Based on the context provided and the roll call mentioned in the text, here is the formatted transcript. *Note: While the provided list mentioned Councilmembers Garza and Clausen, the transcript roll call specifically identifies Councilmembers **Tony Khambata** (phonetically "combata") and **Steve Dennis**. I have used the names identified during the meeting.* [00:00:00] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Thank you. Foreign. Good evening. This is the—mark my goodness, it's hard to believe it's March already. March 1st, 2023, Cottage Grove City Council meeting, which I'm calling to order. The first order of business is the Pledge of Allegiance, so please rise. [00:00:20] **All**: 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. [00:00:35] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Would the clerk please do the roll? [00:00:38] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Khambata? [00:00:39] **Councilmember Tony Khambata**: Here. [00:00:40] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Dennis? [00:00:41] **Councilmember Steve Dennis**: Here. [00:00:42] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Thiede? [00:00:43] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Here. [00:00:44] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Councilmember Olsen? [00:00:45] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Here. [00:00:46] **City Clerk Tammy Anderson**: Mayor Bailey? [00:00:47] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Here. Next on this evening's agenda is Open Forum. This is the opportunity within—for anybody who wants 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 no one had signed up, so just making sure that nobody is wanting to speak tonight. All right, seeing none, I will go ahead and close Open Forum. We'll move to five, which is adoption of the agenda. [00:01:15] **Councilmember Steve Dennis**: Motion to adapt the agenda. [00:01:17] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Second. [00:01:18] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: We have a motion by Councilmember Dennis, second by Councilmember Thiede. All those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:01:23] **All**: Aye. [00:01:24] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. Six is presentations; we have none this evening. Seven is consent calendar. Is there anything that Council would like to pull on consent? Councilmember Khambata? [00:01:38] **Councilmember Tony Khambata**: I’d like to pull E. [00:01:40] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: You're going to pull E. And just for the public for comment, I'm going to pull K and M. Is there anybody else? All right, seeing no one else, I will go ahead and we'll start with Councilmember Khambata, if he's okay down there, and you're talking about some appointments. [00:01:58] **Councilmember Tony Khambata**: I can almost breathe. Um, yeah, I had the opportunity along with the chair of the Parks, Recreation, and Resources Commission to interview two very passionate and very well-qualified applicants this last week. And we had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Deborah Gustafson and Kelly Glassford. Both will be able to bring a wealth of knowledge to the commission and we look forward to their service. [00:02:22] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Fantastic, thank you. And we do—we appreciate our—those members that are part of our various commissions giving us guidance. All right, the two items that I pull are just for comment. The first one, it is interesting this evening we have a couple tobacco licenses for new establishments within the City of Cottage Grove, but there's also one that I know had gotten a little play, I'll say, on social media. So I just wanted to kind of, I'll say, set the record straight. There was some concern out there that the City of Cottage Grove and our Council is not approving the cannabinoid process where you can have that in the City of Cottage Grove, which is indeed false. We did change our ordinances to reflect the opportunity for those that would like to follow the procedures or the policies that we put into place were welcome to do so. And we do have a business that's already in Cottage Grove that is going to be moving into a new location, which is High North Dispensary, and their goal is obviously to sell this product through the channels of the retail store. And so I thought I would just mention it to the public because again, there's been a lot of talk in the press and a lot of talk about the Capitol and each city was kind of left to their own device to figure out how to manage this piece. And the City of Cottage Grove and our Council, I think, did a really good job of really putting forth the opportunity for this business or any business like it to locate in Cottage Grove with the fall restrictions that we have in place for other types of businesses, whether it's alcohol or tobacco—and this is a little stronger than both of those. But the point of the matter is we do have a policy and we do allow it to have a business in Cottage Grove. So anybody that is saying that we're not allowing it, I just want to say that's entirely false. The other item I wanted to—that I pulled was M, which is the Olsen Memorial Trail naming request. This has actually been going on for a little while. Katie and Conway Olsen have been—Conway has since passed. Katie is still here in Cottage Grove. She and her family live here in Cottage Grove, and I've had the distinct honor and pleasure of knowing them for many, many years as I grew up here in Cottage Grove. And they have done a lot. Katie and Conway have donated money for public safety, parks, you name it, they've been involved in it. The grooming machine for grooming trails down at River Oaks Golf Course as well as others—other parks, because Conway and Katie love to ski cross country. One of the things that we have the opportunity to do, and the Parks and Recreation Commission was able to do this, is come up with these opportunities for individuals that have really given something to the community in a real positive way. And not that long ago, we did have the opportunity to name a new park that hasn't been built yet but a new park after Jack Denzer, who was a mayor here in Cottage Grove and a local business owner. And now we're being able to name a trail corridor on behalf of the Olsen family, which would be Katie and Conway. And so this is down in Hamlet, which they grew up in that particular or they lived down in that area—I grew up in that area so I know exactly where these trails are. And so I just wanted to say very excited and happy that Zach and the group, we've been able to come up with this idea with them and they're pretty excited about it. I did get an email—I don't know if the rest of Council did—from Dave Olson and his family saying that they're very honored and appreciative of the opportunity to recognize their family in this way. So that was the two items that I wanted to pull just for comment. Anything else? [00:05:44] **Councilmember Steve Dennis**: Thank you, Mayor. And just to add on to the first item that you spoke to, we patterned our ordinance almost exactly on what the City of Woodbury did, and I believe that that was also synonymous with a couple other communities as well. So we didn't do anything that was outside the box relative to that situation that we were handed, as you said, from the State of Minnesota, who tends to pass things down without always thinking its way through and giving us absolute direction or enough direction to actually be able to come up with something without having to completely make a wheel—not remake it, but make a wheel. So I just want to make very sure the public was aware of that and there was some information out there that was really unfortunate. And you know, it's always a good thing when we can set the truth straight here. [00:06:33] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Yeah, and I guess the only thing I'll just add to your comment there since you mentioned it was, you know, if you ever have a question, reach out to our staff at the city. We'll be more than happy to explain it, or reach out to one of us Councilmembers or myself as the Mayor. We'll tell you if something is not good, we're going to say it's not good, but also if it's something that's not accurate, we're going to, you know, set the record straight. So that's how we all operate up here and that's what I appreciate about this group and our staff. All right, since no other items are pulled for consent, I'll look for a motion of consent. [00:07:05] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Motion to approve. [00:07:06] **Councilmember Tony Khambata**: Second. [00:07:07] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: We have a motion by Councilmember Olsen, second by Councilmember Khambata. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:07:16] **All**: Aye. [00:07:17] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. So if you're here for anything on tonight's consent calendar, all of those items have been approved. Next on our agenda is eight, is approved disbursement. 8A is to pay the bills. [00:07:30] **Councilmember Steve Dennis**: Motion to pay the bills. [00:07:31] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Second. [00:07:32] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: We have motion by Councilmember Dennis, second by Councilmember Olsen. Okay, any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. [00:07:42] **All**: Aye. [00:07:43] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? Motion carries. Nine is public hearings; there is none tonight. Ten is bid awards; there is none tonight. 11, regular agenda—we're moving fast here—nothing on regular agenda this evening. We're already down to Council comments or requests, so I'll start with Councilmember Khambata. [00:08:05] **Councilmember Tony Khambata**: Abstain. Nothing tonight. [00:08:07] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Okay. How about Councilmember Dennis? [00:08:09] **Councilmember Steve Dennis**: I'm going to pass. [00:08:10] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: All right, nothing from Councilmember Dennis. How about Councilmember Thiede? [00:08:13] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Well, I'll just continue to always mention Strawberry Fest and that we always need helpers there. And so, the next meeting is Monday night over at Carbone's at six o'clock. So everybody's always welcome to attend and just be part of the fun and so come on down. [00:08:34] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: There you go. Awesome. Councilmember Olsen? [00:08:37] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Thank you, Mayor. I just have one thing I'd like to share. You'll notice that I am wearing my Cottage Grove Lions logo on my shirt here this evening, and there's a reason for that. I wanted to let people know that the Lions are once again offering five scholarships for 2023 graduating seniors. These scholarships are in the amount of $2,000 each, which is an increase from last year, and these are predominantly for young people who, as they apply, can show that they have a real passion for volunteerism in our community. I'll just read the verbiage here on the actual scholarship form and it says, "It is our role to provide educational assistance to motivated youth in our community. The successful applicant will demonstrate their path of leadership, volunteerism, community, and family while maintaining integrity and passion for their educational growth." These scholarships are available to current high school seniors at both Park Senior High and East Ridge Senior High that are current residents of Cottage Grove, Saint Paul Park, Newport, or Gray Cloud. The applications themselves can be found at the guidance counselor's office both at Park High School and at Eastridge High School. But if you are concerned or have questions or you're not quite clear, you can always reach out to any of us at the Cottage Grove Lions and we would be happy to explain the scholarship process and get you a form if necessary. And the reason I'm bringing this up this evening is the deadline is quickly approaching. You know, the Mayor said, "Holy cow, I can't believe it's March 1st already." That means these scholarship applications are going to need to come in fast and furious. And for our Cottage Grove Lions scholarships, the application deadline is April 5th of 2023. And then we look to grant those scholarships in May after reviewing all the applications. So again, five scholarships total, $2,000 a piece. And this is your Cottage Grove Lions using the fundraising dollars that we accumulate throughout the course of the year to give back to the community, and we're very excited to see a lot of applications this year. The cost of education is going up just like everything else, so this is a really good way to offset some of those costs. And that's it for me, Mayor. Thank you. [00:10:43] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Fantastic, thank you. Just a couple items real quick for me. One is I did notice on the Council usually gets like an agenda or a calendar, I should say. And one of the things that I know is very popular in our community is the Easter egg hunt at Woodridge Park. That is set for Saturday, April 1st. It begins at 9:00 AM, but the one thing you do need to do is you do need to sign up because they do it in waves, I guess is the best way to put it. I've been there with the grandkids the last few years that they've done it; it's an amazing time. They enjoy picking up all those little plastic Easter eggs and then crunching them and throwing them in the bag. But the point of the matter is it's a really great event, so if you're interested in that, check out the city's Parks Facebook page or the website and get your registration in. And then the only other item I'll mention too is that now that we are in Lent season, we do have the River Oaks Golf Course that has the Fish Fry at Eagles Bar and Grill. I had the opportunity to be there this last Friday and it was amazing once again. So those guys did a great job. Again, you do need reservations though, so please make sure that you either contact them or go through—I think it's Open Table? [00:11:53] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Open Table, yep. It's opentable.com. [00:11:55] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Yes, opentable.com, and you can reserve your time and the number of people to be there and enjoy a great evening of food at River Oaks. So that was it for me. 13 is a workshop open to the public; we do not have one this evening. 14 is workshop closed to the public; we do not have one this evening. We're on 15 for adjournment before 7:15. [00:12:18] **Councilmember Justin Olsen**: Move to adjourn. [00:12:19] **Councilmember Dave Thiede**: Second. [00:12:20] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Councilmember Olsen made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Thiede. All those in favor? [00:12:25] **All**: Aye. [00:12:26] **Mayor Myron Bailey**: Opposed? We're adjourned.