08-28-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING August 14, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 3 of 6 Benson asked about the $46,000 bill for overage from Long Lake Fire last year. Olson said it was unexpected and the bill was received in April but was related to the 2022 budget. The reason for the overage was increased calls. CITY ADMINISTRATOR/ENGINEER REPORT 18. NEXT WORK SESSION DRAFT AGENDA This item was added to the Consent Agenda PUBLIC COMMENTS Nancy Brantingham, 3185 County Road 6, said the Mayor has made it clear he doesn’t feel he needs any more input on the fire department. She asked why the Fire Department Advisory Board report is after public comments on the agenda and stated that the Council has lost a lot of trust in the community around the fire department issue. She said she found the placement of the advisory board report a puzzling choice when the Council could be working to help people understand how and why the community got to this point. Janie Delaney, 1315 Woodhill Avenue, said the League of Minnesota Cities has recommended that cities review policies and ordinances on managing natural and native landscaping and asked if there has been any discussion about that. She also asked if Orono has considered joining the GreenStep City program that includes 29 basic steps for cities to follow for conservation, climate change plantings and green buildings, adding she would like to see the City consider that. Kelly Grady, 271 Greenhill Lane, said she has spoken to the Council previously about the fire department and that moving public comments around on the agenda comes off as shifty and doesn't really allow the public to participate in an open dialogue with the Council if everything is being discussed before after public comments. She said there is a still a fundamental lack of understanding about what fire service problems are trying to be solved with a new fire department and she would like the Council to elaborate. In 2023, according to Grady, the Long Lake Fire Department responded to 311 calls in Orono, which has a population of roughly 8,000 people. By comparison, the City of Plymouth, which has a population of 80,000 people, has a similar Duty Crew and paid on call structure that the Orono Council just pushed through. Plymouth has about 2,300 calls per year so she wondered how Orono can justify a need of a similarly structured and sized department for the call volume that's coming through. She pointed out that in September of 2022 the Orono City Council approved roughly a $543,000 or $544,000 budget for operating costs, but a $0 capital improvements budget for 2023 fire service. She said she would like to understand how the City is going to manage and create a department that will be run very similarly to the way that it is run now and not increase taxes. She called for a detailed budget for the new department, saying that what has been presented so far is not complete. She added the City is under an injunction against attempting to recruit Long Lake fire fighters and yet this seems to still be happening. Chelsea Wetrick, Independence, said she would like to remind Crosby he works for the people, not himself. She said it is untrue that he is attacked on a constant basis or that he appreciates opposing