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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07B City Council Meeting Minutes - October 3, 2018 Regular Meeting CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE Equal Opportunity Employer 2897 -458-Fax 651 2800 -458-651  gov.mnwww.cottagegrove Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 12800 Ravine Parkway  MINUTES COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL October 3, 2018 COUNCIL CHAMBER 12800 RAVINE PARKWAY SOUTH REGULAR MEETING - 7:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, held a regular meeting on October 3, 2018, at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway. Mayor Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The audience, staff, Mayor, and City Council Members recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL The following were present: Mayor Myron Bailey, Council Member Steve Dennis, Council Member Wayne Johnson, Council Member La Rae Mills, and Council Member Dave Thiede. Also present were: Charlene Stevens, City Administrator; Korine Land, City Attorney- LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; Les Burshten, Public Works Director; Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director; Joe Fischbach/HR Manager/City Clerk; Pete Koerner, Director of Public Safety; Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer; Robin Roland, Finance Director. 4. OPEN FORUM Mayor Bailey opened the open forum and asked if anyone in the audience wished to address the Council on any item that was not on the agenda. Claudia Colleran, 7222 Hidden Valley Cove South, stated that October is National Bullying Prevention Month. This past summer she became aware of a serious problem in our community regarding bullying. Many parents have stated they don’t know where to turn for help, and no one seems very interested in helping them address the bullying issue. She referred to a Facebook posting by a parent who described a child’s experience, and other parents reported their children had the same situation as the one who had started the discussion. No one appeared to have answers. Violence is certainly not the answer to bullying behavior, and zero tolerance policies are not City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 2 working. There are a great number of materials that address bullying and are available to the community; she gave the titles of many documents available from the website www.StopBullying.gov, which addressed bullying. The PACER organization also has innumerable resources available for elementary, middle, and high schools, including teacher toolkits, etc. She asked the City Council to consider working with all of the Washington County City Councils to create a committee comprised of community members and to implement the suggestions and guidelines, as well as use the available training programs. She provided posters for National Bullying Month, hoping they’d be posted in the City. Mayor Bailey asked Ms. Colleran if she’d had the opportunity to speak with the School Board; she stated that she had not. She stated she was working with Lisa Engelstad, a licensed school counselor, and had reached out to Council Member Johnson. Everyone on Facebook had suggested she come to the City Council Meeting. Council Member Johnson stated that regarding the Facebook posting, he believed it was from a resident who used to live in Cottage Grove and had moved to Woodbury, and the bullying was happening in Woodbury. He stated that he’d reached out to them at that time to start addressing it because he thought initially it was possibly taking place in Cottage Grove. Council Member Johnson stated he’d also reached out to Chief Koerner to see what he knew about it. Council Member Johnson stated it’s a big issue with the schools and outside of the schools, and the posting showed that it can continue. He thanked Ms. Colleran for coming in to speak about this issue to help address what’s going on. Lisa Engelstad, 7256 Janero Avenue, stated that they’d moved to Cottage Grove a little over three years ago. There were initially no problems, but for over 1.5 years, her son was enduring different types of bullying. They ultimately put their house on the market and moved across town because it was just too much. She’s a school counselor and also sits on the School Safety & Technical Assistance Council through the Minnesota Department of Education. She stated that even with all of her expertise, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to navigate when she had a son who was in such crisis from a kid a couple doors down who continued to bully her son. Her son was not doing well and at one point talked about wanting to die, so they moved across town. Things got much better for her son, but it took a near-fatal accident for her to get herself back in her mindset that we’re just going to move forward. Schools work on bullying and she works on bullying prevention all the time in the St. Paul public schools, but she wondered what the protocol was when it’s happening in your very own neighborhood. When she saw the Facebook post, she wondered how the community could help all of our kids and how can we empower parents, both those who kids are being bullied and those whose kids are doing the bullying, to really find ways to work together. She knows parents advocate for their kids, but there must be ways to avoid people needing to move out of their houses and neighborhoods because they feel like they don’t have a choice. If they call the police, it will make it worse, and City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 3 she personally didn’t know what to do. She felt if information was posted in public, grocery stores, the library, churches, doctors’ offices, etc., that might be a start. Mayor Bailey thanked her for speaking to the Council tonight. As no one else wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the open forum. 5. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion by Council Member Thiede to adopt the agenda; second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. 6. PRESENTATIONS A. Police Reserve Academy Graduates Staff Recommendation: PowerPoint presentation and the introduction of Reserve Officer Academy graduates Jessica Ross and Josette Vaidich. Public Safety Director Pete Koerner stated that we have one of the premier Reserve programs in the State; our Reserve Officers work a lot of hours, with every parade, etc., and he just wanted to let them know that their efforts are greatly appreciated. Director Koerner started his work with Cottage Grove as a Reserve Officer, so he always tries to make sure they get the things they need to do their work. Some previous Volunteers of the Year have been Reserve Officers, so he asked last year’s Volunteer of the Year, Captain Justin Fox, to speak about the program. Afterward, the two new Reserve Officers would come forward to receive their badges. Captain Fox stated that the Reserve Program is made up of citizen volunteers, who work for the Police Department. They do some light patrol, bike patrol, community events, directing traffic, Neighborhood Watch events, crime scene security, community emergencies, non-confrontational calls, animal calls, and prisoner transports. In 2017, they volunteered 253 hours, assisted with 26 call outs (emergency or immediate need type events), and also 44 special details, outside of the typical parades. Our newest Reserve Officers completed a 30-hour Academy over seven weeks. He reviewed the many aspects of their training and stated they’re on a four-month period with a Field Training Officer, who is a seasoned Reserve Officer or their Sergeant. He asked Jessica Ross and Josie Vaidich to come forward to receive their badges. The Council Members congratulated each of them. Mayor Bailey thanked them for getting involved in their community and for the work they’ll be doing. B. Fitness Court Project Grant Application Staff Recommendation: Authorize staff to apply for National Fitness Campaign grant in the amount of $30,000 to be used towards the construction of an Outdoor Fitness Court at Highlands Park in 2019. City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 4 Director Dockter stated that this will help Cottage Grove become a parks and recreation destination. They’ve had money budgeted for several years for a fitness circuit, aimed at older teenagers through adults, but they’d never found the right fit until now. The Outdoor Fitness Court will be discussed by Susannah Brown, a Parks Commissioner for the City of Cottage Grove. Commissioner Brown stated this is her first year of serving with the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission. She stated being on the Commission has been a positive experience for her and she now feels more connected to the community. We take a lot of pride in our parks and trail system, and people who take their exercise outside do so with greater frequency and for longer durations. When an Outdoor Fitness Court is available, there is fitness equipment freely accessible for all ages, abilities, and economic backgrounds. It’s a gem with a $0 membership fee. Outdoor Fitness Courts also provide a social opportunity for some populations that might be more isolated, like older adults or stay-at-home parents. Tonight, we’re seeking the Council’s support for maintaining wellness in our community. The Parks Commission is excited about the National Fitness Campaign (NFC) because it has several attributes that would be a unique addition to our parks system. The court includes 30 pieces of equipment in seven different stations of movement; something special about the NFC court is its app integration. After the court is installed, you can download a free NFC app onto your smart phone/mobile device; it has tutorials for how to use the equipment and challenges that you can compete in. This is important to the Parks Commission because one of the goals of our work plan is to provide technology that connects our residents and communicates with them. It also fits with the City’s priority for digital engagement with residents. Maintenance for the Fitness Court would most likely cost less than $1,000 per year. She shared a video to show what the court would look like, what the app is like, and the mission of the NFC. Commissioner Brown stated there’s only one other Outdoor Fitness Court in Minnesota, in Waite Park; if Cottage Grove were selected as a partner city, that would create a unique attraction to our park system. The Parks Commission is recommending Highlands Park as the site for the Outdoor Fitness Court. As 70th Street is one of our main arterial roads, you’ll be able to see the urban art-inspired court from your car, so that might draw you in to check it out. It’s only 38’ by 38’ square, so the small footprint won’t infringe as much on the green space of this park. The mature trees provide enough shade so you’d get a little bit of shade for users in the afternoons. If we get selected as a partner city by the NFC, we’d be agreeing to install the court within 2019; ideally, next summer. In the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), there’s been $50,000 of Park Improvement allocated for outdoor fitness equipment; the Commission is recommending an increase in that to $80,000 for 2019 to make this initiative a reality. The $80,000 would account for 60% of the total cost of the court; the other 40% would come from grants and sponsorships. The NFC is really helpful with that as they provide City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 5 a $30,000 grant once you’re selected as a partner city, but they’ll also work with you to collect other sponsors. Commissioner Brown stated she spoke with a NFC representative, who told her when a partner city is selected a representative will help us identify local partners in our area. Typically, they look at hospitals and medical providers because fitness and those types of institutions usually line up pretty well. Even if you struggle to find a partner locally, the NFC has nationwide sponsors who are looking for cities to partner with; Waite Park had two nationwide sponsors. The NFC also has a crowd-funding platform that’s designed for municipal projects, Patron a City, and that can help work on fundraising from smaller donors. The NFC also helps plan and advertise your launch party, and they continue to update the app for you to get new fitness routines and challenges for years to come. With the NFC partnership for fundraising and support, right now is really a great time to invest in this unique option for health and wellness within our City; that’s why staff and the Parks Commission are recommending that Council authorize our grant application to the NFC to try to become a partner. The grant would be $30,000 to go towards the construction of this Outdoor Fitness Court at Highlands Park next year. Commissioner Brown stated she’d take questions. Council Member Johnson thanked Commissioner Brown for her presentation. He asked if she had a photo of the one in Waite Park; she did not, but stated theirs is right next to a major intersection so they get a lot of visibility that way. We wanted our court to be further away from the main road because some people feel like they’re on display when they’re working out and might not necessarily like that. Council Member Johnson stated he felt the location had positives and negatives. It’s good because there are people who have outdoor workouts there and this would be a nice add on. The concern he had was how secluded it is in the evenings, with this equipment in the dark, as we’ve already had some problems in parks. Commissioner Brown stated another Commission member works for the Minneapolis Park Board, and he mentioned the importance of lighting to help with that concern; she thought Director Dockter had included that in our estimate of the cost of installation was making sure we had really good lighting for safety and visibility to kind of monitor the equipment there. Council Member Thiede stated he thought the skating rink already had a big light in that area. Council Member Johnson asked if snow would be cleared by the Parks Department for use in the winter; Commissioner Brown stated it likely would not be shoveled by Public Works or Parks staff, similar to tennis courts and basketball courts. Some residents oftentimes will shovel off space on a basketball court if it’s snowy, as they’ll get out there and play no matter what the weather. Council Member Thiede stated Commissioner Brown did a very good job and thanked her for her presentation. He noted in the video that they had mentioned Wells Fargo had previously been a sponsor; he wondered if Wells Fargo could be a possible sponsor for us. Director Dockter stated that he believed Wells Fargo Bank was one of the funding partners for the grant money. City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 6 Council Member Thiede stated that they’d had $50,000 in the CIP; with this, depending on how much we could look at getting from sponsors, hospitals, insurance companies, etc., if we don’t get something to bring that down, he asked if Parks and Recreation was prepared to give up something else. Director Dockter stated the budget they had proposed was they expect to get at least $10,000 in sponsorships, looking for up to $30,000; the amount could come down from that rather than go up from the proposed $80,000. Council Member Thiede asked Director Dockter if he was prepared to readjust the budget so we don’t significantly increase it. Mayor Bailey stated if we got the $30,000 grant, we’d have to say we’re committed; Commissioner Brown agreed that once they give us the money, we have to build it. Mayor Bailey said at some point, if we got the grant, you’d come back and say we have $50,000 in the CIP for this right now, we might need $80,000, but the goal is if we get other sponsors, that amount could be lowered. Director Dockter stated Council authorizes the actual grant agreements, so we’d bring that back to the Council for formal approval; as part of that, too, in the CIP, you’d also see a requested increase for Outdoor Fitness. Council Member Thiede asked if there’s an opportunity to access the people they identified as being sponsors or being able to present to some other organizations; if we get the grant, then we’ve got a contingent commitment from some sponsors. Director Dockter said when you get the grant, you formulate a sponsorship fundraising plan; that would take place before there’s any commitment or door knocking, and we’d plan our approach of how we’re going to find those sponsors. Council Member Dennis wanted to be very clear that in applying for this, if we do get the grant, we still could walk away if we didn’t want to do the project; Commissioner Brown stated that was correct. Council Member Dennis stated we’re about one month away from our CIP Workshop, so he’s willing to go along with this, but he’d like Director Dockter to look at plans for other things to see how this kind of stacks up against other needs we might have. There are a lot of irons in the fire right now, so he thought we needed to be prudent and a little bit careful with where we decide to spend money because there are so many needs. Motion by Council Member Mills to authorize staff to apply for a National Fitness Campaign grant in the amount of $30,000 to be used towards the construction of an Outdoor Fitness Court at Highlands Park in 2019; second by Council Member Johnson. Motion carried: 5-0. 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the September 5, 2018 City Council Meeting Minutes. B. Approve the September 19, 2018 City Council Meeting Minutes. C. Accept and place on file the minutes of the July 23, 2018, Planning Commission Meeting. D. Adopt Resolution 2018-124 levying assessments for petitioned streets and utilities construction for Summers Landing 2nd addition. City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 7 E. Authorize the conveyance of 7516 80th Street South to the City of Cottage Grove Economic Development Authority. F. Approve the issuance of rental licenses for the properties in the attached table. None of the Council Members wished to pull any Consent Agenda item for further comment and/or discussion. Motion by Council Member Thiede to approve the Consent Agenda; second by Council Member Mills. Motion carried: 5-0. 8. APPROVE DISBURSEMENTS A. Approve payments for the period of 9/18/2018 - 9/27/2018 for $3,362,833.47. Motion by Council Member Dennis to approve disbursements; second by Council Member Johnson. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Hazardous Properties Assessments Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2018-126 to assess the costs associated with the abatement of hazardous conditions from private properties. Finance Director Robin Roland stated Minnesota State Statute 463 provides cities with the ability to assess costs that are associated with removal or elimination of hazards from private property. Code Enforcement has that responsibility in our City. This year there was one property that the City was required to clean up due to the public health and safety issues. At the Council Meeting on September 19, you called for this public hearing. Assessment Notices were published and sent to the property in question. The action that we’re requesting tonight is to consider any comments that are made during the public hearing, and once the public hearing is closed, to consider moving to adopt the assessment against the property, which is listed in the agenda. The total amount of that abatement was $2,731.68. This goes against the property in question for the pay 2019 year; it is a one-year assessment at 7%. Council Member Thiede asked Director Roland what made up the abatement fees besides the removal of a tree or things of that nature; he asked if there were some penalties included in that. Director Roland stated that no, not in this particular case. The abatement of the hazardous situation included hiring the contractor to remove the hazard and then billing the property owner; if the property owner doesn’t pay the bill, then we are forced to assess it against the property. She stated that there were quite a number of issues regarding the trees and this was a vacant property. City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 8 Mayor Bailey opened the public hearing; as no one wished to address the Council on this item, Mayor Bailey closed the public hearing. Motion by Council Member Dennis to Adopt Resolution 2018-126 to assess the costs associated with the abatement of hazardous conditions from private properties; second by Council Member Mills. Motion carried: 5-0. B. Tall Weeds Assessments Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2018-125 to assess the costs associated with the removal of tall weeds from private properties. Director Roland stated this falls under City Ordinance 4-3-1, which addresses noxious weeds and plants and height restrictions. It is unlawful to allow or permit any growth of weeds, grass, brush, or other vegetation to a height greater than 8” or any accumulation of dead weeds, brush, or grass. Under the City Ordinance, we are required to contract for the removal of these conditions on several properties, and then the State Statute 429.01 authorizes the City the ability to assess those costs if they are not paid by the homeowner. In 2018, the Code Enforcement Officer issued 46 letters to property owners; property owners were given 10 days to abate conditions, and if they did not, the City assesses the property owner for the costs of the mowing and an abatement fee. In seven instances this year, we billed the property owners, we did not receive payment, and we consequently came back here and are assessing the property under that State Statute. There is an abatement fee; the cost of the actual mowing and then a penalty fee, which is listed in the memo: $50 for the first violation in 24 months, $100 for the second, and $200 for the third and subsequent violations in a 24-month period. So, that’s what’s included in each of the fees that are addressed in the memo. There were seven instances, but there were only five properties; at this time, four of them are vacant. The Assessment Notice for these violations went out; the advertisement for this Assessment Hearing was printed twice in addition to the letters that went out. The property owners were alerted to the fact that they could speak this evening at the public hearing. If, at the end of the public hearing, you choose to Adopt the Resolution assessing these, it would be a one-year assessment at 7% interest. Council Member Johnson stated he noted that this assessment becomes a lien on the property; Director Roland confirmed that. He asked if the City ever took action on that lien. Director Roland stated if it’s not paid as part of the property taxes once it’s assessed, it will be certified to the County and added to the property tax notice for next year. If it weren’t paid at that point, it would effectively be delinquent taxes, and any assessment that is certified to property taxes is considered a lien against the property for any reason. Council Member Johnson asked if the City ever pursued payment of liens by actually foreclosing on a property or pursuing that lien; Director Roland responded that it hadn’t happened in her tenure at any of the three cities where she’d been employed. Council Member Johnson asked if the owners didn’t pay the property taxes, if it would become a City or County issue at that point; Director Roland stated City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 9 that’s pretty much the County’s decision. Council Member Johnson asked if the County did a foreclosure due to nonpayment of property taxes, if at that time we would get whatever assessments that were added onto the property taxes. Director Roland replied that it’s usually seven or eight years of delinquent taxes before the property can be sold to remedy the taxes. Mayor Bailey opened the public hearing; as no one wished to speak on this item, Mayor Bailey closed the public hearing. Motion by Council Member Mills to Adopt Resolution 2018-125 to assess the costs associated with the removal of tall weeds from private properties; second by Council Member Johnson. Motion carried: 5-0. 10. BID AWARDS – None. 11. REGULAR AGENDA A. Massage Therapist License Staff Recommendation: Deny Yuanfen Liu’s application for a Massage Therapist License. City Clerk Joe Fischbach stated it’s necessary to have a Massage Therapist License to operate in the City of Cottage Grove. Pursuant to that ordinance, Yuanfen Liu has submitted an application for a Massage Therapist License to work at Health Massage at 7584 80th Street South in Cottage Grove. The Police Department did a police investigation regarding the applicant after she’d completed the application and signed it. In the course of the police investigation, it was noticed that she had failed to disclose that she had an arrest on September 17, 2015, in Lake Elmo. She was eventually acquitted of that charge, but we are looking to deny the license as she omitted that when she was asked a specific question on the application. The applicant was aware of the recommendation by staff, and Council Members had also been given a response by her husband. Based on the background investigation, we are recommending that the City Council deny the Massage Therapist License for her. Clerk Fischbach stated he’d take any questions from the Council. Mayor Bailey asked if there was anybody present who wished to speak on this item, and no one wished to do so. Council Member Thiede confirmed that there was already a massage business at that location; Clerk Fischbach stated that yes, there was, and she would act as a massage therapist at that business. We have a Massage Business License and a Massage Therapist License. Council Member Thiede asked if we knew how many massage therapists worked there; Clerk Fischbach stated he wasn’t sure but it was less than five. City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 10 Council Member Johnson asked if the fact that she had put no when she answered an application question and the City learned, through a background investigation, that it should have been answered yes, was what was resulting in the decision to deny the application; Clerk Fischbach confirmed that. Council Member Johnson asked if she had answered yes and been truthful, if it was found to be an arrest with an acquittal, if that would still have been grounds to deny the application. Clerk Fischbach replied that in talking with the Police Department about the staff recommendation, in that scenario that we would not have grounds to deny. Motion by Council Member Johnson to deny Yuanfen Liu’s application for a Massage Therapist License; second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. B. Therapeutic Massage Ordinance Staff Recommendation: Pass Ordinance 996 repealing and replacing City Code Title 3-8 relating to Therapeutic Massage. Clerk Fischbach stated that it’s been some time since we’ve actually looked at this ordinance, as it was codified in 1971. We have actually seen a considerable increase in the number of massage licenses that we’ve been granting; in 2010, there were 13, and so far, in 2018, we have 32. That gave us an opportunity to look at the Therapeutic Massage Ordinance and to talk with other cities. Both the City Attorney and the Public Safety Department have looked at this. Deputy City Clerk Neil Belscamper looked at best practices when it comes to this ordinance; the major change is for the Massage Therapist, where we have increased either the educational or testing requirements for somebody to be licensed. They would need to have graduated from an accredited institution or pass a test by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards or also have a National Certification by the Board for Therapeutic Massage and Body Work. We think this will increase the viability of the massage licenses in Cottage Grove. We’ve sent this out to all of the affected Massage Business License holders. The owner of Oasis Chiropractic talked with Neil today, and he was fine with the ordinance as presented. We’re requesting Council to hear any necessary comments and then the staff recommendation would be to Pass Ordinance 996, replacing City Code Title 3, Chapter 8 of the City Code. Council Member Mills confirmed that this would not impact those who are already licensed; Clerk Fischbach stated that anybody who is currently licensed in the City of Cottage Grove would remain under those conditions until they would either not renew their license or if they just moved out of the City for whatever reason. Council Member Mills asked if they renewed annually, and Clerk Fischbach confirmed that they did. However, they would be grandfathered in if they’re currently licensed. Council Member Mills asked if it was proposed that they could not be grandfathered in, how they would feel about that; she felt it would take a lot of people off the table. Clerk Fischbach stated it would perhaps remove about half. Council Member Mills stated she’d like to hear from the person present and hear her comments. Mayor Bailey invited Ms. Westerberg to speak to the Council. City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 11 Ramona Westerberg, 7850 Lamar Avenue, the owner of The Healing Place, stated that this wouldn’t affect any of her therapists. She’s always made sure that they are properly trained and have the proper insurance. She thought the changes were phenomenal and great, and she was very happy to see these changes come through. Council Member Mills asked if possibly all renewals would need to upgrade to the new ordinance criteria. Council Member Johnson stated he liked this addition, and he felt as more and more people turn to massage as a way to relieve pain, and the need for massage for people as they age, it’s also important that we have people who are adequately trained and licensed. He thought this area would continue to grow, and as a Council, we need to make sure that therapists are up to our standards about what we want here and keep the citizens safe. He also suggested that if it’s not required for grandfathering purposes, he’d suggest a change be put in the ordinance that something be on display so that people coming into a business know who had and who hadn’t fulfilled the new requirement for the licensing going forward. Council Member Dennis stated we want to keep our community safe and law abiding, and he’d not heard any objections from the other businesses, and no objection from the Chamber of Commerce, etc., so it’s a little bit troubling that we’re seeing this activity happen here and in adjacent communities. He supported the changes to the ordinance; he liked the suggestions made by Council Member Mills and by Council Member Johnson to educate citizens about the levels of certification. Mayor Bailey stated that if we were not to grandfather, Clerk Fischbach had stated we’d lose about half of our current massage therapists because they would not qualify or would have to reapply; Clerk Fischbach stated he wasn’t certain about the number because we don’t require it now and we don’t know what levels are out there. There are a number of therapists who either did not attend an accredited massage program or did not pass the standard test. So, if they were not grandfathered in, they would have to do one or the other; he assumed most of them would take the test in order to be compliant with the ordinance. Mayor Bailey felt that we should not be doing the grandfathering and let the massage therapists pass the standard test or attend an accredited massage program; that way we know that everyone in the City is accredited and it will keep our citizens safe. Council Member Johnson agreed with that but felt we also needed to let people know if their therapist was accredited. Council Member Thiede asked Ms. Westerberg how long it would take for somebody to get those credentials; she stated that you can’t sit for the national exam unless you’ve been through a certified course. Council Member Thiede asked if we put this in place, didn’t grandfather current massage therapists, and told them they now had to get the credentials, what it would cost. Ms. Westerberg stated that the most expensive program she’s seen is $500. Mayor Bailey stated if they City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 12 need to attend 1,000 hours of classroom training, what time span that would be; Ms. Westerberg stated that hers was a year-long program. She stated there’s a local program in Woodbury at the Minnesota School of Cosmetology that has a four-month program, 500 hours in four months, so they’re streamlined; that’s the shortest program she’s ever seen. Clerk Fischbach stated if you compare that to work hours, a full-time employee works 2,080 hours, so 1,000 hours is about a six-month program. Council Member Thiede asked Director Koerner if there have been any issues with any of the massage businesses or individuals in the City that he’s aware of; Director Koerner stated that there was an active investigation taking place right now. There are a lot of reputable businesses in the City, but when they look at certificates in a background investigation, they don’t know what type of training the individual received; it could just be an online course, so it’s been a challenge. There will be another business that most likely will be closing as part of an investigation that came out of Lino Lakes. Mayor Bailey stated that’s exactly why he doesn’t think we should grandfather current therapists. Council Member Thiede stated his only problem with that is some of these people might be doing a fantastic job, it might be their livelihood, and now we’re going to say you have to spend money and go to school or you’re done; he stated he didn’t know if that was fair, especially if they’ve been doing a good job. Council Member Thiede thought maybe we could change it to where they had to have some program set up to be able to achieve the criteria in some other time period; if we’re talking that it could take them six months to a year or longer to actually get those credentials, he just didn’t think it was fair for the people who had been working there to now tell them they’re out of a job. Everything new coming in would have to abide by this, but maybe we have to look at individual cases and look at what could be a plan to achieve the criteria; as it is, he just didn’t think it was fair. Council Member Johnson confirmed that the license had to be renewed every year; with that being the case, it probably wouldn’t be brought up as a licensing issue until their license expired. Clerk Fischbach said it’s a calendar year so everybody would be renewing on January 1. Council Member Johnson felt that was a short time for somebody to get the requirements met; he didn’t want to create hardships and wondered if there could be a happy medium where we could grandfather them in for one year only but the requirements would need to be met by 2020. That way, there’s no reason somebody couldn’t get their license within a year if they wanted to. Mayor Bailey stated he didn’t have an issue with that; if therapists are truly serious about following City guidelines, we could give them a year to comply. Mayor Bailey confirmed with Clerk Fischbach that that could be tracked; if they weren’t interested in doing that, they could certainly go to a different city. He didn’t think any of the Massage Business Licenses wouldn’t qualify; it would just be the individual Massage Therapist Licenses that wouldn’t qualify. Council Member Thiede asked if this would shut down any businesses; Clerk Fischbach stated most of the businesses have gone to a City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 13 program that would meet the criteria or enough where they could take the test. The current ordinance only requires 40 hours of training to be licensed as a Massage Therapist in Cottage Grove. Mayor Bailey felt all massage therapists who did not meet the requirements should receive a letter from the City informing them of the changes made and that they’d be given one year to get the ordinance requirements met on January 1, 2020. Clerk Fischbach stated as the proposed ordinance reads, anyone making an initial application to the City would have to meet these criteria, but if it’s a renewal they would not. Council Member Johnson stated what needs to be changed is that anybody renewing effective January 1, 2020, needs to meet the criteria. Clerk Fischbach stated that could be recommended as part of the motion. Council Member Thiede stated that everybody new coming into the City would have to meet the requirements, so ultimately the business part of it, whether it’s grandfathered in or actually complying with the one-year requirement is kind of a separate thing; it won’t be relevant to the ordinance if we make a time period requirement. Clerk Fischbach confirmed that. Council Member Thiede stated he would like to have the ordinance separate, stating you need those things, and then have a separate statement that we vote on separately for the actual people who already have licenses. Council Member Johnson thought that made sense because going past 2020 that will no longer be relevant, so it probably should be a separate vote since it’s a 2020 issue. Mayor Bailey asked staff if they needed to do two separate motions. City Administrator Charlene Stevens stated they could do it that way or just amend the language under the Application Renewal portion to say something to the effect of as of January 1, 2020, application renewals will be required to have these specific credentials; that would address the concern of anybody who had a current license and then is renewing that license in January, 2020. That would allow people who have an existing license time to come into compliance as of January 1, 2020. Council Member Thiede stated he was fine with the ordinance, but he felt they needed to know a little bit more about the dynamics of the decision of not granting licenses after 2020 if they don’t have the education and what effect that will actually have. He felt that he’s all for the ordinance, in terms of saying it’s required, but if the 2020 piece was in there at this point, he doesn’t have enough information to make an educated decision and therefore he would vote nay. Council Member Johnson asked Council Member Thiede if they did a separate motion if he’d vote no on the second motion; Council Member Thiede stated most likely he would because he thought we needed to have more information on what would actually happen to these businesses before we actually made the decision that could significantly affect their business and livelihood. Council Member Mills asked about the signs that need to be posted and if that would just be for 2019, as after that they would all have a license. Council Member Johnson felt it should be in play because the license should be posted, so the citizens of Cottage City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 14 Grove should know when they’re going there that they’re using licensed massage therapists. Clerk Fischbach stated that after January 1, 2020, everybody would meet the requirement so it wouldn’t have to be on there anymore. Council Member Johnson stated a lot of people don’t know what the City Code is, so at least it presents it to people that they know that. Clerk Fischbach stated that even now everybody is supposed to display their license in a conspicuous place, which is required. Council Member Dennis stated from his perspective, this makes a reasonable accommodation, and that’s what any Council should do is seek to provide reasonable opportunities. He stated he didn’t know how many massage businesses we had in Cottage Grove or how many people held licenses, but there are requirements that need to be followed; having a license is a privilege and it’s not a right or a guarantee. If you do what the City is requesting of you and do your work in good faith and maintain lawfulness, you have no problems. Council Member Thiede stated we don’t know how many people don’t have a license and we don’t know what effect it’s going to have on people. Without knowing how this decision is actually going to impact some people, with some potentially affected substantially, we have the opportunity to say we like what the ordinance is saying; we can agree that definitely in the future we should have people with those credentials, but we could approve the ordinance changes and then revisit it once we have a better idea of how it’s going to affect our current businesses and their employees. Perhaps 2020 is appropriate, but right now he felt we don’t have that information. Council Member Dennis asked Clerk Fischbach how many businesses hold a Massage Business License; Clerk Fischbach responded there are eight businesses, and of those eight, they employ 16 people. Eight businesses carry the business license and the therapist license, and then there are 16 more therapists that work for those companies. Council Member Dennis stated we’re really talking about a very small number of people. If we make a reasonable accommodation to take it out to 2020, that gives people plenty of time to be in compliance. Clerk Fischbach stated that Ms. Westerberg’s business is one of the larger ones, and she can say how many she currently has licensed there, which would give you a pretty good number of what the other ones have; most are one- to-two person businesses. Council Member Dennis stated what we’re really trying to do here is just create a professional standard and ensure that we have lawfulness within our community. Council Member Johnson stated he’d piggyback on Council Member Dennis’ comments in that part of our duty is to serve our community and always ensure that the Cottage Grove citizens have a safe situation and we make it a protected community. That’s part of having this ordinance to begin with, and with different people coming in, we want to make sure that they meet the standards of the City. We’re acting responsibly by looking out for the citizens, and for the few people who will be affected by this it will give them the opportunity to get their license in a very reasonable amount of time. City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 15 Council Member Thiede asked Ms. Westerberg if one year was a reasonable amount of time to get the criteria met; she stated that it was. She advised that she wouldn’t have hired anyone who didn’t meet the criteria and felt that one year is plenty of time to get the licensure. Motion by Council Member Johnson to Pass Ordinance 996, repealing and replacing City Code Title 3-8, relating to Therapeutic Massage with a modification that individuals currently licensed as massage therapists must meet the new education/certification criteria by January 1, 2020; second by Mayor Bailey. Motion carried: 4-0. Council Member Thiede abstained. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Mills stated that she wanted to thank the Community Center Task Force and the City staff for all of the work they’d done on that. Mayor Bailey stated on October 11, the official groundbreaking of the HERO Center, which has been renamed to the East Metro Public Safety Facility, will take place. Woodbury Mayor Stephens and he will be co-emceeing the festivities. Mayor Bailey stated on October 13, there will be a Central Fire Station open house, so it’s a chance to check out the new building and the equipment; the week prior is Fire Prevention Week in the State of Minnesota, so it’ll be a chance to understand the importance of Public Safety and the Fire Department within our community. 13. WORKSHOPS – OPEN TO PUBLIC A. Letter of Intent to Purchase Real Estate at 7516 80th Street South Staff Recommendation: Authorize the City Administrator to execute the Letter of Intent with dk design & development group, inc. for the purchase of the EDA owned parcel of land at 7516 80th Street South, the former City Hall site. Mayor Bailey thanked all those in attendance and asked that they introduce themselves; present were: Council Member Thiede, Council Member Johnson, Council Member Dennis, Council Member Mills, Charlene Stevens, Jennifer Levitt, Joe Welter, Greg Wood, Jack Lavold, Erik Jalowitz, Don Theisen, Keith Ryskoski, Della Kolpin, Robin Roland, and Christine Costello. Economic Development Director Costello thanked everyone for their attendance at the workshop. There is a Letter of Intent for 7516 80th Street, the former City Hall property; this went before the Economic Development Authority in September. She provided some background information on how the former City Hall had been used from 2012 to present. In 2017, Washington County staff and City staff began meeting to try to determine what the Park Grove Library needs were in terms of repairs and updates; that City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 16 amount was in the millions. Library staff also indicated that patrons’ needs were changing and the essential functions of the library had also changed. Initial discussions included partial closure of Hemingway Avenue, which would have increased the redevelopment area to over seven acres; that would include the former City Hall site, the library site, and then the two parcels on the east side of Hemingway Avenue. The landowners on the east side were open to selling their parcels, but the proposed sale price was significantly greater than the market conditions allowed. City and County staff began meeting with Ms. Kolpin and the County’s consultant as well to see if we could come up with a development that would fit on the former City Hall site, as well as the existing library site. There are two options, A and B, which both fit, but one would require that the library be two stories. On September 4, Washington County Public Works held a County Board workshop to review the library project. There were three options: 1) Construct a new two-story 25,000 square-foot building on the existing parcel; 2) Renovate the existing library from interior to exterior, including HVAC, etc.; 3) Request more land from the City of Cottage Grove. The County Board discussed all of the options and they requested that the City of Cottage Grove explore acquisition of parcels adjacent to the existing library site, on the east side of Hemingway Avenue. For a one-story library, they needed approximately four acres. Because we are finishing up our 2040 Comprehensive Plan process, we looked at different nodes within the community, one of which was 80th Street and East Point Douglas Road. We re-guided those to mixed use, allowing for retail on the first floor, housing above, with mixed use being either horizontal or vertical. Through Della Kolpin providing us with the Letter of Intent for proposed development on our former City Hall site, it would put that property back on the tax roles. She’s currently proposing market- rate housing, which is something that we heard through our business retention and expansion process with interviews, but something our retail businesses need for their employees. There’s also a component of retail proposed on the first floor. The Economic Development Authority approved the Letter of Intent at their meeting in September. Afterward, City staff requested that Ms. Kolpin speak to the property owners on the east side of Hemingway Avenue to find out their interest in selling and if they had a proposed price so that process is in the works. We asked both Ms. Kolpin and the County to be here tonight to provide maps and sketches, so these are just initial sketches of what’s being proposed for the City Hall site and for the area on the east side of Hemingway Avenue. Della Kolpin, dk design & development, stated that she’d show a site plan as well as conceptual images that they’re proposing from both interior, exterior, to get a look and feel of what they’re looking for. Also, they did a further market study to this specific site for market-rate apartments; they felt that this site could hold about 140 to 170 market- rate units. They’re probably in the range of 95 to 100 units; the biggest driver is always going to be the parking. She stated they’d spoken to some retailers but nothing had been finalized. There’s potentially room for some green space in the area. There will City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 17 be about 120 underground parking spaces, with the others surface. There will be one entry off of 80th and two entries off of Hemingway. There will be patios and balconies surrounding the project. There will be a sky lounge and a rooftop terrace available. Council Member Thiede asked what kind of prices they’re looking at for market-rate units; Ms. Kolpin stated she didn’t have a final market study. She stated there’s not really a comparable in the market, but a studio would be about $900. Council Member Thiede asked how big they’re looking to go for unit sizes; Ms. Kolpin stated studio, one bedroom, one bath, up to two bedrooms, two baths, which would be about $1,800 to $1,900. Mayor Bailey asked if that would include underground parking; Ms. Kolpin stated there’d be another charge for the underground parking, anywhere from $20 to $100 a month, depending on what the market study shows. Council Member Johnson asked if each resident was responsible for their own heating, electricity, etc. and he was informed that was correct. Director Costello introduced Eric Jalowitz, a Capital Projects Manager for Washington County, to speak about what they’d been doing in terms of community engagement and the library needs; he also had a proposed map and sketch. Manager Jalowitz stated they held three community engagement open house meetings, and they heard from the community that they wanted the following: Separate spaces for adults, teens, children; a variety of meeting rooms; additional parking, a drive-up book drop; technology needs; more program spaces; updating the building. Manager Jalowitz reviewed the current library: Total square feet 19,000, 55 parking stalls, with 15,000 square feet designated to public areas. New library: 25,000 square feet, with the public area now over 18,000 square feet. He reviewed the architect’s initial sketch of how it would look if they get the two additional sites to the east. The County Board has not yet had a chance to discuss it, but the staff has looked at it and they thought it was a viable option. That would allow us to have the 25,000 square feet on a single story, a functioning book drop, increased visibility on 80th Street, and it allowed above-ground storm water management. There was an area for future expansion of the building and the parking, a huge plus, which gave us the option to build out the new library while keeping the old one open, thus avoiding a 12- to 18- month shutdown of library services. The plan included closing down a portion of Hemingway Avenue, but we need to provide access to the north for the residents who live there. There would also be the possibility of much outdoor green space. Mayor Bailey stated we’re also considering a Community Center with meeting rooms so he wondered if removing the meeting rooms from the library would shrink the 25,000 square feet. Manager Jalowitz stated the 25,000 square feet was driven by what they heard from the community engagement. It was certainly not fully vetted out as to how that might look as we move forward. The meeting rooms were dual purpose, for library programs also, but to what extent hadn’t been fully determined yet. The library meeting City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 18 rooms would not be that large, as there were larger meeting rooms within the community. A multilevel facility will increase operational costs and might affect future expansion. Council Member Thiede was disappointed that the Community Center and the new library seemed to be moving apart; he asked when the new library would be in place and was told construction would be completed in 2020. Council Member Thiede stated we’re talking to two people about selling their land and they’re not all that interested in selling. Putting the new library back on the tax roles made it a tough decision. He felt having the Community Center tied in with the library made sense for spacing, etc. He brought up the Ravine Parkway area and thought we might explore a few more options for its location. Mayor Bailey stated that he’d spoken with both of the property owners next to the library, and their sale prices were very high. Ms. Kolpin stated that the vacant land, less than one acre, is on the market and they’re asking $500,000; also, 12 years ago, the other property sold for about $1 million. Neither of those property owners needed to sell, but there will be continued conversations. Mayor Bailey stated that he spoke with someone representing that center, who would like to talk with Ms. Kolpin because their price had come down. The property was currently leased, and those leases would need to be bought out; one lease was for another year, so there were some issues there. Ms. Kolpin stated they’d asked for that information and were still awaiting it. There was also someone else who was interested in purchasing the vacant property. Mayor Bailey asked Manager Jalowitz if the City can’t get the two properties what they would do with the existing library site. He spoke with Commissioner Lavold and told him that the only thing that concerned him was if we went to a referendum when the community said we want a Community Center, there’d probably be some concern as to why the County and the City were investing millions into an old library when you could create something with amenities in the area. Mayor Bailey stated we can’t guarantee today that the Community Center was going to be built because we need the community to vote. He wondered if he could get some feedback; he loved their concept, but couldn’t figure out how we would make something happen. Manager Jalowitz stated that they didn’t want to stand in the way of redevelopment of the City Hall site. So, the County Board has asked for more land, and if Cottage Grove can’t do that, then we need to consider other options. We’ve never built a project in any community unless the community and the County were on the same page and agreed that it was the right time for the project. The options would be to renovate, or wait for the Community Center vote, but we’d discuss when would be the right time. The City Council and the County Board both had to agree that it was a great project and needed support from the City. We might hold off on the renovation and wait for the Community Center vote and more discussion; the financing and the bond sale hadn’t yet happened so the County was not yet locked into anything. The bond sales plan for 2019 for other projects might affect it; it might mean that the next bond sale, scheduled for 2022, would City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 19 be what was used to finance the project. The first question was about the land being available; if it was not or the City needed more time to decide that, that’s what we needed to hear from the City. The County Board could then decide where they wanted to go from there. Mayor Bailey asked what the County timeframe was regarding the bonds; he thought the bonds were really what drove the timing of the project. His personal preference would be to have the County join us in a Community Center if the voters agreed to a Community Center. The reality was he wasn’t against doing something on the current site or even the property next to the other development. If one was not available, then we’d probably just have to renovate the existing site. He’d really like to see the other two properties redevelop, but the sellers weren’t exactly being realistic in their prices. Council Member Thiede asked Ms. Kolpin if we decided to work together and put a Community Center and a library somewhere else, and then the City Hall area could handle more units, if she’d be open to buying that lot where the library was currently located. Ms. Kolpin stated they’re looking to potentially start building next year, to have the units open by 2020. It would have to ultimately be a second phase at some point in time; she felt that would probably be 2021 or 2022, so it would be a few years between. Council Member Mills stated she understood why they wanted that location for the development, but she was struggling with purchasing the additional land when she didn’t know what the library was going to be. She’d been working on the Task Force for the Community Center, and she felt those two would work really well together, knowing that the community wanted certain pieces that could be brought to the library and it would blend well together. She thanked them for showing the architect’s drawings as that’s the most we’d seen about the new library. Council Member Dennis thanked the County staff for being there. They’ve talked to many knowledgeable people about the library, and the prevailing thought was that they’d want to keep the library where it was because of the user base. At the last Economic Development Authority meeting, when we got the data from the County showing the users, etc. and where it was going, he thought it would be reasonable to refer to the other communities who supported the library as partners. He suggested maybe we could consider with all that usage that we do some buy in with the partners to help support that; this wasn’t just a Cottage Grove library, but it was a library that supported the whole region. So, he agreed with Mayor Bailey and the Council Members that it would be good to have both of these entities together because of the synergy and how they could support one another. Because we’re landlocked here and understanding the cost factors to obtain the land, we have an Economic Development Authority Trust Fund, money utilized to do various good deeds relative to jumpstarting business or making other opportunities happen in the City. It’d been used for a number of purposes; if we had to take that money and put that into this cause, we had a couple other projects we’re working on right now, we would effectively drain that entire fund and be done. We’d lose all flexibility moving forward to deal with any additional projects City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 20 that came our way. We’ve been trying to grow the community, and he appreciated Ms. Kolpin coming in because we definitely need that housing. This was very difficult for him, and he simply couldn’t say that he’d exhaust all the operational funds that we had. He hoped that made sense and was being respectful because he appreciated our friends at Washington County and loved to work with them. He needed to have something that he could sell to the citizens in the community; to look them in the eye and tell them that he made the right choice. Putting all the eggs into one basket without any flexibility for the future wasn’t something we’d do with our personal bank accounts, finances, or investments. He couldn’t support this. He had no problem whatsoever keeping the library where it was; he’d support that. Council Member Thiede brought up a point about the County not doing the project without the land. If we got the Community Center to go through and had the land, Mayor Bailey said he had a connection with the family and maybe we could get a little bit of land donated from them or through some park dedication or another process. We could work it out so that we could have the land available for the County to build the library of their dreams on that site. It would have the synergy of the entire government complex. He wanted this decision to be one that would be good 10 or 20 years down the line. Our developer here needed a number of units so that they could make it profitable for them. The more population we have the better we speak to investors who want to come in and bring restaurants and other businesses to town. We create more sustainability for our business structure, and it was the right thing to do all the way around. Council Member Johnson thanked all the County staff for being here. He confirmed that the two parcels that needed to be purchased didn’t add up to the size of the current library, and the reason we don’t want to rebuild in the current location was because we don’t want the library to be closed for a year or more and we want street front siting. Manager Jalowitz stated 25,000 square feet wouldn’t fit on the existing site, so it was bringing in additional acreage to make it work. Director Levitt stated the abandonment of the public right of way provided additional square footage. Manager Jalowitz stated that the public right of way, the two lots, and the current site gave them 25,000 square feet to work with. They thought that even a two-story structure on the existing site wouldn’t work as there was no place for storm water management, which was a big starting point for them. Mayor Bailey explained that they’re basically taking the existing library and using it for storm water management and parking. Manager Jalowitz stated they’d also use part of Hemingway Avenue for that. Council Member Johnson confirmed that they’d use the current space, along with the new space for the new library, but would still maintain the rights to the current library space. So, the main reason why they didn’t want to build on the current library space was because there wasn’t enough room. They don’t want to renovate it and make corrections because that would cost $6 to $7 million to upgrade, modify the inside, the new WiFi, the new electronics, etc. He asked what the square footage of the current library was; he was advised it was about 19,000. The new library will be 25,000 square feet, so 6,000 more square feet. City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 21 Council Member Johnson asked about the feedback the County had received regarding what people wanted in a library; he wanted to know how many people had given input. Manager Jalowitz stated part of it was based on community feedback and was also built on what County library staff were seeing as the future of libraries and the direction they’re going; the two of those were melded. Council Member Johnson stated he cared more about what the community wanted; he wanted to know how many people in the community responded to what they would like to see in that new library. Manager Jalowitz stated he didn’t have those numbers with him, but they could share that with him later on. Council Member Johnson stated that was very important as the number of people who participated could vastly swing what people want. Without knowing what those numbers were, you could probably come back with the same number of people who said that they were happy with the way the library was if they were aware of what was happening. Council Member Johnson stated he’d not heard clamoring for a brand new library. If we could renovate it and bring in some of the things that people were looking for in a library, that might satisfy the community needs. He had a hard time with putting a nice library there because he didn’t know that the community wanted that. We don’t have the ability to do that with the Economic Development Authority funds, we’re taking it off the tax roles, and it took away the future opportunities for more apartments that we knew the community said they wanted, etc., so he could not support it right now because he felt renovating the current library where it was should be an option. He needed to know more about what the community actually wanted. Manager Jalowitz stated that renovation was an option and that had not been taken off the table. The timing of that would be something to talk about, but it was a very viable option to renovate the existing library. He stated regarding community input, his experience was people want much more than we’re able to give them. Mayor Bailey stated that’s the way it was with the proposed Community Center. Manager Jalowitz stated if it wasn’t in the cards to get more land or build the new library, that’s what we needed to hear from the Council, and we’d take that back to the County Board and discuss our next options. Council Member Johnson stated that we were all here to serve the community and do what was going to be in the best interests of the community. With that, if it was a renovation, he wondered what the cost would be; Manager Jalowitz stated the cost was not fixed and it didn’t have to be $18 million. Council Member Johnson asked if the money was not spent for this project, if it was possible that that money could be spent on the Ravine Parkway project to bring it up to the point where it would be a win-win for the community. Manager Jalowitz stated if the bond issue stayed at the size it was, then there might be money available to do other things; the five Board Members were going to have to decide where that money went, to the Cottage Grove park or some other project in the County. The bond issue could also be reduced, but none of those things had been decided. The money could be reallocated to the park, but that would be a decision the County Board would have to City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 22 make. As long as it was a capital investment, that was certainly possible. Other factors regarding the improvements to the park and whether they could be delivered within the timeframe the bond proceeds should be used would come into it, but the short answer was that it’s possible. Commissioner Jack Lavold stated that it was his understanding that the funds that would be available and allocated to the Cottage Grove Park Grove Library would in all likelihood not stay south of 60th Street; some of that money would be going to some other shovel-ready projects. Mayor Bailey stated he’d been hearing that we don’t necessarily have the ability to go out and buy the two parcels, and it would have to be a developer who would work with us in some way. There were mixed thoughts on building on the site or renovating the current site; he felt they’d have to go back to the Board. If it were up to him and the County could wait to become a partner with us on a future Community Center, if the bonds don’t become available until 2022, if we have to put a placeholder of a piece of property with us, if the voters come back and say no Community Center we could leave the County in the lurch. He’d prefer for the County to wait, do what they could to piecemeal things together and save the money if they could, and if we could get a bond referendum through with our voters, they’d become a partner with us. Obviously, we’d pay for the land, etc., but in the end, the County would be much happier and the local voters would be much happier, but synergistic results told him it’s more than just a library, it’s a community gathering place. If we can have a library along with a Community Center, with the Central Park idea, which was what we’re proposing, it made so much sense for the County and the City. If the library did not join us in the Community Center, the Task Force stated they’d like to have some way to have the ability to have a bookmobile or some way for people to check out and drop off books at our Community Center. If the feeling was that we should be together, then he thought we should be together. He would have loved to see us all work together on this site, but it just didn’t fit; now the City had a great developer who wanted to work with us on part of it. Council Member Mills stated she’d like to see the two entities together, if possible. She’d hate to see the County renovate the library; she still struggled with saying we’d buy that property when she didn’t even know what the library would look like. That was a big investment so that was her struggle with it. She thanked the County members for being here. Commissioner Lavold stated he understood what Council Member Mills was saying about the library on that site, but the sketch was about seven days old, so he asked her to take it in good faith that there would be a proper library in that space. It’d probably be another three, or four, months before you’d see a layout. Council Member Thiede thought it would be good to get the County library group together with our Community Center Task Force and County Commissioners to see how everyone’s ideas could mesh. City Council Meeting Minutes October 3, 2018 Page 23 Council Member Johnson stated he supported exploring the renovation of the existing library. His concern with waiting and doing nothing with the hope that we’re going to get a Community Center might leave us with nothing. The community still wanted something and needed something so we need to update the existing library so it would do some of the things people were asking for. The Community Center might happen later on, but it was hard to project how the residents would vote. He didn’t like to spend money foolishly, but he didn’t think we needed a new library and didn’t know if the community wanted one. Mayor Bailey thanked Ms. Kolpin and the County staff for being present tonight. Motion by Council Member Dennis to authorize the City Administrator to execute the Letter of Intent with dk design & development group, Inc. for the purchase of the EDA- owned parcel of land at 7516 80th Street South, the former City Hall site; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. 14. WORKSHOPS – CLOSED TO PUBLIC – None. 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Thiede, second by Council Member Johnson, to adjourn the meeting at 9:42 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Joe Fischbach, HR Manager/City Clerk.