03-30-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO EMERGENCY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Wednesday, March 18, 2020 3:30 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Dennis Walsh, City Council Members Richard Crosby, II, Matt Johnson, Aaron Printup, and Victoria Seals (attending remotely). Representing Staff were City Administrator Dustin Rief, Development Director Jeremy Barnhart, Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards, City Attorney Soren Mattick. and Police Chief Correy Farniok. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Walsh stated the purpose for the emergency meeting was in regard to the coronavirus; an emergency meeting has never been called before in Orono. He said initially the Department of Health guidelines included spatial distances, groups of less than 50, and increased hand -washing. The previous Friday, Governor Walz made the decision to close public schools on Wednesday; Orono made the decision to close on Monday. On Monday evening, the Governor ordered all bars, restaurants, and nightclubs to close. He noted no matter what kind of stimulus package is offered, money will be lost by Minnesota citizens. While talking to a barista at a coffee shop, he discovered that teenagers are still out and about, and some people are not being allowed to go to their jobs and will be struggling financially. He encouraged everyone to help by going out for take-out as much as possible, tip often, and tip a lot to help support the community. He noted this is the time when the City Council needs to make thoughtful, careful decisions and stand behind Staff. He and Rief made a decision that the Department of Health guidelines were good and still are good guidelines. Codes allow the City to re -manage schedules, furlough people, and make decisions on hours and where people are going to make sure things are taken care of. In addition, the President declared a National Emergency, which means there are federal dollars available for some type of relief, which is being looked at daily. Because a state of emergency has been declared in Orono, it allows the City to have access to those funds for work issues such as if extra people are needed, overtime hours, etc. Once the City decided to declare an emergency, the City Attorney did extensive research in order to come up with a plan. He noted they would like to give Staff as much flexibility as possible to take care of whatever issues are in front of them. Crosby suggested neighborhood emails as a good way to contact others. He said the finger -pointing is irrelevant. People need to be able to help their neighbors, especially the elderly and sick. He noted the virus is not the issue. People need to come to the forefront and help each other, and they need to stop hoarding. He stated the more countries that work together to find a cure, the better off everyone is going to be. He encouraged kindness, politeness, and respectfulness. He thanked everyone for all of their work to this point and stated that we will get through this together. Printup noted he had a list of statements and questions which may or may not be contained in the emergency responses. In his world, he has covered a lot of these issues and wants to make sure they are covered at the City level as far as the internal controls and mechanisms for Staff. He thanked everyone for their work so far. Walsh said Printup might have some of the same items that would be presented. He asked if Johnson had any general comments he wished to make. Printup said leave time has been brought up and satisfied. In addition, authorizing work from home for those who can, if there is anything covering the at -risk employees and children, and canceling or postponing public face-to-face services and creating plans for how to deliver those services. If vacations Page 1 of 8