07-27-2020 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,July 27,2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. not impeding on the beach. He stated the proliferation of misinformation among neighbors and some inflammatory language used at the Parks meeting has prompted some people to take matters into their own hands. LLRC received a few emails, some profanity-laced, that they believe are from fake Hotmail accounts. He is not sure where that got started,but they have them and they could be forwarded to the Council. He has continually offered all of his personal contact information for anyone that has questions/ concerns. There are people that have taken that route and there have been some good, solid constructive conversations and they have cleared up misinformation. He hopes people will continue to take that route. They will not respond to threatening emails. He said the greater concern is that some of LLRC's rowers have been targeted by other watercraft during organized practices; and independent rowers, who row on their own in their own boats on their own time, have reported similar incidents. Rowers are always prepared;the boat is sometimes split. He understands it's a busy lake, but rowers cannot defend themselves against motorized watercraft and skiers who attempt to swamp their boats. The numbers are down a little because of COVID, but the incidents are still happening with concerning frequency. While they would like to think they are mainly day-trippers coming to the lake,they know some of the boats belong to residents. LLRC takes this blatant disregard for safety on the lake very seriously and will continue to file incident reports with the Hennepin County Water Patrol. He wanted the Council to know some of that behavior has been going on this summer and it's disturbing. He reminded everyone the rowers are youth and adult members of this community, a majority are residents of Orono and Long Lake, their families live in the neighborhood surrounding the lake, and they own or work in businesses here. Crosby said it was great for everyone to hear what Mr. Burrell had to say so everyone is informed. Walsh invited attendees to come up and speak but the comments would be capped at 30 minutes and the residents could decide who they wanted to come up. Ms. Angela Mahoney, 2107 Sugarwood Drive, said she came to hear what the real story was because she was disturbed by all of the garbage she was seeing on Nextdoor with inaccurate information. She is not a rower. She swims and has swam at both beaches, she has kayaked, and is interested in this park getting cleaned up because she has lived in the community for 20 years and it has always been a problematic eyesore. There have been a lot of shenanigans that have gone on; a lot of kids drinking, coking up, something got burned once. From a security standpoint, she is interested as an individual swimmer in something that would bring a little bit more professionalism and oversight and a little bit more safety. She is super excited to hear that the dock is not where the swimming beach is because then it will not impede her at all. As a swimmer, she would encourage everyone to find a solution that works for everybody. She is happy to swim at either beach, but she thinks a lot of the emails that were coming in were all of the garbage going on in the Nextdoor app. She asked everybody to listen to what the plans are and be part of the process because there can be a solution that works for everyone. Ms. Betsy Johnson,460 Long Lake Road East, has lived right across from the beach since 2012. She or her husband has been to every meeting and she can say that they love that beach. They go over there every day or sit on their front porch. There have been a few incidents they have reported; and the police have been very, very helpful. Since the cul-de-sac has been put in,there have been less shenanigans. They are really concerned about their property value. They have heard about boats that are going to be 60 feet long.Also,the property that the boat club wants is prime waterfront property;the City should not give it away. For financial reasons, it would seem that the City would get much more benefit by selling it to someone who is going to build a beautiful house and pay taxes like they do. She said they pay big taxes to be across the street from the beach, and it is disappointing that they can't get monitoring,more lighting, or a lifeguard for the beach. The City Council does not need to bring in a boat house that is going to be Page 9 of 21