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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-27-2025 CC Minutes oA,. WMinutes City Council Regular Meeting Monday,January 27,2025, 6:00 PM City Council Chambers 2780 Kelley Parkway, Orono, MN 55356 QS Mayor Tunheim called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Orono City Council members present: Mayor Bob Tunheim, City Council Members Alisa Benson, Steve Persian,Jacqueline Ricks and Claire Berrett.Members absent:None Staff present were City Attorney Soren Mattick, City Administrator/Engineer Adam Edwards,Finance Director Maggie Jin, and Fire Chief James Van Eyll. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF AGENDA CONSENT AGENDA 1. City Council Minutes This item was removed from the Consent Agenda 2. Claims/Bills This item was removed from the Consent Agenda 3. Work Session Schedule 4. Rename Management Assistant to Deputy City Clerk This item was removed from the Consent Agenda 5. Hire Firefighter This item was removed from the Consent Agenda Persian moved,Berrett seconded,to approve the Agenda and Consent Agenda with items 1,2,4 and 5 removed and Item 3 as amended.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS Nancy Brantingham, 3185 County Rd 6; Thomas Terry, 791 Boulder Drive; Kim Carswell, 261 Cygnet Place;Janie Delaney, 1315 Woodhill Ave.; Mike Hart,2510 Casco Point Rd;Dan Gustafson; 1040 E Circle Dr, Wayzata provided comments. PRESENTATIONS 6. County Commissioner Updates County Commissioner Heather Edelson introduced herself to the City Council and gave highlights of the current Hennepin County budget and activities and took questions from the Council. 1. City Council Minutes Dan Gustafson, an audience member,asked that the minutes be amended to reflect his comments and the letter he presented at the last meeting. City Administrator Edwards told the Council the minutes meet statutes and best practices and are intended to reflect the actions of the Council,with the video recordings Page 1 of 3 OWMinutes City Council Regular Meeting Monday, January 27,2025, 6:00 PM City Council Chambers 2780 Kelley Parkway, Orono, MN 55356 Es HO and transcripts providing more detail. Benson noted the subject of the detail of minutes has come up before and the format has changed over time to include less detail. Other cities have more detail, and arguments can be made for and against that. She said she would be open to discussing it again. Berrett moved,Persian seconded,to approve the minutes of the Jan. 13,2025,City Council meeting as presented.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. 2. Claims/Bills Ricks asked to have this item pulled from the agenda and said she had questions on six line items in the bills. Staff addressed her questions. Ricks moved,Benson seconded,to approve the claims and bills as presented.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. 4. Rename Management Assistant to Deputy City Clerk Benson said she just wanted to point out that the employee in question is working on her City Clerk certification. Benson moved,Berrett seconded,to approve changing the title Management Assistant to Deputy City Clerk and to approve the job description.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. 5. Hire Firefighter Benson noted the action included a resignation and asked the Fire Chief for an update on staffing. Fire Chief Van Eyll explained this hire would replace an individual who had resigned.Benson said she could support the hire because it replaces another person and the City has an active negotiating team engaged in negotiations with the City of Long Lake so members of both Councils are actively participating in talks. Staff recommendation was to accept the resignation of part-time firefighter Kayla Kennedy and hire Shawn Laughton as a part-time firefighter starting January 31 at a rate of$20 per hour. Ricks moved,Persian seconded,to approve the hiring of the part-time firefighter.VOTE: Ayes 5, Nays 0. FINANCE REPORT 7. Fourth Quarter Financial Update Finance Director Jin reported on the Fourth Quarter Financial Update, noting they are preliminary until after the audit. She reports on General Fund Revenue,General Fund Expenditures, and Investment Interest. • CITY ATTORNEY REPORT None. Page 2 of 3 Minutes City Council Regular Meeting Monday,January 27, 2025, 6:00 PM W City Council Chambers 2780 Kelley Parkway, Orono, MN 55356 CITY ADMINISTRATOR/ENGINEER REPORT 8. Approve Communications Specialist Position and Recruitment The City Council is requested to review the Staff report, receive a presentation, and discuss and approve the addition of a Communications Specialist Position for the City Staff The position was included in the 2025 budget. City Administrator Edwards explained what the role of the proposed position. The Council discussed the item and asked questions of staff Benson moved,Berrett seconded,to approve the Communications Specialist Position and Job Description and authorize staff to initiate the recruitment process. VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. Edwards also reported the City has been in discussion with the Three Rivers Park District about the possible addition of a regional trail right-of-way that would connect the Luce Line and the Dakota Trail. as part of their trail master plan. The reason for the addition would be a planned road project that could significantly disrupt an existing trail. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS Perian reported on negotiating team discussions with the City of Long Lake that have included eight meetings since the last Council meeting. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Mayor and Council provided reports. ADJOURNMENT Benson moved,Ricks seconded,to adjourn the meeting at 7:41 p.m.to Monday,February 10,2025, at 6:00 p.m.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. ATTES : Chr sti usia C' Clerk Bob Tunheim,Mayor Minutes approved by Orono City Council February 10, 2025. Meeting videos and transcripts available at oronomn.gov. Page 3 of 3