Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-03-15 City Council Meeting Minutes 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 March 15, 2023 COUNCIL CHAMBER 12800 RAVINE PARKWAY SOUTH REGULAR MEETING - 7:00 P.M COUNCIL CHAMBER 1. CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, held a regular meeting on March 15, 2023, 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, and City Council Members stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL City Clerk Tammy Anderson called the roll: Mayor Bailey - Here; Council Member Dennis - Here; Council Member Khambata - Here; Council Member Olsen - Here; Council Member Thiede - Here. Also present: Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator; Korine Land, City Attorney-LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; Tammy Anderson, City Clerk; Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director; Pete Koerner, Public Safety Director; Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director; Amanda Meyer, Senior Planner; Emily Schmitz, Senior Planner/Interim Community Development Director; Conner Jakes, Associate Planner; Dan Schoen, Community Engagement Officer. 4. OPEN FORUM Mayor Bailey opened the Open Forum. As no one wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the Open Forum. 5. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Council Member Dennis made a motion to adopt the agenda; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 2 6. PRESENTATIONS A. Craig Woolery Scholarship Fund Check Presentation Staff Recommendation: Provide Council an opportunity to recognize Justin and Kim Olsen and the Cottage Grove Lions for their continued support as the Public Safety Board accepts the donation for the Craig Woolery Scholarship Fund. Dan Schoen, Community Engagement Officer, invited Mayor Bailey and the Council Members to gather in front of the dais. He noted Council Member Olsen and his wife, Kim, have always been a Public Safety family, as Council Member Olsen’s father was a firefighter; years ago, they took their commitment to Public Safety to another level. Not only are they concerned with present Public Safety employees, but also wanted to help future generations of Public Safety personnel. They created the Craig Woolery Public Safety Scholarship in honor of Craig Woolery, our former Public Safety Director, as he’s someone who embodied community, which continues in our City today. Whenever Pete Koerner, our current Public Safety Director, is presented with an issue, he always asks, as Craig did, what do we need to do to help? Council Member Olsen and his wife, Kim, and the Cottage Grove Lions Club are adding $1,500 each to the scholarship fund managed by the Cottage Grove Public Safety Board. This ensures an opportunity for students who are willing to serve our communities as firefighters, paramedics, or police officers to obtain financial assistance for their education. Officer Schoen reminded those watching online or at home that if they have a family member who is pursuing those professions, go to the Cottage Grove Public Safety website to find information about applying for this scholarship. He noted both Craig and Katie Woolery are here tonight, which shows that we’ve all been a family for a long time. Officer Schoen presented the check and thanked Council Member Olsen, his wife, Kim, Mayor Bailey, and the Council Members for all of their continued support. Shortly after any major incident, Officer Schoen gets a phone call from somebody on our City Council, asking if our officers and firefighters are okay. That is pretty special, and this is a special moment every year. He also thanked our Cottage Grove Lions Club, who supports our community in immeasurable ways, as well as Ms. Katie Forsythe and Director Koerner, also Cottage Grove Lions Club Members, for their contribution. Jackie Rice, on behalf of the Cottage Grove Public Safety Board, thanked the Cottage Grove Lions Club for matching the donation from Justin and Kim Olsen. The Explorers Program offered in Cottage Grove helps make young people aware of what goes on in a Police Department, so that can be a feeder program; we’re hoping with more young people taking pride in the Explorers Program that we can start giving more and more scholarships. She thanked everyone present tonight for helping to promote Public Safety. Mayor Bailey also thanked the Lions Club, as they do so much for our community, as well as Council Member Olsen and his wife, Kim, for putting this program together for our youth. Council Member Olsen invited Washington County Commissioner Karla City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 3 Bigham to join them for the photo, as she also donates toward this scholarship every year. B. Washington County - Food Scraps Pickup Pilot Program Presentation Commissioner Bigham stated she enjoys being here every year when former Public Safety Director Woolery is acknowledged because he was her D.A.R.E. officer; that’s how long she’s known him, so he is a community treasure and it’s great that Council Member Olsen and his wife, the Lions, and everybody contributes to a wonderful scholarship program for those interested in Public Safety careers. Tonight, we’ll be speaking about curbside organics, a very exciting program that will hopefully start before year end. This pilot program in Washington County will include part of Cottage Grove, Newport, and two communities in Ramsey County; pilot programs are done to ensure we remove any existing kinks. In 2016, Washington County bought the Recycling & Energy (R&E) Center; one condition was to use waste for energy. We’re using the organics that we’ll be picking up curbside for composting, and a Letter of Intent was just approved to have animal digestion, which will be turned into biogas. This will provide a cleaner environment and job opportunities. We’re excited to get this started. She asked Michael Reed, from Ramsey County’s leadership team for the R&E Center, to speak about this. Mr. Reed works with the Ramsey County Public Health Department, and his colleague, Dave Brummel, is the head of the Washington County Public Health and Environment Department. Mr. Reed stated the R&E Center in Newport represents a partnership between Ramsey County and Washington County, and we’re very excited about this program. The State has a mandate for 75% recycling, and we’re doing everything we can in Ramsey County and Washington County to move the needle up; this program will help us get closer to the 75%. We’re leaders in the State with not only the investment, but also the commitment. He looks forward to the solutions ahead, as we’re pursuing cutting-edge technologies. Our food scrap program is the largest program that we’re aware of in the country. He introduced Sam Hanson, Joint Activities Manager for Recycling & Energy. Mr. Hanson thanked Mayor Bailey and the Council for allowing them to speak tonight. He gave a snapshot of this brand-new Food Scraps Pickup Program and what to expect. He handed out samples of the actual food scrap bags that will be used, and explained four steps: 1) Sign up online or on the phone, then order your free supply of food scrap bags; 2) Collect your food scraps in the bags. Once a week, or when the bag is full, tie a knot at the top to close the bag. 3) Place your bag inside your current trash cart or dumpster for collection. 4) Done! The food scraps will be composted at the R&E Center. He noted this is a free, voluntary program for residents. We hope everyone will want to participate. The 60 6-or-13-gallon bags will be sent directly to residents’ homes. There’s a customer service line for questions, as well as a website. Pilot Program: Will start small, to work out any problems encountered, in April 2023, with four communities; 2,200 households in North St. Paul, Maplewood, Newport, & Cottage Grove. The pilot area in Cottage Grove is about 300 households. Communication to Residents: We’ll do City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 4 outreach and education because we’re not broadcasting this to the whole county yet; we want to focus on the small pilot area first. Residents will receive a postcard mailer, a welcome packet, targeted social media ads, some information sessions and focus groups for us to get feedback on the program. Pilot 2023 Timeline Overview: April: Communication with residents begins, bags shipped, R& E begins sorting. May: Continued communication push, virtual information sessions. June: Continued communication push, engage with pilot residents. July: Engage with pilot residents. August: Program performance measurement & engagement evaluation. September: Incorporate program adjustments, if needed, prior to scale up in October-December. Mr. Hanson stated that was a very quick review of this program, so will take any questions from the Mayor and Council. Council Member Thiede stated yesterday he was at an entrepreneur’s kickoff, and had a brief discussion with a gentleman who had started a process and a company to extract oils, etc. from organics and actually recycle those. If they’d be interested in connecting with that person, he’ll try to make that connection for them. Mr. Hanson replied yes, they pride themselves on being on the cutting edge of a lot of new programs and technology; because of that, they’re always looking for other technologies out there that could help them continue to improve the way that they manage waste. Council Member Khambata stated he’s really intrigued by this. He knows the more organics we can keep out of the waste stream, the better it is for the environment. He asked if they had any sort of long-term expectations or objectives with the amount of waste that they’re diverting, as far as what its ecological and economic benefits will be to the overall process. Mr. Hanson asked if he was talking about all waste or specifically to the food waste. Council Member Khambata stated we’re converting that other waste into energy; the food waste is probably inhibitive or prohibitive to that process. He asked with this pilot program, if it’s successful long term, how does that benefit the overall waste management process down the road. Commissioner Bigham stated we have a commitment of about 50,000 tons of food scraps and then organic rich material, so that is what we’ll be removing out of the system. Obviously, as we grow, our expectation will continue to grow with that. Mayor Bailey stated he assumed with this pilot that they must have a percentage of engagement that they hope to reach; he asked what’s their target? Mr. Hanson replied we haven’t seen a program of this scale using this type of process anywhere else, but there are other organic recycling programs that use different technologies. Looking at those in different metropolitan areas, with their participation rate statistics, our minimum goal at full rollout is to get at least 40% of residents to voluntarily sign up. Internally, our goal is much higher, and we have the capacity to service every household in the two counties, up to 800,000+ residents. City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 5 Mayor Bailey stated he noticed with the bags that were handed out, most people don’t use the old type coffeemakers. He asked if the C-Cups could be part of this, as it said grounds and filters for coffee, so wondered if those were included. Mr. Hanson replied this program is branded as food scraps, to try to make it clear that that’s the priority, but anything that would be allowed at the drop-off sites here would also be allowed in the Food Scraps Pickup program. Anything that’s certified compostable or is animal, plant, or organic material will be allowed. Mayor Bailey asked once this program is up and running, he would very much love to see how this process works with the robots, as it’s very intriguing. It’s good that we’re able to help with cutting-edge technology to help reduce waste in the landfills. Mayor Bailey thanked all of them for their presentation tonight and stated we’re looking forward to this. 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the February 15, 2023 City Council Regular Meeting minutes. B. Approve the March 1, 2023 City Council Regular Meeting minutes. C. Authorize issuance of a temporary on-sale intoxicating liquor license to the St. Paul Park/Newport Lions Club for June 16-17, 2023, at Kingston Park in conjunction with Strawberry Fest. D. Authorize issuance of a single-occasion gambling permit to the Minnesota Farm Bureau Foundation to conduct a raffle at River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center, 11099 US 61, on June 20, 2023. E. Authorize the issuance of a single-occasion gambling permit to the Phoenix Residence, Inc. to conduct a raffle at River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center, 11099 US 61, on June 20, 2023. F. Accept and place on file the minutes from the January 23, 2023, Planning Commission meeting. G. Appoint Evan Frazier as the Planning Commission Chair. H. Appoint Tracy Jenson and Nathan Lotts to the Public Services Commission. I. Approve the issuance of rental licenses to the properties in the attached table. J. Authorize Public Works to advertise and sell surplus property on Cranky Ape. K. Approve the service agreement with Motorola Solutions, subject to final approval of contract language by the City Attorney. L. Approve Change Order #3, revising the project scope for the 2023 construction season as documented in the attached change order. M. Adopt Resolution 2023-040 approving the Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) funding agreement with minor modifications by the City Attorney for the East Point Douglas Road and Jamaica Avenue Reconstruction and Signal Modifications Project. City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 6 N. 1) Approve the South Washington Watershed District - City of Cottage Grove Residential Irrigation Controller Program Cooperative Agreement. 2) Approve the Professional Services Proposal from Water in Motion. 3) Approve expenditures from the Water Utility Fund of up to $75,000 to supplement the SWWD contribution of $25,000 for implementation of the 2023 Water Conservation Program. O. Authorize the clinical site Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Cottage Grove and Inver Hills Community College. P. Authorize Change Order No. 1 for the River Oaks Irrigation Project. Q. 1) Approve $21,219.00 for shelter purchase from St. Croix Recreation. 2) Authorize the service agreement with Michael Basich, Inc. for installation of the shelter in the amount of $18,408.00. R. Receive information on the General Fund balances as of December 31, 2022. S. Authorize entering into a Settlement Agreement. Council Member Olsen pulled Item H, Public Services Commission Appointments, and Council Member Khambata pulled Item G, Planning Commission Chair Appointment, for further comment and/or discussion. Council Member Olsen stated Item H is to appoint Tracy Jenson and Nathan Lotts to the Public Services Commission. He informed his colleagues that he’s had the opportunity to do several interviews for the three seats that are currently open, due to expiring commission appointment terms. We lost some really strong people, including our Chair and our Vice Chair, and we’re very lucky to have these two individuals on the calendar tonight for appointment: Tracy is a former Planning Commissioner; she stepped away from her commission duties for a period of time, so he was very excited to see that she applied for the Public Services Commission. She’s always demonstrated a tremendous amount of engagement in the community and very good judgment. Nathan is actually new to the community; he’s only lived in Cottage Grove for about six months, but brings a very unique perspective to the commission in that he and his wife have just fallen in love with the community. He’s a retired National Guard member and currently works in IT; when he was in the Guard, he was actually a military police officer, so he has a lot of experience with the Public Safety realm. Naturally, he’ll fit in really well with our Public Services Commission. He asked his Council colleagues for their approval on these appointments this evening, as the next Public Services Commission meeting is this coming Monday. Council Member Khambata stated he wanted to bring to the Council’s attention the reappointment of Evan Frazier as Planning Commission Chair. Council Member Khambata had the pleasure of working with Evan when he, himself, was the Chair; Evan took over that position when Council Member Khambata was appointed to the Council. Council Member Khambata feels Evan has done a spectacular job. He’s a Dakota County prosecutor, and he’s seen him and our Planning Commissioners work City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 7 through some really hard applications over this last year, and he felt he did an exceptional job. Motion by Council Member Thiede to approve the Consent Agenda; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. 8. APPROVE DISBURSEMENTS A. Approve payments for the period of 2-24-2023 through 3-16-2023 in the amount of $1,655,799.90. Motion by Council Member Dennis to approve disbursements; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. 2023A General Obligation and Tax Abatement Bonds Staff Recommendation: 1) Hold a public hearing for property tax abatements in connection with the issuance of tax abatement bonds for the purpose of constructing a park building at Glacial Valley Park. 2) Adopt Resolution 2023-041 providing for the sale of the $8,170,000 General Obligation Improvement and Tax Abatement Bonds, 2023A. 3) Adopt Resolution 2023-042 approving the property tax abatements. Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director, stated tonight we’re doing a step in the process of issuing our 2023 bonds. For 2023, we’re issuing bonds for two projects: 2023 Pavement Management and the Glacial Valley Park building. Those will be paid back with special assessments and future property tax levies. They were both included in the CIP, reviewed last fall, and are in the Financial Management Plan. The pavement management portion will be General Obligation Bonds, no different than previous pavement management projects. For the Glacial Valley Park building, those will be abatement bonds. Tonight, we’ll be holding a public hearing; before we hold the public hearing, Stacie Kvilvang from Ehlers will explain this process a bit more. Ms. Kvilvang stated, as Director Malinowski noted, tonight part of your bond issuance is tax abatement bonds for the Glacial Valley Park building that you’re constructing. Your authority to issue that debt is the Tax Abatement Statute. To issue bonds under that statute, you’re required to identify parcels within your City that you are going to abate your portion of the property taxes from; when we look at what parcels you should actually abate, there are a few requirements: 1) The biggest thing is you have to have parcels that you don’t foresee redevelopment happening over the term of the bonds; the tax abatement portion of the bonds is 20 years. We want to see parcels that you didn’t think would be redeveloped over the next 20 years; the reason for that is because parcels that you have tax abatement coming from you cannot include in a future TIF District. The parcels identified by staff were the Hinton Heights Apartments and City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 8 Summerhill commercial properties. 2) Because you’re issuing your bonds for 20 years, you have to have one of the other taxing jurisdictions, Washington County or the School District, decline participation in the abatement. Washington County did the work for you, and they declined participating in the abatement at their March 7 meeting. 3) You have to also hold a public hearing on the purpose or the authority for the tax abatement. Your resolution indicates that you’re constructing public facilities, you’re providing services to your residents, and constructing public improvements. After Mayor Bailey opens the public hearing, takes any comments, and then closes the public hearing, there are two resolutions before you: The first approves the tax abatement that you’d be issuing; the second will be for the issuance of the bonds, which includes both the street portion and the tax abatement portion. That allows us to get all of our work done to move that process forward. Mayor Bailey opened the public hearing. He asked those wishing to speak to give their name and address for the record. Bonnie Matter, 6649 Inskip Avenue South, Cottage Grove, asked if an understanding could be provided of exactly what a tax abatement program is. The properties were mentioned very quickly, so she asked for those to be repeated. Also, her concern at this point is there’s a thing about wants and needs; she knows we need pavement management and understands that. We’ve gone through a lot of economic changes over the past year, and things are still up in the air. She’s not comfortable with where we’re heading; she just thinks the Glacial Valley piece is maybe something that’s a want and that we could wait on that a little bit. She’d appreciate it if they could help her with the properties. Ms. Kvilvang stated the parcels on which we are abating the taxes are the Hinton Heights Apartments and two parcels of the Summerhill commercial properties. She explained how a tax abatement works: Essentially, even though you’re abating the City’s portion of taxes from those properties, there is no impact to those homeowners or to the commercial property owners. What you’re saying is we’re abating our portion of the taxes, which really is flipped and it’s a tax levy. So, you are increasing your levy overall, as far as your debt issuance goes, to cover that abatement portion. So, that is how a tax abatement works. Again, there is no impact to those individual property owners. Mayor Bailey stated the City taxes that we were collecting from those properties mentioned will now be in essence paying back this bond; Ms. Kvilvang confirmed that. Ms. Matter stated so we’re collecting tax on Hinton Heights; Ms. Kvilvang replied yes, and also Summerhill commercial. As no one else wished to speak on this matter, Mayor Bailey closed the public hearing. Motion by Council Member Olsen to Adopt Resolution 2023-041 providing for the sale of the $8,170,000 General Obligation Improvement and Tax Abatement Bonds, 2023A, second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 9 Motion by Council Member Khambata to Adopt Resolution 2023-042 approving the property tax abatements, second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. 10. BID AWARDS A. East Point Douglas Road and Jamaica Avenue Reconstruction and Signal Modifications Project Bid Award Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-037 awarding the East Point Douglas Road and Jamaica Avenue Reconstruction and Signal Modifications Project to Meyer Contracting, Inc. in the total amount of $8,592,152.15, which includes the base bid plus Alternate #1. Amanda Meyer, City Engineer, stated this is a big project, and highlighted the scope of the project: Reconstruction of Jamaica Avenue from Highway 61 up to 90th Street, and full reconstruction of East Point Douglas, from Inwood Avenue to just east of Carlson Auto. With that reconstruction, we’re also removing the signal at the intersection just east of East Point Douglas and Jamaica Avenue, replacing that with a right in, right out. Constructing a roundabout just east of that intersection, and then doing some reconfiguration of the East Point Douglas-Jamaica intersection to account for the addition of dual left-turn lanes from northbound, southbound, and westbound traffic. Engineer Meyer stated as part of bidding this project, we included an Alternate; that includes a two-inch Mill & Overlay of East Point Douglas Road, from the eastern limits of our Base Bid of the project to just through East Point Douglas Lane. So, this is just remove and replace the top two inches of pavement, as well as some ADA improvements at some pedestrian ramps in front of Menards, as well as over by East Point Douglas Lane. We opened bids on March 2; the bids are before you, with the low bidder, Meyer Contracting, at the top. She noted that’s no relation to her family. It was a Base Bid of $8,325,708.90. Alternate #1 is the two-inch Mill & Overlay of $266,443.25. The Base Bid plus Alternate #1 is $8,592,152.15. Engineer Meyer noted the Engineer’s Estimate was $8,600,000, Alternate #1 was $310,000; ultimately, the total Estimated Project Cost was $8,910,000. So, we saw favorable and competitive bids. Meyer Contracting was the low bidder. The City has previously worked with them, and it was a good experience. Motion by Council Member Olsen to Adopt Resolution 2023-037 awarding the East Point Douglas Road and Jamaica Avenue Reconstruction and Signal Modifications Project to Meyer Contracting, Inc. in the total amount of $8,592,152.15, which includes the Base Bid plus Alternate #1; second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. 11. REGULAR AGENDA A. Rocket Carwash - Site Plan Review, Planned Unit Development, Conditional Use Permit City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 10 Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-038 approving the Site Plan Review, Planned Unit Development, and Conditional Use Permit for a proposed drive-through automobile carwash facility to be located at 8647/8649 East Point Douglas Road South. Conner Jakes, Associate Planner, stated this is a Site Plan Review, Planned Unit Development, and Conditional Use Permit for a proposed drive-through automobile carwash; specifically, Rocket Carwash. Its location is at 8647/8649 East Point Douglas Road South, currently the Big O Tires site, adjacent to the current Wendy’s restaurant and the Target parking lot. It’s adjacent to two major roadways, Jamaica Avenue and Highway 61. Associate Planner Jakes gave background on the site, originally developed in 1991 for a proposed automotive repair use, and has operated as such ever since. Proposal: A drive-through carwash facility, a conditional use within the Mixed Use Zoning District. A Planned Unit Development is also being proposed; the staff and the Applicant worked through initial Site Plan Review and site design. It was clear that the 30-foot easement that runs along the northwest and southwest property lines greatly constricts the buildable and plantable area on the site. In terms of having an efficient site design, the two items included in the Planned Unit Development are the southwest parking lot setback, as well as the overstory tree count, which has a slight reduction from the Code requirement. Site Access: Is off the internal private drive; it’s important to note that this is a private access owned by Target, and all users that abut that access actually have agreements in place allowing them to utilize that access. All maintenance of that parking lot and access are done on a private level. He noted that Code Enforcement does annual sweeps for potholes and general maintenance concerns every Spring; once the snow melts, they’ll conduct a sweep of that area and then follow up with the property owners on maintenance concerns. Entrance and Exit Locations: Are divided by a porkchop with a raised curb to just ease flow to the site and make it a straightforward entrance and exit, moving through the site. Stacking: Upon entering the site, there are two lanes of stacking, which provides about 34 cars worth of stacking on site. Code requires all stacking areas be screened; the Applicant has done that with use of the principal structure to screen from the adjacent roadways and landscaping along the other property lines. As you move through the stacking, you enter the carwash. Each wash is about one-to-two minutes, so pretty quick. The Applicant uses a state of the art conveyor belt system to keep cars moving through that wash. After through the wash, there are free vacuums on site or you proceed to the exit. Trash Enclosure: He noted that the trash enclosure meets all applicable setbacks and is proposed to match the principal structure materials. Architecture: They recognize this site is in a prominent location in the community with high visibility from Highway 61 as well as Jamaica Avenue. The Applicant has proposed 83% Class I materials of masonry, stone, and glass windows; Code requires 65%. They proposed one Class 3 material, metal panels. Proposed elevations are displayed on the screen. Visual Renderings: The Applicant compiled visual renderings from the adjacent roadways, Jamaica Avenue and Highway 61, which he displayed. Landscaping: Meets all applicable standards other than the overstory tree count. As staff reviews landscape plans, we look for survivability, City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 11 ensuring that all plantings on site survive into the long term. In conversations with the City Forester, in terms of survivability, a reduction of overstory trees made sense, as the plantable area is limited due to the easement. To offset the reduction of overstory tree count, they have also substantially increased the number of shrubs on site They’ve also provided a two-foot landscape berm along the adjacent roadway, just to reduce visual impacts as people access the site. Jeremiah Harder, Director of Project Management and Real Estate Development for City Ventures, the parent company of Rocket Carwash, stated they’re taking ownership of the Big O Tires store, which plans to close. They’ll demolish the building and build a Rocket Carwash there. They are not a standard operation, have 50 active sites; by year end, they’ll be close to 100 active sites across the country. They take pride in the experience provided to their customers, with engineering solutions for issues you wouldn’t see in a standard carwash, which he detailed. They also went beyond the City count for stacking, to ensure they’re a good neighbor to surrounding businesses. These aren’t automated systems, these are manned systems, with people attending to their customers’ needs. Their software package that ties into their tunnel allows for efficient flow of cars, to process cars faster than what you would normally see in the industry. They take pride in their tunnels, believe it’s probably one of the best tunnel packages in the industry, which comes at a cost to them. They have twice as much equipment as their competitors, so it’s twice as many touch points on the car. It allows us to process cars faster, but we ensure the highest quality wash possible. They want to look premier and be premier; they don’t take their sites lightly. Their building costs are typically 30-to- 40% higher than their average competitor. They have specialized systems for those vehicles with preformed weather guard mats to clean those. They offer free detailing products and chamois cloths, including window cleaner, tire shine products, dash cleaner, polish, etc. Director Harder stated he’d be happy to answer any questions. Mayor Bailey asked what their timeframe is; Director Harder replied with approval tonight, they’d be ready to submit for a building permit within the coming weeks. Their average build time is seven months. Mayor Bailey thanked them for being interested in investing in our community. Motion by Council Member Dennis to Adopt Resolution 2023-038 approving the Site Plan Review, Planned Unit Development, and Conditional Use Permit for a proposed drive-through automobile carwash facility to be located at 8647/8649 East Point Douglas Road South; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Khambata highlighted events at River Oaks, including snowshoeing and outdoor activities, which are free, and where you’ll get great views of the river. From February 24 through April 7, they have a Friday Night Fish Fry, from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m.; you can make reservations online. April 9 is the Easter Brunch, and Dueling Piano events will be on April 14 and 15. Again, tickets are available online. City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 12 Council Member Thiede stated we’re getting closer and closer to Strawberry Fest, so if you’d like to run, or walk, the 5K, you’ll find online registration on the City’s Recreation page for those; those are on June 17, 2023. Online registration is also available for the Strawberry Fest Softball Tournament, held at Lamar Fields, it’s always a good time. Council Member Thiede stated Council Member Khambata mentioned cross-country skiing at River Oaks, and it’s a great place to go. That’s usually groomed and it’s a little less hilly than Ravine Park, but Ravine Park is also a very good place. He’s personally been out to Shepard Farm, there usually aren’t too many people out there, but it’s not a groomed path. We’re not going to have too much time left for that activity, so get out there this weekend and enjoy. Council Member Olsen thanked the members of the Public Safety Board and the Cottage Grove Lions who were here tonight to accept some funds for the Craig Woolery Scholarship Fund. The Public Safety Board has really done a nice job of managing that scholarship; they are very focused on ensuring that local young people who want to get into Public Safety have an opportunity to apply for some financial assistance for their schooling through the use of that scholarship. Council Member Olsen stated the month of March is National Women’s History Month in the United States; that was designated by Congress in 1987, and we celebrate National Women's History Month annually, in the month of March. There are differing themes, and this year’s theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” The point of Women’s History Month is to celebrate women in this country’s history for their nameless and important contributions to the growth of this country. As this year is celebrating women who tell our stories, he acknowledged two authors from the City of Cottage Grove:  Aurilla Furber, who passed away in 1898. You may know about the Furber Farm, which is where she lived. She was a well-recognized author in her day; she basically wrote poetry, but she also wrote some prose. She was published in the Pioneer Press and many other magazine publications at that time in our country’s history. She is laid to rest in our Cottage Grove cemetery, near Lamar Avenue. She’s definitely somebody who was very well known during the course of Cottage Grove’s history in the 1890s.  Sheletta Brundidge, who has had several books published, particularly focused on autism. We share a common experience in that we both have children on the autism spectrum; Sheletta has three, and she and her family do a lot to bring autism awareness to the forefront, including lobbying at the capitol or using her profile through her Sheletta Makes Me Laugh media company or writing books. He acknowledged that Sheletta is also a tremendous contributor to the Cottage Grove community, as somebody who tells our stories. Council Member Olsen thanked all of the incredible women who contribute in so many ways to the health of our city, our state, and our national wellbeing. He acknowledged that in the City of Cottage Grove, we have amazing women, who work for our City and make all of our lives very pleasant with all of the hard work that they do behind the scenes, including: Jennifer Levitt, our City Administrator; Tammy Anderson, City Council Meeting Minutes March 15, 2023 Page 13 our City Clerk; Kori Land, our City Attorney, just to name a few. We have many female contributors in every City department. He acknowledged their contributions and thanked them for all that they do for our City. Mayor Bailey reminded the public that on Thursday, April 13, we will have a Volunteer Appreciation event at River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center. That’s an exciting event for all of us on the Council and our staff to celebrate all the volunteers that make up the great City of Cottage Grove. Mayor Bailey stated there is still some space available for the Easter Egg Hunt at Woodridge Park. Earlier times in the day were taken, but a few extra times were added. It’s a fun event; if you want to attend, you must register online on the Recreation page. Mayor Bailey stated unfortunately we’re supposed to get some more snow, and there’s been some talk in the news about a concern of flooding between St. Paul and Hastings, actually Prescott. Perhaps at our first meeting in April staff could share what we’ve done in the past to combat some of the flooding concerns in the City of Cottage Grove, including the bridge that goes to Grey Cloud Island, as it would be helpful to have that information. The Council would appreciate being kept up to date on the flooding forecast moving forward, especially with the homes along River Acres and our plans for Grey Cloud Island. The flooding forecast isn’t sounding the greatest with all of the snow that we’ve had this winter. 13. WORKSHOPS - OPEN TO PUBLIC - None. 14. WORKSHOPS – CLOSED TO PUBLIC - None. 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Khambata, second by Council Member Thiede, to adjourn the meeting at 8:01 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Tamara Anderson, City Clerk.