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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-05-19 MINUTES (SPECIAL MEETING) COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL City of Cottage Grove, Minnesota Special Meeting May 19, 2010 CALL TO ORDER The Cottage Grove City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, th held a Special Meeting on May 19, 2010, at the Cottage Grove City Hall, 7516 80 Street South. Mayor Bailey called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL The following were present: Mayor Myron Bailey, Council Member Jen Peterson, Council Member Justin Olsen, Council Member Pat Rice, and Council Member Mark Grossklaus. The following were absent: None. Human Services/Human Rights Commission Members Present: Tanweer ‘TJ’ Janjua, Chair, Francisco Gonzales, Vice-Chair, and Douglas Amos. Also present: Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator; Caron Stransky, City Clerk; Howard Blin, Community Development Director; Robin Roland, Finance Director; and Ken Smith, Communications Coordinator. Mayor Bailey presided over the special meeting. Mayor Bailey stated the purpose of the Special Meeting was to meet the Human Services/Humans Rights Commission to give Council an opportunity to share their goals and objectives. Mayor Bailey distributed an outline of the City Council’s goals and objectives for 2010 and stated that in January 2010, the Council had an opportunity to meet with the Department Heads to review the 2009 goals and establish new goals. Mayor Bailey highlighted some of the 2010 City Council Goals: Governance Mayor Bailey stated he and Council Member Olsen had the opportunity today to celebrate “Public Works Week” and attended a barbeque for the employees in the Department. Mayor Bailey stated that each month a Department of the City will provide an update on what is going on in their particular area that month or for the previous couple months. He stated the Council is trying to tie our Council goals to performance measures for our Staff. Cottage Grove City Council 2 May 19, 2010 Special Meeting Mayor Bailey stated that an enhanced performance evaluation system is underway for the City Hall staff since the Police and Public Works Department already has a system in place. Commercial and Industrial Development Mayor Bailey stated that most of the goals are pretty much the same. The only item that the Council changed was a little wording under the second goal which talks about going after specific businesses that relate to the Commercial Market Study completed in 2009 that gave the Council some areas to focus on. For example, next week, he, Council Member Olsen, Community Development Director Blin, and City Administrator Schroeder are attending the ICSC, International Council of Shopping Centers to meet with prospective businesses and developers to talk about opportunities in Cottage Grove. Commissioner Janjua stated that on the City’s web site there was an article that stated a restaurant of some sort would be coming to visit the City. Mayor Bailey stated that they will be meeting with a prospective restaurant owner while they are at the ICSC. It is a business that we have been talking to for about a year. Communications Coordinator stated the last time he checked, there were about 500 individuals who signed a petition on Facebook requesting that the restaurant come to Cottage Grove. Commissioner Janjua asked if there was anything else that we can do to attract a retail business to the City. Mayor Bailey responded that a larger anchor store is still interested in the City. The Cottage Grove Economic Development Authority called an RFP (Request for Proposals) for a couple different sites in Cottage Grove including the Cottage View Drive-In site. They did not receive a lot of responses but they did get people calling us for information, which is what we will be doing next week at the ICSC. Housing Development Mayor Bailey stated they will aggressively monitor foreclosed properties and implement the Federally-funded Neighborhood Stabilization program using local contractors where possible. He stated that under the program, the Washington County Housing and Rehabilitation Authority (HRA) will purchase foreclosed homes, fix them up, and then put them back on the market to sell. He stated if we had a chance to do it over again, we probably would have participated in a different type of program versus buying foreclosed homes. Mayor Bailey stated that the Council is working on master planning of the Langdon neighborhood for commuter rail and are continuing to look for opportunities in the East Ravine. He stated that there are people starting to look around a little and commented that this is good news for the City because our current lot count is getting pretty low for new home construction. Mayor Bailey stated that for the East Ravine area, the City put in a lot of time and effort putting together a development plan for the area, and one of the things we did talk to developers about, is an understanding that we are willing to work with them, we want the look and feel of Cottage Grove City Council 3 May 19, 2010 Special Meeting the East Ravine to be the same, but on density, lot widths, setbacks and those kinds of issues, the Council and Staff are willing to talk to them about it. He stated that we are not willing to give everything away and say you can do whatever you want, that absolutely will not happen, but if a developer is willing to increase density to give us more open space or architectural features, the Council is willing to take a look at different options. Fiscal Stability Mayor Bailey stated this is one of our greater strengths of the City, and financially the City is in great shape when it comes to our ability to manage the budget, manage the expenses, etc. The Staff and Council will be working on the Budget for 2011 and 2012. He stated that one of the things we are also looking at is the construction of a new public safety and/or city hall complex. Mayor Bailey stated that he and City Administrator Schroeder have talked about geothermal for heating or cooling. Council Member Peterson noted that at today’s Chamber luncheon, they talked about sustainability and that City Engineer Levitt was coordinating some green efforts with some of the businesses in town. Transportation and Transit Mayor Bailey stated the Council recently met with Washington County to discuss the th improvement of 70 Street and the cost involved in reconstruction. The project as it is proposed right now is extremely expensive due to the amount of retaining walls that will be needed to improve the road. Mayor Bailey stated that other goals of the Council include providing for high-density housing as part of the transit plan; provide continued support for the Wakota and Hastings Bridge Coalitions and the Red Rock Rail and High Speed Rail initiatives; and provide planning and construction of local roadway infrastructure on a scheduled basis. Commissioner Janjua asked Mayor Bailey if he knew what the timeline was for the Red Rock Corridor. Mayor Bailey stated that information is unknown at this time; however, we will see busing from the transit station in Hastings to the Cottage Grove facility and from there to St. Paul and Minneapolis. Public Facilities Mayor Bailey stated that the City is committed to construction of a new City Hall/Public Safety Complex. He stated that on the Council’s Agenda tonight is a space needs study. Mayor Bailey stated the Community Center Task Force is continuing to meet and review the project scope and fiscal ability for completion in 2011. The Task Force has an idea what should be in a community center, now we have to figure how much it will cost to build one. Cottage Grove City Council 4 May 19, 2010 Special Meeting Mayor Bailey stated that two (2) locker rooms will be built at the Ice Arena for East Ridge High School and a new mezzanine area above the locker rooms on the studio rink side. This will give East Ridge High School its own varsity locker rooms, one for the boys and the other for the girl’s hockey team. Mayor Bailey stated that in the long run this is a good thing for the City of Cottage Grove because it will provide a guaranteed revenue stream for many years. Mayor Bailey stated the City is close to completing work at the Pine Tree Valley Park building and an upgrade to the Hamlet Park building this fall. Mayor Bailey He stated that the City is still expanding efforts for a Mississippi River river access and Washington County is in the process of buying about 40 acres of the island. Mayor Bailey stated that with the PFC process, the City has teamed up with our surrounding communities, specifically Woodbury, and are working together to make sure that the PFC issue is being dealt with, as well as the purification of the water before it is either utilized again or dumped in the Mississippi River. Mayor Bailey stated that the Council has been dealing with the PFC issue and have been trying to negotiate with 3M on the incinerator process, noting that we are getting close to a deal, that we are waiting for some financial data to finally bring something to the Council. The ultimate goal is to reach an agreement with 3M on the incinerator. Mayor Bailey stated we are signing an agreement with the Watershed District that will actually help the City of Cottage Grove in the long run with some funding for infrastructure issues that deal with storm water and infiltration in the Watershed District. Mayor Bailey commented that 3M is pumping hundreds of million gallons of water out of the dumping site in Woodbury that they pipe down to a treatment facility on the 3M site, that they treat and dump into the Mississippi River. He stated that is a waste of very clean water and that there are other uses for the water versus pulling it out of the ground and dumping it into the River. Mayor Bailey commented that the City is working with Woodbury to figure out a way to utilize that water. Commissioner Janjua suggested talking to the University of Minnesota Research Lab who currently has a lab on the River by the Hennepin Bridge noting that they monitor the water 24 hours a day. He stated that is one resource available if anybody wants to talk to them and see if they have any ideas. Mayor Bailey stated that the Council will be considering leasing property from WAG Farms tonight for a dog park to be located on property behind the Public Works facility. The group checked out the property and thought it would be a fantastic location. Through some negotiations with the owners of the property, the City will put something together and give the local residents another local recreational opportunity. Cottage Grove City Council 5 May 19, 2010 Special Meeting Mayor Bailey asked Commissioner Chair Janjua to update Council on what the Commission has been doing over the course of the past year. Commission Accomplishments Commission Chair Janjua highlighted their accomplishments:  The Commission hosted the 2009 Human Rights Day Poster contest as a way to acknowledge human rights struggles. The contest was open for all Cottage Grove students in grades Kindergarten through Grade 12. The Commission will repeat this contest in 2010 and will be part of the Strawberry Fest.  The Commission had the Clothesline project to bring awareness to the topic of domestic violence and its effects on society and family.  The Commission hosted a FacingRace event at River Oaks. There were over 30 people in attendance. The goal of the event was to bring awareness to the different perspectives on the topic of race and how to engage in constructive dialogue about the topic. The event was taped and shown at Channel 16.  The Commission educated residents about the importance of filling out the census. Commission Chair Janjua stated he wrote an article and it was published in the Bulletin prior to the start of the 2010 Census. As of May 6, 2010, Minnesota was at 80% and Cottage Grove at 87% compliance. Commission Vice-Chair Gonzalas stated he also wrote an article congratulating the City of Cottage Grove residents on performing their civic duty.  Completed the strategic work plan for 2009 and the Commission is working on the plan for 2010. Commission Chair Tanjua thanked the Council for the opportunity to meet with the Council. The Special Meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Submitted by, Caron Stransky City Clerk