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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br /> Monday,July 27,2020 <br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> Rief stated that last week Edwards had 24 site plan reviews, which is a big number, so the numbers are <br /> trending upward. <br /> Olson said they are planning to build a dock at their lake and the guy at the lumberyard said if you know <br /> you are doing a project, buy them now because he is hearing from his suppliers there could be a shortage <br /> of building supplies. When Olson asked him why that would be, he was told it goes back to the beginning <br /> of the year and some of the disruptions. His guess is there's a longer time from cutting the tree to getting it <br /> to market, so some of the supply chain disruptions might come into play. He then displayed a graph for <br /> the second quarter information and noted the City is below the last four years; however,the City is over <br /> 50%. Six weeks ago,he felt they would finish revenues at 98%, but now he believes the City should hit <br /> 100% of revenues based on what he is seeing. Regarding expenditures,the City is doing well. Last year at <br /> this time the City was at 47%of the expenditure budget;this year the City is at 44%. There're two <br /> departments that might go over budget; one is Mayor/Council,which is not related to anything the group <br /> is doing, it is the cost of the recorder, Jackie Young having retired. Human Services were at 76%of <br /> budget;the City paid the Gillespie Center for the year after they came and spoke. The only thing left to <br /> pay in that line will be the summer activities through the school district, so it will probably be around <br /> 100%. The golf course may go over budget for the year; the good news is,the revenues are going way up. <br /> He stated when the golf course was closed there was a lot of maintenance done, so it's the repairs and <br /> maintenance and buildings and grounds supplies line items that are high. There is not a lot more <br /> maintenance planned since so many things were done earlier in the year, partly because of COVID. <br /> Council Members noted it is just like the residential area; people are taking care of maintenance issues. <br /> Olson stated that, all in all,he did not see that there was anything to be concerned about in the budget at <br /> this time. There is a good reason for anything that looks suspect, and Finance will continue to watch the <br /> expenditure lines. He displayed information regarding the top vendors for the second quarter and <br /> discussed them. <br /> Council Members and Staff discussed that Unit 421 was for a dump truck that was approved in 2019 and <br /> costs associated with it. <br /> Rief stated the City goes with single-axle dump trucks because of the streets, so the City cannot buy dump <br /> trucks to fit what they need because they are municipal only. To get the best deal,the City goes through <br /> the state contract to get the chassis for X price,but the rest of the equipment goes through a different <br /> vendor to get the best price.He said pretty much all of the vehicles are built that way. <br /> Council Members commented that many of the most expensive items on the budget are totally out of the <br /> City Council's control. <br /> Printup brought up the Met Council and stated,related to utilities, 33%is Met Council for sewer. <br /> Olson said it might have been more than that. <br /> Printup stated it's a great piece of information for the public to know because it's not just that the City of <br /> Orono is billing everyone. The City is trying to keep it down on their end. <br /> Rief noted the number could be 37%. <br /> Page 17 of 21 <br />