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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-23-2023 City Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 23,2023 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 Maria Veach. Absent: Richard Crosby III. Representing Staff were City Attorney Soren Mattick, City Administrator/Engineer Adam Edwards,Finance Director Ron Olson, Community Development Director Laura Oakden,and City Planner Melanie Curtis. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.,followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved by consensus. CONSENT AGENDA 1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 9,2023 2. COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF OCTOBER 9, 2023 3. CLAIMS/BILLS 4. APPROVAL OF NEXT WORK SESSION AGENDA This item was removed from the consent agenda. 5. APPROVAL TO HIRE CITY CLERK—CHRISTINE LUSIAN 6. UPDATE PARK SUPERINTENDENT JOB DESCRIPTON AND SCORE 7. CARMAN BAY LAKE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT LEVY--RESOLUTION 7418 8. APPROVAL PERA ENROLLMENT FOR PT FIREFIGHTERS—RESOLUTION 7419 This item was removed from the consent agenda. 9. APPROVAL OF LEASE FROM HUNTINGTON BANK FOR 2017 PUMPER TRUCK This item was removed from the consent agenda. 10. LA23-000046,3407 EASTLAKE STREET—RESOLUTION NO. 7415 Veach moved,Benson seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda with Items 4,8 and 9 removed. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. 4. APPROVAL OF NEXT WORK SESSION AGENDA Benson asked for an explanation of the discussion of average lakeshore setback planned for the next work session. City Administrator Edwards said Community Development Director Laura Oakden has done some research on this topic and will be presenting some recommendations on possible ways forward. Page 1 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 23,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. Benson moved,Johnson seconded,to approve the next work session agenda.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. 8. APPROVAL PERA ENROLLMENT FOR PT FIREFIGHTERS—RESOLUTION 7419 Benson said she is not in favor of this as passing this resolution is only necessary because of the direction the City of Orono has taken in establishing an independent fire department, exposing the citizens of Orono to unnecessary risk and increased taxes beginning next year. Walsh said he did not agree with those statements. Walsh moved,Johnson seconded,to adopt Resolution 7419 for PERA enrollment for part-time firefighters.VOTE: Ayes 3,Nays 1 (Benson). 9. APPROVAL OF LEASE FROM HUNTINGTON BANK FOR 2017 PUMPER TRUCK Benson said she asked to have this item pulled from the consent agenda because she opposes it for the same reasons as the previous item. Johnson moved,Veach seconded, to enter into a lease agreement contract with Huntington Bank for the 2017 pumper truck.VOTE: Ayes 3,Nays 1 (Benson). PUBLIC HEARING 11. CERTIFICATION OF DELINQUENT UTILITIES—RESOLUTION NO. 7417 Mayor Walsh opened the public hearing at 6:06 p.m. There were no public comments. Mayor Walsh closed the public hearing at 6:06 p.m. Johnson moved,Veach seconded, to adopt Resolution 7417 certifying delinquent 2023 water and sewer utility service charges, recycling program fees, on-site sewage treatment program,storm water charges,and general service charges to Hennepin County for collection with 2024 property taxes.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REPORT 12. LA23-000051,2795 SHADYWOOD ROAD,VARIANCES AND CUP—RESOLUTION NO. 7417 City Planner Curtis explained the applicant is proposing to construct a new home on the existing home footprint with a garage addition as well as other hardcover changes/improvements on the property. The new home will be elevated on fill to comply with FEMA regulations. The fill and the architectural changes result in an approximate 14 feet of increased building mass within the 75-foot setback creating new vertical encroachments. The site constraints include the channel setback of 75 feet,the 75-foot lake setback on the west,the narrow width,the existing home location, and the low elevation areas of the property(impacted by floodplain regulations). The existing home is a low, walk-out rambler. It is situated 13.5 feet from the Narrows Channel where 75 feet is required. Approximately 70 percent of the property is within the 75-foot setback from the lake and/or channel. There are currently building and Page 2 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 23,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. hardcover improvements within the 75-foot setback(from the channel and the lake), and the home is nonconforming with respect to FEMA floodplain regulations. The applicant is proposing to reduce the total site hardcover by 1,677 square feet including the 528 square foot reduction within the 75-foot setback. The driveway was reoriented and reduced,the lakeside sport court has been removed,the paver patio has been removed, and the lakeside deck has been reduced by half The home is set back approximately 8 feet from the channel-side property line and while the 10-foot LR-1B district setback can be met on the interior side,there is not sufficient room on either side of the home to fully comply with the 15-foot perimeter fill requirement. The Code requires a conditional use permit to formally address the departure from the fill bench requirement. Additionally,the floodplain filling and mitigation shown on the plan falls under the MCWD's purview;a floodplain mitigation permit is currently being reviewed by the Conservation District. On October 16 the Planning Commission held a public hearing and voted 6 to 0 on a motion to approve the application as applied. No comments from the public were received. Staff continues to recommend approval of the project with the exception of the 14-foot upward expansion of the porch along the channel. Staff does not support the vertical expansion and would recommend a changed roof line or converting the porch to a patio, she said. Walsh asked if the difference was the gabled roof on the porch. Curtis said that and the need to raise the new home on fill because of FEMA regulations and the design of the porch roof resulted in the change in elevation near the channel. The porch has a flat roof now. Erick Hill of K and K Builders said the reason for the change in the porch roof line was aesthetics. They did not think a flat roof would look appropriate on the new design of the house. Walsh asked about practical difficulty as aesthetics is not a practical difficulty. Johnson said he was familiar with this property,and it is striking how close that home is to the channel. With the property going up it will feel like that porch is hanging over the channel,he said. However,they are placing the house on its current footprint and the porch would be located where it is now.He noted the home is being raised three feet because of the fill required by FEMA. He suggested they could have three feet above the current roof.He said it looked like a good plan with reduced hardcover.He asked if the builder could suggest an alternative to the roof. Hill said the porch is a little higher because they made it level with the first floor instead of a step down. They did not like a flat roof. Johnson suggested they give a maximum roof height and let them figure out the design. Benson said she was in favor of following the staff recommendation as the desire to have a gabled roof because of the other gables on the house are a design choice,not a practical difficulty. The applicant said the vegetation along the channel would screen the proposed roof from view. Benson moved,Johnson seconded,to direct staff to draft a resolution to approve LA23-000051, 2795 Shadywood Road,Variances and CUP consistent with the staff recommendation.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. Page 3 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 23,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. Community Development Director Oakden said the staff is working through some applications for the upcoming Planning Commission meeting,an ordinance text amendment the Council would see at their next work session and is busy with permitting and code enforcement. FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT Finance Director Olson said the new broadcasting system is working well. They are waiting for one more piece of equipment and then will make it more obvious on the website that people can click the link that is similar to earlier recordings or use the Swagit link to get closed captioning and the meeting transcript. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT Attorney Mattick had nothing to report. CITY ADMINISTRATOR/ENGINEER REPORT City Administrator Edwards gave a couple of engineering updates. The Navarre parking lot is complete and crews are prepping the roadways by the new force main for patching.At the new Public Works facility,work is progressing to prep for winter and for interior work to continue during the winter. Spring completion is still planned.On the City Administrator side,he noted the hiring of a new City Clerk with a start date in mid-November. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS There were no Council Committee Reports PUBLIC COMMENTS Cheryl Kulseth, 725 Stonebay Drive,said she would like to request a message from the Mayor in the next City newsletter including what she said many have been requesting--a sound reason why Orono needs to go it alone on a fire department while most municipalities are moving to fire districts. It should be an easy request and he should be able to articulate his reasoning, she said.It is not about politics but about the community and how resources are being managed, listening to citizens and being fiscally responsible. She said she has not heard any member of the public at a meeting support the independent fire department. She sees lack of transparency about the reasoning and expenditures and feels the Council is isolating the community from its neighbors. She said she has a lot of respect for people who choose to step up and run for public office but is not aware of anyone in her neighborhood who feels the City is moving in the right direction. Nancy Brantingham,3185 County Road 6, quoted from a letter to the editor in the Star Tribune from four previous Orono mayors stating they were appalled by the embarrassing and intimidating conduct of the sitting Mayor who allegedly threatened a fire fighter from the neighboring Long Lake community. They said this belligerent style of governance has no place in our City. She said she has witnessed bullying behavior by the Mayor in public and finds it embarrassing and belittling. Kelly Grady,Long Lake,said the City Council at the last meeting said that it would be fiscally irresponsible for Long Lake not to allow Chief Van Eyll to conduct Blue Card training or serve on duty Page 4 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 23,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. crews. She said many if not the majority of Long Lake fire fighters do not support bringing on Van Ey11 because he has put out cherry-picked information in an attempt to justify the need for a new department that does not accurately reflect the response times of the Long Lake Fire Department.Many felt betrayed by the misuse of information to make the department appear inept,she said,and many do not support prematurely annexing Fire Department Station 2 ahead of the end of the contract. She said this goes against the fire fighter's request to keep the department whole.It does not benefit the community to dismantle a successful department and create two superfluous departments per the recommendation of Van Eyll. She also pointed to litigation and the threats against one fire fighter, saying many felt betrayed by Van Eyll. They feel it would cause morale to plummet,she said,more than the situation already has. Blue Card training is very serious and this would create a distraction. Krista Berbig Long Lake, said the Long Lake Fire Department recently saved three out of four homes in a fourplex, did a phenomenal job, and had a very successful fire open house two weeks ago,and yet the Orono Council continues to drag its feet and delay the approval of the 2024 budget, impacting the department that currently serves each of their homes. She said she does not appreciate the underfunding and the refusal to move the budget forward. She said they are pushing back over$40,000 to bring Van Eyll back to do some duty crew training while spending millions on equipment that will serve Orono and leave the rest in the dust. It is shortsighted to keep underfunding the Long Lake Department and refusing to fund the budget,she said, adding the Council has spent hours meeting after meeting on easements and pickleball and won't spend more than a two-minute discussion with constituents about Long Lake Fire. Chelsea Wetrick,Corcoran,told the Council they are not winning any popularity contests. She said she hadn't been there in awhile and had hoped to talk to Crosby tonight. Brad Erickson, Corcoran,also said he was hoping Crosby would be there.He said he doesn't know why Crosby needs the support of two armed officers when he is there to walk the distance to his car.He talked about the situation in Franklin, Tennessee,where he said the Proud Boys under a different name are protecting a mayoral candidate.He wondered if Orono's next election cycle is going to look like Franklin, Tennessee. He asked when Crosby is going to answer the January 6 questions he asked. It's not so much what happened as what the Orono Council is doing and not doing to address it,he said,adding freedom of speech only goes one way as he has been almost arrested by the officers at the Council meetings. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Benson said she had completed a training course on communication for elected officials. The course emphasized trust as one of the most important communication skills for a member of Council. It was identified as one of the main ways elected officials establish credibility in their communities including by being available,approachable,honest, and communicating regularly. She said making a mistake does not equate with being untrustworthy,but taking responsibility is key to repairing trust when it has been broken. She said in the days since the last Council meeting, it has been reported that the Mayor has been accused of making threats against a member of the Long Lake Fire Department. The firefighter involved has made a sworn statement. She said she does not condone the actions the Mayor of Orono has been accused of. Threats of any type are not okay for any reason under any circumstances,especially for public officials. She said Council Members have voluntarily stepped into public roles that require an adherence to conduct that is held to a higher standard. She stands behind the right of community members to speak freely to the Council or about the Council without fearing retribution or any form of intimidation. Johnson said he had nothing. Page 5 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING October 23,2023 6:00 o'clock p.m. Veach said there is a Fire Advisory Board Meeting coming up. Walsh said trust is an interesting word. In this country,you are innocent until proven guilty,he said. Cody Farley's statement that he made about him is a fabrication,Walsh said. He called it an absolute lie and said what is sad to him is the desperation that is going on that would create this environment.He said he was sad for Cody that he had to go to those lengths. He noted MEA has just passed and congratulated the Orono Girls Swim and Dive Team for being State Champions for the first time in their history.Coffee with the Mayor was a blast with a great bunch of people there,he said. They concluded social media is not the place to go to get your information. He cautioned everyone to be safe on Halloween as it is going to be cold. The next newsletter will have a very long dissertation about the Fire Department that should answer all questions. He ended with a quote from Nelson Rockefeller. ADJOURNMENT Walsh moved,Johnson seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 6:50 p.m.VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. ATTEST: No a Dickhause ,Interim City Clerk Dennis Walsh,Mayor Page 6 of 6