09-12-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, August 22, 2022 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 of 9 Johnson asked to expand on the question about whether the City Council has approved it or not. Edwards noted one concern he has is in regard to the letter from Long Lake which seems to insinuate that the City of Orono has already approved the purchase of the truck under the 2002 fire contract. He cannot find any record of the City having done so; he noted they did approve their own Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) but that is only a guiding document and does not authorize the purchase of anything. Edwards noted they have had Chief Van Eyll out to ask about the two command vehicles and in the Council action memo they said it would be 100% owned by Orono. In Edwards’ opinion the City of Orono has not given the approval the City of Long Lake thinks they have. This is the reason Edwards would like to give Long Lake clarification on the item. Johnson clarified the City Council approved 100% of one vehicle the previous year (2021) that was cancelled. Edwards replied that was for 100% City of Orono ownership. Mayor Walsh noted in the last few Council meetings they approved the purchase of two vehicles at 100% Orono ownership. He does not know why there would be any reason to go back and do it a different way. Johnson spoke about conversations with the negotiation team consisting of Long Lake Mayor Miner and Councilmember Jahn Dyvik, and noted the Mayor stated if the deal with Orono falls apart, under the terms of the contract Long Lake has first right of refusal to buy anything in the contract. Johnson noted 90 days prior to the expiration of the contract is when Long Lake must make their decision and he stated procuring vehicles takes between 18-24 months for some fire vehicles. As he understands it, there are six vehicles available but only two with chips, therefore there is a shortage of vehicles. He shared Long Lake’s position that if Orono purchases one on their own that is fine and if they cannot come together on an agreement, Long Lake has a vehicle and Orono has a vehicle. Johnson is in favor of doing one of each and thinks it is an important component to Long Lake that Orono follows the contract they are currently in. Johnson noted Orono has not received legal advice on it yet but noted this was the surface-level conversation. Seals agrees and noted these two vehicles are not big purchases and Orono needs to be very thoughtful when they look at engines as that is a longer timeline and bigger cost. This is a good middle-ground and stated the two cities are seeing things from very different sides which is why the situation is challenging. She said doing one under the contract and one out of the contract protects both sides and she would be in support of that, also. Johnson moved, Seals seconded, to approve the purchase of Command Vehicle #2 in accordance with the 2002 Fire Contract. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. Johnson shared in July, he and Councilmember Seals began meeting with Mayor Miner and Councilmember Dyvik with the goal to better understand both cities’ positions. He noted the City of Orono and this City Council has tremendous respect for the +100-year relationship of the Fire Department. The fundamental question going into the meetings is: how does a City that pays 85% of the expenses create a contract with another city that represents 10%, yet not isolate that city? He noted it is a hard task because the cities are not evenly-sized. Johnson stated there is some clear mistrust on the part of both cities in entering in to these negotiations, yet they went into this trying to find a way to preserve the