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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />January 9, 2023 <br />6:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 3 of 12 <br /> <br />and would like to add her voice to theirs. She noted the City of Orono does not have approval from Long <br />Lake that they will go with Orono’s proposal and yet here we are with a fire truck. She said feel like we <br />have gotten out in front of our skis. She would like to know more about this whole fire situation and <br />doesn’t feel like residents have gotten enough information. <br /> <br />Seals said both she and Council Member Johnson are on the negotiation committee and you are right that <br />there is no agreement in place between the two cities (Orono and Long Lake) but between the cities <br />served by Long Lake Fire there is no back-up engine. This truck would serve as back-up for an engine <br />and as a ladder for the taller buildings in the City. One of the city’s greatest responsibilities we have is to <br />provide fire service to our residents. A lot of equipment servicing this area is really old. Orono still has <br />the opportunity to work with Long Lake and the City would be willing to put this truck on loan to them. <br />While this might seem like putting the cart before the horse, this is making sure your fire fighters have the <br />tools they need to get to your house when there is a fire. There are still ongoing talks. Matt and I met with <br />the committee last month. They are supposed to be giving us a response after their next council meeting <br />but that is in their control. <br /> <br />Johnson said what’s in front of us right here is the conversation about rehabbing of that equipment. He <br />noted that the other piece of this is that at a Future fire services meeting, that neighboring communities <br />also attend, there was a proposal coming from City of Wayzata, and part of the services provided is <br />mutual aid. He explained that under Mutual Aid, when we have a big fire then our neighboring <br />communities assist with that fire and we do the same thing on the police side too. Wayzata and Maple <br />Plain have ladder trucks and when the City of Orono (Long Lake Fire) has a fire that requires a ladder <br />truck mutual aid comes. The Cities don’t pay one another for mutual aid. The other departments wanted <br />Long Lake Fire to pay $700,000 for ten years to contribute to their new ladder truck. That spurred a <br />conversation and a great piece of government work. The city found a used ladder truck for $350,000 and <br />it is being refurbished for under $200,000 and Orono will own it. We’ll get 10-plus years of service and <br />we took the additional steps of outsourcing different components of this refurbishing, to really get our <br />price down as far as we could. This will allow the city to provide a better level of service to the <br />community since it will be inside the city, instead of coming from abutting cities, adding it is the fiscally <br />responsible thing to do. He said Orono has been paying for 85 percent of the equipment purchases <br />through Long Lake Fire so would be paying 85 percent of this regardless. He said it’s a piece of <br />equipment we understood that we need and we did a terrific job as a community creating a solution that <br />saves the taxpayers money. <br /> <br />Ms. Brantingham again asked the council to pay attention to the request that was made at the Long Lake <br />meeting for a meeting for our city to continue to provide residents with information on this Long Lake/ <br />Orono whole Fire Department situation. We just need information. <br /> <br />Johnson said that time will be most appropriate when we know what Long Lake is going to do. We are <br />waiting for their response. Right now, we’re in limbo. In the meantime, we have to make sure you have <br />fire service. <br /> <br />Mrs. Brantingham thanked the council for the clarity but said I’m just asking again that the council <br />commit to holding an informational-type meeting like what was done in Long Lake for citizens of Orono, <br />so we understand what is at stake here and what it will cost Orono residents. <br /> <br />Benson asked where the truck is currently and was told it is at the public works building. She asked if this <br />dollar amount for rehabbing is for all of the items needed.