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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, April 11, 2016 <br />7:00 o'clock p.m. <br />4. FIRE SERVICE (continued) <br />Printup stated in his view this is a tax and spend issue, and that currently Orono is spending $29,000 for <br />fire service versus $8,000 they could be paying for a similar service. Printup stated the main concern the <br />Council will hear tonight will likely be response time, and that there will be a 1.72 minute difference for <br />fire trucks to arrive if Orono goes with the Long Lake Fire Department. Printup stated the fire department <br />response time is not the only part to this very broad subject and that there are many moving parts. Printup <br />stated at the end of the day, given the Orono Police and Fire Departments, along with mutual aid and auto <br />starts, they will meet the service needs and possibly not change any of the response times because of the <br />mutual aid and auto starts. Printup stated this is not an issue of response time only and that there are <br />many more facts than just the response time difference of 1.72 minutes. Printup stated 1.72 minutes <br />equals 1 minute 43 seconds and that it has taken him longer to read this statement. <br />Printup stated this is about common sense and that he is a person that has been known to question and try <br />to change the status quo if it is the right thing to do and that the City should not continue to kick the can <br />down the road and instead think about what is best for Orono. <br />Printup stated what people are talking about when they sit around the dinner table are out of control fees <br />and spending, how elected officials do not make the right decisions due to political consequences. Every <br />day people are sitting at the dinner table talking about what does not make sense about government. If <br />there is an emergency, the police are first on the scene and can render aid. If needed, the fire department <br />can be on scene, not to mention mutual aid, ambulance service or helicopter service. <br />Printup noted construction on Old Highway 12 will cause some delays, but that Old Highway 12 will <br />have lanes open for everybody. Construction by the Metropolitan Council along Shoreline Drive will <br />also cause delays, more so than the Old Highway 12 work because it might be a total road closure. <br />Printup stated Orono has been through this exercise on the western portion of the city. Printup stated <br />people that enjoy supporting and giving money to Wayzata Second Call can continue to do so and that <br />First Responders will continue to administer emergency care service. Printup stated a tax of a dollar here <br />or a fee there adds up over the years and that he is very much opposed to the tax and spend approach. <br />Printup stated he would rather keep Orono residents' tax dollars here in Orono. <br />Printup indicated for the last couple of years he has voted against the budgets because of the tax and <br />spend approach. Printup noted the other 3,800 parcels in Orono were not provided notice of this hearing <br />and that he is sure some of them might like to have a voice on how their tax dollars are being spent. <br />Printup stated those are the main reasons why he has wanted to talk about this for the past few years and <br />that there are a lot more moving parts to this than simply the response time. <br />Council Member Cornick asked if the City has any way of lodging any complaints against the Wayzata <br />Fire Department. <br />Loftus indicated she is not sure the City does, but that in the six years she has been here, she has not <br />received one. <br />Page 3 of 32 <br />