HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-27-2020 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,January 27,2020
6:00 o'clock p.m.
ROLL CALL
The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor
Dennis Walsh, City Council Members Richard Crosby,II,Matt Johnson, and Victoria Seals. The
following members were absent:Aaron Printup. Representing Staff were City Administrator Dustin Rief
and Finance Director Ron Olson.
Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
CONSENT AGENDA
1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 13,2020
2. COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF JANUARY 13,2020
3. CLAIMS/BILLS
4. APPROVAL OF 2020 TOBACCO LICENSES
5. AUTHORIZATION TO UPDATE CITY CODE RELATIVE TO APPEALS
6. ORONO SCHOOL DISTRICT FUEL STATION USE AGREEMENT
7. AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE VEHICLE
8. AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE 2020 SQUAD CARS
9. APPROVAL TO DISPOSE OF FIREARMS
10. 2020 ANNUAL STORMWATER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT ENGINEERING
APPROVAL
11. SEASONAL WEIGHT RESTRICTIONS RESOLUTION NO. 7068
Crosby moved,Seals seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays
0.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None.
MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT
Seals reported the Polar Plunge took place with the police department which raised over$5,300. She
noted it was super fun and super cold. She likes the new digs.
Crosby had nothing to report.
Page 1 of 3
MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,January 27,2020
6:00 o'clock p.m.
Johnson said he talked to the City of Excelsior Mayor about how the plowing of trails was going and if
they had any problems with it.The Mayor said there were no problems. Excelsior gets a grant from Three
Rivers which does not cover costs,but they think it is a worthwhile endeavor because the feedback is so
positive about having the trails open and how often they are used.
Council members discussed the LMCD.The City of Excelsior's LMCD representative is now Mark Kroll.
There are other cities that also have non-residents representing them on the LMCD board.Johnson said
there is some question if that will be the policy going forward.
Johnson asked Council members if they were familiar with having a scenic route labeled around Lake
Minnetonka and discussed other roads that were labeled as scenic in Minnesota.He said the Excelsior
Mayor indicted other cities had talked about doing that before but it kind of fizzled out. The Excelsior
Mayor may reach out to the City of Orono to look into that.
Walsh said his daughter's gymnastics season is underway and he will be traveling a lot the next few
months.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Rief stated the Long Lake Fire Department firefighters asked himself, Walsh, and maybe another Council
member to attend their meeting tonight and provided minutes from their January 13 Fire Department
meeting. He referenced the budget sheet and indicated those are the facts he will be providing to the
firefighters at their meeting and asked if anyone had questions.He noted since 2008 Orono has increased
their share of the budget allocations and the other two partners have decreased their share, generally
speaking.
Rief said the Presidential Nomination Primary early voting is going on now.As Super Tuesday
approaches,there will be an influx of people at City Hall. There are some challenges related to the
wording and privacy related to the ballots and how voter information can be given out. They are working
to help ease the concerns of anybody coming in on what is public/what is private,what is available to the
election staff,and also what is available to the party chair. City Staff will engage the attorney to ensure
the correct message is provided.
Walsh stated he thinks that issue is being discussed at the state capitol.
Rief said the language could be read two different ways and the concern is if some of the information is
provided to the party chair,the next line may supersede information that was considered private. For
example,a phone number is public but an email is private. It raises questions from voters because their
thought is: I just want to vote; I don't want people to call me and tell me who to vote for.
Walsh asked for an update at the first meeting in February.
Crosby commented it would be nice, someday,to have some voter ID laws.
Walsh said he thinks the issue is more about the sharing of information regarding who is voting and who
they are voting for.
Rief confirmed it was more about the privacy component.
Page 2 of 3
MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday,January 27,2020
6:00 o'clock p.m.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
Walsh noted Soren Mattick was given the day off.
ADJOURNMENT
Crosby moved, Seals seconded, to adjourn the Orono City Council meeting at 6:16 p.m. VOTE:
Ayes 4,Nays 0.
ATTEST:
nna Carlson,City Clerk Dennis Walsh,Mayor
Page 3 of 3