07-10-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 26, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 11 had a chance to voice their views. The Handbook continues, presiding officers should also allow participants to speak and present their views. Mayors should not use their authority to silence political opponents or suppress views with which the mayor does not agree. Carswell said if the Mayor is not going to have decorum, it is up to the rest of the Council to step in and show the citizens they care about conducting a respectful meeting. She said the Council is following legal procedures but is not following the best practices for a healthy, respected, and vibrant Council. Benson won the most votes in the last election so that is her base of support, she said, and watching her being suppressed by the current Mayor and other Council Members is not sustainable or a winning strategy for Orono, its citizens, or the Council. She pointed out 2024 is an election year and three Council Members’ terms will be up. She called on residents to select collaborative and respectful citizens when they enter the voting booth. Penny Saiki, 2874 Casco Point Road, asked about the number of lawsuits the City is facing and the cost of defending these lawsuits. She said there's got to be some liability here with the Council. When they take the Oath of Office they are still a person, she said, and when they step on the Council they are still a person. Acting for the citizens does not take away liability for their actions, she said, adding she hopes they realize when the new Fire Department takes over and if things don’t go as planned and something happens, sitting on the Council doesn’t take away their liability and their responsibilities as persons. Kelly Grady, 271 Greenhill Lane, Long Lake, said she is a fire wife and she intends to continue to address the Council during the problem-solving the two cities are engaged in over fire service. She said she was disappointed at the last Council meeting to learn that the Long Lake firefighters submitted a letter to the Council and were not allowed to read it in front of the public. She read an excerpt from the letter which stated that the action of the Orono City Council to annex Station 2 and its call area goes directly against the recommendation of the Long Lake Volunteer Firefighter’s Relief Association to both cities to keep the fire department whole. According to the letter, it does not benefit the community to dismantle an operationally-successful fire department, and in turn to support superfluous departments with uncertain futures. She said she plans to pose the same questions to the City Councils of both Orono and Long Lake. What steps are being taken to keep this crew together as per their request? What is being done to ensure those that want to continue to serve can do so in a similar capacity? What is being done to allow each firefighter to maintain their years of service and the benefits that they have earned in service to the community? Will the Councils ensure that their pensions are made whole? And will their training and certifications be maintained? She would just like the fire fighters to be heard because the situation is starting to be referred to as an ugly divorce and it is affecting the fire crew in negative ways while they continue to serve heroically. Brad Erickson, 2485 Independence Road, said he first wanted to apologize for his part in the mayhem at the last meeting but figured that the Council being such defenders of the Constitution they would be more about the First Amendment than they have proven to be. He said he spoke with the City Attorney after the last meeting and learned there is no requirement to live in this City to speak in the City. He said he has millions of dollars in investment in this City and pays hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in taxes. He referred to the Mayor as Denny the Divider and said he was dividing the community during the pandemic, during George Floyd, during the election cycles, with Long Lake, and now is trying to divide up Long Lake. He said he had no idea the video the Mayor sent him in 2020 would lead to the Capitol steps on January 6. He said he plans to file a lawsuit against the City that would be number seven this year. He