02-13-2023 City Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,February 13,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. stay in touch with everybody through the legislative process to get that in place. It's a paperwork and legislative process. Seals said the only thing she would add to it is that one of the things that the firefighters have had lots of questions on is, how do we know that if we can't work out a deal sooner than later with Long Lake that we're taken care of. So one of the commitments we've tried to make to them is that we will do everything, just to make sure that regardless of where things land,that they're set up and covered. Through working with the State what we've learned is that this process is longer than we'd like it to be. It's government, right?In order to make sure that things are not last minute, and that we have time to make sure that it happens,we have to start this now. So I'm obviously supportive of it.At the end of the day firefighters are super important to the department and the community. I just want to make sure they're taken care of. Benson asked the City Administrator if there is a possibility or is there an issue with doing this in 2024? Edwards said if Orono wants a Relief Association that's established so that we could potentially start recruiting and pulling in firefighters in 2024,we need to be in the 2023 legislative session to get that through. Benson said given that,I'm going to talk about my concerns. This predates my time on Council, but last fall in September 2022, Orono Council passed a resolution of intent to establish a fire depai tnnent.And then there was the purchasing of the ladder truck and then the hiring of a chief late in the year.And then in the beginning of this year,we voted to spend about$192,000 to refurbish the ladder truck.And it's still undetermined as to whether or not or when this truck will be able to be used given ongoing negotiations with Long Lake Fire. We find ourselves here tonight dealing with what I'd call another administrative concern or somewhat of low hanging fruit as it is paperwork to establish a fire department for the City of Orono.And to date,despite the critical importance of this issue,there has been no presentation to Orono residents outlining why we're here.And what are the viable options for service going forward,both quality of service most importantly, and also cost. There has been no cost analysis. This action to me seems to be premature given that the City of Orono has yet to inform our residents about why we're moving in this direction of an independent fire district. Where I'm coming from is until it's known that an independent fire district is the safest and most cost effective answer to fire service for a city,the notion of making permanent changes under what feels like a somewhat false sense of urgency to this Relief Association seems an unnecessary use of staff time. This action also sends a clear message that negotiations with Long Lake Fire are unlikely. And it also sets in motion a number of consequential actions and decisions that will move us further down this path that we're not certain our City needs to be on. Where I'm coming from with regard to this issue is I don't see any reason why this type of administrative requirement couldn't be tackled, and you did answer that,next year, if,and that's a big if, the City of Orono is still in a place where we feel an independent fire district is the best course of action for our residents. Seals said this is not permanent, so let's not use that word,because what we're doing is setting up a mechanism so that our firefighters are supported regardless. The word permanent is not quite accurate. I also don't think, and I don't want to speak for you,Matt, but we are completely open to still meeting with Long Lake so let's not put words in either of our mouths. The next thing on the agenda actually speaks to Page 11 of 16