that the Waco Park does not have a parking lot. <br />Ms. Johnson suggested that if Mr. Babcock and the Council agree, that discussion on this <br />item be put on hold until the city's budget process is over and then come back in closed <br />session to negotiate a purchase price. She noted that staff would like the opportunity to <br />explore possible grants for this property. The Council and Mr. Babcock concurred. <br />Mr. Neil Anderson requested that residents near the property be notified of any future <br />meetings regarding the city's purchase of this property. Ms. Johnson provided a sheet for <br />interested residents to print their names and addresses on for notification. The Council also <br />directed staff to notify all residents within 350'feet of the property of upcoming meetings. <br />The Council recessed at 8:16 pm. The Council reconvened at 8:24 p.m. <br />6.2. Spectrum School <br />Mr. Barnhart presented his staff report. <br />