HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-11-2021 Council Work Session Minutes Orono,JanuCity Councilary11,2021
Work Session Minutes
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l�Kf5H0�� MondayCouncil Chambers
5:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Mayor Dennis Walsh, Council Members Richard F. Crosby II, Victoria Seals,Aaron
Printup and Matt Johnson. Staff members present were Interim City Administrator/Finance
Director Ron Olson, Police Chief Correy Farniok, Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam
Edwards, Community Development Director Jeremy Barnhart, and City Clerk Anna Carlson.
1. Update/Direction on Medina Fire District Discussions
Interim City/Administrator/Finance Director Ron Olson began discussion asking for direction
from the council on the Medina Fire district plan.
Mayor Dennis Walsh mentioned that Medina thought that we were on board and yet we have
no interest. We still need to solve and figure out our own fire contract and will not be rushing
into something else until we finalize that. Walsh added that we may need to send them a letter
to let them know where we are at on this topic.
Council Member Aaron Printup mentioned that the matrix report shown in the packet was
paid for by Medina so it may be more tailored towards Medina.
Council Member Victoria Seals noted the city is not interested and added she has concerns
with the cost.
2. City Administrator Search Process Update
Seals presented the City Administrator hiring plan. The Organizational Committee and Anna
Carlson will update the City Council along the way during the Work Sessions.
The City Council consented to advertise the position in areas discussed and to add the full
range of compensation for the position to the advertisement.
Seals mentioned that the timeline is subject to change.
Walsh noted the timeline is more for the Council decision making and not necessarily the
deadline to fill the position.
3. Update of Text Amendments
Community Development Director Jeremy Barnhart presented an update to the Council.
Barnhart identified the amendments for which we will process. He asked the Council if there
are any specific amendments they would like to discuss before he goes through them all.
Council Member Matt Johnson noted that the Council should categorize them to help
prioritize the process of changes or updates that are needed.
Barnhart mentioned that our code isn't exactly enforceable to the degree we need. This is an
exciting opportunity for the city. The Council can identify the priorities they would like to
accomplish with the amendments to their discretion.
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'cLO
Orono City Council
Work Session Minutes
y Monday,January 11,2021
C�KfSHO�� Council Chambers
5:00 p.m.
The Council prioritized the list of the amendments for staff.
4. Text Amendment Boat Storage Discussion
Barnhart mentioned that staff has been working on this amendment since early fall 2020. We
are looking at this as an opportunity to revise the amendment. We are looking to council for
direction about their primary concerns.
Walsh mentioned he was not sure what his concerns are about this. I would like to figure out
what are we trying to accomplish with this. His biggest issue is the unsightliness of the
storage.
Seals asked if we can enforce the ordinance even if it was robust. Walsh noted that if there is
junk on the yard we can enforce that.
Richard Anderson mentioned that he has a problem with this because a former council
member wanted a 30 foot boat so we created an ordinance to accommodate. He disagrees
with the ordinance and thinks it is a waste of time.
Walsh asked if the ordinance made sense and questioned if the City needs it.
The City Attorney mentioned that it could be hard to prove inoperability of the boat. We
could go through it and par down on the ordinance to make it more conducive to what we
want or need in the ordinance.
Walsh asked if anyone has an issue about the size of the boat.
Johnson thinks it is important to have something in the code so that we can at least help
control the issue.
Walsh added that we should keep it simple and questioned why the City should care about the
size the boat. The important concern is to keep it within the setback.
Meeting Adjourned: 5:44 p.m.
ATTEST: CITY OF ORONO:
a/riet 18111PAItta
Anna Carlson, City Clerk Dennis Walsh, Mayor
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