10-09-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING September 25, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 11 of 13 Benson said the committee talked about changes in sick leave passed by the State effective January 1, 2024; the job description and scope of the park superintendent; custodial services starting with a seasonal position and looking to move into a full-time position, and changes to management and hours of the IT Department. More management and support is needed for IT. 24. LONG LAKE FIRE ADVISORY BOARD Veach said she had given that update earlier in the meeting. There are no more scheduled meetings this year although it was discussed that everyone is open to additional meetings. PUBLIC COMMENTS Kelly Prchal, 4705 Watertown Road, shares concerns about debt consolidation and the fiscal responsibility of starting a new Fire Department. She said there is no need to spend money on a new department. The City can continue to partner with Long Lake for consistent fire services for less money and have money for other things. Even at a significantly higher cost, response times cannot be improved undera new department over today’s response time, she said, and that concerns public safety. Since the Council is planning to serve all of the sprawling City from the old public works building, she does not see how that can improve response times. She asked for more visibility, adding other cities are joining forces. Orono is branching out on our own. Her concern is that Orono will not be a viable collaborative partner to other communities because of all the unrest on this issue. Residents need to be assured there will be viable fire service in 2025. She said the issues needs more public input and she hopes the City is headed into mediation the next day in good faith. Krista Berbig, 80 Valley View Road, Long Lake, said she finds this all disingenuous. On August 14, Crosby said there was discussion of hourly wages for fire fighters and it was discovered salaries were falling below average. She pointed to records from Fire Committee meetings stating that Crosby had changed his statements on the amount of hourly wages paid to Fire Department. At one point in Committee, he supported an amount in the neighborhood of $13.50 per hour and expressed frustration at proposals to raise fire fighter’s salaries since he didn’t make that much in his ten years on the department and said that fire fighters don’t do this job for the money and such a large increase would look suspect. At the August 14 City Council, meeting he claimed to have pushed for a $15.65 per hour wage, according to Berbig, but nowhere in the discussion at the committee level did he propose $15.65 per hour. Kelly Grady, 271 Greenhill Lane, Long Lake, said the City at the last meeting approved $2.6 million for fire trucks. The current budget is $550,000 for fire services and Orono is already over budget for this year. Not one person at the last Council meeting championed development of a new Fire Department. It is getting more expensive and it will be impossible to have certified fire fighters trained and ready to respond by July. Long Lake fire fighters do not want to be split up, she said. The response from Orono seemed to be ‘move on, get over it, the decision has been made’. This is not true. The next day the City was to participate in court-ordered mediation with the City of Long Lake. She said she was here to ask that as Orono goes into mediation it considers the wishes of the Long Lake Fire Department Relief Association. Grady read an excerpt from a June letter from the Relief Association stating their only request is to keep the Fire Department whole, preserve a successful department and combine resources and efforts. When cities work together citizens receive better, faster and more cost-effective services and