05-23-2016 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, May 23, 2016 7:00 o'clock p.m. 3. ORONO CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION OF APRIL 25, 2016 (continued) Walsh stated he is very surprised that the Mayor decided to put together a volume book speaking engagement about the City's note -taking process. Walsh stated at the time he came on the Council, there were basically no notes and there were times when, as a council member, if you were not able to attend the meeting, you would not know what was talked about at the meetings. Walsh stated the Mayor wants to be transparent but is afraid about having her opinions documented. McMillan requested Council Member Walsh not say she was afraid and to keep his comments about himself. Walsh stated while the Council does not take formal votes at work sessions, there are a lot of informal comments made about this direction or not this direction. Walsh commented a lot of informal votes get turned into formal votes, and from a transparency standpoint, people need to know how those votes and how those decisions are being made. Walsh stated if anyone is afraid of what they are saying, then they are probably in the wrong job. Walsh stated being a council member is a job where someone is a public servant, they are working for the public, and everything should be transparent. Walsh stated if someone is afraid of what they said, then they should not say it or get a different job. McMillan stated it has nothing to do with being afraid about what is being said but it is about creating an environment where the Council can have a creative process and not turn it into a he said or she said situation. McMillan stated if Council Member Walsh would like. a better example of how those comments can be negatively twisted, he should look at the last edition of the "Orono Watch for You." McMillan stated if it is Council Member Walsh's intention to get these notes so detailed that they can support something like that very derisive and negative newsletter, he should say that. McMillan stated she is trying to protect this organization and that she is not coming from the view of her personally. McMillan stated the council members and the staff that work for Orono should feel free to speak about things and not be criticized publicly by any organization that wants to take it out of context. McMillan noted the City Council's work sessions are not taped and have no audio backup or video backup, which makes it very difficult for the note takers to make verbatim minutes. Walsh stated there have been probably two occasions where the Council voted to amend the minutes and that the Mayor wants to go back to the stone ages. Walsh stated she wants to go back to no notes whatsoever. McMillan stated she is going back to two weeks ago when he requested the minutes be amended. Walsh stated no one objected to what he had said at that time. Levang noted she did. McMillan stated she was not sure where Council Member Walsh was going with it. Walsh stated he was stating the facts of what people objected to. Walsh noted the Mayor had a prepared dissertation and apparently has given this a lot of thought prior to coming here tonight since she read off a sheet of paper. Page 3 of 23