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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br /> September 12,2022 <br /> 6:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> podium for a couple minutes and nothing ever showed up in the Star Tribune.He noted good stuff does <br /> not get published and all the bad stuff does.About three weeks ago Mr. Petzke called the City of <br /> Minnetrista and said he was not complaining but they must do something about North Arm Road as he <br /> cannot drive his truck on the road because parts,fittings, and tools fall out and it takes him half an hour to <br /> reorganize the truck and put it all back together.He has driven on gravel roads that are better than North <br /> Arm Road near Burl Oaks Golf Course.The person at the City understood but said Mr.Petzke does not <br /> know what it takes to get it done.He noted here in Orono everything gets fixed and is in good running <br /> order.He wants to say thanks. <br /> MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT <br /> Seals really appreciates the public coming up and saying the things they did because,to be honest it is <br /> hard to be up here and to be abused,where even if you say nothing you are wrong. She said when they <br /> knocked on doors the biggest things they heard were that the roads are bad and if they can fix them,do it. <br /> The City has kept their Administrator and Public Works very busy since she has been on Council. The <br /> other thing she hears is that people do not want the City to raise tax rates and she gets that house values <br /> have gone up so people are paying more taxes, Seals does not control what Hennepin County does and <br /> she thinks it sucks. She would prefer they didn't raise the value of her house at all. The City Council is <br /> trying to work within the number they are given and trying to focus on what they hear from the public. <br /> Over the weekend Seals had people at her house from Medina,Long Lake, and Orono. She spent most of <br /> her time unraveling what they had read in the newspaper which is so unfortunate they are wasting their <br /> time on portions of stories that do not tell the whole thing. She had another call today from a coworker at <br /> her company that did not know Seals lived in Orono and said he did not know what Seals was going to <br /> tell him but made a statement that the past mayors complaining about this is a whole lot of nothing. She <br /> thanked the public again for saying those things and the silent majority are the people who want to live in <br /> their house,live in their City,and have things taken care of such as roads,a safe community with police <br /> and fire to show up when needed. Seals noted they may not always agree but the City Council will listen <br /> and hear them. She appreciates them coming to the podium and appreciates them not sitting on the <br /> podium as apparently that is a new thing. Seals spoke about parks and noted Summit Beach has also been <br /> a hot topic in the Star Tribune and regarding the Long Lake Rowing Club(LLRC)there was an open <br /> house and neither she nor Park Commission Chair Roath went because they were told by residents they <br /> did not trust them.There is a second one on September 17 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at Summit Beach and both <br /> Seals and Chair Roath will be there and would love to hear the feedback,and for the silent majority to <br /> also come because the loudest does not always represent everyone.There will be a third open house that <br /> will take the feedback from the two open houses and the survey, anyone can speak and share their <br /> thoughts and she appreciates hearing all the sides. <br /> Printup shared this Wednesday is a Fire District meeting.A few weeks ago they talked about some bullet <br /> points on a letter that was presented and asked Seals and Johnson if there are any updates. <br /> Johnson shared they have met since that time and the Long Lake City Council had their meeting. The big <br /> sticking point is that their City Council is unanimous that if they are going to move forward with a <br /> partnership with Orono they want the Board to have the control,meaning the Chief reports to the Board <br /> and is not an Orono employee.Long Lake would like to see central control and if Orono is paying 85%of <br /> the bill,Long Lake would like to see Orono not use how much they contribute to the budget as their <br /> voting leverage but would like to see a format that does not give Orono veto power. <br /> Page 7 of 9 <br />