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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING November 28 2022 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 8 of 8 video which Crosby did not send to the gentleman, it is irrelevant, and he claims to hate Nazis yet at every opportunity he has threatened, tried to intimidate, and everything in his behavior is intimidation, degradation, and trying to squelch free speech. Crosby presented himself to the man with respect and kindness and has sat here as his character has been attacked. He noted he has served this community and has never incited violence and regarding “tactical gear” he was wearing a Trump hat, fire fighter boots, and fire fighter pants which are not tactical gear. Crosby has never once in his entire life incited violence. Rather, he was fighting for this State to open up and let people go back to work, he was not in for the lockdowns, and he will never fight against anyone’s right to believe in what they want to believe in. Regarding the current interruptions by this gentleman while Crosby has been speaking, Crosby did not interrupt the gentleman once but handled him with respect, kindness, and dignity. Everybody is entitled to their opinion because there is free speech and free assembly in this country. Crosby has never, ever condoned violence, and stated the burnings in Minneapolis disgusted him. If anyone wants to know where Crosby stands on an issue, he asked the citizens to reach out and call him and whether they agree or disagree on something, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Mayor Walsh attended the fire meeting and was at the Planning Commission meeting. Regarding Mr. Turbeville pointing out easements he did not get, Mayor Walsh noted over time all the easements had to be done to get those properties built. The land being talked about is one acre zoning which means they cannot build apartment complexes or 20 houses. When the owner came five years prior he had about 7-8 houses total between the 5 acres and 10 acres and Mayor Walsh clarified that is zoned two acres. He noted as long as it fits two acres, and setbacks are correct, they can build whatever they want as long as they meet those requirements. He finds it ironic that all the other properties received variances over time to get rid of the alleys in the middle of their yards to build. As a City, Mayor Walsh thinks there are issues in the area that need to be solved due to the platting being done before Gray’s Bay Dam was put in and raised the water 15 feet. He thinks they may need to be proactive and itemize all the lots that have problems on Forest Lake and reach out to the owners to see if they can be solved. Mayor Walsh spoke about lake access points, private property, and the DNR policy which is to deny. He noted many people get on social media to complain, such as with the upcoming fireworks. He read one comment from Barbara L. Schmidt which says “The Council approved it [the fireworks] and Victoria spoke about it at last Monday’s Council meeting. She said blowing up fireworks for little kids in Orono is more important than donating to charity so maybe it was her decision.” Mayor Walsh stated that is a complete lie, too, Seals never said that, and people are not afraid to post complete lies on social media, also. He noted the next meeting will be Mr. Printup’s last meeting and Mr. Printup will run the meeting. Mr. Printup hopes there is not any cussing and yelling at his last meeting. ADJOURNMENT Crosby moved, Printup seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 7:10 p.m. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. ATTEST: _____________________________________ _______________________________________ Anna Carlson, City Clerk Dennis Walsh, Mayor