06-10-2019 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,June 10,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Kroll stated he agrees with 90 percent of what Council Member Seals has said and that he shares her frustration with the wake boats. Kroll commented he is philosophically against big government and taxes. There unfortunately are multiple layers that are at play with the MCWD and the LMA competing with the LMCD and then the DNR. If there was no LMCD,the DNR would then have to pull two or three of their boats from counting walleyes down to Lake Minnetonka because they just do not have the manpower to monitor the lake. In addition, none of the entities really has the legislative power to write ordinances limiting speed or other items on the lake and that they need to go to the state for that. Kroll stated it is not reasonable that Orono and Minnetonka only have two of the 14 votes even though they are the two largest cities on the lake. Kroll stated he would be happy to sit down with people that want to propose a bill to the legislature to reform the LMCD,which should be done since it has been around for 50 years. Kroll stated he is of the belief there is some role for a government agency overseeing the lake. Walsh stated he does not totally disagree with that, and that part of his quotes in the paper was that he supports reworking of the goals and direction, which is what makes the most sense, instead of the government trying to grab more and more power by unelected people. Seals noted the Water Patrol is enforcing the speed rules and some of the other things on the lake,but that it is frustrating when she sees all of these line items because the LMCD does not do a good job at most of them. Seals commented she sees the same lady at the boat landing when she goes out on the lake, but that when she comes back in, she is not there. Seals stated unless they literally block all lake access,there will be problems. Crosby stated it comes down to where the zebra mussels are coming from, and it is not from the residents who live on the lake. Printup commented there are dozens of agencies overseeing the lakes, such as the individual cities,the counties,the DNR,the Army Corps of Engineers,the LMCD,the LMA, as well as federal agencies, and when there are that many agencies involved, nobody has total control over anything. Printup stated in his view Orono is taking the lead on something. Kroll thanked the City Council for allowing him to speak tonight and that he will serve the Council better. Johnson stated going forward it is important that the Council establish an expectation of the position and that he would like to hear from Mr. Kroll, whether it is biweekly or monthly, on what is happening at the LMCD. Johnson stated he can get the automatic feed from the LMCD but that he is attempting to get a more intimate view of what is going on and that he would like to see something at least every month on what is new and happening. Johnson encouraged Mr. Kroll to also update Staff on changes so they can communicate the new regulations to the residents. Walsh stated he is willing to give Mr. Kroll better direction and that in return he would ask for more communication from Mr. Kroll. Walsh stated he does not want to go past that point without giving Mr. Kroll the opportunity to improve the communication. Crosby suggested Orono also consider getting the area city councils and mayors together to discuss the issues specifically and see if they can get a coalition of people who are on board. Page 6 of 20