06-12-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING May 22, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 4 of 12 everything in his power to make sure they no longer sit in those seats. He said both have a lot to hide and don’t have as much support as they think they do. Jason Hedeen, 2508 Arcola Lane, said he had been watching from a distance and can’t believe how silly some of these people are. He said he has engaged some of these people online and there is nothing behind what they are saying. If he asks for details there is nothing, he said, and he is sick of it. Jay Nygard, 1386 Rest Point Road, said he was disappointed in Richie Anderson who had been a good steward of the community for so many years and then tonight came out with a purely political statement which is entirely inaccurate. He said he was at the May Coffee with the Mayor and it was Cass Holloway who was the bully and that it was on video. He said he and Holloway have discussed it since and he understands his frustration but can’t condone the approach he took that day. Nygard said once again he was here to talk about the Mayor and his comments because once again the Mayor’s own past comments have been used against him. He quoted the Mayor from 2012 when he was running for office saying that he applauded the Long Lake Fire Department and stated fire safety was going very well and the partnership should be continued. A resident of Lake City Minnesota said he was visiting friends and family in the area and he would like to know the status of residents’ calls for resignations from the Council as he had never heard so much applause for resignations. FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT 10. DRAFT FIRE DEPARTMENT NEEDS ASSESSMENT PRESENTATION Fire Chief Van Eyll presented the Orono Fire Draft Needs Assessment, reviewing fire and EMS needs for the City of Orono and how to best provide those services. He said the assessment identified needs for improvement which does not mean the firefighters have not been doing a good job. He said he understands how stressful this is for the fire fighters and their families. He added he felt Orono is the only city he can work with to keep the fire fighters together and the only city that can support the organization and allow the creation of the Fire Department the firefighters and the citizens deserve. His presentation included a PowerPoint with a history of fire service in the community, saying the City has been served over the years by four Fire Departments, sometimes at the same time covering different areas of the community. Currently it is served by one Department and the contract expires at the end of 2025. He said Orono is paying 84.76 percent of the budget for the Department, accounts for 72 percent of the calls, and the current fleet is at or near the end-of-life. The 2023 Orono budget for fire is $895,000 which is more than is called for contractually. He said the main question that has come through on the comment cards is why start a municipal Fire Department. The main reason, he said, is that the contract is ending, giving Orono the opportunity to start a municipal Fire Department with local oversight as it has with the Police Department. It will improve the level of service and facilities and equipment. He said the Fire Department and the Police Department do work well together but the change would allow for more coordination and shared training. Regardless of the way of going forward, capital expenditure must be increased, he said. The assumption is the Department will be able to continue to use its solely-owned equipment and buy out the Long Lake share of the jointly-owned equipment. The proposal would achieve NFPA compliance in 10 years. Van Eyll said most of the City, 71 percent, would be best served by a duty crew of four fire fighters. Currently, the Department is not meeting rural area response times and Orono is in a suburban service area. Duty crews would allow appropriate response so there would neither be too few or too many fire fighters showing up for a specific call.