02-27-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING January 9, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 10 of 12 Walsh thanked the Public Works Department for their work on plowing and clearing the streets for Orono during the past snow events. Johnson said he had received two resident calls thanking the City for taking over the snow removal on the Dakota Rail Trail, adding that it is a great public service. RECESS AND RECONVENE Mayor Walsh recessed the meeting at 7:08 p.m. The meeting was reconvened at 7:16 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS Brad Erickson, 2485 Independence Rd., stated it was unfortunate Mr. Crosby felt compelled to run out again tonight. He said he would need to clear up a few things to set the record straight and bear witness for his grandparents. He said his grandparents were born in Holland, married in 1939, and in less than a year the Nazis invaded and subjected them to things that were unthinkable, so when you send him videos invoking the deaths, the extermination of 6 million Jews, you have opened a door you will not close. Moving onto Mr. Crosby, there are a few things he said he needs to clear up after his (Crosby’s) diatribe a month ago about me (Erikson). He called me a clown. He said I’m bistrating him and degredating him. Those are not words but I have been berating him. He passed around a handout for the city that stated that Crosby was crowdfunding for the Proud Boys and showed a picture taken at the State Capitol steps that he said showed Crosby, asking what he was wearing on his knee here and his tactical gear. “He hasn’t been a fire fighter in four years but he is down there fighting BLM in and antifa? Give me a break. This is a Stop the Steal rally; this isn’t a mask mandate rally.” Mayor Walsh informed Mr. Erickson he had had his three minutes and the microphone was turned off and remained off for about two minutes. Janie Delaney, 1315 Woodhill Ave. said she was there to talk about development of historic land in Orono. She said the proposed project targets public land in Orono that has been dedicated to public golf since 1924. Orono Public Golf has the oldest golf league in Minnesota formed in 1948 and still active and was the first course in the state to have grass greens. The course is located in a quiet residential neighborhood. There has been no direct engagement strategy deployed by the city to enlist feedback from the neighborhood, golf community or the citizens other than the two scheduled open houses announced on Jan. 3. The project will decrease City open spaces and increase traffic and noise levels. Noise levels will go from seasonal golf and pedestrian sports to year-round noise levels of high-impact sports. Pickleball has been the subject of lawsuits across the country. Because it is a fast-growing sport courts have been built without adequate consideration for community impact. It is becoming increasingly known that pickleball construction is a project with serious community impacts when built in the wrong location. Already there is not enough parking at the golf course on league nights or busy days. Currently within 6 to 12 miles of Orono there are 85-plus public pickleball courts so it is already well-supported in the community and surrounding area. In 2019 the Orono Activity Center was built and has opened pickleball for the community. Communities around the metro area are looking into retro-fitting tennis courts and making better use of infrastructure that already exists. Casco Point is three miles away and has a skating rink used by youth hockey. A need for youth hockey ice time cannot drive City-wide spending.