Good morning everyone. Uh this is the November 19th, 2025 uh Cottage Grove Economic Development Authority uh meeting which I'm calling to order. Um our first order of business actually is the pledge of allegiance. So if you'd please rise. 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. >> All right. Well, Jamie, please do the role. >> EDA President Bailey >> here. >> EDA Vice President Olsen >> here. >> EDA member Katada >> here. >> EDA member Latac >> here. >> EDA member Cheetah >> here. >> EDA member Jean Baptiste. EDA member Scott. >> All right. Uh thank you. Thanks uh everyone for being here this morning who got here. I know it's not our normal um uh morning for uh EDA. Uh so we'll keep moving along here. Number four is approval of the minutes. Uh we do have one which is the EDA meeting minutes for A12 2025. >> Move to approve. >> We have a a motion by EDA Vice President Olsen. >> I'll second. >> Uh second by EDA EDA member Kada. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. >> All right, we'll move to five, which is business items. We actually have two. The first one is just an update from the e, uh, on economic development, uh, and our city administrator, uh, Jennifer Level, will walk us through this one and then we'll get to the second. >> Well, thank you, EDA president Bailey. Uh, today I have a few things to highlight on the economic development side of things. As always, we start with the beige book. Um right now economic activity was flat to slightly down since the previous report. Uh wage growth was modest overall with some signs of slowing. Uh prices increased modestly. Uh manufacturing, commercial real estate were flat and uh I I know uh Mayor Bailey and EDA Vice President Olsen as we were at Minar um last week we were aware that you know there is a little bit of that uh slowing hesitation in that commercial market sector right now. It's kind of like everybody's waiting to see what's going to happen before they launch into their next investment. Uh consumer spending, tourism, construction, and uh residential real estate have decreased. I heard the report this morning. Uh October definitely had a slowing of the real estate uh market residentially. And so um we're kind of keeping close tabs on that uh here in Cottage Grove. Uh but still probably going to hit our residential uh targets for new housing starts in Cottage Grove. agricultural conditions have weakened and then activity among women and minority owned businesses continued uh to decline. Some development updates, the intermediate zone water treatment plant, uh this is the one that's located behind the fire station on 80th Street. This one here is what I'll say is concrete heavy. So, I think we have um about five or six more months of constant concrete pouring. Uh because in this we have a clear well and these backwash tanks that are all underground. The contractor's goal has been to try to get all of that uh infrastructure that's under the ground completed before snow flies. So you can see that they're making great progress uh in that. And staying with our water theme, uh the water tower, which you have probably seen if you've driven down Highway 61, right behind the park and ride, you can see the crane that's lit up at night. uh that crane is helping to do the different lifts of concrete uh on the base of the tank. And so they've completed the fifth, sixth, and seventh lift and are preparing for the eighth. Um the concrete bowl will probably be set uh probably about in Q2 of 26. And so then it will really start to look more like a water tower at that point. This is actually the first water tower uh with a concrete base here in Cottage Grove. So, uh, excited for a little different look for our water towers. And, uh, since you guys are the economic development authority, I'll tell you that this water tower is actually critical for growth in our industrial park, um, as we continue to attract users. So, that is the tie between the EDA and this water tower. Uh, when it comes to uh, school projects, there's a lot happening uh, around the community. You've probably seen the transition building that is uh, owned by the school district at 70th in Jamaica. Um they did a lot of uh site work and demo and you may have asked well why did they take the roof structure off so much of the existing building and because there have been so many different additions to it the in the interior truss layout didn't actually provide for the duct work to go through it very efficiently and so they actually had to remove a good section of the roof of the existing building to make that tie in. So they're making great progress and it's really going to change the look of that corner in our community. uh Park High School. You've probably seen a lot of the exterior work related to the drive lanes have been completed. The grass is growing. Uh all the construction uh activity is now taken down uh around 80th Street. If we look at the actual office area, they're making great progress in that. Uh completing the electrical, mechanical, and fire suppression. And then the underground plumbing, electrical work um are underway on that new addition out the back. And so I think they're actually probably a little bit ahead ahead of schedule. I may have just now jinxed them um in that. So uh we're excited for Park High School and to see how well that project is going. Um Ultman Middle School obviously getting some additional uh uh work done. Uh this was where they had the additional wing that was originally planned um when they built the school. At the time they didn't have enough funding to complete the wing. Plus their u uh student count was a little bit lower. So now they've gone to add that additional classroom wing onto the building. And you can start to see that block work and steel is starting to uh take shape there and they're pouring the concrete floors for that storm shelter which is a new code requirement for schools. Cottage Grove Middle. Um you can see the small addition here uh with the steel uh going up and uh they're just uh trying to get that enclosed uh for winter. So I will have to say the school district is doing a great job. um and keeping our economy going and providing jobs uh for construction here in the community. One update that I wanted to provide was for Speedway is probably a lot of people have seen the different activity taking place here. Um there is a demo permit to remove that gas canopy and then to actually remove the underground fuel tanks um at that site. So, you've probably seen a lot of activity located there. Um we're anticipating that there's going to be a land sale uh related to this site in December. And so hopefully we'll maybe have a planning application in Q1 of 26. And that is all the updates I have for this morning. >> All right. Thank you. Uh Jennifer, any questions by anybody on EDN things that we just covered? Okay. So we'll then move to uh item B under business items which is the TIFF agreement amendment for Roars Cottage Grove Apartments LLC. Well, uh, EDA members, the reason you are all here today is so that we can approve these modifications because, as I always joke, is there's only two seasons in Minnesota, winter and construction, and Roars would like to get under construction um, in the next two weeks. And so, we appreciate the fact that you were willing to come in this morning to be able to address this issue. Uh, the roar site, as you know, is located at 6850 East Point Douglas Road. It's that last parcel uh that was left in the plat um at the end of East Point Douglas Road. Now, many of you probably know that this is a very complex site uh because of the gas man that ran through there. Um it took a lot of additional negotiation, a lot of uh revisions to the site plan. And then on the back side of it is a very large retaining wall. So this was a very small site with a lot of challenges to overcome which is one of the reasons we were looking at tiff related to the project. Uh we look back at the project details it is 144 units. When we look at the affordability component, um we have 29 units at 50% AMI, eight units at 60% AMI, and then we have 37 units uh that are those n more naturally affordable units between 70 and 80% AMI, and the rest of the units are all market rate. And you can also then see the mix of studios onebedroom two-bedroom and threebedrooms. Um, and then just for a frame of reference at the bottom of the screen, I did uh show what a 60% AMI uh income for one person and what the theoretical rent is just to give you a flavor uh for how the AMIs uh play out in this. I will note that none of the um financial details, none of the affordability components have changed. So, in your document for the TIFF, you can you see it's all dates that have changed because when this originally uh took place in January of 24, um there was an understanding that they were going to move more quickly, but unfortunately there were some challenges with the site they had to overcome. So, in regards to the TIF, that assistance is for 15 years uh at a value of 1.96. Nothing of that has changed and as I said none of the actual affordability of those unit counts have changed since you approved it in January of 24. So today we are looking for two recommendations. One is to approve the amended and restated contract for the private uh development between uh the city of C or the Cottage Grove Economic Development Authority and Roars Cottage Grove Apartments LLC and then to approve the assignment of the tax increment financing agreement. All right. Thank you, uh, Jennifer. Any questions for Jennifer on this one? I know we've seen this before. It's just, uh, changing a few dates. Thank you, uh, for, uh, hanging in there through all this. That is a, we've had so many different people kick the kick the tires on that site and it just became such a hassle like you you guys have dealt with. So, I just want to thank you for hanging in there through all these changes uh, to get a good quality project out of that corner there. All right. So, seeing uh no comments from uh EDA, uh we've got a motion uh or on our screen uh two separate motions if somebody would like to adopt one. >> I move to approve the amended and restated contract for private development by and between uh the Cottage Grove Economic Development Authority and Roor's Cottage Grove Apartments LLC. >> All right. So, I have a motion by EDA member Katada. Do I have a second? >> I'll second. >> Uh second by EDA member LTE. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. Who would like number two? >> Go for it. >> Uh, I move to approve the assignment of tax increment financing agreement. >> All right. So, we have a motion by ED member Cheetah. Second, >> second by EDA member Katada. Again, any questions or comments? >> Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. That worked quick for you this morning. Thanks for coming in. All right. Uh just kind of moving along here. Six, uh public hearings, we do not have any this morning. Um other business, the only thing I will and I'll open up if anybody has anything. Um just real quick, uh if you hadn't seen the city of Cottage Grove uh at the most recent chamber event, uh was uh given the award of large business of the year for all the support that we do with all of our local businesses. and uh and so that was uh quite an honor. And then at the same time, which is pretty cool, um the small business of the year actually went to River Oaks Golf Course for all the things that they've been doing down there, too. So, it was kind of neat to see uh that we both uh uh on the small business side, they considered, I guess, River Oaks to be kind of that small business. And then, uh uh honored us uh as the large business of the year. And then I should also throw in there because we've got uh beyond well it's not beyond the yellow uh it's uh >> Mississippi River Valley. >> Yes, I I know they have such a long name now. The Mississippi River Valley Beyond the Yellow River, which is a fairly somewhat new group because they've been encompassing other groups. Uh did get the uh the I guess you called it the volunteer group of the year or the charitable organizations. That was pretty cool to see all of them being uh recognized. So, I just thought I'd throw those couple things out there. Was there anything else? Anybody else? Good. >> Oh, Council Member Olson, >> I'll try to be brief because I know that the team's counting on a short meeting. Um, I just wanted to mention a couple of holiday events that are coming up for the EDA members to share with their friends and families and their social networks. Uh, first of all, on December the 4th here at city hall, we will have our hometown holiday celebration again this year. I believe this is the third or fourth annual. Uh it seems to get bigger every year, which will be a lot of fun. And um are we starting at 5? Is that start time or 4:30? >> It begins at 5:00 p.m. Wagons start rolling at 4:30. >> Okay, perfect. So, uh bring your friends and family down. It's always a ton of fun. I'll be food trucks and Santa will be here along with Sparkles the elf and they'll be sitting in the big chair and doing all the fun things. So, bring your kids. Um, the other thing is, uh, December the 7th, we have the Cottage Grove Lion Santa at the VFW from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Again, great opportunity to come and sit on Santa's lap, uh, for, you know, children of all ages. And, uh, the price to attend that event is $12 for adults, $8 for kids. It's always a really good time. And you'll get to see me slinging hash and doing all kinds of fun things. So, um, come down and visit us at the VFW that day. It' be a lot of fun. Uh we have the holiday train coming to town again this year as you can see from the photographs uh on your screen and this year it's a Saturday which is really really good. So it's December the 13th. Um the train always stops down by the Youth Service Bureau building on West Point Douglas and uh I believe the train is intended to arrive at around 5:00, but we're going to uh kind of allow people to start gathering around 4ish. Um, get down there, you know, get your hot chocolate, come and check out the train. It's always a lot of fun and it's a huge fundraiser for our friends in need food shelf. Need is up this year by a lot. Um, last I heard it was somewhere around 60% versus last year. So, this is their largest fundraiser of the year. They get about 30% of their annual funding from the holiday train event. And I know they have a target this year of somewhere in the neighborhood of about 125,000. Is that correct? >> That's correct. So, um, it'd be great if you could come down and have some fun with your family and maybe dig into your pocket for a couple of bucks and help support friends in need at the holiday train. With that, Mayor, I'll turn it back to you. >> All right. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? All right. We don't have any workshops or any additional presentations. So, believe it or not, we're all the way down to adjournment. I need a motion. >> I make the motion to adjurnn. >> All right. So, we have a motion by council. Oh, I almost threw a council member in there. EDA member Kabada. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Second by Edia Beber Lac. Sorry I didn't give you I didn't promote you to council. >> We figured out. Yeah. >> All those in favor so good by saying I >> I opposed. We are adjourned. Thank you everyone for coming in this morning.