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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-06 City Council Meeting Minutes CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE  12800 Ravine Parkway  Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 www.cottagegrovemn.gov  651-458-2800  Fax 651-458-2897  Equal Opportunity Employer COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL November 6, 2024 12800 RAVINE PARKWAY SOUTH COTTAGE GROVE, MN 55016 COUNCIL CHAMBERS - 7:00 P.M 1. CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, held a regular meeting on November 6, 2024, at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway. Mayor for a Day Lily Schmitt 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; Mayor for a Day Lily Schmitt-Here; Council Member Garza- Here; Council Member Khambata-Here; Council Member Olsen-Here; Council Member Thiede-Here. Also present: Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator; Tammy Anderson, City Clerk; Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director; Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director; Pete Koerner, Public Safety Director; Amanda Johnson, City Attorney-LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director; Emily Schmitz, Community Development Director. 4. OPEN FORUM Mayor Bailey opened the Open Forum. Rachel Loeber stated I’m here representing Leafline Labs, 8235 97th Street South, Cottage Grove. I’m a long-term resident of Minnesota, currently living in Inver Grove Heights with my husband and daughter. I’m the Operational Compliance Manager for Leafline Labs, and Leafline also owns the eight Rise Dispensaries in the State of Minnesota. I started in Leafline in 2015, so when the building first opened, I was one of the folks that helped move in the first round of plants into the building, so I’ve been part of the organization for almost ten years now. It’s been a very rewarding career opportunity for myself. Early on, I started out by helping to manage the cultivation facility, so I’m very familiar with the operations that go on there. Leafline has been headquartered in Cottage Grove since 2015, and it’s one of only two companies currently licensed by the State to cultivate, manufacture, and dispense medical cannabis products. We currently serve over 48,000 Minnesotans that are enrolled in the medical cannabis program, including a lot of juvenile patients. We currently employ 67 Minnesotans as union-represented positions at our Cottage Grove facility, and we’ve invested millions of dollars at our operation at Cottage Grove, building robust distribution channels, ensuring that our safe, high-quality products reach patients across our eight medical dispensaries. I’m here tonight to urge the City Council to revise a proposed ordinance that was approved by the Planning Commission on October 28 and work with you towards a solution that benefits us all. The ordinance includes a 40- acre minimum requirement for cannabis cultivation, which would present a significant challenge for our continued operations and immediate compliance. We recommend that the City reduce this minimum acreage requirement to 20 acres. We would also welcome the opportunity to work with the City on adding a use option that would City Council Meeting November 6, 2024 Page 2 of 9 accommodate existing cannabis operators and reflect modern cultivation practices. As a proven good corporate citizen, we are committed to working collaboratively with the City to ensure that Leafline has continued operations. Doing so will protect our dedicate workforce and ensure consistent access to the medications relied upon by thousands of Minnesotans, including several vulnerable populations. We remain steadfast in our commitments to our employees, our patients, the City of Cottage Grove, and we will continue to meet all of the odor reduction and operational requirements. Thank you for this opportunity to speak tonight and for considering these critical needs to medical cannabis patients and the role that Leafline plays in supporting this community. I’d be more than happy to answer any questions or address any concerns that you have either now or at a later time. Mayor Bailey said thank you, Rachel. What we’ll do is we take all that information in, and then we’ll work with our staff, so thank you for coming, we appreciate it; and yes, you’ve been a great business partner in the community. As no one else wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the Open Forum. 5. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion by Council Member Thiede to approve the agenda; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. 6. PRESENTATIONS A. Mayor for a Day Staff Recommendation: Appoint Lily Schmitt as Mayor for a Day on November 6, 2024. Mayor Bailey said it’s a special evening this evening, and we’re going to do a presentation. We have next to me here Lily Schmitt, who is the Mayor for a Day. She was one of many students that submitted letters about why or what they would want to do if they were Mayor for a Day or Mayor of Cottage Grove. And, so, I got a chance to look at many of them, it was tough, but I have to tell you her penmanship was amazing. So, today she got to spend a lot of time learning about all the different departments and agencies around the City of Cottage Grove. There was a fire truck, and he asked Lily what else she got to ride on; she replied, the Zamboni. Mayor Bailey said she remembers that because I keep saying as mayor for 16 years, I haven’t been on a Zamboni yet, but she has. He asked Lily what was your favorite thing, down at Public Works, what did you do there? Mayor Bailey said Ryan Burfeind, our Public Works Director, is smiling because her favorite part of the day today was doing the digging on the machines down at Public Works. She had a great time, we had some pizza before the meeting here, and I got a chance to read to the entire Council and staff the great letter that she wrote about the City of Cottage Grove. I’m just kind of encapsulating a little bit before we go down and present her with the Certificate of Appreciation for today; Lily is very much about the environment, wants to make sure that we all get together and work together, also picking up trash and litter and things around the community, and she would love to see us plant more trees because trees are important, correct? Lily replied yes. Mayor Bailey asked Council to join he and Lily in front of the dais where we’re going to present you with a certificate. He stated as I was sharing with you earlier, Lily has had the opportunity today to see and be a part of a variety of groups and parts of our City; she took a lot of tours. She got picked up by our Public Safety Director in a police car out in front of her school, so that was kind of cool. Dad, who’s out in the audience here, got a chance to hone in on this, too, and have some good times. We think this is special and I think it’s important to get our youth involved, no matter what the age is, into local government and becoming more of a part of our community. So, after a great day here, I know her Dad told me she’s got dance tonight yet, so we’re giving her a Certificate of Appreciation, which says: Presented this day to Lily Schmitt in sincere appreciation for your service to the City of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, Mayor for a Day, Wednesday, November 6, 2024; and its obviously signed by the non- acting Mayor, as she’s the Mayor right now. So, after I hand her the Certificate, I get to have the mayor’s job back, right? Lily nodded yes. Mayor Bailey presented Lily with her Certificate of Appreciation, photos were taken with Mayor Bailey and the Council Members, after which everyone applauded. Mayor Bailey told Lily she could keep her City Council Meeting November 6, 2024 Page 3 of 9 Mayor for a Day nameplate. She could bring home some patches from the Public Safety Department, and Odin, one our stuffed animals, one of our police dogs. So, we’re very excited to have you, and I know you got a lot of candy up at the Ice Arena; he asked Lily if the candy was good and she nodded yes. Mayor Bailey asked if Public Works also presented Lily with a street sign that said Lily Avenue? That was confirmed, and Mayor Bailey said so, again, kind of a neat thing for kids these days. So, next year we’ll do this again, and hopefully we’ll see a lot more people joining in. Mayor Bailey thanked Lily for being the Mayor for a Day here in Cottage Grove, we truly appreciate it. Everyone applauded. 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the October 2, 2024 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. B. Approve the October 2, 2024 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. C. Approve the October 16, 2024 Special Meeting Minutes. D. Approve the October 16, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes. E. Approve the July 15, 2024 Public Services Commission Regular Meeting Minutes. F. Accept and place on file the minutes from the August 26, 2024 Planning Commission Meeting. G. Authorize issuance of a Massage Therapist License to Lisa Christine Ramos. H. Authorize issuance of a single-occasion gambling permit to Loriann Olsen on behalf of Strawberry Fest to conduct bingo at River Oaks Golf Course (11099 Highway 61, Cottage Grove) on February 22, 2025. I. Approve the issuance of rental licenses to the properties in the attached table. J. Approve the 2025-2026 labor contract with the Police Officers union. K. Approve submittal of the comment letter to Metro Transit on their Network Now plan. L. Approve the response letter to the Washington County 2025-2029 Draft CIP. M. Authorize executing the Joint Powers Agreement between Washington County and the City of Cottage Grove for a mass community notification system. N. Authorize the Mayor and Clerk to sign the sales quote for the purchase of a Ford E-450 Road Rescue Ultramedic from Everest Emergency Vehicles with an estimated cost of $293,627.00 and an estimated delivery of December 2025. O. 1) Authorize the order of the 2025 Fire Tender utilizing the Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Group. 2) Approve Resolution 2024-155, 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 equipment (Fire Tender). P. Approve Change Order #3 for the Utility and Engineering Building, which results in a reduction in project costs in the amount of $9,159.33. Q. Adopt Resolution 2024-152 approving the final payment in the amount of $29,062.15 to Mineral Services Plus, LLC, for the Goodview Avenue Well Sealing Project. R. Adopt Resolution 2024-153 approving the Preliminary and Final Plat to be called Gateway North Second Addition in order to create two parcels (a 7.89-acre parcel for Kohl’s and a new 1.03-acre parcel for Chase Bank). S. Staff recommends the approval of the scope of work and services prepared by Hometown Fiber for the Broadband Aware program, at a cost of $22,528. None of the Council Member wished to pull any items on the Consent Agenda for further discussion and/or approval. Motion by Council Member Olsen to approve the Consent Agenda; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. 8. APPROVE DISBURSEMENTS City Council Meeting November 6, 2024 Page 4 of 9 A. Approve disbursements for the period of 10-11-2024 through 10-31-2024 in the amount of $6,321,456.21 Motion by Council Member Garza to approve disbursements; second by Council Member Khambata. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None. 10. BID AWARDS A. Low Zone Water Tower Bid Award Staff Recommendation: 1) Adopt Resolution 2024-151 awarding the bid for the Low Zone Water Tower to Landmark Structures 1, LP, in the amount of $5,183,000.00. 2) Approve Resolution 2024-156, 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 construction of the Low Zone Water Tower. Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director, stated tonight we’re talking about our Low Zone Water Tower project. We took bids on this project on October 24. Just a reminder for Council on where this is located: This is kind of just south of the Park and Ride, along the frontage road, just kind of behind the railroad tracks, really close to Hamlet Park. Just for the Council and the public, because it’s not very often that we build a water tower, here are some renderings just as a reminder of what we’re going to be building here in the City. It’s a little different tower in that we call it a composite tower; so, its got a concrete column and then a metal bowl at the top, so you can see that in the renderings from East Point Douglas Road and Hamlet Park in the pictures here. That’s really a cost-savings measure, that we won’t need to deal with all the painting of that column like we do all of our other water towers. Looking at our bid results, we got three bids for this project, and you can see the Engineer’s Estimate was just under $6 million, and we had two contractors that were below that Engineer’s Estimate amount: Gerard Tank and Steel, Inc. and Landmark Structures. One thing that’s a little different with towers but pretty typical for water towers is to have experience requirements. So, we had those experience requirements in the project specifications for this project; which is pretty standard for water towers, a lot of communities and different entities use these just because its a little different project. Obviously, they’re much more complex than a lot of our street and utility projects where we do not have experience requirements; for this project, they were still set at having three completed 1.5-million gallon composite elevated tanks, so its an elevated tower and then it has that composite nature, in the last five years. The bidders were required to submit their experience requirements after the bid, and with Gerard Tank and Steel, they have only completed one composite elevated tank with just 400,000 gallons, so they do not meet our experience requirements that were set in the specification. They do have some larger towers that are under construction now, but our specifications are very clear that it does have to be completed. So, we are really held to that, we can’t waver from those standards with the bidding that we did take. Landmark Structures had completed eight 1.5-million gallon tanks in the last five years, so they did meet the experience requirement. So, due to all of that, the bid award resolution does include rejecting Gerard Tank and Steel’s bid because they do not meet those experience requirements. There are two recommendations in front of you: One is the bid award and the other is the resolution related to the bonding because we are bidding it in 2024, but we’re not bonding until 2025; that’s why we have this additional resolution, just declaring our intent to reimburse the project with those bonds in 2025. With that, I’ll stand for any questions. Council Member Khambata asked is there any unique challenges in the design or like service requirements of this water tower that would have excluded certain vendors from bidding for this project? City Council Meeting November 6, 2024 Page 5 of 9 Director Burfeind replied so, specific to the tower, I would say it is a standard composite elevated tank; access is a little different, a little challenging, its right by a railroad so there’s some extra requirements on that, working with the railroad to get access. In terms of precluding certain bidders, it’s really just those project qualification requirements, which in this case it does exclude Gerard Tank and Steel; obviously, like I said, it’s typical to have those standards. They could be slightly higher or lower, but obviously, based on the experience requirements that they submitted, really even if it was smaller standards, they just have not completed those towers. Like I said, they do have ones under construction, but the way they were set, and that is typical; you want projects to be completed to kind of meet that qualification, and they don’t meet it at this time. Motion by Council Member Khambata to Adopt Resolution 2024-151 awarding the bid for the Low Zone Water Tower to Landmark Structures 1, LP, in the amount of $5,183,000.00; second by Council Member Garza. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Thiede to Approve Resolution 2024-156, 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 construction of the Low Zone Water Tower; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. B. Kingston Park Electrical Improvements Bid Award Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2024-154 awarding the bid for the Kingston Park Electrical Improvements to Killmer Electric in the total amount of $152,345. Parks and Recreation Director Zac Dockter said we took bids for the Kingston Park electrical improvements on October 31. Just to remind Council of the project area, this is the Kingston Park location, and the objective of this project was to increase power capacity while also improving access to power for all the large or small events that happen at Kingston Park. We would be adding ten parking lot/security lights at the facility and each one of those parking lot security lights on the poles would have an outlet source for vendors to use or the Athletic Association or whoever might be using the park at that time. He displayed a layout of the lighting system around the parking lot. There were six firms that submitted bids, and Killmer Electric provided the lowest bid and does meet all the bid and contractor requirements; their bid was $152,345. The staff recommendation to Adopt Resolution 2024-154 is on the screen for you to review. Council Member Olsen thanked Director Dockter and asked if he could take a moment or two and paint a little picture verbally for people regarding this project and then sort of the larger scope of how this fits into some of the grand improvements that you’re looking to make at Kingston Park? Because this is kind of Step 1. Director Dockter replied so this site has been woefully underpowered kind of since Kingston Park was created back in 1987, I think. So, we haven’t had the ability to expand the power grid much there in terms of adding outlets or things like that; so, we’re getting a power source from Indian Boulevard now, it currently comes from 75th, so Xcel will help us move power from Indian Boulevard, which allows us to increase capacity so we’ll have a new transformer there. Should the Council decide to replace the building in the future, we would be powered up for something like that or if it’s additional lighting for picnic shelters or security or additional cameras or things like that. So, we’re kind of at the limit of our power source there right now, so this kind of sets the tone for the future. As you were alluding to, Council Member Olsen, there is certainly a growing usage of Kingston Park in many different regards with all the different events and activities. It’s a great park, it’s a great campus with the connection to the elementary and the middle school there; so there’s just a lot of space there, and it just keeps getting used more and more for bigger events, and this will help it in that regard across the board. Council Member Olsen asked regarding timing, when are you envisioning that this work would begin and would it have any impact on some of those events that we know take place at the park every year? Director Dockter replied good question, Council Member Olsen. Part of the reason we’re taking the bids now is so that we can get those materials on order and get Xcel’s schedule in line, it takes them some time to obviously City Council Meeting November 6, 2024 Page 6 of 9 catch up with all their work orders for projects like this to expand on electrical. So, we hope to have this project done by May or early June, before any of the major events take place. Council Member Olsen said okay, perfect, thank you so much. Motion by Council Member Khambata to Adopt Resolution 2024-154 awarding the bid for the Kingston Park Electrical Improvements to Killmer Electric in the total amount of $152,345; second by Council Member Garza. Motion carried: 5-0. 11. REGULAR AGENDA - None. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Olsen said first of all, I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Firefighter Ryan Spiess on his recent retirement. Ryan achieved 20 years of service to the Cottage Grove Fire Department and Public Safety team, and this is kind of an auspicious retirement because his dad, Dave Spiess, also worked for the Fire Department. Pete, you’re going to have to correct me if I’m wrong, but did Dave make 40 years? Close, close. So, between Dave and Ryan it was a long time having a Spiess or two on the roster, and it’ll be the first time in a long time we don’t have that. But Ryan is a tremendous individual who gave just thousands of hours to our community; as part of the Fire Department, he handled a lot of different things, retired as a lieutenant with the department. He had his hand in training and he had his hand in a lot of the documentation of that training that is required to be sent to the State. He was a very key component as part of our parttime team, and he will be sorely missed, but we wish him well in his retirement. Council Member Olsen said the other thing I wanted to mention about the Cottage Grove Fire Department is this year, for the first time that I can recall, we had a drive-through Halloween Event at the Cottage Grove Fire Department, and it was appropriate. It was a little bit of a chilly night, although there were a lot more people out than I thought there would be. I know Captain James Olson and Firefighter Mike Dandl were handing out candy and greeting the families as they drove through, and it was really a neat event. We had Sparky out on 80th Street, waving people in, and I think families across the community really appreciated that; so, kudos to the Fire Department under the guidance and supervision of our Public Safety Director, Pete Koerner, to make sure that they pulled that off without a hitch. I don’t think they ran out of candy, but they got awfully close. Somebody came to the rescue, I can’t remember his name, it might be Olsen, something like that, brought them a bunch more candy, but it was a really cool thing. So, I hope we do it again next year. Council Member Olsen said the last thing I had for this evening, mayor, is unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re pretty much aware that there was an election yesterday. Of course it was a presidential year, so we all saw the commercials on TV and on the radio and on the internet and everywhere else, and I think we’re all grateful that those will be done for a while; but there was also a local component, of course, with the House of Representatives at our State Capitol seats up for election, and we also had a City Council race here in the City of Cottage Grove. So, first, I want to say thank you to everybody that was brave enough to put their name on the ballot; that takes courage, it’s not an easy thing to do, and when you do it, you open yourself up to a lot of different forms of communication from the public that as a private citizen you don’t normally encounter. It takes a strong heart and a good support system to be able to run a good campaign; it’s a lot of work, especially at the local level, so kudos to everybody who decided that they wanted to take a shot at it. I also want to congratulate the person to my left, Mayor Bailey, for another term, unopposed; it’s really exciting to have Myron in the mayor’s chair for another four years. I want to congratulate Council Member Garza for her election to the next two years of the term she was appointed to after Council Member Dennis moved out of state. I want to congratulate Dave Clausen, who is in the room. Dave is a retired police officer here in the City of Cottage Grove, who put his name on the ballot this year and was successful; so, Dave will be joining the Council here in January. But I really want to take a moment to congratulate the person to my right, which is my friend and colleague, Council Member Tony City Council Meeting November 6, 2024 Page 7 of 9 Khambata. Tony has been an absolute joy to work with as a Council Member; he came from six years on the Planning Commission, so he has a very good handle on things like setbacks and building codes and all those wonderful things that a lot of us don’t pay much attention to. He also happens to be a real estate professional, so that adds another layer to his expertise. He’s a great guy, he’s a wonderful dad, he’s a good partner, and just a class act all around; so, unfortunately, Tony did not win reelection, that’s the nature of democracy, but I know he will continue to serve this community in a lot of different ways, perhaps on a commission again at some point. I’m sure he’ll find many ways to keep serving the citizens of Cottage Grove, and I just wanted to thank him for the time that he’s spent as a Planning Commissioner and as a City Council Member and wish him well. Council Member Olsen said the last thing that I’ll say is I was grateful to the voters. I was also on the ballot and was successful, so you’re stuck with me for another four years, whether you like it or not. It’s a very humbling experience when people cast a ballot for you, to me that is a vote of trust that requires a great deal of hard work, of responsibility, of humility, and it’s really a sacred trust; it’s an agreement between the both of us that you’re going to check that box and I’m going to be worthy of that checkmark. I promise you to do everything in my power to do that for the next four years and who knows what’ll happen beyond that, but thank you to the residents of Cottage Grove for your votes, and thank you to everybody who took the time to go cast a ballot. Council Member Thiede said all right, so Halloween’s over, the Monster Bash parade is done, but now it’s time to start planning for Strawberry Fest 2025, which is going to be held on June 19 through June 22, and maybe if we can get the camera to come up, we have chosen a theme and a logo; I don't know, can your camera zoom in? It’s called Berry Saurus Celebration, and so there’s all sorts of things that now everybody’s got to put their thinking caps on and take this theme and let’s turn this into a fantastic celebration in 2025. We were thinking, we were talking about things, maybe we could have a Tyrannosaurus Rex race or something like that or maybe Movies by Mo can get involved; we love to get people involved and getting different ideas and what kind of things we can do to celebrate this community. So, get excited, some may think it’s a little early, but it’s always good to kind of get excited and start planning, and before you know it, it’s going to be here. Council Member Thiede said also, just as Justin was mentioning, to everybody involved in the City Council race and all the other races that we had, democracy and things like that. I am also glad to not see those commercials; it’s a challenge to the intelligence, I think, sometimes with sometimes the things that they put in those. So, at any rate, congratulations to all and again, there’s some good things, and there’s some unfortunate things that sometimes happen, but we do have a good group, and I know that we all get together and help any way we can. Council Member Garza said so first off, congratulations to everyone, congratulations to you, congratulations to you all, congratulations, David, this was really an awesome race and I’ve learned a lot, so congratulations. And, Tony, we’ll be seeing you still, in my back yard; he’s friends with my neighbor, so I get to see Tony quite often. I also would like to mention I’m going to piggyback a little bit off of Dave and Strawberry Fest. So, there are a lot of fun family events that are coming up in the next month or two: One big one that is coming up for Strawberry Fest is Princess for a Day, and that is going to be held at the VFW Red Barn on November 17; that is an amazing event for families to get out and their kids to come and dress up like princesses or be princesses for the day, and they get a little taste of what Strawberry Fest is like. So, it’s a good opportunity to learn a little bit about Strawberry Fest and be a Princess for a Day. Also, we have the Breakfast with Santa that will be coming up, and that’s on December 8 at River Oaks, so that’s another fun family event, as well as the Holiday Train, and that will be on December 11, and that will be a lot of fun. We are just going to pray for warm weather, we do not want 30 below again, or was it 20 below, I don't remember, a couple years ago. Council Member Thiede said that one year Sheryl Crowe sang and it was snowing, that was kind of a neat one. Council Member Garza said yeah, so a lot of fun events, though, if you guys have some time, get out there and have some family fun. Mayor Bailey said as the Council’s aware, next week we have a Special Council Meeting because we have to canvass the vote and we have a workshop with business in the area to talk about their processes and such, and City Council Meeting November 6, 2024 Page 8 of 9 then we have a Council Meeting the week after that, which is basically right before Thanksgiving. I would just ask if we’re going to have an opportunity to have Molly or Zac or somebody come talk about all these events that are coming up. If I might just make a plug also to include maybe some of the others, like the Lions I know have their breakfast, River Oaks has their breakfast; there are all these multitudes of different events and craft fairs, and then obviously our Hometown Holiday Celebration here at City Hall. So, there are a lot of neat things that are coming forward here that it would be nice at that particular meeting to have our staff kind of share with the public exactly what’s coming up in the next couple weeks. Mayor Bailey said as Council Member Olsen and everybody else along here said, first of all, I want to once again thank the voters of Cottage Grove myself, as well as all my peers that were up for reelection here. We’re obviously going to have the opportunity to meet and work with Dave; it’s going to be kind of interesting to have two Daves on the Council here, one on each, double Daves here, I don't know. And I couldn’t say it any better than what Council Member Olsen had said; no matter if you won or if you lost, if you’re an existing person that maybe has been in the role, it does take a lot. I just want to thank everybody that ran, whether it’s for our local race here, but I also want to mention a couple people that also won that obviously will affect our local area here: Tom Dippel, who is also from Cottage Grove, he won one of the House seats, there’s kind of two that are part of Cottage Grove here, and then Wayne Johnson, who used to be on the Council years ago, and I believe County Commissioner also, I should mention that, he is also one of the other House members, who also lives here in Cottage Grove. So, those two will be going up to the Minnesota House of Representatives. I was very excited for Congresswoman Angie Craig, that she won her reelection, representing our area; I just have to say that she has been absolutely amazing to work with, it’s truly a breath of fresh air, I just have to say it because it’s so true in helping secure funding and so on with all the different projects and things. That’s kind of a good segue to the last thing I was just going to bring up and that is, as everybody is aware, we had three questions on the ballot for what they call the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), and none of those questions were passed by the residents of Cottage Grove. I wanted to make sure that everybody is aware because I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me, obviously there are people on both sides, some that wanted it, some that didn’t want it; one of the things that’s very important to remember is pretty much all of these, not everything that was in the three proposals, if you will, not everything is slated 100% that it’s going to happen into the future. For example, improvements to Hamlet Park, which were part of this program, we will eventually do those, it just may take longer than maybe we originally anticipated. Of course, the new park along the backwaters of the Mississippi, which a lot of people are excited about with boat access and so on, instead of maybe building that sooner, it may take a little bit longer to kind of complete these park amenities or these park projects. On the other hand, though, what I wanted to mention is Zac and our staff are absolutely amazing, all of them, Ryan, from a staff perspective, we absolutely whether the referendum questions would have passed or not passed, we’re always out there and really have challenged our staff to go out there and look for money. Whether it’s money for road projects, whether it’s money for park projects; Zac, on the Park side I believe was it $700,000, was that for the park up by Oltman? Zac replied $350,000. Mayor Bailey said so $350,000 that he was able to go find some money to help with park improvements and a plot of land that we own up by Oltman Middle School and we’ll eventually be working on that. So, we kind of plug those in. The second thing is whether it’s the backwaters of the Mississippi, we’re going to go look for those; there are opportunities out there, especially being on the backwaters and there’s a few things that we’ve already been talking about, whether the Local Option Sales Tax would have passed or not passed. If it would have passed and we were able to still go after the dollars and get the dollars, then we wouldn’t have used the Local Option Sales Tax. So, I just want the public to be aware, for those that might be concerned, hey, does this mean we’re not doing any of these projects, from Day 1 it was always that we’re going to do them, it’s just how soon that we were going to do it and how long it will take to get them. And a lot of that will depend on how we, as a Council, new Council, decide on what we call our Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) and where these things will be in the CIP, which we usually plan out more succinctly for the next five years. As I’ve talked with staff, some of these things may take 25 years to get everything completed. But that also depends on funding sources and that, too, so I just want to thank the public, though, for expressing your opinions, one way or the other; it’s great, as was commented earlier, this is a democracy, and whether you wanted it, didn’t want it, or maybe you wanted it but just don’t want to pay for it, that’s fine, too. But the fact is we’ll continue to City Council Meeting November 6, 2024 Page 9 of 9 look at options and opportunities to bring these things, like we always do, from a Council standpoint and a staff standpoint to not have such an affect on our local property tax, which is frankly part of the reason we did the Local Option Sales Tax idea. 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 7:39 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Tamara Anderson, City Clerk.