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Long Lake/Orono Consolidation Committee <br />Joint City Council Meeting <br />Monday, June 5, 2000 <br />Page 7 <br />Mayor Jabbour stated it is the official policy of the City of Ororio to assess the costs <br />of City hookup that can be reasonably justified to the residents. Jabbour stated typically in <br />a new development the residents are assessed 100 percent for the hookup. Jabbour stated <br />any costs incurred by the City are generally paid for out of the user fees that are paid by the <br />residents. <br />f*'-t; <br />t. . <br />Dick Thompson, Long Lake, expressed concerns that the establishment of wards will in <br />essence only allow one representative from Long Lake to be elected to the new city <br />council, with the remaining members being elected from Orono. Thompson also commented <br />that in his view the name should be Long Lake since most people know where Long Lake is. <br />Ken Hammerschmidt, Long Lake, stated he has a number of questions regarding the merger, <br />noting he has not had sufficient time to review all the information provided at tonight's meeting. <br />Hammerschmidt inquired whether the City of Long Lake existed as a city prior to the City of <br />Orono. Hammerschmidt indicated he has questions regarding Long Lake's tax decrease, <br />and inquired where the 50 percent savings comes from. <br />Hammerschmidt commented in his view the establishment of wards are weighted in favor of <br />Crono, and inquired what affect it would have on the merger if the name of Long Lake was <br />chosen versus Orono. <br />George Pillsbury, Orono, stated originally the Townships of Excelsior and Medina were laid <br />out six miles from either side of the lake. Due to the lake being in the middle, an additional <br />township was established called Orono by a man called Brackett. Pillsbury stated the name <br />of Orono goes back to the days of the Indians. Pillsbury stated in his opinion the name of <br />Orono predates the name of Long Lake. <br />Fifield indicated the 50 percent cost savings is reflected on page 26 of the report and applies <br />to the city portion of the ta.xes the residents of Long Lake pay. Fifield stated with a merger, <br />the residents of Long Lake will experience a decrease in their city taxes, and without a <br />merger, their taxes will continue to increase. <br />Hammerschmidt inquired what the median price of a home is in Long Lake and Orono. <br />Mayor Jabbour commented that they would not be able to arrive at a fair median price of a <br />home in Orono given the fact that one-tliird of the homes are valued under $135,000 and <br />that a number of homes within Orono are valued in the millions. Jabbour stated if those <br />higher valued homes were included in a median price, it would throw the median price way <br />off and make it invalid. <br />Peterson pointed out the City of Long Lake will also be receiving reimbursement money from