Say No to Christmas Fireworks in Orono
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Say No to Christmas Fireworks in Orono

Orono City Council does it again. Sets off thousands of dollars of Fireworks on the wrong holiday for their own enjoyment. Citizens are voicing their concerns here: https://www.friendsoforono.org/oronosunrest

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Why doesn't Maria Veach Recuse herself from all Fire Related Matters?
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Why doesn't Maria Veach Recuse herself from all Fire Related Matters?

What is a conflict of interest?

A conflict of interest is a situation in which a person or organization has two or more competing interests. When a conflict of interest occurs, the person or team can't perform their duties appropriately because it could mean betraying their interests to one of the parties within the situation. When such a situation arises, it's often a legal requirement for the primary party to remove themselves.

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Is Council member Matt Johnson misleading Orono Citizens?
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Is Council member Matt Johnson misleading Orono Citizens?

Orono City Council member Matt Johnson disparaged a fellow City Council member not once, but twice during the 8/28/23 City Council meeting.

Johnson belittled Citizens by making fun of their comments, their demeanor and even how they walk from the City Chambers.

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In His Own Words: Orono Planning Commissioner Dennis Libby
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

In His Own Words: Orono Planning Commissioner Dennis Libby

In their own Words

Orono Planning Commissioner Dennis Libby has been very active, along with Mayor Dennis Walsh, in commenting about both private citizens and former officials. Both of them have been posting on Nextdoor through the local Politics group and commenting in various meetings. Attached is one of Libby’s rants criticizing former city officials during the 7/12/23 Coffee for the Mayor meeting. Is this ethical, professional or warranted? Isn’t the City Council and the rest of the departments including City Staff supposed to be nonpartisan?

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Orono's Apparent Conflicts of Interest
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Orono's Apparent Conflicts of Interest

Let us count some of many ways it appears there are conflicts of interest in Orono:

1) #MayorDennisWalsh will not survey the Orono citizens, nor will he listen to repeated requests for budget information regarding two of Orono’s largest projects ie: “The Taj Mahal Maintenance Shed” and the Duplicate Fire Department. Clearly, he appears to have his own agenda, and isn’t this in direct conflict with his duties as Orono Mayor to act on behalf of the citizens?

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Important Orono Meeting! 5/22/23
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Important Orono Meeting! 5/22/23

Do not miss this meeting at 6 p.m.! If you care about your taxes going up and fire service in our community ie: your insurance premiums going up please attend and make your voices heard!

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Breaking News:You Are Invited!
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Breaking News:You Are Invited!

The City of Long Lake will be holding a 'Follow-Up Forum: Long Lake Fire Service Updates' open house event on Thursday, May 18 to share the latest information regarding ongoing Long Lake Fire Department discussions, and to welcome community input from any residents of our fire service coverage area (Long Lake, Medina, Minnetonka Beach, and Orono).

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Stop Orono's Overspending Attend May 22 City Council Meeting
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Stop Orono's Overspending Attend May 22 City Council Meeting

Citizens of Orono - do you want to spend multi millions more on Duplicate Fire Service? Why is Orono talking about borrowing money from other funds for this expenditure? It's because they haven't told us a budget. Why? Because it's going to be expensive by anyone's guess.

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How much does fire service in Orono cost?
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

How much does fire service in Orono cost?

How much will Spendy Denny going to charge us for Duplicate Fire Service?

Do not be bamboozled by the number of pages, nor the graphs and charts, nor the amount of words in the 83 page Needs Assessment Document for Fire Service.

Do pay close attention to how much money Mayor Walsh is freely spending of your tax dollars. And please do pay close attention to the fact that something doesn’t add up.

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Mayor Walsh’s Bluffgate Continues
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Mayor Walsh’s Bluffgate Continues

Now taxpayers are spending our dollars to see if there’s a way to circumvent the current ordinance with code changes. Imagine all those new retaining walls around the lake without oversight - is that what is best for property values and habitats?

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Orono City Council Member Matt Johnson: needs a variance for his Free right-of-way land
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Orono City Council Member Matt Johnson: needs a variance for his Free right-of-way land

Council member #MattJohnson seems to have no problem apparently trampling the city code, his future neighbors or the free speech of his fellow council members.

After heavy-handily getting Orono to give him public right-of-way for free so he could create two new lakeshore lots, he is now asking for a variance to build on one of them. On April 17th, the Orono Planning Commission agreed to give him his variance against citizen unrest.

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It’s Time for Orono to Listen
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

It’s Time for Orono to Listen

Let’s ask for a Listening Session For Hackberry Park Development Now

One of the primary reasons that there is so much unrest in Orono at this very moment is because the Park Commission and City Council are not asking the Citizens what they want BEFORE starting Park design and master plans.

Because the Citizens were not a part of the process from the beginning, there have been what appear to be four false starts.

Lack of listening sessions at Summit Beach, Lowry Woods Nature Conservation Area, Bederwood Park and Orono Golf Course lead to citizen unrest about the lack of engagement with the general public.

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Orono’s Matt Johnson chides fellow council member
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Orono’s Matt Johnson chides fellow council member

Dear Mr. Council member Matt Johnson;

Please note that openly disparaging fellow city council members appears unbecoming and unprofessional.

Stop the division please, and let’s get back to “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

#togetherwearebetter #citizensfororono #MattJohnson #cityoforono #orono #oronocitycouncil #citizensfirst

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