11-08-2021 City Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,November 8,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC HEARING FOR 2021 CIP BONDING—RESOLUTION NO. 7233—Continued bond issuance; if the City Council should choose to move forward and adopt this plan it opens up a 30- day petition period or a"reverse referendum."Over the 30-days,the public can come forward with a petition(signed by an amount of voters to equal to or exceeding 5%of the votes cast in the last general election)to place the measure on a future ballot,subject to a special election within the community. Mr. Anhut spoke about rates, levy implications, and tax impacts. Mayor Walsh has seen some false information on social media and noted the levy will not go up at all. Crosby clarified Stifel Financial will not be part of this bond offering,it is not allowed as it would be a conflict of interest because he works for Stifel. Mayor Walsh opened the public hearing at 7:43 p.m. Sonja Lockman, 115 Luce Line Ridge, asked about the Fire Department,what will happen to the current Public Works Building if they build a new one,and what the justification is for having 100%ownership of the Fire Department within Orono when the 50/50 ownership with Long Lake has worked for so long. She also has concerns that if Orono takes over the fire department,and Long Lake and other cities that are currently served by the jointly-owned fire department are not happy with that,what does that do to the relationship between the cities and the appropriate number of fire fighters. Mayor Walsh closed the public hearing at 7:46 p.m. Mayor Walsh explained the fire department,noting Orono has a station and equipment in Navarre which they own 100%. Orono owns about 90%of the equipment in Long Lake and shares ownership 50/50 of the facility.The contract is coming to an end and Orono is in negotiations with Long Lake to clean things up and to purchase the remainder of the items.Basically Orono would take over the contract,and Long Lake would decide whether to contract with Orono or to contract with Wayzata; he noted they do not have control over what Long Lake would do. Mayor Walsh noted the cities are having good discussions about the facility,however if they cannot purchase the other 50%of the building in Long Lake,the Public Works facility could be reworked to serve as a Fire Station. The$3,000,000 will either go towards purchasing the existing facility or redoing the current Public Works building. He noted there are many options that have come up between turning the building into pickleball courts or a community center. Crosby noted the firefighters know that the City is committed to them and committed to the safety of the people. Johnson clarified that for Orono to be paying over 80%of the fire department bill it only makes sense and is fiscally responsible to also be in control of it.He noted this is not any dissatisfaction with the fire department and they are very grateful to them. Johnson shared that Orono wants to be Long Lake's Fire Department and Police because the City can offer those services to them. Printup stated that with Orono paying over 80%that is not a"shared"building or partnership.The City Council must look out for Orono taxpayers. He reiterated there is not any dissatisfaction with anything, they love their neighbors,and the City has a good relationship with surrounding cities. Page 5 of 6