This transcript has been formatted with the names of the Mayor, Councilmembers, and City Staff based on the context provided. Note: Phonetic misspellings in the original transcript (such as "Kata" for Clausen and "thei" for Thiede) have been corrected to match the official names provided. **[00:00] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, good evening everyone. This is the August 21st, 2024, Cottage Grove City Council meeting, which I am calling to order. The first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance. So I'll wait one second here to get everybody in here. It looks like we got them all piling in, and then we'll do the pledge. All right, so we'll start the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, will the Clerk please do the roll? **[00:53] City Clerk Tammy Anderson:** Councilmember Clausen? **[00:55] Councilmember David Clausen:** Here. **[00:56] City Clerk Tammy Anderson:** Councilmember Olsen? **[00:57] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Here. **[00:58] City Clerk Tammy Anderson:** Councilmember Thiede? **[00:59] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Here. **[01:00] City Clerk Tammy Anderson:** Councilmember Garza? **[01:01] Councilmember Monique Garza:** Here. **[01:03] City Clerk Tammy Anderson:** Mayor Bailey? **[01:04] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Here. Next on our agenda is Open Forum. This is the point where if anybody wants to speak on something that's not on tonight's agenda, you are welcome to do so at this time. We did have a signup sheet out in the entry, and I know we didn't have anybody sign up, but is there anybody that came in that wants to speak on Open Forum that did not happen to sign up? All right, seeing none, I will go ahead and close Open Forum. We'll move to number five, which is adoption of the agenda. **[01:28] Councilmember David Clausen:** Motion to adopt the agenda. **[01:30] Councilmember Monique Garza:** Second. **[01:32] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, so motion by Councilmember Clausen, second by Councilmember Garza. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. So next, as we're letting everybody come into the room here, which is pretty awesome, next is a presentation. We have an awesome presentation this evening, and it's regarding a retirement presentation to Brian Bingham. I believe Jon is going to start the comments and then staff—or Council—if you join me down in the front, that would be fantastic. And then Brian, you're going to come up with us too, okay? **[01:58] Fire Chief Jon Pritchard:** All right, well thank you everyone for coming, especially a lot of familiar faces both present and past from our fire department. We're here to recognize Brian Bingham for 28 plus years of honorable service to the community of Cottage Grove and the Cottage Grove Fire Department. When you dedicate that much time and you do that much for a community, it deserves many different forms of recognition, and this is just the first to recognize your great years. You will also be getting recognized at our annual banquet, so we'll save a seat for you there, and maybe a few seats. Brian has served over 28 years in the fire department and he has served in many roles in the department from Firefighter/EMT all the way up to the rank of Captain. Brian through the years has served as a mentor and has had great influence on many folks' careers and their lives. Deputy Chief Arrigoni, who was mentored by Brian—he's away at an Army training so he couldn't pull away from that to come here—Nick would say, "When I sat on the department as an 18-year-old fresh-faced kid, Brian was the guy. Brian's the guy you wanted to be. Brian was the one that was going to teach you how to do it and get you home safe." So that was just a great way of explaining who Brian was. I remember that's before I got to meet Brian in person, that's how Nick described you to me. So that was big shoes to fill and you filled them very well. I'm honored to have served with you for over four years. Then just as a firefighter over 28 years, you go on thousands of calls, which Brian did, and really it's hard to put that in numbers, but Brian had an absolute profound effect on thousands of people through his career, whether it was in the back of the ambulance or on the scene of a fire. Many times Brian was in charge of those different scenes, but truly there are thousands of Cottage Grove residents that have been affected by you in a positive way, and thank you for that. Just lives have changed both from our firefighters to everyone in this community. Just a quick note: I still appreciate that Brian works for South Washington County schools, so anytime we have a fire alarm or an issue at the school, Brian's the first one there and I'm just like, "Thank goodness Brian's there," because trust me, it helps us get through a lot of stuff. So thank you, Brian, and I'll turn it over to Council and other folks. **[03:41] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, so what I'm going to do first though is I'm going to invite our County Commissioner Carla Bingham up here. Hint, hint, here we go. And by the way, I have her speech because we knew she wasn't going to be able to do this. All right, so I'll start here. So again, as we all just said, we obviously are all here to honor a former firefighter, Brian Bingham, for his 28 years of amazing service to the city of Cottage Grove and our community. Brian is joined tonight by his wife Sarah and sons Aiden and Colin, his parents Dan and Pat, which are in there—you guys can wave, there you go—his sister who is next to me here, our Washington County Commissioner Carla Bingham and her husband John, and his sister Danielle did make it, I did see that, that's pretty cool. I said Commissioner Bingham has a Commissioner Certificate to give you for your years of service tonight as well, but we also know she never would get through her comments without crying. So I'm here, I'm going to read some of the highlights. Brian has always wanted to be a firefighter; he is a fourth-generation firefighter. As a little boy, when the fire monitor tones would go off at home, he would rush to get his father's shoes, car keys, and make sure the garage door was open so his dad could leave for the call quickly and start helping people. Brian started in the Explorer Program in the Cottage Grove Fire Department, then became a firefighter, and then a Captain of the department. I believe that was after your dad retired. The Commissioner Certificate says: "On behalf of a grateful county and a proud little sister, the undersigned Commissioner hereby extends recognition and appreciation to Brian Bingham, Cottage Grove Firefighter, for your 28 years of outstanding service in support of Washington County's mission." So I'll turn it over there, let's give a round of applause. [Applause] **[05:12] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** So now what I'll do is I'll hand him a little plaque here, and I'm going to read what's on the plaque. It says: "Brian Bingham, Captain, Lieutenant, Firefighter, City of Cottage Grove Department of Public Safety Fire and Emergency Medical Services Division, served 1995 to 2024. In recognition of over 28 years of dedicated service to the Cottage Grove Public Safety Department and the citizens in which we serve. Brian Bingham has been instrumental in providing the highest quality-based fire and EMS services. Brian has been a part of significant change and has had a direct impact on the excellent reputation, commitment to safety, and the high standards of the department. On behalf of the entire City Council, we thank you for your professionalism, your integrity, and commitment to the city of Cottage Grove. Your service to the department and citizens is greatly appreciated." And it says "Thank you, Cottage Grove Mayor and City Council." So we'll go ahead and give that to him. **[06:33] Mayor Myron Bailey:** I'm going to make one more comment. As some of the firefighters and probably the police officers know here, when something's going on in this community, if I'm aware of it, I'm there. I just show up. So there's been many a time where I'd show up at a scene and he's there, and he's directing and making sure everybody is doing what they're supposed to do, making sure they're safe, making sure the people that were in the homes are safe. Then there's one little story I'll mention many years ago, and I still have the pictures of this. I was invited along with Ken Britton, who was a Planning Commission member—were you at that one too? All right—and so we got the chance to go in a controlled fire, but it was a house that was being burned. All I remember is they put me all in the equipment and we're crawling along the floor and they have the little machine that tells me it's like 500 degrees or whatever, and all I could hear him behind me going, "Mayor, slow down your breathing. Mayor, slow down your breathing." Then after we got out, I said, "Whatever you guys need, just tell me, we're good." Their deal that day was perfect because I was like, "Okay, whatever the fire department needs, I don't ever want to have to go into that thing again." So I just want to say thank you, and we'll get to see you around town. I'm sure we'll be at the event when you get recognized in front of the rest of your peers that aren't here tonight, but you've been amazing and instrumental in a lot of positive things within our community. I didn't know if you wanted to say a few words? **[07:44] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** When have I ever missed this opportunity, right? First of all, I want to thank our Public Safety Director Pete Koerner and the rest of the leadership team, including Chief Pritchard, for allowing us to have this ceremony tonight. It was important to me personally, and I know to the Council as a whole, that we recognize somebody who has put in as much time, energy, and effort into this community as Brian Bingham has. For those of you who know me best, you know that I have a lot of love for the Bingham family. I'm standing here as a City Council member because this one over here [Carla Bingham] said, "Well, quit complaining, why don't you get involved?" She didn't say it quite that nicely, but that's what she said. That started my journey as a Public Safety, Health, and Welfare Commissioner and then on the City Council. I'm the son of a firefighter, Brian's the son of a firefighter, in fact, as we mentioned, fourth generation. I have a lot of memories growing up as a kid of what it smelled like at the fire station, what it sounded like when it used to be called the Plectron would go off and you'd hear the tones. I remember standing in my dad's boots and thinking that was the coolest thing ever, and Brian got to live that dream from his childhood as a firefighter for 28 plus years here in the city of Cottage Grove. Cottage Grove has a unique department; we are a mixture of full-time and part-time. Brian rose to the ranks of Captain as a part-time firefighter. That's a pretty awesome accomplishment. I've seen him run scenes; he is the most professional, even-keeled, highly respected leader that I can say I've ever seen. There are probably some who are his equal, but there are none who are better. None. It's going to be a big loss, but he deserves this. He's put in the time. I think he's had a couple of body parts replaced from doing the different things, as has his dad, because being a firefighter is pretty physical and it's pretty tough. But I want you to know that you have garnered the respect of so many in the department, but all of us standing here today as well. Brian's a humble guy, he doesn't say a lot, but he leads by example and he leads in an exemplary way. So thank you for all you've done, thank you for all of the mentorship as Jon mentioned that you've provided to many of the firefighters still serving on the Cottage Grove Fire Department today, and thank you for your service to our community. I know you grew up in a family where service was just expected, and your family delivers all the time, and they always have and they always will. So I'm not sure who's going to be next, if you're going to have Aiden or Colin, but I would suggest both. **[09:50] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Okay, well I just want to mention real quick—I see our former fire chief is out there, Rick Ryness, and a couple of the other recently retired. The only other thing I want to say then I'm going to hand this over to you—I want to thank the family, Sarah and the kids. I mean literally, if you didn't have a strong family behind you—and whether the family extends to mom and dad and sisters—the fact is, you know, you get pulled away; it's Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, there's a fire, guess what? You're out the door and they're left without you. So I want to thank you guys for the years that you gave him to the citizens of Cottage Grove because that's very important and we cherish the opportunity that you gave us. So now I'm going to turn it over to you. **[10:31] Brian Bingham:** Well, thank you. Again, thank you to my family, everyone that supported me. [Applause] **[10:55] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Let's get the family up here! Mom, Dad too, all of you. We'll do that, absolutely. Let's get family pictures. John, you're part of the family, get up here. Fire guys can come up behind us, come on! Everybody up here. Rick, you guys out there come on in! You forgot his weakness though—fantasy football—talking about all his good things. [Laughter] **[11:27] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, back to business. We do good. All right, that's a great way to start off the evening, that's for sure. All right, so the next item on our agenda this evening is Consent. Is there anything that Council wants to pull on Consent? **[11:34] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Yeah, I'll pull B. **[11:36] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Okay, C-B. Anybody else? All right, seeing none. Councilmember Thiede, this is an Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation appointment. **[11:42] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Yeah, I just wanted to mention that we had actually added a member, or are requesting to add a member to the Historic Preservation Committee: Cindy Yif. She's been very prominent in historical activity in the city and doing a lot. There was one specific thing: there was an old cemetery off of 70th Street that her and her sister had done a lot of research on. It was very interesting; I didn't even know that stuff was there. So we're extremely happy that she's interested in being on the Historic Preservation; she's the type of person that'll make a great contribution to that group, and so I respectfully ask that she get approved tonight. **[12:12] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Fantastic, that'll be great. All right, seeing nothing else being pulled on Consent at this moment, I'll look for a motion to approve. **[12:18] Councilmember David Clausen:** I motion to approve the Consent Agenda. **[12:22] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Second. **[12:24] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Motion by Councilmember Clausen, second by Councilmember Thiede. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. So if you happen to be here for anything on tonight's Consent Calendar, all of those items have been approved. Next on our agenda is 8, Approve Disbursement or pay the bills. **[12:35] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Move the bills. **[12:38] Councilmember Monique Garza:** Second. **[12:41] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Motion by Councilmember Olsen, second by Councilmember Garza. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. 9 is Public Hearings; there are none this evening. 10 is Bid Awards; there are none this evening. 11 is the Regular Agenda, and we do have one item this evening: The Preserve at Prairie Dunes Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Zoning Amendment, Preliminary Plat, and Planned Unit Development. Connor Jakes, our planner, is going to walk us through this. Welcome, Connor. **[13:07] Connor Jakes (City Planner):** Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the Council. Great to be with you this evening. The applications—there are four applications before you this evening for a proposed residential subdivision currently referred to as The Preserve at Prairie Dunes. The four applications include a Comprehensive Plan Amendment, a Zoning Amendment, a Preliminary Plat, and a Planned Unit Development. The subject site is located just south of the major industrial area of the city, more specifically the North Point development. To the east of the subject site is Lennar's Greymont Village, currently under construction and moving into their second edition. To the west of the subject site is the DNR Scientific and Natural Area. The subject site consists of approximately 60 acres in size. Currently on site are tiled fields with vegetated windbreaks. In terms of topography, the site is flat with minimal grade change. I just wanted to note that the Hadley Avenue and 105th Street roundabout is located on the east side of the site that was constructed as part of the North Point development. Before we jump into the applications before you, I thought it'd be beneficial to walk through the background of the site. A few of the council members may recall in 2022, Summergate Development was before you with a very similar proposal and very similar applications. The proposal in 2022 did include approximately 100 acres due to the inclusion of the Zivic 40 parcel to the northwest of the subject site, and on that parcel included four outlots and the realignment of Hadley and 100th Street. The applicant at the time was proposing 161 lots for single-family homes. We note the proposal before you is very similar. There are two key differences. The first one being the lot sizes: in 2022, the applicant proposed 50 to 55-foot lots in the northern part of the site. The applicant before you this evening is proposing 45-foot lots on the northern portion of the development. The second key difference is the applicant in 2022 proposed a recreation trail along the western property boundary about halfway up; however, the applicant before you is proposing that trail run the entire western property boundary. So those are the two differences between the 2022 proposal and the one before you this evening. After Summergate Development received approvals for the Preliminary Plat in 2022, they ended up walking away from the project due to market conditions and various factors. However, Norhart Architecture was in the process of receiving their approvals for the parcel on the eastern part of the Zivic 40. They recently closed on that parcel; however, in order for them to continue, they had to record a final plat and follow that process. That final plat was approved and recorded in 2022. That created those four lots in the Zivic 40 parcel, dedicated the right-of-way for the roadway realignment, and created the southern lot as an outlot for future development, which is the subject site before you this evening. The first application before you is a Comprehensive Plan Amendment. The subject site is guided as Medium Density, Low Density, and Industrial. The applicant is proposing to reguide the northern 32 acres from Medium Density and Industrial to Low Density Residential to align with the proposed guidance of the rest of the parcel. Staff is supportive of this Comprehensive Plan Amendment given the ability to develop a site that has a mixture of Medium Density and Industrial on the northern part for that 32 acres is quite difficult. So reguiding that to Low Density creates a more developable parcel that includes the whole 60 acres instead of it being sectioned off. There is support there from a staff perspective. The applicant is also requesting a Zoning Amendment to rezone the subject site from AG-2 Agricultural to R-4 Transitional Residential with a Planned Unit Development. Just to touch on the R-4 district: that is our transition zoning district that's intended for a range of lot sizes, concentrating generally smaller lot sizes towards our more major roadways and more intense uses—in this case, closer to the industrial areas and then Hadley and 105th Street. The R-4 does align with our recently approved developments of Greymont Village as well as Settler's Bluff to the northwest of the subject site. The southernmost section is within the MRCCA (Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area) overlay district, more specifically the SR (Separated from River) district, which is characterized by its distance from the Mississippi River. The subject site is not visible from the river; however, that southern portion is within the MRCCA. The applicant is proposing a stormwater pond as well as a recreation trail within the MRCCA overlay area on the south part of that site. The preliminary plat before you is to plat 162 single-family lots. Lot widths range in size from 45 feet to 65 feet. The 45-foot lots are called out in yellow on screen; the rest are proposed at 65 feet. The applicant is requesting a Planned Unit Development with the only request being to reduce the side yard setback of the 45-foot lots from 7.5 feet to 5 feet. The 65-foot lots and the 45-foot lots will otherwise meet all of their zoning district requirements of the R-4 district. This reduction in side yard setback does align with our other 45-foot lots in the community, thinking along the lines of Greymont Village as well as Settler's Bluff. Access to the site is provided from 105th Street as well as the Hadley Avenue extension currently under construction as part of the South District Street utility project. Utilities were extended to the site via 105th Street. In terms of pedestrian connectivity, the applicant is proposing an internal five-foot sidewalk system highlighted in blue on screen. A transportation trail is proposed along Hadley Avenue highlighted in orange, and a recreation trail is proposed along the west side of the site highlighted in green. All trails are consistent with the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Given there are numerous qualifying mature trees on site, the applicant did submit a detailed tree inventory and is required to follow the tree preservation ordinance. I won't bore you with the numbers; however, I just wanted to mention the inches to mitigate is 53.25. This will be finalized in the development agreement with the Final Plat. The applicant did submit a detailed landscape plan that meets or exceeds all requirements. Two things I wanted to mention: the applicant is proposing to have additional plantings along that roundabout to act as a visual buffer, and the applicant is proposing a total of four stormwater ponds throughout the site. With that, the recommendations are on screen. I will invite the developer up just to talk more in-depth on the proposed product. **[19:04] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Connor, thank you. Very nice job as always. Very hopefully easy question for you this evening: You mentioned the boulevard trees, and I'm looking for clarification—are we talking true boulevard trees or are we talking front yard trees? Because the ownership is different. **[19:19] Connor Jakes (City Planner):** Councilmember Olsen, that's correct. The ones on screen are boulevard trees, so there would still be our required boulevard trees as stated in the table, and then the lot trees as well. Those boulevard trees are either within the grass area between the sidewalk and the curb or within 15 feet of the boulevard or curb line if there's no sidewalks. **[19:40] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** And the reason I ask, of course, is sometimes residents get confused. I myself have a front yard tree that I thought was a boulevard tree and turned out it wasn't. So when it came time to treat that tree, and we ended up removing it, it became very important to know the difference. So anyway, I just wanted to clarify. Thank you. **[19:59] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Kind of on that same theme: Can you bring up the chart again of the changes? It was showing the 45-foot lots and all the different sizing—what was a front yard setback? 20-25 feet? And so the boulevard easement comes into that? How far from the house is this boulevard tree actually going to be? **[20:17] Connor Jakes (City Planner):** Generally that boulevard area is about 13 feet, starting from the back of curb to the front property line. So usually that's about the distance, 13 to 15 feet. Then that boulevard tree is within that area of the 13 feet. However, if there's a sidewalk, it would be located between the sidewalk and the curb. **[20:34] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Councilmember Thiede, I think what the public may be wondering is we're having some conversations at a Council level and staff level on placement of trees or having boulevard trees in some of these smaller areas. Now it isn't that we're going to necessarily have less trees, it's just maybe they're not a boulevard tree. And that's what you're referring to, and I think even Councilmember Olsen was in essence referring to, because we literally just in the last month have had some discussions about what makes sense going forward versus having trees that are pulling up sidewalks or streets or utilities. Good question. Any other comments, Council? All right, if you want to invite the developer up, that would be fine. And while you're setting it up, just state your name and address for the record, please. **[21:18] Haley Daly (Pulte Group):** Thank you, Mr. Mayor and members of the Council. My name is Haley Daly, our office is in Bloomington; our address is 1650 West 82nd Street, Suite 300. I also have here today Dean Lauder, who's our Director of Land Planning and Entitlement. My title is Land Manager of Entitlement. Just to briefly go over our agenda today, I'll try to keep this short. Pulte started in 1950; we're a national home builder and as you can see from the image, we build all around the Twin Cities including in Cottage Grove. We are focused on consumer-driven designs, which really what that means is we take a lot of feedback from our current home buyers and do research for future home buyers to figure out exactly what current home buyers want. In the Twin Cities, we sell homes under two brands: Pulte Homes and Del Webb. This proposed community would be a Pulte Homes brand. Our approach to the site, as Connor said, is very similar to what was previously proposed. We are proposing 45-foot lots on the northern section just north of that roundabout. This is just more of a zoomed-in photo since the project is quite linear. South of the roundabout, we are proposing the 65-foot lots. On our 45-foot lot homes, we are offering five different floor plans as well as multiple elevations, so there'll be a lot of variety. They range in size from just under 1,600 square feet to just under 2,200 square feet; two to four bedrooms, 2 to 2.5 baths, two-stall garages. These homes can be one or two stories as well. Here are just some more photos of what the homes are proposed to look like. As you can see, we offer a different variety of color packages, window grids, stone on these. Inside we really focus on an open living kind of concept, high-quality cabinets, everything to make this home feel unique. For our 65-foot lots, we will offer six different floor plans. These homes are a little bit larger since they are on larger lots. They range to just under 2,400 square feet to 3,300, and this does not include basement square footage. These homes will be three to four bedrooms, 2 to 2.5 baths. The 65-foot lots we also are proposing three-stall garages. Here are some more photos. As you can see there's different architectural features such as different types of accent siding, dormers, brackets, different types of shutters. Inside, there are large bedrooms as well as a large living space with high-quality products. So that's just kind of a quick summary of what we are proposing: 162 total homes, multiple product types with all different types of color packages and home elevations to create a really diverse feel for future residents. All of our homes are high quality and aesthetically pleasing. I can stand for questions. **[24:12] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Any questions from Council for the applicant? I think you did a good job and obviously we're familiar with Pulte in town here; you guys are a great builder. We're happy with that and it's nice to see how you're trying to blend a couple different communities within a community with the different sizes, because we're seeing a lot of variations of what people want these days—no yard, big yards, and all that kind of stuff. It's cool that you guys are keeping your fingers on the pulse. **[24:43] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Just one comment: I do kind of like some of your newer designs. I know the older ones, the garage was very prominent to the front of the house and you've adjusted that. Looks nice, the different ones look very nice. **[25:01] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Thank you. Connor, just for reference, can you put the different motions up there so I know I have it in front of me? Council, unless you have any other questions, you can see we have three different votes that we need to take this evening. Who would like to take number one? **[25:17] Councilmember David Clausen:** I’d like to adopt Resolution 2024-081, approving the Comprehensive Plan Amendment to reguide the northern 32.15 acres of the subject property from Medium Density Residential and Industrial to Low Density Residential. **[25:31] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Second. **[25:32] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, so we have a motion by Councilmember Clausen, second by Councilmember Olsen. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. Who would like to take number two? **[25:46] Councilmember Monique Garza:** I would like to adopt Ordinance Number 1084, approving the zoning amendment to change the zoning of the subject property from AG-2 Agricultural to R-4 Transitional Residential with a Planned Unit Development. **[25:59] Councilmember David Clausen:** Second. **[26:01] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Motion by Councilmember Garza, second by Councilmember Clausen. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. And who would like number three? **[26:15] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** I'll move Resolution 2024-082, approving the Preliminary Plat and Planned Unit Development for the residential subdivision to be called The Preserve at Prairie Dunes, which will consist of 162 lots for single-family homes. **[26:30] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Second. **[26:33] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Motion by Councilmember Olsen, second by Councilmember Thiede. Last chance, any comments? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. Good luck with the new development! Next on our agenda this evening is Council comments and requests. We'll start with Councilmember Clausen. **[26:55] Councilmember David Clausen:** Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'll start off by just thanking staff for all their hard work again. We've got a couple weeks left of summer here, so anybody who's looking to get out and enjoy themselves in and around Cottage Grove, a couple of things I'd like to highlight are: we still have the kayak rental down at Hazen P. Mooers Park—you can register online. Tomorrow is Food Truck Thursday with Twin City Taco; that's probably where I'll be having lunch if anyone wants to stop down. If you go on the Cottage Grove website, there's a ton of other opportunities, or you can visit discovercottagegrove.com. **[27:31] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Thank you, Mayor. A couple things: first I want to compliment our staff at River Oaks Golf Course. The Mayor and I actually had an opportunity to play in the Park High Hall of Fame golf tournament recently with Commissioner Bingham and another gentleman who plays with the Mayor in a league. We had a terrific time; the course was in phenomenal shape, the irrigation is really making a difference. What I really was impressed with was after we were all done playing and we had the banquet event, we had it bursting at the seams—the maximum number of players they could manage—and the staff there made sure that everybody had food and drinks. The hospitality was just off the charts great. So thank you to Zac and to Dennis, Courtney, and the team down at River Oaks. The other thing I wanted to touch on, Mayor, is teachers go back to school next week. They are starting to put together their rooms and get ready for the start of the new school year, which of course for most students is right after Labor Day. I just wanted to take a moment to first of all thank them for the job that they do. A lot of people think teaching is a part-time job—I've heard that a lot, "Oh, they get the summers off." They really don't; they're constantly doing continuing education. We're very lucky to have a terrific school district here. South Washington County Schools is second to none in my opinion. I want to congratulate all of the teachers and I want to encourage all of the residents as you start to see those school buses moving: please pay attention, please follow the rules, don't try to pass a school bus when it's got its stop sign out, and watch for pedestrians. **[29:35] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** I am really excited because when the Cottage Grove Report came in the mail the other day, you've got to go find it because what was in there was a coloring contest! I was so excited, I was going to sign up but I think the age is just too young. So all you kids that are watching out there, go see your parents, find the Cottage Grove Report, get the coloring contest sheet, because I expect to see a ton of really neat colored pictures. That's actually all happening with the puzzle—there's a great deal with the Dowdle puzzle, which you're going to have to go buy one of those too because it's fantastic. It's a history of Cottage Grove and you can actually put the puzzle together. I know they're going to sell out quick. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, September 4th for that. So over Labor Day weekend, kids, get your crayons out or your colored pencils or markers and get your picture actually colored and turned in because it's going to be a blast. **[30:52] Councilmember Monique Garza:** I just want to remind everyone tomorrow the State Fair starts and we have an absolute amazing park-and-ride, so make sure you utilize that. It'll get you down there super fast and it keeps you out of the crowds and all the driving and the traffic and the things. So use our park-and-ride and go and enjoy the State Fair. **[31:14] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Fantastic. So I have a couple items. On Saturday, September 14th, we have the Dowdle painting reveal, and that is going to be at the Cottage Grove Middle School from 8:00 to 11:00. A lot of work went into that, not specific to us or even staff, but just getting information. I would just tell you the rendition that we saw of this puzzle that was created of the city of Cottage Grove—we're talking history going way back all the way up to today. You're going to love it. This is an opportunity to purchase one of those puzzles that day after it's unveiled. There'll be some special guests there that are going to be a part of the unveiling that make up some of the history of Cottage Grove over the years. Then of course that same day from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Kingston Park is a Food Truck Festival. There's going to be bouncy houses, music, a marketplace—it's almost like a Strawberry Fest all over with more food trucks. I encourage everybody to come and meet and eat and have some fun. I also wanted to mention the Public Safety Board does a fantastic job of raising money to support a whole host of things that deal with Public Safety, whether it's helping purchase or putting money towards our K-9s, outfitting our K-9s, or our Fire Department. Speed trailers, speed signs—those are things that we get a lot of calls for and a lot of that hasn't been paid for by the city but rather by money that's been donated to the Public Safety Board. They're actually doing a golf tournament at River Oaks on Friday, September 20th. It's a 7:00 a.m. check-in and $125 a person. All of those proceeds go back to the Public Safety Board. The last thing I wanted to bring up is you're probably starting to see more and more information about "The Preserve, Play, Prosper" proposal that we have on the ballots coming up in November. I want to really give kudos to our staff—when we see things out on different sites, maybe questions about certain things or "How did you come up with this idea?" First of all, ask the questions. Our staff responds. One of the questions that was presented to me—and staff took it and ran and put it out there—is people asking about where the surveys are that you've done over the years that kind of came up with the ideas. There were surveys done years ago that really wanted a water park, for example, and then more current surveys that talked about getting access to the river and expansions of our park. I just wanted to let you know that if you want to see any of that data, it is actually out on the website now. If you go to preserveplayprosper.org, you can see a whole bunch of information about all the projects being proposed, answer questions on cost or tax standpoint, and look at the survey results from our citizens of Cottage Grove. I will just say, number 13 on our agenda is a workshop which is open to the public, though we don't have anything. We do have a workshop that is closed to the public, and I'll just mention for the record that it is a performance evaluation for our City Administrator, Jennifer Levitt. This meeting will be closed pursuant to Minnesota Statute 13D.05, subsection 3A, to conduct a performance evaluation of City Administrator Jennifer Levitt. With that, Council, why don't we head into the conference room and we will adjourn from in there. Have a good evening everyone.