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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br /> Monday,June 14,2021 <br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> PUBLIC COMMENTS—Continued <br /> Mayor Walsh would defer that to Mr. Hillegass' own counsel. <br /> Mr.Hillegass noted he is representing himself.He is ready to talk anytime anyone wants to talk. <br /> Amy Antilla of Minnetrista, is present somewhat representing the Orono and West Tonka Mountain Bike <br /> Teams. <br /> Mayor Walsh clarified it is an agenda item and they will discuss it later on. <br /> PRESENTATION <br /> 17. COMMISSIONER CHRIS LATONDRESSE UPDATE <br /> Mr.LaTondresse is the newly elected Commissioner for Hennepin County District 6 and gave a short <br /> update to build on the practice of his predecessor Jan Callison,who once a year tried to make it to each of <br /> the 16 cities in District 6 for a short County update. He is committed to ensuring the partnership between <br /> Hennepin County and the City of Orono remains strong for years to come. He is proud of the ways they <br /> have met the moment,combatting the Covid-19 virus directly through testing and vaccination,providing <br /> extra help to residents and small businesses who have needed it,and to rethink how they serve people.He <br /> noted emergency rental assistance programs of over$16,000,000 and another allocation of$31,000,000 <br /> from the federal government to help with this assistance through the end of the eviction moratorium and <br /> out the other side. The single biggest thing Hennepin County has spent money on during the pandemic is <br /> small business grants, investing more than$69,000,000 to small businesses. He is advocating for another <br /> allocation of dollars to go to small businesses to help them through some of the economic impacts. He <br /> spoke about public safety and mental health,including posting a full-time social worker at 911 dispatch to <br /> better understand those mental health calls. Commissioner LaTondresse highlighted infrastructure <br /> projects and the climate action plan which is a roadmap to mitigate the impacts of climate change.His top <br /> priorities as Commissioner include housing,public safety, and economic inclusion. <br /> Mayor Walsh congratulated Mr.LaTondresse on his election and noted Ms. Callison was stalwart in <br /> helping out Orono for a long time. He noted his top priorities include the relationship with roads to make <br /> sure they are upgraded and brought up to par, and making sure the Sherriff's patrol is adequately funded <br /> because they manage everything on the lake and he wants to make sure they are funded correctly. <br /> Seals noted Orono has 24 parks and Ms. Callison was a good partner in making sure when Orono was <br /> trying to do improvements that they partnered with Hennepin County.Making all of that accessible to <br /> more people would be a priority for her. Partnering on grants and keeping their parks fresh is important. <br /> Johnson said regarding landlords, some of the help they need is to get the eviction courts back open;he <br /> thinks the tremendous financial risks that landlords take for their own investment is forgotten.Many <br /> landlords have been left behind and as mentioned there are some programs to help with payment which <br /> takes some cooperation out of a tenant. With those eviction courts being closed it has taken away a tool <br /> for the tenant to secure their financial interest; if there is an area that can help landlords it would help to <br /> get that balance of power back to an even place with two people under contract that have equal rights <br /> under the law. <br /> Page 3 of 13 <br />