04-10-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 21, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 6 of 8 MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Benson said she had three items to discuss. She was invited to attend the annual meeting at the Gillespie Center in Mound, which is a senior citizen’s center. It was the first time she had visited and in addition to being a gathering space, she was impressed by the services offered such as tax assistance and programming addressing senior mental health. She noted the center accepts donations of unused greeting cards. Benson said her second item was to revisit the letter she wrote to the Council earlier this month presenting three options to address the matter involving Mr. Erickson: option one, an apology from the Mayor; option two, mediation through the League of Minnesota Cities; and option three, continuing on the present trajectory. What I would offer is that the current situation, or continuing on this trajectory, is not ideal. One of the very real effects of this situation is the amount of staff time that has been devoted to it. She said having an officer stationed at all Council meetings is a huge amount of time and resources that could be spent in the community. Benson said she had an opportunity to do a ride-along with the Police Department which gave her an even greater understanding of how important those hours are for police to be available to serve the community. She clarified that no Council Member alone can direct staff to take any actions, so any movement toward a resolution to the issues facing the Council would require a majority vote. Benson said the third item that I want to address is the remarks that were made at the Council meeting last week, March 13. As I said at the time and in the past, I will address on record any time statements are made that are presented as fact that are not so, because words matter. When I am aware of false statements made on record, I will address them. She said Mayor Walsh had stated at the last meeting that she met with Mr. Erickson at City Hall because she was afraid of him. In fact, she said, one of her reasons was that City Hall is a place where every member of the community should feel welcome. The second reason was because City Administrator Edwards is a seasoned professional with a great deal of knowledge about the workings of the City and can provide a third-party perspective and be able to attest to the content of a conversation. Thirdly, City Administrator Edwards was present at City Hall. Mayor Walsh presumed to know my intentions and speak about his perception as if it were a fact, when it was not. Going forward, I would ask Mayor Walsh to please consider that the words being used in Council meetings have weight to them. And I will not look past false statements or opinions that are presented as fact. The process of addressing these statements on the record is time-consuming and could be avoided in the future with more consideration given to the statements made during Mayor Council Reports. Crosby said looking back over the years he wonders what happened. People can have a disagreement without being shouted upon, disparaged, interrupted. There can't be discussion anymore in a polite manner. He said he and former Councilmember Printup had sat down with Mr. Erickson and his attorney and handled themselves like gentlemen. We tried to come to an agreement to move forward to understand the situation. There was no agreement. We're elected officials. We're not elected to sit here and take