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Orono Fire Needs Assessment <br />63 | Page <br /> <br />7.4 Recommendations for 2026 and beyond <br />7.4.1 Facility <br />1. Replace Dock on Lake Minnetonka – The City of Orono should purchase a new wider and <br />more stable dock for the fire boat and City’s pontoon. The dock should be a minimum <br />of 4 feet wide and be made out of a non-slip composite or aluminum decking. The <br />current dock was donated a while ago and is not in the best shape for use as an <br />emergency dock. It is difficult to load and unload the equipment needed for response <br />on Lake Minnetonka with the smaller width of the dock. <br />2. Orono Fire and Police Joint EOC & Training Facility – The City of Orono should review <br />adding an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), live fire training facility and classrooms <br />to Station 1 or surrounding properties for joint training usage by the fire and police <br />departments. This could be used as a regional training facility for surrounding mutual <br />aid partners on a contractual basis. It would function as the main EOC for the City of <br />Orono. The Fire Chief of Training could help run this joint training facility. This training <br />facility would fill a void in the area since there isn’t a training facility within 20-minutes <br />of our area <br /> <br />In Summary, staff recommends the following 5-year goals; equipment and apparatus <br />modernization, upgraded fire stations, 24/7 staffed stations with a combination of duty crews <br />and full-time personnel, a more efficient fire department, a joint Fire and Police Training Facility <br />and EOC. These recommendations will bring the Orono Fire Department to the current best <br />practices and national standards. Orono has the personnel and resources to move the <br />department forward and make it a model department for the future. This plan will serve as a <br />road map to the future for the department. The plan includes the ability to keep the facilities, <br />personnel and equipment up to date and meeting guidelines. It helps identify critical issues and <br />potential impediments to implementation. Raising cost and the need to identify long term <br />funding is addressed as we look into the future towards 2040. Please see Annex B for staff’s <br />long-term CIP for the Orono Fire Department. <br />