This transcript has been formatted with speaker names based on the context provided and the dialogue within the meeting. *Note: Since the source text did not include timestamps, I have used `[00:00:00]` as a placeholder format as requested.* *** **[00:00:00] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, good evening. This is the June 21st of 2023 Cottage Grove City Council meeting, which I'm calling to order. Our first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance. So if you please rise. **[00:00:15] Group:** 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. **[00:00:30] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, will the Clerk please do the roll? **[00:00:35] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Combata? **[00:00:36] Councilmember Combata:** Here. **[00:00:37] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Dennis? **[00:00:38] Councilmember Dennis:** Here. **[00:00:39] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Thiede? **[00:00:40] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Here. **[00:00:41] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Olsen? **[00:00:42] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Here. **[00:00:43] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Mayor Bailey? **[00:00:44] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Here. Uh, next item on our agenda is Open Forum. This is the opportunity for anybody that wants to speak on something that's not on tonight's agenda is welcome to do so. Uh, we did have a sign-up sheet out in the entryway; nobody signed up, but I do know our County Commissioner wanted to come and share a few things with us. So I'll turn it over to our County Commissioner, Carla Bingham, and let you speak. **[00:01:10] Carla Bingham (County Commissioner):** Good evening, welcome Mayor and Council. Just wanted—I'll be very brief—to share some exciting news that on Tuesday, the County Board did approve the conservation easement and a $500,000 Legacy bond for the Mississippi Dunes property. So I just wanted to come share that delightful news and proud partnership with the city of Cottage Grove. So, I appreciate all the effort and leadership that the city has provided and that the staff, and of course, we need to thank our wonderful volunteers on both parks boards—both for the city and the County Commission board. **[00:01:45] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Yeah, and I'll just mention this for the general public: the money that is being given, if you will, to the city of Cottage Grove is to continue to expand that park along the river, which is our ultimate goal—to make sure that we have full coverage, if you will, meaning park and open space all along the the entire length of that property down there. So we're very excited and thank you for the County's support of making that happen. **[00:02:10] Carla Bingham (County Commissioner):** Absolutely, thank you. **[00:02:12] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Yep, thank you. All right, is there anybody else who wants to speak on open forum? All right, seeing none, I'll go ahead and close open forum and we'll move to number five, which is adoption of the agenda. **[00:02:25] Councilmember Dennis:** Motion to adopt the agenda. **[00:02:27] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Second. **[00:02:28] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, so we have motion by Councilmember Dennis, second by Councilmember Thiede. All those in favor signify by saying aye. **[00:02:35] City Council:** Aye. **[00:02:36] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Opposed? Motion carries. Now we'll move on to presentations. We do have two this evening. The first one—and I'll ask also to join me down in front—is the awarding of The Cottage Grove Public Safety Board Craig Woolery scholarships. And so Julie Rice is going to kind of walk us through this. I almost say Cindy all the time, Julie... I know it's my wife sitting next to you there. So we'll meet down there and why don't you guys come on up front? Yes, absolutely. I'm gonna hand this over to you because you're obviously representing the board here, and I know we have Councilmember Olsen who—you want to start? All right, I'll hand it over to you. **[00:03:15] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Thank you very much, Mayor, and thank you Julie and the Public Safety Board. This is a really exciting night. As many of you know, the Craig Woolery scholarship was started by my wife Kim and I here a few years ago after Craig retired from his many years of faithful service to the city of Cottage Grove. He served in a variety of capacities, the last of which was he was our Director of Public Safety. The reason that we started the scholarship in Craig's name is because we feel very strongly that Public Safety is truly the foundation of a healthy community, and in order to have a great Public Safety department, you have to have great individuals serving in all of the various roles. That includes police, fire, Emergency Management Services, etc. We wanted to encourage local young people to follow in Craig's footsteps and pursue a career in the public safety field. In order to make that happen, we were hopeful that we might be able to raise a few dollars every year to give some young people who are very passionate about a Public Safety career a leg up with a scholarship. I've been very, very grateful to watch as the years have gone by how many people have chosen to contribute to the Craig Woolery scholarship fund, which is managed through our outstanding Public Safety Board here in the city of Cottage Grove. It started out with an annual donation of $500 and we've kind of kicked it up a notch every year since then, and we hope to continue to do that. And then, of course, members of the public can participate at any time and donate to the Craig Woolery scholarship fund, and I'm sure Julie will give you some details in terms of how you could do that. But it's always fun to see the young people who really want to make a career of Public Safety and hopefully work here in the city or in one of our surrounding agencies locally in South Washington County because it truly is a calling and it takes a very special person to do a good job. Craig Woolery was one of those people. We have many of those people serving on our Public Safety department now here in the city of Cottage Grove, surrounding communities, Washington County, etc., and I have no doubt that the recipients that are going to receive their awards this evening are going to follow in those footsteps. So thank you so much. **[00:05:45] Julie Rice (Public Safety Board):** All right, there we go. So I'm going to hand it over to you—say also Lions Club who matched Justin's and Kim's donation this year. So we're increasing the donations, which means we can always increase the recipient award for next year. So tonight we have Briley and Tia and Joel, and these three young individuals are going to be the recipients of this year's Craig Woolery scholarship awards. It's just a community service starting out young, working your way up, and then finally deciding that this is going to be the path I'm going to go on. So we're just excited for your career; we're excited for your schooling. The rest of the Cottage Grove Public Safety Board is backing you. So, congratulations. So let's go with Joel first... congratulations, that's your check to help with your tuition. Next up we have Tia Russell. Congratulations, Tia. It's always great to see females that are going to be starting to go into the public service and criminal justice. And Riley Dana, congratulations Riley. She's staying—she's also an outstanding softball player. So along with this scholarship, she's got some softball experience and get with that program. And her path is going to be a little different; there was some FBI that was stated in there, so you never know. So we've got a lot of areas to fill here also. We're looking for people that are interested in EMS and fire training because that is a need for every community and it's the first responders. So we're looking for that. So on behalf of the Public Safety Board, Justin, and all the other people that have donated to this worthy scholarship fund, thank you very much. **[00:07:30] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** I was asked to mention that the scholarship has gone from $500 to a thousand dollars, and so they're receiving a thousand dollars tonight. And then hopefully with the amount that we got, next year could be a quite a bit higher. **[00:07:45] Mayor Myron Bailey:** There we go, thank you. That is amazing and kudos to everybody that did the donations and to the Public Safety Board for putting the program together, and obviously Councilmember Olsen, thank you for getting it started. It just goes once again back to helping out the community. All right, so next on our presentation this evening is the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, and Brenda Malinowski is going to walk us through this. Welcome, Brenda. **[00:08:15] Brenda Malinowski (Finance Director):** Mayor, members of the Council. I have Matt Mayer here with KDV; he will do the audit presentation for this evening. But I just wanted to point out that Matt is retiring at the end of June. He's been with KDV for a while, but KDV has been our audit partner since 2013. And so we wanted to wish him well... I will miss his professionalism, his knowledge, and his integrity. So without further ado, I'll turn it over to Matt. **[00:08:45] Matt Mayer (KDV Auditor):** Thank you for the kind words, Brenda. Mr. Mayor, members of the Council, great to see you again. Got another good report here for you for the '22 fiscal year. My job tonight is to summarize about 250 pages worth of data that you received in your packets and give you the results of our audit for the 2022 fiscal year, as well as a little financial analysis. I know Brenda and her team do a great job in keeping you posted on where you stand, but sometimes it's good to hear an outsider's perspective and just confirm what you're hearing internally. Our job as auditors is not one of accountants... our job is to come in as an independent party and test, examine, and give an opinion on those financials so that you can trust them, the public can trust them, and the office of the State Auditor can trust them as well. We provided an unmodified or "clean" opinion... that means that the numbers we're going to be looking at tonight are a true and accurate picture of the city's financial position. Want to also acknowledge that this is an award-winning document. This is the 32nd consecutive year that the city has received that award. Kudos to the finance team. [Matt Mayer continues with technical financial analysis of the General Fund, Enterprise Funds, EMS Fund, and Per-Capita comparisons]. I'll leave it at that. I appreciate the chance to present to you one last time. I wish you the best. I know you'll be in good hands with my successor. **[00:15:00] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Fantastic, thank you. Councilmember Olsen? **[00:15:05] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Matt, thanks. It's always fun to have you come and kind of lay this out for us and obviously we wish you well in your retirement. I don't know if Brenda got cake, but if she didn't, that's too bad... I wanted to again let you know how much we appreciate all of the information that you provide. [Olsen asks questions regarding property tax revenue versus peer communities and development-driven revenue]. **[00:16:30] Matt Mayer (KDV Auditor):** [Responds regarding demographic growth, licenses/permits revenue tripling, and the sustainability of the tax base]. Hopefully that provides you my perspective. **[00:18:00] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** That's a magnificent answer. I really appreciate you pointing that out... thank you. **[00:18:15] Councilmember Dennis:** Thank you, Mayor. On that same slide, do you have any measurement that you could provide just to give us an idea by percent—what the difference is between residential and looking at commercial and industrial? **[00:18:40] Matt Mayer (KDV Auditor):** I'm sorry, I don't have that at my fingertips. I'll check to see if it might be in the ACFR. **[00:18:45] Brenda Malinowski (Finance Director):** 2022 is probably not a good year to look at because we had such a 20% increase in our residential properties... so it's 80% residential and 20% commercial, but that is skewed for this year. We can look at a 10-year trend for you. **[00:19:10] Councilmember Dennis:** That'd be awesome if you could, thank you. **[00:19:15] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Brenda, I probably could have let you stay up there for a quick sec. My question was—maybe just to share with us—regarding the EMS fund. What are you looking at going forward with that fund and with our new company that we hired? **[00:19:35] Brenda Malinowski (Finance Director):** Yes, we changed providers on October 10th of last year. It’s a $600,000 swing in the first six months of this year compared to last year, so that billing change is having a positive impact on that fund. As we move forward, when we hire firefighter-paramedics, we suggest that instead of doing 75% to the EMS fund and 25% to the general fund, we do that swing because we know we only get a certain percentage of the call with Medicare and Medicaid. **[00:20:45] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Thank you. It isn’t just Cottage Grove that we're covering; we are covering our surrounding communities—specifically St. Paul Park, Newport, and I know Grey Cloud. Ultimately, I think our goal is to make sure each city kind of pays their own. **[00:21:20] Councilmember Dennis:** Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for bringing that point up. Somewhere along the line, we want to make sure we're being fair to the people here that are paying the bills. We've got budget time coming up here very quickly and maybe that's something we want to look at again. **[00:22:00] Councilmember Combata:** I just wanted to add that I know if you talk to any of our public safety personnel, they pride themselves in our short response times. I see this as an essential service for our community. **[00:22:45] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Matt, thank you. Have a great time in your retirement. Brenda, to you and the team, thank you—great job on the budget. **[00:23:15] Matt Mayer (KDV Auditor):** Presentations at city council—the Cottage Grove City Council meeting—that's it. Yeah, there you go. Thank you. **[00:23:30] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, moving on to Consent Agenda. Is there anything Council wants to pull on tonight's consent? **[00:23:35] Jennifer Levitt (City Administrator):** Mayor, can you please accept the annual financial report? **[00:23:40] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Yeah, I'm sorry, I forgot I missed that. All right, so we need a motion to accept the financial report. **[00:23:45] Councilmember Dennis:** Motion to accept. **[00:023:46] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Second. **[00:23:50] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Motion by Councilmember Dennis, second by Councilmember Olsen. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. All right, so we have a motion to move consent by Councilmember Olsen, second by Councilmember Thiede. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. Number 8 is to pay the bills. **[00:24:20] Councilmember Dennis:** Motion to pay bills. **[00:24:22] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. Number 11 is regular agenda: Tobacco compliance check violation. I believe Mr. Rinzel is going to take us through this. **[00:24:45] Greg Rinzel (Deputy Director of Public Safety):** Honorable Mayor, Council. I'd like to present a quick tutorial of what we've done on tobacco compliance. Cottage Grove Tobacco LLC failed the compliance; they were the only business in town that failed this year. [Rinzel explains the decoy procedure and the violation details]. The employee admitted to the violation, believing the customer was a "normal" regular customer. The owner is not in attendance today. I'll stand for the recommendation: number one was the hearing, and number two is the imposition of the penalty. **[00:27:15] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Captain Rinzel, what is the business name? **[00:27:20] Greg Rinzel (Deputy Director of Public Safety):** I think it's just "Cottage Grove Tobacco." It's attached to the Ace Hardware. **[00:27:30] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** What would the penalty be if they should have a second violation? **[00:27:40] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Amanda, who's standing in for Corey, has that answer I believe. **[00:27:45] Amanda (Acting City Attorney):** Your Honor, Council, yes, it's $600. **[00:28:15] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, I'll just add—all the rest of the tobacco and liquor businesses passed with flying colors. I'm glad the processes are working. Council, before you is the recommendation. **[00:29:00] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** I'll move that we impose the scheduled penalty for the first violation in a 36-month period of a $300 fine. **[00:29:10] Councilmember Combata:** I'll second that. **[00:29:15] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you, Greg. We're down to 12: Council comments. Councilmember Combata? **[00:29:30] Councilmember Combata:** I'm good. I don't want to steal Dave's thunder. I had a great weekend at Strawberry Fest. Thanks, Dave. **[00:29:40] Councilmember Dennis:** Well, I'm gonna steal some thunder because it was fantastic. I had the pleasure of eating hamburgers cooked by Councilmember Olsen. I believe we got the last ones! **[00:30:15] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Yes, it was a fantastic year. Thanks to Mother Nature for cooperating. I think this was a record year. Thanks to everyone on the committee. **[00:31:00] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Just a couple of things folks might find interesting. Thursday night we counted about 2,000 people in the park. Friday and Saturday combined, roughly 20,000 visitors to our Lions tent. We had a record year in sales. Huge thanks to city staff... Public Safety, Public Works keeping bathrooms clean. It's the best community event of the season. **[00:33:00] Mayor Myron Bailey:** I'll give one more stat: over $70,000 of cash was dialed out at the ATM machine! It was great. Also, a week and a half from now is the Fourth of July. The Lions and sponsors provided $25,000 worth of fireworks. Also, exciting news—Cottage Grove today was awarded $7 million towards the Hunter Street and County Road 19 project from the Met Council Transportation Advisory Board. It's an integral road for the 3M property development. **[00:36:00] Councilmember Dennis:** I want to just say one thing. The work that the Mayor has done for a number of years now being involved with TAB and Metro Cities... the community owes a debt of gratitude. On behalf of all of us, thank you. **[00:37:00] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Thank you. We have a Workshop next regarding the MPCA and the 3M incinerator decommissioning. We will adjourn in the training room. Thank you and have a great night.