05-26-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, May 11, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 14 of 22 Seals stated she trusts Edwards’ approach and noted there would not be a headcount increase, it would save money, which are the Council’s favorite things to hear. It is another topic that is frustrating because literally last week they were talking about this issue and it came out of the blue that this has been a problem for a long time. She told Staff that if it was not on the agenda, she would add it herself as far as firing the cleaning company. She understands that Printup and herself are the Organizational Committee, but they are not the eyes and ears of everything that goes on in the City. She expects the head of the City to bring this kind of stuff to the Council proactively, as Johnson said. If the City is having people that do not have background checks as problems in the police station, it makes her sick to her stomach. She thinks this is another example of, the Council had no idea it was a problem; and when it was brought to them, they had to make a decision really fast. That is not good, thoughtful planning. Even though there is a good option, the way the City is getting to these decisions is not a “best practice.” She is in support of the plan; it is a nice plan that makes lots of sense. She wonders how many bullets the City is dodging by not having these sorts of things in front of the Council sooner. She expects the head of the City to make the recommendations or do them. If the head can make the change, they should make the change. Johnson agreed with Seals’ comments. He added that he likes this way of thinking for a position. Orono is not a big enough city where they can have specialists. To find somebody who can work in multiple areas is a level of creativity a city of Orono’s size needs in that there has to be some flexibility regardless of what your position is when you are in a smaller city. He said they discussed at the Work Session that the City has to cross-train and be flexible of what a job description looks like. He likes the idea of finding ways to provide a better product, save money, and expand job descriptions of employees. Crosby said he is comfortable with the plan. He said the Long Lake Fire Department (LLFD) recently changed their cleaning crews. He asked if the City compared costs to the crews that have taken over, because he understands LLFD has had fairly good success. Walsh stated he has no problem with the plan, it seems very creative, and he agrees with what everybody is saying. He said because the cleaners have not gotten their background checks like they are supposed to, among other issues, they could be terminated for cause immediately and not given a 30-day notice. Mattick said he agrees with Walsh. He was made aware of the situation, and if they have not done one of the fundamental things to make the contract go, the City should be able to terminate the contract immediately. Crosby asked if City Staff did any comparisons to the people handling the LLFD’s cleaning. Edwards stated the answer was no, that Staff had not begun a solicitation process prior to Council action. He noted that reaching out to other public entities to see who their cleaners were would have been part of the solicitation process. Crosby said he agrees with Walsh, that it is a big concern if they have not had background checks. The last thing the City’s Police Officers need to do is babysit cleaners. Johnson and Seals agreed with Crosby.