This transcript has been formatted with speaker names based on the provided city officials list and contextual cues from the meeting. [00:00:00] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, good evening. This is the January 17, 2024, 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. *(All recite the Pledge of Allegiance)* [00:00:30] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, will the Clerk please do the roll? [00:00:33] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Clausen? [00:00:35] **Councilmember David Clausen**: I'm here. [00:00:36] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Olsen? [00:00:37] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Here. [00:00:38] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Thiede? [00:00:39] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Here. [00:00:40] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Garza? *(No audible response in transcript)* [00:00:41] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Mayor Bailey? [00:00:42] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Here. Next on our agenda this evening is Open Forum. This is the opportunity for anyone that wants to speak on anything that's not on tonight's agenda is welcome to do so. We do have somebody that did sign up and I'm going to have her come up and speak. We did have a sign-up sheet out there so we'll start with her and then if anybody did not get a chance to sign up, we'll see if there's anybody else who wants to. This item that I think you're talking about is on our consent, but we'll have you come up here and you can speak at this time. Bonnie Mader, if you just come up and state your name and address. Thank you. [00:01:25] **Bonnie Mader**: Hi, I'm Bonnie Mader, 6649 Inskip Avenue South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota. And yes, I am here to talk about or to ask about consent agenda item J, and it's the South District Street and Utility Improvement. There’s three documents that are out there that are attached, and what I would like to request is that the feasibility study that was done for that project also be included with those documents so that the complete story is there. The feasibility report was—South Street for those who don't know it's 105th Street that connects Hadley to Ideal and also there's a, I call it the loop-de-loop because then it goes to 103rd Street—but there was a feasibility report that was done. It was done in March of 2022. It was presented at the March 16, 2022, meeting. It's very detailed and in addition it lists the cost—it's around 14.8 million—and it breaks down who's going to pay for what and exactly what's going to happen. And the reason I would like that out there attached to those other documents and kept with it as part of the project plan is that there's a lot of development and a lot of street planning and road planning that's going on out there and it would be very nice to be able to access these things and review them as a complete packet. Thank you. [00:02:40] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay, thank you. Appreciate that. All right, is there anybody else? We didn't have anybody else sign up but is there anybody else that missed signing up that wants to speak during Open Forum? All right, seeing none, I will go ahead and close Open Forum and we'll move to number five which is adoption of the agenda. [00:03:00] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Move the agenda. [00:03:01] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Second. [00:03:02] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, we have a motion by Councilmember Olsen, second by Councilmember Thiede. All those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:03:08] **Councilmembers**: Aye. [00:03:09] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. Next is presentations. We have two this evening. The first one is kind of special—not kind of special, is special. I know this guy from a long, long time and I used to bug him with streetlights and such too as he knows. He's like, "I'm getting out of here." No. Um, so this is the retirement from a public safety standpoint with the Fire Department of Kevin Zidle. I think what I'll do is I'll first turn it over to our Director of Public Safety, Pete Kerner, that's going to start the process and then Council, if you would join me down in front of the council dais. And then Kevin, if you'd like to come up. Did I spell your last name right? Yes? The people spelled it right, Tammy checked it—we probably should have checked always. All right. [00:03:55] **Director Pete Kerner**: Well, Honorable Mayor, Council, thank you for giving us this opportunity. I'll start with—in the last couple years, the Fire Department Round Table came up with a really good comprehensive plan on how we recognize employees. They put a lot of effort into it, so if you've been here five years you get part of your equipment, 10 you get your helmet and different things. But we don't really have stuff for the 30-year people. So, Kevin has already had a retirement party which was well-attended, a nice evening. In April we're going to do a Fire Awards where again we'll recognize a lot of the employees but, the Mayor and Council actually came to me and said we have to do something for a 30-year employee. It just doesn't happen. Kevin is the fourth that's hit that number with our as a part-timer, which is an incredible number because he worked multi—you know, with Public Works and. So I just wanted to say a few things and I did pull rank with Fire Chief Pritchard and I said I've known Kevin since I mean middle school, we played sports together. We both thought we're going to the NBA and I stopped growing much quicker than Kevin but, I'll quit babbling. Kevin started with us October of 1993. When you talk about the original OG, when the newer firefighters talk about different—like remember we used to do that or they did that—Kevin did all that. I mean back in the day we didn't have all the safety things we do now, but Kevin's been a part of a lot of the changes with the response model, equipment. We always tease Kevin, I know when he was the safety officer and he had the blue helmet for a little while, we gave him a hard time. But Kevin was always passionate whether it was on the fire department for safety—he did a lot too with the city Safety Committee too. So he was kind of ahead of the game. You know all the words we talk about now is community risk reduction, different prevention injury—Kevin was doing that 25 years ago, 30 years ago. So I did list just a couple of things and I know I missed a lot of the highlights Kevin, but he did a lot with safety, water rescue, dive team. Kevin was—how many years did you do safety camp? So represented... he did that many years. The youth fire prevention program with the Youth Service Bureau, that's the guy that got it going way way back in the day. Involved in the car seat safety. Does a lot with EMT Services. He was always a fixture at the Fieldhouse doing different CPR or EMT events. Had leadership roles as both Lieutenant and Captain. And you probably don't recognize him without his hat on but, when I really looked at some of the highlights, Kevin did the CPR and thousands of people have come through the program and he did it in fact as a part-time scheduled them, countless businesses. So he did CPR training for my daughter and son and they loved it. So, you've had an incredible career. 30 years is remarkable. You deserve to be standing up there with the Mayor and Council to thank you. So I'll turn it over to the Mayor. [00:07:05] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, so before I read the—yeah do you want to hold a minute—before I read the plaque, one of the things I do want to say other than thanking you obviously for the many, many years of service—it's impressive to say the least—but to the family... it takes... yep there we go, I see them all back there. And I know we have a lot of your partners in the room here too, a lot of the firefighters that have been with you over the years. And the amount of hours that you guys put in for training and for issues that happen no matter what hour of the day it is, and then the families that have to interrupt events and birthdays and all that. You know, the city could not function literally without individuals like yourselves on the firefighters but also the family members. So as much as I'm sad to see you go in this particular case, I'm actually excited for you for your future and obviously more quality time to be spent with the family and so I just wanted to say once again, thank you. So I'm going to read what we have on the plaque here: "Kevin Zidle, Captain, Lieutenant, Firefighter, City of Cottage Grove Department of Public Safety Fire and Emergency Medical Services Division, served 1993 through 2023. In recognition of your 30 years of dedicated service to the Cottage Grove Public Safety Department and the citizens in which we serve. Kevin Zidle has been instrumental in providing the highest quality based fire and EMS Services. Kevin has been a part of a significant change and he has had a direct impact on the excellent reputation, commitment to safety, and high standards of the department. The professionalism and integrity of the department is a direct result of Kevin's commitment to the community and mission of the organization. Kevin Zidle's service to the department and citizens is greatly appreciated. Thank you." For me it says the Cottage Grove City Council, but I want to thank you from all the citizens of Cottage Grove. Thank you. *(Applause)* [00:09:10] **Kevin Zidle**: I didn't really prepare a speech but I just want to thank the City Administrator, Council, all the leadership team. I know Director Kerner and I have been through a lot together and it just so happens I had a couple days as Chief Pritchard as the new chief, so he would have been my sixth fire chief in 30 years. That was why I retired as I told him, I couldn't break into a new chief. But in all honesty, thank you guys. They told me I was going to stand up here and I'm like "for what?" but I appreciate you. My brothers and sisters in the back that are new firefighters or been with me for a long time, thank you for my family. Thank you for keeping me safe, I appreciate it. My wife and my girls, I love you guys. And to my parents who raised me to be what I am, so thank you. [00:10:05] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: So want to do one quick picture. Actually Kevin, we have something. Your final call. So I want you to come over here, you're going to get to hail dispatch one last time, so please come over here. [00:10:15] **Kevin Zidle**: They told me I couldn't cry. [00:10:17] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: And then just say "it's Lieutenant Zidle" or whatever and they'll be waiting for you. [00:10:22] **Kevin Zidle**: Catch Lieutenant Zidle dispatch? Am I on the right channel? Lieutenant, copy. [00:10:30] **Dispatcher (via radio)**: Go ahead. In recognition of your 30 years of dedicated service to the Cottage Grove Public Safety Department and the citizens in which we serve. Kevin has been a part of significant change and he has had a direct impact on the excellent reputation, commitment to safety, and high standards of the department. The professionalism and integrity of the department is a direct result of Kevin's commitment to the community and mission of the organization. Thank you, Kevin, for your dedication and service to the Cottage Grove Fire Department and our community. Thank you for your years of dedicated service, Lieutenant Kevin Zidle, 107, at 19:12. [00:11:05] **Kevin Zidle**: Dispatch, thank you for all the years of service and again to all the brothers and sisters out there in Washington County, thank you for all the help and recognition. *(Applause)* [00:11:20] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Can we get all the firefighters to come join us up here? Let's have you join. Absolutely. I was going to invite your family too, yep, let's get the family up here. Dad... oh yeah. Mike you guys got to come up too because we work with you too. Anyway we'll get there. All your friends are doing it. I want to see the two of them in a pickup game. Everybody can see me. Thank you. *(Applause and photos)* [00:12:30] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, that's always amazing. The 30 years of service in our community, pretty awesome. Next on under presentations is what's called the Capture Cottage Grove Photo Contest winners. Jaime Mann, who is the Assistant City Administrator, is going to walk us through this and then towards the end I'll again have Council join me down in front for a presentation of an individual that's here this evening. [00:13:00] **Jaime Mann**: That's correct. Thank you, Mayor, members of Council. So we all know Cottage Grove is a beautiful place to live and is full of talented, creative people. So for at least a decade, probably more, the City has run a Capture Cottage Grove Photo Contest where we ask residents to capture images within the city limits of Cottage Grove and submit them for judging and, I guess, to be crowned kind of our winner depending on the categories. Each year they change. So this year we had four categories that we had people submit photos to: They were Life in Cottage Grove, Business in Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove Parks and Landmarks, and Cottage Grove Celebrations or Events. We ran the program for about three weeks. People were able to submit photos with their name and a caption for the photo. After the submission time closed, we have our City staff vote on all of the different categories and our staff picks the winner of the contest. On these couple slides you can see some of the non-winning submissions that were submitted to the contest. In total we had 78 photos submitted between the four categories and it was a blind vote for City staff, so no names were on the survey that was sent out to staff; it was just the photo along with the caption that the photographer named it. So we have one winner here tonight, so I'm going to go through the two that are not here first. For the "Cottage Grove Celebrations or Events," Gwen Martin won with her photo here, it's called "Cooling off with Sparky." For the second winner, for "Life in Cottage Grove," a resident named Win won with this photo titled "On Cloud 9." And we have one photographer that won for two categories, so I'm going to go through those and then we'll call up the winner of the two categories. So for "Cottage Grove Parks and Landmarks," it's Isaac Pavic for "Fall Bliss" on the photo you see in front of you. And then for "Business in Cottage Grove," again Isaac Pavic was the winner for this photo of "Tanks Family Farm." So we have Isaac here in the audience if he would like to come up, we have something for you. [00:15:15] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, come on up. Council? She did it again. I will say this, well obviously they know Isaac. So congratulations right off the bat. I see you around town all the time at all the events taking pictures, so the fact that he won two of these categories makes perfect sense with the amount of pictures that I see that you do. So as you heard, these pictures are for the public. Other than being selected by our staff, with all the different individuals that put pictures in, these pictures will also tell a story of our community. And so in publications and things that we're going to be doing over the next year, we will be utilizing your pictures to show what are some of the exciting things and the love of our community here in Cottage Grove. So as was mentioned by Jaime earlier, the first category was Cottage Grove Parks and Landmarks and I guess I'll ask Isaac—I think I know where this is, but you want to share where this picture is? [00:16:05] **Isaac Pavic**: It's at Ravine Parkway. [00:16:07] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: That's what I thought. So it's at Ravine Parkway. So I'm going to hand that one to you. And then everybody's favorite place to get corn, the "Business in Cottage Grove," which was the Tanks Family Farm, not too far from here. And that was obviously during the winter here? [00:16:22] **Isaac Pavic**: That was October with the white snow. The very first one. [00:16:24] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Oh my goodness. So with that, I will just say on behalf of all of our staff and everybody in the City of Cottage Grove, congratulations on winning these two categories of the Capture the Cottage Grove Photo Contest. And there's a little check here for you too, which I think you'll like. Isaac, do you need a bigger house for all the awards that you've won over the years? We'll keep the checks coming. *(Applause)* [00:17:05] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, so next on our agenda this evening is Consent. First of all, Council, is there anything you want to pull off of Consent for a separate discussion? [00:17:15] **Councilmembers**: No. [00:17:16] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, seeing none, at this point I'll look for a motion. [00:17:18] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: I will move Consent. [00:17:20] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Do I have a second? [00:17:21] **Councilmember David Clausen**: Second. [00:17:22] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Motion by Councilmember Thiede, second by Councilmember Clausen. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:17:28] **Councilmembers**: Aye. [00:17:29] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. So if you are here for anything that was on tonight's Consent Agenda, all of those items have been approved. Next on our agenda is item eight, approved disbursement. 8A is to pay the bills. [00:17:40] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Move the bills. [00:17:41] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, we have a motion by Councilmember Olsen. Do I have a second? [00:17:43] **Councilmember David Clausen**: I'll second. [00:17:44] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Second by Councilmember Clausen. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:17:48] **Councilmembers**: Aye. [00:17:49] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. Next is nine, Public Hearings. We do have one this evening and it's also a longer one, so we have a couple things we'll be doing differently with this one for the Council. But the first item is Roarers Company Cottage Grove Multifamily Development, and Mike Moras is going to first start us through this for the first part. Mike? [00:18:15] **Mike Moras**: Evening, Mayor and Council. All right, Roarers Company has submitted an application for site plan review, Planned Unit Development, preliminary and final plat. The site is located at 6850 East Point Douglas Road. The site consists of three outlots and two lots of record. We're going to start on the left side of the screen and kind of work our way to the right. Shown in blue on the screen, Outlots C and D are two existing stormwater ponds on site that were constructed for development of this parcel. The next up is the pipeline easement that is owned by Flint Hills Resources. There's two crude oil pipelines that pass through there. The applicant is actively working with them as they have a lot of standards on that pipeline and what can be constructed in there. Then we have two lots of record, Lot 4 and 3, and then Outlot A, which was an outlot deeded to the city as non-developable back in 2007 when the Fralone South Point Ridge development was approved. Outlot A did not receive any kind of park dedication; it was just deeded to the City as a non-developable outlot. And then there is also a trail easement along the east side of the property too that provides access up to Camel’s Hump Park. As part of the application in front of us tonight, the applicant is proposing to acquire Outlots A, C, and D. The subject site is guided in the land use plan as mixed-use and is zoned mixed-use as well. However, this wasn't always the case. The property was previously zoned B1 PUD, however, last year as part of our Citywide rezoning, we rezoned the property to mixed-use to be in conformance with the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The proposed primary plat consists of one lot of record with multiple easements. Going from left to right again, there's a large drainage utility easement on the left side of the property and then there's the pipeline easement. Then there's the gray area shown on the screen here, that is the development area, which we'll get into shortly. There's a trail easement and then as part of the sale to the applicant of Outlot A, we are requesting a deed restriction be placed on that area in the northeast corner to preserve the trees and the trail corridor. Long term, those trees in that area will stay there as part of this application and then we will be able to go in there and maintain the trail natural trail corridor that leads up to Camel’s Hump Park. The proposal is a 144-unit mixed-income apartment building. The proposed density is 37 units per acre of a maximum of 40 units, which is the maximum permitted in the mixed-use district. The applicant is setting aside 29 units at 50% AMI (Area Median Income). Just for comparisons, 50% AMI in Washington County is an annual salary of $43,500 for a single person or a family of four at $62,100. And then the applicant is also setting aside eight units at 60% Median Income—again, that's at $52,200 for an individual or $74,500 for a family of four. All the rents are set by HUD, so the minimum rental price for a 50% AMI is $1,087 and for a 60% AMI is at $1,398. The remainder of the units, about 107 units, are going to be set at market rate or below. The applicant has indicated that they are proposing to have rents slightly below what the existing multifamily complexes in the community are so that it would allow for incomes of 70 to 100% AMI to potentially live in the proposed project. Some of the amenities that will be included in the project interior are a game room, community room, and a fitness room. The proposed building, as you see on the right side of the screen here, is shaped as a "U." That was done on purpose to keep the amenities away from the existing uses on East Point Douglas Road, so the active area will be included in the courtyard area. The courtyard area will have a lot of amenities as well: there’s going to be a fire pit, a patio and dining area, recreation, playground, tot lot, dog wash, and dog run. As part of this application, the applicant is requesting a Planned Unit Development for some flexibility due to the site constraints that we previously discussed. However, in exchange for the PUD, we like to see some of the city's comprehensive plan goals met. This application in front of us tonight is meeting a lot of those goals for affordable housing and providing additional housing options inside of the community. So the applicant is requesting flexibility for building height, architectural materials, parking ratio, and landscape flexibility; otherwise, the proposal is consistent with the zoning code. As you can see on the table on the screen here, it's consistent with everything on there except for building height, so we'll get into that shortly. For proposed parking, city code requires 230 stalls or 1.6 stalls per unit. The applicant is proposing 216 stalls total or 1.5 stalls per unit. There's 82 surface parking stalls, 134 garage parking stalls. The garage is in two levels; the first level is below grade and is accessed off the drive off of East Point Douglas Road. The second one is access internally through the parking lot, which would be like the main level of the building. As you can see in the images on the left-hand side, there's an internal pedestrian system that connects to the existing sidewalk on East Point Douglas Road. As part of the project, the applicant is proposing to put in a 6-foot wide sidewalk along the eastern side of the property that connects to the proposed natural trail—actually relocation of the existing natural trail on the northeastern section of the property as shown in green on the map. And you also can see in this image on the screen too where those trees are being preserved as part of that deed restriction. Proposed architecture: Multifamily buildings are required to have 65% Class 1 material. Class 1 materials include glass, stone, and brick. The applicant is proposing to use 47% and includes glass and stone. That 47% is pretty common; we've seen it on the developments on Hardwood Avenue, like Ailla for example, and The Views, and recently approved Trellis. All those are at about 47% Class 1 materials. Earlier this year—or last year now—the Council did have a meeting with the applicant to talk about the proposal and at that meeting, the Council made the comment or wish to make this building a "Gateway Feature" into the community as this piece is highly visible from Highway 61 as you come into community. The applicant heard that concern and did modify the building to include a lot more stone columns to kind of make it pop as you drive into the community to create that gateway feature and kind of set the architectural tone for the community. Again, the proposal is 47% Class 1 materials; there's Class 2 and 3 materials as well. 14% of the building is specialty block and then 39% is fiber cement. Again, the applicant is asking for some flexibility in building height. This building will be built into the hillside there, kind of similar to Legends of Cottage Grove. The overall height on the 61 side of the building is 67 feet, however, if you go to the side not adjacent to 61, that side is at 55 feet. So that 67 feet is comparable to the height of the Legends building that's existing on East Point Douglas. That height on the 61 side is 73 feet from grade to peak of the roof, so this building is similar in height to Legends. Landscaping: The applicant is asking for some flexibility due to the site constraints and stormwater requirements. The applicant is proposing to plant 53 trees where ordinance requires 85; however, the applicant is looking to plant additional trees on site to get that number higher. They are planting significantly more shrubs—ordinance requires 94, the applicant is planting 488. The majority of those shrubs are around the perimeter of the parking lot and on the base of the building as required by city code. No tree mitigation is required. The two images on the bottom of the screen here show the site when it was prepared back in 2008 and then in 2023. A lot of trees that the applicant is proposed to remove are volunteer trees that have grown since the site has been cleared; again, they do not trigger tree mitigation. And you can see too on the 2023 that wooded area that will be preserved as well. All right, I'm going to put my traffic hat on here. As part of all the development on Hardwood Avenue, the City hired Bolton & Menk to complete a traffic study. In recent years we've seen the developments of the Ailla Apartments, The Views, Pizza Ranch, and so to ensure that Hardwood Avenue can handle additional trips, a traffic study was completed. Once we received this application, we asked Bolton & Menk to amend the traffic study to include this proposal. The applicant also completed a traffic study just to make sure that East Point Douglas Road and Hardwood Avenue can handle additional trips. Both studies came out and said that they are designed appropriately to handle additional trips. Design capacity of East Point Douglas Road is approximately 2,000 to 5,000 trips per day; with the proposed addition of the proposal in front of us tonight, that brings the total trips up to 1,750. Also, our Public Works Director Ryan Burfeind is here if you have any additional questions on that. Public process: The applicant did hold a neighborhood meeting on November 14, 2023, at the Legends of Cottage Grove. 33 residents were in attendance. General questions raised were about why the applicant selected the site, construction timing, anticipated rents, traffic noise from Highway 61, and noise from the potential increase in traffic on East Point Douglas. However, the main talking point was the increase in traffic on East Point Douglas Road; however, as we previously mentioned, the traffic studies say the roads are designed to accommodate that. Notices did go out for a public hearing in the Pioneer Press and were mailed out to property owners within 500 feet. Staff did not receive any comments during that time. Also, no one participated in the public hearing at the Planning Commission on December 18. At that meeting, the Planning Commission reviewed this and held the public hearing, and they voted unanimously to approve the project before you tonight. This project does include some requests for financial assistance. With that, I'm going to turn to our Economic Development Director, Nate Carlson. [00:27:55] **Economic Development Director Nate Carlson**: Thank you, Mike. Good evening, Mayor and Council. As a part of this process, all the required public hearing notices that are required by law have been completed. Tonight is the opportunity for the City Council to hold a public hearing for the modification to the development program for Development District Number 1 to establish a Tax Increment Financing District Number 1-21, which would be the Roarers housing district. As a part of the process in October, the City received a request for public financial assistance from the developer. The Council received information on the project from the developer also in October. As a part of that discussion, they said what they wanted to construct, which Mike has already presented tonight, about a mixed-income multifamily apartment project with 20% of the units at AMI. But then based upon the desire of the City Council to have even more affordability in the project, Roarers went back to the drawing board and included eight more units at 60% and some more naturally occurring affordable units at 70% and 80% of the AMI. The City's financial consultants then conducted a second analysis and they concluded that with the additional affordability, assistance for up to 15 years and $1.96 million in today's value was warranted. On January 9, your Economic Development Authority approved the project plan and the proposed modification to Development District Number 1 to establish Development District Number 1-21, which is Roarers, and to complete the process again, we have to hold a public hearing. There's also a development contract in your packet and that development agreement is required; it's an agreement between the EDA and the developer and it defines all the requirements for the actual project itself and everything that the developer has to meet in order to receive public assistance. It also includes a look-back provision to make sure that because projects of this size have some adjustments to them over time when they get off the ground, so that has been done also by your financial advisors. While the City is not a party to the actual development agreement, your EDA bylaws and enabling resolutions require you to approve all of the projects undertaken by the EDA. There is a recommendation slide before you, and staff would like to note that the first three recommendations should be taken first—considered by you in each individual motion—before you hold the public hearing. And we'll be happy to answer any questions. And then the other two, after the public hearing is closed, you can consider those items as well. [00:30:45] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, sounds good. Thank you, Nate. Council, any questions either for Mike or Nate? Councilmember Olsen. [00:30:52] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Thank you both for presenting this to us. I happened to see the presentation at the EDA last week as well, and I'm going to ask that our friends from Ehlers answer this question for me because they've answered it once before, but I think it's good information for the public to have. And that has to do with the look-back provisions that are included within the TIF financing agreement and why those exist and how they safeguard or protect the EDA and/or City in circumstances like this. They're not uncommon—look-back provisions are often there—but it's one of those things that we don't talk about very often, and I think it's worth articulating to the public watching at home what those look-back provisions are and why they're there. So if you wouldn't mind just kind of repeating what I asked you to talk about last week, I'd sure appreciate it. Thank you. [00:31:38] **Shane (Ehlers Financial Consultant)**: Thank you, Mayor, Councilmembers, and Councilmember Olsen. Yeah, so a quick review of the look-back provisions in this project, which are typical for projects like this. In this project, there are three different types of look-backs, which again are kind of the standard that we had recommend cities do. The first one is a look-back when the project is completed. So you all are dedicating or considering dedicating money to the project tonight—just under $2 million—and it's based on an analysis that the project is going to cost a certain amount of money. If for some reason the costs go down for the project and the developer builds it a lot cheaper than they had anticipated and that they shared with us and you all, then the subsidy that was analyzed to be needed maybe wasn't needed, and so there would be a cost adjustment during the certificate of occupancy when the project is done and getting ready to be occupied. That's the first look-back. The second look-back is a performance look-back. It's a look-back at stabilization of the project, so roughly a year or so after the project has opened and they've got all their leases in—they're 90 or 95% occupied. We know what the rents for the project are going to be. Again, the analysis and the level of subsidy was set based on the best information that we have today, and you know, we know a lot about what the market is right now but in two years when the project is open and leased up, maybe rents are doing really well. That means maybe there was too much subsidy in the project and so we do an analysis at that point and then adjust that TIF subsidy down if that's the case. If rents are exactly what we performed today or what the developer performed today, there's no adjustment. And if they're lower, we also don't adjust it higher. Developers always say "well we should adjust it higher," but we don't do that. And then that's the second look-back. And the third one is similar to the performance look-back; it's a look-back in the event of sale. If they sell the project, there’s an actual sale, we go back and adjust the TIF note at that point if the project is performing a lot better than it was originally anticipated to do. I'll say that generally look-backs don't result in an adjustment because projects generally cost more than what we're looking at today and rents are usually within a range that we're analyzing right now, and so it's relatively rare that there are adjustments, but they do happen and they're a great safeguard to make sure that the TIF assistance is right-sized. I think that's the key point. [00:34:40] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: I appreciate you stepping up to the podium again and sharing that, because it's important for the public to understand that when we work with developers as a city council or as a community, many times we utilize tools like TIF in order to get projects off the ground and then we recapture that tax increment or that revenue later on after the project is up and running. But ensuring that we right-size the TIF is hard to do because market conditions change all the time. I think we can all agree that we've seen interest rates go up lately over the last year and a half or so, and now there's some predictions out there that those will start to drop. So these look-back provisions give us a safeguard against that and I just think that's smart business, but I also think it's something that very few people know that we do. So I wanted to have you share that with us again and I very much appreciate your time. Thank you. [00:35:28] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Thanks, Shane. Council, any other questions for staff at this point? Would the applicant like to come up and share anything additional at this point? You're welcome to do so. [00:35:42] **Travis Fouchal (Roarers Companies)**: Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is Travis Fouchal with Roarers Companies. Over the last couple months we've been working to get this project and its design to a spot that we could present for approval. If approved, we would continue working with the gas pipeline company as Mike mentioned to make sure all the formal written approvals are there to make sure we're building a project that works for them as well. We would continue working on our architecture and civil plans to resubmit for permits, and then we would begin financing the project, preparing to start construction later this summer. But yeah, we're really excited to be here, really excited for the opportunity to be a partner and invest in the community. Our engineers and our architects are here as well if there's any questions on the design or any of the nitty-gritty details, but if there's any questions, myself, Logan, and Peter are all here. [00:36:35] **Councilmember David Clausen**: I just want to thank you again for taking the time to be here tonight. For anyone who might be watching at home who isn't familiar with the term AMI or Area Median Income, can you briefly explain how you guys determine those levels and how they're regulated and moving forward, how those rents stay affordable? [00:36:55] **Travis Fouchal**: Yeah, so as a large multifamily developer that does a lot of work in the Twin Cities, we do market-rate communities and a lot of our works are affordable communities that are rent and income restricted. So as Mike mentioned, those rent and income restrictions are laid out in a Declaration of Land Use Restrictive Covenant; it's a document that'll run with the land that'll govern the use and the income and rent restrictions. So what that means is ultimately only a certain amount or certain people are able to live in these units with discounted rents. Our property management and our compliance departments make sure we're renting to the right residents—that they aren't getting "cheap rent" if they don't qualify, and that they are making what they say they make to make sure the TIF is being used to serve the right people. So ultimately the rents and income restrictions are published by HUD depending on the Area Median Income of the county and those are revisited each year. If rents go up in Washington County, the rents and the incomes would go up by the corresponding amount, and if rents were to go down, the rent and income restrictions would move or stay the same. So we're not able to say we're going to provide affordable housing and then change those later down the road. It is a math equation that ultimately determines what those rents are and who can live there. On this project we have rents and income restrictions on one, two, and three bedrooms. And so what we anticipate in the residents are going to be service workers, teachers, people living on a fixed income, single parents—those are our residents that we see on these projects. I'm hopeful that answers your question. [00:38:35] **Councilmember David Clausen**: Very good. Absolutely, thank you. [00:38:37] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Awesome. Any other questions, Council? I guess the only comment I'll mention before we move forward is first of all, thank you for coming in again obviously tonight and listening to the Council when we had our session a while ago about wanting to spruce up the building a bit just from a visual standpoint. The way you're going to build it... that is a very unique parcel. I mean, we have seen other developers try to come in and figure out how they're going to make it all work and never got to the level where you're now standing before us saying "Hey, we've got a project we believe is going to move forward." I think it'll be a great use of that property. I think it's going to be pretty amazing that whether you want to walk down East Point Douglas around to the different retail options or go up the hill to Camel’s Hump Park, you've got kind of a unique piece of property there that I think is going to be a gem for those that want to live in Cottage Grove right in that particular area. So I just want to mention that. From a staff quick comment standpoint, as we know, one of the big things that we heard from residents at The Legends was concern about traffic. I guess what I would like to just ask our staff to do before we move forward: let's say the project comes in and let's say the traffic becomes a bit of an issue—whether it's speed, which is happening everywhere—what would be the steps that we could take if we were to start getting some concerned citizens down there? [00:40:08] **Public Works Director Ryan Burfeind**: Mayor and Council, as we had talked about earlier on, that does continue to be monitored in that area. Thinking about Hardwood Avenue and then Hardwood Court with that intersection there, that one specifically we are working on the signal plans for that project. So that's definitely something that's in motion. It's always hard along that entire corridor—we do want to meet warrants for any type of signal improvement. So we do look at all those intersections including East Point Douglas Road and Harkness Avenue, but Hardwood Court and Hardwood Avenue is our next focus. The signal is being worked on and then we really are looking at how is the development going to happen. We don't quite meet warrants now, but there are other challenges in this corridor with sightline issues because you kind of have the curves going up and over the hills. So that plays into it where we could actually look at building that signal, taking that into consideration, not just the traffic but the sightlines as well. [00:41:10] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: And I guess the other thing is, if that day were to come and people have concerns, they can obviously reach out to one of us here at the Council, Public Safety, or City staff. If there are challenges, we always go back and take a look at it and add features or things to slow traffic down or increase patrols. I just know that with all the senior facilities in that market there, they love to walk along the bluff there of Camel’s Hump. So I think there's maybe a perception that it's going to be an issue, but if it is, there's a way to react to it. Thank you. All right, Council, any other questions? [00:41:50] **Councilmember David Clausen**: I just have a general comment regarding the project. As I had said at Roarers' initial presentation back in October, getting to 60% AMI is a tough task, and especially with this parcel and the unique constraints that it presented, I think they came to us with a really well thought out plan. They tackled all of the practical difficulties that the property presented in their first shot and they've only improved upon it. I'm really in favor of this project. [00:42:25] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, so Council, what we have before us are three recommendations before we open a public hearing for comments. Who wants to make the first motion? [00:42:35] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: I would move that we adopt Resolution 24-005 approving the purchase agreement for Outlots A, C, and D to Roarers Cottage Grove Apartments LLC. [00:42:45] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: I have a motion by Councilmember Thiede. Do I have a second? [00:42:47] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Second. [00:42:48] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Second by Councilmember Olsen. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:42:53] **Councilmembers**: Aye. [00:42:54] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. Who would like number two? [00:42:57] **Councilmember David Clausen**: I would move to adopt Resolution 2024-006 approving the Planned Unit Development, Preliminary Plat, and Final Plat for the Roarers Cottage Grove Apartments. [00:43:10] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: I have a motion by Councilmember Clausen. Do I have a second? [00:43:12] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Second. [00:43:13] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Second by Councilmember Thiede. Any discussions on this one? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:43:18] **Councilmembers**: Aye. [00:43:19] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. And then the final number three? [00:43:21] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Mayor, I'll move Resolution 2024-007 approving a site plan for a 144-unit, six-story mixed-income multifamily apartment building located at 6850 East Point Douglas Road South. [00:43:35] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: I have a motion by Councilmember Olsen. Do I have a second? [00:43:37] **Councilmember David Clausen**: I'll second that. [00:43:38] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Second by Councilmember Clausen. Any other questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:43:43] **Councilmembers**: Aye. [00:43:44] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. So at this time, I'm going to go ahead and open the public hearing. This is the opportunity for anybody that wants to speak on the modification to the development program for Development District Number 1 to include the establishment of Tax Increment Financing District Number 1-21, which is Roarers. Is there anybody in the audience that would like to speak? [00:44:05] **Bonnie Mader**: Bonnie Mader, 6649 Inskip Avenue South. Thank you very much, Mayor and Councilmembers. I had not planned to speak on this but since given the opportunity, I can ask questions. So I do have... my concerns are the traffic and it's more about coming towards the Pizza Ranch and Kohl's. What I don't understand is, is there more than one way to get out of that place? Is there only one road where this is going? [00:44:32] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Yes, there is only one road. [00:44:34] **Bonnie Mader**: Okay. Is that okay? I thought you had to have two ways to get out. [00:44:37] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Good question. I think what you're referring to is the reason we've added a second road over in the industrial park and other areas. Ryan, do you want to take the first, and then Shane do you want to take the second? [00:44:48] **Public Works Director Ryan Burfeind**: Mayor and Council, that is correct, we do look for two points of access; that is specific to emergency vehicle access. In this area it's very challenged—it's got the bluff and the highway. For emergency vehicle access, there is actually a second way to get through off the ramp and there's actually a gate in the fence, the Highway 61 fence. So if you had an issue with the road itself, let's say down by Tutor Time, there's actually a different way to get vehicles in and out of that area through that access thing that was put in back in 2007. [00:45:18] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: And just for clarification, Bonnie, I also know like for example up by Hinton Heights, there's a gate on the back side with only one place going in and out, but we have the gate there in case public safety needs to get through. This is the same situation, only the gate is along the ramp. [00:45:45] **Bonnie Mader**: And second question is on the 1.9 million—is that bonded? I mean are you going to bond for that now? [00:45:51] **Shane (Ehlers Financial Consultant)**: Mayor, Council, the short answer is no, the City is not bonding nor is the EDA bonding for those funds. It's called a "pay-as-you-go" note, meaning the property owner pays the property taxes and the portion that is TIF is then dedicated to the project, but only if that money is there. So there's no financial risk to the City because of the arrangement; they're not bonding or borrowing for it. Hope that answers the question. Thank you. [00:46:25] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Was there anybody else that wants to speak on this item? All right, seeing none, I will then go ahead and close the public hearing and I believe there's two additional motions that are before us. [00:46:38] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: I will move that we adopt Resolution 2024-013 approving a modification to the development program for Development District Number 1 and adopting a tax increment financing plan for Tax Increment Financing District Number 1-21 (Roarers). [00:46:58] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, we have a motion by Councilmember Olsen. Do I hear a second? [00:47:01] **Councilmember David Clausen**: Second. [00:47:02] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:47:05] **Councilmembers**: Aye. [00:47:06] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. And number six, the final one? [00:47:10] **Councilmember David Clausen**: I move to authorize the contract for private development by and between the Cottage Grove Economic Development Authority and Roarers Cottage Grove Apartments LLC. [00:47:20] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Second. [00:47:21] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Motion by Councilmember Clausen, second by Councilmember Thiede. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:47:26] **Councilmembers**: Aye. [00:47:27] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you, guys. Good luck with your project, looking forward to seeing it come out of the ground. Thank you, staff, for presenting this evening. Item 10 is bid awards, there are none. 11 is regular agenda, there's nothing on our regular agenda. 12 is Council comments or requests. I'll start with Councilmember Clausen. [00:47:50] **Councilmember David Clausen**: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'll keep it short. I want to thank our Public Works for getting out in the bitter cold and doing what little snow removal they had to do. After last year, I hope we can keep it light—figuratively and literally—the less snow the better. That was it for me. [00:48:10] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Just thank you for Public Works, did you catch that? All right, Councilmember Olsen. [00:48:15] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Thank you, Mayor. You know, I read a report this week that I found very interesting and it had to do with the reason behind developers working more closely with communities like ours on kind of family-oriented apartments, whether that's market rate or AMI just like the one that we talked about. The report was written by an analyst at CityBank, and what the report essentially told us is that if you look at 1991 to 2023, the price of owning a home—a single-family home—has gone up about 80% in that timeline, whereas the price of apartment rental has gone up about 40%. So there's quite a gap between renting and owning. It helped to explain a little bit for people who've been asking the question "Why is the City of Cottage Grove becoming such an attractive place for developers who are looking to put more density or apartments as part of their developments?" Frankly, it boils down to what is the market going to bear and what does the user have the ability to afford. I think this project with Roarers is just a small example of what we've been doing over the last several years to make sure that we have life-cycle housing for the people who want to live in our community. The second thing I wanted to mention, Mayor, is tonight we had the honor of showing our appreciation to a 30-year veteran of the Fire Department in Kevin Zidle. In February, our second meeting, I will be presenting a check from my wife and myself to the Cottage Grove Public Safety Board as part of our annual donation to the Craig Woolery Scholarship Fund. Last night, our Cottage Grove Lions Club was kind enough to make a $2,000 donation to the Craig Woolery Scholarship Fund. If there are people out there who are interested in learning more about the scholarship for first responders, why it exists, or how you apply, I would suggest that you reach out to any of the Public Safety Board members, particularly President Julie Rice. You could also reach out to our Public Safety Director, or me, or the Mayor. There's an opportunity here to really support our public safety folks to help them pay for their education so that we can get the next Kevin Zidle on our Fire Department or our Police Department. Losing somebody like Kevin is a big loss—30 years of experience and knowledge. February 21st, there will be a check presentation here at the City Council and with that, Mayor, I'll turn it back to you. [00:51:00] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Awesome, thank you Councilmember Olsen. Councilmember Thiede? [00:51:05] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: I'm good. [00:51:06] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: A couple things. One is kind of a piggyback on something that Councilmember Olsen had mentioned. About a week and a half ago, the Council had a strategic planning workshop at our new Glacial Valley Park building, which is absolutely gorgeous. We will be eventually having a ribbon cutting and grand opening for the public. There is a specific wall in there that was painted by an artist to share the thoughts behind the purpose of Glacial Valley Park. One of the things that we discussed and staff is going to be working on is a housing study. It alludes to the fact that we’ve been working with a lot of different developers on different types of housing that we need to look for going forward as the population is changing and people are getting older. There’s different types of housing that people want nowadays that are different than what I wanted or my parents wanted growing up. Also wanted to mention earlier this evening we had the opportunity to sit down with our legislative contingent along with our County Commissioner to go over our goals and objectives for the upcoming legislative session. We went over quite a few different things: one that we had a bonding tour here yesterday with the Senate for the state, trying to ascertain some funds for the 100th Street road project. It's over a $40 million project, so we're working all the different angles. Our ask is 12.5 million from the state to see if they can help us bridge the gap to finish getting all the funding for that. I wanted to thank our legislative team. I'm also on the Transportation Advisory Board and I'll just share with you that there’s a next grouping of projects where there are over 850 million dollars in project requests for a bucket of money that's only about 250 million. We'll continue to fight for the citizens of Cottage Grove to hopefully get our share of that funding. And lastly, I appreciate our Public Works Director Ryan Burfeind—yesterday the PCA did put out new health-based limits for PFCs, which the citizens of Cottage Grove have dealt with for many, many years. The one thing I do want to say is the City of Cottage Grove... if people are worried about their water, they should not be. Our water is clean. We treat all of our water here in Cottage Grove down to a non-detect level. The City of Cottage Grove is lucky enough that we did qualify for the original consent decree by 3M and the settlement agreement. Our first permanent water treatment facility is under construction as we speak, with a second one coming in the next couple years. In no case will any of our residents have to worry about their drinking water. Our water is clean and I'm 100% confident in the drinking of safe water here in Cottage Grove. With that, that was it for my comments. There are no workshops, so I'm going to move to adjourn. [00:55:00] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Motion to adjourn. [00:55:01] **Councilmember David Clausen**: Second. [00:55:02] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All those in favor? [00:55:03] **Councilmembers**: Aye. [00:55:04] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Work adjourned. Thanks everyone.