10-23-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 9, 2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. Brad Erickson, Corcoran, said he and Crosby a few meeting ago had a kafuffle out in front and he almost got arrested. He said Crosby called him a Nazi from the dais here in Orono. He asked if the police present were going to arrest him for expressing his first amendment rights. He asked Crosby if that is what he was doing in Washington, D,C, on January 6. He said Crosby should not even be on the Council because according to the Constitution, anyone who takes part in an insurrection is unfit for office. According to Erickson, there is a town in Tennessee that has Proud Boys showing up to protect council members running for office. He asked if that is what they will come to in Orono, having the Proud Boys here to protect Crosby. He asked who is going to protect the public from Crosby stating he has gone off the tracks and needs to apologize and denounce that kind of stuff, take a step back. Ritche Anderson, 3205 Crystal Bay Road, said it's interesting to be talking about the Fire Department now. The Mayor's predecessors got the first fire stations going and entered into a contract, he said. The contract has now come due. He said he was glad the Council pulled items 9 and 10 off the Consent agenda because this is a monumental night. He said it is important to have the backs of the folks who have signed up to be fire fighters because they have been under a lot pressure and it was not an easy decision. The Clydesdales have left the barn. This is going forward, he said. Anderson said he was making a commitment for $50,000 over the next five years to start the Relief Fund and presented the first check for $10,000. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Veach thanked Anderson for his donation and thanked the new members of the Fire Department and the Chief. Benson was disappointed the two cities were unable to use time in mediation to come to an agreement. She said she would like to hear more about Orono's ISO or insurance rating as the risks here are significant and the plan has not been adequately shared with the residents. Insurance companies do not favor risk and Orono's ISO is undetermined, she said. Crosby also thanked Anderson for his love and commitment to Orono as well as his generosity. Indicating Chief Van Eyll, he said when you volunteer and you give back to your community and you get so much back, it's 10-fold. He said he is excited about the Orono Fire Department because they have a great leader and great personnel joining the department already. He said that will not close the door ever on working with the City of Long Lake. Johnson said there is a misconception that if Council Members have a different opinion from residents then they are not listening. He said he appreciates the regular attendees at Council meetings but doesn't always agree with them. They don't know who all he is talking to, he said. He talks to many, many residents of Orono, not just people who come to meetings each week. He takes his vote seriously and understands what his job is. He said he 100 percent believes in what they are doing with Orono Fire. It's not an easy or popular thing to do. It's difficult and expensive but the right thing for the future. He said it's also important that people don't represent rumors as facts. He was part of the mediation, he said, and anyone who says they didn't go there in an honest effort to find a solution wasn't there. He said people should not say it if they don't know it. On the subject of data, he said they spent a lot of time studying data. If people want to understand more, ask more questions. Their data on response time was honest and based on nationally -recognized methodology, he said. He also thanked Anderson. Having some public Page 9 of 10