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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 13, 2015 7:00 o’clock p.m. __________________________________________________________________________________ Page 25 of 40 (7. #14-3686 JOHN BESSESEN AND TOM WASMOEN ON BEHALF OF DAVID DELANEY, 2500 KELLEY AVENUE continued) Heimbach stated the only thing he knows about Dave Delaney is that every time he makes a check out to the City of Orono, it is deposited in his bank. Heimbach stated it is like Mr. Delaney is treating the neighbors like he does not care what they think or feel and that he is just interested in making money. Heimbach indicated he agrees with Council Member Cornick that this is a credibility issue and that the neighbors were lied to at the neighborhood meeting by John Bessesen. Bessesen stated he disagrees with that remark. McMillan requested Mr. Bessesen allow Mr. Heimbach to finish. Heimbach stated exactly what happened was all the same objections were raised at the first City Council meeting. As a result, it was suggested that there be a neighborhood meeting. At that meeting there was another presentation, including a phase two, which will be along County Road 19. When the meeting was not going well, John Bessesen got up and said, okay, I understand the objections, I am going to drop the twinhomes and go with single-family homes. Heimbach stated the very next day, because there was no one from the City in attendance at the meeting, he wrote Andrew Mack a letter setting forth exactly what happened at that meeting because of his concern that the meeting would be sugar coated. Heimbach stated John Bessesen lied to the neighbors and there is no doubt about it. Bessesen stated he said it would be easier for him to build four-single family houses and he had that option. Bessesen stated he has an agenda that he is doing and he has an obligation to take it through to the City Council. Bessesen indicated he is not going to stop just because someone does not like him. Any other developer will not stop because they have had one neighborhood meeting. Bessesen stated they had everything planned out and that they met with the Watershed people, the fire marshal and other people on the site. Bessesen stated they were doing their homework and that they were threatened by the neighbors because they had a sewer collapse. Bessesen stated the meeting was chaos the first time and that it has been an uphill battle. Bessesen noted this site is sitting next to a property that is zoned commercial and that he is planning on developing it. Bessesen noted almost everything in Navarre is within 1,000 feet of the lake and that perhaps the law should be changed since 1,000 feet is excessive. Bessesen stated he came to meet with the neighbors and give a presentation. Bessesen indicated he became so frustrated that he almost had to call the man from the Freshwater Institute to ask the residents to leave. Bessesen stated he has a right to take his plan to the City and he does not have to say that he is going to stop it. Bessesen noted he has had two years of this and the City had an interim planner that wasted a huge amount of their time. Bessesen stated he came to do a job and that he does not like to be called a liar. Bessesen stated he wants to make that crystal clear. Bessesen indicated he did not shake anybody’s hand except for the person that heckled him and later came up to apologize to him. Bessesen indicated he was pretty frustrated that night and that in his view the Planning Commission lost their focus. City Council Meeting April 27, 2015 Page 27 of 257