11-13-2023 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING November 13, 2023 6600 o'clock P.M. seemed high, but additional information has been received from the State that reduces some of the requirements for the building which may reduce architectural costs, he said. The scope would include looking at adding two bays to the existing Navarre Fire Department. Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to authorize the design development and construction document phase of the design process. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 0. On the personnel side, Edwards said the new City Clerk had started work that day and Finance Director Ron Olson's resignation is effective in December. It will be necessary to advertise the position. He said Olson has agreed to stay on part-time as needed for a transition period with the new Finance Director. 28. RECODIFICATION OF TITLE I (CHAPTERS 1-10) AND TITLE V CHAPTER 46 — RESOLUTION 7428 This item was adopted as part of the Consent Agenda COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS 29. FUTURE Frur, SERVICES COMMITTEE UPDATE Veach reported the group continues to seek State funding. Edwards added the Future Fire Services Group, which represents neighboring communities, has focused on engaging with the State Legislature and asking the State to sponsor a task force to look at funding fire districts throughout the State. PUBLIC COMMENTS Cheryl Kulseth, 725 Stonebay Drive, talked about trust accounts. She said you make deposits to that account and trust increases, you make too many withdrawals from that account and trust decreases. She said in her life she gives trust freely. Her family moved from Maple Grove to Independence in 1989 looking for a smaller community and school district and the Orono School District was a great fit, she said. After her husband died in 2016 she wanted to stay in the community and built her townhouse in Orono. She said she assumed incorrectly that the City had a good working relationships with the communities that comprise the school district. Over the past year the trust she freely gave in 2018 as a new resident has been wiped out, she said, and she no longer trusts the majority of the Council to make the best decision for the City. She pointed to the divisiveness that plays out for all to see at Council meetings and in the newspaper. She asked if the public can trust the Council members when they say they can design and construct a temporary fire station in six months, when they say taxes will not go sky high, or that Orono is participating in court -ordered mediation in good faith. She urged the Council to engage in a town hall concerning the fire department and said that could be the first deposit in rebuilding the trust account. Kelly Grady, Long Lake, gave an update on court proceedings she attended the previous week in the City of Long Lake vs. City of Orono regarding contempt for violating the July 2023 injunctive order. She said the proceedings included Judge Miller's extreme disappointment that mediation did not result in any productive resolution. She said the judge scolded Orono for Lack of communication, pointing out the Fire Page 4 of 6