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MINUTES OF THE � <br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br /> Monday,November 25,2013 <br /> 7:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> (CITYADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT, Continued) <br /> Loftus stated the Council should also be aware that Fire Chief Van Eyll and Mound Fire Chief Greg <br /> Peterson have been hosting meetings with other local fire chiefs to discuss shared services. Loftus <br /> indicated they are looking at perhaps creating a larger district to avoid the need for each fire department to <br /> purchase some of the larger equipment. Loftus indicated there are still six or seven years left on the <br /> contract and that the talks are still in the exploratory phase. <br /> McMillan indicated the committee is also looking at duty or daytime crews that can respond to smaller <br /> incidents quicker. McMillan noted the St.Bonifacius Fire Department and Maple Plain Fire Department <br /> has had some issues with getting the volunteer firefighters to respond. McMillan stated that is not <br /> currently a problem with the Long Lake Fire Department and that they are very well staffed. <br /> MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT <br /> Levang indicated Tuesday,November 19,Mayor McMillan and herself attended their fmal LMCC <br /> meeting. That meeting marked the end of Orono's long and distinguished relationship with the cable <br /> commission. Levang indicated she would like to take a few moments to provide a summary of the events <br /> of the past year. <br /> Levang stated Orono has been with the LMCC since the beginning. Thankfully, for the City of Orono, <br /> Mayor McMillan began to attend LMCC meetings in 2012 as a way to begin to better understand the <br /> work of the cable commission and,more specifically,to learn about the three-year cable franchise <br /> renewal process. Levang indicated when she came on board in January,the LMCC was two years into <br /> the renewal process but had made little to no forward progress in detailing a new franchise. The issues <br /> that were of greatest significance to Orono were, one,total build out in Orono; and two,an equitable <br /> business model for the seventeen member cities. <br /> Levang stated when she and Mayor McMillan realized that the LMCC would not guarantee Orono even <br /> partial build-out and were stonewalling changes to the business model;the City Council decided to <br /> negotiate directly with Mediacom and successfully signed a new contract with them. This new contract <br /> provides for a complete build out of Orono by 2015 and gives Orono complete control of franchise and <br /> PEG fees. T'he hope is to reduce these fees in the near future. <br /> Over the last ten months,Levang stated she and Mayor McMillan have worked tirelessly to represent <br /> Orono subscribers and citizens on the LMCC. In addition to attending the regular meetings,a special <br /> subcommittee was convened to look at altemate business models and,more recently,a resolution was put <br /> forth by Orono to return excess fees to member cities. Unfortunately,none of those efforts to engage the <br /> cities in change and good government practices met with success. During the process,however, Orono <br /> was able to form supportive relationships with Medina,who also left the LMCC,and with other cities <br /> who have given notice of withdrawal. <br /> Page 26 of 29 <br />