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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-11-2023 City Council MinutesMINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 1 of 9 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, Richard Crosby III, and Maria Veach. Representing Staff were City Attorney Soren Mattick, City Administrator/Engineer Adam Edwards, Finance Director Ron Olson, Fire Chief James Van Eyll 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 CONSENT AGENDA 1.CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 27, 2023 2. COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 27, 2023 3. CITY COUNCIL CLOSED SESSION MINUTES DECEMBER 4, 2023 4.CLAIMS/BILLS 5. APPROVE NEXT WORK SESSION DRAFT AGENDA 6. APPROVAL OF RENTAL LICENSES 7. RETIREMENT OF POLICE K-9 “XERXES” 8. APPOINT ELECTION JUDGES AND ESTABLISH ABSENTEE BALLOT BOARD – RESOLUTION 7434 9. AUTHORIZATION TO ACCEPT RESIGNATION OF BARRY SULLIVAN 10. APPROVAL TO HIRE CUSTODIAN 11. APPOINTMENT OF FINANCE DIRECTOR – MAGGIE JIN 12. APPOINTMENT OF INTERIM FINANCE DIRECTOR 13. AMEND CITY CODE – GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS - ORDINANCE 286 14. AMEND CITY CODE – FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS – ORDINANCE 287 15. LA23-000060, BRIAN BENSON, 3600 CASCO AVE, VARIANCE - RESOLUTION 7432 16. PERSONNEL POLICY UPDATES 17. EMPLOYEE PAY SCALE ADJUSTMENTS – RESOLUTION 7443 18. LA23-000061, AMY EAKMAN WITH OUTDOOR EXCAPES O/B/O JEREME AND STEPHANIE TOM, 2601 CASCO POINT ROAD VARIANCE – RESOLUTION NO. 7433 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 of 9 Crosby moved, Johnson seconded, to approve the Agenda and the Consent Agenda as submitted. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REPORT 19.LA23-000045, ELLETTE ANDERSON, VACATION OF ROW BETWEEN 1250 AND 1260 SPRUCE PLACE City Planner Curtis gave a presentation on the item, stating the applicant is requesting to vacate the unimproved right-of-way situated between 1250 Spruce Place (owned by James and Melissa Easley) and 1260 Spruce Place (owned by Ms. Anderson, the applicant). There are no City utilities within the right-of- way; however, there are riprap spillways facilitating overland drainage from Spruce Place, retaining walls and approximately 900 square feet of the Easley’s driveway. The Planning Commission recommended approving the vacation on condition of maintaining a drainage easement over the strip. Positive public comments were received. The City Engineer does not recommend vacating the right of way as the site serves as a drainage way for the area and it has also been identified as a possible future public accessway to the lake. The access has a public purpose because of the drainage way, Curtis said. There are identified lake access points in this area including Sandy Beach located to the south, which is established as a swimming beach, and the City’s fishing dock off of Loma Linda Avenue to the north. Both access points are less than 500 feet from this location. Curtis explained the challenge with vacating rights-of-way is that vacation is final. Should the public or the City have access or utility needs in the future, the cost to taxpayers to reacquire the property will be at a premium, she said, so vacation reduces options for the City in the future. Staff recommends denial of the request to vacate the right-of-way at this time as there is currently a public benefit for drainage purposes and the future purpose of the land is undetermined. Ellette Anderson said her family has maintained this property for more than 50 years including managing the drainage in the easement and into their basement. Her mother had a letter from the City in 1979 stating that this property had no use for a public purpose. Also, there are three lake accesses within 500 feet. The one three houses down from her home is heavily used, she said. The vacation would allow the Easleys to pave their driveway and have a safer access. They have the only unpaved driveway in the neighborhood. When her family bought the home the easement was a muddy mess full of garbage and the residents cleaned it up and took care of it. She said they are happy for the City to have an easement there to take care of drainage. Mayor Walsh stated it is the habit of the DNR to say no but the City has been trying to clean these up and do what makes common sense. He noted the strip no longer serves as a fire lane and said he would be in favor of granting the vacation and maintaining a drainage easement. Benson asked about the issue of erosion and gravel from the driveway going toward the lake. Easley said they had not approached the City about that problem previously. He does not see how people can get down to the water there. Edwards said even if this strip was vacated, because of the drainage easement, there would still need to be encroachment agreements for the driveway and any retaining walls. MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 3 of 9 Jay Nygard, 1386 Rest Point Road, said he had put in for a minor property adjustment years ago where he owned the property on both sides. The City spent all kinds of time working on his vacation request, he said, and then denied it while the Council is considering giving City land to these property owners. Easley said they had not made any changes to the driveway since they have lived there. The driveway existed that way when they brought their property. Johnson said if this property was identified as even being on the fringe of being a public use there would need to be an agreement in relation to that. If the City’s land is causing a problem for the landowner the City should be maintaining it so as to not cause a problem for the neighboring property owners. He said he was not in favor of granting the vacation but could be in favor of the property owner to the north getting an easement, although he sees no need for that large a driveway. He said he agreed the criteria for a vacation had been met but thought the same solution could be reached with an encroachment agreement. Benson said the bar for vacation of public land in the City is high by design. It is important to recognize that public land is a precious resource that requires oversight because when the Council decides to vacate land it will not be returned to the public, she said. Looking at history, the City had 41 lake accesses three years ago and today it is 39. She asked if this request aligns with 2040 comprehensive plan which states that the City will retain lake access for residents. The intention is to retain this public land, she said. Whether anyone is actually using the access has no bearing. She also pointed out the City staff and the DNR had recommended denial. With respect to the driveway, she said it could be solved without a vacation. She noted State law says that vacation must have a public purpose. This may benefit the neighboring properties, but she said she is struggling to see how it will benefit the community at large. She said she is not supportive of the idea of vacating public land to resolve an issue that is a real one for sure, but could perhaps be resolved in a different way. It sounds like there is history with working with situations where a driveway placement or drainage may be impacting people negatively, she added. Veach noted that there is an access three houses down. She said she listened to the Planning Commission discussion and said it seemed the vacation with a drainage and encroachment easements would be beneficial to the neighborhood. Walsh said he believes the request does meet the necessary qualifications. Crosby said the easement is not being used by the City and never will be, and there is a nearby better access. He would be comfortable with following the recommendation of the Planning Commission. Edwards explained the strip is currently a right-of-way and changing to a drainage easement would reduce the benefit to the City. Walsh moved, Veach seconded, to direct staff to bring a resolution for the vacation of the easement with a drainage easement and an encroachment agreement for the items within the easement for LA23-000045, between 1250 and 1260 Spruce Place. VOTE: Ayes 3, Nays 2 (Benson and Johnson). FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT 20.ADOPT 2024 LONG LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATING BUDGET MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 4 of 9 City Administrator Edwards said the budget was provided to the Council in September and tabled. The budget that evening is an adjusted budget. The end number remains the same. The distribution has changed. Long Lake acknowledged the reduction of the Navarre area which reduced Orono’s allocation. He said there would be two actions so that Veach could recuse herself on the second as she is married to a firefighter. He said the duty crew program would be new and will need to be refined. The reduction of the Navarre Service area as of July 1, 2024 created a new allocation formula. The budget also increases the hourly wage of the fire fighters from $13 to $15.65 per hour. Johnson said he supports the allocation and pay increase. In regard to duty crews, the planning document which is dated July says there would be an update in the next three weeks to the duty crew model. Fire Chief Van Eyll said the Long Lake model differs in that Long Lake plans to have a rotation of fire fighters who have volunteered to be part of duty crews on duty. Orono’s plan will be to hire fire fighters for the day shift, part time at first and eventually full time. They acknowledged the long-standing problem and are seeing improvements, he said, although he does not think they have achieved a two-minute response time yet. Johnson said the Long Lake model uses the same fire fighters that they already have and are finding that it is difficult to staff. Walsh said the Orono model is based on Minnetonka and Plymouth as they found problems with the volunteer model because they were then short for on-call response. Edwards said it would be unrealistic to expect the Long Lake model to meet all their goals in three months. Johnson said Long Lake had not responded to questions and won’t use any of Orono’s resources during this period. He said he is not in support of the duty crews based on where they are today. Edwards said Long Lake has been providing updates to the fire advisory board since the July document. They are getting a better response at Station One than Station Two. Walsh said this needs to move forward and he is confident the Orono and Long Lake staffs can continue to work together to resolve questions. Walsh moved, Benson seconded, to approve the Long Lake Fire operating budget for 2024 less the pay increases and duty crews. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to approve the Long Lake Fire 2024 pay increases and duty crews. VOTE: Ayes 3, Nays 1 (Johnson), Abstentions 1 (Veach). 21.FINAL LEVY 2023 COLLECTIBLE IN 2024 - RESOLUTION 7436 Finance Director Olson said this is approval of the final levy for taxes collectible in 2024. He said he wanted to respond to a comment made at the Truth in Taxation meeting that to not pay down the City’s debt is fiscally irresponsible. He said the City is paying the full amount legally required on debt service. The tax levy will go up 12.6 percent and will cover the Orono Fire department, operating budget and general fund and fully covers debt service. The tax rate will go down slightly. MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 5 of 9 Benson said she wanted to reiterate that the 12.6 percent increase would be a four percent increase if not for the Orono Fire Department so she does not support the resolution. Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to adopt Resolution 7436 for the 2023 payable 2024 tax levy. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 1 (Benson). 22.SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS BUDGETS 2024 - RESOLUTION 7438 Olson said budgets for some funds with restricted uses need to be adopted, for example the Parks, TIF (Tax Increment Financing) and drug and felony enforcement funds. Walsh moved, Veach seconded, to adopt Resolution 7438 Special Revenue Funds Budgets. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. 23.FEE SCHEDULE UPDATES - ORDINANCE 288 Olson said the document had a number of minor housekeeping changes plus the new utility rates adopted at the last Council meeting. Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to adopt Ordinance 288 of the third series amending Title One, Chapter Two of the City Code relating to the Fee Schedule and to approve a summary publication of Ordinance 288. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. 24.ADOPT 2024 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Olson said the Capital Improvement Plan is a planning document only. Approval does not approve individual expenditures. Actually going forward with any of these items would require Council approval. It covers every department in the City that has equipment or large projects. Benson said she is not in favor of the Capital Improvement Plan because it includes the Orono Fire Department and Public Safety Funds that could be used for other items but are allocated to the Fire Department. Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to adopt the 2024 Capital Improvement Plan. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 1 (Benson). 25.FINAL GENERAL FUND BUDGET 2024 - RESOLUTION 7437 Olson said the general fund budget has not changed significantly since the adoption of the preliminary budget in September and the total amount is the same as adopted in September. The public and the Council had the opportunity to ask questions on the budget at the Truth in Taxation Hearing. Other than the Orono Fire Department, he said, there were no comments on the budget. Benson said again she does not support the planned expenditure related to the Orono Fire Department because at $772,000 it is a 342 percent increase over this year. Walsh moved, Johnson seconded, to adopt Resolution 7437 the Final General Fund Budget 2024. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 1 (Benson). MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 6 of 9 26.ENTERPRISE FUNDS BUDGET 2024 - RESOLUTION 7439 Olson said at the Truth in Taxation meeting a comment was made referring to the Enterprise Funds as slush funds and that bothers him as they work hard at setting rates. The funds do carry healthy fund balances, but some are weather dependent and vary in balance from year to year. He said many of these enterprises like water and sewer have significant and expensive infrastructure. Crosby pointed out the area is more rural so there are longer pipes with fewer households connected. When the pipes need to be replaced it will be important that the City has funds for that as an assessment would devastate some people. Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to adopt Resolution 7439 the Enterprise Fund Budget 2024. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. Olson said it has been a mostly enjoyable 26 years working with the City and they will be in good hands with the new finance director. He reported the City is over budget and over last year in Building Permit Revenue. Most of the big developments are nearing completion so he suspects the City is nearing the end of building permit revenue over budget. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT Attorney Mattick had nothing to report. CITY ADMINISTRATOR/ENGINEER REPORT 27.APPRECIATION FOR FINANCE DIRECTOR RON OLSON – RESOLUTION 7435 Walsh read the resolution thanking Olson for his 26 years of service to the City of Orono, including as finance director since 2006. Johnson moved, Crosby seconded, to adopt Resolution 7435 of appreciation for Finance Director Ron Olson. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS There were no Council committee meetings during the last month. PUBLIC COMMENTS Cheryl Kulseth, 725 Stonebay Drive, said six people came up during Truth in Taxation hearing and 11 came up during public comments. She said the Mayor likes to give quotes so she shared quotes from the Mayor from the last meeting concerning what he characterized as the same group of 12 people who don’t like the City Council. She said she agrees that what the Mayor does speaks volumes and how he treats the people who come forward speaks volumes. She does not agree that other cities want to be like Orono right now. She added, it takes courage to come to speak at Orono City Council meetings knowing that what she says won’t likely change anything. She said she would continue to voice her concerns and hope MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7 of 9 they will listen with an open mind. The Orono Fire Department was a catalyst for her to step up and pay attention. She said the behavior she sees lecturing citizens, knowingly defying court orders and disrespecting other Council members does not sit well with her. She said she wants to see debates before Council members take a vote but urged them to try to be respectful. She apologized for any disrespect she has shown and promised to do better. She said she would continue coming to Council meetings or watching them online when she is unable, and that she would vote in November. Krista Berbig, Long Lake, said she wanted to bring up some of the awesome things Long Lake Fire Fighters are doing in both cities including the tree lighting and community events. She said as they wrap up and leave this evening, they should think about the fire fighters who will remain ready to serve the community throughout the holiday season perhaps taking calls while at Christmas parties, on Christmas Eve, or taking time with their families. The community will remain a priority for them and if called they will be torn away to serve. Remember that they have asked you not to split them up, she said. Remember Long Lake does want to work with you and wants to build with Orono a joint powers agreement which is a trend among communities where communities join together to create a board where each City is represented. She said Orono’s share of the costs could go down from 85 percent to less than 50 percent if more communities joined the JPA. A proposal to work together to make a JPA remains on the table unanswered by Orono. She asked the Council to continue to negotiate in good faith. Kelly Grady, Long Lake, said she has been accused of not living in Orono and asked why she cares. She said her family lived a great portion of their lives in Orono. Since her husband is a Long Lake fire fighter, decisions made by the Orono Council affect her more than they affect many Orono citizens. She said two years ago, that day her father died of sudden cardiac arrest, so she understands the need for effective and skilled first responders. She said for the last decade Orono has done everything it could to undermine the Long Lake Fire Department as a long-range play for control, and she cited flagrant violations of judge’s orders. All this, she said, is being done with zero community input. She said playing with fire has a human cost. There is still a proposal for a shared services agreement with Long Lake on the table. Orono does not have to go it alone. Coming together to share resources and fiscal responsibility is the future of fire services nationwide, she said. The Council is making a deliberate choice to isolate themselves from surrounding communities. There will be mediation January 30, 2024 and she asked citizens to write to the Council and urge them to mediate in good faith with a goal that builds on the existing public service entity. Brad Erickson, Corcoran, brought a bag of coal for the Mayor and said he had been informed of a rumor circulating at Orono High School involving the Mayor and a high school girl and said there is now a video up suggesting the Mayor of Orono is propositioning high school students. He said he had talked to the Police Chief and contended the Mayor has a drinking problem and should get treatment. He said he is about done but would be back next year. Jay Nygard, 1386 Rest Point Road, said that Erickson may be a little wound up but he is on to something. He said he himself is a survivor of past sexual abuse by Orono school staff. He said he is not explicitly accusing Walsh of anything, but the allegations are out there and need to be addressed. He said the police have waffled and it is not the time to waffle in this community when it comes to that. It is time to stand up and investigate and find the truth. MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 8 of 9 Kathleen Sweetman, 475 Deborah Drive, a retired pediatrician, said she had zero opinions about anyone in the room and the accusations that had been made that evening, but during her practice she saw many children who were assaulted, and pedophilia and rape are routinely dismissed as nothing. She also said her nephew was with Jacob Wetterling when he was kidnapped, raped, and murdered. It has to be taken seriously. She said she is not saying anything about anyone in that room but it is a real thing and the most common scenario is a family member or friend and it’s not just the Orono community. It afflicts virtually every community and not just in the US, she said. It is a common problem and people turn away from it because it is ugly and you can’t fix a problem you can’t name. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Walsh said what had been said about him that evening is absolutely a lie. Johnson said they obviously hit an issue tonight that’s touched a lot of people in the community and asked what they can do about it as public officials except perhaps raise awareness. But the accusations directed at the Mayor are tasteless, he said. The idea of any child being harmed hurts and I’m sorry for anyone who has had that experience. He said Erickson has been doing a good job bringing his information to the Council so this was disappointing. He said he was glad another piece of the fire department is behind them tonight. None of their concerns about the budget had anything to do with the performance of the fire fighters. It had to do with being fiscally responsible and making the right decision for the City. Benson said it was very hard to listen to these statements tonight and coming from a helping profession in mental health she knows how hard these issues are to speak out about as adults, so she applauds those who are able and willing to speak out about it. She said it was hard to proceed with her planned remarks for that night’s meeting, but she did speak with the City Administrator about the comments she planned to make tonight to make sure she was not speaking out of turn about the recent closed session. At the Council’s closed session on December 4 a fellow City Council member raised a concern about the use of technology by Council members at the dais during City Council meetings, she said. This topic is not related to the legal strategy they were discussing so she wanted to bring this up to discuss going into the new year. The Council member expressed concern that other members of the Council may be texting or communicating with members of the public during the meeting. The issue was whether sending or receiving electronic communications during meetings was a possible violation of the Open Meeting Law. She said she shared those concerns and discussed the matter with the City Administrator and the League of Minnesota Cities. There are no formal policies that exist governing the use of cell phones at the dais and the attorney for the League recommended it be discussed at the Council level with the City Attorney. She proposed that it be addressed by the Council in the new year. She said a work session could be devoted to the topic of the Open Meeting Law and the use of electronics in meeting and what policies and procedures could be implemented going forward. She said she supports any measures that can be taken to comply with the Open Meeting Law at all times and if another Council member has concerns about the use of cell phones during meetings, the public may as well. This past year of service on the Orono City Council has been both challenging and tremendously gratifying, she said. She appreciates the opportunity to learn and grow in this role for which she has the utmost respect. She wished everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Crosby wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays over the next few weeks. He said be good to one another and enjoy time with family. MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 9 of 9 Veach said she wanted to acknowledge the pain in the room. She said accountability to oneself is the first step to facilitating change and sometimes you need to take time to let cooler heads prevail. She said she was proud of the budget being passed and that it was a step in the right direction. Accountability to oneself and trying to control what you can, does make a difference, she said. She wanted to acknowledge the pain and the hurt. She said she hoped the holiday season would provide a breather from all this and a time to reflect. Walsh thanked Olson for his years of service. He talked about the success of the tree lighting, noting they served over 400 hot dogs. Coffee with the Mayor will be the coming Wednesday. He wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah and a fabulous 2024. He finished with quotes from Bob Hope, Albert Einstein, and Abraham Lincoln. ADJOURNMENT Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 p.m. VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. ATTEST: _____________________________________ _______________________________________ Christine Lusian, City Clerk Dennis Walsh, Mayor