06-26-2023 City Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 26,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. CITY ADMINISTRATOR/ENGINEER REPORT S. NEXT WORK SESSION DRAFT AGENDA City Administrator Edwards said he had recommended to cancel the next work session but the Cannabis discussion was cut short today so he would change his recommendation to having a work session on July 10 before the regular Council meeting. Johnson moved,Crosby seconded,to add the cannabis discussion to the July 10,2023 work session agenda.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0 Edwards also said the new public works building is progressing on schedule. They have had the pre- construction conference for parking lot work at the Navarre parking lot in mid-July and the golf course in September. The project of lining old clay sewer pipes will begin soon and this year they will be finishing up all of the older main sewer pipes on Casco Point. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Walsh opening public comments with the change that Orono residents would be called on to speak first. Kathy Sweetman,475 Deborah Drive,said she was speaking again that evening to protest what she has seen in terms of the process and the conduct that takes place at City Council meetings citing a few examples of abuse of power. She stated that at the February 1,2023 meeting she saw the Mayor engage in an uninterrupted 15-minute rant berating another Council Member. Pleas for a fulsome discussion to consider all aspects of fire services have been ignored,she said,adding that the meeting of May 22,2023 was not adequate. Other member matters have been similarly dismissed. She said two weeks ago it was argued that the Mayor was elected;let him do his job.She said she agrees the Mayor was elected but disagrees that he's doing his job. She claimed the Mayor gaslights,manipulates with counter-narratives, denies facts, and discredits and silences people who don't agree. She thanked the firefighters and their families for having sacrificed so much to keep the community safe. She called on the angry individuals who are present week after week to recognize that yelling obscene language and engaging in personal attacks will not solve their problems and garner empathy from fellow citizens. She asked the citizens of Orono to pay attention to what is happening in the City,adding that democracy is not a spectator sport and there is an election next year. Kim Carswell,261 Cygnet Place, said her comments were in response to the June 12,2023 Council meeting. By suppressing Councilmember discussion,the Orono City Council is not following best practices for fair and impartial decision-making, she said. It is important for Orono citizens to hear all the Council Member's viewpoints,she continued, so shutting down Alisa Benson's discussion at the last meeting was an insult to the Orono majority that elected her in 2022. She noted Carswell said Benson represents the most recent voters choice and those voters deserve to hear her point of view. She said meetings are being run like there is an autocracy and quoted from the Minnesota Mayor's Handbook which reads in part that presiding officers should not dominate discussion,and that in most cities the mayor has the same rights as other council members but since the mayor is also the presider at the meeting,mayors may choose to limit their comments or save their comments until all other members have Page 4 of 11