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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-25-2021 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 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,III,Matt Johnson,Aaron Printup and Victoria Seals. Representing Staff were City Attorney Soren Mattick,Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards and Interim City Administrator/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. SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 4,2021 2. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 11,2021 3. COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF JANUARY 11,2021 4. CLAIMSBILLS 5. APPROVAL OF TOBACCO LICENSE 2021 RENEWALS 6. APPROVAL OF KENNEL LICENSE 2021 RENEWALS 7. FEE SCHEDULE AMENDMENT 8. SEASONAL WEIGHT RESTRICTIONS—RESOLUTION 9. SMITH AVENUE TRAIL MARKING 10. GOLF COURSE IRRIGATION POND DREDGING(21-029) 11. INTERIM BUILDING SERVICES Crosby moved,Printup seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted.VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. PRESENTATION 12. HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF UPDATE Sheriff David Hutchinson thanked the Chief of Police and his staff and said Orono's police department is one of the best in the County. The Chief is always very responsive with water rescues and they are lucky to have him; he makes the Sheriffs job easier. Sheriff Hutchinson said it has been a challenging year with the death of George Floyd,the civil unrest, and COVID. He has been busy and does not think he has had a day off in six months or more. A priority of his was to come to every City Council meeting for every city in the County and he did not accomplish that last year due to COVID;he hopes to get to all 36+cities. Most importantly in this region is the water patrol and Lieutenant Magnuson is here,was just promoted to Captain,and has led the water patrol for the past few years and will still be overseeing it. He Page 1 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 12. HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF UPDATE—Continued noted they patrol 104 lakes and 3 rivers in Hennepin County,with Lake Minnetonka being the most active, busy, and most political, as well. Their water patrol is one of the largest inland in the United States with a large contingent of water craft. He pointed out that any water-related deaths in Hennepin County, even if one were to perish in a hot tub,the Hennepin County Sheriffs office is actually responsible. He noted people forget that water patrol does not just drive around in boats and give tickets, they are investigating as well and is again one of the best in the nation. Sheriff Hutchinson said they are in the process of trying to sell some boats to a friend of his who is a Sheriff in Massachusetts; he said even they know that Hennepin County's older stuff is better than most agencies. They spent about 470 hours this year,most of them were through the water patrol on January 1, 2020 through January 1,2021 they had 41 requests fulfilled by Orono Police Department; 4 different work ups, 16 subject work ups for the Orono officer assigned to the West Metro Drug Task Force,and the Northwest Crime Collaborative. He noted they have a good relationship with all the cities around the lake and Sheriff Hutchinson thinks Orono has always been there for the Sheriffs department when they need them and vice versa. He introduced the Lieutenant-now-Captain and noted they have two other sergeants out there;they have 8 licensed deputies,about 62 volunteer special deputies,and 13 explorers. Sheriff Hutchinson stated they have a lot of people and are staffed about 20 hours a day, but of course can respond 24/7 if needed. They have 9 boats,4 on Lake Minnetonka,a rescue boat,3 air boats, 8 snowmobiles and the side ski which helps recover bodies; he noted they go throughout the whole state using their technology and the skills of the Lieutenant and his crew. Since Sheriff Hutchinson has been in office,through the community outreach division they are getting more deputy involvement in the community. The Councilmembers may have seen them giving ice cream to kids throughout the County,many bike giveaways,and— especially now with some of the negative connotations of law enforcement—they are trying to get people to realize that they are the good guys, 99%of them do the right thing 99%of the time. Unfortunately,the mistakes are what make the media. Mental health is important to the Sheriff and he started the Tri Wellness program which is focused on mind,body, and spirit. They are trying to get better gym facilities, they have a full-time mental health professional for the agency which is the first in Minnesota,and they have chaplains. He shared they are also getting young deputies some financial advice because it all causes stress and if they have financial trauma,they have to work more overtime and then get burned out, which affects their mental health;working overtime or many hours at a job, people feel the strain, and they are human beings. With the Minneapolis unrest that happened in summer of 2020 and the concerns coming up with the trial on March 8,2020,he stated the Sheriffs Department supports protests but they do not support people breaking their stuff,hurting people, and damaging livelihood in Minneapolis or any city within Hennepin County. They will not tolerate it this time, and he knows the last time there was some communication with some politicians regarding when to act. He noted they have a metro-wide task force now and Minneapolis,Hennepin County, State Patrol, and several others are on this Board so they make decisions as a unified command;therefore,there are no politics that play a role if something were to happen after the trial. He wants people to know from Orono to Rogers to North side that they are organized and this time they will be successful and are not going to let their City burn. He noted he has said that multiple times: if you come to Hennepin County,Minneapolis,or Orono and cause problems, they have a spot for you in jail. They will do that repeatedly until they maintain some order. Protesters are allowed to be peaceful and let their feelings be known,but his office is not going to tolerate what they had last summer. He noted they are still recovering from that and they have a good system in place and he was just briefed today. With the unified command-they have enough staff and could use a few more officers on staff-the City is going to be secure,they will win this time and the people of Orono and all communities in Hennepin County should know that they will not play games anymore. He noted he can answer questions,concerns,or comments. Page 2 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 12. HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF UPDATE—Continued Mayor Walsh said the biggest event going on regarding Orono is on the 4th of July over on Big Island; over the years they have had a lot of issues and have gotten better with a lot of patrol enforcing them and have drive-lanes so they can get in there when there is a problem. He cannot recall anything that happened last year. He is hoping it continues because anything that happens is just a blight on their reputation on Lake Minnetonka and obviously,they want it as safe as possible. Mayor Walsh thinks the Sheriffs Department did a great job last year. Minneapolis is obviously far away and they have great faith in the Police Department and the Police Chief in Orono does a great job and is always prepared. Mayor Walsh hopes they take care of their action in Minneapolis as well so nothing comes out Orono's way,but hopefully the patrol with the new people in charge will continue the great job they are doing, especially on the 4th of July. Sheriff Hutchinson said he was actually out there on the 4th of July for probably 10 hours and COVID had a little to do with it but those drive-lanes did make a difference. They had the DNR and every single deputy available and it is the same thing,he wants people to go have fun but as soon as someone does something that is going to damage property or hurt somebody. He stated there was civil unrest last year but people did not hear about it because it was lawful,had good arrests and noted that the deputies got in a foot chase with one individual who was eventually caught. Again,he said they are out there and said for people to have fun, legally,and noted once they cross that line,Captain Magnuson and his team will take them. Crosby appreciates Sheriff Hutchinson's comments tonight and stated this community supports law enforcement and they thank them; he knows they put their lives on the line for the residents' safety and it is truly appreciated. What happened last year was horrific—God-willing, with prayers and the right tactics—they will not be going down that path again and he appreciates the Sheriffs words on that tonight. Regarding the water patrol,he has to throw something out there as it is a pet peeve of his as a boater: he sees too many kids riding boat rails on cruisers,etcetera. Crosby said they need to start writing more tickets for that,he thinks that would be terrific. Obviously,the biggest problem on any lake and probably in boating and cars is boating under the influence and is what causes the havoc on Big Island; after ten years on the Fire Department,he would say 90%of the calls were booze related. Crosby reiterated they appreciate everything the Sheriffs Department does,the water patrol guys are awesome, and it amazes him on a hot day how they can be in that uniform. Sheriff Hutchinson said the water patrol does do a great job and reiterated they are one of the best in the country,not because of the Sheriff but because of the long tradition and dedicated men and women that work out there. He said if one is a 20-some year-old deputy,the water patrol is probably the best beat to have. He said if they could have 50 deputies out there,they would,but there is always a little funding stick, especially now with the anti-police,defund stuff. It is hard for them County-wide but he thinks the City needs to hold the County Board to their word, and they need to spend their money better. He stated if law enforcement wants to make the strides that everybody wants from Orono to the North side,to wherever,they must give more money to modernize,have better training,hire better people. Sheriff Hutchinson said when people start talking about police reform,he says yes,that is great...but expect to start paying new cops what we are paying doctors,because if they are asking everybody to do all this with making zero mistakes,they must start paying a lot more money, especially as they are at a 25 year low of applicants. In talking about police reform—they do need to do better—but to get better people,they must start paying them better. Page 3 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 12.HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF UPDATE—Continued Crosby stated they cannot defund the police and a lot of what happened in Minneapolis was because it was already defunded. They need to add funding,they need to help with training, support, and that is the way they get there. However, it is never going to be 100%perfect—police are human beings just like the Councilmembers are. Sheriff Hutchinson always tells people that the police are just like everyone else and 98%or more wake up and do their jobs to make their communities better. He noted every day he tries to do something to make this agency better for when that time is over. This is an honorable profession,most of them are out there to do good,they want to help people, and sometimes they get a little jaded with politics and some media. However,the majority of men and women who serve in these uniforms—he especially thinks the Hennepin County Sheriffs Office is the best agency—but the rest,no matter what the naysayers say, 95% of people support them. It is the 5%that are loud mouths and those 5%eventually quiet down and the police and Sheriff will always win because they are the good guys. No matter what people say,they will always be the good guys. Seals is very excited that he just drew the line in the sand today and said"we're not going to let that happen"because she thinks it was really hard to watch Minneapolis burn and wonder when is it going to come here next. She appreciates that and said this Council and the City supports the Sheriff's Department,the Orono Police Chief and department. Seals has been able to listen to the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District(LMCD)calls and said Sheriff Hutchinson has great,practical, pragmatic advice and she appreciates that. She noted they had some crazy ideas on there and the Sheriff was able to reel them back in to reality,for example, it is a lake and they cannot have kayaking from 2-4 on Mondays and think that they can actually monitor that in a logical way. Seals said as a boat owner, one thing that drives her nuts is that she sees a lot of families towing their little kids under Arcola with their towables. She said it only takes one slip and that kid is off and someone has run over them. Coming from a family that has had a child get run over—one of her cousins—it is not good. She does not know what it looks like to educate the community because every time she has talked to someone,they are completely clueless saying"what do you mean we can't tow this through that channel?" Seals tries to explain the rationale and then people agree that makes sense. She stated people have no control and then they have a six-year-old on it; if they fall off and there is someone who is drinking in the boat next to them, and they run over the child...what are they going to do? Sheriff Hutchinson stated that is important and they cannot be everywhere so people like Seals should speak out—hopefully it is not confrontational—but if people see something they should say"hey,that is not safe"and more than likely those people do not live on the lake. Seals said no,most of them do not and they just don't know. Crosby noted sometimes they get the Jersey salute and asked if they know what that means. Seals noted education it is a huge thing. Sheriff Hutchinson introduced Jim who does their relations,puts all this together,and said if the Councilmembers have any issues or complaints politically,they can always email him. Page 4 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 12. HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF UPDATE—Continued Printup thanked the Sheriff for what he has done, and noted he mentioned the stress and trauma,which is wildly important and has been for many years but is now getting a spotlight. He stated the feedback he has heard from officers,both in corrections which is Printup's field,and law enforcement it is very positive. Sheriff Hutchinson said that was one of his top 3 goals coming in;he noted his predecessor did a good job but they are just a little different as far as leadership tactics. He went in and asked"what can we do to make you comfortable?What direction do you need from us?"He noted a lot of the time from the Sheriff down to the detention deputies there are 50 people giving different advice, so they went in and talked; they need more comfortable uniforms,they got more uniforms,if they need help,they can go to a therapist and call her on the phone 24/7,they can go work out if they need to. Sheriff Hutchinson said if they had better deputies and better CO's most people will be less likely to have insurance claims,heart problems,etcetera, but the main thing is when they deal with someone in the public,in prison, or in jail, the deputies will treat them better because they are taken care of He stated if they treat their staff like "crap"they will perform like that. Again,they are not perfect at it but they are getting better and it is important to him because he has lost a lot of his friends in law enforcement to suicide. He started the peer support at his other agency with another sergeant and just the peer-to-peer support makes their day. If someone is a rookie up to a 20-year vet, sometimes people have different life skills and it either helps the old-timer or helps the young cop have a good career. He said they need to start treating their people better. Johnson thanked the Sheriff for coming and congratulated Captain Magnuson on the promotion and said he also follows the LMCD and he is doing a great job there. He noted they are expanding Big Island so they will have a couple bathrooms and a trail out there and he does not know who enforces that. Mayor Walsh thinks the only complaint at Big Island is that there is a dock out there and is supposed to be for drop-off and pick-ups only but people have been parking there all day long and no one else can get on the Island. He noted that just needs to be patrolled more now that it will be opened up with new trails and bathrooms, etcetera. Johnson said the idea behind that change is that is owned by Orono and if they are going to have it out there,they want to allow more people to use it,not just tying it up,but to have some use in the park and trials. He noted they are ADA compliant and let the Sheriff know that is in the works. The Sheriff said that is a good job for the special deputies to sit in the area and shoo them out. Johnson stated Tanager Bridge will start soon and the first task is to remove the biggest mound of dirt in the area which will be a huge job. He understands that bridge will be a little taller,also,as he knows there have been some issues with getting water patrol through there. That will be good as there have been some problems getting response into Tanager because of the height of the bridge. Sheriff Hutchinson noted their new boats are low on the top half Captain Magnuson said they will hopefully have less bridge issues as they have a different style of boat coming so they will be able to get into all of those places. Page 5 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 12. HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF UPDATE—Continued Johnson thinks Lake Minnetonka was exceptionally busy this year with COVID and they had a very successful year on the lake given the amount of activity. He noted during the week it was like a weekend for most of the year. Mayor Walsh thanked the Sheriff again for coming. PUBLIC HEARING DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS/CITY ENGINEER REPORT 13. BIG ISLAND PARK ADA TRAIL PROJECT(19-033)-INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE PLANNING Edwards said they have an opportunity,with the recent allotment of bonding bill money coming to the City, for Big Island to the tune of$300,000. In previous actions,the Council has approved everything that was left on the original project to include the second bathroom,the picnic area,etcetera. After that is done and taken care of,they are projecting about$59,000 to remain from that$300,000. The Parks Commission and the Big Island Legacy group have been looking at ideas. When they put in the bonding application which was on last meeting's agenda, it allocated all $300,000 so three items in that application were a potential extension of trail,additional interpretive signs,and odds and ends such as a few additional sitting stones. Tonight,Edwards is bringing forward the beginning of additional interpretive signage on the Island. On screen,he showed some examples of existing interpretive signage done last year and noted the interpretive signage currently out there is all inside the Visitor Center. They have created but not yet installed two directional signs with park rules at the dock and where the trailhead from the beach is. He noted the group wanted to look at getting some planning done by a professional; Mr. Rick Carter is here and they found a gentleman who does things for the Arboretum and some other areas around the state on interpretive signage. Tonight, Edwards has an attached proposal from his company to do an interpretive sign concept plan for$10,000 which would be the beginning of some of the other estimates on the rest of the project,assuming 10 signs which would be in the neighborhood of$39,000. Rick Carter, 2780 Shady Road, is a Park Commissioner(although not the Chair) but he is the Chair of the Big Island Legacy and thinks Edwards really shared everything. The project is going amazingly well, he appreciates all of the support,and Edwards has done an amazing job. When they get the last$15,000— which they will—and max out the match from the DNR they will probably have a project of around $730,000 with only$130,000 from the City. He thanked the City for the $130,000 and noted they are in the home stretch and are talking about a couple of details such as a trail extension, some stones,and what Mr. Carter thinks could be the star of it,the interpretive signage. He said if the Councilmembers have not been there,they can go into the building and look at the panels,most amazingly they have been untouched. He noted they went to the Arboretum and they have really well-done interpretive signs with foundations,steel posts, and really rigorous panels that will survive just about anything. The idea is to put 8-12 panels located around the island on the trails that interpret things have been there in the past. He noted this guy really knows what he is doing and this would just be for the master plan and once that is done it will come back to the Commission and the Board and they will hopefully proceed with the work this summer. Page 6 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. Mayor Walsh said for example, one place where a cabin used to be,rather than digging up the entire thing to show everyone what is there,they would have an interpretive sign that tells what was there and what it used to look like. Mr. Carter answered yes,and they have some amazing resources and one of the studies done by the company that does the Maritime Non-profit;they literally have some of these scanned images of every foundation of every building that was built out on the Island as they are still there underground. He noted one could be standing in a place where a building was and see a framed view with a picture of the building and the scan of the foundation that is still there. Mr. Carter mentioned he has been out at Big Island the last couple of weekends and Sunday was unbelievable as there was six inches of snow and he always sees a dozen or more people hiking, snowshoeing, skiing,the eagles are up in the nest,he sees coyotes and deer, and it is just amazing. Mayor Walsh noted it is helpful to have the signage that shows what things actually looked like and obviously they want the signs to be as bulletproof as possible. Mr. Carter said in interviewing Jim,the two things that most impressed him were his understanding of how durable things needed to be and the idea that they would tell this story as though one was there. Edwards wants to point out a couple of other things that may be coming to the Council in the near future. He noted a highlighted green trail on screen and said that is one of the priorities;the other is down on the far south and they are looking at putting a couple more sitting stones there. He stated they originally had the picnic shelter templated right there onscreen,but there were a bunch of small archaeological finds that were found there and the picnic shelter had to be moved further north away from the overlook. Printup asked what the archaeological finds were. Edwards is not sure exactly but as they did the pre-construction archaeological survey there was some flint from pre-contact era,and most-of the things found were small pieces of glass bottles,pieces of tile or clay,brick from the structures that were out there, etcetera. When it was an amusement park,there were all kind of streetlight structures and they found many things underground for the streetlight base. Mayor Walsh said that is amazing. Printup said the native history would be depicted and for example,the flint,would be shown as things actually found on the Island. Mr. Carter said there is not much left and his understanding is when they built the park,they scraped 3-4 feet off the entire area,put the footings in,built the foundations,and then filled it. He noted they had help from the Mdewakanton Sioux to help tell the story of what happened there over the time preceding settlement. Seals moved,Crosby seconded,to accept the proposal from Jim Roe at Museum Planning for interpretive sign concept plan site for$10,000.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. Seals asked Edwards when they put up the signs pointing out what is there(flint, etcetera), she does not know how they do it,but there will be people who will go out there and dig it up,as people are already out there with metal detectors. She asked if on the entry point,they will have clear signage stating this is Page 7 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. not an area to dig and perhaps adding some cameras so when people do dig,they can ask to get those things back. Edwards said the entryway signs do have excavation and removing of artifacts as prohibited activities. They have periodically had to put temporary signs out there for the same thing. He noted there were instances when archaeologists were out there doing the preconstruction surveys running across people digging holes,such as metal detectorists, etcetera. Seals remembered there was a line underwater going out to Big Island. Edwards said there is a man who comes out every couple of years trying to find underground copper cables that he wants to salvage. Mayor Walsh said the good news is copper does not have a whole lot of value these days. Edwards noted this man is known to the City,the DNR,the Watershed District,and the Sheriff's patrol, also. Crosby asked if some of that stuff is live. Edwards said no,these were old cables from the amusement park era,he believes; although there is some live stuff out there as the residential portion of the island does have electrical. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Seals reported that Rick Perry, a local resident and former fireman and pancake hero has passed away. She knows a lot of residents are hurting and her heart and thoughts go out to his family. Printup was going to mention the same thing,he is longtime friends of the family and Rick was a true servant-leader so condolences go out to the Perry family. Printup believes Mr. Perry gave him his first job. Printup has gotten a few positive comments and many"thank-yous"regarding the Dakota Trail for having it cleared off when it can be which is a win-win for everyone. Crosby read some words that Kelly Shaughnessy from Long Lake Fire had jotted down regarding Rick Perry. Mr.Perry joined Long Lake Fire at the age of 17 in 1967, served for 43 years,was ranked as high as Chief and was also an assistant Chief. He was responsible for two life saves,worked at Perry's with his dad Minnow and now with his son Rick in Long Lake. Regarding pancakes,he designed and built the rotating grills that everyone loves that could literally serve over 1,000 people in a day. Mr.Perry loved his family,his community,and Long Lake Fire. Crosby said it was an honor to work with Mr. Perry and learn under him, he is truly an icon to the City of Long Lake,the City of Orono, and the entire community and will be deeply missed. Johnson said the trail is great and is cleared from Wayzata; it would be best if Three Rivers did it but they will get there with all the support of people. Mayor Walsh gave his condolences to the Perry family. He noted kids will be going back to school (hybrid)on February 2,which will be another change and something to get used to. He thinks it is good for the kids to get back out there socially and seeing their friends regardless of how much they like Page 8 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. staying home in their pajamas. He hopes they will see things opening up with restaurants and Mayor Walsh knows many of the restaurants are hanging on by their coattails at this point. He prays the restaurants they have will continue going forward. He noted his kids they have gymnastics,horse riding, and dance, and it is nice to get them back into those things as well. Mayor Walsh said if someone is sick or taking a test as they think they might have COVID...please stay home and don't ruin it for everybody else, as they do not want to put families and businesses in jeopardy. Printup agreed it is not fair to the businesses because they are then required to close things off. INTERIM CITY ADMINISTRATOR/FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT 14. COVID-19 PAY EXTENSION AND OUTDOOR SEATING RESOLUTION Olson noted the COVID-19 sick pay was mandated by the federal government and for those who used it between June and November 15,2020,that was part of the big grant money the City received from the federal government. People who used it after November 15 through the end of the year—the City still had to offer it but there was no reimbursement for it. He said Staff was talking on Tuesday morning and there are a couple people who may need it or have to stay home because their kids are sick, and perhaps they would like to continue that part of it. Then if someone has a sick kid in 2021,they are being treated the same way as someone who had it in December of 2020. Based on the experience since June, it would probably cost about$15,000 in sick leave paid out;the true cost is if everyone who benefited from the COVID pay stayed here for at least 12 years,when they leave or retire,they would get 15%of their sick leave paid out. Olson clarified that is where the$7,500 figure comes from in the memo. Mayor Walsh said the extra sick leave they are talking about is paid sick leave. Olson said that is correct. Mayor Walsh's only question is what kind of precedent are they setting that this starts inching its way into becoming the norm. He noted in union negotiations, it becomes"now that we have done it,now we are doing it unilaterally"does this just become a norm because technically all flus are COVID viruses and he looked at the City Attorney to ask how they protect the City from that becoming another line item moving forward on a union negotiation. Olson stated the difference on this one is they have the State of Emergency that the Governor claimed and the City also has to have a State of Emergency. That is why both pieces of this memo tie it towards whenever that City State of Emergency ends,rather than putting a specific date on it. Attorney Mattick does not think it would be precedent setting, although he supposes someone could argue that. The City,through their personnel policy has negotiated time off things that have been negotiated into contracts. This policy is going to be explicitly outside the contract,so it is implemented by the City unilaterally they can end it unilaterally and it is not a negotiated item. He supposed they could bring it up as an idea to try to negotiate further but they are under no obligation to continue it. Mayor Walsh thinks it is a great idea in general because he doesn't want to say"at the end of the year, there is no more COVID stuff." If people are out,he thinks it is good that they are taking care of their children, and if they can tie it to the State of Emergency or something that differentiates it and they are not stuck with it moving forward,he is all for it. Page 9 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. Printup said rather than thinking of it in terms of"sick leave"it is"COVID leave." Mayor Walsh assumes whenever the Governor ends his emergency powers,the City would follow that lead and that policy would end. They could always revisit it if they want to but tying it to that puts an end on it. Printup said in 2021 the federal government does not fund COVID leave anymore but asked if the State government does. Olson does not believe there is anything on the State government at this point. Attorney Mattick said one thing to note about the COVID leave is for those who have exposure who are not allowed to come back,they really have gone to a lot of remote working. So, it is not always necessary that someone uses sick time because the City can offer them the opportunity to work remotely. That does not work for law enforcement or many of the public works,but for office staff Olson said without naming names,the Council is aware of someone who was in close contact with someone who tested positive and clarified that person is working from home this week. Mayor Walsh noticed the resolution says"until the City's Peacetime Emergency is declared over"so that will cover it. He stated the customer service is essentially the same thing,they are continuing that. Olson replied yes, and it is probably not a big issue in January but perhaps they have an early spring and in March people want to sit outside again. Mayor Walsh noted that is an easy one,too,to revisit if they want to keep it going for these people even after the Peacetime Emergency is over. Olson said it is a very inexpensive way for the City to support these businesses. Johnson moved, Seals seconded,to amend the policy for temporary outdoor customer services areas and a motion to approve the attached resolution extending the COVID-19 sick pay.Ayes 5, Nays 0. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT Attorney Mattick had nothing to report. CLOSED SESSION Mayor Walsh moved,Crosby seconded,to close the City Council meeting at 6:53 p.m.to go into closed session. Ayes 5,Nays 0. The meeting will be closed as permitted by section 13D.03 to discuss the City's labor negotiation strategy related to the City's negotiations with International Union of Operating Engineers,Local 49 and Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 12 unions. Page 10 of 11 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,January 25,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. ATTEST: / d2C)E--- . Anna Carlson, City Clerk Dennis Mayor Walsh, Mayor Page 11 of 11