Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-01-1992 Council Minutes Special MeetingMINUTES OF THE SPECIAL ORONO COUNCIL MEETING HELD DECEMBER 1, 1992 ROLL The Council. met on the above date with the following members present: Mayor Peterson, Councilmembers Gabriel Jabbour, Edward Callahan and Mary. Butler. J. Diann Goetten was absent. The following represented the City staff: City Administrator Ron Moorse, Public Works Director John Gerhardson, Zoning Administrator Jeanne Mabusth, Finance Director Tom Kuehn, Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 8:03 P.M. JoE•Ilen Hurr presented the Council with a letter from the LMCD. Jabbour said, "nothing happened here until we forced them to do it. No meetings were held until we forced them to do it." He stated, "no meeting was called until many protests by Orono in public." He said, "I will not participate any further if we are going to be stonewalled. The City of Orono needs to make a decision. •If we are going to have our concerns basically stonewalled and echoed hollow on the horizon, that's fine. The City of Orono has always not been understood to its position, which is usually five or six months ahead of the next community. I don't need to apologize for our behavior in the past, and because of our extreme scrutiny of the process and the concerns of the lake, we have stood out alone many times. This is not the first time.." He added Gene Strommen has been very helpful in trying to understand the concerns of the City. Hurr indicated that a significant comment contained in the letter is that Cochran will ask the LMCD Board their feelings. She added, normally they don't reaffirm or affirm appointments of a chairman, but Cochran has agreed to solicit comments from the LMCD. Jabbour asked if the Board members are aware of what has been happening. Hurr stated at the last Lake Access Committee meeting, 9 members, were present and brought up to date, but they have not spent the time that she or Jabbour have spent on the issue and will not have the same perception. Mayor Peterson noted in reading the letter, nothing has changed from day one. Callahan stated the question is not really whether or not the City of Excelsior has passed a resolution, but rather whether it is acceptable for the Chairman of a public body to stand before a public meeting at the. City of Orono and announce that he was going to see that Excelsior did not have a public access. 1 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL ORONO COUNCIL MEETING HELD DECEMBER 1, 1992 Butler asked what Grathwol's capacity is with the LMCD. Hurr stated he is Excelsior's LMCD representative. She indicated he was also one of the original members of the LMCD, but his service to the organization had lapsed. Callahan said, "I think that Orono's position on the matter, particularly as a result of Mr. Grathwol's action at that meeting, has got to be made public." "The result of what he did, whether or not he intended to or not, is that the Planning Commission, which is the Commission trying to see how we should deal with this Maxwell Bay project, unanimously has come to the position that they are not going to do anything about any kind of a plan until there is a fair plan about the lake. The activity of Mr. Grathwo I , as far as the City of Orono is concerned, is extremely detrimental, and I think publicly, as the damage was done, we should make it clear to the LMCD what we think of the facts." It was moved by Callahan, seconded by Mayor Peterson, to send a letter to the LMCD, generally along the lines which are presented In draft form, with � the proposed language modifications, essentially pointing out what the City objects to Mr. Grathwol's statements, and that Orono would like Mr. Grathwol to resign, and that Orono would like to have some objective standards ensuring that a future chair would be fair. Butler felt the letter gave the impression that the author was peeved. She said, "one of the things she has learned is "do not make idle threats unless you are absolutely sure of your position, and you are absolutely confident that you can follow through. I don't see where the City of Orono has a legal posture in this scenario." She added, the man stated his opinion, and she felt he has a right to do so, whether Orono agrees with it or not. She suggested thinking hard before sending the letter: Callahan stated, during an executive session after the last Council meeting, the City Attorney was not prepared to answer the questioh whether the City could sue the LMCD. Callahan felt the right Orono is trying to exercise is to gain a fair trial. He said he has more reason to think that Orono might have the ability to get.a remedy or at least to hold the activities of the LMCD up to scrutiny without being disgraced for having presented the matter. Butler felt they could achieve the same end, the part of the LMCD of what the City of problem, without Inferring the City will sue 2 i.e. an awareness on Orono views as the the LMCD. MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL ORONO COUNCIL MEETING HELD DECEMBER 1, 1992 Jabbour explained he and many others have spent many hours working In partnership with the LMCD to change how they do things. But only when the LMCD was forced to do so,'did they sit down with Orono to work on the management plan. He said the LMCD does not hold public hearings, they hold rituals. Most decisions are made through sub- committees, and the Board is obIIv1ous to what Is happening. He said he is not hung up about the court issue, but he is definitely hung up on if the City sues the LMCD, under no circumstance the City will spend one single dollar of the budget to subsidize defending the LMCD against Orono. He added, "at one point the City of Orono and its citizenship, has to look at this AILING AGENCY to figure out how we are going to go on, because erro.neous amounts of person hours are being spent on it. I tried to have a meeting with every single LMCD representative on the Board. Some of them gave me audiences, and some of them did not, to ask them to participate in this process, and not have it so warped." It was moved by Callahan, to amend his motion to delete Paragraph 2, Page 5 "should you find I t . . . ", and on Page 6 "the City of Orono wi I I take such steps. . . issue a report." There was not a second. Motion failed.. Callahan stated he would like the letter delivered to the LMCD by noon the next day. Hurr reminded them that the Chair has volunteered to put the question to a vote, and if the letter is not sent, the LMCD will not fee I I i ke Orono forced the Board to do so. They wou I d fee I 1 1 ke they have done it on their own merits. Jabbour stated he does not trust the LMCD to handle anything important to' the City. He felt it important for the City to separate themselves from the LMCD. Mayor Peterson felt they should wait to deliver the letter until after the Board meeting to see how the LMCD does handle the issue. It was moved by Callahan, seconded by Jabbour, by noon on December 2nd to send the letter to the LMCD and to each Chief Executive Officer of each City, with the language changes indicated, and Paragraph 2 on Page 5 to be deleted from the letter along with the sentence on Page 6. Ayes 3, nays 1. Mayor Peterson voted nay. Jabbour thanked Strommen for his efforts. Strommen stated he has attempted to do whatever he can to keep the cooperative relationship going between the City of Orono and the LMCD. 3 -1 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL ORONO COUNCIL MEETING HELD DECEMBER 1, 1992 Butler said, "the State Legislature was the only thing that keep me from dumping the LMCD when I sat up here as the Mayor, because it has been a thorn in my side one way or another for a long time. This is not the first instance of unresponsiveness that has passed through these halls by any stretch." Jabbour felt if the LMCD is to survive in any shape or form, they must start understanding the perception of the cities of them. FUEL TANKS Moorse submitted a picture of a fuel tank proposed. He noted the berm will be used to screen one side of the tank, and trees will be planted to further screen it from the road. Jabbour stated the split bladder tank will save the City $6,900. Moorse stated prior to a final decision, they need to make sure the soil can accommodate the tank. Jabbour felt that should not be a problem. Gerhardson indicated there will not be a payback on this program. Jabbour stated they were aware that the City could buy gas as cheap from a station. It was moved by Mayor Peterson, seconded by Jabbour, to authorize the purchase of a 6,000 gallon split bladder fuel tank for an amount of $48,456, conditioned on the supply company, Pump and Meter, not charging the City a cancellation fee for the original order. Ayes 4, nays 0. OTHER ISSUES Callahan called for a work session of the Council members and the newly elected officials to be held December 10, 1992 at 7:45 a.m. 4 • I" MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL ORONO COUNCIL MEETING HELD DECEMBER 1, 1992 ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Callahan, seconded by Jabbour, to adjourn the special Orono City Council meeting at 9:02 p.m. Ayes 4, nays 0. ATTEST: WMA Barbara A. Peterson, Mayor 5