07-12-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, June 28, 2020 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 3 of 6 PRESENTATIONS – Continued developed by Senior Community Services is a free online care team tool that helps caregivers coordinate care of a loved one by assigning and organizing tasks, locating local resources, and journaling visits, updates and progress. During Covid-19 they introduced Virtual Programs including virtual tours of museums, games, puzzles, crafts, and more. The Gillespie Center is run by volunteers and they contract for some of their services through Senior Community Services. Ms. Navratil spoke about the COVID Shutdown Plan, and how they kept staff and community members safe during the pandemic. She noted they had one case of COVID-19 in December 2020, they closed down for two weeks, did a deep clean, and were able to reopen again. She shared their financial picture at the end of 2020 and noted it was pretty dire as there were no fundraisers for a year; member dues and support from the cities go into their Investment Fund so day-to-day operations were close to not having money. Thankfully, 10 years previous a Reserve Fund was started and they were able to tap into that fund which is how they are currently operating. In May, fundraisers began again, and activities continue to return, including the Coffeehouse, Card Groups, Square Dancing, Ukulele Group, Cribbage, Quilters, Movies, Defensive Driving, and Wednesday Lunches. She noted the SCS program served 39 Orono residents, and the Center has 31 registered members from Orono. They are celebrating 20 years in July and are planning an anniversary celebration on October 15, 2021. Mayor Walsh thinks they do a great job and will put it on their calendars in October to come and celebrate. 10a. TOUR DE TONKA – TIM LITFIN Tim Litfin gave a presentation on the upcoming Tour de Tonka on Saturday, August 7, 2021. He noted many major sponsors making the event happen; registration started well and many of those are brand-new to the event. He showed some historical numbers and said they have had riders from 43 states throughout the years. The bikers travel through many cities including Orono and they are looking forward to the Tour. He noted people can ride or volunteer for the event at www.tourdetonka.org. 10b. WESTONKA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Liz Vandam, 5816 Grand View Blvd, Mound, represents the Westonka Historical society, stating they preserve and share the history of local areas. During the shutdown, they started phase 2 of their inventory and are supported through a Legacy Grant which enabled them to add 2 more rooms to the history museum which is filled with more exhibits. Families and children are welcome to come to the history center in Mound, and they have a quarterly newsletter where they highlight one of the five cities they represent; she brought some past newsletters for the Council to view. Ms. Vandam stated during COVID- 19, 6 of the 9 historical societies that preserve Lake Minnetonka history gathered together and received a grant and they are looking to form some kind of alliance and perhaps even consolidation to align their strengths and resources rather than working side-by-side. They are always looking for volunteers, working on fundraisers, and will start on a “Pastport” project, and are inviting everyone to celebrate July as Lake Minnetonka History Month. Mayor Walsh thinks it is very interesting to go and take a tour to see the build-up of Mound, what it used to look like, the history of Tonka Toys.