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MINUTES OF THE <br /> ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br /> Monday,January 12,2015 <br /> 7:00 o'clock p.m. <br /> (MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT continuec� <br /> Walsh stated if those things do not get resolved,it gives the impression that the City does not care about <br /> those policies and it tends to have a ripple effect throughout the City. <br /> Walsh stated his last item deals with public comments at the meeting. Walsh noted the City Council's <br /> agenda has language stating that people can talk about items not on the agenda,which inherently says that <br /> when an agenda item comes up,that the person will have an opportunity to talk about that item. <br /> Walsh noted he has spoken with Mayor McMillan about this before and that the Mayor indicated she does <br /> not think she has an obligation to ask for public comment. Walsh stated the biggest problem with that is <br /> the public expects they can have input on an application and that the public comment section is the only <br /> time they can do that. Walsh stated in his view the Mayor should ask for public comment before any <br /> motion or vote is taken. <br /> Walsh stated while that might make the meeting longer,the Council Members are here acting as public <br /> servants and they need to make sure the public has their say. Walsh indicated he would like to talk about <br /> this at the next work session or next City Council agenda and amend Section 2-40, Subsection B where it <br /> says that the City has adopted Robert's Rules of Order. Walsh stated the only problem with that is that <br /> Robert's Rules relate more to parliamentary procedure and not to a small city government,but that the <br /> City Council owes it to the citizens of Orono to have that in there. <br /> Levang reported she attended the Highway 12 turn back meeting held several weeks ago. Representatives <br /> of Long Lake and Orono were there as well as representatives from MN/DOT. The group mainly talked <br /> about the streetlights and eventually came to an agreement about the style of the lights. Levang stated the <br /> design chosen for the streetlights will be the same as what Orono installed in Navarre. The group also <br /> talked about potential road closings and how to handle that from a safety perspective. <br /> Levang noted Jim Cornick will now be the representative on that committee and that Mr.Edwards and <br /> Jessica Loftus are on the committee as well. <br /> Levang stated she attended the demonstration project from Blue CrossBlue Shield and that in her view it <br /> was a very good meeting. Levang stated the City received a number of good ideas as well as some good <br /> press on that. Levang indicated she will put the next meeting on her calendar. <br /> Levang reported the communications committee met in December and that they are in the process of <br /> preparing the next newsletter. <br /> Levang stated as it relates to the donation garden,she received a very nice letter from WeCan thanking <br /> the volunteers for all their hard work. Levang stated this year they were able to contribute three-quarters <br /> of a ton of fresh produce to WeCan and one-quarter of a ton to the Gillepsie Center. Levang stated a <br /> significant amount of effort went into producing that amount of food. <br /> Levang noted she did sit in on the Park Commission's last meeting and attended part of their work <br /> session. Levang stated in her view the donation policy was very well done and that she is glad the <br /> Commissioners were able to dedicate the time required to create the new policy. <br /> Page 15 of 19 <br />