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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-03 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 May 3, 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 May 3, 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; Zac Dockter, Parks and Rec Director; Eric Rigby, Communication Manager; Gretchen Larson, Economic Development Director; Pete Koerner, Public Safety Director; Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director; Amanda Meyer, City Engineer; Mike Mrosla, 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. He asked that the two speakers limit their comments to three minutes. Robert Ebbenga, 6999 East Point Douglas Road, Apartment 313, Cottage Grove, stated he had sent the City Council letters, hoped they had a chance to read them. He stated we’re in the fight of our life, as Dominium took advantage of us last year with the AMI of 12.5%. Now, they’re already looking at another 10.5%, as a member of another City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 2 Dominium just got his lease papers, and it says 10.5% rate increase on his rent. Where are they coming from? As seniors, we cannot afford this anymore. We are looking for anybody and anyone to give us some help, and that’s why we come to the City Council. Hopefully, you can get us some help. We’re not asking for any money; all we’re asking for is a cap on our rent. We know Legends is double dipping into our rent in our apartment for car parking. There are only 80 parking spots outside, there are 129 parking spots in the building, yet there’s 184 units in the building. Where is everybody supposed to park? So, they’re forcing us to move into the garage underground parking, and pay their ridiculous rent of $80 a month. They got tax incentives when they built that building. He thinks there’s someplace we can start and go after our money that we have spent all these years for parking. Other than that, he hopes the Council can get him some help and all these people sitting here today, who are seniors. We deserve to go out in dignity, just like you people do. We don’t want to be kicked out of our place; if we are, I guess we’ll have to come to City Hall and live here because this is our building, not yours, it’s ours. It’s we, the people, who own this building. So, we’ll come here and live, then we’ve got a place to stay where it’s warm. He thanked the Council for listening to him. Mayor Bailey stated for anyone speaking tonight in Open Forum, staff will respond to their comments, give Council that information, and the information will be sent to them. Randy Kastner, 7457 Jordon Avenue South, Cottage Grove, stated last year when the chicken ordinance got updated, it said Goal 2 was beekeeping, which is what he spoke about. Currently, the ordinance says 5 acres, and he wants to reduce that to probably just a City lot. He has lots of information in packets for the Council. The University of Minnesota is behind him on this; he took their extensive class and has a certificate. One of the main instructors will help us figure out what we need to do, as far as information, teaching the Council, and educating the local public about the beekeeping process. He also included in the packet sample ordinances from our neighboring cities; he really likes Stillwater’s ordinance, as they’re a similar size to Cottage Grove, and they make it work. Ten cities were called, and only three of them had nuisance calls on bees. Mayor Bailey asked him to give the packets to the staff, who will deliver them to us, and we’ll be in touch with him about the next step. Gary Spooner, 6999 East Point Douglas Road, The Legends of Cottage Grove, stated as the first speaker, Bob, noted about rent increases, we don’t know whether it will increase this year; however, it increased 12.5% for us last year, which is a lot of money. It put many people who live in that complex, with just nothing but Social Security income to live on, to pay their rent and very little left to use for groceries or medicines. He knows there’s not much that the City can do, but Council has some power as that building was built using Tax Increment Financing (TIF); so, you can use that to sort of put some pressure on the owners to be a little bit more discretionary. We don’t want to see an egregious raise in our rent again, and it is something that we all worry about; there’s a number of us that are here tonight who wonder where we’re going to live if it goes up 10.5%, maybe put an empty refrigerator case underneath an overpass and hope we don’t freeze to death. He thanked the Council for their time. City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 3 As no one else wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the Open Forum. 5. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Council Member Dennis made a motion to approve the agenda; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. 6. PRESENTATIONS A. AED/SaveStation Donation from Teddy’s Heart, Inc. Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-050 accepting AED/SaveStation donation from Teddy’s Heart Foundation, Inc. Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director, stated he was pleased to present a donation to our community; there’s a story behind this donation, which is a picture- perfect example of the quote, “Out of tragedy comes strength.” The donation is an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED), which will be placed at Woodridge Park and will be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The donation is from Teddy’s Heart Foundation, whose mission is to push for widespread accessibility and availability of AED units, in response to Teddy Dowdle’s sudden cardiac arrest at Woodridge Park on May 4, 2022. He invited the founders of Teddy’s Heart Foundation, Teddy’s family, to say a few words. Craig Dowdle, the proud father of Teddy Dowdle, stated one year ago tomorrow we lost Teddy to sudden cardiac arrest on the basketball courts at Woodridge Park. He explained Teddy was playing basketball with his brother, got a rebound, made an outlet pass, and collapsed on the court. Craig was called, he got there before the paramedics, in probably five minutes. Paramedics and EMTs were there in eight minutes; after three minutes, if you don’t have the shock of the AED, life expectancy is less than 10%. Unfortunately, Teddy didn’t make it that night, but Craig, his wife, Emily, and their son and daughter, Carter and Olivia, started Teddy’s Heart Foundation. The first thing they did was contact SaveStation and did a crowd fundraiser through them and had 200 donations. With that, they were able to purchase this $8,000 SaveStation tower, which they’d like to donate to the City of Cottage Grove so it can be placed at Woodridge Park tomorrow night, at 6:00 p.m., when they’ll do a dedication. Craig stated they’re not done, as they plan to work with the City of Cottage Grove, the Cottage Grove Athletic Association (CGAA), and the Cottage Grove Lions to place AEDs in the 14 parks in Cottage Grove. Then, they’re going to Woodbury and the rest of South Washington County. They’re not done, and this is just the first step in the legacy of his son, Teddy Dowdle. Mayor Bailey thanked Craig and his family, as this is an amazing donation. It is unfortunate that we didn’t have that opportunity a year ago tomorrow; he remembers getting the call from Public Safety Director Pete Koerner and Director Dockter about City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 4 what had happened. It’s shocking when anyone, let alone someone that young, falls victim to a cardiac arrest. Our Public Safety Department does an amazing job of saving people but, unfortunately, that day we were not able to save Teddy. As Director Dockter noted a few minutes ago, sometimes out of tragedy comes something amazing, like this. There will be a time, and your family can feel proud about this, when that AED will be used, whether at Woodridge or another park, and it will save somebody’s life; that’s all because of your family and will attend tomorrow night’s dedication. Motion by Council Member Thiede accepting AED/SaveStation donation from Teddy’s Heart Foundation, Inc.; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. Council Member Olsen asked Craig Dowdle to step forward again, as there are probably people here and watching at home who don’t know a lot about Craig and his family. Craig’s been here a long time, grew up here, and is also a basketball player. He and his family have always been pillars of the community, and this loss was hard, not just for you, but for all the people who know and care about you and your family. As a City Council Member and as Vice President of the Cottage Grove Lions Club, he wanted him to know that we are 100% behind your family and we’re going to do everything we can to support the Teddy’s Heart Foundation and Teddy’s legacy. Council Member Olsen’s dad is a Woodbury Lions Club member; he’s already had conversations with the Woodbury Lions Board and their president, Bob Bixby, about your foundation, who are also on board, so thought Craig and his family would find an incredible outpouring of support and love. He personally thanked Craig for turning this very difficult situation into something positive for several communities, which is not an easy thing to do; oftentimes out of tragedy we come up with unique ways to make our community a better place. Craig and his family are doing that. We’ll be there tomorrow night, and you can fully expect our Lions Club will be holding hands with you the whole way. Craig Dowdle thanked him. B. Historic Preservationist of the Year Staff Recommendation: Present the 2023 Historic Preservationist of the Year Award to Frances Ratzlaff for her efforts and involvement over the years so both current and future generations have the opportunity to appreciate and visit important cultural and historical sites within the City that have been preserved. Mike Mrosla, Senior Planner, stated every year the Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (ACHP) nominates a Preservationist of the Year; this year, we did online submittals and at the April meeting, the ACHP voted unanimously to nominate Frances “Frankie” Ratzlaff as the 2023 Preservationist of the Year. Frankie joined the ACHP in 2003 and served until 2013. She worked on many projects, including the ACHP’s Historic Playing Cards, the ACHP Community Cookbook, the time capsule located here at City Hall, and many others. She’s also been a speaker at many events. Due to her contributions to the community, we’d like to honor her as the 2023 Historic Preservationist of the Year. City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 5 Mayor Bailey and the Council Members joined Frankie Ratzlaff in front of the dais. Mayor Bailey stated he remembered meeting her when he was the Council liaison for the Historic Preservation Commission; he remembered her working on the playing cards, which were amazing, as they had all the history of Cottage Grove. There was also the cookbook and the time capsule here at City Hall. Frankie stated that was a very interesting time of her life, and she’s always liked history, and she thought the ACHP fit her well. Mayor Bailey stated earlier Frankie had told him she remembered when County Road 19 was still a gravel road. She told him she also remembered voting for President Eisenhauer at Langdon City Hall. Mayor Bailey read aloud the plaque for the 2023 Historic Preservationist of the Year Award to Frankie Ratzlaff. He presented her with the plaque, congratulated her, and thanked her on behalf of himself, the City Council, City staff, and the citizens of Cottage Grove. Everyone applauded and photographs were taken. C. Historic Preservation Month Proclamation Staff Recommendation: Proclaim May 2023 as Historic Preservation Month for the City of Cottage Grove, Minnesota. Council Member Thiede read aloud the Historic Preservation Month Proclamation Motion by Council Member Olsen to proclaim May 2023 as Historic Preservation Month for the City of Cottage Grove, Minnesota; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. D. Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Proclamation Staff Recommendation: Proclaim May 2023 to be designated as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Council Member Olsen stated it was an honor to read aloud the Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month Proclamation. Motion by Council Member Khambata to proclaim May 2023 to be designated as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month; second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. E. Mental Health Awareness Month Proclamation Staff Recommendation: Receive a brief presentation from Public Safety about the Case Management Unit and proclaim May 2023 to be designated as Mental Health Awareness Month. Detective Sergeant Mike McCormick thanked the Council for the opportunity to talk about mental health, which is something near and dear to all of us with the Police Department and our EMS staff. Quite frankly, it touches all of us in one way or another. He also thanked them for giving us the opportunity to talk about our Case Management City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 6 Unit (CMU), which is a specialty for the Police Department; it’s something that he and Detective Pat Young have worked on to make it what it is. The CMU is to help people who need ongoing mental health help, whether on a short-term or long-term basis; they might need help from an advocate, Social Services, or a counselor. This is all about building relationships, both with the community and those groups that are available to help people who are in crisis or dysregulated. Our goal is to help people, to make sure they don’t fall through the cracks when being referred to other agencies or professionals, and to help people avoid the increasing number of Public Safety encounters. CMU members are able to build relationships with those with mental health issues, who need mental health evaluations or assistance; we’ve taken it upon ourselves to make sure that they’re getting the help that they need so they can live long, healthy, and happy lives. We also target violence protection and prevention; that’s something that sets our CMU apart from probably any of the other groups out there. If someone is experiencing stalking or a domestic violence issue, it can be quite overwhelming for them. So, our job and hope here is to help them get in touch with their advocates or people who can help them, perhaps better than we can. It’s just to let them know that those resources are out there, they don’t have to do this alone, and they do have help. CMU works by just building relationships with people who are in crisis or who need the help from community resources that exist; Detective Young has done a fantastic job at getting to know the resources that are available. We’re trying to make it so they’re not calling 911, but instead are calling someone with whom they’ve established a relationship. They don’t need to call law enforcement or call for an ambulance because they don’t know what else to do. Our hope is to ensure people have these resources; they can call me, Detective Young, or some other resources. If EMS or police are called for someone who’s been determined to be in a mental health crisis, Detective Young or another member of our group can respond and maybe take over for law enforcement, depending on the situation. Everybody has their own idea of what constitutes an emergency; patrol officers aren’t always able to sometimes spend hours with someone. With a CMU member, the hope is that we’re able to spend the time with them to build that relationship and get them in touch with resources. Law enforcement or EMS might clear the call, and then get called back ten minutes later and now it’s ten times worse. We’re trying to give people some other options than always being in crisis, so they’re not always going to jail or ending up in an ambulance. Maybe they’re not getting the care that they need; with those relationships, we’re able to put them in touch with different community agencies that can help them. We’re not counselors or therapists, we’re just people who have dedicated ourselves to bringing a lot of experience to a lot of relationships; it’s the heart of the officers that are there, as none of these officers and soon-to-be EMS are getting paid anything more to do this. We don’t recruit, they come to us because they have the heart and want to help. Even though our team isn’t very large, they each bring a lot to the table: Pat Young is a detective. Officer Shaver and Officer Bagan have a lot of experience in the community and on the street, both live in this area, in Washington County. Investigative Analyst Jaimee Donahue is non-sworn but helps us with everything on the back end; she makes us look really good because when officers go out to the scene, we already City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 7 have a lot of knowledge of what’s been going on if we’re not familiar with the location/people. Luke Landgraf, School Resource Officer, handles a lot at the school, more than just helping break up fights; he works with the staff and really knows a lot about what’s going on and the needs of the students. Officer Ed Weber is a military veteran; he sometimes is the only one who can relate to veterans going through a crisis or PTSD. He can walk in the door or make that phone call, say I know what you’re going through, I’ve been there, and be able to back it up is very important. The people that we have in the CMU are really something special, and we’re really doing some nice things in the community. Detective Young spoke about CMU Statistics for 2022:  221 Clients were engaged, followed up with  554 Phone calls with clients  936 In-person visits  1,447 Phone calls with family, social workers, or other people He stated historically, follow ups were never getting done, which is important for people who are struggling with mental health. CGPD Total Response  9,785 Total incidents  3.6% Related to substance abuse  4.5% Related to mental health  2.1% Related to both substance abuse and mental health  14.1% Unknown  75.6% Not chemical or mental health related Detective Young stated a key point is 75% weren’t related to chemical or mental health, and 14% were unknown. Somewhere between 10% to 25% of our total incidents were related to chemical or mental health; that’s a big portion, so that’s how important these topics are to our Police Department. Detective Young stated he doesn’t wear a standard uniform and drives an unmarked squad car; it means a lot to people when they don’t have marked squad cars showing up at their house. If they call him directly and he knows them and is comfortable with them, he’ll show up by himself, so their neighbors don’t know the police are there. He receives voice mails and emails from existing clients who usually tell him someone’s family member isn’t doing well, asking if he can stop by, give them a call, or follow up with them. The first thing he does every day is to follow up with people. He doesn’t work 24/7, so reviews things that happened overnight or on the weekend and creates a game plan with some of those incidents. He sends reports to appropriate services; historically, this is something that wasn’t getting done or not getting done as often. People who are struggling might be on probation or have Washington County case managers or social workers. If they had police interactions, nobody was really making sure that the reports were getting sent to them; part of his job is figuring out what services people are receiving, andmaking sure reports are sent to their workers and their care team to make sure that they’re getting the appropriate care that they need. City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 8 CMU: Following up with existing clients. He responds to the mental health related calls directly. A big issue is people who say that they want to go to the hospital, but they don’t want to take the ambulance because it’s expensive. In his opinion, that really shouldn’t be a barrier to getting some mental health help, so we use other options. We can call our Crisis Response Team, but if someone absolutely wants to go to the hospital, their only barrier is the ride to the hospital, and they don’t have any other medical problems, that’s something he’s willing to do. In the long run, a quick drive to Regions Hospital is well worth it if they’re in a better spot; it’s a half hour of the day, but it’s also an opportunity to build a relationship, to meet with and talk with them. He thinks that goes a long way, so he provides that ride if it’s needed. We do homeless outreach in our parking lots; that’s something that we never really did. Historically, it’s called moving people along, which is just kind of pushing them to the next jurisdiction. We’re trying to do that less or not at all and trying to utilize some of our homeless outreach teams with Washington County. We have general meetings with our Threat Assessment Group, our Metro Mental Health Collaboration Groups, and every now and then he goes with Officer Schoen on some community engagement events. Detective Young ended his presentation by saying he thinks that our program is helping the community because we’re giving them resources and we’re leaving them in a better place. It’s also saving the Police Department time, resources, and money by investing up front, and it’s also saving on the back end with multiple officer mental health related calls. In the end, everyone wins with the program. He thanked the Council for supporting it. Mayor Bailey thanked Detective Sergeant McCormick and Detective Young for explaining what’s happening behind the scenes. Hopefully, more and more people are getting their mental health taken care of with the support of our Public Safety Department. Council Member Dennis read aloud the proclamation. Motion by Council Member Khambata to proclaim May 2023 to be designated as Mental Health Awareness Month; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried 5-0. F. National Police Week and Peace Officers Memorial Day Proclamation Staff Recommendation: Proclaim the week of May 14 through May 20, 2023, as National Police Week, and May 15, 2023 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. Council Member Olsen asked if after he read the proclamation if Sergeant McCormick could speak on this topic; Mayor Bailey agreed. Council Member Olsen read aloud the proclamation, then stated Sergeant McCormick was involved for many years in the Law Enforcement Memorial Association (LEMA) in the State of Minnesota. He stood guard at the Peace Officers Memorial and has also been intimately involved in Police Week and Peace Officers Memorial Day for many years. He asked Sergeant McCormick to take a City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 9 moment to tell us a little bit about why that’s important, what that means in the law enforcement profession, and what training is involved. Obviously, we have tremendous respect for all our law enforcement officers in the City of Cottage Grove and South Washington County. He recognized Council Member Dennis, who wore that badge, as it’s not an easy thing to go; anybody who wears that badge feels the weight of what we’re talking about today. Sergeant McCormick thanked Council Member Olsen for bringing attention to this, as he personally holds this near and dear to his heart, as do many others. He thinks back to the honor of wearing a badge when he first started in 2000; he remembers attending the first law enforcement funeral for Trooper Ted Foss, who was killed on a traffic stop. He stood outside, saw Governor Ventura walking out with Trooper Foss’ widow and saw the look on her face when she saw the field of blue and brown and green and how much it meant to her and even to the governor. Without saying a word, you knew that this just meant more to her than anything. So, he just wanted to be more involved with that, as it felt like a calling to him, something that needed to be done for his brothers and sisters. He worked for another agency, before Cottage Grove, so knows when an agency experiences a fallen officer how much that affects so many things, there are so many moving parts. Obviously, the family is going through hell, but now you have agencies and communities that have never dealt with this, so now what? There are no answers on how to help people get through this, so this is something that the Law Enforcement Memorial Guard does, this is what they specialize in; they can come in and kind of step in and just take the burden off these agencies and hopefully the family and the community. So, this was just something that he found in his heart that he needed to do as a law enforcement officer. The photos displayed aren’t indicative of the kind of work we did, but Cottage Grove supported him going to Washington, D.C. He was 1.5 feet away from President Obama at the time; that is something that he’ll never forget and stated his son likes to tell everybody that. The hard part was just the reason why we did it, being at the funerals, and every member had a different duty; he was on casket duty, so he would stand in front of the casket while the family would come up and say their goodbyes. He still gets emotional talking about it, even now. That’s why we did that: It was to be there for the families and the agencies and the communities that had terrible experiences, and hopefully bring some honor to the profession when this happens. He no longer does this, as his family grew and he took on more work duties; he wanted to be able to give agencies/families of fallen officers 110%, but it got to the point where he had to step away. He certainly is still very much involved in the community and has close connections, and he still attempts to bring that back to Cottage Grove even though he’s not on the team anymore, per se. Council Member Olsen thanked Sergeant McCormick, stated he knew that duty meant the world to him. He was lucky enough to be on the Council when Sergeant McCormick was serving in that capacity and went to Washington, D.C. He certainly hopes there’s another officer in our team who might consider stepping into his shoes at some point because it certainly is a source of pride for our community to have somebody involved to that degree in such a difficult but important role. Mayor Bailey also thanked Sergeant McCormick for sharing his experience. City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 10 Motion by Council Member Dennis to proclaim the week of May 14 through May 20, 2023, as National Police Week, and May 15, 2023 as Peace Officers Memorial Day; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. G. Building Safety Month Proclamation Staff Recommendation: Receive a presentation on Building Safety and proclaim the month of May Building Safety Month. Council Member Khambata read aloud the proclamation. Motion by Council Member Olsen to proclaim the month of May Building Safety Month; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. H. Public Works Spring Cleanup Event Presentation Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director, stated the Spring Cleanup Event is a big event for both Public Works and Parks Maintenance. This year it will be on Saturday, May 6, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Public Works, located right off the Jamaica Avenue roundabouts. We’re accepting the same items as last year; one change is we got a better deal for mattresses, so it will only cost $5 for disposal of mattresses and box springs, so he expects they’ll get a lot of those. Payment is cash or check only. In 2021, Washington County stopped accepting hazardous waste at our Spring Cleanup Day, and as we’re so close to the Environmental Center, they’d appreciate it if people would bring their hazardous waste materials to the Environmental Center in Woodbury. Director Burfeind stated it gets busy right away, at 7:00 a.m., but stated after lunchtime, it’s actually pretty quiet and a lot quicker. We appreciate everybody bringing in their stuff to help clean up the City. For further information, call Public Works or go on our website. Council Member Khambata asked what’s the typical amount of waste that’s collected at these cleanups. Director Burfeind replied it’s a lot, he doesn’t know the number right off the top of his head. We start the day with nine roll-off dumpsters and fill at least three or four rounds of those huge roll-off dumpsters; so, it’s a significant amount of material. We have a trailer filled with appliances, another trailer with tires, another with electronics, so it’s a good way to get rid of a lot of material. Mayor Bailey stated absolutely, as it gets this stuff out from the sides of houses, from front and back yards, etc. He thanked Director Burfeind for his presentation. 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the January 25, 2023, City Council Special Meeting minutes. B. Approve the April 5, 2023, City Council Special Meeting minutes. C. Approve the April 5, 2023, City Council Closed Meeting minutes. D. Approve the April 5, 2023, City Council Regular Meeting minutes. City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 11 E. Accept and place on file the minutes from the Planning Commission meeting on February 27, 2023. F. Authorize issuance of a single-occasion gambling permit to Royal Oaks PTA to conduct a raffle at River Oaks Golf Course (11099 Highway 61, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, 55016). G. Authorize the issuance of a single-occasion gambling permit to Umarou Yayah on behalf of Acacia Lodge No. 51 (11094 70th Street South) to hold a raffle on October 14, 2023. H. Approve the issuance of rental licenses to the properties listed in the attached table. I. Accept the donation of a Bunn Coffee Brewer, coffee, and filters (value $500) from the Cottage Grove Lions Club. J. Accept the donation of an ERG700 Air and Magnetic Rowling Machine (value $1,199.99) from Terry and Bella Woodman for use by City staff to assist in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. K. Authorize the purchase of upgraded in-car camera systems utilizing DUI forfeiture funds. L. Approve the GIS Workstation LLC Master Service Agreement, Terms of Service and Ordering Document. M. Adopt Resolution 2023-059 to ratify and confirm the Grant Agreement that was adopted on July 20, 2022, and authorize incorporating Attachments B and C. N. Adopt Resolution 2023-060 approving a one-year extension of the preliminary plat approvals for Ravine Crossing. O. Approve the hiring of Crystal Raleigh as Assistant City Engineer. Council Member Olsen wished to pull Item I, Donation Acceptance from Cottage Grove Lions Club, for further comment and/or discussion. He stated this donation of a Bunn Coffee Brewer, 20 pounds of coffee, and some filters was made by the Cottage Grove Lions Club to the Cottage Grove Fire Department; it has a value of approximately $500. The reason for this donation was we were lucky enough in April to have our Lions Club meeting at the Central Fire Station, after our training there on AED usage and CPR. We got to learn about the use of naloxone for opioid overdoses and some basic First Aid. This was really an offshoot of a visit that our Community Engagement Officer, Dan Schoen, made to our Lions Club meeting in March to talk about Teddy’s Heart; Teddy’s Heart was looking for partnerships to place AEDs in public spaces in both Cottage Grove and Woodbury, and hopefully additional communities in Washington County. He asked Officer Schoen to step to the podium to talk about our City’s HEARTSafe Initiative, which is really what this is all about. One thing that helps a city gain that designation is having a certain percentage of your population trained on lifesaving measures, particularly CPR, in case of cardiac events. Officer Schoen stated the HEARTSafe Initiative is spearheaded by Deputy Fire Chief Pritchard at the Fire Department, who couldn’t be here tonight. Part of the HEARTSafe Initiative is doing training throughout the community. Our Fire Department will host them and we can come to you to provide the training. Our goal is really indicative of the City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 12 efforts that our entire City team takes to protect our citizens and ensure our safety. When we take on these initiatives, this is a lot of behind-the-scenes effort that takes place to make sure that we have the funds and also the staff time to do it. You’ll see more of the HEARTSafe Initiative, approved by Council in January 2022, as we’re starting to make that happen in our community, step by step. Council Member Olsen thanked Officer Schoen for coming to the Lions Club meeting to share information about Teddy’s Heart and the AED. This donation is really just to thank our Public Safety team, specifically Fire Department Captain Peter Fischer and Chelsea Flores, who did such a great job with our training. Officer Schoen asked the public to reach out to him or any member of the City, as we want to train your organization, your groups, your employees to be a part of this; we’ll get you connected with the right people to do that training. 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 4-13-2023 through 4-27-2023 in the amount of $1,740,441.74. Motion by Council Member Dennis to approve disbursements; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None. 10. BID AWARDS A. 2023 Mill & Overlay Project - Bid Award Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-061 awarding the bid for the 2023 Mill & Overlay Improvements Project to Bituminous Roadways, Inc. in the total amount of $383,356.60. Amanda Meyer, City Engineer, stated this work is for portions of our Thompson-Grove neighborhood. The six bids were opened on April 27, and we got some very favorable bids. The Engineer’s Estimate was $500,000, and the lowest bidder was Bituminous Roadways at $383,356.60. With our Engineer’s Estimate, we’d heard that bituminous prices were going to be in the mid-$80 per ton; when the bids came in, they were in the low $70s per ton, so that was one of the really great cost savings that we saw with those bids. Engineer Meyer stated the City has previously worked with Bituminous Roadways, with good results. Motion by Council Member Khambata to Adopt Resolution 2023-061 awarding the bid for the 2023 Mill & Overlay Improvements Project to Bituminous Roadways, Inc. in the total amount of $383,356.60: second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 13 11. REGULAR AGENDA - None. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Khambata spoke on the topic of rent control, brought up in tonight’s Open Forum. We have all been in contact with the City Councilman for Columbia Heights; we’re aware of what Dominium is doing, and although he doesn’t personally condone it, the number that they’re using was part of a contract that they signed. As far as what the City would like to do moving forward, we would obviously want to consult with our City Attorney before we seek any legislative or ordinance-related remedies. However, Minnesota Statute 471 specifically prohibits the City from making any rent control actions without that law being voted on in a general election. So, as far as swift resolutions, the City is somewhat tied by State law. However, he encouraged residents to reach out to their State Senators; there are currently two bills regarding rent control, for low-income housing and housing that has received public funding, to limit it to 5% per year. There is currently a Bill in the House and in the Senate; from what he understands, both are getting pretty broad support. Residents would be well served to reach out to their representatives and make sure that they know what you’re experiencing. We can take an aside here after the meeting, and he can give them the specific Bills if they want to have that information available for drafting any communication to their representatives. Council Member Dennis stated as a Cottage Grove Mason that the Acacia Lodge is having their Annual Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, May 7, from 8:00 a.m. until noon. They’re located at 11094 70th Street South in Cottage Grove. This is an annual event where they serve pancakes, sausage, eggs made to order; coffee, milk, and juice will be available to drink. Costs: $10 for adults, $6 for kids ages 4-12, children 3 and under can eat for free. The food is very good, and the folks that do this breakfast do a great job. Council Member Thiede stated Strawberry Fest is only six short weeks away, June 15 through June 18, so he hopes they’re all getting excited about that. There are many upcoming activities leading into Strawberry Fest: The Cottage Grove Ambassadors Program is connected with the Strawberry Fest; these kids actually participate in other festivals throughout the year to promote Cottage Grove. While most of them are young ladies, young men are also allowed to be ambassadors for the City; you must be 18-21 years of age. There is an informational meeting about that program next Tuesday, May 9, at 6:00 p.m., at the Cottage Grove Carbone’s; so, for anybody who wants to be involved as an Ambassador for the great City of Cottage Grove, it would be good for you to attend that meeting to hear what it’s all about. There will also be a Strawberry Fest 5K Run and Strawberry Fest Walk, both on Saturday, June 17; there’s online registration for both of those. The Strawberry Fest Softball Tournament has registration available online also; go to the Cottage Grove Strawberry Fest website and get all of this information. Just get ready to have a great time. We had wonderful weather last year so are hoping for great weather again this year, as it’s more fun when it’s not raining or extremely hot. City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 14 Mayor Bailey stated on Monday, May 29, the Memorial Day Ceremony will take place at the Veterans Memorial, in front of City Hall; the time has been changed from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. There will be a local guest speaker, who is also a member of our Fire Department. Mayor Bailey stated regarding the current road project at East Point Douglas Road and Jamaica Avenue, he asked the public to be careful and patient, as we’ve wanted this work done for a long time. To get it fixed properly for easy flow of traffic, fewer accidents, and pedestrian safety, it will take some time to get all of that work done. Just follow the directional signs and go slow through that area. We had a glitch with the new stoplights that were installed, so they’re flashing red, as a four-way stop on Jamaica and East Point Douglas Road, and those should be fixed tomorrow. He asked everybody to be patient and support the businesses in that area during construction. Mayor Bailey mentioned he can speak tomorrow morning at the Park High School Applaud breakfast, where they highlight students of the quarter. He stated he and his wife saw Park High School’s musical, Mama Mia, last week, and it was absolutely amazing; he was in awe of the performance, and he still has those songs running through his mind. The talented individuals, the number of young people in that musical, along with the band that played behind the scenes, were tremendous. If you have an opportunity to attend school plays or concerts, he encouraged people to get out and enjoy some of the arts, talent, and culture that’s happening within our community; specifically, within our School District, as they speak well to the talent of our youth. Council Member Thiede stated this Friday is Cinco de Mayo at Las Margaritas, from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., so that’s always a good time, complete with music. Mayor Bailey stated there’s a workshop tonight, open to the public, in the Conference Room, which will be about the Old Cottage Grove Small Area Study, which is off of Lamar Avenue. We will be adjourning this meeting from the workshop. 13. WORKSHOPS - OPEN TO PUBLIC A. Workshop - Old Cottage Grove Small Area Study Emily Schmitz, Senior Planner, stated a group from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota came to us with a proposal to complete their Capstone Project over the last semester, as they finish up their goal of obtaining a master’s degree. Riley Rooney was our Planning intern last summer; she will begin the presentation. Riley thanked the Council as this has been an extremely great experience for all of us as master’s students; it’s been awesome opportunity to not only take part in this project with City staff, but also to present this to you. Their project was essentially aimed to creating a Small Area Study for Old Cottage Grove, to kind of help guide the neighborhood as it builds for the future. It’s a Planning document to provide information City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 15 as well as recommendations that would guide the character of this particular area of the City. Old Cottage Grove is largely characterized by its rural, agricultural, and residential features. This is the oldest area of the City, first platted and developed in 1871; it included hotels, doctors’ offices, different shops, and a grocery store. More construction followed later and peaked in the 1950s and 1970s. Current Population: Approximately 350 residents, about 9% of the total City population; race is primarily White. Four Area Zoning Districts: R-1, Rural Residential; R-3, Single-Family Residential; B-2, Retail Business; and AG-1, Agricultural Preservation. Housing: There are 119 single-family homes, 111 of which are owner occupied, which is about 1% of the single-family housing units in the City. These houses are typically valued a little bit higher and are a little bit older than the rest of the City. There’s also been a recent trend of sales, in the last five years. Economy & Employment: It was hard to get a succinct idea for this specific area of the City, so they took a larger look at the City as a whole: Low unemployment rate, high household income, high education rate. Community Engagement: They sent out 148 postcards to homes in the area. It explained who we were, what we were doing, a link to the survey, and the date and time of the open house, which took place one month ago. We had 42 responses to the survey; about 50% of respondents had lived in the area for more than 20 years, and the age of respondents varied, with an average age of 35 to 44. The open house also had a great turnout, about 40 people. Residents shared that they didn’t really want to see the area change, they liked the rural residential, agricultural feel that it has and want to keep it that way; they’re overall very happy with the improvements in the neighborhood. Over 90% indicated they didn’t feel there was a need to have any new housing; however, if any new housing was introduced, they’d prefer single-family residential with larger lot sizes. Over 80% indicated they didn’t feel the need for further community or economic development; should any be considered, they liked the idea of trail connections, open space, and maybe some small shops, like an ice cream shop, but nothing very commercial. At the open house, the theme was very similar to the survey: Most residents shared they’d prefer no change but would prefer to be part of any development conversation just to ensure that the area represents the current residents and not outside communities. Many shared the desire for preservation of their neighborhood character; so, repurposing facilities would be preferred to building something new, like refurbishing Fire Station #3. A few residents shared safety concerns with people driving fast through Lamar Avenue, so shared some interest in traffic-slowing features, but wanted to ensure that those wouldn’t impede any agricultural or farming equipment that would travel through that area. Recommendations 1. Rezone the B-2 Business District to B-1. This would potentially allow lower intensity uses while mitigating the more intense uses that are currently allowed in this Zoning District. This would address residents’ concerns that new businesses wouldn’t necessarily be complementary to the character of the neighborhood. 2. Establish Residential Neighborhood Business Standards. This would set more of a hard standard to further mitigate the impact of the intensity of business uses in the neighborhood. It would benefit local residents and essentially not alter the City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 16 character. It could be anything from complementary to existing businesses, lighting and screening, parking, loading, pedestrian access, and landscaping. 3. Establish Residential Neighborhood Standards. This would potentially control any accessory uses or making sure that there is preservation of large lot sizes. Riley stated she’d be happy to answer any questions, and a significant number of questions and discussion followed: Mayor Bailey asked the difference between Zoning Districts B-2 and B-1. Planner Schmitz replied B-1 is intended to be adjacent to residential districts, more complementary, less intense. B-2 is a little bit more intense and would not border residential uses so directly. Mayor Bailey stated the Boondocks Boutique would qualify as B-1, which Planner Schmitz confirmed. Mayor Bailey asked if a restaurant would be considered B-1 or B-2. Planner Schmitz replied it would be a permitted use in the B-1. He asked Riley to elaborate on Establishing Neighborhood Business Standards, what they’re looking at from that standpoint. She replied for a restaurant, maybe you would add additional screening standards, to increase the amount of landscaping required in between houses and the restaurant. That would create more of a sound and screening buffer, furthering the ability to section it off, as it’s still a rural residential area, and we want to make it feel that way for the residents. It could also include things like lighting, loading areas, pedestrian traffic. Again, this is up to the Council, and these are simply our recommendations. Mayor Bailey stated they appreciate the input, and the feedback from the residents didn’t shock him in the least; it was exactly what he was expecting. He thought it interesting, though, that the ages of the individuals who live in that area are much older compared to the median age in our community; that typically means they like their neighborhood, so some of the data received didn’t surprise him. It’s something Council and staff will have to deal with; there are some out there who want more substantive growth and change of culture, and there’s another core group that says leave us alone. Council and staff are going to have to navigate through that. He asked if the East Ravine Master Plan abuts Old Cottage Grove or if it actually includes Old Cottage Grove. City Administrator Jennifer Levitt replied it abuts it. Mayor Bailey stated the Ravine Parkway kind of goes on the other side of the ravine, so our growth plans takes us all the way to the ravine, which is right next to Old Cottage Grove. From a trail access standpoint, when we kind get to that point, yes, that makes sense to have some connectivity to the rest of the community. He doesn’t see us being able to do anything in the interim, though, as we don’t want to have that access yet. Interestingly, while they don’t want to be grouped in with the rest of the community, they do want a trail to get to the rest of the community. So, they can’t have it both ways; if we put a trail in, people are going to be in their neighborhood. Council Member Thiede stated that area is the oldest part of Cottage Grove, with really quite a span before any other development. In trying to preserve some of that over the years, being the liaison to the History Committee, there have been a couple times where we’ve tried to determine how to preserve it as some type of historical district. We thought about any houses that got remodeled or built were maintained in that area’s period of time; if businesses were built, maybe it would be more like a building you’d City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 17 see in that period of time. Again, trying to maintain, maybe it should be restricted to a local business, not a chain, or possibly even a local owner, to try to revive something like a small general store, etc. If we try to keep some of that area as farming, maybe it should be with people from this area specifically focused on crafts or product from this area. Some of the groundwork was laid for that, but it never really went too far. Council Member Khambata stated we’d have to get it designated as a historic district to connect some of those organizations. Mayor Bailey stated if we were to do that, then those standards will be a detriment on the value of the home. Council Member Khambata replied then you’re dealing with architectural standards, and it gets real sticky. Mayor Bailey stated yes, like with Cedarhurst, for example. Mayor Bailey stated, in his opinion, that’s the other challenge out there: Some of those homes out there are beautiful and have some deep history, so we’d like to do what we can to save them, but then a block away you have a basic rambler. Council Member Thiede stated that’s the problem because in a sense we haven’t protected it. As time goes by, the easiest thing to do is tear down those places and just put up new structures. So, if you don’t try to maintain the look and the heritage of the area, that’s probably what’s going to happen. He would tend to say that it may not reduce the value of the property; there are people who like that older style, so it could increase the value of some of those homes because they also know that they’re going to be maintained and kept up and somewhat held to those standards. Council Member Khambata stated renovating old houses to new standards is a labor of love, not economic prudence. Council Member Thiede stated that’s right; it’s a lot harder to remodel than to build new, absolutely. Council Member Khambata stated he doesn’t disagree. Part of the reason why you can go a block and there are ramblers is because that area was obviously built out in several phases; main street, Lamar Avenue, is all of the older, original homes. As parcels were sold off and moved from farming to development, or for subdivision, that’s when you got some of those newer old homes. It’s probably worth at least looking into, even if there’s a historic designation that somebody could opt into; if there’s some incentive there that the City can find, just a discount on the building if you keep it original or something like that. Council Member Khambata stated he’s curious about the group who did this study, if they went into this with any expectations or if they observed any surprising outcomes. Riley replied from when she worked here last summer, she can’t say that she’s overly surprised; she knew that this area was going to have a lot of passion from the residents, that’s absolutely what she was expecting. She didn’t know if the other members had any other expectations. Mrosla stated Riley came into this with a little bit of context, having worked here last summer, and the other four of us kind of came in blind. She was very happy and very surprised about the amount of turnout that we had at our event. For only sending the postcard to 148 properties, about 50 people attended; that’s the stuff of dreams for public engagement. It was a really great learning experience for us, as we are kind of fledgling practitioners. The other thing that she was really surprised by was the age distribution for the survey responses; it’s not something we were expecting, based on City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 18 the data that we had previously had about the area. It was nice to see that we had reached a variety of people. Council Member Olsen asked if the group took any time to review the social media response to their project; Riley replied she personally did not. Heiting stated she saw one post. A blessing and a curse of policy school is that we’re all around each other all the time, we’re all in the same classes; so, we looked at our postcard and we were like, oh, this is so great, everyone is totally going to know what we’re doing, and that was not the case. It seemed like the general sentiment for our engagement event was that they thought that we were with a developer or with a certain group of people. And we were like, no, we’re from the University, like we’re doing this to graduate; and it also seemed like they kind of expected us to push back when they told us they didn’t want anything. The thing she found herself saying most throughout the night was no, it’s still a great answer; that still gives us data, that still gives us information. She thought once people figured out that we were not with a development group and were just here on a fact-finding mission, she thought some of the tension eased out a little bit. She saw the initial Facebook post after the postcard mailing that said ‘Don’t let them come in here and develop this. Let’s all show up at that meeting.’ She did not see any other social media response past that. Council Member Olsen asked if any of her colleagues did at all; she replied she wasn’t aware. Council Member Khambata stated there was probably a name association because Capstone is the name of a residential builder; Mayor Bailey stated that’s what he was thinking. The group said that would have been good information to know. Council Member Khambata stated that was his immediate feedback; he personally wondered if there was any relation to the builder group, but it was completely separate and not at all related to the area study. So, if you want to put a little asterisk as to your turnout, we’ve experienced that whenever there is residential development on the docket, we also get an above average turnout. Council Member Olsen stated as fledging practitioners, one thing to consider is the law of unintended consequences; what you’ll find, especially with the proliferation of social media access, is that people who wouldn’t otherwise come to your event or return your postcard to give you feedback will give you plenty of feedback from behind their keyboard. People clearly thought you were from either a developer or, more specifically, that you were on a mission from the City to destroy this pristine landscape and develop the area. As Council Members, we get that all the time, and we don’t really respond to it because it tends to be a small group of people. That’s just something to think about as you move forward in your careers is that 40 people might sound like a great turnout, but you probably got feedback from over 100; it’s just where it went, that’s all. Administrator Levitt stated their paper would be dry if they only got five or six responses, so maybe the social media worked to their advantage to build their Capstone funnel group by generating such a great response. On the flip side, Council City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 19 was looking for a neutral party to gain information, and in this case, we were able to do exactly that; it was definitely a benefit to us to garner all of that information. Mrosla thanked the students, as they did an excellent job with that meeting. It started off very contentious, very standoffish, and the students did a great job taking control of the meeting and setting the tone and expectations early on. Once they said what they were doing, the conversation was able to be had. He’s been doing this for 11 years; when Riley spoke, she just knocked it out of the park, and took control of the whole group. Everyone had a great conversation once they realized they were students, nothing was going to change, and we were just there for input. Council Member Khambata asked if any of them learned of any opportunities or strengths for that area, as far as drawing in additional businesses, whether mom and pop type or any way to help bring investment and amenities into the area. Were any of your meeting ideas from outside-the-box thinkers, who had great ideas that we could take back for general conversation as we continue to engage with them. Riley asked if he was speaking about the residents; Council Member Khambata replied either from residents or just from this group. You’re learning to engage with people; so, is there anything that stood out as something that made sense that isn’t there yet. Riley replied when we were creating this survey, we gave some general ideas, like coffeeshop, convenience store, ice cream parlor. Many responses from people that had something to say were along the lines of ideas we’d already given them. She believed for people who supported anything new it would be something like a casual coffeeshop; something that would directly affect or impact local residents, rather than the greater community. There was a lot of concern that any businesses or amenities that would be added to that area would not be added for the local residents; it would be added to make Old Cottage Grove a destination for visitors. If anything, new was to go into Old Cottage Grove, they wanted it to be for the residents, not for anyone outside coming in. The other thing that we heard a little bit about was some interest in adaptive reuse of the existing Fire Station. Council Member Khambata stated he was really intrigued about the trail connector; as somebody who is willing to ride a pretty decent number of miles, to go from Old Cottage Grove to anywhere is at least a couple mile roundtrip. That’s not everybody’s cup of tea, so, he’s curious where the trail is supposed to go from Old Cottage Grove. Mayor Bailey stated Riley mentioned the citizens of Old Cottage Grove want any business to be just for them. As somebody who works in the retail business, there isn’t any business that’s going to be able to locate out there that’s going to be just for them. Council Member Khambata agreed, 350 people isn’t a large enough market to serve any retail business. Mayor Bailey asked when they had those conversations, were they given any feedback at all or did that not happen at that event. Riley replied that was kind of outside of the scope of what we were doing; we were more there on a fact-finding mission, so no. City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 20 Mayor Bailey stated the reason he asked is the City Council is probably going to have a teaching moment for people who have that mindset that they just want it for their area and only their area; it sounds like almost a gated community when it’s not. For some of the things that they may or may not want, personally speaking, he doesn’t really see that area really having any commercial value, per se. We have a possible restaurant maybe coming there, Boondocks Boutique is there, and they’re great, he’s been there many times, but he thinks they struggle to get people to come there. So, he hopes they stick around because they have a neat concept. What he could see coming out there is some of these older homes becoming bed and breakfasts or an Airbnb because of the types of homes; that would be something Council would have to decide is if it’s okay to have something like that in that area. Council Member Olsen stated another thing is Lamar Avenue is not the type of roadway that can handle commercial traffic. He doesn’t think we’ve reconstructed that road in a long time; Administrator Levitt stated it had the special Les mix on it. Council Member Olsen asked if that road is graded as a commercial use, even as a collector. Administrator Levitt replied no, and typically, we’d want to see more of a better drainage system with it and we’d look at curb and gutter; that’s really where you’d get the sidewalk and trail connections. Council Member Olsen stated that would be a big assessment for those residents; that’s part of that whole ‘don’t touch my stuff’ mentality. Council Member Khambata stated there’s really no way to widen that road without encroaching on residents’ front lawns; Administrator Levitt confirmed that. Council Member Olsen stated that would have to be substantial construction, both above ground and underground if there was going to be any kind of real development that took place out there, and they don’t want that. Council Member Khambata asked what a road like that is rated for on a daily use; Administrator Levitt replied its a nine-ton road. She said one thing that would be a game changer, that could change the dynamic, is if the 3M Settlement brings water to the neighborhood. If we saw that happen, we’d see the EPA changes and lower its limits, as many of these homes have some PFC contamination; that’s when we might start to see some things change. But, in all honesty, we didn’t see anything happen with River Acres either; we extended water to the neighborhood with no sanitary sewer, and we didn’t see a lot of change. We didn’t add curb and gutter, we didn’t add much storm sewer or anything like that. She honestly doesn’t think the character, from an infrastructure standpoint, is going to change a lot, other than potentially water. Council Member Olsen said with the wells, there are several residents out there who have wells of varying depths that they’ve used over the years and seem to be happy with that. Mayor Bailey asked about Fire Station 3, if anybody gave them thoughts on what they would want to do with it. Riley replied not exactly for that space, no, but she remembers someone saying that there was a safety event held there last summer. Council Member Olsen stated that was Safety Camp. Riley stated they liked that, and they thought that would be a good use of that space. They didn’t mention anything specific, though, although quite a few people referenced the Fire Station as being vacant space that could be utilized for something. City Council Meeting Minutes May 3, 2023 Page 21 Council Member Olsen thanked the students, said it was a lot of good information, and Mayor Bailey agreed, stated we appreciated it. Council Member Khambata stated he thought it was a great analysis of the area; as somebody who’s lived here most of his life, the responses also did not surprise him. For a group of people who don’t live here, to be able to get that information out of them, he thought they did their job very well. 14. WORKSHOPS – CLOSED TO PUBLIC - None. 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Olsen, second by Council Member Thiede, to adjourn the meeting at 9:02 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Tamara Anderson, City Clerk.