Here is the transcript with speaker names added based on the context and the dialogue provided. **Note:** The provided context list mentioned Councilmembers Garza and Clausen; however, the transcript identifies the members being sworn in and present as **Steve Dennis** and **Tony Combata**. I have used the names spoken during the roll call and oaths for accuracy. *** **[00:00] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, all right. Good evening. This is the January 4th, 2023, Cottage Grove City Council meeting, which I'm calling to order. I do have one quick statement at the beginning. You'll notice one of our members is now with us this evening, so pursuant to Minnesota Statute 13D.02, subsection 1, Councilmember Thiede will be attending remotely at the following location: 7393 Hidden Valley Trail South in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, 55016. So the next item then on our agenda after calling to order is the Pledge of Allegiance. So if you please rise. **[00:35] Everyone:** 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. **[00:48] Mayor Myron Bailey:** It's always fun having those remotes. All right. Will the Clerk please do the roll? **[00:52] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Combata? **[00:54] Councilmember Tony Combata:** Here. **[00:55] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Dennis? **[00:56] Councilmember Steve Dennis:** Here. **[00:57] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Thiede? **[00:58] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Here. **[00:59] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Olsen? **[01:00] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Here. **[01:01] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Mayor Bailey? **[01:02] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Here. Next on our agenda is Open Forum. This is the opportunity for anybody that would like to speak on something that's not on tonight's agenda is welcome to do so. We did have a sign-up sheet out in the entryway and I don't believe anybody had signed up, but I do know our newly elected and sworn-in County Commissioner, Carla Bingham, wants to speak this evening. So there you go. Welcome. **[01:25] Carla Bingham (County Commissioner):** Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council. First, I just want to offer my congratulations to Councilmember Dennis, Combata, and Thiede for your re-election and the good you have done and will continue to do on behalf of Cottage Grove. Oh, for the record, I'm a resident of Cottage Grove—I know we have to say that too. I just want to say thank you. We already have some meetings on the books; the Mayor and I, and staff and I, have some meetings to get working on issues that are important here to the residents, and I'm just looking forward to a productive relationship. I know you've probably read and seen, whether it's on social media or in the paper, that getting major renovations of Park Grove moved up from 2027 to sooner is my top priority right now. I know that impacts this community specifically a lot, and so just wanted to put that out there. Then, I'm just looking forward to working on issues related to housing, transit, workforce development, and everything in between that encompasses the role of a County Commissioner. Also, I just want to thank the Mayor personally for coming and administering the oath yesterday and braving the elements, and also a lot of the staff that were there to not only support me but the Sheriff, who's here and was re-elected to a third term. We have a very good relationship with the city and appreciate that. So, I can answer any questions, but I know you got quite an agenda. **[02:35] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, well we obviously appreciate having you in that role and really look forward to seeing all the great things that we're going to be doing together with a cohesive relationship with the County. So thank you. Awesome. [Applause] So was there anybody else that wanted to speak on anything that was not on tonight's agenda in Open Forum? All right, seeing none, we'll move to number five, which is adoption of the agenda. **[02:55] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** So moved. **[02:56] Mayor Myron Bailey:** We have a motion by Councilmember Olsen. **[02:58] Councilmember Steve Dennis:** Second. **[02:59] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Second by Councilmember Dennis. Any discussion? Roll call. **[03:02] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Combata? **[03:03] Councilmember Tony Combata:** Aye. **[03:04] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Dennis? **[03:05] Councilmember Steve Dennis:** Aye. **[03:06] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Thiede? **[03:07] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Aye. **[03:08] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Olsen? **[03:09] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Aye. **[03:10] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Mayor Bailey? **[03:11] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Aye. Next on our agenda this evening is the fun part, which we enjoy doing, and this is presentations—which, of course, we have one this evening, technically three, and that is the oath of office for our newly elected re-elections of Councilmember Steve Dennis, Dave Thiede, and Tony Combata. And being that Councilmember Thiede is remote, I will start with him and I'm going to—he's already raising his right hand—and so what I'll do is Councilmember Thiede, I will start the process and you can just repeat after me. Okay. All right. I, state your name... **[03:50] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** I, David Thiede... **[03:52] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Do solemnly swear... **[03:53] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Do solemnly swear... **[03:54] Mayor Myron Bailey:** That I will support the Constitution of the United States... **[03:56] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** That I will support the Constitution of the United States... **[03:59] Mayor Myron Bailey:** And the Constitution of the State of Minnesota... **[04:01] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** And the Constitution of the State of Minnesota... **[04:04] Mayor Myron Bailey:** And that I will faithfully execute and discharge... **[04:06] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** And that I will faithfully execute and discharge... **[04:09] Mayor Myron Bailey:** The duties of the office of Councilmember... **[04:11] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** The duties of the office of Councilmember... **[04:13] Mayor Myron Bailey:** For the City of Cottage Grove... **[04:14] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** For the City of Cottage Grove... **[04:15] Mayor Myron Bailey:** County of Washington, State of Minnesota... **[04:17] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** County of Washington, State of Minnesota... **[04:20] Mayor Myron Bailey:** According to the law and to the best of my judgment and ability... **[04:22] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** According to the law and to the best of my judgment and ability... **[04:25] Mayor Myron Bailey:** So help me God. **[04:26] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** So help me God. **[04:28] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Congratulations! [Applause] All right, so next let's move down in front here and we'll do the rest of the group, but we'll start with Councilmember Combata. Thank you. All right, you want to put your hand on the Bible and raise your right hand? So, I, state your name, do solemnly swear... [Mayor administers oath; Councilmember Combata repeats]. Congratulations! [Applause] Awesome. All right, Sheriff, thank you. [To Councilmember Dennis] Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. **[05:10] Washington County Sheriff (Dan Starry):** I, Stephen J. Dennis, do solemnly swear... **[05:15] Councilmember Steve Dennis:** I, Stephen J. Dennis, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Minnesota, and that I will faithfully execute and discharge the duties of the office of Councilmember for the City of Cottage Grove, County of Washington, State of Minnesota, according to law and the best of my judgment and ability, so help me God. **[05:40] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Congratulations! **[05:42] Councilmember Steve Dennis:** Hey, I very much appreciate you coming down tonight. Come right on in to join us in this process. I value our connection and our friendship very much, and it's a true honor for me to have you come down. One of the things that I wanted to do tonight to recognize the great work of the men and women that are involved with the Washington County Sheriff's Office is I wanted to make a small donation to be utilized to the "highest and best use"—is what I put in quotes for that. You and I talked a little bit about that at a previous time and I know that there's some really good things that you guys have happening. We want to take care of our people. We're blessed not only to have Washington County Sheriff's department but also our own Cottage Grove Police Department as well. The people of our city and area are in good hands. Thank you. **[06:30] Washington County Sheriff (Dan Starry):** Thank you very much, my friend. Thank you. **[06:35] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, now I think we need signatures for the couple of you at least. Councilmember Thiede, when you get better, you'll have to actually sign your certificate. All right, there you go. And thank you. Congratulations, all of you. Congratulations to all our members of the Council that were re-elected and thank you, Sheriff, for joining us at this great event this evening. All right, next on our agenda this evening is Consent Calendar. Councilors, anything anybody would like to pull on Consent? I do know Councilmember Thiede had mentioned to me that he did want to pull Item E. So if there is no others, Councilmember Thiede, do you want to comment about Item E, which is nomination to South Washington County Watershed District? **[07:20] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** Sure. I guess I just wanted to kind of support Emily. She's been on the Planning Commission and I was one of the people that interviewed her for that. She's got a lot of great background in some planning and some watershed and water issues and so forth, and so I just appreciate everybody's approval of her appointment. **[07:45] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, so absolutely sounds good. I think she'll make a good member of the Watershed District. Seeing no other items were pulled on Consent, at this school of consent... there we go. **[07:55] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** So moved. **[07:56] Mayor Myron Bailey:** We have a motion by Councilmember Olsen. **[07:57] Councilmember Tony Combata:** Second. **[07:58] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Second by Councilmember Combata. Any further discussion? Seeing none, a roll call vote. **[08:02] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Combata? (Aye), Dennis? (Aye), Thiede? (Aye), Olsen? (Aye), Mayor Bailey? (Aye). **[08:15] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right, so if you're here for anything on tonight's Consent Calendar, all of those items have been approved. Number eight on our agenda this evening is approved disbursements. 8A is to pay the bills. **[08:25] Councilmember Steve Dennis:** Motion to pay the bills. **[08:26] Mayor Myron Bailey:** We have a motion by Councilmember Dennis. **[08:28] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Second. **[08:29] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Second by Councilmember Olsen. Again, any discussion? Seeing none, roll call vote again. **[08:33] Tammy Anderson (City Clerk):** Councilmember Combata? (Aye), Dennis? (Aye), Thiede? (Aye), Olsen? (Aye), Mayor Bailey? (Aye). **[08:45] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right. Next on our agenda is Public Hearings this evening, number nine—there are none. Ten is Bid Awards—there are none this evening. We don't have anything specific on our Regular Agenda, so we're all the way down to Council comments or requests. I'll look down to my partner to the right of me here, Councilmember Combata. **[09:05] Councilmember Tony Combata:** Thank you, Mayor. I'm overwhelmed to be able to state that oath for a second time, so I just really want to say thank you to everyone who put their confidence in me and I hope I can continue to do great work for the city. **[09:18] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Perfect. Thank you. Councilmember Dennis. **[09:20] Councilmember Steve Dennis:** Thanks, Mayor. I would also say the same thing. It's an honor and privilege to sit here and to do the very best we can on behalf of as many people as we possibly can. I do that every meeting and try to make our home be a better place, so very much appreciative of all the support over this last campaign. And then I do have one other item that I'll share very quickly, and that is I had a constituent reach out to me actually today, believe it or not, and the gentleman wanted to share his appreciation for some medical assistance that his wife had received. He noted specifically, from the moment that they called 911 and talked to dispatchers at Washington County to both the police officer from Cottage Grove that showed up on the scene first and then a medical rig, that he felt that everyone there did a fantastic job and really helped to not only calm his situation but hers as well and provide fantastic services and assistance to her. So I simply asked that we make a note of that. He asked that I pass that on, keeping it confidential, but very appreciative for the great services all the way through that process from A to Z, which is something that we come to take for granted but it's a reality here every day with the excellent people that we have. So I just get to be the messenger of that. Please make sure that that's conveyed to our team. Very much appreciated. Thank you, Mayor. **[10:45] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Fantastic. Thank you, Councilmember. Councilmember Thiede. **[10:50] Councilmember Dave Thiede:** And I'd also like to show my appreciation for the support from the community and the opportunity to work with everyone and take care of things in the city and the planning and all that sort of stuff. So thank you very much, and I guess for tonight, that's all I got. **[11:08] Mayor Myron Bailey:** All right. Thank you. Councilmember Olsen. **[11:10] Councilmember Justin Olsen:** Thank you, Mayor. I'm going to start with congratulations to my colleagues Councilmember Thiede, Councilmember Dennis, and Councilmember Combata, as well as all of my other friends who either have taken the oath of office this week or will be at some point. And I say "will be" because I don't believe our Congresswoman Angie Craig has had the opportunity to do that yet. So, you know, again, I just want to say how pleased I am to continue working hard on behalf of the residents of this community with such an amazing team, including our new County Commissioner Carla Bingham, all of the Councilmembers, and the Mayor sitting here at the dais—and including you, Dave, sitting at home in your own private dais. It's going to be a really, really hard year but a fun year, and I look forward to working together with all of the various stakeholders to really move this community forward in the way that our residents have become accustomed. As part of that, I just want to mention that if you listen closely to the oath, which we got to hear several times tonight, one of the phrases in the oath—and I'll paraphrase—is "I will do my best according to the law and my judgment and ability." That's a really important line because the law is what guides us up here, and throughout the course of any given year when we deal with challenging issues, one of the things that we look to as our North Star is what does the law tell us? You and all of the individuals that I mentioned previously are very, very clear about their role and their responsibility as it relates to making sure that this city, this community, Cottage Grove, is always on the right side of the law. That speaks to the judgment and the abilities of the individuals who take that oath. Whether it was this time or last year or the year before or in years to come, our judgment is really an offshoot of what we know to be fair and equitable and legal. I want people to understand that's a heavy burden to carry sometimes, but we do so willingly, and I wouldn't carry it with anybody else than the colleagues that I've got sitting here at the dais and Dave at home. Looking forward into 2023 and beyond, one other thing I want to mention, Mayor, is if you're looking for some fun this weekend—I don't know if you've noticed, but it snowed a little the last day or two—and this Saturday, January 7th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is the Cottage Grove Scramblers annual "Dust Them Off" snowmobile show and swap. That will be held in the field at 70th and County Road 19, which is owned by the Globa family. The Scramblers will be out with all of their sleds; they'll have some classic sleds out there and raffle tickets you can buy with an opportunity to actually win a classic snowmobile. Our Cottage Grove Lions will also be present with some food and some other beverages, etc., for the people who want to come. Great opportunity to get outside, enjoy the winter weather here in the City of Cottage Grove. I know there's going to be plenty of snow for the snowmobilers to really kick up their heels and have a good time. So if you're looking for something fun to do on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., again at the corner of 70th Street and County Road 19 in the field that is owned by the Globa family for the Dust Them Off snowmobile show and swap. And with that, Mayor, I'll turn it back to you. Thank you. **[14:15] Mayor Myron Bailey:** Awesome. Thank you. So just a couple items, or three to be exact. First of all, just remind the public that I will have the honor of providing the State of the City address on Wednesday, February 1st, which is prior to our City Council meeting that will begin at 6 p.m. It'll be here, it'll also be televised though, so we just want to make everybody aware of that. There'll be some great information looking back a little bit, but also looking forward to some neat things that are going to be coming in the year ahead of us that haven't been necessarily out in the public yet, so that's going to be kind of cool. The other item I wanted to mention real quick is—and we've all been doing this kind of behind the scenes—but our Public Works group, once again, fantastic job moving snow. A couple things I thought it would be interesting to share with the public just so that they're all aware: One, I do hear a lot, Ryan [Burfeind], obviously you extend this to our Public Works workers, the difference between going from one city to the other—and I'm not disparaging our partner cities—but there is a difference in what we get accomplished here in Cottage Grove. But a couple interesting things that I thought would be interesting for the public: If there are some people out there that are complaining about maybe their snow is at the end of their driveway is pretty deep, or maybe the roads, as I was just commenting earlier to our Public Works Director, are narrowing a bit, we basically have had almost a full season's worth of snow and we still have many months left. And so there is getting to be a challenge where we get to put the snow, and I know our Public Works crew, after we kind of get everything cleaned up, will start probably hauling snow in some places where it needs to so we can create more space into the future. But if you do notice that this particular snow that we had, our Public Works group was out to plow before the overnight snow. When I woke up this morning, I'm like, "Holy cow, I didn't know that that was going to happen." So they went out once again and did more today, so I just want to say kudos to the crew there. The other thing though—and we actually were talking briefly about this prior to this council meeting—just for the public to be aware too, we authorized staff to go ahead and create a 14th plow route. Currently, we have 13 within the city. Unfortunately, because of supply chain issues, we have not been able to receive our next plow truck, and so we have not been able to implement the 14th plow route, which would obviously lessen the time. Because that has been a subject that we've been hearing—it seems to take a little bit longer for some of our roads to get cleared even though they're getting cleared. And so I thought I'd just share that with the public, that we are intending to expand our plow routes to make it less time from beginning to end, but we need the truck to do that. As soon as that truck does arrive—it is way behind like many other things that happened during COVID—that is something that we will be implementing even yet maybe this year, but for sure next year. And then lastly, we were thanking people. I also wanted to—I don't think we have had the opportunity to publicly do this yet—but I definitely want to thank our Representative Angie Craig, as you were mentioning that will be sworn in hopefully soon, and then our Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. They were successful in working with us to provide $5 million in federal funds to go towards the reconstruction of 80th Street from Ideal to Highway 61. That is the second time now that we've had the opportunity to work with our national, our state legislators if you will, on a national level to provide funding for projects for the citizens of Cottage Grove and the surrounding community. So I just want to personally thank them once again. I know we'll be seeing them in the near future here, but we do appreciate all the effort and support that they do to support the citizens of Cottage Grove with these funding opportunities. Those are my items, other than I already mentioned to the group here and our newly elected and sworn-in County Commission, we really are excited and happy to have all of you back on the team again. All right, next is Workshop, which is open to the public. For the public that's watching, we do have two items that we're going to be discussing in the Workshop session, which would be in our training room. One will be the Financial Management Plan—this is something that the City Council has asked staff to put together as we look way down the road further than just the next couple years to make sure that financially we're in great shape. And then two, the second item is the Local Option Sales Tax workshop on financing—some ideas that we're looking at, like many other cities, creating a Local Option Sales Tax opportunity, and then what would that money go towards if the citizens of Cottage Grove would approve it in the future. There are no workshops that are closed this evening, so we will not adjourn in here again. Happy New Year, everybody, for 2023, and we look forward to an amazing year. So with that, Council will adjourn to the training room.