03-13-2023 City Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 13,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. to build positive and respectful relationships with every member of staff that I've met. I've also invited feedback in order to address any issues that may arise.And in the absence of direct communication from staff indicating a concern,I am operating under the assumption that my actions have not caused staff to feel that they've been undermined.Finally,individual Council Members speak for themselves and I believe it's important that staff are empowered to do the same. Our City administrator recently gave a presentation that spoke to the power dynamic that exists between Council and staff It's important that Council Members recognize this dynamic is real.And from my perspective,the Mayor is welcome to speak for himself.But I believe it is not necessary,nor helpful,for him to speak for others,especially when these very individuals are present at meetings. So going forward,there may be times when I talk about difficult issues facing our City, or I may provide constructive criticism about a matter at hand. This is very different from unethical behavior or personal attack.Part of the work I will do as an elected leader is to have the hard discussions and face issues that our City is grappling with. This should not be conflated with showing disrespect or undermining others. Our job is to lead our City,especially when things are difficult.And that brings me to my third and final point tonight. Brad Erickson has been attending City Council meetings for nearly a year, and he's again with us tonight.He has stated again and again that Mayor Walsh sent a video to him over Facebook in 2020 that was objectionable and that caused serious distress. This issue has been a constant subject of public comment.It has affected the function of meetings and has taken extra resources on the part of staff. This is my third month in office and I have seen no signs that the matter is any closer to resolution than it was nearly a year ago. I met with Mr. Erickson and City Administrator Edwards several weeks ago to better understand the situation.And after doing so,I wrote a letter to my fellow Council Members and asked City Administrator Edwards to distribute it.After discussion with the City Attorney,Mr. Edwards recommended that letter be attached in the agenda packet for today's meeting. The reason was to avoid possible violation of Open Meeting Law if there might be discussion and to have any comments on the matter made in a public forum. This letter was included in the packet and therefore I'm not going to read it here. I'm asking tonight that my fellow members of Council consider the options I laid out in the letter and perhaps offer any other possible ways to address this issue. The only piece of information I'd like to add is that after speaking with the League of Minnesota Cities,it confirmed that the services of a professional mediator are available at no cost to the City of Orono. So that is all I have for tonight. Thank you. Seals said Matt Johnson,myself and Adam Edwards were down at the Capitol. We met with the City of Long Lake officials, so John Dyvik,and Charlie Miner, and then also representatives from Andrew Myers and Kelly Morrison's camps.And then also there was another, I can't remember her title,I think its executive director.Dealing with pensions,we started to have conversations about what it would look like with a transfer. I also wanted to let the group know that we've had some other conversations that were brought about to us by two firefighters,ironically a firefighter who lives in Long Lake and then a firefighter who lives in Orono,who have expressed an interest to join in the discussions with Matt, John, Charlie and I,to see if we can find a solution that both cities and the firefighters feel good about or feel okay,so lots of good conversations have happened., I wouldn't say we've landed the plane yet.We're definitely still building the plane.But I wanted to share that because sometimes I hear that the negotiations have stopped and people aren't talking, and that's just not accurate.I don't have anything formal to share,because we want to make sure Long Lake feels good with what they're going with,and same with Orono,before we bring anything back,as I've shared with them this whole way through. Matt and I are just two people.We can't make the decision.But we can let you know if it makes sense at least Page 18 of 21