10-12-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 28, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 4 of 9 Mayor Walsh noted there are a lot of things going on that don’t meet policy or procedure anywhere right now and it’s all about destruction and non-support, and the Council’s support is vitally important to make sure the service members and citizens understand where they stand unrepentantly. Crosby and Mayor Walsh discussed having flags for the services the City provides, which are Police and Fire. Printup can absolutely support that, saying God Bless America; God Bless the Police; God Bless Veterans. The Council agreed to move the flag to another pole, and work on creating a policy in the future. Crosby asked the Police Chief, who was present at the meeting, if he’s okay with this consensus. Police Chief Farniok answered in the affirmative. PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR/CITY ENGINEER REPORT 9. Winter Maintenance of Three Rivers Park District Regional Trails Edwards said over the last year they’ve talked about taking on portions of the Three Rivers District Trail network and it is that time of year to send the paperwork in to them for the upcoming season. He wants to reconfirm what the Council has talked about in work sessions and this is indeed something the City wants to spend resources on. If so, Edwards made adjustments to the City’s snow and ice policy and as they talked about in today’s work session there is a piece of equipment recommended on the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in 2021. He stated if the Council is amenable, they’d like to pull the procurement of that equipment up so they’d have it for at least part of this season. Edwards said he took away from recent meetings that the Council would like to take on the Dakota Regional Trail within the City boundaries, and sections of the Independence Trail. Crosby asked if Edwards factored out the cost structure for Spring Park and Minnetonka Beach. Edwards replied no, but the City gets $500 per mile, per season from Three Rivers Park District. If Orono plowed regional trails through other communities, they’d still qualify for that; the part they’d need to discuss with sister communities is whether they will help contribute to make up the difference between what Three Rivers reimburses versus what it would actually cost to do that work. He noted he hasn’t calculated those numbers yet. Printup said he loves the idea. Seals agreed. Printup is glad Johnson brought it up in the past, and said this is a great way to give back to residents and offer something more for them. Johnson stated he thinks Orono doing this will put pressure on the other cities as well, because people will be using the trails.