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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, May 23, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 20 of 24 (9. #11-3503 PUBLIC HEARING - CITY OF ORONO - ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT LAKESHORE RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICTS: DOCK RENTAL, Continued) Jabbour stated he would like to see every single citizen of the United States have access to Lake Minnetonka but at the same time the neighbors should be taken into consideration. The LMCD Code is being reviewed, but you currently can have two boats and they can belong to anyone. Four boats have to be registered to the property owner. Jabbour commented it is virtually impossible for the City's attorney to enforce the code based on who is there. By the time it gets in front of the judge, it is December and next year you start all over. Jabbour reiterated that enforcement of the code is very difficult. Jabbour stated the Council should understand why the City's policies and regulations were enacted in the first place. Moody’s gives the City a phenomenal rating based on past Councils who have rejected excessive spending. Jabbour encouraged the council members to talk to people, particularly Ex-Mayor Callahan and Charlie Kelley, on how Orono got here instead of figuring out each issue the night of the City Council meeting. The Council should first determine if the City has the money available for a project, such as exotic species. If the answer is yes, the Council should then weigh the decision based on the individual request. Printup noted the videotape needs to be changed. (Recess taken from 9:03 p.m. to 9:09 p.m.) Jabbour commented the City of Orono has been conservative in the past but that we have lost our way. Orono is no longer a leader among the local communities. Jabbour noted in the past over 50 people gathered together at the LaFayette Club to discuss items of interest. When the City of Orono called a meeting, the people knew we were calling for a righteous reason. The City also got awards for public access and including everyone in the community. Jabbour noted that Orono has had 1,500 acres of park land given to the City by its residents, but yet the City cannot open the sliding hill for the kids at the golf course and does not have a problem spending millions of dollars on issues that do not fit into our lifestyles. Jabbour indicated he would like to see this Council united and that he would invite Mr. Walsh to be an agent of uniting instead of divisiveness. He asked Council to work together in order to bring Orono back to the days when it led the Lake Minnetonka area. Orono has a profound role to play in the area. There are 13 other cities around the lake. Orono either encompasses, shares borders or shares bays with other cities like Mound and Wayzata. Orono needs to reclaim their position, give the Orono residents what they deserve, and have a strong, positive impact on the lake. Jabbour noted Orono no longer has a representative on some of the regional agencies and that he would like to see Orono regain their leadership in the community. Jabbour stated the City Council needs to figure out what the City stands for and weigh the applications against those standards. If the City’s bond rating is driven down, all city projects will cost more. Jabbour indicated he personally met with representatives of Moody's and that they did not give Orono that rating based on our balances but they gave it to us because we convinced them on our philosophy. When different organizations asked for money, the Council voted the requests down. Those prudent decisions helped Orono obtain their AAA rating. Jabbour requested the Council think twice about their projects and recommended that they revisit their assessment policy. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 06/13/2011 Approval of Council Minutes 05/23/2011 [Page 20 of 24]