HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-13-2023 City Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
March 13,2023
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 Matt Johnson,Alisa Benson,and Victoria Seals. City Council
Member Richard Crosby III was absent.Representing Staff were City Attorney Soren Mattick,City
Administrator/Engineer Adam Edwards,Finance Director Ron Olson, Community Development Director
Laura Oakden,City Planner Melanie Curtis, and City Planner Natalie Nye.
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 FEBRUARY 27,2023
2. COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 27,2023
3. CLAIMS/BILLS
4. ADOPT FEE SCHEDULE 2023 ORDINANCE 281,THIRD SERIES
5. CLOSE FUND 322 -2016 REFUNDING BONDS—RESOLUTION NO. 7346
6. DISPOSAL OF FIREARMS
7. UPDATED PARKS COMMISSION CALENDAR
8. 2023 APPOINTMENT OF SEASONAL EMPLOYEES VI
9. AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE PARKS EQUIPMENT
10. PARKS MOWING SERVICES
11. ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT—RICK SHIDEMAN,4075 HIGHWOOD ROAD
12. WORK SESSION SCHEDULE
13. 2023 SEWER REHABILITATION REBID
14. CITY ADMINISTRATOR SUMMARY EVALUATION
Johnson moved,Benson seconded,to approve the Agenda and the Consent Agenda with items 1, 11
and 12 removed.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0.
Walsh indicated Item 11 would be added to the Community Development Report.
1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 27,2023
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MINUTES OF THE
ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
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6:00 o'clock p.m.
Benson asked for a correction on the minutes of Feb.27,2023. She said in the second paragraph on page
22 the word"wouldn't"should be changed to"would",stating I believe City Attorney Mattick meant to
say would,not wouldn't.
After some discussion between the Council and the City Attorney it was agreed that the City Attorney's
point was that having the City Council make any changes to its work session schedule rather than staff
making the decision would be the gold standard and the change should be made.
Benson moved,Johnson seconded,to approve the City Council Meeting Minutes of February 27,
2023 with one correction.VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 0.
12. WORK SESSION SCHEDULE
Benson said she wanted to pull this item to talk about it just a little bit,because this agenda item was
added at the Council meeting on February 27 after the closed session.It was not on the agenda at the
beginning of the meeting and actually one Council Member was not present for that discussion. But
Councilmember Crosby is also not here tonight. I was hoping to be able to have this talked about with all
the Council present. It would be helpful,I think,given that this is a change from the way that we've done
work sessions in the past,just to have City Administrator Edwards give a brief summary about the change
that was discussed that night as related to the agenda of work sessions starting from here on out.
Edwards said work sessions are set on the on the official calendar at the beginning of every year, and
they're set for 5 pm. on the evening of regular meetings,which start at 6 pm. There have been instances
where we do not have anything for an agenda for a work session in the past and we would cancel those
meetings.However,in our discussions over the last couple of weeks,we thought the best practice would
be for the Council to actually cancel those as opposed to it just being a staff-initiated process. So what
you have before you is what I proposed as a re-occurring Council item,which will list out the future
agenda items for work sessions. It shows the tentative ones out in the distant future.And then you would
address as a Council the next upcoming meeting,in this particular case,the work session of March 21.
Normally, on the second work session of March,we do Planning Commissioner interviews if we have
any. We do not have anybody available for Planning Commission interviews on the 21 st. So therefore,the
staff recommendation is that the Council would cancel the work session for the 21 st.He explained so far
the City has one Planning Commission candidate to interview but the individual is not available in March,
but would be available in April.
Seals noted with the new approach it's also nice to see kind of what's coming.
Benson asked if the work session item would be on the consent agenda at each meeting,how Council
Members would be able to ask about adding items to the work session agenda and about changing the
time of the meeting if it was felt it was not necessary to start at 5 p.m.
Edwards said he would normally put it on Consent.And then certainly, if anybody has something they
want to add,then it would just be easy enough to pull it off Consent and have a discussion. If a short
agenda is anticipated the City Council could decide to start the meeting later,say at 5:30 p.m. Work
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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
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6:00 o'clock p.m.
sessions are regularly-scheduled Council meetings.Any change made in time or date would cause the
City Clerk to give notice of the change.
Seals moved,Benson seconded,to approve the work session draft agenda with the March 21
Planning Commission interviews and meeting canceled.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REPORT
11. ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT—RICK SHIDEMAN, 4075 HIGHWOOD ROAD
City Planner Oakden explained the property owner of 4075 Highwood is requesting an encroachment
agreement to address an existing building located in a right-of-way area. The owner's intent is to obtain
some building permits for maintenance of the building such as re-roofing.Granting the encroachment
agreement will allow the proper permits to be issued to do so. Staff determined existing utilities in the
right-of-way are not in conflict with the existing structure.
' The property owner,Rick Shideman,4075 Highwood Road,was present.
Johnson said he asked to have this item pulled off because he was alerted by one of the neighbors that
there has been vegetation planted in that fire lane that they feel is preventing them from using it.I did go
by the property and noticed that there were quite a few plantings in there.That's City property so if
somebody's improved that then it should be at the permission of the City.He asked if the plantings were
put in by the property owner.
Mr. Shideman said some of them are and some of them were pre-existing. It was all improved landscape
when we moved in. There was a garden bed and a statue that were right in the middle of the fire lane.
When we moved in,that was,I believe,taken out as part of the demolition.And then the prior neighbor
next door had done some landscaping in there to handle erosion control.He said the driveway next door is
100 percent on the on the right-of-way and they get significant drainage that comes down and washes
everything out. In the five years we've been there there's been multiple times that landscapers have been
out trying to deal with that erosion issue.
Johnson said he believes the property owner's request is reasonable and he knows the neighboring
property has an encroachment agreement into that right-of-way for their driveway.He suggested waiting
until spring and having an inspection to assess what is there and ensure right of access for people who
want to use it.
Oakden clarified there is no legal timeline as far as state statute to act on this request.
Walsh said it sounds like there's really no issue with the encroachment agreement and asked the property
owner if he had any problem with waiting 60 days.
Mr. Shideman said no although they are anxious to get going as the building was in rough shape when
they moved in and they've deferred maintenance for quite a while.
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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
March 13,2023
6:00 o'clock p.m.
Johnson moved, Benson seconded,to table the request for an encroachment agreement until the
first City Council meeting in May.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0.
15. LA23-000001—LECY BROS HOME & REMODELING,2617 CASCO POINT ROAD,
VARIANCE
Staff presented a summary packet of information. City Planner Nye said the applicant is proposing to
construct a new deck on the west side of the home.The existing lot as it exists today is over on hardcover,
at approximately 28.4 percent in an area capped at 25 percent.The proposal is to construct a new deck of
288 square feet partially over an existing patio. The proposal also includes the removal of a portion of a
patio and the removal of a walkway. Through this and the 100-square-foot hardcover credit,the site will
go from 28.4 to 27.9 percent hardcover. The proposed deck meets all other setbacks including the 75-foot
setback and the Average Lakeshore setback. Because the property is still over the 25 percent a variance is
required.Nye said although the deck meets all required setbacks and the overall hardcover will be slightly
reduced, staff is still recommending denial based on practical difficulties not being met as the property
currently has a lakeside patio, a patio next to the home and a rooftop terrace to enjoy the lake. Staff also
believes there are practical ways to bring the property into conformance to 25 percent hardcover.The
Planning Commission reviewed the application at a Feb 21 public hearing and found that there was
practical difficulty,that the hardcover was existing when the property owner purchased the home, and
that the proposed deck is not out of character for the neighborhood. They were also pleased that it was
being reduced in hardcover. The Planning Commission voted 5 to 0 to approve the application as
submitted.The applicant has provided some more documentation and should be here tonight.
Andy Johnsrud,Lecy Brothers Home and Remodeling 3250, County Road 10,North Watertown,
Minnesota,said the original plan called for a larger deck until they realized they would have a hardcover
issue. Our compromise working with the City was to cut the eight feet back,which also included a
staircase off the deck,and then to reduce the patio and steppingstones to reduce our hardcover. Right
now, as staff mentioned,there is a patio that is on the walk-out of the of the home and there is also a
second-floor deck. The new clients that have just purchased the property are unable to use those because
of accessibility issues. He said they are doing a remodel project on the home to create a main floor master
bedroom and hope to have a deck on that level on the lake side.In response to a question from Johnson,
he clarified that the plan was to reduce the size of the existing lower-level patio which would then be
completely under the deck.
Johnson said he is comfortable with the applicants reconfiguring hardcover,particularly when it's outside
of the 75-foot and the Average Lakeshore setback. So I'm fine with this application. He added that he
wanted it put on the record that it's contingent on that small piece of patio being removed.I think that
assuming all this hardcover is lawful,people can re jigger it. I think that's reasonable to allow people to
do.
Walsh said I like people improving their property and reducing hardcover at the same time.We want to
encourage people to improve their property and not have to take away more amenities in their house than
they need to.
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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
March 13,2023
6:00 o'clock p.m.
Johnson moved,Benson seconded,to direct staff to prepare a resolution approving LA23-000001,
2617 Casco Point Road,variance.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0.
16. LA22-000070,STACY KROMENHOEK,4085 WATERTOWN ROAD,AFTER-THE-
FACT VARIANCE
Staff presented a summary packet of information.Nye said this an after-the-fact variance for 4085
Watertown Road. The applicant is requesting this after-the-fact variance for a side yard setback for a deck
and more specifically,deck stairs. This is a very,very narrow lot and small for the RR1A zoning district
and actually has overlapping side yard setbacks,so there was no building envelope and due to these
practical difficulties,variances were granted back in 2021. Staff reviewed a final as-built survey and
found that the deck stairs didn't comply with the setback. They built 17.3 feet from the northern property
line where a 19-foot setback was approved. Staff reached out to the applicant with this information asking
them to modify or remove the deck stairs to comply with the setback. Instead,the applicant is requesting
an after-the-fact variance so that the deck and deck stairs can remain in place as they are now with the
approval of a 17.3-foot setback. Staff is recommending denial of this application. The construction error
that resulted in the deck stairs being constructed beyond the setback does not technically constitute a
practical difficulty. The Planning Commission heard this application at a public hearing on February 21.
They found that there were practical difficulties and also believe the smaller setback would not negatively
impact the character of the neighborhood. They voted in favor of approving the after-the-fact variance
with a vote of 5 to 0. The applicant is here tonight to answer any additional questions.
Stacy Kromenhoek, 1025 West Cove Lane,Minnetrista,Minnesota, explained when they did the original
survey,the surveyor misread the building plans and put in four-foot stairs instead of three-foot stairs so
that accounts for about 12 inches of the 20-inch offset. Then the general contractor dug the footings eight
inches off,resulting in 20 inches total of a deviation. The GC is not around to make the correction. He has
since lost his license. I am not the homeowner. Pm just trying to help out the homeowner because I was
originally going to live there. We do have the support of the neighbors. It is a very narrow lot,but we did
build a really beautiful home for the homeowner.We talked about it with the Planning Commission,
about the harm versus the pros of leaving it as is. It's 20 inches. I think if I would have come to the
commission and asked for a 17.3-foot setback originally, instead of an 18 foot,I believe it probably would
have been approved because this is such an incredibly narrow lot.And I think we did a really good job
making a home that fit as best as it could in that footprint.But mostly,I think it's really about undue harm
for this homeowner who had no fault in this and neighbors to have footings dug up and construction again
for another summer. Overall,we feel like everybody benefits with an approval.
Johnson said he watched the original Planning Commission hearing and said he believes he would have
approved it at the time. The question to me is,how do we handle these after-the-fact requests?We've got
another one up next after-the-fact and so I worry a little bit about precedent-setting.But in this particular
case,I think we would have approved it as a City.And I think it was an improvement. This property got
pushed back farther from the road than it was before which made it more conforming. For that reason,I'm
in support of just approving this. The staff did a good job catching it,and so that that part of the process
worked.
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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
March 13,2023
6:00 o'clock p.m.
Walsh said he agreed.
Johnson moved,Seals seconded,to direct staff to draft a resolution approving an after-the-fact
variance for LA22-000070,4085 WATERTOWN ROAD.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0.
17. LA22-000068,VALDES LAWN CARE& SNOW REMOVAL OB/O MARK&LISA
THOSTENSON,2815 CASCO POINT ROAD,AFTER-THE-FACT VARIANCES
Staff presented a summary packet of information. City Planner Curtis said in July the lake slope timber
walls and other improvements on this property were destroyed by a fire and a building permit was issued
to reconstruct the walls in-kind.During the installation of the walls staff observed that the construction
expanded beyond the previous footprint and as a result a stop work order was issued.Because the work
was halted prior to completion in November,the owner requested and received permission from the
Council to install a final wall as their engineer provided documentation showing that slope failure was
imminent and needed this emergency correction. The final wall has not been installed,rather the
applicant is now requesting approval to increase the height of the existing top wall to reach the correct
grade rather than installing an additional wall. The applicant is requesting after-the-fact setback variances
to address the wall footprint expansions in the bluff and lake yard. The changes to the configuration of the
retaining walls if approved will likely impact the applicant's ability to fully recapture the structural
footprints and dimensions of the previous existing deck and shed,which were also destroyed. In
February,the Planning Commission held a public hearing and voted 4 to 1 to recommend approval of the
variances including the following conditions:prior to Council review,the applicant shall provide an
engineer's opinion regarding the necessity of the additional width of the installed walls and a vegetative
planting plan which will screen the walls from the lake. These have been provided in your packet.And
following completion of the project an as-built survey would be required. Comments from the public were
received.Replacement of the destroyed walls is essential to protect the bluff and steep nature of the slope
on the subject property as well as the immediately adjacent neighboring properties who also have steep
slope conditions. Staff finds that the variances to permit the expanded retaining wall structure within the
bluff and 75-foot setback are necessary to protect the slope stability of the surrounding properties and
once screened,will preserve the existing character of the area. Staff recommends approval of the setback
variances for the improvements and the conditions set by the Planning Commission. The contractor is
present this evening.
Seals asked for a refresher on what was approved at a previous meeting.Are we agreeing to other things
that were not intended?And are there any of those things in here?
Curtis said at the time of the emergency slope repair that was the only action the Council took. It was not
in any way an approval of the expanded walls,which is why we're here tonight.
Benson said she was trying to get her head around this because she wasn't on the Council in the beginning
when this when this started last year. When the slope repair emergency was granted did that enable the
contractor to continue working in that area in November to secure it?
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Curtis said that was correct but they did not,they just stabilized the slope. They did not do the final wall
as they requested. They determined that they would just protect the slope and then evaluated it and
decided that a higher sixth wall that was already installed would be more beneficial support for the slope
rather than an additional seventh wall more towards the home back into the yard. The fire happened in
July.We issued the permit for the in-kind replacement of the walls,which is administrative,in
September.We issued that stop-work order in October because of the expanded wall footprint that our
inspector confirmed for us.They did not utilize boulders because that would have expanded the footprint
of the wall and they were trying to expedite the repair. So they did not want to go through the timeline for
the variance publication and approval for boulders.
Joe Valdes,owner of Valdes lawn care, 6476 St. Croix Trail South,Hastings,Minnesota, appeared before
the Council along with Tyler Warnke,2157 Valley View Place, St.Paul,the equipment operator on the
job and Paul Schimnowski with Criterium-Schimnowski Engineers, 161 Dunbar Way,Mahtomedi,
Minnesota,the engineer of record.
Walsh noted Valdes had said before the Planning Commission that he didn't look at the plans. He also
noted that Valdes just went and started digging.
Warnke said he was first on-site,and had the plans with him. We were looking at the plans as we were
starting the project.
Walsh asked if they had the plans,why did they think they could bring a bulldozer down there and scrape
out the entire hillside?
Warnke said we had to remove all existing walls. In order to get down to the bottom, I had to dig a road.
Walsh said,no you didn't.You didn't have to dig a road. That was your choice. You had other options,
and that's my whole issue here is that you had other options. You didn't have to do it from the top and dig
an entire road down a hillside,you chose to do that.I think at the Planning Commission you said it would
take way too much work to do it all by hand from down in the bottom, so you chose to build a road down
the middle of the hillside and scoop it all out. So instead of a hill on the hillside,now you have a cliff I
have a cliff too. The guys handed it all in my cliff when we had to re-do mine. You chose to go and dig it
all when you had a specific plan for in-kind replacement.And so at some point,you dug it all out,your
engineer came and designed an entirely different plan that you then pulled a permit for. So it's like going
and getting a permit for a 3000 square foot house and then building an 8000 square foot house.
In the discussion, Council Members asserted that the applicants had gone beyond the scope of an in-kind
solution and removed a great deal of dirt from the bluff The applicants stressed the complexity of the job
and noted they had to deal with burned remains of the previous structures and then found underneath the
burned wall several feet of old timbers and concrete which had to be removed. They said most of the
material hauled away was that and not the hillside itself The also said they had filled in behind the new
walls with several feet of supports and material for proper drainage.
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Walsh said you never came and asked us,you just went and did it.You're just asking for forgiveness
instead of permission,because we would have never have allowed that. I think you need to go put the hill
back.You need to get your engineer and you can figure out how you're going to do it.
Mr. Schimnowski said he would also like to add that it always works on paper,right?I drew these plans
based on existing retaining wall measurements that were out there. And there was a lot of concealed
conditions on this site. There was a lot of material buried on this site that needed to come out to stabilize
this hillside.And looking at some of the photos of the existing conditions at the time of the fire,there was
significant slope issues and erosion at the adjacent property lines. That had nothing to do with this. If I
would have the opportunity at some point to illustrate the means and methods that are necessary to
demolish,excavate and build the timber wall. They had to move a lot of dirt and it's going to look like a
lot is happening but it needs to happen to build a structurally-adequate wall.
Johnson said from his perspective and talking with the neighbors that quality work was done. I don't think
that's the question. There's a question surrounding the methodology that you used.I think a road is a good
description. It was 12 feet wide?Could that have done been done with barge work from the lake without
having to do that instead of coming from the top of the bluff?
Mr. Schimnowski responded could it have been done?Yes. Would it have been practical to do that?No.
Not with the amount of material that needed to come out temporarily,and then go back in for backfill.
Johnson said what he saw was pretty alarming. I haven't seen that methodology before.And it seems like
keeping as much of the bluff virgin is important. How do we handle this situation to discourage other
contractors from just plowing down the hill and telling us well that's how it should be?On the other hand,
I appreciate that with earthwork, oftentimes you find things when you start digging.And what I didn't like
about your report was your note that the reason the emergency seventh level wasn't done was because of
frost and snow. On another project on a property I owned in another city,I dug a basement around the
same time and they didn't even have to put frost blankets down. So it wasn't a frost issue.And if you can
move all that dirt,you can certainly move some snow to get there if that emergency required. I read that
and I thought, well,that's disingenuous to me.And so then it calls into question the rest of it.And all we
want is to get the straight story to make sure that other people don't do the same thing like make roads
without the City approval or understanding and the right engineering ahead of time.I share the mayor's
frustration that we can't just have this going on, and I think that's what this was. So I don't really know the
path forward. But you've created a problem.
Seals said I think my concern is the neighbors. They didn't sign up for this massive project.
She noted the before and after photos are drastically different. We're pretty protective of the like kind.
Just to see the change,there's a lot of earth that moved.I'm concerned for the homeowner and I'm also
concerned for the neighbors.What else is going to come out of this because so much was changed?We
have several emails from residents just showing us the before and after. I had to look at it several times
and actually go out there. It doesn't even look like the same property.
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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
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6:00 o'clock p.m.
Benson asked if it's possible if the project were rebuilt that the Bluff would look as it did before.Is there
a way of restoring this bluff? She also asked if it is correct that the contractor had to dig so far back to
accommodate the support timbers.
Valdes said when we started digging,we don't know what was on the back of the wall. We built this wall
as a complete structure from the bottom all the way to the top.Every single wall is like a structure all the
way from the top so that will be there forever. He said he would have preferred to do boulders but it
would have been a 60 to 90 day approval process. In January it is impossible for us to build a wall with
boulders.When we got stopped working,this happened on Friday at three o'clock,we completely stopped
work.He said they were allowed to go back and take emergency precautions to prevent erosion over the
winter. They later came to the conclusion with engineering that they don't need to have a seventh wall
because it would get more into the homeowner's property when we can go six timbers higher here.
Benson asked is it true that that trees are unable to be planted in or around this new retaining wall.
Valdes said no trees but they have a design plan to completely cover the walls with tall grasses and
arborvitaes that don't have root systems that will affect the wall or the drainage.
Benson asked what would be the effect if the work were to be taken out or redone?At this point,there's
no putting the bluff back. Is that correct?It would be tearing out what's there and putting in boulders or
something else.
Warnke said he could only say we haven't talked about that, if we were to tear it out what would be the
next step?
Council Members said they believe the new wall system has to go back to the original grade and line up
with the top of the bluff and the properties on either side.
Curtis said she would suggest that in future applications for similar projects that we require them to
provide us with their method of construction, rather than just the plan for construction.At least that would
provide a more realistic expectation for the applicant and the neighbors as well as the City for what we're
going to see start to finish how the project will progress.
Walsh opened the discussion up to public comments.
Carol Price, 2813 Casco Point Road, said she is the property owner on the west side of this property. I do
have some grave concerns. The biggest one is that adding 1.7 feet to the existing sixth wall,the top of that
wall that exists now, it's not sufficient to prevent soil erosion from my property on the west side, due to
the differences in the elevation levels, as the retaining walls are currently built.And you saw by the
picture earlier,the fence at the top that that level was basically the same along the properties.And this
wall actually curves in. Part of that was building these walls further back. So I'm going to show my
findings. I've been going through a lot of this data,even back from the original drawings. So there's a
letter from Criterium-Schimnowski Engineers dated February 24,2023 regarding the sixth wall versus a
seventh wall and it does not mention any change in property gradients to the adjacent properties. The
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letter states the design option to add height to the existing sixth wall was done on December 9,2022.But
there are no details in this information packet to support the design analysis.Also,this letter states that
adding height to the existing sixth wall is I quote,a good option to reduce the steepness of the slope.
However,this conclusion to me seems rather vague,and it does not indicate the total gradient and how to
mitigate the effects of a steep slope. The letter also states that adding height to the sixth wall versus
building a seventh wall,could,I quote,result in less soil disturbance and excavation. However,the bluff
has already been disturbed and excavated with a backhoe,basically digging out the entire bluff
throughout this retaining wall rebuild project.It is my concern that the Criterium-Schimnowski engineer
does not provide any details of how to mitigate the slope from the neighboring properties with respect to
adding 1.7 feet of height to the sixth wall,and how that is comparable to building the seventh wall that
was in the original plans.But all is explained if you review the original plans of the retaining wall by this
engineer, dated August 24,2022.In the design limitations section,there is a statement, quote, site layout
and grading design are not included in wall design services. Those services are the responsibility of the
site civil engineer end quote. So that begs the question,who is the civil engineer on this project that can
assure that the grading is done properly,to mitigate the bluff grading to adjacent properties?Based on the
property surveys,the elevation level of my adjacent property near the very top of the bluff is at 963 feet.
The survey in Council Exhibit A depicts the current top of the sixth wall at 957 feet foot elevation,a
difference of six feet. By adding 1.7 feet to the sixth wall,the resulting elevation gradient would be 4.3
feet. There is a photo on page 26 of this information packet that does show the existing slope of the
property to my property that currently exists. The plans provided in this information packet Council
Exhibit E show plants and flowers that will be planted in this area.This depiction also shows a wall on
both the west and east side of the property.I am not certain if these walls are the existing wood timber
walls that run along the side property lines or some other wall that will be built to replace the wooden
timbers.However,my concern is will this depiction in Exhibit E be sufficient to mitigate the 4.3 foot
slope differential that currently would exist?As a comparison reference,there are photos included in the
letter from Criterium-Schimnowski Engineers dated November 18,2022 regarding the timber retaining
wall upper tier,and that closely resembles the current condition of the bluff with the exception of the
snow on the ground. The photo had an outline superimposed for the placement of the seventh timber wall.
The outline on the seventh wall did extend along the adjacent property lines to hold back the dirt. The
engineer stated in this letter that the final seventh wall height will increase to about four feet tall near each
end where the existing slope increases.And a follow-up letter dated November 22,2022,the engineer
states that quote,the slopes of the top of the timber retaining walls constructed to date are much steeper
than originally designed. Thus again,my concerns of the steep slopes.The City Council has a very
difficult task to decide on the next course of action or reaction for this after-the-fact variance request. The
request to increase the height of the top sixth wall to reach the correct grade height rather than installing
an additional wall has my concerns.As the property owner on the west side,the elevation gradient to the
top of the bluff seems quite steep with regard to adding only 1.7 feet to the top of the sixth retaining wall.
Should the City Council authorize construction of the added heights to the sixth wall,I would request that
the City Council approval would require an as-built survey following completion of the walls and
restoration of the grades. This could be ambiguous considering the top of the bluff and the side elevation
grading to the adjacent properties have been altered from the original grades. That is before the fire
occurred on the bluff and burned the original retaining walls. I would also ask the City Council to require
that containment measures must be implemented to compensate for the change in elevation from the
applicant's property to the adjacent east and west properties such that erosion is mitigated and controlled.
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Since the licensed engineer who designed the retaining walls is not responsible for the site layout in
gradient services,I would request that the site civil engineer provide the written assurances that the work
was completed based on known industry specifications and building codes for mitigating soil erosion and
collapse of the bluffs. So my final comments,this was a massive,massive project.There were many,
many dump truck, loads of dirt. I don't question the bluff work itself. I think Joe Valdes and his men did a
good job building the wall.It was the method of just tearing away the whole bluff that had everyone
concerned and has everyone concerned now.And my concern is that top wall doesn't meet the original
top of the bluff. There are the indications that plantings are going to be made. I will say that the wall was
built with a combination of dirt and stone behind those walls for good drainage. That is as it should be.
I'm concerned, how will those plantings take effect in that type of soil?Certainly,you could add
something to make it work.I think everybody tries to do a good job. The method of this one was beyond
what we've seen for any lake owner.But that doesn't mean we can't go forward and just make it a bluff
and retaining walls such that the neighbors on each side don't have to worry about that bluff falling apart.
So you have my condolences on how you want to make your decision. It's tough.I agree. It's very,very,
very tough.
Johnson noted that this is a lot for a neighbor. You're a particularly educated on the matter and I'm sorry,
you've had to learn this much about it. Thanks for your comments.We'll definitely want to integrate some
of your recommendations there to our opinion.But,the other part of this is how we deal with this.How
do we deal with contractors that go outside the scope?How as a City do we do this better next time to
prevent it for neighbors like you when all you do is live there?
Charles Price, Carol's husband,2813 Casco Point Road, stated Melanie,you made a great point,that next
time an application comes in some questions need to be asked.How is this going to be done?And I think
that might have been lacking on this one,because everybody from the City who saw it was very shocked.
And just to add another data point on the dump trucks,when we talk dump trucks,these are the kinds
used on the interstate highways. They're massive.And the worst day I think it was,you know,we're there
pretty much every day,we saw at least seven and maybe eight of these giant dump trucks of dirt getting
hauled off.It looked to me like they were bringing in gravel and backfill so the dirt went out and
hopefully proper backfill came in,the contractors might be able to clarify that point. He asked to have a
photo put back up. This is showing the top of the bluff where it originally was. That really shows where
the top of the bluff was from the top of the original bluff where that line is.That goes from one fence post
to the other. And that is actually 22 feet from the new top of the bluff,so that gives you a rough idea that
they've dished the shoreline back 22 feet from where it used to be. Drainage,we still haven't seen too
much about drainage at the Planning Commission. I did ask about it.And Joe did clarify that he has that
taken care of,but I'm not sure what that means.And I did talk to Wes today. He's still concerned. He
doesn't know,has the drainage been taken care of or has it not?. Wes, on the east side,he did ask about
the wall between the two properties,a border wall,if you want to call it that, does that catch water? So the
water can't just freely fall from this property to the 2817 property. So he wants that wall to remain of
some kind.It doesn't have to be exactly what it is right now. Margaret Martin provided a letter. And she
has statements from a professional geotechnical engineer and some of his points are really,really
important, I think.He's saying,where's the soil test?The engineer says, here's the wall design and I base
my wall design upon internal compound stability,but my design is dependent upon a geotechnical
engineer doing soils tests and soil samples, and making sure that the assumptions that I made to design
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this wall are accurate based on the actual soil as it exists.And I've never heard one thing about that being
provided.I don't know if there's been soil tests or not.I noticed that in the engineer's letter,the engineer
has a lot of outs that you can't hold him responsible if soils tests were not done. This has been a long and
difficult challenge for all of us. It's gone on for a very long time, and we're still going at it. So my
summary statement is as follows.If the City does decide to approve the walls to remain as they are,then I
recommend that the City at least require a soils test per the engineer's statements that he has in his letters
to the City.And also,require that a wall completion report is submitted by the engineer, Mr.
Schimnowski, and he has spelled out what that requires. They're actually in his letter.I am referring to the
one from August 24. It's in his letter. So that's all I have to say. It's been a tough deal.
Walsh said I can see that they wanted to get the bluffs down there taken care of but now they've created
an entire new bluff landscape that was not part of the like in-kind. They have to figure out how to
reengineer to get that grade back there,and figure that out to the best of their ability. Otherwise,what's
stopping anybody from just sculpting out their bluff?Just digging all the dirt?I either deny it,or we table
it and let the engineer go back to with the neighbors and get this figured out knowing the direction that we
need to see. So then you guys could decide do you want an answer today?Or do you want to go back to
the drawing board with the neighbors and try and get this figured out?
Mr. Schimnowski asked so one of the bigger issues of contention with earth questions for you is the top
grade of the yard,that you want that to be original?
Seals said we understand burn down. So there's some challenges. But I think trying to get as close as you
can back to what it was is probably ideal.
Johnson asked if the homeowners intend to replace any of the other structures that burned.
Curtis said they would like to reconstruct the deck and the shed that was beneath the deck.But as I
mentioned earlier, it might not be possible to capture the footprint of the previously existing deck.
Benson pointed out the situation was the result of a fire,not anything the homeowners wanted to do. So
this bluff,regardless of what happens at this point,will never be returned to its original state. Is that
correct?So we are where we are with it. And I think my thoughts are communication,communication,
communication. And I think it's always a tricky thing when expectations are set in one direction,and then
things happen in another.And this is something I was talking about earlier with Adam is that these
variances come about or these after-the-fact issues come about from poor communication,lack of
communication and expectations being set here and then delivering here. And regardless,we are where
we are right now. I do want to acknowledge how incredibly difficult it's likely for the neighbors in this
area.And that's important to say because I think whether it's the homeowners or the neighbors,nobody
was wanting this to turn out the way it has. Where I'm coming from is that going forward communication
has to be spot on. She said she was also very interested in monitoring the plan for vegetation. That's an
area that I think I'd like to focus on going forward. But I agree that for now,maybe tabling is the right
way to go.
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Curtis said it might have been helpful if staff would have more discretion in a situation like this of
approving something that is not necessarily in-kind,for example,the boulder wall.
Edwards said maybe that'd be a good work session topic. There may be better methods to do that than just
simply replacing exactly what's there. I will say for City engineering projects where we're doing the exact
same work,we often employ the exact same method--we will dig down to get everything that's bad out
and we will start rebuilding those walls. We just did a ravine stabilization project this fall, different
materials and a little bit different situation, but generally the same method.We built a road in and built
our way back out.
Johnson moved,Benson seconded,to table LA22-000068,Valdes Lawn Care and Snow Removal,
2815 Casco Point Road, after-the-fact variances.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0.
RECESS AND RECONVENE
Mayor Walsh recessed the meeting at 7:58 p.m. The meeting was reconvened at 8:05 p.m.
FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT
Finance Director Olson gave a presentation on the previous month's building revenue, noting the City is
about 35%ahead of last year and typically the first two months of the year are the lowest activity.We'll
have to wait until you see the May through October/November period where all of the revenue comes in.
So we're off to a good start.Hopefully it continues.We're at 16%of revenue at roughly 16%of the year.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
Attorney Mattick said he had a couple of updates. I did receive a request from Councilmember Benson
regarding the Data Practice Act, and I thought it'd be useful to share it with the entire Council. The
question was when you as individual Council Members get emails from residents or other citizens,what
is the status of those emails?And what the law says is that if there's an email from a resident to a Council
Member or the Mayor,that email is private data,meaning that if we got a data practice request,you
would not need to disclose it because it is private data. You as the holder of that data could choose to
share it if you wanted to.And you as the holder or receiver or sender of that email can choose to share it
even though it's private,but you can choose to withhold that as private data.Also,something to keep in
mind with that is if you get an email from a resident, and then you forward it to say,Adam,at that point
that email has become public;the sharing it with staff has made it public. If you get an email from a
resident, and they copy a staff member,that email then becomes public also. So strictly speaking,
correspondence to and from residents is private data. There are other types of classification. If you receive
property complaint data that's technically confidential,there is a legal distinction between confidential
and private. Otherwise,you know,when we've done our trainings,generally what we've said is look, all
emails
are presumed public,but I think this is one of those exceptions that has come up. The thing to keep in
mind is that if and when we have emails,if there's litigation,the discovery process may,in fact,require
them to be disclosed.But candidly,you start with the fact that they're private. So they're not always
disclosed.
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The second item that I was asked to cover, and the request came from Councilmember Benson and then I
have had an opportunity to talk to Councilmember Seals,was there was a question about whether
Councilmembers Seals has a conflict of interest as it relates to all items related to the fire department.
And I would start by saying I assume the origin of the question is because Councilmember Seals is
married to a volunteer firefighter with Long Lake.And so my answer to that is at this point in time,I do
not feel that Councilmember Seals has a conflict of interest in the negotiations that you're doing for things
like establishing a fire department, or hiring a fire chief or purchasing a fire truck.From my perspective
they do not enhance or increase or create a conflict of interest for Councilmember Seals. The formation of
a fire department in and of itself does not create any financial benefit for any conflict in any of those
decisions. I did talk to Councilmember Seals that there are certain decisions that I would advise her to
abstain from because I do think conflict can occur when it comes time to hiring. If her husband is one of
those people that the City chooses to hire, I think she should abstain from that,and financial decisions
like rates of pay or pension things, I would advise her to step away from those.But the generalized
formation from my perspective, or creation of a fire department with the City is in many respects the
same as if you chose to create a public works department. This is a core service for a City. I understand
there's controversy and discussion about the fire department,but you're talking about creating the
department.At this point in time,the high-level nature of the decisions and the discussions we've had, in
my opinion, do not create a conflict of interest for Councilmember Seals,based on the fact that her
husband is employed by a separate City.
Benson said she brought it up only because it had been asked during public comment at the last meeting.
Mattick continued,the third item I did want to touch on is I did attend the LMCD Board meeting last
week.As you know,the City owns some property where an individual is trying to place a commercial
dock. The City had directed staff to prepare a letter last August objecting to that application.Laura did
write that letter, and we resubmitted it later in the fall or early winter.In February or January,I can't
remember now,they had originally made a motion to direct staff to bring back findings denying the
application.At their meeting last week,they did act on those proposed findings. They modified them a
bit,but they did deny the application that was slotted to be on the City-owned land. I was prepared to
present the City's position on that but LMCD really limited testimony to just the applicant and anything
new.But they did vote to deny it,and so that is at least final for the moment.
And then just a final thing:your regular meeting for March has been moved to next week,next Tuesday.I
do have a conflict with another community. I will take a look at the agenda for next week and talk to
Adam,but it may be someone else from my office at the meeting.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REPORT Continued
In general community development activity, Oakden reported they had been working on mailings for
some septic properties.We send out reminders for compliance reports. Those are due every three years.
We're busy with permits, as Ron noted, so we're relatively busy with contractors.And then also just
working on some reporting and citizen reports with code enforcement and permitting, as well as trying to
update and streamline some of that information. Other than that,we've also participated in some DNR
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trainings with floodplain and shoreland. So my whole department's been busy participating. in some of
those.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR/ENGINEER REPORT
Edwards updated the City Council,noting on the new public works facility,we've re-initiated our bi-
weekly construction meetings with the contractor,architect and engineers. We are tentatively,snow and
weather dependent,looking at re re-engaging with earthworks on the site on the fourth of April and right
now tentatively have a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for the 10th of April. Last Council meeting
we brought forward a roads proposal and a JPA with two of our neighboring.communities. The City of
Medina did also approve that JPA,so now we're just waiting on Independence and their decision.And
that again was for the repaving of Townline Road over this year.We did go out for bids for our sewer
rehabilitation project and we did get bids back,but they were significantly over what our estimates are.
And that's for pipelining process lines,existing pipes. Just the cost per foot for an eight-inch pipe has
gone up 10 bucks from$40 a foot to$50 a foot. So as the Council action today,we rejected all bids and
we'll down-scope that and we have it out for bid right now, actually,for bids in early April, We just
reduced the scope,just shortened overall footage of the work that we would do in that project.That
revised one, assuming bids come in good this time.primarily focuses on Casco Point and that should
finish up most of that sewer rehabilitation work in that segment of our sewer system. Road restrictions
started on Friday and all are posted.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Molly Reynolds, 665 Orchard Park Road,stated I'd like to share a public letter from the Northwest
Hennepin League of Municipalities that was drafted on February 25,2023: To whom it may concern.
This letter is written in response to a discussion about our organization at the Orono City Council work
session on February 13,2023.The name of the organization is in the Northwest Hennepin League of
Municipalities.It is not the Northwest Hennepin Mayor's Association as Mayor Walsh referred to it. The
NWHLM is composed of elected representatives from various cities and jurisdictions throughout the area.
Members include mayors, city council members, county commissioners,park board commissioners and a
Metropolitan Council Member. It is not just for mayors. Some cities have paid for two memberships,
however each City has one vote.During the work session,Mayor Walsh stated I am actually a member of
that organization. However,Mayor Walsh and Orono's membership and participation ended in 2017 and
were not renewed for 2018 at the request of Mayor Walsh.Neither he nor any other elected officials from
City of Orono have attended our meetings since 2017.However,that recently changed January 2023,
when a newly-elected Orono Council Member was invited and began attending the meeting. On February
14, which is the day after the Orono City Council work session,Mayor Walsh contacted the NWHLM
and stated he would be attending our meetings going forward.As our mission states, our goal is to
educate members and network to achieve better results within our cities,value trusted relationships,
working together and learning and growing in our respective roles to help make our cities the best
possible. Therefore, it is essential that what is being stated publicly about the NWHLM is accurate,
Respectfully submitted by the NWHLM executive committee,Mayor Tom McKee, chair;Mayor Julie
Maas-Kusske,immediate past chairperson;Mayor Charlie Miner, Vice Chair;Mayor Renee Hafften,
secretary,and Mayor Kent Koch,treasurer.
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Jay Nygard, 1386 Rest Point Road,stated and wow,a whole nother group has pointed out Mayor Walsh
is a little disingenuous.And it's not just us few malcontents from Orono. Crazy.Hey, quick point of
clarification.Mr.Edwards.The new Public Works building being built.Are there any renewable options
involved in it?
Edwards asked if he meant renewable energy?No.
Mr.Nygard asked if the building been planned with any kind of net zero considerations?No? So we have
Mayor Walsh up here telling everybody we're planning for the next 100 years with our Public Works
building,but they can't be bothered to include modern renewable technologies. Great plan there,buddy.
Chelsea Wetrick stated you've got my address memorized.And with that,you should probably be careful
about taking liberties and people's Fourth Amendment rights,hate to see you sued about that.Now that
I've seen you firsthand how truly pompous and arrogant, disrespectful you are,I decided to look into other
meetings in smaller groups and see if it was just the public that you treated like crap,or if it was just all-
around your personality.And I found that anyone that dares to have their own thought and not follow you
blindly gets to see how truly venomous you are. For example,I now know why you decided to shut down
the February 13 meeting early,because instead of addressing the new Council Member in a private
conversation,you decided to blindside her and call her out for doing her job. She wanted to address that
in a proper way at the meeting.You had to shut that down. You found what she was saying to be
inappropriate, which is funny coming from you.Let's see here. It seems to me that the only Council
Member that's doing what they're supposed to do is the new one.Everybody else just follows you blindly.
Really all you do is look after your best benefits and your friends which is pretty obvious when you start
looking around. So I'm thinking you should probably answer some questions,address what people are
asking of you.And I don't know, maybe Mr.Bean, or Crosby,my bad, could sit in and not run away.
How many meetings can you run away from?People are just going to keep digging your background. If
this is what's at the surface, imagine what else we'll find.
Brad Erickson,2485 Independence Road, Independence, stated well,we've done it again,Mr. Walsh.
We've made the paper--you know,the one you don't read."New Orono Council Member it's time to end
the chaos". I couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more. You finally come out and admitted what you
said.But yet there is no apologies forthcoming.What I don't understand,if this is not such a big deal to
you,why don't you just apologize?You know what's upsetting people?This is the third article out on this
stuff.And it's no big deal to you.Maybe if my issue had more to do with dirt,it would be taken more
seriously,is that true?Let me show you what it looks like when a real Mayor from a real city addresses
the Holocaust.And then we'll contrast that with what you put out there.Mayor Sam Joshi in Edison,New
Jersey. It's a real City. It's unfortunate Mr. Crosby isn't here being from New Jersey. Six million Jews and
countless others were murdered by the Nazis.Murdered. It is our responsibility to put an end to hate and
antisemitism everywhere.That's your responsibility.But this is what you pimp out, isn't it?You've
admitted it.You say there's nothing wrong with it. What's wrong with you is what I wonder. There is one
person on this Council and I want you both Ms. Seals and Mr. Johnson to look at the contrast here.
"Orono Mayor Minimizes the Holocaust; Council Member Fundraises for the Proud Boys". What in the
hell is going on?And you talk to me about swearing.You send me a video with the F word,the A word
and the S word.And then you talk to me about swearing?Give me a break. Give me a break. So she has
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denounced this video.He is standing behind it wholeheartedly.And I can only venture a guess where he's
at on it.Because we have yet to find out more about this cat. I want to know where you two stand now.
You guys have been left out of it. This City needs to make a statement and make a stand. Take a stand.
You be leaders instead of followers. Who is this guy?He's from St. Louis Park. He knows better.He
knows better. He knew better anyway.And everybody knows what we're dealing with.
Walsh said his three minutes are up. Thank you.
Mr. Erickson said fuck you,prick. What do you got?Nothing else. I'll be watching this to the Mayor/
Council Report.
MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT
Benson said she has three items for tonight.But before I go into those,I just want to clarify just because it
was talked about just a moment ago,that I did speak to the reporter for the Star Tribune.And I just want
to clarify any quotation you see in that article that has quotes around it is from me.The headline was not.
So those words in the headline were chosen by the gentleman who wrote the article. Those weren't my
words. One person in the public asked me about that,so I wanted to clarify.Moving forward,last week, I
did attend the League of Minnesota Cities Day on the Hill, and it is a fantastic opportunity to meet. We
heard from the lieutenant governor as well as other officials.And the League of Cities is an incredible
resource that does offer ongoing opportunities for education,to learn, educate, socialize and influence,as
one of their speakers put it and I find that these gatherings are a place where information can be
exchanged,where you can meet other folks in the community who are serving their respective cities.And
it's just an all-around stand-up organization. So thanks to them.And on that note,second item here on the
note of working with other elected officials and other municipalities.I do want to address several issues
regarding the Northwest Hennepin League.And this is the organization that's comprised of elected
leaders around the West Metro,and I was personally invited by members of this group to attend meetings.
Mayor Walsh has made comments about me two times in public meetings most recently at the last
Council meeting,and his comments about me were added to our City's permanent record tonight.The
mayor stated that during a Northwest Hennepin League meeting that I suggested to a Hennepin County
Commissioner that a youth sports grant the City of Orono applied for last year not be approved. The
mayor added that this alleged action undermined our staff at Orono and the work they do. I want
everybody in this room to understand how seriously I take my oath of office. I take my professional
reputation and my adherence to ethical practice very seriously.And when these areas are called into
question,I will address it on record. First,I'm a firm believer in following process and procedure and
have made that clear from the beginning of my term.I did not and would not ever attempt to interfere
with a grant application process. It's unethical and it goes against everything I stand for. Second,the
commissioner in attendance at the meeting represents a district that does not include the City of Orono.
Finally,I would ask the Mayor contact the Hennepin County Commissioner who was present that night to
clear up any lingering questions related to this matter so that this issue is not brought up in public
meetings again in the future.Regarding the Mayor's statement that I undermine staff,from the beginning
of my term I've explained that I intend to and staff has heard me say this,stay in my lane as a Council
Member,that I respect staffs expertise,and I will draw upon that knowledge to make informed decisions.
I have great respect for the staff and I do my best to demonstrate it. Since joining the Council,I've worked
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to build positive and respectful relationships with every member of staff that I've met. I've also invited
feedback in order to address any issues that may arise.And in the absence of direct communication from
staff indicating a concern,I am operating under the assumption that my actions have not caused staff to
feel that they've been undermined.Finally,individual Council Members speak for themselves and I
believe it's important that staff are empowered to do the same. Our City administrator recently gave a
presentation that spoke to the power dynamic that exists between Council and staff It's important that
Council Members recognize this dynamic is real.And from my perspective,the Mayor is welcome to
speak for himself.But I believe it is not necessary,nor helpful,for him to speak for others,especially
when these very individuals are present at meetings. So going forward,there may be times when I talk
about difficult issues facing our City, or I may provide constructive criticism about a matter at hand. This
is very different from unethical behavior or personal attack.Part of the work I will do as an elected leader
is to have the hard discussions and face issues that our City is grappling with. This should not be
conflated with showing disrespect or undermining others. Our job is to lead our City,especially when
things are difficult.And that brings me to my third and final point tonight. Brad Erickson has been
attending City Council meetings for nearly a year, and he's again with us tonight.He has stated again and
again that Mayor Walsh sent a video to him over Facebook in 2020 that was objectionable and that caused
serious distress. This issue has been a constant subject of public comment.It has affected the function of
meetings and has taken extra resources on the part of staff. This is my third month in office and I have
seen no signs that the matter is any closer to resolution than it was nearly a year ago. I met with Mr.
Erickson and City Administrator Edwards several weeks ago to better understand the situation.And after
doing so,I wrote a letter to my fellow Council Members and asked City Administrator Edwards to
distribute it.After discussion with the City Attorney,Mr. Edwards recommended that letter be attached in
the agenda packet for today's meeting. The reason was to avoid possible violation of Open Meeting Law
if there might be discussion and to have any comments on the matter made in a public forum. This letter
was included in the packet and therefore I'm not going to read it here. I'm asking tonight that my fellow
members of Council consider the options I laid out in the letter and perhaps offer any other possible ways
to address this issue. The only piece of information I'd like to add is that after speaking with the League of
Minnesota Cities,it confirmed that the services of a professional mediator are available at no cost to the
City of Orono. So that is all I have for tonight. Thank you.
Seals said Matt Johnson,myself and Adam Edwards were down at the Capitol. We met with the City of
Long Lake officials, so John Dyvik,and Charlie Miner, and then also representatives from Andrew Myers
and Kelly Morrison's camps.And then also there was another, I can't remember her title,I think its
executive director.Dealing with pensions,we started to have conversations about what it would look like
with a transfer. I also wanted to let the group know that we've had some other conversations that were
brought about to us by two firefighters,ironically a firefighter who lives in Long Lake and then a
firefighter who lives in Orono,who have expressed an interest to join in the discussions with Matt, John,
Charlie and I,to see if we can find a solution that both cities and the firefighters feel good about or feel
okay,so lots of good conversations have happened., I wouldn't say we've landed the plane yet.We're
definitely still building the plane.But I wanted to share that because sometimes I hear that the
negotiations have stopped and people aren't talking, and that's just not accurate.I don't have anything
formal to share,because we want to make sure Long Lake feels good with what they're going with,and
same with Orono,before we bring anything back,as I've shared with them this whole way through. Matt
and I are just two people.We can't make the decision.But we can let you know if it makes sense at least
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from our perspective. The other thing I've had,I don't know if it's a good fortune or not,but the
firefighters have taken upon themselves, some of them,to give me the NFPA guidelines. It's a nice,
lengthy book of all the things fire-related,that I've had the great opportunity to read. I am not finished by
any means.And I'm not going to be an expert.But I will say what I have learned is we have a lot of
opportunity. So I know that Ron and Adam and James are putting together an analysis,I think we need to
make sure to really level set ourselves.When I looked at those guidelines,there's a lot of pieces, I'm just
going to speak to equipment,there's a lot of pieces of equipment that we're using for fire that don't fit the
guidelines.When I say they don't fit the guidelines.I mean,we're 10/15 years off of when we should have
pulled these out of service. So I mentioned this just saying,I'm not an expert,but I know these guys are
gonna bring us a really thoughtful analysis. I think regardless of where we land there's going to have to be
this pretty well-thought-out plan,year over year,to start replacing pieces of equipment,because when you
start to really look into those guidelines,they pretty much say after 15 years,you're not using them as a
first line. Well,we've got some that are well over 15. Some that are over 20. When you're thinking about,
public interest and servicing your residents and bringing safety to their houses,you need a piece of
equipment that's gonna get there. I haven't seen the full analysis because the guys are still working on it.
But I did want to kind of level set the conversation that just looking at the current fleet,no matter where
we land,we're gonna have to start purchasing some stuff in the near future. The other challenge is new
equipment is 24 to 36 months out, so even if you said we're going to buy all this,it's going to take time, so
there's definitely going to have to be some thoughtful conversation around how do we solve for that. So
again,I'm not laying out the purchase plan but I think starting to read those guidelines was pretty eye-
opening to me on what the work ahead of us is,regardless of what solution we end on.I don't know Matt,
if you have anything to add on that. I did want to say congrats to the boys hockey team for making it into
the State tournament. Warroad and Hermantown are tough.Again, loved seeing some of the guys that I've
seen when they're little grow up. Super fun.Big kudos to all of them.And bummer that they didn't make
it to the end but they should be super-proud either way.They played some hard-fought games.
Johnson said he was also in attendance at the LMCD meeting. Our representative,Richie Anderson was
sworn in, so really thank him for his participation on the LMCD. Special thanks to staff and Soren.That
issue at the LMCD was a big one. It was a floating dock in front of City of Orono property that someone
was gonna make a marina out of It took some cooperation from the LMCD to get it put to bed too.I think
we handled that well. On the consent agenda,Adam's evaluation was done. We're really proud to have
him.He had an exceptional review.And we're glad to have you. Thanks,Adam. The other issue that
keeps coming up is Average Lakeshore setback.That's probably another one to put on a work session.
Just in talking to staff in particular,I think one of our goals needs to be for the benefit of the residents,is
that we empower staff wherever we can to expedite processes. We made a good step on the emergency
restoration issue.Maybe we can make it a little bit better now that we've done it. The Average Lakeshore
setback is another piece of that,that staff keeps bringing up. I talked to Soren about it too. There's a lot of
history with that Average Lakeshore setback and you know, we had at one time additional setbacks to the
watershed requirements for wetlands. Orono just arbitrarily threw a number out and we got rid of that
because they're the authority that has jurisdiction. So maybe that's something else that we visit along the
way. Congratulations to the hockey team. I understand the swim team had some qualifiers for State,too,
so congratulations to them too.
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Walsh said boys hockey had an exciting game coming back from three zip and one of those goals
bounced off the back of the glass and then hit the goalie's back and fell in the goal. So that was one of the
three goals.If they wouldn't have gotten that we would have beaten Warroad.That would have been
unbelievable,but fate was not with us that day.But they should be proud. They did a great job.Boys
Basketball is also in the section championship. That's either tomorrow or Wednesday. If they win that
they'll be going to State too. So a lot of a lot of good stuff coming up.April 10,I think Adam mentioned
we do have our groundbreaking, so I invite the public,if you want to come out to the public works facility
and grab a shovel over there off Crystal Bay Road. As Councilmember Benson was also at the Northwest
Hennepin League of Municipalities,I was also there and did bring up the issue about the inappropriate
conversations and no one disagreed that was not inappropriate.And now there's a very big kerfuffle in
that organization about who should be coming as guests. That's an issue they're wrestling with now
because of the issues that have been created there. I did have the first Coffee with the Mayor on the
second Wednesday of the month this last Wednesday.We had some good conversations and I see some
people who are in the audience that were there. One of the sad things that happened is a Carter Anderson
was there and got into disagreement with Mr. Erickson and it just turned into Mr.Erickson saying we
want to take the south side.It was on video. On video,I'm talking. I'm talking. Carter Anderson was there
and it's on video. So, it's sad. It's sad that that comes up. Speaking of the Benson letter,it's ironic that
Benson's biggest financial supporter in the election is Mr.Brad Erickson. I think it's a good time to
address some of these issues.And she had to meet Mr.Erickson here at City Hall with our City
Administrator in attendance because she was afraid to meet with him by herself So it's definitely ironic
that is going on being your biggest supporter.
Walsh continued,there's a letter that Benson wrote,and I'm gonna address it.November 28,just keep
talking or we can sit here all night. We can sit here all night,because as far as I'm concerned,both have
serious credibility issues.We're gonna talk about the issues here. Let's start with Brad Erickson. Back in
April,Brad Erickson came out for the first time. I hadn't seen him in a long time, and he came and yelled
at us about taking care of his friend Jay Nygard's garden and if we didn't,well,then I wouldn't be here.
So we have manufactured anger with manufactured victimhood and trying to support each other.Let's
start with the lie number one with credibility issues.Remember,Brad Erickson came back here in May
and June and talked about the secret videos of me that he had that he wanted to show staff This was his
manufactured anger.And he finally admitted after a couple of months,his attorney finally admitted to
Soren as he was trying to meet with staff that it was a lie. So that was manufactured anger,manufactured
victimhood, lie number one. So now let's talk about the next manufactured anger and manufactured lie,
that he decided to come and say that somehow I forced him to remove his.wind turbine when he
voluntarily took it down from his property in 2020.And even his lawyer called me to say that Brad was
wrong that we never said anything like that. But he came and said that this was an issue why I should
resign.And that's big lie number two,manufacturing a lie to be angry about. It's manufacturing
victimhood. So what you're seeing,in my opinion, is a pattern of deception,rage and victimhood to try
and create rage in the City Council room.Now there's a current video that he has decided to say that
supposedly I sent him in 2020, of which I have no recollection and I've got lots of phishing bots that send
me links to send all the time on Facebook,Facebook Messenger,AOL, Gmail all the time.But it's
interesting,because during the summer of 2020, I was conversing with Brad many times because we were
friendly.And he was saying I could throw signs up in his lawn as long as they weren't Democrats.And I
mentioned that there was one Democrat and he said I'm going to take it down immediately.And then he
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said many times, it goes into late-2020,early-21 way long after this,Mayor Walsh I've been meaning to
talk to you about something about Tonkaview.Both our grandsons live there and traffic's a concern.I said
I will put you in touch with the right people. Then he said he'd like to meet the new owners of Orono
Station in February 2021,I'd be glad to introduce you to them. So all this time that we've been talking,
and all of a sudden now he's recreating history of his victimhood. So when it comes to credibility,in my
opinion,there's zero credibility coming from Mr. Brad Erickson when it started one lie to the next lie,and
it just kept on going.Now we go to Councilmember Benson,which we talked about the Northwest
League of Municipalities.Nobody there argued that it was very inappropriate--the things that you said in
a room of elected officials, including Met Council and Hennepin County Commissioners,and whether the
Hennepin County Commissioner was the one for this area is irrelevant when you're talking negatively in a
room of elected officials about things that we've done as a staff, and then you talk negatively about the
Mayor,you're talking negatively about the Council. I don't give you a whole lot of credibility on you
coming to the rescue of anything or having you be out there as a spokesman for the City in any capacity.
ADJOURNMENT
Walsh moved,Johnson seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0.
ATTEST:
I Ad"
Anna Carlson,City Clerk Dennis Walsh,Mayor
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