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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-03 City Council (Regular Meeting) Packet Public1 COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL January 3, 2024 12800 RAVINE PARKWAY SOUTH COTTAGE GROVE, MINNESOTA 55016 COUNCIL CHAMBER- 7:00 PM 1 Call to Order 2 Pledge of Allegiance 3 Roll Call 4 Open Forum 5 Adoption of Agenda 6 Presentations 7 Consent Agenda A Regular Meeting Minutes - December 6, 2023 Staff Recommendation: Approve the December 6, 2023, Regular Meeting Minutes. B Regular Meeting Minutes - December 20, 2023 Staff Recommendation: Approve the December 20, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes. C Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - October 23, 2023 Staff Recommendation: Accept and place of file the minutes from the October 23, 2023, Planning Commission Meeting. D Approval of Rental Licenses Staff Recommendation: Approve the issuance of rental licenses to the properties listed in the attached table. E Business License Renewals Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2024-001 authorizing the renewal of the attached business licenses for 2024. F Designate Newspaper Staff Recommendation: Designate the St. Paul Pioneer Press as the City of Cottage Grove's newspaper for official publication in 2024. G Designate Depositories of City Funds Staff Recommendation: Approve Resolution 2024-002, Designating Depositories for City Funds and Authorizing the Investment of Surplus Funds. H Delegate Authority to pay certain claims and allowing electronic fund transfer transactions Staff Recommendation: Approve Resolution 2024-003, Delegating authority to pay certain claims and allowing electronic fund transfer transactions. I 2022-2024 MCES Water Efficiency Grant - Amendment to Agreement Staff Recommendation: Accept the amendment to the 2022-2024 MCES Water Efficiency Grant to receive an additional award of $10,000. 2 8 Approve Disbursements A Approve payments for the period of 12-14-2023 through 12/27/2023 in the amount of $2,222,395.25. 9 Public Hearings 10 Bid Awards 11 Regular Agenda 12 Council Comments and Requests 13 Workshops - Open to Public A Viewpoint Project Discussion Staff Recommendation: B Dowdle Puzzle Staff Recommendation: C Kingston Park Building Design Workshop Staff Recommendation: Receive information and give direction on Kingston Park building concept designs. D 2024 Project Bonding Workshop Staff Recommendation: Receive information on the 2024 Pavement Management Project and 2024 Bonding Capacity, and provide direction on the final scope of work for the 2024 Pavement Management Project. 14 Workshops - Closed to Public 15 Adjournment 1 City Council Action Request 7.A. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Administration Agenda Category Action Item Title Regular Meeting Minutes - December 6, 2023 Staff Recommendation Approve the December 6, 2023, Regular Meeting Minutes. Budget Implication Attachments 1. 2023-12-06 City Council Meeting CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE  12800 Ravine Parkway  Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 www.cottagegrovemn.gov  651-458-2800  Fax 651-458-2897  Equal Opportunity Employer MINUTES COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL December 6, 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 December 6, 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 Garza - Here. Council Member Khambata - Here; Council Member Olsen - Here; Council Member Thiede - Here. Also present: Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator; Amanda Johnson, Assistant City Attorney-LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; Tammy Anderson, City Clerk; Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director; Zac Dockter, Parks and Rec Director; Pete Koerner, Public Safety Director; Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director; Amanda Meyer, City Engineer; Emily Schmitz, Community Development Director; Rick Redenius, Fire Chief; Jon Prichard, Deputy Fire Chief. 4. OPEN FORUM Mayor Bailey opened the Open Forum. Bonnie Matter, 6649 Inskip Avenue South, had a few questions about the Local Option Sales Tax, which is on the Consent Agenda. Council determined who they were going to work with on this, and that’s great as it’s about educating the public, not influencing. It’s $38,000, and if you’re getting everything that it says you’re getting, that’s awesome; that includes the development, the design, the production, etc. She asked if that’s City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 2 correct, that’s all she wants to know. If it’s not, what’s an estimate for whatever it’s going to take to implement that plan. City Administrator Jennifer Levitt stated she thought it would probably be best if we had Ms. Matter speak with Zac Dockter, our Parks Director, who could go over the contract in more detail to answer those specific questions. Ms. Matter stated she understood, but it was all spelled out, which Mayor Bailey agreed with, but it wasn’t all spelled out, that’s all. Mayor Bailey stated just so the public’s aware, on our Consent Agenda this evening we are looking at hiring a company that will get information to the public regarding a Local Option Sales Tax, which we will put before the voters next year, as it’s an election year. The purpose of that is to look toward funding certain projects at parks in Cottage Grove: Mississippi Dunes Park, Hamlet Park, and River Oaks Golf Course. We interviewed a couple firms, and based on the feedback, it’s a matter of saying the Council is recommending approval of hiring this particular firm. It won’t be covering the amount of money that’s going to be spent on the parks, as that will come from the sales tax. Ms. Matter stated she wanted to make sure that the $38,000 covers this campaign. Mayor Bailey stated he believes that’s the answer, but he’ll make sure that they know that for sure. Basically, what was in that printout, if you read through the packet, it’s pretty impressive and very thorough. Ms. Matter stated it’s very impressive and everyone should go read this; it’s very detailed, it’s awesome. Mayor Bailey stated that’s why we chose them. Ms. Matter stated the other thing is the University of Minnesota study; she wondered how she could access that. Mayor Bailey stated we can make sure you get that. As no one else wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the Open Forum. 5. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Council Member Olsen made a motion to approve the agenda; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. 6. PRESENTATIONS A. City Council Appointment - Monique Garza Staff Recommendation: By motion, approve the appointment of Monique Garza as City Council Member and administer the Oath of Office. Mayor Bailey stated tonight is the official appointment of our newest Council Member, chosen by the Council, Monique Garza. He asked Monique to join him in front of the dais, along with her family, and we’ll administer the Oath of Office; he invited all of the Council Members to also join them. City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 3 Mayor Bailey asked Monique Garza to raise her right hand and repeat after him the Oath of Office, which she did, after which he congratulated her and welcomed her to the Council. Everyone applauded, and photographs were taken. Mayor Bailey told Monique welcome aboard, we’re excited to have you join the team; she replied thank you so much. B. Recognition of Deputy Director of Public Safety/Fire Chief Rick Redenius Retirement Staff Recommendation: Recognize Deputy Director of Public Safety/Fire Chief Rick Redenius’ upcoming retirement. Mayor Bailey stated it’s both a sad and exciting day, as this is the recognition of our Deputy Director of Public Safety/Fire Chief Rick Redenius’ retirement. Peter Koerner, Public Safety Director, will start this off. He once again asked the Council Members to join him in front of the dais with Rick to celebrate this milestone in his life with the City of Cottage Grove. Director Koerner stated Rick is not done working for the City until the end of the month, but he didn’t want to do this right before Christmas and take away from Rick’s night. This is just the start of things, as there will be a retirement party later, but he wanted to recognize Chief Redenius tonight on his upcoming retirement. Rick has served in Public Safety since October 27, 1987, 34 years, as he took a two-year hiatus when he moved over to Eagan, but he quickly knew he needed to return to Cottage Grove. It is really a challenge to try to summarize 34 years in someone’s Public Safety career, especially because Rick had two paths, the police side and the fire side. He’ll try to do him justice, but Rick is a modest man, so the longer I talk the more uncomfortable he’s going to be. Director Koerner stated Rick has really been instrumental in providing the highest quality-based Fire and EMS services; he’s always held himself to the highest standards, and that’s always come back to the troops, who have always known his high expectations for service and even making sure vehicles are clean. That’s Rick, he’s always been a doer, and he wouldn’t tell someone to do something that he wouldn’t do. Since 1987, Rick has seen a lot of changes, as has Director Koerner, who joined the Police Department in 1992. Rick was initially a parttime firefighter, then a captain, and he’s been a part of many of these changes, but he’ll never take credit for it. As we transitioned from a police officer paramedic program to a fire paramedic program, that was a huge undertaking; we went from just one-or-two fulltime firefighters to now a group of 15. He doesn’t even know how to explain our duty crew model and all the changes, what shifts they work, going from 12 hours to 24 hours for some, that was a huge accomplishment. Rick loves when we talk about the COVID response, as he was a part of that with our Emergency Management Team. Rick was a big part of the changes we’ve had in our fire halls with our service delivery and the beautiful Central Fire Station. Anytime Director Koerner brings up we should have done this, Rick replies, I asked for that; he’s very passionate about that. Many of the leadership things he did, our aerial platform truck, are because Rick trusted a Truck Committee to come in and beg for the money City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 4 and do all the planning, but Rick knows trucks and all of the apparatus. So, how do you summarize his 34 years? You really can’t. As you know, Rick has Public Safety in his blood; Rick started his law enforcement career in 1993 with Silver Lake, then he went to Eagan from 1994-1999. Again, Rick is a townie, he grew up in Cottage Grove, and he wanted to come back here. So, he worked as a police officer in St. Paul Park until 2012, and then obviously, when he was hired here fulltime as the Fire Chief he left, but he didn’t leave law enforcement. For five-or-six years he was with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department’s Water Patrol. He still can’t give it up, as he still works as a police officer at the State Fair. So, Rick is what we needed in this community, he’s committed. Rick’s family has also been committed, as his wife, Chris, was a longtime member of our Fire Auxiliary, now she’s a member of the Public Safety Board. Director Koerner honestly thought Rick would be up here talking about him when he retires and Rick would still be here; but then his grandson arrived, and Rick’s perspective in life really changed. Chris retired from her job, and he thought Rick was a little jealous seeing her having fun and also spending time with their grandchild. Rick’s always been a part of the family, and Ashley grew up in the firehouse, so she had a lot of other uncles and aunts; he apologized to Ashley, stated he hoped we helped raise you correctly. He knows Ashley and Chris are both very proud of Rick. Director Koerner noted that when Rick started, he had said that he wanted to “Leave this place a better place when I’m gone,” and Rick is doing that. And Rick isn’t going to be gone: We already have him committed to the Holiday Train Committee next year, and Chris is going to get him working at the food shelf, but Rick is leaving this place much better. He told Rick we’ll really roast him at his retirement party, but for now, he asked him to step forward, as Mayor Bailey and the Council have a recognition plaque to present. Mayor Bailey said what can we say; it’s amazing to think of over 30 years in a Public Safety position. People don’t stay in jobs that they don’t like, people stay in jobs that touch their heart and affect families. In all of the years that Rick has been here, he’s gotten to know him and his family. The fact is Rick truly cares about this community, and he will absolutely be missed. There are many current and former firefighters here tonight, and that’s a testament to Rick; they’re here to support him. He knows Rick doesn’t like the limelight, but the fact is he has created a real positive impression within the community, both for the firefighters and the people in this room, but also for the numerous people that you’ve saved. You, the firefighters, the police officers, if you think about all of the incidents over the many years in Cottage Grove, you have been a part of saving lives. So, this is really a good thing for you from a retirement standpoint. At the same time, we want to make sure that we send you off with at least a small gift on behalf of himself, the Council, all of our staff, and the citizens of Cottage Grove. Actually, also citizens outside of Cottage Grove, too, as there were many times where you went to other communities with mutual aid responses, not to mention the work you’ve done in other communities during your career. Mayor Bailey read aloud the plaque and presented it to Rick, at which time everyone applauded. He told Rick now it’s his time to speak. City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 5 Chief Redenius thanked the Mayor and said this was very not needed. For him, this is something he’s wanted to do since he was six years old, police and fire, and he got the chance to do it. This is going to be tough. He’s got a very caring family that put up with this for that long, so he’s very happy for that. His family in Fire and in the City have been very helpful, and he’s very appreciative for all they’ve done, not only for him but for the department. We all work well together, and he thanks them for this, it’s definitely not needed. Like Director Koerner said, I am a townie, as he is, and this is something that we just strive to do, and we don’t do it for accolades, we just do it because it needs to get done. So, he appreciates it very much. Everyone applauded. Chief Redenius’ family stepped forward and photographs were taken with the Council. All of the firefighters present then stepped forward so photographs could be taken of the group, and everyone applauded again. C. Heart Safe City Designation Staff Recommendation: Receive a presentation regarding the designation of the Heart Safe City recognition. Director Koerner said we got this Heart Safe City designation quicker than we ever imagined, so Deputy Chief Jon Pritchard will give a quick overview of the Heart Safe City Designation and our future goals. Deputy Chief Pritchard stated this is another one of Chief Redenius’ accomplishments under his tenure in our department and is fitting for all of his commitment to our community. He invited Emily and Craig Dowdle to step forward as we talk about this. The Dowdle family created Teddy’s Heart, which really gave the soul to this Heart Safe City initiative. We started this initiative in February 2022; unfortunately, we lost Teddy in May 2022. That gave us the soul and motivation to move this forward in that record pace; it really is because of the Dowdle family, so they very much deserve to join in this recognition. Deputy Chief Pritchard stated we joined dozens of other communities throughout the State of Minnesota to receive a designation as a Heart Safe City community. It really recognizes efforts to prepare our community to better respond to those who might have a sudden cardiac arrest, where their heart stops, and they require immediate care. The Minnesota Department of Health with the American Heart Association is who offers this designation. In order to get this designation, we get Heartbeats points to get that designation through an application. Points, or Heartbeats, are awarded by increasing community and public awareness, and placing AEDs wherever people live, work, and play. Thanks to the Dowdle family, we have these in our public parks. More recently, with the help of the Dowdle family, we’re getting them placed through the Cottage Grove Athletic Association (CGAA), so now we’re up to 9 or 10 parks that will have AEDs. A really big part of this is to teach people how to do CPR in case they were to ever encounter someone with cardiac arrest. City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 6 Thanks to the team here that’s joining us, Chelsea Flores, Nick Arrigoni, and James Olson; they did a lot of work with this, as did all of the other people on the Fire Department who helped teach people CPR. That included over 2,000 people in our community who learned CPR in just a year and a half. It’s really just amazing what our department did, along with our City and community, to get to this point. Rick can genuinely say it is a safer place to experience this life-altering event if someone were to have that in Cottage Grove. Deputy Chief Pritchard stated we’re not done yet, though. Our goal is to train over 4,000 people, so we’re still going to continue to offer CPR, still get AEDs everywhere the public is, and continue to do classes. Van Meter, one of our largest Cottage Grove businesses, had us out to do training for them, the Cottage Grove Lions hosted a class for us, and just dozens of community groups and businesses that deserve so much thanks. We did training at Gardenworld today, so we trained over 25 people in CPR. It’s just amazing the outpouring of support. Again, he really wants to highlight the Dowdle family as Teddy’s Heart is really the soul of this. He cannot thank them enough; he wished we would have never met, but this truly gave a name and a face to this, as Teddy Dowdle died at the age of 22 from sudden cardiac arrest here in Cottage Grove. We’re doing all of this so we never have to meet another family under those same circumstances. Mayor Bailey told the Dowdles he remembered when we met at Woodridge Park for the installation of the first AED. He believes there’s a purpose to everything, even though some of those things that happen are tragic, but there’s something really amazing that came out of that tragedy; frankly, that’s the two of you with your son and all the work to get these AEDs into our community, getting us to the Heart Safe City designation. Having all of our firefighters participating to help make sure that what unfortunately happened to your son won’t happen in the future. At some point in time, he cannot wait to get that call from our Public Safety Director, or one of the individuals here, who will say it’s something that you helped do or they helped do that saved somebody’s life. Whether that’s in a park, one of our businesses, the Ice Arena, or wherever. He thanked them from the bottom of his heart and on behalf of the Council and everybody here. He knows everybody else here feels the work and the efforts that you’ve put in to make life better for others in this community, and other communities, too, as you’ve now expanded beyond Cottage Grove, which is amazing. Council Member Olsen thanked Deputy Chief Pritchard for the presentation, and he thanked the Dowdle family for being a catalyst to help us achieve this designation. This is something we’ve talked about for a long time in the City of Cottage Grove. As mentioned, the effort that you have put forward, and your ability to connect with various groups, Lions Clubs, Athletic Associations, Public Safety teams in different communities, in order to ensure that the tragedy that you experienced isn’t ever experienced again in our community is really powerful stuff. He took a moment to thank the Cottage Grove Fire Department because this isn’t just a Teddy’s Heart or Deputy Chief Pritchard or Chief Redenius initiative, this is the entire Fire Department. He’s seen them at so many different City events, Fourth of July, or the installation event at Woodridge Park, Strawberry Fest, and so many others. He was lucky enough when our City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 7 Lions Club came into the Central Fire Station to be part of that. The entire team is really behind this, and he thinks that’s why we achieved the goal so quickly because it isn’t just one, two, or three people trying to lift this; this is a community lift, and our Fire Department is the tip of that spear because they’re the ones who have that knowledge and experience to teach quick CPR and some basic lifesaving skills. He thinks they deserve a great deal of credit for really getting behind this, being committed, and helping us achieve this in partnership, of course, with all of the other folks already mentioned. He thanked them again, as this is a really prestigious honor, and it’s pretty neat that it happened this quickly. Deputy Chief Pritchard also thanked the Council, who supported us. A Council Meeting in February 2022 got us on this journey. He invited the City Council and firefighters to join them for a photo, and displayed the ceremonial Heart Safe Community sign, which will be put on signs in Cottage Grove. 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the November 1, 2023 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. B. Approve the November 15, 2023 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. C. Approve the November 15, 2023 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. D. Approve the single occasion gambling permit application for the Cottage Grove Strawberry Fest to conduct bingo at River Oaks Golf Course, 11099 Highway 61, Cottage Grove, on February 24, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. E. Authorize issuance of a temporary intoxicating liquor license to Cottage Grove Lions Club for the Dust ‘em Off Vintage Snowmobile event held at the corner of 70th and Keats Avenue (farm address 10251 70th Street) on January 6, 2024. F. Adopt Resolution 2023-146 authorizing renewal of business licenses for 2024. G. Approve the issuance of rental licenses to the properties in the attached table. H. Approve the Agreement for Professional Services for Impound Housing Services 2024 between Animal Humane Society and City of Cottage Grove. I. Approve the lease agreements with SEMARC that will govern their use of preexisting equipment on or at the West Draw Water Tower, the Highlands Water Tower, and Cottage Grove Fire Station #3. J. Authorize staff to apply for the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants program in the amount of $10,000 to be used for the creation and purchase of interpretive signs. K. Authorize staff to apply for the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants program in the amount of $30,000 to be used for the creation of a Historic Context Study on the Suburban Expansion Era (1945-1990) in Cottage Grove. L. Approve the Cottage Grove Convention and Visitors Bureau 2024 budget. City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 8 M. Adopt Resolution 2023-150, Revising the Investment Policy. N. Adopt Resolution 2023-151, Revising the Debt Management Policy. O. Approve Resolution 2023-148, Authorizing the deferral of a Special Assessment. P. Approve Resolution 2023-162, 2023 Budget Revisions. Q. Approve Resolution 2023-161, Accepting a donation from Pancentral CGC Holdings, LLC. R. Certify Delinquent Utility Accounts. S. Approve the 2023-2025 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and Adopt Resolution 2023-159 amending the Comprehensive Plan 2040 to incorporate the CIP. T. Adopt Resolution 2023-155 approving final payment to McNamara Contracting, Inc. for the Low Zone Water Main Extension Improvements Phase 1 & 2 Project. U. Approve service agreement with ICS for Local Option Sales Tax Community Relations and Education. V. Authorize service agreement with Power Play LT Farmington, Inc. for the purchase and installation of playground equipment at Nina’s Park in the amount of $91,695.10. W. Approve the Minnesota National Guard Armory Lease #23-338-002. Council Member Olsen wished to pull Item I, Lease Agreement with the South East Metro Amateur Radio Club (SEMARC), and Mayor Bailey wished to pull Item J, MN Historical Society-Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants, for further comment and/or discussion. Council Member Olsen stated Item I is requesting that we approve the lease agreements with SEMARC that will govern their use of preexisting equipment on or at the West Draw water tower, the Highlands water tower, and Cottage Grove Fire Station #3. We’re lucky enough to have a representative from SEMARC in the audience, David Bluhm. We are renewing lease agreements for what’s called a repeater that goes on the various water towers; that repeater actually helps disseminate the signal from the amateur radio club so that when they are in a position where they need to communicate with others they have the wherewithal to do so, even if there are storms in the area or there’s a tragic event that knocks out regular communications. SEMARC is actually a partner with our Public Safety team, both in the City and in Washington County; they’re sort of the last line of defense as it relates to communication. They hold two training events, summer and winter, where they actually do training to make sure that: 1) Everything is operating correctly from an equipment perspective; 2) Their signal is reaching all of the various areas that it may need to reach should we have a communication issue where our regular radios are no longer functioning properly. When they have this training, they actually try to reach various points in North America, maybe in Canada or the southern United States. He’s been there during some of the training where they’ve been able to communicate overseas, Europe or Australia, because they have such a powerful ability to disseminate that signal. They use tricks with clouds and City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 9 weather, etc. that he doesn’t know about, but knows when he’s been there it’s pretty fascinating. They have their winter training day coming up here on January 27 and 28, 2024, and that will be at Fire Station #3, which is where they are housed, in Old Cottage Grove. He knows that they like to have curious people who are interested in what they do stop by and get an opportunity to ask some questions, see how the equipment works, etc. He wanted to make Council and the public aware of those upcoming training dates. These are very unsung heroes, but they are vital in terms of our ability to continue to communicate effectively should the worst happen, and that’s what they train for. He thanked David from SEMARC for being here tonight. He asked that his Council colleagues approve Item I as part of our Consent calendar. Mayor Bailey also thanked SEMARC for their service to our community. Mayor Bailey stated Item J is to approve staff to apply for a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant for $10,000. This will help create some interpretive signs for different locations of historical significance around the City of Cottage Grove. He knows we have a desire at some point in time with historic preservation to do something with interpretive signs, maybe artwork, for Military Road. We’ve seen some designs of some of that, so he’s posing it as a thought process if there might be that opportunity for us; whether it’s through a grant like this, once we get going on that historic trail, as that used to be the connection from Military Road to Fort Snelling through Cottage Grove. He’s very excited, and he assumes the Council will be happy with moving forward on this grant proposal. 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 11-09-2023 through 11-29-2023 in the amount of $3,007,604.19. Motion by Council Member Khambata to approve disbursements; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Lake Flora 2nd Addition - Final Plat, Regional Pond Purchase Agreement, Temporary Drainage Easement, Compost Site Agreement Staff Recommendation: 1) Hold the public hearing and Adopt Resolution 2023-149 for vacation of easements as outlined in the Partial and Full Vacation Exhibit dated November 1, 2023. 2) Adopt Resolution 2023-156 approving the Final Plat to be called Lake Flora Second Addition. 3) Adopt Resolution 2023-157 approving the Termination of Purchase Agreement with Glendenning Farms, L.P., Joan Glendenning Kennedy Family Limited Partnership. 4) Adopt Resolution 2023-158 approving the Purchase City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 10 Agreement with Glendenning Farms, L.P., Joan Glendenning Kennedy Family Limited Partnership and WAG Farms, Inc. 5) Approve the Temporary Drainage and Utility Easement over Lot 1, Block 2, Lake Flora Second Addition Plat. 6) Approve the agreement with Rumpca Companies, LLC. 7) Approve Memorandum of Understanding between the City and Glendenning Farms, L.P., Joan Kennedy Glendenning Family Limited Partnership, and WAG Farms, Inc. for Lot 2, Block 1 and right of entry over Outlots A and C. Emily Schmitz, Community Development Director, stated this particular area is located just north of 100th Street and east of Jamaica Avenue, and it’s about 69 acres. There are several actions to be taken this evening, and this is a unique project in our Business Park. Historically, the City’s EDA has worked with the property owner and coordinated a lot of the sales of properties within the Business Park. WAG Farms and the majority of the area of the Business Park to the west have been a part of those processes. Coordination with the property owner and the City’s EDA, as we work with them to broker the deals for the end users of these properties; those include Renewal by Andersen, Hohenstein’s was the most recent at the corner of Jamaica and 95th. This particular area will be just the same as we work with the property owner to plat the property and create some developable parcels. Before we can plat the property, there are quite a few what staff calls paper easements throughout the plat area, as well as adjacent to this. Many times those paper easements kind of come over time, when we need them to cover areas that we need access to, whether it’s for drainage, sometimes it’s Right-of-Way. So, there are many hatched lines on this image before you, but this is the best way to encompass all of those paper easements that we’ve dug up as we try to clean up the platted area. So, now that we’re platting this particular area, those paper easements are no longer needed, specifically, for the Right-of-Ways adjacent to Jamaica, 95th, and 100th Street. Ultimately, that’s the public hearing this evening is to vacate those easements. Director Schmitz stated with the Final Plat, there are a couple different things happening here. One thing is the City is purchasing four of the Outlots that we’re platting on this entire Final Plat. She outlined those in yellow to give a visual representation. It’s important to note that we’re also creating several developable parcels as a part of this plat. As most of Council is aware, we have a Purchase Agreement with Kwik Trip, and that is on Lot 1, Block 2, so we’re creating that shovel- ready site for them. Block 2, Lot 1 is also creating a development-ready site, and Ryan Companies still has that Purchase Agreement; so, of course, we’re hopeful that they find an end user to move forward. Technically, it’s the north of the site, but there’s another potentially developable site, at such time a user is interested. Finally, we’re vacating some of those paper easements because as part of this plat we’re establishing and platting the appropriate Right-of-Way adjacent to Jamaica Avenue and 100th Street. Director Schmitz stated regarding Langdon Pond 3, the purpose of purchasing those additional Outlots is to be able to expand that. So, we have a Surface Water City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 11 Management Plan, and this particular area is important because it catches a very large amount of water throughout the community and stores it. Its an area for flood storage at such time we have large rain events, but it also helps as the water flows down to the Mississippi River. With that being said, as a part of that plan, and as a part of being involved in these wonderfully unique opportunities within our City’s Business Park, in accordance with the EDA and the property owners, we’re able to acquire the additional acres that we need to expand that pond to meet the goal of that Surface Water Management Plan. So, we’ll purchase those. It’s also important to note as a part of this land purchase, there is also a need for some material to be moved out of those Outlots to make it a pond to hold that water whenever it’s necessary. There is that additional material, so, we’ll continue to work with Kwik Trip’s Purchase Agreement and Ryan Companies, as some of those sites need additional material to help them be buildable and developable. So, we’ll certainly work with them as those projects continue to move along. We don’t need the material and they do; so, it’s a wonderful partnership there. The final component of this entire project is the Compost Site, on Jamaica, just across from the old Fire Station, which lies right on the site on which Kwik Trip has a Purchase Agreement. So, we needed to find them a new home. In the process, we’re shifting those folks just to the east, onto the Outlot that the City will own, was our best solution at this time. That will ensure that their activities can continue, and that agreement will be with the City and Rumpca Companies to allow them to continue to operate, and take all of our yard waste, leaves, branches, etc. We’ll continue moving forward there. Community Development Director Schmitz said there a number of recommendations before Council this evening. She’s more than happy to answer any questions and provide some details. Mayor Bailey asked if he was correct that this is almost the last of the parcels, per se, that we’re working on with the Glendenning Company. Administrator Levitt replied this plat encompasses the final parcels that we have that agreement with the WAG Trust; it also cleans up and provides for the WAG Farms Dog Park, for which we have a lease until December 31, 2026. So, all of this puts a lot of things into motion and really creates a lot of win-win situations for everyone as part of this. Mayor Bailey stated with the words win-win, one of the things that we’ve heard and of which Council is very aware is that this community wants a Kwik Trip; so, the opportunity is for Kwik Trip to come here. When it was announced they were coming here and where they were going, then there was a concern about the Compost Site being removed. So, for the public, we listened and worked with Glendenning as well as Rumpca and everybody involved, and the intent is we’re basically moving or shifting the Compost Site a little further south and east. So, that’s one good thing; the Compost Site will continue to operate in close proximity to where it is today. He said the second thing is we have a lease agreement with the property that’s being used as our Dog Park. At some point in time, there’s probably going to be a necessity for us to look at purchasing City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 12 that property; or, as he suggested to our staff, there may be some grant opportunities to help fund that, similar to what we’ve done with some of our park properties. Grant funding could possibly help with that purchase vs. “levying” it onto the taxpayer. He thought cleaning all of this up, creating technically three shovel-ready sites, a dedicated spot where the Dog Park is, and we get to keep the Compost Site. So, in his opinion, this truly is a win-win for everybody. Mayor Bailey opened the public hearing. Bonnie Matter, 6649 Inskip Avenue South, stated she doesn’t have any problem really with any of this, but she had some questions: 1) How much additional water is coming in or going to be stored or handled in this new pond. 2) Where exactly does it exit into the Mississippi River, it goes underneath 100th, but where does it exit into the Mississippi River. Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director, stated from the pond perspective, there is no additional water going there today, but we know we continue to develop, so our Surface Water Management Plan looks out many, many years. We have an agreement with 3M as well that we need to control that flow under 100th Street that goes onto their property, and this accomplishes all of that. It’s been in our planning documents for many, many years, decades even, to do this. So, this is just the next step of that; so, we want to be proactive and if we have that win-win, like Director Schmitz mentioned, to remove that dirt, let’s do it now so we can do it in a cost-effective manner. So, no new water today with this development and this platting, but it would just be planning for the future. The water does go underneath 100th Street right now, and then there’s kind of a long wetland natural area that just flows all the way down to the river, across 3M property. It kind of comes out right by the Metropolitan Council sewer treatment plant under the railroad tracks. As no one else wished to speak on this item, Mayor Bailey closed the public hearing. Motion by Council Member Khambata to Adopt Resolution 2023-156 approving the Final Plat to be called Lake Flora Second Addition; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Olsen to Adopt Resolution 2023-157 approving the Termination of Purchase Agreement with Glendenning Farms, L.P., Joan Glendenning Kennedy Family Limited Partnership; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Thiede to Adopt 2023-158 approving the Purchase Agreement with Glendenning Farms, L.P., Joan Glendenning Kennedy Family Limited Partnership, and WAG Farms, Inc.; second by Council Member Garza. Motion carried: 5-0. City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 13 Motion by Council Member Garza to Approve the Temporary Drainage and Utility Easement over Lot 1, Block 2, Lake Flora Second Addition Plat; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Khambata to approve the agreement with Rumpca Companies, LLC; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Olsen to approve Memorandum of Understanding between the City and Glendenning Farms, L.P., Joan Glendenning Kennedy Family Limited Partnership, and WAG Farms, Inc. for Lot 2, Block 1 and right of entry over Outlots A and C; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Thiede to Adopt Resolution 2023-149 for vacation of easements as outlined in the Partial and Full Vacation Exhibit dated November 1, 2023; second by Council Member Garza. Motion carried: 5-0. 10. BID AWARDS A. Utility and Engineering Building Bid Award Staff Recommendation: 1) Adopt Resolution 2023-154 awarding the contracts for the Utilities and Engineering Building, approving the Guaranteed Maximum Price Contract with Kraus-Anderson, and assigning certain contracts to Kraus-Anderson. 2) Adopt Resolution 2023-163 declaring the official intent of the City of Cottage Grove to reimburse certain expenditures from the proceeds of bonds to be issued by the City with respect to the Cottage Grove Utilities building. Director Burfeind stated on Tuesday, November 21, we took bids on our Utility and Engineering Building. Similar to other building projects in town, like the Glacial Valley Park building, this is a Construction Manager At-Risk Contract model; so, we have Kraus-Anderson (KA) under contract to do that effort, and they take all the bids for this project. There are 22 different divisions, things like roofing, site utilities, mechanical, etc. There were 107 bids in total that we took across those 22 divisions. The total value of all the low bids was $9,427,817, and that was under our Construction Manager’s bid estimate of $10.2 million; we were happy to see that it was about 7% under, which is definitely a good place to be with the market. This included one bid Alternate for the heated sidewalk; quite often, we have put those as an alternate. It is something that we definitely like to have, as it greatly reduces wintertime maintenance and liability with the main public sidewalk entry coming from the parking lot into the building; that was just over $44,000. As we got favorable bids, we included that in the recommendation tonight for the award. There were 15 contracts, some union contractors assigned to KA, but similar to other buildings if there are non-union low bidders, the City has to hold those contracts; there were seven in this case that the City would hold. From a construction perspective, it really all happens the same, as KA manages the whole project. We don’t directly City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 14 manage those seven contractors, we just have to hold the contracts because they are non-union, and KA is a union contractor. That’s very similar to past projects; he thought Glacial Valley Park probably had four or so non-union contracts. Director Burfeind said there were two recommendations for the Council tonight, and he’d stand for any questions. Council Member Khambata stated he’s noticing a trend where our bids are coming in lower than our Construction Manager’s estimates. This is in stark contrast to where we were about 18 months ago when those bids were higher than the estimates. So, that’s encouraging. As we move into the upcoming year and additional projects come to bid, is there any way to take advantage of that trend and kind of bid early for future jobs, or is this just kind of like a one time type of instance. Director Burfeind told Council Member Khambata that he’s right, in several cases we have received good bids this year, bids inline with our Engineer and Construction Manager estimates. Part of that is just starting to understand this market that we live in, but part of it, too, is things have started to stabilize. A year or two years ago, things were coming up so fast, we couldn’t anticipate that. In terms of when we bid, there’s definitely different times when we do that. For buildings, we quite often bid this time of year just as we go into the construction season for that type of project, and as they order things like our Tilt-Up panels that take so long to get. For street and utility projects, those we generally like to bid no earlier than February; that’s just because actually the way those contractors operate, a lot are kind of laid off in the winter, and they aren’t really doing a lot of that work, they’re closing out past year projects. We do want to hit earlier in that timeframe, February-March, not April-May, but there is kind of best times of year to do different types of work. Mayor Bailey stated Council Member Olsen mentioned that John McNamara with KA is in the audience; we’ve worked with John on many projects over the years, so we’re very confident in their ability and his leadership on making sure this project comes in under budget and on time. Motion by Council Member Khambata to Adopt Resolution 2023-154 awarding the contracts for the Utilities and Engineering Building, approving the Guaranteed Maximum Price Contract with Kraus-Anderson, and assigning certain contracts to Kraus- Anderson; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Garza to Adopt Resolution 2023-163 declaring the official intent of the City of Cottage Grove to reimburse certain expenditures from the proceeds of bonds to be issued by the City with respect to the Cottage Grove Utilities building; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. 11. REGULAR AGENDA A. Tobacco Compliance Check Violation - Hy-Vee City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 15 Staff Recommendation: 1) Allow the business representative for Hy-Vee an opportunity to respond to the City Council regarding the tobacco compliance check violation occurring November 7, 2023. 2) Impose the scheduled penalty for the 1st violation in a 36-month period, a $300 fine. Director Koerner stated we strive for 100% on our compliance checks, and we’ve been doing pretty well. Council is well aware of the procedures, and Director Koerner’s memo was pretty detailed. On November 7, 2023, we conducted compliance checks with all of our businesses holding tobacco licenses; this time we had a failure at Hy-Vee, at the gas station, Fast & Fresh. This is the business’s first violation in a 36-month period. There are samples in the memo of how driver's licenses look for those under age 21 and those over age 21. Also included in the Council packet was the police report. We had two decoys, one was an 18-year-old female and the other was a 20-year-old female; we’re not sending in an 18-year-old who looks like they’re 38, they look like they’re in their late teens. The decoys went to the counter and a transaction was completed. The decoys asked for JUUL, which is the e-cigarette containing nicotine. The employee did not ask their age but asked for an identification; it was actually a manager in the store who asked the employee to check both identifications, but the employee only checked one. The employee looked at the identification, scanned, and told the decoy, “Good to go.” The employee told officers that he thought the decoy was born in 2022; obviously, if you read the report, his stories changed a little bit. The employee then said the scan of the identification showed that she was of age. The employee admitted that something popped up on the screen, and he pressed okay. Basically, he overrode the transaction, so he just clicked and made the transaction. The employee was instructed he’d be getting a citation, and a court date would be sent. The manager was there, so officers spoke with the manager and explained that the employee failed the tobacco compliance check. Hy-Vee was sent a letter with the details. Director Koerner stated tonight we’re asking Council to give the business an opportunity to speak if they’re here. After that, we’re asking Council impose the scheduled penalty for the first violation in a 36-month period of a $300 fine. Mayor Bailey asked if there was a representative from Hy-Vee present and there was. Mayor Bailey asked if he wanted to speak and she did. He asked him to state his name and address for the record, the store address is fine. Matthew Egan, 7280 East Point Douglas Road South, stated the employee in question made a mistake by scanning the identification before he scanned the product, so it didn’t tell him that there was a problem. Since it didn’t do that after he scanned the product, he mistakenly just entered in a random birthdate. In response to this, he was reprimanded, and we instituted a retraining of all of the employees so they understand that they have to scan the identification after they scan the product so that they’re told whether or not the customer is under age or not. City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 16 Mayor Bailey stated that they’d already implemented a retraining of the employees; Mr. Egan replied that’s correct. Council Member Thiede stated with the product that scans the identification, he asked were there some things already scanned. He wouldn’t think that if a product hadn’t been scanned, that it would bring up some sort of notification, that there were no products in the basket, or something when he scanned the identification. Mr. Egan stated something similar happened, as we went to our IT Department to get the keystrokes of what actually had happened. It gave him an error, but not that anyone was underage. He simply just didn’t understand what the error meant. So, that’s what wound up happening. Mayor Bailey thanked Mr. Egan for coming in tonight. Motion by Council Member Olsen to impose the scheduled penalty for the 1st violation in a 36-month period, a $300 fine; second by Council Member Thiede. Mayor Bailey gave kudos to all of the other businesses in town that passed their tobacco compliance check. Our goal is to continue to educate and support our businesses, just making sure that we’re following the processes with both tobacco and alcohol. Motion carried: 5-0. B. Liquor Compliance Check Violation - Walmart Staff Recommendation: 1) Allow the business representative for Walmart, Inc. DBA Walmart #2448, an opportunity to respond to the City Council regarding the alcohol compliance check violation occurring November 6, 2023. 2) If the representative admits to the violation or fails to attend, impose the scheduled penalty for the 1st violation in a 24-month period, a $500 fine and one-day suspension, or, at the City Council’s discretion, in lieu of the suspension and fine, the participation of employees in an educational program approved by the Public Safety Director within 90 days. If a representative denies the violation, schedule a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge. Director Koerner stated this violation occurred on November 6, 2023, at the Cottage Grove Walmart, 9300 East Point Douglas Road, and this is the business’ first violation in a 24-month period. The police report was included in the Council packet for the record. The compliance check was conducted on November 6, 2023, at 5:08 p.m. Officers Mulvihill and Officer Foster conducted the compliance check. In this case, we had two decoys, an 18-year-old male and a 20-year-old female. They went into the liquor store, the male grabbed a six-pack of Cayman Jack, brought it to the counter, the employee did not ask for age or identification, and completed the sale. When the officers went into Walmart, the clerk admitted that he did not ask for age or ask for identification. The clerk was told he’d receive a citation with a pending court date. The store manager was also advised of the compliance failure. If you read the police report, there was even more detail where the employee said they sure seemed like they knew what they were doing or looked like drinkers. They walked back, grabbed it, came up, and so there was really City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 17 nothing questioned on that. Director Koerner stated this could be a gross misdemeanor charge under State Statute; our department for the last 20 years has always looked at these violations as more educational, and we issue a citation for the misdemeanor violation under our City Code. Most of the businesses end up sanctioning their employees, so, there are other things that go with that. We’ll allow a Walmart employee to speak tonight. Director Koerner stated our recommendation with the penalties always seem to be a little more confusing, but remember with alcohol, we have another option where they can do the educational part in lieu of suspension, or Council can recommend both. Mayor Bailey asked if a representative from Walmart was here and if he wanted to speak. Mayor Bailey asked him to give their name and store address for the record. SIlvio Martins, the store manager of the Walmart in Cottage Grove, 9300 East Point Douglas Road. He thought everything that was said was correct, and we’re not disputing any of that. The associate had the technology in front of him to make the proper decision. He was fully trained and just like it was explained, he made the decision to not follow protocol; that associate no longer works for him and his store, as we take this absolutely seriously. We retrained all of the associates immediately, even though everybody was certified and trained and should be able to handle that, he thought that a refresher was very important to go through; so, we had every single one of them go through and sign that they understood all of the expectations, which are very simple. They just follow the prompts and check for the identification, and everything else is accurate. Mayor Bailey asked if there was a process out there where before you can sell something you have to scan an identification. Mr. Martins replied no, it’s his understanding in a few businesses or certain areas of the country it’s required that you scan, but he’s never heard of having to scan identification first. Mayor Bailey said he was just curious; Mr. Martins said no, not in his business, at least. Mayor Bailey noted Mr. Martins held up a sheet, and they’re obviously going back through and redoing training. Mr. Martins said every associate was trained. Mayor Bailey asked if they did that on a periodic basis; Mr. Martins replied they have mandatory training for all of the associates on a quarterly basis, and we just started a new quarter a few weeks ago. On top of that, we just went over it again since that associate was trained and still committed that violation. Mayor Bailey asked Mr. Martins if there was anything else he wanted to add, but he replied no. Mayor Bailey thanked him for speaking. Mayor Bailey stated what Director Koerner mentioned is there is the ability to waive the one-day suspension in lieu of the employees participation in an education program provided by Public Safety. There would still be a $500 fine. Obviously, the former associate still has to deal with the misdemeanor citation. It’s up to the Council to decide and make a motion. City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 18 Council Member Thiede confirmed the one-day suspension is just for the liquor store at Walmart, not the entire store; Mayor Bailey stated that’s correct. Council Member Khambata stated given that there’s not been another violation in the last 24-month period, he’d be in favor of waiving the one-day suspension. However, tying it to the condition that the employees get training, and it sounds like they have a robust process in place. We know that the human factor is always going to be the human factor. He asked if there was a lot of value, from a City standpoint, of requiring that additional educational component; he stated Director Koerner is the one who’s obviously directly dealing with the businesses. If we go that route, is it going to have the desired effect, hopefully setting them up for success so they don’t have a failure next time. He’s in favor of that as long as it’s going to achieve the outcome, that they’ll not continue, whether intentional or not, to sell to minors. Mayor Bailey stated Director Koerner can speak to this, too. We’re not against the manager doing his current training, but he thought on top of it, he thought it would be best to have another layer of training because then we know that the training has been done through our processes. He thought that was the only reason when we discussed this in the past; many times, as we’ve just heard, everybody goes through this training, but the fact of the matter is unfortunately some employees skip steps or don’t do what they’re supposed to do. He just thinks the more that you can put that message out there, then we know, and heaven forbid there be another future issue, that we actually went in and did the training. So, that’s his personal opinion, and he thinks that’s what the Council had discussed a couple years back as why we wanted to do that in lieu of, if necessary, any day of suspension. Council Member Olsen asked Director Koerner when Walmart was last before us; Director Koerner replied November 22, 2019. Council Member Olsen stated so, in a four-year period of time, they’ve had two violations. He asked Director Koerner in his view as Public Safety Director, if he felt their educational program and training was adequate. He knows that we have several other establishments in the City, and he doesn’t ever recall them violating the compliance check, they passed every single time. Director Koerner stated he thinks there’s great value in any kind of educational program. Obviously, Washington County Public Health puts on a class that gets sent out when we do the license renewals. He’s never worked in retail, he can only imagine the larger companies trying to train people. He thinks we have more success with some of the smaller businesses, with four employees, as they’ll come in an hour early for training; in a large business, such as Walmart, that’s not feasible. He’s a fan of the different programs employers use. We’ve looked at many of them Walmart and some of our larger businesses have used, and its the same that we provide to them. The nice thing with those is it provides us tracking; at least when some of these larger companies pay others for training, he thinks the important thing is to make sure that they have a policy in place when they onboard them. If violations continue to occur, it’s really frustrating for Public Safety when they have Point-of-Sale systems set up and they still fail. He thinks that’s why we still write the citation because that employee still faces their consequences. Different programs are good; that companies keep stressing this to their City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 19 employees when they start, to make sure things are done correctly, it’s the culture of the business, too. Council Member Olsen stated the second part of that conversation is what’s going to have the most effective impact relative to future behavior; because, really, that’s the purpose behind the citation, it’s the purpose behind the ordinance, we want to change behavior. He knows that retraining is a really powerful tool, but he also thinks suspending somebody’s license for a day is a really powerful tool, it certainly sends a message. He’s curious if Kori Land, our City Attorney, has any thoughts, in terms of whatever decision we make tonight, how that applies to potentially future issues of this nature and us being consistent in the way that we deliver a verdict, so to speak, when something like this occurs. Attorney Land replied obviously every fact pattern is different, so we can always find reasons why you think it’s important to impose certain conditions or not others. When there has been a prior violation, but it has been a few years, this is obviously a very large part of their business, they have a lot of volume, and its a pretty large store. So, you have to take that into account when you look at the overall picture of how many violations they’ve had, as there are compliance checks twice a year. So, in this case, she thinks you can take that into account, that they have passed all of the other compliance checks, they do have a very large volume and a very large customer base; the fact that this is the second violation in four years may or may not be significant, but it is certainly a factor that you can take into account. She stated that’s kind of a wishy- washy answer, but you need to weigh it all. Council Member Olsen stated it does help in terms of recognizing that different businesses have different business patterns, they have different levels of volume. He’s a retail person, as is the Mayor, so we certainly recognize that there are times when you train, train, and train again, and all it takes is five minutes in somebody’s bad day to have a problem. So, that was very helpful. Council Member Thiede stated he believes that the technology is available, especially in the liquor store. We all know that it’s been hard to get employees, and some of the employees that you get maybe aren’t as reliable as you’d like. Actually put some of that technology in a liquor store where possibly it wouldn’t even ring up the sale unless an identification was scanned or something like that. So, really take a look at how do you foolproof that process. He made that comment because possibly for a manager in a large store like that, maybe the justification is there to look further into that. Motion by Council Member Olsen to take the path forward of using the training opportunity as the approach to help our friends at Walmart improve their performance with this, in lieu of the $500 fine and one-day suspension, of course that training would be training that is approved by Public Safety Director Koerner. Mayor Bailey stated he believed that the $500 fine would still hold, but the one-day suspension would not, in lieu of training. Council Member Olsen stated the way that the recommendation reads is in lieu of the suspension and fine, the participation of employees in an educational program approved by the Public Safety Director within 90 days. Director Koerner apologized, City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 20 stated the recommendation in the packet should not waive the $500 fine but the recommendation is correct on the screen. Motion by Council Member Olsen to say that we would impose the $500 fine and then in lieu of suspension, the employees would participate in a training program; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. C. Property Tax Levy Payable in 2024 and Adoption of 2024 Budget Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2023-152, Adopting the 2023 Property Tax Levy Collectible in 2024 and Adopt Resolution 2023-153, Adopting the 2024 Budget. Mayor Bailey stated Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director, is here to finalize what we’ve been doing for many months, which is adopting the property tax levy payable in 2024 and adoption of the 2024 budget. Director Malinowski stated we’ve been working on this budget for many months; in fact, since January, so we’ve got 12 months in on this process as of tonight. As you can see, the City Council takes this very seriously. Our department leaders, our City Administrator, and our City staff all work in collaboration on our budget document and our property tax levy each year. We had many meetings and many workshops to look at the process. On September 6, Council approved the levy that is in front of you this evening as a preliminary levy. We certified it to Washington County, and they used that levy to prepare Proposed Property Tax Notices for all our taxpayers; those were mailed in November. On that notice, taxpayers received notice that we would be talking about the budget and the levy this evening; so, that’s where we are tonight. We can take some budget comments, and then you’re asked to make a consideration on adopting the final levy and budget. Once that is certified, that property tax levy will be sent to Washington County, and they’ll use it to prepare the 2024 Tax Notices. Our budget for 2024 accomplishes many things, but we are providing the same exceptional level of services to our community that we have in the past, including but not limited to: Police services, fire services, streets services, snowplowing services, and parks and recreation services. We’re able to deliver those same exceptional services in 2024 with this budget and levy. We have stewardship of our capital assets, and we’re demonstrating that in the budget. We’re replacing the capital equipment that needs to be replaced, we evaluate those every year. We are using our Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and our Financial Management Plan (FMP) that we prepared earlier this year through that process. Our City Tax Rate is what is used on an individual homeowner basis or a commercial property basis to determine what they’ll pay in City property taxes next year. There are two components of it: The first component in determining the City Tax Rate is our property tax levy. For 2024, it is proposed to be about $23.1 million, an increase of about 11.99%. However, the second part of the equation in determining our City property tax rate is our Tax Capacity. Because we’re a growing community and we’re bringing on some new construction for next year, that Tax Capacity is increasing by City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 21 about 19.3%. Because that Tax Capacity is increasing by a higher percentage than our levy, our City Tax Rate for 2024 will fall; it will be at 32.728%. We use that, then, on each individual homeowner or business to determine what they’ll pay in City property taxes. Director Malinowski stated a little bit about that Property Tax Levy; we’re at $23,125,600, and noted some specific details on that: -Public Safety/City Hall Loan: There is an increase on that line item, about $50,000; that’s actually not only for the loan but to start doing some maintenance on our buildings that we’ve not levied for in the past. We need to start that as part of our FMP. -EDA Levy: Had last been increased in 2017, so, we need to increase that also. -Equipment Levy: Previously included in our General Fund, but we’re moving it down to another line item for more transparency throughout the budget process. -Debt Levy: Pavement Management Program is the biggest portion of that; so, redoing our streets in our residential neighborhoods. We have both the 2023 Pavement Management project that we’re adding onto the levy, and then we did a refinance of some debt back in 2021. As part of that refinancing, the levy for 2023 was lower, but then there was a scheduled increase in 2024; so, that was anticipated and expected. -Starting to levy for the Glacial Valley Park Building that we built this year. -We’re starting to do debt for East Point Douglas Road projects; its a two-year project, and last year, Jamaica was funded with our MSA Fund, and a portion of East Point Douglas will be funded with debt levy. Director Malinowski stated one of the components is our General Fund, and that is included in our Property Tax Levy. Our General Fund is $25,152,640 for 2024. We call our General Fund our Chief Operating Budget for the City of Cottage Grove. So, it funds things such as police services, fire services, snowplowing, parks and recreation; when we provide those services, we typically don’t send a bill. So, when we go on a fire call, we’re not giving a bill to the resident as we respond. We have to generate revenue somehow, so we generate that through property taxes. On our revenue portion, 74% of our budget are property taxes that fund those services. On the expenditure side, when we provide those services, we’re sending the police officer out or the firefighter out, and so it makes sense that 69% of our budget pays for personnel services. We’re in the people business, we provide those services through our people. This is typical of other communities throughout the country and in Minnesota. She gave a little bit more detail on our General Fund revenue; we have a revenue increase of about 8.96% for 2024. However, the property tax increase is only 5.82%. We’ve been able to do that because we’ve identified some other revenue streams in the budget process: -Public Safety Aid: One-time money from the State; it’s on a per capita basis for all communities in Minnesota. We’ll receive about $1.73 million, and we are utilizing it in our next three budget cycles. For 2024, we’ll be hiring two police officers, three firefighter-paramedics, using it for parttime firefighter wages, and then some IT capital expenses related to Public Safety. -Local Government Aid (LGA): We hadn’t received that for the last couple of years. The State legislature kind of tweaked the formula a little bit, and so, we’re getting a slight City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 22 amount, $54,000 in that. Just to note, our license and permit fees are down; we budget conservatively here, so, we’re down about 4.48% in the budget. We’re expecting that building activity may stay light for next year, but to offset that, we’re keeping one building inspector position vacant in the budget for 2024, with the thought that we’ll bring that back in 2025. On the expenditure side, we have a balanced budget; what that means is we’ve got revenues that equal our expenditures. We’re not taking out of our cash, we’re not using our Fund Balance, we’re not using our other reserves. So, it’s an expenditure increase of the same amount, 8.96%. It’s important to note that our union contracts and bargaining contracts were settled for 2024 at 3%, and that’s what’s included in the budget. We have several new positions; we talked about the Public Safety positions. The other positions (Management Analyst, IT Technician, Recreation Coordinator, Utility Accounting Technician, Public Service Worker) are not funded by the property taxes but by other funds in the City, other revenue streams. We have a new weather Warning Siren that’s included in the budget at the 9500 block of Military. As we worked through the FMP earlier in the year, there was a discussion on a budget contingency for things that could happen throughout the year that we’re not anticipating. That could be a storm event or some other event, and it also helps us maintain our Fund Balance Policy at the end of the year. So, we’re starting to budget for that with this budget document. Director Malinowski stated this slide shows our median home in Cottage Grove, with the impact of the levy and the budget that’s in front of Council tonight, and what that median home will realize in property taxes for 2024. The median home in Cottage Grove is $363,000; that’s set by the Washington County Assessor’s Office. It increased in value by 9.2%. For 2024, at that property tax rate of 32.728%, they would pay $1,173.07 in property taxes. It’s an annual increase of $71, or 19 cents per day. She noted we don’t only look at the median home, we look at other properties in the community, so there are four other properties that we track. Those are shown on the screen. Those four properties increased in value, per the Assessor’s Office, between 6.49% and 12.68%. So those four properties fell in that range; with those four properties and the median home, based on the levy in front of Council, the average tax impact on those five properties is $97. Our FMP that we did earlier in the year identified that we needed an increase of about $100 a year to fund our pavement management program, our streets program, fund our capital needs, our operating needs, etc. So, we’re within that FMP amount. Director Malinowski stated we also like to compare how we’re doing to other communities. So, for other cities in Washington County, based on their median home and based on their preliminary levy, you’ll see, just like last year, Cottage Grove is the second lowest in Washington County. So, we are able to provide exceptional services to our residents at a very low property tax amount. The only city that is lower than Cottage City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 23 Grove is St. Paul Park, and they receive a significant amount of LGA. So, we compare very favorably when we look at other cities. Finally, last year we also started to look at other growing communities in the metro, those with a population of over 40,000. Just like last year, we are the third lowest when we look at the surrounding communities. Only Blaine and Shakopee are below us; so, again, we compare very favorably for what we are able to offer to our community. Shakopee has some significant tax base for commercial and industrial, which pulls them down, and Blaine is very close to where we are at. What do your City taxes pay for? So, if that median home instead of sending their property tax payment to Washington County, if they sent a check to the City of Cottage Grove on a monthly basis, they would send us $97.76 per month. In turn, we would use: •$41.27 to fund Public Safety (police and fire services) •$13.35 to fund Public Works (streets and snowplowing services) •$12.83 to fund General Government/Community Development •$10.40 to fund Parks and Recreation •$16.58 to fund Debt Services (past pavement management programs, and City buildings debt: Central Fire Station, HERO Center, etc.) •$1.35 to fund our Capital Outlay (replacing our squads, plow trucks, fire equipment, etc.) •$1.16 to fund our EDA Levy •.82 to fund the Council Contingency So, it’s great value here, a daily cost of about $3.21 per day. Director Malinowski stated there are some property tax relief programs at the State, the website link is: http://www.revenue.state.mn.us/property-tax-refund Department of Revenue Property Tax Refund Division phone number: 651-296-3781 There are three property tax relief programs: Regular Credit Refund, Special Property Tax Refund, and Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral Program. She’s worked with a couple residents this year on those programs, so they can absolutely call City Hall, and Director Malinowski will walk them through those. The programs are income based so she can help them determine if they’re qualified and is happy to do that. She stated watch for your 2024 Valuation Notices from Washington County; those should arrive in March or April, 2024. If you have a question about what your property is being valued at, that’s the time to go to the Board of Appeal hearings. Director Malinowski stated she would be happy to answer any questions. Mayor Bailey thanked Director Malinowski, especially for her showing the two reports that show where Cottage Grove sits in Washington County and also with cities with a population of over 40,000, which we categorize as growing cities. The Council, and especially Council Member Thiede, always wants to make sure that we’re down at the bottom of that list. City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 24 Council Member Olsen congratulated Director Malinowski and her team for the ability to manage the budget as tightly as they do. When you look at the documents about where Cottage Grove stands versus our peer cities in Washington County and versus our peers in the metro, it’s pretty clear that our staff here at City Hall definitely do a very nice job of maintaining the public trust and being very careful with public funds. Regarding LGA from the State, people might not know what that means; LGA is a formula that is utilized by the State legislature to help support communities that may have a variety of different components as part of their community culture. One may be aging infrastructure or their tax capacity vs. their size, etc. Within that formula, the legislature looks at who really should be eligible for LGA and who has the ability to sort of manage their budget on their own without any State help. As mentioned, for the first time in a long time, Cottage Grove got a little bit of LGA. We’re grateful for the legislature putting us on the list; $54,000 isn’t a lot, but it’s more than we’ve received in the past, so, we’ll certainly take it. When you compare with some of these other communities, he thinks it’s important to note that for many of these communities, in some cases over half their budget is LGA; in other words, it comes from the State. So, when they are able to produce a levy amount that might be a little bit less than what we have, that’s generally the reason why. Or, as was mentioned with Shakopee, they get a big fiscal disparities budget, etc. For anybody who’s interested in actually reading more about or looking into that, you can go to the League of Minnesota Cities website, and they have all sorts of charts and graphs. He sometimes just looks at where we compare to other communities and what some of the moving parts are. It just says, again, that we have a really strong, robust, careful planning program when it comes to our budget. Let’s not forget that that process led us to a AAA Bond Rating this year; that AAA Bond Rating is going to help us with managing our debt more effectively, etc. Council Member Olsen stated kudos all around, really good job, he loves the numbers, thank you for sharing this with us. He continues to be just amazed at what great service we provide at such a low cost in the City of Cottage Grove. Council Member Thiede said we have a fantastic staff, it’s a fantastic City to live in, we’ve got a lot of very good amenities and value. He thinks one of the very good things in having a financial background and education, the FMP and trying to plan that and keep it consistent is good. He has a challenge for the City because as you look at the FMP, unfortunately, even though we have it at $100, the first two years are above that. He saw it adjusted down a little bit from what we were looking at before to get that $100 average over 10 years, the last few years are lower than $100. He challenges us to really take a look at that and historically keep it at that average of $100; because it’s more than likely, he’s hoping he doesn’t see that $100 that we start having in 2025 doesn’t all of a sudden creep up, with lower numbers now than 10 years later, in 2033 and 2034. He can see that as very easily happening. If we look then at the 10 years of our FMP, which we said we were going to be at $100, all of a sudden we see that it’s consistently over that $100, yet we can still say the average going out 10 years was under $100, if you kind of know what he means. So, he’s got that challenge out there. There are a lot of different balls to balance and a lot of different things that go on, but City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 25 let’s really dig into this FMP and really, really live it and show that we really are working at and managing it at $100 a year and looking at some of that historical. Motion by Council Member Olsen to Adopt Resolution 2023-152, Adopting the 2023 Property Tax Levy Collectible in 2024; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Khambata Adopt Resolution 2023-153, adopting the 2024 Budget; second by Council Member Garza. Motion carried: 5-0. Mayor Bailey gave kudos to our staff and continuing to manage the dollars in the City; we take that very seriously, and all of us up here are taxpayers ourselves, so whatever we do from a City perspective, it obviously affects all of us, and frankly many of our staff members who live here in the community. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Khambata thanked all of our City staff for their hard work and dedication. The City runs as smoothly as it does because of them, every single person has a part of that. Council Member Khambata preemptively thanked all of the volunteers who will be helping out with all of the many events in December, including the Holiday Train, food drives, etc. There’s a list, but this isn’t the whole list, he’s sure. As a community, we step up and volunteer and are willing to help make this community special. So, thank you to everyone. Council Member Olsen congratulated our newest Council Member, Council Member Monique Garza. It’s really great to have her here with us this evening at the Council dais, he was excited for her swearing in, clearly her family was very excited as well. He has all the confidence in the world that she will be a great addition to the Cottage Grove City Council. The work that she’s already done in the community with so many different things, including the Movies in the Park, or Movies with Mo, as she likes to call it, and with the Women in Business Group through the Chamber, etc. She’s definitely demonstrated a lot of care and concern and commitment to the City of Cottage Grove. That’s what this job requires; there’s a lot to it, but he knows she’s up to the challenge, so welcome. Council Member Garza thanked him. Council Member Olsen thanked the staff for their response to something that he commented on at a previous Council Meeting. We had spoken about the Holiday Train, and one of the things he had asked was if staff would take the time to go and visit with some of the local businesses where we had some parking challenges last year. It sounds like that’s been taken care of, on numerous fronts, and all of our business partners in the community are just as excited as we are. They’re well informed, they know that we are going to potentially have some parking in their lots, and he believes City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 26 there’s also been some signage that’s been created at Public Works. So, it’s definitely been a phenomenal response, and he thinks that will make the Holiday Train on Sunday that much more special because people will be able to find places to park. They’ll have the opportunity to get down by the Youth Service Bureau a little early, etc. He’ll leave more comments to Mayor Bailey, as he knows it’s a very important event for him. Council Member Olsen gave a pat on the back to everybody who had a hand in our Hometown Holiday Celebration. He thought this year’s event was just marvelous. Driving in to City Hall and seeing all the trees lit up, like we did that evening, and then again tonight, it really does put you in the spirit of the holiday season. The food trucks were a wonderful addition. We had an area for people to sit in a heated tent, so many different other things that were here, it expanded from last year. It was our second year, and it was definitely bigger than our first year, no questions asked, and then he’s certain that there were some things we learned that we’ll apply to next year. Again, a pat on the back for all involved, as he knows it was a heavy lift. There were a lot of people who did a lot of work to make that event work out well. It was a lot of fun, and he thought the community really appreciated it. Council Member Thiede stated he thought we had to thank Mother Nature, too, because this year was a lot warmer than last year, which was downright chilly; Mayor Bailey said let’s just say cold. Council Member Garza said thank you for the opportunity to serve the community. She’s so looking forward to it, she’s looking forward to working with everyone. Thank you so much. Mayor Bailey stated Council Member Olsen mentioned the Hometown Holiday Celebration. He thanked our staff, all of the different departments obviously worked together to create that neat environment out there. We had record crowds from what we’ve had in the past, and it was a nice evening temperature wise, but we’ll take those when we get them. Mayor Bailey said as was alluded to a little bit earlier, we have the Canadian Pacific- Kansas City (CP-KC) Holiday Train, which is pulling into town here on Sunday, December 10. The festivities actually start down there by the Youth Service Bureau at 3:00 p.m., the train will arrive about 5:00 p.m. or so. The purpose of this, other than the great celebration and fun that we have in the community and the beautiful train, is it’s a fundraising opportunity for our local Friends in Need Food Shelf. He shared that we had an update this morning: The target that we’ve been shooting for this year is $100,000, and as of this morning, they’re already over $90,000. So, that’s fantastic support within our community from individuals and businesses. He absolutely encouraged everybody to come down, the weather is supposed to be nice on Sunday, and we are expecting record crowds. CP-KC Rail has mentioned to him that absolutely their most favorite stop is the Cottage Grove stop because we do more with it than just have them show up, people come down to look at the train, hear the music, and leave. They literally bring City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 27 staff members and executives here to Cottage Grove to check it out. He said kudos to our community and nearby communities for supporting those in need at this time of year with the Friends in Need Food Shelf. He knows that they’re also collecting toys, too. Mayor Bailey said Council Member Khambata had commented about all of the many things going on. There’s also the Holiday Home Lights Tour, a map is available on our City website, or you can link to it through Facebook. So, everyone can check out what’s going on. Mayor Bailey said our Breakfast with Santa on Sunday morning, December 10, at River Oaks Golf Course is already completely sold out. Mayor Bailey said we just had a great event down at the VFW with the Lions Club for their Santa Breakfast, and that was amazing, too. Yes, he attends both Santa breakfasts with the grandkids because he just has to. Council Member Olsen said we had the biggest crowd we’re ever had, it was really fun. Mayor Bailey stated yes, it was pretty impressive. Mayor Bailey stated those who know him know he’s a huge hockey fan, so tomorrow evening, Thursday, December 7, at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena, is the Park High School vs. East Ridge High School boys hockey game. So, it’s going to be crazy busy because obviously there’s a friendly wager with a particular Council Member in Woodbury for some doughnuts, depending on which team wins. The Woodbury Council Member had to pay us last year because Park won the game. Mayor Bailey stated he’s had the opportunity to attend two of the games so far, and Park looks like they have a really good team this year with a new coach. So, he’s looking forward to that tomorrow evening. Hopefully, at a future Council Meeting, a Woodbury Council Member will once again be bringing us some doughnuts. Mayor Bailey stated there is a Workshop tonight that is closed to the public; the purpose of the workshop is to do a yearly performance evaluation of our City Administrator, Jennifer Levitt. We will be closing the meeting pursuant to Minnesota Statute 13D.05, Subd. (3)c to conduct a performance evaluation of City Administrator Jennifer Levitt. That will take place in the conference room. Mayor Bailey said he hopes to see everybody at the Holiday Train on Sunday. 13. WORKSHOPS - OPEN TO PUBLIC - None. 14. WORKSHOPS - CLOSED TO PUBLIC A. Performance Evaluation - Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator Staff Recommendation: Close the pursuant to MN Statute 13D.05, Subd. (3)a, to conduct a performance evaluation of City Administrator Jennifer Levitt. City Council Meeting Minutes December 6, 2023 Page 28 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Olsen, second by Council Member Thiede, to adjourn the meeting at 10:25 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Tamara Anderson, City Clerk. 1 City Council Action Request 7.B. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Administration Agenda Category Action Item Title Regular Meeting Minutes - December 20, 2023 Staff Recommendation Approve the December 20, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes. Budget Implication Attachments 1. 2023-12-20 City Council Meeting CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE  12800 Ravine Parkway  Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 www.cottagegrovemn.gov  651-458-2800  Fax 651-458-2897  Equal Opportunity Employer MINUTES COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL December 20, 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 December 20, 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 Garza - Here. Council Member Khambata - Here; Council Member Olsen - Absent; Council Member Thiede - Here. Also present: Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator; Kori Land, City Attorney-LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; Tammy Anderson, City Clerk; Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director; Zac Dockter, Parks and Rec Director; Pete Koerner, Public Safety Director; Amanda Meyer, City Engineer; Emily Schmitz, Community Development Director. 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 Thiede made a motion to approve the agenda; second by Council Member Garza. Motion carried: 4-0. 6. PRESENTATIONS - None. City Council Meeting Minutes December 20, 2023 Page 2 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the 2024 City Council Meeting Schedule. B. Adopt the ordinance with the proposed fee changes/increases for 2023 effective January 1, 2024. C. Adopt Resolution 2023-147 authorizing renewal of business licenses for 2024. D. Approve the issuance of rental licenses to the properties listed in the attached table. E. Approve Resolution 2023-164 adopting the 2024 Pay Plan and Benefits for employees not covered by a labor contract for the City of Cottage Grove. F. Adopt Resolution 2023-169 approving the updated Annual Leave policy and adding the earned safe and sick time policy to the Personnel Policy. G. Approve the Delta Dental of Minnesota Group Dental Plan Risk Contract and the Medica Master Group Contract for 2024. The Delta Dental Contract is attached. The Medica Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) is attached. The formal Medica contract will be issued later this month or early next month. H. Approve Resolution 2023-168 adopting the Part-time Pay Plan. I. Approve the proposal for Paypoint HR to conduct a compensation study in 2024 in the amount of $30,000.00. J. Adopt Resolution 2023-167 approving the public purpose expenditure policy for 2024 as presented. K. Approve Resolution 2023-163, accepting a donation from Pancentral CGC Holdings, LLC. L. Approve Resolution 2023-166, authorizing the transfer of funds from the ED Trust Fund (286) to the EDA Fund (285). M. 1) Authorize purchase of Granada Park playground equipment for the amount of $59,925. 2) Authorize purchase of West Draw playground equipment for the amount of $53,832. 3) Authorize a service agreement with Michael Basich, Inc. for the installation of playground equipment at Granada and West Draw Parks for the amount of $37,476. N. Approve Glacial Valley Park Change Order Request in the amount of $13,318.48. O. Authorize service agreement amendment with Becker Arena Products for the production and installation of acrylic glass and protective netting at Glacial Valley Park ice rink for the amount of $45,439.00. P. Adopt Resolution 2023-170 approving the final payment of $19,104.91 for the Summers Landing 3rd and 4th Additions Final Streets Project. Q. Approve the appointment of Nicholas Arrigoni to the position of Deputy Fire Chief, effective Monday, March 25, 2024. None of the Council Member wished to pull any items for further comment and/or discussion. City Council Meeting Minutes December 20, 2023 Page 3 Motion by Council Member Khambata to approve the Consent Agenda; second by Council Member Garza. Motion carried: 4-0. 8. APPROVE DISBURSEMENTS A. Approve payments for the period of 11-30-2023 through 12-13-2023 in the amount of $6,764,529.90. Motion by Council Member Khambata to approve disbursements; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 4-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None. 10. BID AWARDS - None. 11. REGULAR AGENDA A. Commission and Committee Appointments Staff Recommendation: Approve the 2024 Commission and Committee Appointments. Mayor Bailey stated the Commission and Committee Appointments had been sent to the Council previously, but to inform the public, he read aloud the appointments: •Mayor Pro Tem: Council Member Olsen •Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: Council Member Olsen •Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce: Mayor Bailey noted Council Member Garza is already on the Chamber, so he will be another City representative •Convention and Visitors Bureau: Council Member Olsen & Council Member Khambata •East Metro Strong: Council Member Garza •Economic Development Authority: Mayor Bailey and Council Member Olsen •Great River Rail Commission: Council Member Garza •Historic Preservation Advisory Committee: Council Member Thiede •Holiday Train Committee: Mayor Bailey •Investment Committee: Council Member Khambata and Council Member Thiede •Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission: Council Member Garza •Planning Commission: Council Member Khambata •Public Services Commission: Council Member Thiede •Red Rock Corridor Commission: Council Member Garza •South Washington County Telecommunications Commission: Council Member Thiede and Council Member Garza (he noted Council Member Garza is Council Member Thiede’s backup) •South Washington Watershed District: Council Member Thiede City Council Meeting Minutes December 20, 2023 Page 4 •Strawberry Festival Committee: Council Member Thiede Mayor Bailey stated those are the appointments for 2024. If there are no questions, he’ll look for a motion to approve. Motion by Council Member Garza to approve the Commission and Committee Appointments for 2024; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 4-0. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Khambata thanked staff for all their hard work at year end. He knows we’ll be doing Strategic Planning, and right after that will be budgets again, so, it’s a vicious cycle. He hopes everyone has a safe and happy holiday. Council Member Thiede stated let’s all maybe wish for some snow, but he thinks we’re going to have a brown Christmas this year; maybe we’ll get some snow one of these days this winter. He wished everyone happy holidays, be safe out there, and if you’re traveling, hopefully you will make it to your destination okay. Be careful. Council Member Garza said it seems like the time since the last Council Meeting just flew by; she thanked everyone, and wished all of them a happy holiday. Mayor Bailey stated at the end of our last Council Meeting, we did a performance review of our City Administrator, Jennifer Levitt. He noted it was a very, very good performance review, with great feedback from the Council to Administrator Levitt and from Administrator Levitt to the Council in the sharing of ideas. On behalf of the Council, he stated we really appreciate all of the great things that she’s doing in the City, we want to continue to see her do that in the years ahead, and he thanked her. Mayor Bailey wished all City staff and his fellow partners on the Council a very Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year, however you celebrate it. Whether or not it’s a brown Christmas, his yard looks a little brown, but he has lights on it, so we’re all good. He appreciates all the work that the staff has done over the last year, and obviously, we have a lot of great things happening that are in the queue for 2024. He looks forward to our Strategic Planning session in early January. He told everybody to have a very safe and prosperous holiday season. 13. WORKSHOPS - OPEN TO PUBLIC - None. 14. WORKSHOPS - CLOSED TO PUBLIC - None. 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Thiede, second by Council Member Garza, to adjourn the meeting at 7:08 p.m. Motion carried: 4-0. City Council Meeting Minutes December 20, 2023 Page 5 Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Tamara Anderson, City Clerk 1 City Council Action Request 7.C. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Community Development Agenda Category Action Item Title Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - October 23, 2023 Staff Recommendation Accept and place of file the minutes from the October 23, 2023, Planning Commission Meeting. Budget Implication N/A Attachments 1. Planning Commission Minutes 2023-10-23 City of Cottage Grove Planning Commission October 23, 2023 The Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on Monday, October 23, 2023, in the Council Chamber and telecast on Local Government Cable Channel 16. Call to Order Chair Frazier called the Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call Members Present: Pradeep Bhat, Ken Brittain, Jessica Fisher, Evan Frazier, Eric Knable, Derek Rasmussen, Emily Stephens Members Absent: None Staff Present: Emily Schmitz, Community Development Director; Amanda Meyer, City Engi- neer; Crystal Raleigh, Assistant City Engineer; Tony Khambata, City Council Liaison Approval of Agenda Brittain made a motion to approve the agenda. Fisher seconded. The motion was approved unanimously (7-to-0 vote). Open Forum Frazier opened the Open Forum and asked if anyone wished to address the Planning Commission on any non-agenda item. Bonnie Matter, 6649 Inskip Avenue South, thanked commissioners for providing this forum, as she’s now learned that this is what this is, a forum where she can actually address City Council and City staff, so thank you for providing that. Bonnie stated in a very uncertain economic environment, there should be more attention paid to cost control and savings. The City of Cottage Grove is continuing to plan more and bigger projects. Many people think that with all the new commercial and residential development, the City has more money to spend with this expanding tax base; this is not the case. With more development comes the need for more infrastructure, more demands on finite resources like water, more streets, more people and man hours to maintain, more pollution, and destruction of the land and wildlife habitats. Older areas of the City require ongoing investment for upgrading and replacement of deteriorating infrastructure. Due to poorly planned development, our schools need more, very costly buildings to educate our children. These buildings will no doubt have increased operating costs; it’s d ifficult to find people to provide services that are needed, like bus drivers and food service workers, to serve our children. Our wells are overtaxed due to over development and, in some instances, wells are even being shut down. There is no suitable transportation system available within the City to move Planning Commission Minutes – Regular Meeting October 23, 2023 Page 2 of 10 residents around efficiently. We have built lovely municipal buildings that are very costly to main - tain. Residents are experiencing hits to their pocketbooks from multiple areas, increased property taxes, increased School District taxes, increased City taxes, increased homeowner’s insurance, increased auto insurance, food prices, gas; you know, you’ve walked it, too. So, we have experi- enced some very unusual summers, a very unusual summer with extreme weather patterns across the country, rising temperatures, wildfires, extreme storm patterns, drought, and yet there has been no climate change plan put forward or even discussed for the City. So, this will be continued. Thank you. No one else spoke. Frazier closed the Open Forum. Chair’s Explanation of the Public Hearing Process Frazier explained the purpose of the Planning Commission, which serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council, and that the City Council makes all final decisions. In addition, he explained the process of conducting a public hearing and requested that any person wishing to speak should go to the microphone and state their full name and address for the public record. Public Hearings and Applications 6.1 CIP 2024-2028 – Case CP2023-017 The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment to amend the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for 2024-2028. Raleigh summarized the staff report and recommended approval. She provided specific details on these four CIP categories: Public Facilities, New Parks & Improvements, Street Projects, and Utility Projects. Raleigh asked if there were any questions. Bhat stated this is just for his reference, what do you mean when you say a development driven project. Raleigh replied as development happens in those neighborhoods, as we’ve seen de - velopers interested in that, as development actually comes to fruition, we’ll need to build out things like parks and Ravine Parkway for the future residents that move in there to use. Rasmussen stated using the 80th Street project as reference, he thinks we had like a $10 million budget, and at the bottom it said half of that, $5 million; is that maybe State grants or something. Does that mean the cost is $15 million, or is it $10 milli on of the total project amount, with half of it being funded through the State. Raleigh replied $10 million is the total project amount, which she confirmed with Meyer, and $5 million is already paid for by grants; so, our portion will be $5 million. Frazier opened the public hearing. Bonnie Matter, 6649 Inskip Avenue South, stated regarding the CIP, she has more questions than she can cover in a three-minute talk, but she’ll just give you some broad brush thoughts. First of all, she doesn’t quite get the Comprehensive Plan Amendment: What’s being amended, what do these words mean? Please be specific, walk us through it. It was pages long, it was very hard, she still doesn’t know if she understands what was being amended. Are all of those Planning Commission Minutes – Regular Meeting October 23, 2023 Page 3 of 10 items amendments? In 2023, a decision was made to spend $14 million, unplanned, for a Utili - ties Building, very possibly needed. Those dollars will come out of the Water Utility Fund, that’s what she got out of these pages of paper, but those dollars must’ve been used for other needed programs in the past; what is getting cut in the future for these dollars? How much is the City borrowing at taxpayers’ expense to cover that $14 million spend? The unplanned SCADA se - curity upgrade cost $1+ million; that’s the first time, but believe me, th at will be an ongoing investment. It’s definitely needed, we need that, and costs were paid out of the Utility Fund, but something else is not getting paid for because of it; these dollars were spent somewhere else, what was cut to cover this expense? There are huge expenditures, and the $43 million re ally caught me by surprise; it’s the first time I’ve seen that number for the South District. Where will that money come from, and what are the maintenance costs moving forward? It may be time for a moratorium on spending until the City is caught up with s ome of these payments. The payments rest on the backs of the City of Cottage Grove taxpayers in a dicey economic envi - ronment. As stated earlier, residents are taking hits from multiple areas, I listed those. According to this amended plan, it appears there will be multiple increases in resident user fees like 3 percent Stormwater Utility increase, 3 percent rate increase in Water Utilities, 5 percent rate increase in Sanitary Sewer Utility, an 8 percent increase for Streetlights for 2024 and 3 percent increases in later years. The Park Improvement Capital Project Fund : Perhaps the City needs to cut the $3 million in park and playground renovations over the next five years until the City can better handle these costs. Remove the 2026 tax levy for $190,000. The Park Trust Fund: The City issued bonds in 2023, totaling $4.2 million for Glacial Valley Park. As an aside, I’m still unsure how that ever got into anything; I don't know when that showed up. These things seem to have a tendency to show up with residents unaware of what it is or how it will be paid for. The future identified projects will bring the fund balance to a negative $3.9 million. The time limit bell rang, and Bonnie asked if she may continue. Frazier asked her how much longer she had, asked if she was almost done; she replied yes, she’s almost done , so he told her to go ahead. Remember those beautiful municipal buildings, like the one we’re standing in, like this one? The levy will go from $300,000 to $350,000 annually, an increase of 16.6 percent in one year; residents, you out there are responsible for learning about what is going on in your City! I’m talking to you! Go read the minutes, attend the public workshops, watch the meetings on SWCTC.org, speak up. The proposed amended CIP 2024 -2028 should be scrapped, and a more realistic plan should be presented to the residents of Cottage Grove. They deserve better than this, and while these dollars should concern residents, what I talked about is just chump change. Again, residents need to start showing up for meetings and/or reading their meeting minutes. Wake up! If you are not aware of the dollars involved in the South District and who is paying, you might want to start getting informed. Apathy and ignorance are very unhealthy for any community and your pocketbook. Thank you for listening and letting me share my thoughts. No one else spoke. Frazier closed the public hearing. Frazier asked a City staff member to answer some of the questions that were posed. Meyer stated as far as the Comprehensive Plan Amendment question, she may pass that over to our Community Development Director, Emily Schmitz, to respond; she didn’t know if Frazier wanted us to start with that. Frazier indicated yes, we’ll start there. Planning Commission Minutes – Regular Meeting October 23, 2023 Page 4 of 10 Schmitz stated the CIP is kind of wrapped in a reference in the Comprehensive Plan; therefore, every year when we review and update for the next coming year, we need to make sure that we’re amending that Comprehensive Plan to reflect the new polished CIP. Frazier stated as a review, the Comprehensive Plan is the guiding document for how the City is going to develop and what land use is, policy is, for the City . Schmitz stated he was correct. Frazier stated so the CIP is a part of the Comprehensive Plan that gets updated every year to show where the plan is to spend the City dollars; Schmitz stated that’s correct, we look ahead for five years. Brittain stated just to add into that, the five -year mark at the end of the Comprehensive Plan is predicted but not as well planned as the one year out; so, as we do this one -year step, five years gets a little more clear because now it’s four years, and then the next year it will be more clear. So, that gives you the ability to refine what we’re doing. So, the closer we are to the date today, the more defined it will be, and the farther out is just more of a prediction that gets up - dated every year. He asked Schmitz if that was correct. Schmitz told Frazier and Brittain that’s correct, and that’s why we look out five years and make a plan, but anything can happen in five years, and that’s why we reevaluate and take a deeper look every year. Meyer stated she hoped she captured all of the questions in her notes , but she wants to first reiterate that the City went through quite an extensive process to put together a Financial Man- agement Plan (FMP). That looks at the City finances as a whole over the next ten years , and that was part of the City getting a AAA bond rate. So, as we go through the CIP, we are ensuring that the CIP is following the FMP. What you see in that CIP is mirroring what we think is hap - pening even in the next ten years, but the CIP is just focusing on the next five. She wanted to make note that the City is thinking long term, long range, and trying to kind of capture what needs to be improved, as well as what maybe needs to be added, as we are a growing com - munity. As mentioned, all of the infrastructure in our City does age and needs to be improved, it needs to be repaired, it needs to be maintained. So, that is at the forefront of our mind; as you saw in the CIP, we have our Pavement Management Project each year. Each of our utility funds has annually a set aside dollar amount for that annual maintenance, and we are keeping that in mind. Unfortunately, as mentioned, rates are increasing on a lot of things. So, construction costs are increasing, we’re seeing that kind of across the board. We do factor in a percent increase each year because we’re just assuming that over the next five years, construction costs, mainte - nance costs, all those things are also increasing. Specifically, with the Utility Engineering Build- ing and how that’s being paid for and what’s being cut: The City did a utility rate study to analyze current utility bill rates, and adjusted those based on what is consistent with some of the other communities that surround us. Those utility bills are helping fund the building, but she noted there is also some 3M Settlement money that we are trying to acquire for that building , as it houses some of our staff who are specifically meant for the treatment plant. So, for some of the costs, we are getting some additional funding from that source. As it relates to the $43 million project, she believes that’s the 100th Street project, and noted we already have $7 million of funding, secured by the County. We are in the process of getting another $3 million to help finish out that final design cost; we should hear more about that yet this fall. We are actively applying for both Rural and RAISE grants; she believes both of those total $12.5 million that we’re asking for. We are also looking at a bonding request for additional dollars on that project. So, we are actively pursuing as much funding as possible, but this is a huge priority project, both for the City and the County. As Raleigh mentioned in the presentation, Planning Commission Minutes – Regular Meeting October 23, 2023 Page 5 of 10 every time we’ve come forward with additional development in the south part of the City, one of the biggest discussions we’re having is traffic; how are we getting traffic in and out of this area. This is really that crucial connection, especially with the bridge over the railroad, which helps promote more truck traffic heading out to Highway 61 along that 100th Street alignment. It is a big dollar amount, but we recognize that and are pursuing as many and as much funding opportunities as possible to help bridge that gap. Meyer stated regarding cutting the playground projects, similar to our streets and our public infrastructure, we think our residents enjoy all of the parks and the trails and those things that we have. It would be unfortunate if we cut funding to improve our playgrounds with all of the families we have in our community. We want to promote everywhere a community where people enjoy living, working, and playing, and they can find all of those things here in our community. In our community, we are striving to m aintain all of those things that we already own, but also bring in new things that are needed. To the question of development driven, there are a lot of things in our CIP that are development driven, they’re placeholders, they’re a best guess of when they may come, just based on the rumblings we’re hearing of which parcels may develop. Those things can push; there are prop- erties on here that we’ve seen for the last four years, thinking they may develop, but they con - tinue to push. Meyer stated she hopes she answered all of the questions posed, but would be happy to answer any more. Brittain asked Meyer to give a little overview of the Streetlight Fund and Water Fund; how do those work. There was a question of negative balance. His assumption is, especially with the planning documents that you’ve put together, that we’re accumulating money for larger projects, things along those lines. He asked how all of that works together; he can’t believe that you’re just surprised when we’ve got a big project on the list, so how does that work. Meyer replied we’re working very closely, day to day, with our Finance Department to understand funding on every project, as mentioned, even for something like our Pavement Management Project. So, we’re in the process of doing field studies, chatting with our Public Works Department, under - standing what the needs are to maintain that infrastructure. Then we go back to Finance and say here’s what we’re finding, here are the dollars that we’re estimating, how do we ensure that we can fund these projects. So, we have Streetlights, Stormwater, Water, and then Sanitary Sewer, and there are maintenance funds to fund linings on sanitary sewer. With the 2023 Pave- ment Management, we had an issue where a lot of the streetlight wire had continuously been breaking and we continued to have faults; so, as it relates to that Streetlight Fund, we’ve had some challenges with that fund balance. We’re always looking at different ways to ensure that we have the money to support the infrastructure that we have. One of the things we just recently looked at were our franchise fees. Starting in December, there are a couple of private utility companies who had previously not been paying Right-of-Way fees, based on a franchise agree- ment that we had set forth. Through updating those franchise fee agreements, that has now changed, and so we’ll be getting some additional funds from those individuals to help fund some of those issues in the Right-of-Way that we see that are maybe being caused by some of those private utility companies. Brittain said let’s take the Water Fund: I pay my water bill, part of that goes into the Water Fund. There may not be a project today that I’m paying into for that Water Fund, but there has to be Planning Commission Minutes – Regular Meeting October 23, 2023 Page 6 of 10 money accumulating in the Water Fund for a future project. So, it isn’t just we have this project and now we have to get money into the fund. Is the apparatus such that as we go along , you’re pulling money out of the fund to pay for a current project, but then there’s more money coming back in; it’s not just that we’re going to suck out all of this money and then nothing’s going to go back in there. Meyer replied that’s correct. As part of our CIP planning, we are planning ahead for what is coming out of which fund so we can manage that money appropriately. It’s not a last minute now we need money out of the Water Fund, how are we going to find this money we didn’t know we’d need. We are planning for that and are managing that balance accordingly for those projects we see coming. Stephens said one of the things Bonnie brought up was like a moratorium on something, she didn’t know if it was development, but she thinks sometimes that’s kind of a common concern, that the development is what’s causing the need for these expensive transportation projects and utility projects. Maybe you want to just take a quick second and talk about the benefits of some of the developments in this City and how those funds and taxes can help us pay for some of our existing infrastructure, or just what sort of negative impacts we might see if we were to put a moratorium on future development or things like that. Meyer stated there are probably pros and cons to this situation. As we think about projects as a whole, she thinks a lot of what we see in our CIP are projects that are necessary for our current residents. So, when we talk about the Pavement Management Projects, the roadway connectivity for existing residents down in the south part of our community, when we talk about the large sewer lining project w e have anticipated for 2024-2025, that’s one of our oldest sanitary sewer pipes that is running quite full; it’s an expensive project because we’ll have to do a large bypass pumping under Highway 61. Some of these projects are just of our existing infrastr ucture that needs to be maintained for our existing residents. When we talk about getting new development and new residents, it’s more people who are living and shopping and eating and providing into our com - munity and our financials, its helping feed our Utility Bill system and our Water Fund, our Sewer Fund. Yes, it adds additional infrastructure that needs to be maintained, but she thinks it’s a bit of a balance. Fisher asked if she could add to that with a question; when developers come in, don’t they actually have to shoulder some of the costs of actually running utility lines within ? She thought we just extended a watermain for the development that’s going in , just up the road here. So, don’t developers shoulder some of that initial cost? Meyer replied yes, thank you, that’s a really good point. So, as developers are coming in, they are bearing all of the initial costs; so, the utilities, the streets, any sort of that infrastructure, that initial cost is being fully borne by that developer. Rasmussen stated throughout the presentation, it looks like we’re getting a lot of State and Federal grant money for a lot of these projects. If he understands from past presentations, the CIP in the planning process allows us to apply for all of this diff erent grant money. Is that cor- rect? Meyer replied, yes, that is correct. Rasmussen said he feels like a lot of the bigger projects have a lot of really nice partners in the State and Federal grants, and he thinks that helps out substantially, so thank you for that. Meyer stated one thing that is either required or is very good to see on a grant application is that it is in our CIP and that we are planning for it. So, it definitely helps us in those grant applications to have those projects in our CIP. Fisher stated with her job, she travels to communities all over the State and western Wisconsin, and she just thinks that the City of Cottage Grove works really hard to keep up with things, like Planning Commission Minutes – Regular Meeting October 23, 2023 Page 7 of 10 potholes. Council Member Khambata probably can agree with me in some of the communities we both go into, just keeping roads and infrastructure working well. For all of these things, we look at this huge CIP and we see all of these millions of dollars, and it kind of blows your hair back, like that’s a lot. But it’s important to keep a city of this size and of this standard, this quality, running well. There are parks everywhere here, like it’s such a good place to have a family; there are trails everywhere, the City provides a lot for us as residents, and it’s not just for people with little kids or the elderly. I think it’s really a wide range of amenities. When I moved here almost ten years ago, I thought I would hate it because I grew up on a horse farm, and this was suburbia, but I love it here, I really, really do. With the other communities that I go into, you can see that the standards are not as high and the taxes aren’t as high; my job is to look at taxes and tell people, okay, if you’re going to live here, this is what you can expect to pay. So, she just thinks Cottage Grove is a good place to be, and she appreciates all of this. Is it perfect? No, nothing is ever perfect, we’re never going to make everyone happy, but she does think it’s a good community to live in. Knable stated he’s sure he missed it in all of the stuff that’s been talked about, but he’ll use the Zamboni as an example, in 2027, at $120,000 cost. He asked if there’s inflation built into that number, or as 2024 comes around, we see Zambonis become electric and just drive themselves now, or whatever it is; how do you build that in as it gets closer. Do you revisit every item? Meyer replied, unfortunately, Zambonis are not her forte. Generally, in our CIP, we are adding in some inflation as we go each year, and then each year as we revisit our five-year CIP, we are doublechecking those numbers to make sure that they’re still reasonable , based on where we’re at with the economy. She made mention for the Ice Arena projects, those are all being funded from the NorthPoint naming rights; so, that’s all money that we are getting from the NorthPoint naming of the Ice Arena. So, that was another project where it’s not necessarily funding coming from our taxpayers; we are actively always looking for other funding sources on all of our projects, whether at the Ice Arena or a City street project or those sorts of things. Fisher asked with the solar panels that are going on the Ice Arena, are they going to generate enough to completely cover what the arena needs, plus some kickback. On houses, sometimes they generate enough where you cover what you need plus you get to bank it or whatever. Do you know anything about what the potential benefit is for the City , financially, to have solar panels up there? Meyer replied that’s a really great question; unfortunately, she doesn’t have an answer specific to the solar panels, but she’ll be happy to chat with our Parks & Rec Depart- ment to understand more about the solar panels. Fisher stated it might be interesting to see what they could potentially generate, as that’s a lot of surface area, and solar is getting really popular in the housing industry. She’s just curious. Rasmussen stated he believe the Oltman Middle School had some funding for maybe a lacrosse field; how does that work, as his initial assumption would be that would be a School Board project rather than a City Parks project. He asked for some help with that . Meyer replied if she recalled correctly, there had been some previous discussions about that parcel next to Oltman Middle School, and it was going to be a City project; originally, it was just going to be some baseball fields or a soccer field. Her understanding is that has evolved now into more of the lacrosse fields and sort of a complex with parking, and that project is not going to be on any sort of School Board decision making. Her understanding is its moving forward, but she’ll be happy to clarify again with our Parks & Rec Department for more specifics on that project to provide some more information on that one. Rasmussen asked if she could clarify it will be a City-owned park versus a School District property; Meyer replied absolutely. Planning Commission Minutes – Regular Meeting October 23, 2023 Page 8 of 10 Bhat stated his question is regarding the Federal grants , if those amounts have already been applied for. Meyer replied it’s a bit of both; so, there are some grants where we have been successful in obtaining those funds: The $5 million for 80th Street has already been applied for and received, Shoppes at Cottage View, that grant funding has also already been applied for and received, the Safe Routes to School for the County Road 74 trail has already been received. For the 100th Street, it’s kind of a combination; there’s $7 million that we’ve already obtained, there is $3 million we have been told we’re getting but haven’t quite received, and then we’re in the midst of applying for additional grant funding. So, it’s a little bit of both throughout the whole presentation. Bhat asked, for Ms. Matter, regarding climate change, in any of these five-year outlook projects that you’ve outlined, are there any considerations towards climate change, or is that something discussed while you lay out these projects? Meyer replied it hasn’t been a huge topic of discussion as we talk about street reconstruction projects, those sorts of things. She knows with the Glacial Valley Park building that is currently under construction, nearly com- pleted, there were quite a few alternative energy sources that were reviewed and actually im - plemented for that building, trying to make that building pretty much self sufficient. So, we have tried to look for some varying opportunities to do stormwater reuse for irrigation, those sorts of things, but she would say it’s a little bit more unique for us. Frazier stated he appreciated that Ms. Matter brought up the fact that citizens need to be in - volved in the process because he wholeheartedly agrees. He thinks if you asked everybody who works for the City, the process is better when everyone’s involved. We don’t want to be making decisions for everybody on our own; the more input we get, the bette r the end result is. So, the more people who work and point out different aspects or things that they think might work better, the better the end result is. So, he totally agrees with that statement, and he hopes next time we have this meeting next year, the seats are full and we hear everybody about what they think about the Capital Improvement Plan. He won’t hold his breath, but he ’ll hope for it. Rasmussen made a motion to approve the CIP 2024-2028. Knable seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). Approval of Planning Commission Minutes of July 24, 2023 Fisher made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 24, 2023, Planning Commission meeting. Rasmussen seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). Reports 8.1 Recap of August, September, and October 2023 City Council Meetings Schmitz provided a summary of actions taken at the City Council meetings on August 16, September 6, and October 4, 2023. Schmitz asked Council Member Khambata if he had anything additional to add or if any com - missioners had questions for herself or Council Member Khambata. Khambata commended Matter on raising a lot of really good questions. He knows there is prob- ably another three-or-four minutes of conversation to be had; he looks forward to hearing the rest of that at our meeting in a couple of weeks when this will come before Council. It should be Planning Commission Minutes – Regular Meeting October 23, 2023 Page 9 of 10 noted that this is exactly what it sounds like, a Capital Improvement Plan; none of these projects are set in stone. Any funds that we get from grants do not need to be paid back; so, since he ’s been on the Council, he’s tasked every one of the directors to seek out grants and seek out funding opportunities. So, it’s key that these projects are on the CIP because it gives our staff and our City the tools it needs to go and access those grant funds; without them being on the CIP, we’re asking for money that we can’t really justify needing. Some projects, like the 100th Street realignment, have been on year five of our five-year plan for as long as he’s been on the Planning Commission. It’s a placeholder, and unless or until the funds are available, that project will sit on year five, which is, in his opinion, the back burner. So, as we strive to be a fiscally responsible City, this plan is an essential part of that. To Bonnie’s point, some of these numbers are staggering, which is why we are constantly looking for grants, cost sharing, or cost matching, which would be the case of the Water Treatment Facility. That is mostly 3M Settlement money funding the first phase of that; however, there’s an opportunity there to get something that we all can agree on the Public Works side is an eventuality, a new building. If we can offset a large portion of the cost of that by shifting it onto an existing project, there’s a long -term benefit to us in doing so. So, we’re always looking for synergies and opportunities like th at where we can stretch our dollar as far as possible. As these projects come to fruition, as the funding becomes available, these projects come back before the Planning Commission with, in most cases, some tweaks. Again, we try to account for inflation, but when we have 12 or 13 years of maybe 2 percent inflation and then, in the course of a year, inflation is 5 percent, 6 percent, or 7 percent, then we have to go back and sharpen our pencils, and that’s why some of these changes occur. Regarding the Public Utilities Fund, that is something that he advocated for because it did not previously exist. An audit of our Public Utilities billing showed that we were far below average for a city of our size and the service we were providing; so, in order to avoid having to bond out for projects for the future, we established that Public Utilities Fund for the purpose of funding future projects. Parks is another area where Parks only has one dedicated source of funding, and that is Park Dedication. So, when you hear the term development driven, State Statute requires that a de - veloper contribute either 10 percent of the cost of the project or 10 percent of the gross area to the City for Park Dedication. Unfortunately, for us, as a growing City, we don’t have as many established parks as we would want, so we historically have opted for the land, not the dollar amount. So, we’re getting land to develop parks, but we’re not getting any other dedicated fund- ing source. In the last few years, we’ve had cell phone tower leases on our water towers; that is one dedicated funding source for parks. Something that he’d like to do is to find other dedi - cated sources through land leases or fee for service or user fees that can help to make parks a sustainable entity so that they can cover most of their own costs. Those are things where we’re constantly looking for opportunities. More recently, Parks & Rec has been getting a lot of opportunities to apply for DNR grants, especially with regard to the Mississippi Dunes. The size and scope of that park, relative to the City’s financial contribution , will be a huge win for us. It will be over 50 acres, of which he thinks we’re purchasing 13. For the total cost of the park, because it’s shared with the DNR and the County, our dollar is going to get stretched four, five times to what our actual contribution is in terms of the asset that we’re getting. Again, those projects are dependent on getting those grants and that funding. Unless or until we get them, these projects just kind of continue to stay on the CIP. On the solar panels question from Fisher, we went back and forth pretty extensively on the solar panels; he doesn’t have the exact numbers in front of him, but he knows that in order to get Council approval for that, there is a cost benefit. It will be a savings with projected, he thinks in Planning Commission Minutes – Regular Meeting October 23, 2023 Page 10 of 10 year 10, return on investment at today’s rate. As you know, every so often the Public Utilities Commission goes to the State and lobbies to have their rates increased. So, at today’s rate, there’s a projected payoff and a long -term benefit. That savings goes to fund the Ice Arena to offset some of the cost of the maintenance at the Ice Arena. Again, Parks & Re c bears the burden of operations there, so we’re again looking for dedicated funding sources or cost-saving opportunities; the solar panels are a cost-saving opportunity that will offset our long-term budget. Council Member Khambata stated he’d take any questions, but none were asked. Council Member Khambata welcomed Commissioner Bhat, and thanked the Commissioners for their volunteer hours, time, and dedication. 8.2 Response to Planning Commission Inquiries None. 8.3 Planning Commission Requests There was a request for information on Ice Arena solar panels and the Oltman Middle School lacrosse field. Adjournment Rasmussen made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Knable seconded. Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote). The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. 1 City Council Action Request 7.D. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Community Development Agenda Category Action Item Title Approval of Rental Licenses Staff Recommendation Approve the issuance of rental licenses to the properties listed in the attached table. Budget Implication N/A Attachments 1. Rental License Approvals CC Memo 2. Rental License Approvals Table TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator FROM: Samantha Drewry, Code Enforcement Officer DATE: December 27, 2023 RE: Rental License Approvals Background/Discussion Rental licenses are required for nonowner-occupied residential properties (City Code Title 9-13, Property Maintenance, and Title 9 -14, Rental Licensing) and are issued on a biennial basis. The licensing process includes submittal of the rental license application, payment of $180, and public criminal history report. Rental inspections are conducted on all rental properties as part of the licensing process. Once all information has been sub - mitted and the inspection satisfactorily completed, the Council must approve the license prior to it being issued. The properties listed in the attached table have completed the licensing process and are ready to have their licenses issued following Council approval. Recommendation Approve the issuance of rental licenses to the properties in the attached table. 2024 RENTAL LICENSES CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL - JANUARY 3, 2024 RENTAL LICENSE NUMBER PROPERTY STREET #PROPERTY STREET NAME PROPERTY OWNER RENT-001887 7777 Hemingway Avenue South Homes for now RENT-001912 6702 Meadow Grass Lane South JCA Metro LLC RENT-001956 7678 79th Street South Bayliss, LLC RENT-001958 7795 Hemingway Avenue South Bayliss, LLC RENT-001964 6744 Pine Crest Trail South Cha, Jaime RENT-001967 7887 Hemingway Avenue South Bayliss LLC RENT-001970 8046 Jody Avenue South BRIDGE SFR IV Borrower LLC RENT-002023 12085 Grey Cloud Trail South Gilberstadt, Terry & David RENT-002040 7564 Inman Avenue South The TRS AGR of Floyd & Laureen Ott RENT-002125 7168 Imperial Avenue Circle South Kuikel, Pradeep & Shristi Manandhar RENT-002130 6705 Jody Avenue South Garfinkel, Beth Ilene 1 City Council Action Request 7.E. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Administration Agenda Category Action Item Title Business License Renewals Staff Recommendation Adopt Resolution 2024-001 authorizing the renewal of the attached business licenses for 2024. Budget Implication N/A Attachments 1. Resolution - 2024 Business License Renewals - 2024-001 2. Attachment - Approved Businesses 2024 1 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator FROM: Tammy Anderson DATE: January 3, 2024 RE: Business License Renewals Discussion The City of Cottage Grove licenses specific business activities and most licenses are issued on a calendar-year basis and are subject to renewal. Certain license types require City Council authorization for issuance as specified by our City Code and/or the recommendation of our City Attorney. These licenses include Liquor, Tobacco, Therapeutic Massage Businesses and Massage Therapists. A due date of November 15, 2023 was given to businesses for submission of renewal applications. This provides staff time to complete verifications and any required background checks before they are presented to the City Council for approval. Applications that have been submitted, have cleared the background checks, and are included in the attached resolution. Recommendation Adopt Resolution 2024-001 authorizing the renewal of the attached business licenses for 2024. Attachments 1. Resolution - 2024 Business License Renewals - 2024-001 2. Attachment - Approved Businesses 2024 CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 2024-001 BUSINESS LICENSE RENEWALS FOR 2024 WHEREAS, the City of Cottage Grove licenses specific business activities on a calendar-year basis and such licenses expire on December 31 and are subject to renewal; and WHEREAS, certain license types require City Council authorization for issuance as specified by our City Code and/or the recommendation of our City Attorney; and WHEREAS, the businesses listed in Attachment A have submitted license renewal applications; and WHEREAS, the applications have been reviewed and the businesses have undergone background investigations by the Police Division of the Public Safety Department and the City Clerk Division of the Administration Department; and WHEREAS, the results of the background investigations have not revealed anything that would constitute a basis for denial of the renewal applications; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, County of Washington, State of Minnesota, authorizes renewal of the business licenses specified in Attachment A, for the year of 2024 conditioned on compliance with all applicable state and local regulations related to each specific license type. Passed this 3rd day of January, 2024. Myron Bailey, Mayor Attest: Tamara Anderson, City Clerk License Type Business Address LicenseeSpeedway 7162 East Pt Douglas RdLicense Type Business Address LicenseeSpeedway 7162 East Pt Douglas RdLicense Type Business Address LicenseeWhole Health Massage Therapist 8800 East Pt DouglasPauline JohanikWhole Health Massage Therapist 8801 East Pt Douglas Stephanie JarrettWhole Health Massage ‐ Business 8801 East Pt DouglasWhole Health Massage Therapist 8802 East Pt Douglas Tamara McGinnRESOLUTION 2024‐001 ‐ ATTACHMENT ALiquor LicensesLiquor LicenseTobaccoMassage  1 City Council Action Request 7.F. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Administration Agenda Category Action Item Title Designate Newspaper Staff Recommendation Designate the St. Paul Pioneer Press as the City of Cottage Grove's newspaper for official publication in 2024. Budget Implication N/A Attachments 1. Quote - Pioneer Press 2024 2. Cottage Grove Journal 1 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator FROM: Tammy Anderson DATE: January 3, 2024 RE: Designate Newspaper Discussion Each year, the city must designate a newspaper for official publication. This official newspaper is used for the publication of ordinances and other legally required matters that are required by law and/or are deemed of public interest to be published. When a city designates an official newspaper, it must, by law, choose the newspaper as the following priority (Minn. Stat.§ 331A.04, subds. 1-5). • If there are one or more qualified newspapers with their offices of issue located in the city, the city must choose one of these newspapers. • If there is no qualified newspaper with a known office of issue in the city, but one or more qualified newspapers maintain a secondary office in the city, the city must choose one of these newspapers. • If there is no qualified newspaper with a known office of issue or a secondary office in the city, then the city must choose a qualified newspaper of general circulation. • If the city is without an official newspaper or the publisher refuses to publish a particular public notice, the city must designate a qualified newspaper of general circulation. • If the city has territory in two or more counties, the council may designate a separate qualified newspaper for each county. • If no qualified newspaper exists, publication is not required ( Stat. § 331A.03, subd. 1 ). Currently, Cottage Grove does not have a newspaper that has an office or secondary office within the city limits. City staff requested circulation and pricing rates from two newspapers in adjoining counties. The Cottage Grove Journal is located in Dakota County and the St. Paul Pioneer Press is located in Ramsey County. Cottage Grove Journal (Hastings MN) Publications per week - 1,660 Price per column inch - $7.20 Pioneer Press (St. Paul MN) Print publications per week (average) - 39,497 Price per column inch - $7.28 (.52 per line, there are 14 lines per column inch) 2 Electronic publications per week (average)- 45,203 Although the price per inch is 8 cents greater than the Cottage Grove Journal, staff believe the benefits outweigh the cost. The St Paul Pioneer Press has been the City’s designated newspaper since 2020 and, in that time, they have done an excellent job publishing our ordinances and legal postings. Because the Pioneer Press is published daily, most legal notices are published the day after being submitted (exceptions include notifications with maps or graphics and notifications submitted the day before weekends or holidays). In turn, the city has been able to provide an increased level of service on applications and other requests that require advance publication of public notices. Finally, the St Paul Pioneer Press also reaches a greater number of subscribers, allowing the city to reach more people with publications. Recommendation Designate the St. Paul Pioneer Press as the City of Cottage Grove's newspaper for official publication in 2024. Attachments 1. Quote - Pioneer Press 2024 2. Cottage Grove Journal Tammy Anderson City of Cottage Grove Hi Tammy, Thank you for the opportunity to bid on the public notice publications for City of Cottage Grove. The Saint Paul Pioneer Press is a Daily Newspaper located in Saint Paul, MN, primarily serving Ramsey, Dakota, Washington, and Anoka counties and Western Wisconsin. Our Legal Publication rates for all notices for 2024 are as follows: $7.28 per column inch per publication (this = $0.52 per line, there are 14 lines per column inch) Sunday full circulation is 136,492 – however, you may publish a notice on any day of the week. Deadline to submit legal notices (please note, holidays will have early deadlines): Deadlines for Liner (text only) ads. Publication day Deadline to submit materials Monday Friday 4 pm Tuesday Monday 12 pm Wednesday Tuesday 12 pm Thursday Wednesday 12 pm Friday Thursday 12 pm Saturday Friday 11 am Sunday Thursday 4 pm All legal notices should be emailed to legals@pioneerpress.com. Once we receive your request, you’ll receive a confirmation email and will be contacted shortly. You will be emailed a proof (which includes the cost) and an affidavit will be emailed within 7 days of publication. Thank you for considering the Saint Paul Pioneer Press as the official legal newspaper for City of Cottage Grove. Please let me know if you have any questions, we look forward to partnering with you. Thank you, True Lee – Advertising tlee@pioneerpress.com Deadlines for Display ads. Notice includes chart, graphics, map, or any special formatting. Publication day Deadline to submit materials. Monday Friday 3 pm Tuesday Monday 11 am Wednesday Tuesday 11 am Thursday Wednesday 11 am Friday Thursday 11 am Saturday Friday 9 am Sunday Thursday 3 pm December 1, 2023 Tammy Anderson City Clerk City of Cottage Grove Good morning! Thank you for giving the Cottage Grove Journal the opportunity to bid to be the Newspaper of Record for the City of Cottage Grove for 2024. We believe that having the city Public Notices in a local newspaper is a win­win situation. Our publication will offer far more exposure to alert Cottage Grove citizens of vital notices. We are a growing newspaper, and having the City of Cottage Grove notices within our pages would certainly help us. For many decades, the city utilized its local newspaper for publishing its notices as is the norm in Minnesota. We work hard for the communities we serve. We have dedicated staff to ensure notice publication runs smoothly, and we certainly bend over backwards to help in the process. We’ve taken notices from municipalities to within a half­hour of press time. We recognize that utilizing a daily paper means, perhaps, a more flexible publication schedule. However, the entire purpose of publishing notices is so the public notices! That’s the full intent of the law, and there’s no question that alone should be the basis of the city decision. We can think of no other newspaper where the city chooses not to utilize its hometown newspaper for public notice publishing. Our deadline for Cottage Grove notices would be 5 p.m. Monday for that week’s publishing, and with notice, we’d hold that time until Tuesday late morning when necessary. When the city utilized the South Washington County Bulletin for many years, it had a deadline of the Thursday the week prior at noon. Our circulation 1,660 weekly. Our Public Notice rates is $7.20 per column inch. We are dedicated to helping and serving Cottage Grove, and we’re making inroads toward that goal every week. We are proud members of the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce. We employ two Cottage Grove residents. We’ve helped promote civic and community events. The City of Cottage Grove has shown immense support of its local businesses as it helped them thrive during the pandemic. We’re hopeful that you’ll show support of the work the Cottage Grove Journal is doing as well. We’re excited for this opportunity! Thank you in advance for considering the Cottage Grove Journal as the 2024 Newspaper of Record for the City of Cottage Grove, and it would mean a lot to us to have the city’s support in our efforts. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email. My contact information is below. John McLoone Publisher, Cottage Grove Journal john@thepaperboy.news 651­347­1623 1 City Council Action Request 7.G. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Finance Agenda Category Resolution Title Designate Depositories of City Funds Staff Recommendation Approve Resolution 2024-002, Designating Depositories for City Funds and Authorizing the Investment of Surplus Funds. Budget Implication N/A Attachments 1. CC Memo Designating Depositories 2024 2. RES 2024-02 Designating Depositories 2024 CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 2024-002 DESIGNATING DEPOSITORIES FOR CITY FUNDS AND AUTHORIZING THE INVESTMENT OF SURPLUS FUNDS FOR 2024 WHEREAS Minnesota Statute Chapter 118A requires that the City Council must designate all banks, savings and loan associations, and investment brokers as depositories of City funds, and WHEREAS the City Council may authorize the Treasurer or Chief Financial Officer to exercise powers of the governing body in designating a depository of City funds and manager of the collateral of such pledged funds. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, County of Washington, State of Minnesota, authorizes Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director of the City of Cottage Grove to designate depositories of City funds and manager of the collateral of such pledged funds. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Finance Director or other responsible designee of the City of Cottage Grove be authorized to make bank wire transfers for investment transactions. Passed this 3rd day of January 2024. __________________________ Myron Bailey, Mayor Attest: ___________________________ Tamara Anderson, City Clerk 1 City Council Action Request 7.H. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Finance Agenda Category Resolution Title Delegate Authority to pay certain claims and allowing electronic fund transfer transactions Staff Recommendation Approve Resolution 2024-003, Delegating authority to pay certain claims and allowing electronic fund transfer transactions. Budget Implication N/A Attachments 1. CC Memo Annual Finance Delegations 2. RES 2004-003 Electronic Funds Transfer Transactions To:Honorable Mayor and City Council Members Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator From:Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director Date:January 3, 2024 Subject:Authority to Pay Claims and make Electronic Fund Transfers Background Minnesota State Statute Section 412.271, subdivision 8 states that a city council, at its discretion, may delegate its authority to pay certain claims made against the city to a city administrative official. City councils opting to delegate their authority to review claims before payment pursuant to this subdivision shall have internal accounting and administrative control procedures to ensure the proper disbursement of public funds. The procedures shall include regular and frequent review of the city administrative officials' actions by the council. A list of all claims paid under the procedures established by the city council shall be presented to the council for informational purposes only at the next regularly scheduled meeting after payment of the claim. A city council that delegates its authority to pay certain claims made against the city must adopt a resolution authorizing a specified city administrative official to pay the claims that meet the standards and procedures established by the council. In addition, Minnesota State Statute Section 471.38, subdivision 3 and 3a states that a city council may authorize electronic fund transfers subject to similar criteria as the delegation of authority to pay claims such as internal accounting controls and administrative procedures, bank process controls and administrative procedures, and regular review of the expenditure list by City Council at each meeting. All these criteria are currently in place. It is recommended that the City annually approve these delegations. Recommendation Approve Resolution 2024-003, Delegating authority to pay certain claims and allowing electronic funds transfer transactions. CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 2024-003 DELEGATING AUTHORITY TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS AND ALLOWING ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER TRANSACTIONS WHEREAS, Minnesota Statute Section 412.271, Subd. 8 states that a City Council may delegate its authority for paying certain claims against the City to a City administrative official subject to certain criteria; and WHEREAS, Minnesota Statute Section 471.38, Subd. 3 and 3a states that a City Council may authorize electronic fund transfers subject to certain criteria; and WHEREAS, the prerequisite criteria for delegating the payment of claims authority have all been met by the City through the following: (i) City's internal accounting and administrative procedures, (ii) regular review of expenditure list by City Council at each meeting, and (iii) preparation of an annual audited financial statement attested by an independent certified public accountant, public accountant or state auditor; and WHEREAS, procurement of goods and services are made under the authority granted in the purchasing policy, council-approved resolutions and/or applicable state statutes; and WHEREAS, Minnesota Statute Section 471.425, Subd. 2 states that cities that have at least one regularly scheduled meeting per month must pay their bills within 35 days of receipt and this delegation of authority is conducive to this end while assuring appropriate City Council oversight; and WHEREAS, the prerequisite criteria for authorizing payments by electronic funds transfer will be met by the City through the following: (i) city's internal accounting and administrative procedures, (ii) bank process controls and administrative procedures; and (iii) regular review of expenditure list by City Council at each meeting. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Minnesota as follows: 1.The recitals set forth above are incorporated herein. 2.The City Finance Director is authorized to pay all claims made against the City that meet the standards and procedures established by the Finance Department, City policies, City Council approved resolutions and the requirements of applicable statutes. 3.The City Finance Director is authorized to pay such claims via electronic funds transfer, in accordance with the foregoing requirements and Minnesota Statute 471.38, subds. 3 and 3a. Passed this 3rd day of January 2024. __________________________ Myron Bailey, Mayor Attest: ___________________________ Tamara Anderson, City Clerk 1 City Council Action Request 7.I. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Public Works Agenda Category Action Item Title 2022-2024 MCES Water Efficiency Grant - Amendment to Agreement Staff Recommendation Accept the amendment to the 2022-2024 MCES Water Efficiency Grant to receive an additional award of $10,000. Budget Implication N/A Attachments 1. 2024 Water Efficiency Grant Amendment CC Memo 2. 2024 Water Efficiency Grant Amendment Form To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator From: Joe Fox, P.E., Project Engineer Date: December 21, 2023 Re: 2022-2024 MCES Water Efficiency Grant – Amendment to Agreement Background/Discussion The Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) has awarded the city additional funding as part of the 2022-2024 MCES Water Efficiency Grant Program. The program partially funds rebates offered to Cottage Grove city residents who purchase and install water efficient appliances. The city funds the remaining 20% of the rebates through the Water Utility Fund. The city received the initial MCES grant funding of $43,000 in May of 2022 and has recently been awarded an additional $10,000. The program has been well-received by the community and the initial funding amount was recently exhausted. As there are additional rebate requests still being received by staff, additional funding was sought out to help support these additional requests. The grant program will run through June 30, 2024 or until the additional funding runs out. To this point, the city has issued rebates to almost 300 residents for installation of water efficient toilets, dishwashers, and clothes washers. These appliances and fixtures will save an estimated 711,000 gallons of water every year. The city participated in a similar grant program from 2019-2022. Recommendation Accept the amendment to the 2022-2024 MCES Water Efficiency Grant to receive an additional award of $10,000. 1 City Council Action Request 8.A. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Finance Agenda Category Action Item Title Approve payments for the period of 12-14-2023 through 12/27/2023 in the amount of $2,222,395.25. Staff Recommendation Approve payments for the period of 12-14-2023 through 12/27/2023 in the amount of $2,222,395.25. Budget Implication Attachments 1. Expense Approval Report 01-03-2024 Council Meeting 2. Payroll Check Register 01-03-2024 Council Meeting 1 City Council Action Request 13.A. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Administration Agenda Category Presentation Title Viewpoint Project Discussion Staff Recommendation Budget Implication Attachments 1. Viewpoint memo 2. Viewpoint Research Questionnaire 3. Viewpoint Professional Services Agreement TO:Honorable Mayor and Council FROM:Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator DATE:December 29, 2023 RE:Viewpoint Project Introduction Viewpoint Project is a video storytelling service that works with public television stations in all 50 states. Dennis Quaid is the host of the series and tees up the video in between episodes of your favorite PBS program. The Viewpoint team's goal is to provide innovative and unique content featuring the world's most influential organizations and individuals. The Viewpoint Project would provide exposure for Cottage Grove on a national level in this short-form documentary. The exposure brings about awareness of the great business climate in our community, the proactive planning we do to attract businesses and housing developments, and the great recreational amenities the community has to offer. Currently with inflation rates higher, there is a slowing of investment both in the industrial and residential market. So, the timing to run a segment on Viewpoint would time well for our market to bring about awareness and then be poised to take advantage of the resurgence of business investment in 2025 and 2026. Discussion The EDA approved the Viewpoint Project video at the meeting on Dec. 12, 2023. The mission behind the video is for the city to use the assets that are received related to the video for marketing and tourism promotion of the city. The time has now come when input needs to be provided to the video production people to prepare for the video. The first thing that needs to be done is to drill down to what the one aspect of the city or city life is that should be the focus of for this video. Some additional questions that related to the city being featured in this video are listed below. Viewpoint Project questions: •What would be your specific storyline or focus? •In laymen's terms, please provide an overview of your educational message. •What are the key ideas that contribute to the use or unique aspect of the education? •What is the most important message that your city would like to convey in the documentary? •What are the most important hot topics or issues in your city and message would you like to portray? Page 2 of 2 •What are the controversial subjects or issues in your city? Where does your organization stand on those issues? Should the issues be addressed or avoided in this production? •What future trends do you see your city incorporating into use? How are you planning to address these trends? •Please provide a summary of the story with key words for identification on Bing and YouTube to add as a description to the 5-6-minute corporate documentary that will be online. Some of the topics previously discussed for the Viewpoint Project and potential storylines and focuses include, “Being Positioned for Growth”, “Community Creating Opportunity”, “Shovel Ready” and “A Community Built with Inspiration from Nature.” Attachments Viewpoint Questionnaire Viewpoint Professional Services Agreement 1 Research Questionnaire Email a completed copy of this questionnaire to Graphics@ViewpointProject.com Producer you are working with: ______________________________________________________ Company Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Production Contact for your company: ________________________________________________ Telephone: _________________________________________________________________________ Fax Number: ________________________________________________________________________ Email Address: ______________________________________________________________________ Website: ___________________________________________________________________________ Location Where Your Project Can Be Filmed (You will need to confirm the shoot date and location within 5 days of being contacted by our field producer): _______________________________________ Specific Storyline or Educational Focus: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________ In laymen's terms, please provide an overview of your educational message: ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 2 What are the key ideas that contribute to the use or unique aspect of the education? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Who are the most important people to educate? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ What is the most important message that your company would like to convey in the documentary? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Is there any interesting anecdote or inspiration behind the development of your organization? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ What are the most important hot topics or issues in your field, or company, related to the project and message? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ What are the controversial subjects or issues in your field (related to the project)? Where does your organization stand on those issues? Should the issues be addressed or avoided in this production? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 3 What future trends do you see your company having an impact on your field? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ How are you planning to address these trends? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Please rate the following on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) in relation to the importance given to each as a basis for your participation in the series... Public Television Exposure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Corporate Documentary 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Narrowcasting Campaign 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Digitizing for Website Use 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Commercial Exposure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Please provide a copy of your company’s logo (See last page for details). Please indicate how you would like your company’s name and/or phone number and/or website to appear on the custom corporate documentary / educational tape (i.e. where to send viewers at the end of seeing the program). ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 4 What will be the main use(s) for your custom corporate documentary? Please indicate all that apply: Educational Tool Tradeshow Tool Investor Relations Public Relations Tool Sales Force Tool Marketing Tool Used in House (Such as in an office or lobby) DVD Duplication and Use Website Streaming Other (Please Specify) ________________________________________________________________ Other (Please Specify) ________________________________________________________________ Mark those you want to include in the 5-6-minute corporate documentary: Product Shots / “How-To” Shots A Call to Action or Pricing Information Mission Statement Slogan(s) Distributor Information and Phone Number Product Logo E-mail Address Corporate Logo Web Address Corporate Spokesperson Other Please provide a summary of the story with key words for identification on Bing and YouTube to add as a description to the 5-6-minute corporate documentary that will be online: _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 5 Please provide 10 key words (phrases) or tags that will be associated with your online video for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes: ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ _______________________________________ Do you have a webmaster or graphics person that will be building your landing page for the narrowcasted email campaign?  Yes  No What will the response mechanism be on the landing page for visitors when they visit your site? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 6 Materials Request Form Can you provide: (A) Raw Footage / B-roll: Yes No (B) Master Footage: Yes No Please send your latest press releases, articles, brochures, any literature, etc. on your company/organization as well as any photos or digital imagery you would like to incorporate into the story. Please send your company logo if you have one. If you do not have one, speak to the field producer on next steps. If you have a company/organization logo: Your company logo stat and color key must be mailed to us, or your logo may be sent in the digital formats listed: TIFF JPEG PICT EPS PCX DXF TIP Targa (TGA) BMP Photoshop (PSD) WMF Adobe Illustrator (AI) GIF SGI • The logo resolution should be a minimum of 550 pixels wide, and 120 dpi. Higher resolution is preferable. • Preferred formats are: Adobe Photoshop with layers over no background, or Adobe Illustrator. • When sending Adobe Illustrator files include fonts or convert fonts to outlines. • Include file extension suffix with filename (i.e. .tif, .psd, .tga, etc.) • Files can be sent on CDROMS, DVDs, or emailed. • If compressing an image, use BEST quality rating when saving the file. Our email address for all image files is: Graphics@ViewpointProject.com Please contact our graphics department via email if you have any questions. 1 City Council Action Request 13.B. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Economic Development Agenda Category Action Item Title Dowdle Puzzle Staff Recommendation Budget Implication Attachments 1. Memo - Dowdle Puzzle 20 people 1. Myron Bailey 2. Margaret Aird Mooers 3. John P. Furber 4. Gary Spooner 5. Cordenio Severance and his wife 6. Sean William Scott 7. Sam Jacobson 8. James Norris 9. Mary Slusser 10. John B. Atkinson 11. Dr. Arthur Steen 12. Aurilla Furber 13. Joseph W. Furber 14. The Otts 15. William W. Furber 16. Chief Pete Koerner 17. Fire Chief Jon Pritchard 18. Allie Morse 19. Joseph LaBathe 20. Strawberry Fest Ambassadors 21. Kendall Brown 22. Council Members 23. Orrin Thompson 24. Roger and Katherine Shepard 25. Kendall Brown 26. Constance Shepard - Otis 50 Places/Things 1. Cedarhurst Mansion 2. Strawberry Fest 3. Holiday Train 4. River Oaks Golf Course 5. Mississippi River 6. Hometown Holiday Celebration 7. Cottage View Drive-In 8. Furber Farm 9. Old Cottage Grove 10. Park High School 11. Settlers Island 12. Red Barn VFW 13. Park (Kingston, Woodridge, Hamlet, Peter Thompson, etc.) 14. Grey Cloud Kiln 15. HERO Center 16. City Hall 17. Tank’s Corner Stand 18. Parks (Kingston, Hamlet, Woodridge) 19. Zywiec’s Haunting Experience 20. Fire Station 21. Cottage Grove Water Tower 22. Hope Glen Wedding Venue and Tree House 23. Thompson Grove 24. Langdon Village 25. Schilling Archeological District 26. Atkinson Cemetery 27. First Police Station on Belden 28. American Motorsports Bar 29. Boondocks 30. Food Truck Festival 31. Military Road 32. Farmers Market 33. Pumpkin Chuck 34. East Cottage Grove Snowmobile Club Old Schoolhouse on Kimbro 35. Up North Plastics 36. Northpoint 37. Thrivent Financial 38. Lamar Avenue Larch Trees 39. Railroad tracks with St. Paul and Chicago Railroad locomotive 40. Kayaking on the Mississippi River 41. Former airport sites 42. Jansen’s aircraft now 43. Coyotes 44. Renewal by Anderson 45. VanMeter 46. Bulletin newspaper 47. Pelicans in backwater on Mississippi 48. Ice Arena 49. The Gold Rush 50. Halloween Parade 51. Ravine Park 52. De Mori’s - closed 53. Tom Moy Café 54. Our properties in the Mississippi submerged by the Lock and Dam *Businesses 1 City Council Action Request 13.C. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Parks and Recreation Agenda Category Action Item Title Kingston Park Building Design Workshop Staff Recommendation Receive information and give direction on Kingston Park building concept designs. Budget Implication None at this time. Attachments 1. 1-Memo-Concept Design Workshop Jan 2024 2. 2-2023.12.19_Vertical Boards_Compressed To:Honorable Mayor and City Council Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator From: Cc: Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director Date:December 19, 2023 Subject:Kingston Park Building Design Workshop Introduction At the Capital Improvements Plan workshop, City Council directed staff to explore the design of a new building that would better support Kingston Park’s high level of activity. As such, Oertel Architects was hired to develop concept designs for the project. The preliminary concept designs are presented within this report for review. The project team will guide conversation at the workshop to generate design feedback and direction from City Council. Background Kingston Park is one of Cottage Grove’s most heavily utilized parks. It is home to many major events including Strawberry Fest, 4th of July Celebration, athletic tournaments/events, One Family Events, 5K runs, regular private rentals and more. The current building is approximately 2,200 square feet in size of which 50% is indoor space and 50% is outdoor picnic awning space. The indoor space includes male (1 toilet, 1 urinal, 1 sink) and female restrooms (2 toilets, 1 sink) and a small serving kitchen. The restrooms are quite undersized for larger events so portable restrooms are used to supplement the service gap. Additionally, the lack of a family restroom does not comply with current design and service standards in our newer and larger parks. Prior to the design process, Council provided the following direction to the project team: 1. Increase restroom capacity and functionality. 2. Add a multi-use recreational room similar to other park buildings in the community. 3. Add space for general storage needs for events and programs. 4. Add serving kitchen to support event operations. 5. Accommodate additional picnic space. 6. Provide a unique design that differentiates Kingston from other park buildings while also complimenting the park’s landscape, events and programs. Concept Design Review Concept design renderings are included as attachments to this report. The renderings depict the following space use: Multi-Purpose Room 1650SF Garage/Storage Room 350SF Mechanical Room 250SF Mens/Womens Restrooms 900SF Family Restroom 150SF Kitchenette 350SF Interior Supporting Spaces 600SF Total Enclosed Building 4250SF Picnic Shelter (Outdoor) 2350SF Total Square Footage 6600SF The building design fits within the existing site and does not require removal or mitigation of the west trail, north courts or east playground. The parking lot to the south may need some reconfiguration to better address traffic flow. Any adjustments would result in very minimal loss of parking spaces, if any. Public Engagement The project team held an open house with key stakeholders of Kingston Park in November. Invites were sent to CGAA, Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce and One Family Event Coordinators. Approximately 15 individual stakeholders participated and provided feedback to the project team. The plans were also shared with the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission at its’ December meeting. As a result of this engagement process, the following key recommendations have been documented for design considerations: 1. Increase kitchenette serving window size to the outside. 2. Consider traffic flow for events that may utilize kitchenette and portable grills. 3. Maximize picnic space and flow. 4. Address site electrical needs for larger events. 5. Mixed reviews on vertical entry monument design. Some concern if youth will try to climb. Project Budget and Schedule The Kingston Park building replacement is currently scheduled in the 2024-28 Capital Improvements Plan for $600,000 in 2025. The preliminary concept design cost estimates are nearly $3.5M. The project team will be seeking direction from Council regarding funding and schedule. The construction schedule is estimated at approximately 6 months. In an ideal scenario, construction would begin after Labor Day and be completed by the following spring in any calendar year. This construction schedule would eliminate interference with any of Kingston Park’s major events. Staff Recommendation Receive information and give direction on Kingston Park building concept designs. KINGSTON PARK CURRENT PARK PAVILION EXISTING SITE ENCLOSED BUILDING SF: BUILDING W/ SHELTER SF: 4,676 8,034 MULTI-PURPOSE KITCHENETTE GARAGE/STORAGE MENS RESTROOM WOMENS RESTROOM FAMILY RESTROOM PICNIC SHELTER PROPOSED PLAN MECHANICAL CURRENT BUILDING FOOTPRINT KINGSTON PARK KINGSTON PARK KINGSTON PARK KINGSTON PARK KINGSTON PARK KINGSTON PARK 1 City Council Action Request 13.D. Meeting Date 1/3/2024 Department Engineering Agenda Category Action Item Title 2024 Project Bonding Workshop Staff Recommendation Receive information on the 2024 Pavement Management Project and 2024 Bonding Capacity, and provide direction on the final scope of work for the 2024 Pavement Management Project. Budget Implication N/A Attachments 1. Memo - Pavement Management (2024-01-03 Council Workshop) 2. Bond Summary To:Honorable Mayor and City Council Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator From:Amanda Meyer, PE, City Engineer Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director Date:December 28, 2023 Re:2024 Project Bonding Workshop Discussion The City’s 2024-2028 Capital Improvement Plan, CIP, was approved by the City Council on December 6, 2023. Within that CIP, an extensive amount of pavement rehabilitation and preservation projects were included for construction in 2024, outside of pavement management. •Phase 2 of the East Point Douglas and Jamaica project includes finishing road reconstruction from the temporary signal to Wells Fargo along East Point Douglas, and includes just under 0.5 miles of a 2” mill and overlay on East Point Douglas from the reconstruction limit to the VFW. East Point Douglas Road is one of the most time- consuming roadways that the public works team is maintaining due to the deterioration and challenges. Implementing this mill and overlay will allow public works to allocate their time and materials to other roadways within the community. The remaining project scope is estimated at about $5,000,000 and is proposed to be funded through bonds, State Aid, and utility funds. •Phase 3 of the Thompson Grove Mill and Overlay is included with 5 miles of a 2” mill and overlay project. This project would include spot curb replacement as well and has an estimated project cost of $1.2 million supported from the Roadway Maintenance Fund. On May 17, 2023, the City Council authorized a feasibility report for a proposed 2024 Pavement Management Project that included the following roadway segments within portions of Thompson Grove Estates, Prestige Estates, Hillside Trail, East Point Douglas Road, and Jamaica Avenue from 80th to 90th. •Thompson Grove Estates Neighborhood (1st & 8th Additions): Streets include Harkness Road from Heath Avenue to Heron Avenue; Hames Road from Heath Avenue to Hillside Trail; Hearthside Road from Heath Avenue to Hillside Trail; Heath Avenue from Harkness Road to Hearthside Road; Hefner Avenue from East Point Douglas Road to Harkness Road; Hefner Avenue from Harkness Road to Hillside Trail; Hefner Court; Henna Avenue from Harkness Road to Hillside Trail; Heron Avenue from East Point Douglas Road to Hillside Trail; Point Douglas Court; Hilo Trail from Hillside Trail to Hyde Avenue; Hilo Lane from Hilo Trail to Hinton Avenue; Hinton Avenue from Hillside Trail to Hilo Trail; and Hyde Avenue from East Point Douglas Road to Hillside Trail. Honorable Mayor, City Council, and Jennifer Levitt 2024 Project Bonding Workshop December 28, 2023 Page 2 •Prestige Estates Neighborhood: Streets include Jenner Avenue from 80th Street to Jocelyn Avenue; Jocelyn Avenue from Jenner Avenue to 80th Street; and 79th Street from its north Jocelyn Avenue intersection to its south Jocelyn Avenue intersection. •Hillside Trail: from East Point Douglas Road to 85th Street. •East Point Douglas Road: from the cul-de-sac at 7130 East Point Douglas Road to Hyde Avenue. •Jamaica Avenue: from 80th Street to 90th Street. One of the main reasons to authorize a feasibility report is to gather more data in the field on the specific concerns and conditions of the roadways proposed as part of a project, so project costs can be better understood. Pavement cores are taken as part of this process to understand the condition and structural stability, curb is more closely evaluated, utilities are inspected, cleaned, and televised, and other items within the proposed project corridor are more closely analyzed to determine proposed project costs and rehabilitation needs. As consultant staff began to analyze the proposed project area as defined by the roadway segments above, it was clear that the pavement condition within the Thompson Grove Estates neighborhood was in much better shape than would be anticipated based on the age and due to previous pavement management projects in the adjacent area. Staff was expecting to see asphalt stripping within the cores, as we have seen on the last 10 years of pavement management projects, and very little was observed in Thompson Grove Estates neighborhood. Based on this, it was determined the local neighborhood streets would not justify a full pavement replacement at this time. Hillside Trail is in a worse condition than the local neighborhood streets due to the higher traffic amount, so staff reviewed an option to rehabilitate that roadway only. The Thompson Grove Estates neighborhood was designed in a way that most of the storm sewer infrastructure was installed along Hillside Trail. If Hillside Trail is improved without the remainder of the neighborhood it drives up the overall project cost. This results in an estimated assessment amount of $7,700 for only a spot curb replacement pavement management project, which a special benefit appraisal would likely not support. As such, it is recommended that Hillside Trail be completed with the neighborhood in approximately five years’ time, to distribute the storm sewer maintenance costs more equitably. The condition of the local neighborhood streets should justify the need for a pavement replacement at that time, and staff is confident that Hillside Trail can be maintained during this time as well. While consultant staff has been analyzing the proposed project area to determine the specific scope and cost of the 2024 Pavement Management project, City staff has also been reviewing and further clarifying the funding sources as staff understood that there likely would not be enough bonding capacity to include all of the roadway segments as noted above. Through the review, staff has been evaluating funding for all 2024 projects to ensure funds are used in accordance with the CIP, Financial Management Plan (FMP), and in ways that do not hinder the city’s ability to move forward with other projects in the coming years as identified in the CIP and FMP. Included in the FMP is $18 million in bonding for 2024. $3 million in bonding is needed for phase 2 of the East Point Douglas and Jamacia project and $12 million is needed for the utility engineering division building (UEB). By bonding this amount for the UEB, $2 million dollars in cash from the utility funds would be used to cover the $14 million total project costs. Honorable Mayor, City Council, and Jennifer Levitt 2024 Project Bonding Workshop December 28, 2023 Page 2 Staff reviewed options to use more than $2 million dollars cash for the UEB, however upcoming critical utility projects, including the County 19A & 100th Street Realignment utilities and the Low Zone Water Tower, will require the use of cash as well. Based on the need to fund these two projects between 2025-2027, it recommended to only use $2 million in cash for the UEB. This leaves $3 million in bonding capacity for the 2024 pavement management project. Based on the bonding capacity available for use on the 2024 Pavement Management project, not wanting to impact both commercial areas of the City with street construction in the same year, and the pavement life remaining in the Thompson Grove Estates neighborhood, staff is recommending the 2024 Pavement Management project scope to include a full pavement and full curb replacement of the Prestige Estates neighborhood, and a mill and overlay of Jamaica Avenue from 80th Street to 90th Street. This project in conjunction with the other proposed 2024 pavement rehab and maintenance projects represents a significant investment in the City’s roadway infrastructure, and will aid in addressing some of the most time-consuming and expensive roadways to maintain within the community, while also being financially responsible looking into the next few years. Recommendation Receive information on the 2024 Pavement Management Project and 2024 Bonding Capacity, and provide direction on a final scope of work for the 2024 Pavement Management Project. Bond Issuance Amounts Identified in FMP Project 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 Total Utilities Building 9,000,000 9,000,000 Pavement Management 5,850,000 3,170,000 5,140,000 3,960,000 4,790,000 22,910,000 Streets 2,980,000 3,300,000 4,700,000 5,170,000 5,690,000 21,840,000 Equipment 240,000 1,930,000 890,000 560,000 Golf 1,600,000 Facility & Park Projects 18,070,000 10,000,000 10,730,000 9,690,000 10,480,000 53,750,000 Bond Issuance Amounts Identified in 2024-2028 CIP Project 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 Total Utilities Building 9,750,000 9,750,000 Water Tower 4,000,000 4,000,000 Pavement Management 5,556,000 4,228,000 4,893,000 3,578,425 2,483,800 20,739,225 Shoppes at Cottage View 1,000,000 4,021,000 1,253,000 6,274,000 CSAH 19 & TH 61 1,000,000 1,000,000 2,000,000 Harkness Avenue 938,000 938,000 Jamaica 3,380,000 3,380,000 Jamaica (Rose of Sharon to Military)3,000,000 3,000,000 EPD & Jamaica 2,980,000 2,980,000 Equipment 840,000 1,880,000 890,000 560,000 Golf 1,600,000 Total Bonds 22,506,000 12,708,000 10,804,000 7,329,425 5,483,800 53,061,225 Change from FMP 4,436,000 2,708,000 74,000 (2,360,575) (4,996,200) (688,775) Suggestion for 2024 Bond Issuance -1/3/2024 Workshop Project 2024 Utilities Building 12,000,000 Pavement Management/Jamaica 3,000,000 EPD & Jamaica 3,000,000 Equipment 500,000 Total Bonds 18,500,000 Change from FMP 430,000