Based on the context of the dialogue (references to Cottage Grove, the 3M settlement, and the specific names of council members and staff), the speaker is **Mayor Myron Bailey**. Here is the formatted transcript: [0:00] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** Oh [9:38] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** kind of fun we're just kind of waiting alright ready alright so welcome and thank you for joining me this evening my I'm mayor Meyer and Bayliss [Myron Bailey] will get my name right here and I'm excited to be here this evening recently I was asked to sum up the state of our city and I choose one word and that is fantastic but there is another word that describes our proud sorry I goofed him up already proud and prosperous City and that word is works we live in a city that works plain and simple our residents work hard too to support their families 97.5 percent of our city [10:23] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** is employed that is an absolutely amazing number you want me to keep going here alright our neighbors work together to support each other through volunteering by giving of time or money to support those in need our city staff members from our police officers and firefighters to finance economic development Parks and Recreation employees they all work incredibly hard public works it goes without saying it's in the name our Public Works staff is absolutely amazing volunteers who work on our various commissions and task forces to make this the best place to live work and play we partner with dozens of civic and [11:09] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** social service entities who work across the East metro area we work well with other cities who share our borders we also work well with Washington County and the state of Minnesota and think about it in the past month we've opened two great places in our community to go work out Cottage Grove is a city that works hard every day it's always been that way its staff its citizens you are what makes the difference in Cottage Grove and we work very well together and you can say that with a lot of confidence I'd like to start by thanking a few people who rolled up their sleeves to help us thrive and grow as a community on a daily basis first of all councilmember and Lorraine Mills David [11:55] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** DD Steve Dennis and our newest councilmember Wayne but thank you all for your service to our community it is an honor to be serving beside you I'd also like to thank our legislative partners first of all state senator Carla Bingham state representative Tony Jergens state representative and Claflin and Lushington County Commissioner Wayne Johnson your partnership and tireless efforts really provide significant value to our community I wouldn't be remiss if I didn't recognize the members of our Chamber of Commerce who have joined us this evening and to the men and women who serve on the various City Commission's committees and task force thank you for your time energy and service also in attendance I want to [12:41] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** recognize our amazing department leaders including our city administrator Jennifer Leavitt our parks are excuse me our public safety director Pete Koerner finance director Robin Rowland Community and Economic Development Director Christine Costello public works director les Burstyn and Parks and Recreation director Zach dr. and to those of you watching online or on cable thank you for joining us this evening so where are we as a city right now and where are we headed in the months ahead well this is where pride and prosperity meet a community that gives as much as it grows Cottage Grove is a safe community and has a high level of service and we will continue to sustain that into the future it is a fantastic place to learn and [13:29] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** most importantly an incredible place to live we have 56 dedicated and driven professionals to provide public safety service to our great city we have fully converted into a fire paramedic model and we're answering our calls quickly efficiently and effectively our firefighters and paramedics are there when you need them the most the central fire station has helped us consolidate and centralize some of our operations which has greatly enhanced our service delivery model the 10 Bay 31,000 square foot facility will be the cornerstone for our fire medic operations for decades to come our firefighters maintain an average fire response time of less than 7 minutes this is one of the quickest response times in the state [14:15] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** of Minnesota and I can assure you after talking to our fire chief he has vowed to continue with this amazing response rate also with the help of generous community donations will be equipping our firefighters with new thermal imagers all told our Police Department is fully staffed with 42 officers who remain connected to our residents through increased community policing and enhanced business partnerships we will continue to keep school resource officers in our high school and both middle schools in 2019 you also continue to see our officers reading to kids stopping by lemonade stands proactively visiting with business on in answering all calls with compassion and professionalism this year officers [15:03] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** will continue to lead their profession in training and development by year's end all of our officers will have crisis intervention training something our Director of Public Safety is really proud of and half of our officers would receive trauma-informed victim interviewed training to improve investigative techniques and better serve victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and perhaps you've driven by our hero center which is under construction right next to City Hall hero stands for health and emergency response occupations we are building a state-of-the-art training facility for EMS Fire and Police professionals that will be used by our first responders and other agencies throughout the area the facility facility will offer classroom space [15:49] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** virtual simulation into our training pods with moveable walls and large outdoor training areas for fire pump operations police k-9 teams and paramedic crews but here's the best part everyone has chipped in to create this amazing facility the project is funded by State dollars bonding appropriations and funding from the Washington County Telecommunications Commission and the South Washington County watershed district the city cut of Cottage Grove and our 50/50 partner in the project the city of Woodbury will share the remaining costs of the facility we are now speaking with a multitude of agencies in the Twin Cities who will use this facility and significantly contribute to the training centers operational costs and and I should [16:35] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** mention that the construction of the hero center should be completed later this fall Cottage Grove is also appointed a new police captain and it didn't take long for her to get her started in her new role as emergency emergency management leader before she was even sworn in captain Gwen martin hosted a tabletop exercise organizing all our city teams to mobilize and response in the event of a disaster or crisis our departments will be coordinated connected and quick to respond to any emergency our team is ready when you need them the most some of the first people who will be there in an emergency as her Public Works Department they are there when to make sure our roads are plowed in the winter and smooth in the summer they manage and maintain our urban forests [17:23] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** last year our crews laid over 3500 tons of asphalt and address more than 3,300 work orders in 2019 Public Works will continue to respond when the community needs them our Forester has already been out this year with the Department of Agriculture looking for signs of emerald ash borer last year Public Works did treat 750 trees and replaced another 287 trees as we continually fight this aggressive or fight aggressively this bug we are also inviting you to visit our Public Works facility on May 4th this year for annual spring cleanup Day last year 1,500 residents dropped off 70 refrigerators 50 microwaves 183 [18:08] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** mattresses amongst many other things you name it we do take it and we dispose of it in a responsible and environmentally friendly way in 2018 we talked a lot about water the Civic City completed construction of well 12 and we had two treatment plants in place that ensure we're providing water that meets and exceeds the standards set by the Minnesota Department of Health in fact the department tests all of our wells quarterly and both of our treatment plants monthly every month since last fall our 3m settlement workgroup meets and continues their work on a long-term water supply plan for the east metro this sustainable and forward-looking plan will can come become pleated by this year's end and it will guide us [18:53] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** with with clean water needs for the decades ahead our City Engineer will also be leading the second year of our smart controller project which is a comprehensive effort to help reduce water use and improve water education we are partnering with scholars and researchers from the University of st. [19:11] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** Thomas we will also be engaging our commercial partners by conducting audits and helping the irrigation efficiency upgrades due to the water issues we had in 2017 we have all learned many new ways to conserve water in our precious drinking water these programs are continuation of our efforts to be great stewards of this precious natural resource we have so many great tools in our city from snow plows and Zamboni's to squad cameras to filtration systems we've got it all for me my favorite tool is this thing right here and this is a pair of ribbon cutting Center scissors that we put to good use in this past year make no [19:56] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** mistake about it Cottage Grove is growing we're expanding our retail and industrial base and we've had incredible increases the new home and development in our city in 2018 we produced more than 52 million dollars of commercial and industrial permit valuation we have an ever growing Business Park Northstar shi'ites recently built a hundred and sixty sixty two thousand square foot facility and we nearly cut our retail vacancy rate in half from what it was just a year before it all adds up to tremendous success representing the results of a lot of hard work by this council and staff up north Plastics will be doubling in size and adding 200 new jobs modern automotive grew its footprint and its [20:42] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** workforce with the dish an additional 25 jobs the city developed an additional 23 acres of shovel-ready land in our Business Park in 2018 we now have 90 acres with utility and roadway infrastructure ready for potential development so how do we top that in 2018 we'll develop another 100 plus acres to attract even more industry we'll continue our business retention and expansion program by working with their school district to focus on workforce ready curriculum and we'll keep marketing Cottage Grove as a great place to build potential business and industries over the past few months we also welcomed a great variety of new retail businesses in our community t.j.maxx home goods Planet Fitness [21:27] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** Orangetheory rustic floral the sushi cafe and I could go on soon we'll welcome muddy cow and watch the remodeling or expansion objects of bull target and Menards we also look forward to putting in market rate apartments at the former city hall site at 80th Street near Hinton and will spruce things up throughout the city with our new facade improvement program investing in visible enhancements for our local businesses to keep the commercial districts looking fresh modern and healthy in terms of housing we will work hard this year to provide a variety of high quality and affordable housing options for everyone an example North Square just added a 68 units skilled care facility and a three-story 64 apartment independent living facility [22:15] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** Presbyterian homes also doubled its workforce workforce by completing this project I've also been told that the 64 independent living building is already almost full last year Cottage Grove planted more than 350 new single-family lots and built 200 new homes and I should mention in December of 2018 Cottage Grove was recognized as having the second most housing permits granted in the state of Minnesota rest assured we will build upon that number in 2019 keeping up with our method excuse me keeping up with our growth we oversaw 19th Street and utility projects including the construction of the ravine Parkway from Jamaica to County Road 19 which will be completed later this year [23:02] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** this spring you'll see two very important street construction projects begin that will make our roads and intersections safer and accommodate both existing and future long-term growth the first project is the second phase of the ravine Parkway plan which will kick into high gear as we reconstruct 66 65th Street between Hinton and Innes Dale the finished product will be consistent with our overall theme complete with beautiful trails landscaping and lighting we will also assist Washington County as we improve the increasingly busy intersection of Hinton and 70th Street this forward-thinking plan includes construction of a roundabout to improve traffic flow and motorists for safety for years to come and again both [23:48] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** projects should be completed come later this fall I can also report that I'm very proud of cottage Grove's financial health long-term planning and fiscal conservatism gives us a strong fund balance and cash reserves we've maintained a double a-plus bond rating and we just received our government government finance Officers Association award for the 28th year in a row our economic growth has helped keep money in your pocketbooks while our levy this year increased by 3 percent 83% of the resident taxpayers will not experience a city tax increase in 2020 19 I have to tell you every time I look at our accountant balance sheet I have to shake my head a little bit it is [24:34] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** amazing to see our team's control spending and but yet still providing tremendous customer service and it all adds up to exceptional value for you the homeowners and the business owners it is truly a testament to the financial stewardship here we have at City Hall these accomplishments feed into our strategic plan focusing our energy towards improving the business environment our organizational culture and quality of life one key element of this broad vision is our goal to make Cottage Grove a recreation destination and I will tell you we're stepping on the gas in a big way to make this become a reality first of all let me tell you what we did in 2018 we have 39 pristine miles of shoreline on the mighty Mississippi and we want to give you [25:20] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** access to enjoy it we built a canoe and kayak launched at Morris Park and we started programs for everyone to take advantage of it will increase these opportunities to explore the great river more in 2019 our Parks and Recreation Department put a lot of work in 2018 and you've responded we enrolled 179 children in our supervised playground program offering families fun and safe care if over the summer months I will mention a quick plug here per Zach and that is we are now accepting applications for a playground leaders so if you are interested obviously apply I also should mention our facility rental revenue increased by nearly 50% this last year and we restored more than 100 [26:05] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** public acres in 2018 two natural Prairie and here's something we can be quite proud of not only did we offer 12,000 plus hours of programming at our Ice Arena we kept a jam-packed with hockey tournaments we've even started to expand our reach by offering indoor turf dry floor rentals meeting spaces and special events over at River Oaks we were also above par in a really good way golf revenue was up six percent and the number of rounds grew by four percent and we welcomed a 20% increase in tournaments events and leagues the Events Centre experienced more than a 30 percent growth and total revenue for our clubhouse operation is up by over 40 percent and I will mention you gotta try [26:51] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** the food I dare you to pick your favorite between the Friday night fish fry or the prime ribs on Saturdays or the burgers and I just will mention to you the food at the Eagles Bar and Grill is absolutely amazing so the question is how do we talk that in 2018 one thing we'll be doing is expanding Hamlet and sunny sunny hill parks we are also replacing the refrigeration system in the north and south rinks in our Ice Arena the new system will improve the customer experience and significantly reduce operating costs a new concrete floor will be will also be added to the north rink to become a multi-use facility we will come to will be complete in the summer construction work on budget and on time just in time for next year's skating season the city is [27:38] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** also in the midst of a feasibility study for a potential community center what services are we already providing are there any recreational gaps or amenities we are aren't providing that are needed in our community in the coming months we'll ask you those questions and in short what do we need and what do you want public outreach has already started we'll be asking you for feedback we want to hear from you in person by phone by email and on social media I promise and we will provide you plenty of opportunity to weigh in as we determine what our next steps will be and by the way I should mention this is not a done deal means we're exploring this together we're talking to potential partners and [28:24] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** a task force of staff members and volunteers have studied other facilities in the metro I assure you that we'll be communicating with you keeping you up-to-date throughout this process public outreach will continue through June and it is quite possible that we gather all the information pass it along to you and you decide that if I'm sorry and let you decide through a referendum question in November is this something you would like the city to build we'll make sure that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision and this leads me to my final point and it is perhaps the most important message I'd like to deliver this evening we've talked a lot about tangible things the growth of our tax base our beautiful parks and trails [29:11] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** street improvements and public safety facilities but frankly in my opinion what makes Cottage Grove the best place in the country to live is you people make this place and a proud and passionate community you choose to live here or operate a business here because you surround yourself with incredible people we support each other we help each other we communicate to each other and we serve each other we get things done and we work well together again this is a city that works and we will continue to work very hard on your behalf in the months ahead Cottage Grove has a bold and ambitious vision and I'm proud to represent the citizens of Cottage Grove and I'll be [29:58] **Mayor Myron Bailey:** honest with you I can't wait to see what 2019 brings to our great city and I will end this presentation with saying Cottage Grove is where pride and prosperity meet thank you