Orono Mayor Dennis Walsh
Breaking News: Wealthy Orono leverages Charitable Org
to design/build structure in For Profit Golf Course
Orono Mayor Denny Walsh has coordinated behind the scenes to have a structure built on the Orono Golf Course. What is odd about this is that he is asking the Charitable Organization @Lionsclub to do it.
Currently, Walsh is spending tens of millions on other Orono projects so why rope in a charity to build something for - dare we say - a sport for the wealthy? Is it because he has run out of park funding right now in Orono? Is it because he wants this built for another special interest group?
Are the citizens in Orono needy? Forbes.com lists Orono as the sixth richest city in Minnesota.
https://www.forbes.com/.../the-richest-cities-in.../... Another article lists Orono as one of richest cities in America. So why are the Lions Club building something for the wealthy?
Checking into the Lions Club, it appears that they are charitable. Their website https://lions5m5.org/ shows a mission statement “To empower Lions clubs, volunteers, and partners to improve health and well-being, strengthen communities, and support those in need through humanitarian services and grants that impact lives globally, and encourage peace and international understanding.”
The Lions Club global causes are stated as childhood cancer, diabetes, disaster relief, environment, humanitarian, hunger, vision, youth. See here: https://www.lionsclubs.org/.../our-service/ways-we-serve So does a structure on a for profit golf course meet those causes? Seems not.
Tell Mayor Walsh and those at the district level of the Lions Club that something should be stopped here in Orono. The Lions Club should be focused on helping those in need, not building structures for our Mayor and his friends because as we all know, they can afford to do it themselves.
Tell Mayor Walsh to stop competing with other more needy causes. Make your voices heard on the public record for all Citizens at the next Park Commission and City Council meetings.
#togetherwearebetter @friendsoforono
Orono’s Mayor Walsh breaks Open Meeting Law 4/29/24
Authors Uncivil comments to Citizen
Once again, we see the flagrant disregard for process and procedure by Mayor Walsh. He decided to blast an email to the entire City Council in response to a very kind request from a Citizen. By sending an email to more than one council member, Mayor Walsh is in effect creating a quorum, and therefore subject to a violation of the Open Meeting Law according to MN Statute 13D.015.
Even more distressing is the manner in which Walsh answered honest questions about the mystery “lean-to” (the Mayor’s term) that is proposed to be constructed at Orono Public Golf Course. Walsh’s terse and abrupt tone does not show respect for a Citizen seeking answers to the city’s process.
Was Walsh’s objective to show the other council members that they need to shut down any further discussion or detailed information sharing with the citizens?
Was this a way for him to control the other council members by working around the open meeting law?
Please see the Mayor’s response on our website here: https://www.friendsoforono.org/oronopublicgolfcourse
WHAT YOU CAN DO!
Please send an email message to Orono City Administrator Adam Edwards here: aedwards@oronomn.gov by 5/2/24 regarding the lack of Pavilion information and the rights of the Citizens to participate in their own public asset development.
This will ensure your comments appear on the public record.
And as always please attend Park Commission and City Council meetings.
#togetherwearebetter @friendsoforono
Is Mayor Walsh employing Confusion? Control? Why is he reposting Orono City business posts with his own comments? Why not do that on the Orono City Facebook page? Or the Orono Fire page? As a public official is he misusing social media?
Is this further Citizen Suppression that Mayor Walsh seems to have a track record of implementing?
Remember when he changed Citizen comments from 5 minutes to 3 minutes? (contrary to #matthewjohnson's recent comments this move was due to Citizen unrest)
And then placed the Citizen comments at the very end of the meeting?
And in spite, he often schedules a 5 minute recess before the comment period so citizens have to wait that much longer?
Remember our City meeting minutes had the topic of the Citizen's comments included?
And now they don’t?
Remember Mayor Walsh saying not to consider social media a source of information?
And now the City of Orono has multiple sites on Facebook alone?
Why and what is Mayor Walsh hiding in his own Facebook messaging? Why is he blocking citizen's comments? Why are there multiple sites for the City of Orono? Is Mayor Walsh trying to confuse our Citizens?
It is clear Mayor Walsh has not made good on his promises to be a transparent leader when he ran for mayor. His lack of contempt for the citizens mirrors his lack of contempt for the court. Orono citizens desire better.
#togetherwearebetter @friendsoforono