08-14-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING July 24, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 9 of 11 Kelly Grady, 271 Greenhill Lane, Long Lake, said it is not true that the fire fighters are in favor of their pensions being transferred to Orono, adding that pension are not governed by either one of the cities. She said at the June 12 meeting, the firefighters were not allowed to speak. Walsh, in his videos, continues to state that everyone he speaks to is behind the new fire department and that is not true, as was seen at this Council meeting and other meetings. She would like to see factual data regarding response times, how that compares to other response times in the area, and how that will be improved with a duty crew. Grady also pointed out that she has submitted dozens of questions to the Council on several occasions, and they have never been answered. Yet she sat frustrated tonight as one resident’s bluff was discussed for an hour and 45 minutes. She said that is incredibly frustrating for somebody who has actively tried to engage both Councils in trying to find resolution related to the fire department and incredibly disappointing as a citizen who relies on that public safety entity. Brad Erickson, 2485 Independence Road, said he also has had a business in Orono for more than a decade. He said he has seen the Council’s answers in his lawsuit and that while there were a lot of denials Walsh did not admit or deny sending him a video during the 2020 election and Crosby did not admit or deny being at the nation’s capital on Jan. 6, 2021 or crowd-funding for the Proud Boys in front of the Orono seal. He said there were pretty strong denials on some of the other questions but nothing on that. Erickson said Walsh knows he sent the video and he can prove it. He said Walsh has the bully pulpit and can control the narrative in Orono but he will not be able to do that in the court of law. He said Judges don't put up with any BS and they have a real keen sense of who's full of shit and who is not. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Johnson had nothing to report. Benson said given that the committee share-outs haven’t started yet, she wanted to share that she attended the Future Fire Service meeting recently. This is a group of other municipal leaders and staff, some fire chiefs, and there was also a representative from the State Fire Marshal's office there. She said a good amount of time was spent discussing thoughts on how to move forward with the shared service model for fire. Orono’s neighboring cities are actively discussing ways to reduce redundancies, share costs, and coordinate staffing and provide high quality service, she said. This coming Saturday is the 14th annual Long Lake Fire Department Red Hot Run with proceeds going to the Long Lake Firemen's Relief Association. She said she plans to attend. Crosby said when he is handled in a disrespectful way at Council meetings he will not react, as much as he would like to say what he thinks, in order to honor the people of Orono and show respect for his Council seat and the forum here. He said he appreciated some of the opposing comments that evening because the speakers handled themselves in a respectful manner. Once the litigation is resolved, he said, he will be happy to answer any questions that a citizen or even a non-citizen has about fire. He said he would be happy to talk about the long process they have been through trying to come to some conclusion with Long Lake. But out of respect for this chamber and everybody in it, he said, he was not going to respond to the insults or to the craziness. Crosby said he served the fire department for 10 years and has been on City Council for 6 years. He acknowledged that he is a conservative, a constitutionalist, a patriot