04-10-2023 City Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING April 10,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. like yourselves at the City Council and the Mayor. If it were not for you,I think this would start to resemble Minneapolis.And as far as January 6, I'd said this last year, if that had been done by the left, it would have been lauded as the best thing since sliced bread. But because right did it, it's the worst thing in the world. I'd like to speak to Council Member Benson about a comment she made last month,which I thought was highly disingenuous about the police.Because of people like Mr.Erickson I am very thankful that the police are here, and I hope he's armed. I think it was very poorly spoken that taking him away from his job for an hour a month would somehow raise the crime rate. But I just appreciate you guys.I hope you can withstand. There's like three people in the City that are always on Next Door. Unfortunately,it's become very politicized.And that's part of the reason why I'm here as well. So just keep the faith. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Benson noted she was scheduled to be the Council rep to the Planning Commission on April 17 but she would not be able to attend. She and Seals discussed possibly switching for the May meeting.I do have a couple of other points to make tonight. Benson mentioned Earth Day and the City clean-up on April 22 and said she would like to see the City continue to expand this event. She said the Northwest Hennepin League of Municipalities is meeting Wednesday and although she won't be attending to represent Orono she was excited that the newly-elected Hennepin County Sheriff,Dawanna Witt,would be speaking as she is the first black woman to be elected to that position in the State of Minnesota. I regret that I will not have a chance to meet her that night but I look forward to hopefully crossing paths with her in the future. I would like to address the comments that were made just a moment ago with regard to my respect for our Police Department. I believe the comments that I made were intended to show a great deal respect and they came on the heels of a ride-along that I did with one of our officers.And as a former social worker, as somebody who worked closely with the police in my professional career,I have the utmost respect for the men and women who do the work of policing in the City of Orono.I regret if any comments I made at that meeting struck folks the wrong way. That was not my intention. Finally,I would ask that my fellow Council Members consider the great toll that this ongoing situation with Mr.Erickson is taking on our residents and our staff and wider community. My suggestion to engage with the League of Minnesota Cities for no-cost professional mediation is just one possible solution.And without assigning blame,I think it behooves us as the elected officials and representatives of this community to dig deep and consider the fact that we were elected to do the hard work that comes along with City governance. I urge my fellow Council Members to consider the fact that no action is still a choice,it's an action in itself. And while we can't necessarily control what happens at all times,we can certainly have a hand in making the choices that we do as elected officials and working towards a solution. We need not run from difficult work. I urge you, again,to consider alternatives,if those that I presented are not to your liking. Johnson said are you insinuating we're running from difficult work now?I'm not really sure what the point of that statement was. He added he wanted to bring attention that the brush site is now open after a delay due to soft ground. Seals said most of the calls she has received been about Clean-up Day April 22 from 8 a.m.to 2 p.m. She asked about the hours at the brush site. Page 7 of 8