Orono Park Commission

2025 Orono’s Park Commissioner’s left over from the Walsh regime

From top to bottom and left to right: The Orono Park Commission Chair Brian Roath has been on the commission starting prior to COVID in 2020. He was named chair by former Mayor Denny Walsh without Citizen input nor due process. Rick Carter has also been on the commission for many years starting prior to COVID. He claims to be the architect of the Big Island Legacy Fund that was actually formed due to public outcry allegedly because Orono was considering selling the island. Gordy Stofer has been on the commission as a spearhead to develop the historic Orono Golf Course into a high traffic sports complex venue. His lack of neighborhood representation and somewhat spotty attendance is notable. Second Row left to right: Michael Huddy is a relative newcomer to the commission and seems to have a somewhat more balanced approach to issues and yet votes in mass with the rest of Denny Walsh’s appointees. Sandra Rasmussen appears to be a Roath/Walsh recruit with a single issue focus - Pickleball at the Donation Garden site against Citizens concerns about noise and the already over 100 Pickleball Courts in the area #notaneed Casey Conrad Hudson We have not seen Hudson for several years. Did he officially resign and the website not changed?

The Orono Park Commission has a storied past degrading habitat and adding unnecessary sports activities to public parks. Also under consideration is how these parks and their sports fields are adding to chemical runoff and degrading our environment for wildlife. Pockets of natural habitat need to remain throughout Orono if we are to keep all wildlife in our surrounding area. Chemical lawn treatments have polluted our fresh water resources and degraded streams, ponds and Lake Minnetonka. Check to see if you live on a polluted bay here: https://www.hollerman.com/search-by-lake-minnetonka-water-quality

#briatroath #rickcarter #gordystofer #michaelhuddy #mikehuddy #sandrarassmussen #caseyconradhudson

See our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofOrono.org/ Our Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsoforono9551 and Instagram feed here: https://www.instagram.com/friendsoforono/

2nd in our Series: Falsehoods

Coach spins yarn around an unsanctioned sport

Let’s review some of the crazy talk from the last Orono Park Commission meeting 2/4/25. It was hyperbole all the way to outright fibbing. It was as if the former Orono Mayor was still in the room and after recent City Council meetings, we now know that might not be far from the truth.

In this video, Second in our series, we focus on Orono/Westonka Mountain Bike Coach #JohnWithrow We’ve heard Withrow’s rhetoric before. He says mountain biking is a growing sport and we have documented the opposite with statistical data from the National Sporting Association. In 2023, Mountain Biking ranked only 34th most popular out of 56 sports. Total riders have dropped over 500K in the last few years.

Why is Mountain Biking dropping in popularity? It’s expensive and unsafe compared to other youth sports. And no matter who says it’s as unsafe at LaCrosse, as one infrequent rider stated during the Park meeting, well, logically, that’s just not true is it? Racing around at many times more miles per hour through obstacles and over jumps makes it many times more unsafe than Soccer or LaCrosse.

But that’s not really the point is it? You can do whatever you want and allow your children to do whatever you want them to - but Orono Citizens shouldn’t have to pay for your niche recreation if they don’t want to.

And that’s the irony. Recently, Council member #claireberrett was threatening Citizens with a lawsuit somewhere in the $20-$30k range but a $100k Mountain Bike Complex? That really sounds like #overspendydenny doesn’t it?

One of the greatest falsehoods Withrow states is that the Mountain Bikers are great “stewards” of the land. Nothing could be further from the truth in Orono.

The Orono/Westonka Mountain Bike Team trespassed repeatedly on private properties. They cut limbs off trees around Lowry. They cut trees at Bederwood. They literally decimated an old growth sugar maple forest by pulling out hundreds of tree shoots by hand, etc. For documentation, please see our webstie here: https://www.friendsoforono.org/oronoparks

Who authorized this? Commissioners #rickcarter and #brianroath were found to be planning these activities behind Citizen’s backs with the coordination of City Administrator Adam Edwards. See our website here: https://www.friendsoforono.org/oronoparkcommission

When will this team get reined in? When will the Orono School District 278 and Westonka School 277 pull these Coaches off the roster for openly trespassing and breaking laws repeatedly in Orono? And when will we have a new Orono Park Commission?

Hope is on the horizon. Both Mayor Tunheim and Council member Jacqueline Ricks were in attendance to hear Withrow's recent spiel. They listened to Carter present a project without any data or studies. They listened to Roath suppress Citizens. They also heard Withrow pretend the past didn’t happen. Over 200 signatures still stand against biking in Bederwood Park and he should know by now that we will be sharing those with the new council.

Let’s stand up for Bederwood Park and the Historic Orono Golf Club. Let’s stop developing our parks in secret and open up the process for everyone. These parks affect our home values - with green space being one of best listing attributes a neighborhood can have.

#togetherwearebetter

#communitythatcares

@friendsoforono

Please write to the new Orono City Council to ask that Mountain Biking be removed from any Orono City Parks as the our long standing code requires: https://library.municode.com/.../codes/code_of_ordinances...

btunheim@oronomn.gov

abenson@oronomn.gov

spersian@oronomn.gov

jricks@oronomn.gov

And please contact the school to ask why they are continuing to condone these falsehoods and this destructive behavior in our parks:

kristine.flesher@orono.k12.mn.us

kimberly.king@orono.k12.mn.us

katie.zaccaro@orono.k12.mn.us

tiffany.clifton@orono.k12.mn.us

#rickcarter #brianroath #michaelhuddy #gordystofer #adamedwards #johnwithrow #jayswenson #mikemckeand #oronoschooldistrict278 #oronomountainbiketeam #oronowestonkamountainbiketeam #orono #oronomtb #westonkaschooldistrict277

2/4/25 Orono Park Commission Meeting: Falsehoods/First in a Series

Same old Bat Channel. Orono Park Commissioners vote and pass funding for a design the Citizens don’t need or want within a single meeting, again. They did not present any written data, nor outside research, nor year after year participation, nor surveys or anything about the environment. But they are telling residents to pay for a $15k plan to add a Mountain Bike Race Complex to the Orono Golf Course anyway.

When will the Citizens be first? When we get a new Park Commission? The current process is suppressive communication and exactly why we voted out the past administration.

Four Park Commissioners, two Orono Mountain Bike Coaches and three members of one family, along with LMCD Rep Rich Anderson got up and spread many falsehoods. Let’s tackle the first one: Mountain Biking Popularity since Anderson brought it up.

Between 2020 and 2023 (the most recent data publicly available) the National Sporting Goods Association found that Mountain Biking ridership dropped from 7.5 million to 7 million. They also consistently rank the sport somewhere in the 30s for popularity. In 2023, Mountain Biking ranked at 34 of the 56th most popular sports. This is well behind Soccer which consistently ranks in the top ten.

So we’re not sure where Mr. #RichAnderson got his misinformation but his misstatement has been repeated around Orono for a few years. To be clear, Mountain Biking is not sanctioned by the Orono School District nor does they allow Mountain Biking on school grounds. Why was the team asked to leave?

Nationally, the majority of Mountain Bikers are between the ages of 24 - 44 which leads us to ask the next question, exactly how many children that live in Orono are riding with this team? Is the team so small they had to combine with Westonka? Who are the Coaches and where do they come from?

Why are we spending what will be substantial funds ($100,000 or more) on a niche sport that takes away wildlife habitat and green space? Not to mention historic ambiance of the Golf Course. Speaking of which, why aren’t we maintaining that Golf Course by finally fixing that drainage issue they have listed and talked about on our annual goals for years? Why is maintenance second?

And now we get the the really big question, why are the Citizens supporting the damaging of their neighborhood parks for this activity when it degrades their property values? Green space is by far and away one of the leading factors for maintaining resale value on our properties so why carve them up when there are so many existing trails and courses around for this very sport already? And has anyone surveyed the Citizens? No, they have not.

Stay tuned as we uncover more Orono Park Commission falsehoods and some serious conflicts of interest. Make sure to let your City Council member know how you feel about increased traffic, a 24hour a day, unsupervised, very unsafe sport at your Historic Orono Golf Course. Your voice matters.

btunheim@oronomn.gov

abenson@oronomn.gov

spersian@oronomn.gov

jricks@oronomn.gov

#rickcarter #brianroath #michaelhuddy #gordystofer #adamedwards #johnwithrow #jayswenson #mikemckeand #oronoschooldistrict278 #oronomountainbiketeam #oronowestonkamountainbiketeam #orono #oronomtb

And please contact the school to ask why they are continuing to condone these falsehoods and this destructive behavior in our parks:

https://ce.oronoschools.org/.../youth.../mountain-biking

kristine.flesher@orono.k12.mn.us

kimberly.king@orono.k12.mn.us

katie.zaccaro@orono.k12.mn.us

tiffany.clifton@orono.k12.mn.us

#togetherwearebetter

#communitythatcares

@friendsoforono

Orono Park Commission Open Meeting Violation?

You’d think there would be hyper vigilance with communication between the City of Orono and residents wouldn’t you? All the meeting violations and misleading commentary - all the resignations - and all the disrespectful rhetoric. We need this turned around don’t we?

Are we back to square one? On Friday we checked repeatedly for the 2/4/25 Park Commission meeting agenda and packet on the website. It wasn’t next to the City Council meeting notification like it usually is. It was buried on a hard to find page and if you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t have looked for it.

Today, at noon the Park Commission meeting and packet notification appeared suddenly in its usual spot - on the Public Meeting page. Is this an open meeting violation? Because the general public did not get 72 hours notification? Is this something that we should just let go by or should we ask for a meeting postponement?

And no, Mr. Adam Edwards, this is not an excuse for a new costly Communications employee. The City was able to send out twice daily invitations to the sad Charlie Brown Christmas/Tree Lighting Ceremony for a week but you can’t notify us of a regular meeting on the website? Hmmm. Something is fishy here.

#togetherwearebetter

#CommunityThatCares

Friends of Orono

One Man’s "Passion Project": Slated to further degrade Orono's Historic Golf Course

On Tuesday Feb. 4th the Orono Park Commission is going to try to shove through another 24 hour Mountain Bike Complex proposal - this time for the Historic Orono Golf Course.

Sadly, this is the third park that Orono Park Commissioner Rick Carter has degraded for his own niche unsanctioned activity.

For history on his last sales pitch see our video here: https://youtu.be/5w8P8th_ve8

For insight into how Carter, Orono City Administrator Adam Edwards and Orono Park Commission Chair Brian Roath maneuver behind the scenes see our website here: https://www.friendsoforono.org/oronoparkcommission

Please write to our new City Council members here and join Citizens who are trying to keep biking out of Bederwood Park and the Orono Golf Course. After all, isn’t that what the Luce Line and the surrounding half dozen single track areas are for already? And shouldn't the overarching City Ordinance be adhered to?

#togetherwearebetter

#CommunityThatCares

@friendsoforono

btunheim@oronomn.gov

abenson@oronomn.gov

spersian@oronomn.gov

jricks@oronomn.gov

https://ce.oronoschools.org/.../youth.../mountain-biking

https://lhbcorp.com/insights/lhb-leadership-transition/

kristine.flesher@orono.k12.mn.us

kimberly.king@orono.k12.mn.us

katie.zaccaro@orono.k12.mn.us

tiffany.clifton@orono.k12.mn.us

https://www.oronomn.gov/

#joeantilla #westonkamtb #oronomtb #oronowestonkamtb #moundmtb #johnwithrow #cityoforono #adamedwards #brianroath #victoriaseals #lhb

This is what is wrong about lack of due process in Orono.

Withrow’s email is an example of the ongoing backroom negotiating between a privileged few and the City of Orono out of the public eye. 

Why would the City of Orono allow an unsanctioned sports team to “adopt “ a public park that is privately land locked?  Withrow notes that the park is “largely unknown.” Lowry Woods is surrounded by private property with no public access so anyone who went to Lowry Woods was trespassing unless they had permission of one of the homeowners. And we checked - no one wanted 20-40 Mountain Bikers coming across their private property.

He misleads citizens by saying that the boys and girls team would “maintain and improve the trails.” We now know that as of the date of this letter the team had been trespassing on private property, cut limbs on private property and dug trails throughout the conserved park since sometime in the spring/summer of 2020. They had also held at least three practices and broadcast Lowry Woods Nature Conservation Area open to mountain biking on social media.

Withrow writes that Lowry Woods “would certainly remain a multiuse park”. How would he know, and why is a private citizen telling another resident about public property functionality? And why is a private citizen determining use without the public involved?

Withrow writes, “As a first, I (with my son and another member of the team) made the rounds to speak to each of the neighbors who adjoin Lowry Woods to explain the process….” Again, why is a private citizen “explaining the process” to other citizens without City representation? 

He goes on to say ”...and simply give each neighbor a contact if they have any questions or concerns.” Why is a private citizen trying to field questions and concerns about a public piece of land owned by the taxpayers?

“This would be intended for light use…” and we now know that the team had already been using the park with about 20-40 riders per practice with multiple rounds of riding throughout the protected area. Hardly “light use” not to mention that many riders crossing about 450 feet of private land up a hill past a no bikes sign to get there.

He then writes “a couple of hours per week for a few months in the summer.” We now know anyone and everyone was riding up there in 2020/2021 and practices were three times a week in the fall. So he is clearly trying to downplay how much damage dozens of riders were making in the Big Woods.

Then he writes an odd comment, “...there would be no new ‘advertisement’ of the park,” Isn’t holding public bike practice and broadcasting it on social media “new advertising” of the area?

He then admits that “...a few of the neighbors did request signs on the NorthEntry (where the Variance entry trail splits) to keep any people from accidentally going up their ‘private’ property trail and into their back yards (which is apparently pretty common already).” Irony? He’s the one trespassing and showing dozens of kids how to do it as well.

Withrow tries to wipe away the fact that Mountain Biking is one of the most dangerous sports by writing “our number one objective is safety of the kids (6th - 12th graders).”  If you are so worried about safety then why are teaching kids to disobey laws and ride in “hidden” areas?

He writes “A close second is our respect and appreciation for the land and the environment,” Oh boy, we could go on and on here but ribboning up the environment degrades it and since both Lowry and Bederwood had Big Woods, this biking really damages the old growth forests. We know, we asked experts. If he had respect for the land and the environment he would have studies and experts to validate his empty claim.

And then the biggest fib of them all “And a close third was respect for all of the neighbors and neighboring properties to this park.” Well we guess he didn’t even consider the residents and their property that he trespassed on repeatedly. He also decided to ride first and ask permission later if ever.

Who is this guy? And why is he emboldened to break laws and teach our children to do the same? And where are the school districts? Why is he or any of those individuals allowed to Coach?

#rickcarter #brianroath #michaelhuddy #gordystofer #adamedwards #johnwithrow #jayswenson #mikemckeand #oronoschooldistrict278 #oronomountainbiketeam #oronowestonkamountainbiketeam #orono #oronomtb #kimking #kristineflesher #taylorstephens #jessicawithrow