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. Seals moved,Johnson seconded,to authorize staff to request the Youth Sports Grant Application be removed from this round of consideration. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS Nancy Brantingham, 3185 County Road 6, Long Lake, said during the public comments at the January 9 Council meeting she requested that the Orono City Council hold an informational meeting similar to the one held by the City of Long Lake to inform residents about Orono's decision to end the current relationship between the two cities related to fire services.At that time, Councilman Johnson stated that as soon as Long Lake had made a decision regarding Orono's offer the City would inform citizens regarding the fire depai tiiient's situation. I responded to the Councilman that with all due respect, it is not necessary to wait until things are settled to inform citizens about this situation. Indeed, citizens should be informed and have opportunities for input before final decisions of this importance are made. The City of Long Lake took just such an approach last fall providing information about the entire process and the available options and allowing ample time for citizen input. That said,I would now request that the City of Orono hold a public hearing for our citizens and I respectfully request the following: one,that the Council explain how and why the decision was made to terminate the current arrangements with Long Lake;two, what the true costs of going it on our own will be;number three,why the Council has shown no obvious interest in exploring other options, including the formation of a multi-community fire district as neighboring cities appear to be doing. Brad Erickson, 2485 Independence Road in Independence,Minnesota, said I have a business at 2160 West Wayzata Boulevard and have had for many years now. If you see something, say something,that's how I was brought up. And it seems to be a common theme going forward with our government and shit that's going on in our government. It's been a long 10 months since I first discovered the now infamous Holocaust video sent to me by you,Mayor Walsh. The comparisons of current day America to Nazi Germany and the extermination of 6 million Jews makes me sick.And it's shameful. I never would have imagined such filth and disgusting rhetoric being disseminated from the office of the Mayor of this town. Nor would I have imagined it heading straight to the Capitol in Washington DC on January 6,2021. But that is exactly where it led.Approximately six months ago a man from a local prominent family approached me about Mr. Crosby and a mutual friend traveling to Washington DC to take part in the events that unfolded on January 6,2021 and they were bragging about it with others upon their return, including selfies that were taken out there on the steps.I immediately requested a meeting with Mr. Crosby at my attorney's office,which Mr. Printup arranged, and attended on August 3, 2022 for 2.2 hours. Contrary to Mr. Crosby's version, however,he was less than forthcoming about his involvement with the January 6 matter and instead spent most of the time pleading with me to forgive you,Mr. Mayor, for the video you had sent me.Yes,you did.Are you denying that you sent me that?You should. Only after unsuccessfully negotiating with me and out of concern for his own political future, Mr. Crosby and you, Mr. Walsh, set about to publicly defame and discredit me. This started on August 22, approximately two weeks after the January 6 meeting and took place in this very chambers.After the initial attempt by this mayor to attack my character failed,I was forced into legal action and set off in a whole new direction which led to places no one could believe unless they had seen it for themselves. While it is truth for some to believe that January 6 was no big deal and constitutes fake news, for the majority it is an enormous stain on our democracy here and around the world; in other words,this is a big deal and must never Page 15 of 16