ORONOCO – City residents have watched over the past two years as Oronoco leaders fought among themselves numerous times — from the firing of a city administrator to a lawsuit over a citizen's First Amendment rights.

That was supposed to change after this month's elections.

The City Council temporarily delayed certifying its election results this week after members on Wednesday disagreed over when Daniel Spring, who won a special election on Nov. 5, could take his seat.

Though the council certified results Friday, the incident marks the latest squabble among city leaders and concerned residents of this community of about 1,800 people just a few minutes north of Rochester.

Spring replaces Erv De Vlaeminck, who was appointed to the council in February after Carl Krause resigned. Spring was supposed to start his term next week, but several council members on Wednesday challenged that date.

They argued that De Vlaeminck should be allowed to serve until the end of the year, as are other council members under guidance from the League of Minnesota Cities.

Council Member Jim Phillips refused to certify the election results until De Vlaemink was allowed to stay until January.

City Administrator Jason Baker and Mayor Ryland Eichhorst disagreed. They said that according to rulings by the Minnesota Secretary of State's office, special election winners should take office as soon as election results are certified.

"It doesn't matter that [the election was] in November with this one," Baker said. "They would take over right after the election was done, the results were declared."

Council members recessed Wednesday night and returned in a special session Friday morning when they reaffirmed the direction from state election officials to have Spring start this month.

More than a dozen people attended Friday's meeting, some laughing and jeering after outgoing Council Member Jim Richards said the council always intended to ratify the results.

Afterward, De Vlaemink said he doesn't plan to contest the results. However, he expressed concerns over misinformation and what he was slander on social media concerning local officials before the election.

Elected officials and residents have been divided for months over how the City Council conducts itself. Oronoco officials have been embroiled over a series of disagreements, including:

  • The council's abrupt firing of City Administrator Sunny Bjorklund Schultz in October 2023 and Council Member Dana Bergner's resignation in protest. Council members restricted Eichhorst's ability to sign checks for the city after Bjorklund Schultz was dismissed.
  • A lawsuit filed against the city by Bergner's sister, Andrea Johnson, earlier in 2023 after she was ejected from a council meeting for criticizing members during a public comment period. The lawsuit was later settled.
  • A suit filed in 2022 by Krause against the mayor and City Council, alleging that the council was conducting city business during planning sessions for Oronoco's annual community festival.

The local elections turned ugly in recent months in the race between Phillips and Eichhorst for mayor. The council voted 4-1, with Eichhorst dissenting, to skip public comments at the last council meeting before the Nov. 5 elections to avoid negative comments.

Eichhorst was re-elected with 57% of the vote. Paul Pendergrass, who replaced Bergner last year, also won re-election; newcomer Marie Reisdorfer also won.

Spring was elected to finish out Krause's term through 2026 by defeating De Vlaeminck and Richards.

Eichhorst said after Friday's meeting that the special election was held this month to cut down on costs and work.

The mayor said he's hopeful city business will be more positive with the new council. He said he'd like to see fewer surprises and "gotcha" questions from members at meetings and hopes elected officials will ask more questions of city staff as they prepare for city business.

"There are always hills and valleys with a council, and we're trying to get back on top of the hill," Eichhorst said.

Oronoco officials plan to update city zoning codes in 2025 in anticipation of several housing projects. The city this year took a new wastewater treatment plant online, the first in Oronoco's history.