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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, March 29, 2020 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 3 of 4 <br /> <br />CITY ATTORNEY REPORT – Continued <br /> <br />that collapsed away because people were swerving around that. He noted this has a lot of other <br />ramifications other than just that direct police/fire response. Johnson does think they should have the <br />capacity to be able to enforce it. <br /> <br />Printup said then if they ever need it - wonderful. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh said it sounds like they could have a cause of action for this, but it may be good on top of it <br />to put something in the ordinance they can point people to, versus the City Council just making a one-off <br />decision here and there. <br /> <br />Johnson asked if they know for a fact that it was an unattended fire. <br /> <br />Attorney Mattick has not done any investigation into it. He has heard that the residents basically said <br />they lit the fire, did not pay attention, went in to the house for a bit, and it got away from them. <br /> <br />Johnson thinks there should be some sort of fine associated with that type of behavior. It does not make <br />them a bad person but it was a poor choice that affected a lot of people. <br /> <br />Attorney Mattick said every once in a while the DNR will have a story about a fire that got away and then <br />it tears through a wetland or a forested area and DNR has to mobilize the choppers and buckets. His <br />understanding is that they are pretty vigorous about going after the expenses associated with that; they do <br />exercise some judgment on whether it was carelessness or if it was a different situation. In this case, it <br />was the Long Lake Fire Department that did the damage, but it was in response to the fire. He noted they <br />would have to walk people through that, show causation, and prove it up if they were to pursue it. <br /> <br />Mayor Walsh thinks it would be worth a letter from the City Attorney and the City Administrator <br />outlining the dollar amounts and that they would like to have a discussion about it and hopefully avoid <br />any court issues. He asked Attorney Mattick if there is some model language they can put in the code to <br />point people to. <br /> <br />INTERIM CITY ADMINISTRATOR/FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT <br /> <br />Olson noted this would be his last time giving a report and he would gladly relinquish the City <br />Administrator title to Mr. Edwards (who was appointed as City Administrator in the Consent Agenda). <br />He noted at the last meeting it was said that the Planning Director should give a report at each meeting, so <br />Jeremy Barnhart is present to share. <br /> <br />Barnhart thanked the Council for hiring Katie Fitzsimmons as the Planning Assistant as they are now <br />back to full staff and can get going on some other projects. They will be sending out septic pumping <br />reminder letters in the next couple of weeks so people send in their pumping reports to keep records <br />updated. He noted last year was the first year for the City docks on Crystal Bay Road where four private <br />properties used City land to put a dock up. Two of those have paid for this year so far and Barnhart has <br />asked them to pay before they put the docks in. Barnhart said MNSPECT has indicated a desire to review <br />the fee schedule so they will incorporate that as part of their normal review in the fall. <br /> <br />Walsh asked how it is going so far with MNSPECT.