Letters to the Ortonville City Council

The purpose of this thread is to publically address the Ortonville City Council. We will start this thread with the letter to the editor that Diane Dorry wrote a few weeks ago after the May 18, 2009 Ortonville City Council Meeting.


FROM DIANE DORRY:

Dear Editor,
As most everyone knows I am the wife of a Councilman; therefore I want this clear, I am a concerned citizen and have my own opinions and ideas about what is happening to this city because of certain persons running it.

I have watched many council meetings on TV and I can't believe what I see and hear. I don't remember Ortonville ever having a council quite like this one. It makes me wonder if the citizens who elected you people are still happy? I do remember you were runing as a team and you were going to move this city forward. Yes, I agree, you have moved the city only it is backward!

Lets see...what have you accomplished?
Apparently certain councilmen had a problem with a woman in charge so you fired our more than competent Clerk Administrator, Char Grossman. After doing that dirty deed you hired the present City Administrator, David Lang. Then you turned around and rehired Char becaue you realized you needed her expertise for the city budget. Could it be the present City Administrator doesn't know how to do a budget? Char has worked thirty-seven years for this city, 5 years as the Clerk Administrator without the types of problems we have now. What happened? The city has had one mess after another with the present administration.

Could it be we have a City Administrator who feels the need to control? Mr. Lang may be the City Administrator but in order to hold that position one has to have a good working relationship with the city departments. An adminsitrator oversees; one does not control a department nor be in constant conflict with them; after all, the departments know their jobs and what their responsiblilites are. A good council and City Administrator should know when there is good morale among their department workers the work will be done well.

I often hear "the way we did it in Dundas". We are not in Dundas, which according to the map is approximately 7 miles from Northfield and approximately 35 miles south of the cities with a population of 759. Certaiinly they do things differently, look where they are located. It's called money available for use - something which a rural community like Ortonville does not have the privilege of having. If you liked the way everything was run in Dundas why did you leave?

Don't take credit where credit is not due. The grants, which the Police, Library, Fire Department and Airport received, were received because the head of each department wrote them.

The Police Department, Well, we have all heard most of that story! I still want to know after paying $3120.63 on December 14, 2007 to have a study done on Police versus County Sheriff, (available at the Clerks office,) and the study came back CLEARLY stating to leave the Police Department as it is, WHY do we have certain past and present council people still trying to get rid of the Police Department? Does one of you have a personal vendetta against the police or does one of you have something to hide or gain? Were did common sense and being able to think, (without your team), on your own go? Are some of you afraid you may offend each other by voting no? There are two present, Blair Johnson & Nick Anderson, and two past, Dan Oakes and Artie Arndt, council members whom have no clue what it is like to live on a through street as each of them live on dead end streets. Maybe each of you should come out of your cozy corner into the real world and see what goes tearing by through stop signs, the vulgar language, throwing junk out of car windows, which we have to pick up, finding the things are missing or vandalized and wonder just who is that person lurking around at all hours. This is why I like haveing police on hand.

LET THE CITIZENS DECIDE; PUT IT TO A VOTE THIS COMING NOVEMBER.

Instead of trying to cut the police - CUT YOUR WASTEFUL SPENDING, THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM.

You raised the sewer and electrical rates, another incentive for people to want to live here!

Building permits; will anyone want to build in Ortonville after they find out what the conditions and procedures are to get a permit? Yes, we have to have guidelines but lest ger real! It used to be SO simple, get the application from the clerk's office, fill it out and return it then Roy Baily would check everything out.

Now we have a CONFUSED AND VERY EXPENSIVE MESS.

What kind of behind closed-door shenanigans were trying to be pulled on Monday, the 18th [of May] during the council meeting? How did you four think you were going to vote in Dan Oakes when Cunningham's position wasn't officially going to be vacant until the 20th? It seemed to me some of you thought Cunningham would be able to vote, isn't that illegal?
How convenient, one councilman was missing and you all knew he would be gone. I know there were two other people who put their names in as candidates, namely Mary Gustafson and David Dinnel. I am sure everyone would like to know how you narrowed it down to Dan Oakes as three of the council members were not informed of any meeting to disucss possible candidates. Are you four afraid someone could get elected that cares what happens to Ortonville and has more knowledge of city business than each of you? Is it possible your all pushing to get Dan Oakes back on the council as he was determined to get rid of our Police Department four years ago?

There was an entire council room full of concerned citizens on Monday and all were asking for the same thing, why did you the opposite as if they were not there? You're elected to represent the people and listen to their concerns.

I sincerely hope you citizens who will be voting this fall for a Mayor and three council positions remember to vote for the persons that actually care and are truly concerned for Ortonville's existence unilke what I have been seeing.

I have always maintained, when everything is working well, DON'T try to fix it. Good job City Administrator and councilmen, we certainly have been moved!

Sincerely,
Diane Dorry

Diane
Absolutely awesome letter.
In addition to the many good you make and questions you put to the council, you bring something to the forefront that has been only too obvious but not addressed -- Violation of Sunshine laws. IE, "business" being DISCUSSED or conducted with more than two people present or involved, without an open meeting being declared and DOCUMENTED for public review. Those rules and many others having to do with transparency and legal procedures are loosely followed or ignored all together, based on what we've seen come to light.
Thanks for standing up. Very enlightening. Plenty to think about.
Zorro