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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-11-19 City Council Meeting COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCILNovember 19, 2025 12800 RAVINE PARKWAY SOUTH COTTAGE GROVE, MN 55016 COUNCIL CHAMBER-7:00 P.M 1.CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, held aregular meeting on November 19, 2025, at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 RavineParkway.Mayor Bailey called the meeting to order. and said this meeting is being recorded by TrueLens Community Media. You can view City meetings live and replay them on Cable Channel 799, and the meetings are also streamed live and archived on Cottage Grove’s YouTube channel. 2.PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The audience, staff, and City Council Members stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 3.ROLL CALL Tammy Anderson, City Clerk, called the roll:Mayor Bailey-Here;Council Member Clausen-Here; Council Member Garza-Here; Council Member Olsen-Here; Council Member Thiede-Here. Also present: Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator; Ryan Burfeind, Public Works Director; Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director; Pete Koerner, Public Safety Director; Korine Land,City Attorney-LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director; Emily Schmitz, Community Development Director. 4.OPEN FORUM Mayor Baileyopened the Open Forum. He noted there was a sign-up sheet in the hallway and no one had signed up to speak. However, our County Commissioner, Karla Bigham, is here to share a few things with the Council. After she speaks, I’ll ask one more time if anyone else wants to speak. Welcome. Commissioner Bigham said thank you, Mayor and Council, Good Evening. Thank you, I’m going to be real quick because I know you already had a long meeting and you have a long agenda, but I just wanted to highlight a few things before the year closes out here: We are going to be reopening the Newport Transit Center because there is a bus line that now will be coming from Woodbury to the Newport Transit Center, out west to the airport and Mall of America. This is the first public transportation that we’ve been able to have here in the East Metro, going west towards the airport, which is big. I figured the residents of Cottage Grove, even though it’s the Newport Transit Center, would want to know that that’s going to be an option, and that starts on December 6, runs every hour from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00, seven days a week, and I really want to thank the Red Rock Corridor Commission and Council Member Garza, who serves on that, our local community partners, and, of course, the residents for their advocacy to get that access going. There is an open house at the Transit Center on December 10, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., so we hope people can join us. Another exciting expansion is our DARTS Circulator is now going to also be going into St. Paul Park and Newport, bringing folks to the shopping center hub here in Cottage Grove, and then also our library and Basic Needs food shelf. So, it’s just a way to meet the needs of that and you’ll obviously probably benefit from some retail increases there. We also are undergoing an update to our Transit Needs Study, which should be done in early 2026, which will have a more comprehensive plan for transit. Obviously, with your support, the Park Grove Library will be undergoing a major renovation, and that starts in February, it’ll be shut down for about a year. I wanted to announce that the Cottage Grove Armory will have some programming available that currently is offered by the library, and then the South Service Center in Cottage Grove will have some catalogs of books, and those will be rotated out. I want to talk about a couple food-related things. With the Food Scrap Program, we have 11% across both counties of people utilizing it: 12% in Washington County, ¾ of Washington County has the program rolled out, and the northern part will get that next year; 10% of Washington County homes are enrolled in it, so we really appreciate that. But being that the holidays are coming up, hosting, food, all that, go to foodscrapspickup.com and sign up, and we’ll get you those bags, and you can participate in that program that is of no cost to you. I just wanted to remind folks that Christmas lights, mayor, and batteries should be properly recycled, and we can take those at our Recycling Center out there in Woodbury. I just wanted to note, too, it’s been a big topic, is the SNAP Program that had been cut off, now its back on, and the Federal shutdown had an impact on a lot of our neighbors that have good insecurity. The Washington County Board appropriated $250,000 to local food shelves: Both Friends in Need and Basic Needs received a portion of those funds, and the SNAP benefits were disbursed, but both Basic Needs and Friends in Need have been experiencing over a 30% increase in users, mainly first-time users. So, I just wanted to say that the needs and the pressure doesn’t go away just because that program was turned back on. Finally, I know another thing that’s very near and dear to the mayor’s heart is the Holiday Train is coming on December 13, I know you’ll talk about that, but that benefits the Friends in Need. So, I just wanted you to know that during these times, too, that the County’s doing what we can and I know the communities are all hands on deck to help. Commissioner Bigham said that actually was the last thing on my list, so thank you, I can take any questions if anyone has them. Mayor Bailey asked the Council if there were any questions, none were asked. He told Commissioner Bigham I guess not, you covered it all. Commissioner Bigham replied thank you so much; Mayor Bailey said thank you, take care. Mayor Bailey checked one more time to see if anybody else wished to speak on Open Forum. As no oneelse wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed Open Forum. 5. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion by Council MemberThiede to adopt the agenda; second by Council MemberOlsen.Motion carried:5-0. 6.PRESENTATIONS Public Safety Board K9 and Equipment Donation Staff Recommendation: 1) Accept and approve the donation of the dual-purpose police dog (canine) purchased from Police Service Dogs, Inc. with the value of $15,667.00. 2) Accept and approve the donation of the 7’ x 14’ concrete slab, purchased from Schultz Enterprises LLC, with a value of $3,000.00. 3) Accept and approve the donation of the 6’ x 12’ enclosed kennel, purchased from Midwest Fence, with a value of $1,665.00. Mayor Bailey said our Director of Public Safety, Pete Koerner, is going to take us through this, and Council, I think we’ll join them down in front of the dais. Mayor Bailey said why don’t we get the Public Safety Board up here to join us. Director Koerner said Commissioner Bigham, if you would like to, you were kind of part of the whole thing way back, but that does mean you need to make a financial donation at some point, too. All kidding aside, thank you, Mayor and Council, for allowing me to have just a couple moments with you here. As Commissioner Bigham had just mentioned, I know it’s been a long day already, you guys were here at 7:30 a.m. for EDA. Tonight, we’re just going to recognize our Public Safety Board, and as you’re aware, through all of our conversations this year, through budget, we kept talking about adding an additional patrol dog; currently, we have two, so they’re great for apprehension, they’re great for searches, they’ve been a really good public relations tool, and also with just recruitment and retention. When officers want to come here, they want to know there are opportunities, so a K9 program is one of the big things. The dogs are not cheap, and with that, since we first started our first one, it’s been the Public Safety Board that has been kind of the driving force behind the donations, raising money for us, getting grants, and everything. So, their continued support has been incredible. When we came to them, when we got Blitz, I think he was probably $5,000 or $8,000; now, for a new K9, we paid just under $16,000. So, with this presentation, some of these things we’ve already purchased, we’re getting ready for the snow, we already put the kennel and the slab in at our handler’s home. Officer Sydney Whelan is the one who was selected through our process this year, and we had to send money for the dog. Just after Thanksgiving, Sydney will take possession of the dog, but she doesn’t start the academy through the St. Paul Police Foundation, who does the K9 training, until sometime in January. So, we will have the dog here to introduce, but I want the dog to at least get acclimated to Sydney so we won’t have any “mishaps” here at a Council Meeting or whatnot. Everyone laughed. Director Koerner said with that, I would ask that Council accept this donation, and we’d like to present the check for just over $20,000. Mayor Bailey said fantastic, look at this, thank you! Everyone applauded. Mayor Bailey asked Julie Rice, Public Safety Board President, if she’d like to speak, to which she replied yes. Julie said first of all, thank you everybody, and a lot of our fundraising efforts come from Cottage Grove and some surrounding community cities. So, the K9 dog is also part of the community, and that’s what we’re here for is to raise funds so that we can purchase unbudgeted items for the Police, Fire, and EMS. So, with the K9, I’m sure it might have been used the other night, one of the dogs probably was out searching, which Director Koerner confirmed. They’re very special for our force, we really need them, so purchasing another K9 has always been official for the community and for the officers. So, thank you, community, thank you, Board, thank you, City Council, thank you, Chief. Director Koerner replied thank you. Mayor Bailey said fantastic, and I’ll throw in there, too, obviously, thank you to the Public Safety Board and all the citizens that have helped with the fundraising and making this happen. You know, you mentioned about the officers, too; now that we’ll have more K9s, if you will, spread throughout all the different shifts, actually the mental health and wellness of our officers is going to be better instead of somebody working all night and then getting a call in the day where they need to take the dog out. So, I mean, all of those things are benefits, too, the health and safety of our officers also is a big plus in adding this additional K9. Mayor Bailey said on behalf, I think from all of us here, even our County Commissioner Bigham, she was the one that helped get the K9 program up and running again, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you all again, keep up the great work. We do truly appreciate it, this means a lot to the community. Julie said on the Hometown Holiday, we’re also going to be selling our plush dogs, you can see them throughout the windows and in the main office. We sell them, and that’s part of our fundraising efforts, along with the police patches and challenge coins. We’ve also done a few other little things, so I’m going to be doing a Bunco Tournament at Broadway Bar in St. Paul Park in a couple weeks. So, if you want to come down and learn how to play, donations are accepted under a guideline through gambling, so it’s not termed donation, it’s “appreciation acceptance,” so thank you. Mayor Bailey said let’s give them a round of applause again for this, this is amazing, and everyone applauded. Photographs were then taken with the Public Safety Board, the check, Mayor Bailey, and all of the Council Members. Motion by Council Member Olsen to accept and approve the donation of the dual-purpose police dog (canine) purchased from Police Service Dogs, Inc., with the value of $15,667.00; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0 Motion by Council Member Thiede to accept and approve the donation of the 7’ x 14’ concrete slab, purchased from Schultz Enterprises, LLC, with a value of $3,000.00; second by Council Member Garza. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Clausen to accept and approve the donation of the 6’ x 12’ enclosed kennel, purchased from Midwest Fence, with a value of $1,665.00; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. Mayor Bailey said again, thank you to the Public Safety Board and all those that contributed to the next K9 for Cottage Grove. Proclamation - 2025 Small Business Saturday Staff Recommendation: Proclaim November 29, 2025 as Small Business Saturday. Mayor Bailey said he asked Council Member Clausen to read the proclamation aloud, it’s hard to believe we’re just over a little week away from Thanksgiving; so, he turned it over to Council Member Clausen. Council Member Clausen replied thank you, mayor, I have a proclamation for 2025 Small Business Saturday for November 29, 2025, and he read aloud the proclamation. Motion by Council Member Clausen to proclaim November 29, 2025 as Small Business Saturday; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. Mayor Bailey said shop local, that’s the main thing. 7.CONSENT AGENDAA. Approve the October 15, 2025 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes.B.Approve the September 8, 2025 Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Regular Meeting Minutes. C.Accept and place on file the minutes from the June 10, 2025 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation.D. Receive the response letter to the Open Forum question on November 5, 2025. E.Receive the response letter to the Open Forum question on November 5, 2025. F. Receive the response letters to the Open Forum questions on November 5, 2025, regarding Nelson Backwaters Final Environmental Impact Statements. G.Approve Resolution 2025-159 approving the Business Licenses listed in Attachment A. H.Approve the issuance of rental licenses to the properties listed in the attached table. Accept the grant in the amount of $2,000.00 from the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Foundation Community Partnerships Grant Program. Authorize agreement with Front Burner Sports and Entertainment for naming rights and sponsorship services at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena. Authorize beverage agreement with Pepsi Beverages Company for services at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena and River Oaks. Authorize staff to purchase a Zamboni 546 Series Ice Resurfacer from Zamboni Company USA, Inc. under the Sourcewell Contract for the amount of $157,638.43. Authorize purchase order for Toro ProCore 648 Greens Aerator for the amount of $40,602.81 under 2025 State Contract pricing. Authorize Parks and Recreation to advertise and sell surplus property on MNBid, K-Bid, or Cranky Ape. Adopt Resolution 2025-164 to allow the proposed improvements to the John P. Furber House located at 7310 Lamar Avenue South. Approve the Professional Services Agreement between the City and Medicine Wood, Inc. to occupy and make improvements to the Old Town Hall, located at 9550 Islay Avenue South. Adopt Resolution 2025-167 supporting the City’s Local Road Improvement Program grant application for the County 19A/100th Street Realignment Project. Approve Feasibility Report and Call for Public Hearing for the 80th Street (TH61 to Ideal Avenue), East Point Douglas Road (80th Street South to T-intersection), and TH61/80th Street Interchange Rehabilitation Project. As none of the Council Members wished to pull any Items onthe Consent Agenda for further comment and/or discussion, Mayor Bailey said he’d look for a motion to approve. Motion by Council MemberGarzato approve the Consent Agenda; second by Council MemberClausen. Motion carried: 5-0. 8.APPROVE DISBURSEMENTS Staff Recommendation: Approve disbursements from 10-31-2025through 11-13-2025in the amount of $4,060,977.28 Motion by Council MemberOlsento approve disbursements; second by Council MemberClausen. Motion carried: 5-0. 9.PUBLIC HEARINGS- None. 10.BID AWARDS- None. 11.REGULAR AGENDA Tobacco Violation - Giza, Inc. (DBA: MoonSoon Tobacco), 7584 80th Street South, #201 Staff Recommendation: 1) Allow a business representative from Giza, Inc. (DBA: MoonSoon Tobacco) to respond to the City Council regarding the underage sale of tobacco, a compliance check violation on October 28, 2025. 2) Adopt Resolution 2025-170, imposing the scheduled penalty for the first violation in a 36-month period, a $300.00 fine. Mayor Bailey said our Director of Public Safety, Pete Koerner, will walk the Council through this one. Director Koerner said thank you, Mayor and Council. Tonight, we have two Tobacco Compliance Check Violations to talk to you about. They’re listed as two different items, but I’ll try to get through this relatively quickly with what the procedure is; all of you have been a part of violations, whether it’s alcohol or tobacco, in the past, so I’ll just do a couple quick reminders. With the tobacco checks, we do them twice a year, it is in our Ordinance, and we have our whole Compliance Team, led by Sergeant Mike McCormick, and we have some Compliance Check Officers that make sure they follow the same procedure every time. Recently, on October 28, 2025, we did our Tobacco Compliance Checks in all of Cottage Grove with all the license holders, and we had two violations. The first one I’ll talk about is MoonSoon Tobacco, and this is their first Compliance Check Violation in a 36-month period. So, just to kind of remind you, our decoys were given specific directions on where to come, how to look, how to dress, everything. So, we’re not out to trick people, they’re not to lie to people, and they’re all kind of listed here, they have to tell their real age if someone asks how old they are and to present a real driver's license or instructional permit. With that, we review it, we take pictures, so basically, we collect evidence, it’s a police investigation that these can ultimately become. They’re given money, they go into the business, and their directions are basically go into the tobacco shop and ask for a certain product. As you can see, it used to be they’d ask for a pack of Marlboros or Lucky Strikes, and now the younger ones ask for Zyn and all these other products that I really don’t even know what they are, but I know that you have to be 21 to purchase. Here is just a quick reminder of what our identifications look like in the State of Minnesota: As you can see, it’s a portrait when they’re under 21, and it is marked Under 21, so there really should be no confusion if they ask for identification. The other picture shows the 21, and that’s landscaped. So, as you can see, there’s a difference. You don’t even have to do the math if you look at it, it tells you right on there that they’re under 21. For this first violation we’ll talk about, you were given a copy of the police report in your packet if you had a chance to review that. We conducted these on October 28, 2025, and with this one, the decoy went in, went up to the counter, and a transaction was completed. The decoy purchased Zyn pouches, and those are like a smokeless pouch but they contain nicotine, and you have to be at least 21 to purchase those. The decoy asked for the product, the employee asked for the driver's license, and this decoy actually provided an instructional permit, which is the same as the other, it’s the portrait style. The employee did not ask for an age or additional questions, and then completed the transaction. Our decoy went outside and told the officers that they were just sold the product, and our officers went into the store. With this one, she just said there was confusion when she tried to do the math or something on the year, but with that, she was told she was going to receive a citation for selling tobacco, and the violation letter was sent to the license holder. With that, I’ll turn it over for a recommendation, but we can let the license holder come up, too. Mayor Bailey said okay, so first, Council, are there any questions for Director Koerner, none were asked. Mayor Bailey asked the license holder if she’d like to come up and speak. He asked her to please just state her name and address for the record. Wanda Fleur, I live at 2581 5th Avenue East, North St. Paul, Minnesota, 55109. On the night in question, the individual was a new employee, she’d only been working a couple weeks. She was trained and I have explicit things they have to follow up at the register, that they have to scan all IDs; and I understand she also told the officer that we didn’t have a scanner, which is untrue. She was trying to get out of it herself. Immediately that night, she was let go, I finished her shift, and I took care of everything. But we do have the scanning in place. I have reiterated with every one of my employees and I remind them every two weeks, I’m messaging all my employees saying, hey, don’t forget to ID. You have to scan every ID. If they don’t scan, be sure you check it well. So, we have taken care of that situation and have put more rigorous training and stuff in place so that it doesn’t happen again. Mayor Bailey replied okay. Council, any questions? Council Member Olsen said thank you for being here, first of all. Ms. Fleur replied yeah. We appreciate it. Sometimes people just don’t even show up, so it’s nice to have a representative from the business here. Ms. Fleur replied, we’re very proud of our store, so. Council Member Olsen said so, I have a couple questions for you. How long has this business been in business? Ms. Fleur replied I believe the business has been there three years, but I’ve only been managing it for a year, just over a year. Council Member Olsen said okay, so, three years under this name, so then this is the first violation in that three-year timeframe. Okay, that’s good to know. Secondly, commendable that you, as the leader of the business, took care of the situation, informed the employee they no longer had a position with you, stepped in to finish the shift. I happen to be a retail person myself, as does the mayor, and so, we know that sometimes, no matter how many times you remind people and teach people and coach people, their behavior doesn’t always sync up with the training they’ve received. So, I’m glad to hear that you took firm and quick action. The last question I have for you is you said they have been trained. What does your training look like? Ms. Fleur replied I am in store with every new hire for two days, two full shifts, and then they also train with the people that are working in the store for another three-to-five days before they’re allowed to be on shift alone. None of my stores have two people on at the same time; we’re always just a one-person store, so until we’re very comfortable that they understand and they’re doing things the proper way and they were. The training, she was scanning the IDs as she was supposed to, so. Council Member Olsen said okay, so your training is more like shoulder to shoulder, as opposed to say electronic-based training where you actually go through a series of modules and you have. Ms. Fleur replied no, all of ours is hands on, in store, right there with the customers and anything that comes up; and they also know if there are any questions, they can call me at any time. Council Member Olsen said okay. Do the tobacco vendors work with you on anything? I know some of them also have some training programs in place. I’m just curious if they bring those to you to potentially take advantage of theirs. Ms. Fleur replied I personally don’t know of any, but the owner might. Council Member Olsen said okay, good enough. Well, again, thanks for being here, glad to hear that you took quick and decisive action. I appreciate that. Thank you. Mayor Bailey asked Council if there were any other questions, and none were asked. He thanked Ms. Fleur for showing up tonight and sharing what you managed with the situation. Motion by Council Member Garza to Adopt Resolution 2025-170, imposing the scheduled penalty for the first violation in a 36-month period, a $300.00 fine; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. Tobacco Violation - Hy-Vee, Inc. (DBA: Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits), 7280 East Point Douglas Road Staff Recommendation: 1) Allow a business representative for the Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits to respond to the City Council regarding the underage sale of tobacco, a compliance check violation occurring on October 28, 2025. 2) Adopt Resolution 2025-169, imposing the scheduled penalty for the first violation in a 36-month period, a $300.00 fine. Mayor Bailey said Pete, our Director of Public Safety, will also take us through this one. Director Koerner said yes, and I’m not going to go through the procedure and everything for you on this second one, but Council Member Olsen you asked a good question about different provided trainings as well. I will say that Washington County Public Health also sends out and they do training a couple times a year; we do one right at the Service Center, and our Compliance Officers will participate in that. So, there are other opportunities, too, and then they go over some of the online programs that are available. Council Member Olsen replied thank you. With that, the other violation I have is Hy-Vee, it’s actually Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits, at their liquor store. Like the other one, the police report is in your packet, and when we did these on October 28, 2025, we had the same procedure: A decoy went up to the counter and the transaction was completed. In this case, the decoy purchased VELO, 7 mg. nicotine pouches. The decoy asked for the VELO, an employee sold it and gave them change from the purchase, completing the transaction. The employee did not ask for age or for identification. In this case, the decoy I believe was 16 years of age. After they made the sale, the decoy went outside, and the officers went inside the business, I believe it was Officer Foster and Officer Lemay. When they talked to the employee, at that time, she said that the scanner was having problems with their point of sale, and just said, I guess I need to do better. So, there weren’t a lot of excuses, she knew she should have done the ID. With that, the employee was told she was going to be receiving a citation for Selling Tobacco to a Person Under the Age of 21, and a violation letter was sent to the license holder. Director Koerner said we do have a business representative here tonight as well. Mayor Bailey asked if the Council had any questions on this one for Pete, and none were asked. He asked if the owner was present and if she wanted to come up and speak to the Council. He asked for her name and address for the record, please. Alicia Egan, W12259 555th Avenue, in Prescott, Wisconsin. Mayor Bailey asked her if there was anything she wanted to share on this situation. Ms. Egan replied yeah, there is no excuse for it. The scanner was working fine that day, there was no attempt to scan an ID or ask for an ID by the employee. Unfortunately, it was just an employee who didn’t care; I mean, that’s the only thing I can get out of it because the employee was properly trained, the employee knew what to do, and the employee had been doing that all the way up until that point. When I watched videocamera footage, the employee was like, oh, in their position, so. So, no excuses, it shouldn’t have happened. Mayor Bailey said I’m maybe going to turn to Council Member Olsen because I’m assuming you probably have the same questions. Council Member Olsen said yeah, thank you. Now, again, I appreciate that you’re here, that says a lot, and I also appreciate that you took swift and decisive action, that also says a lot about the degree of seriousness of the offense. But I am curious, newer employee, long-term employee? What did their training look like? Ms. Egan replied it was a rehire, a person who had previously worked with us, but didn’t work at the liquor store, so they weren’t selling anything. They had been back with us I believe a month. They’d gone through all of our training, and our training is online based and on hands, or side by side with an employee and a manager. They were well trained. Our computer systems don’t allow you to sell tobacco to anybody without scanning an ID or entering a date, so they bypassed all the procedures. Council Member Olsen asked isn’t that frustrating? Ms. Egan replied it is. Council Member Olsen said yeah, I deal with it, the mayor deals with it, we completely understand, but again, I’m glad to hear that you took the sort of action that you did. I think that sends a message to the rest of the team that this is serious, and we invest in you and your training, and we expect you to execute at the time of sale to the degree that the company has training you. So, much appreciated, sorry that happened to you, but it sounds like you’ve taken good care of it, so, thank you. Mayor Bailey asked if there were any other questions for Ms. Egan, and none were asked. Mayor Bailey said thank you to Ms. Egan, thanks for coming in tonight. Motion by Council Member Clausen toAdopt Resolution 2025-169, imposing the scheduled penalty for the first violation in a 36-month period, a $300.00 fine; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. Mayor Bailey asked Director Koerner if I saw right, I think in our Weekly Update, we just finished up doing Alcohol Compliance, is that correct? Director Koerner replied yes. Mayor Bailey asked and we were 100%? Director Koerner replied 100% compliance, it was great. Mayor Bailey said for the Hy-Vee there, so very, very nice to see that, so kudos. Director Koerner said it makes our job easier, too. Mayor Bailey said we don’t like you guys having to come here to have these discussions with us, so thank you for showing up and working hard to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Thank you. Real Estate Equities Apartment Project Staff Recommendation: 1) Adopt the Development Agreement with Cottage Grove AH I, LLP, for the Real Estate Equities Apartment Project. 2) Approve the Local Affordable Housing Aid Agreement with Cottage Grove AH I, LLP (Real Estate Equities), substantially in the form presented. Final approval and execution of the Agreement is strictly pending review and approval by both the City Attorney and the attorney for Cottage Grove AH I, LLP. 3) Approve Resolution 2025-160 authorizing the issuance, sale, and delivery of its Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds (Hadley Ridge Apartments Project), Series 2025ABCD; approving the form of and authorizing the execution and delivery of such obligations and related documents; providing for the security rights and remedies with respect to the obligation; and granting approval for certain other actions with respect thereto. Mayor Bailey said I believe Brenda Malinowski, our Finance Director, is going to take us through this one. Director Malinowski said Mayor, Members of the Council, I am going to, as the mayor had said, walk you through this Real Estate Equities. Tonight, there are three items that you’ll be acting upon: First, the Development Agreement, the LAHA Agreement, and then finally, the Housing Revenue Bond Allocation. First, here’s the Site Plan for the project. It is down on 100th Street and Hadley Avenue, in the southwest corner of the City. Project details: It’s 164 apartment units, it’s the affordable housing, and there on the screen is that affordability that is in that project: There are 3 units at less than 30% AMI, 15 units at 31-50% AMI, 122 units at 51-60% AMI. On the screen there is showing at 60% AMI what those income levels would be here in Washington County in 2025, to give you an idea on that. There are 30 1-bedroom units, 88 2-bedroom units, and 46 3-bedroom units. Previously, you had approved the Site Plan review, the Comprehensive Plan Amendment, and the Zoning Amendment, that was back in June. Before you tonight is the Development Agreement, that hadn’t been brought forth in June in order to give the City and the developer time to work through that Agreement, so that is on the agenda for tonight. Also tonight is the Local Affordable Housing Aid Agreement, we like to call that LAHA. In 2023, the State dedicated ¼% in the 7-County Metro Area for LAHA, in order to develop and preserve housing. And, so, this project with Real Estate Equities meets that criteria. When the developer had come in previously, they had requested a Housing TIF District, and now that these LAHA funds are available, it allows that Tax Capacity from that project to go back on the tax roles quicker, and we’re able to then fund the project. In June, you had supported the use of LAHA in the amount of $785,000; however, due to an increase in construction costs and taxes, there was a request to increase the amount of the LAHA funding. Also since June, we received our 2025 amount that we’ll receive for LAHA, and so we’re receiving more than we thought in June; so, we’re able to offer for LAHA on this development the $916,000. Remember that amount, it is supported by the financial analysis that was done by our municipal advisor, Ehlers, and so we just didn’t hand out these funds; they had to demonstrate that there was a need for that, and they did do that. If 2026 would be less than what we’re anticipating, that $916,000 would be reduced by that amount. These LAHA funds will be sent out as a loan, and it’ll be a forgivable loan in 15 years if the criteria, specifically the affordability criteria, is reported and is in compliance for that 15-year period. The third portion that you’ll be approving this evening is the Multifamily Revenue Bonds, that’s that conduit debt we’ve been talking about. We had that in front of you, and you’d authorized the bond issuance amount of $50 million, so, tonight is the execution of that. The reason that developers that have these sorts of projects, the public projects, affordable housing, they have lower interest rates for the developer and lower issuance costs, and then we receive an issuance fee here at the City. It’s important to remember that these bonds aren’t our liability, they’re not on our books, they won’t affect our AAA Bond Rating, and it’s not a moral obligation of the City. We are just acting as that conduit between that lender and that borrower on this. The project costs are about $56 million, and the resolution that you’re approving tonight is for that maximum bond issuance amount of that $50 million. Director Malinowski said with that, the recommendations are on the screen, and I am happy to answer any questions. Mayor Bailey said all right thank you. Council, any questions for Brenda at this point? None were asked. Mayor Bailey asked the applicant if he wanted to say anything. Good Evening, Mayor, Members of the Council, thank you for having me tonight and considering these items. All I want to say is I think we’ve been working on this since May of last year is when we had our initial Council Workshop; and there have been a lot of different, as you see, things to work through with staff and the Planning Commission and everything. I just want to say thank you for everyone at the City for working on this project with us; these affordable housing developments take a village and take a long time to put together, so I just want to say thank you for all the work that the staff has done to support this development. Mayor Bailey said sounds good, I didn’t have you state your name and address for the record. My name is Blaine Barker, with Real Estate Equities, the developer, owner, and property manager, office at 579 Selby Avenue in St. Paul. Mayor Bailey said fantastic, thank you. Mayor Bailey asked the Council if there were any questions for Mr. Barker, and none were asked. Mayor Bailey said all right, thank you, appreciate you coming to this meeting. Motion by Council Member Thiede toAdopt the Development Agreement with Cottage Grove AH I, LLLP, for the Real Estate Equities Apartment Project; second by Council Member Garza. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Garza to Approve the Local Affordable Housing Aid Agreement with Cottage Grove AH I, LLLP (Real Estate Equities), substantially in the form presented. Final approval and execution of the Agreement is strictly pending review and approval by both the City Attorney and the attorney for Cottage Grove AH I, LLLP; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Clausen to Approve Resolution 2025-160 authorizing the issuance, sale, and delivery of its Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds (Hadley Ridge Apartments Project), Series 2025ABCD; approving the form of and authorizing the execution and delivery of such obligations and related documents; providing for the security rights and remedies with respect to the obligation; and granting approval for certain other actions with respect thereto; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. Mayor Bailey said the only question I might have for you real quick is do you have a date where you’re going to start construction? I know this project’s pretty big, so it’s going to take a little time if you want to just share with the public at this point; I know there have been people asking. Mr. Barker said yes, thank you, mayor. We expect to close on all of the financing by the end of the year, and start in early 2026, and then expect to finish construction late spring/early summer of 2027. Mayor Bailey said okay, sounds good, thank you. 12.COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Mayor Bailey said I think we’ll start with the presentation, so I’m going to have Phil Jents, Communications Manager, pop this up. So, for those of you who are maybe watching at home, we’ll have one more Council Meeting like the day before one of our holiday events that we’re going to be having in Cottage Grove. So, we thought this evening as part of Council Comments and Requests, is to talk briefly about these events that are coming right down the road here in the next few weeks over the next month for some of the neat events that are going to be happening around town. We’d love to have you come out and help participate, have some fun with us in a lot of these events, and this is just a few events; there are many more events happening throughout the Cottage Grove community, and I encourage you to get active and get engaged out there with friends and family. What we’ll do is we’ll start with I believe it’s going to be Council Member Clausen, who is going to take us through the first item here, which is just about a week away. Council Member Clausen said Hale to the Bird, November 27, I remember this starting 15 years ago, and it started with two families that started a race on Thanksgiving morning, and it has now grown to I think 500-to-600 people, I think it might be that many. If you run in this 5K race, the proceeds go to the Friends in Need Food Shelf, and they also work with the CPKC Holiday Train, which is going to come up in a minute, but that’s next week, on Thanksgiving. Mayor Bailey said so, November 27, at 9:00 a.m. at Hamlet Park, and I believe there is some information out there, and I see that active.com is where you can register if you are interested. Council Member Clausen said thank you, mayor. Mayor Bailey said I do remember, too, the very first time because they had me in a big, black top hat, to pardon the turkey, and it did happen, so. Council Member Thiede said the kids just gobble that up, don’t they? Mayor Bailey said I didn’t set that up. Mayor Bailey said so, Council Member Olsen, we’ve got a couple Santa events. Council Member Olsen said well, thank you very much, mayor. I’m very excited to announce that again this year you will have the opportunity to bring your family to the Cottage Grove Lions Santa Breakfast at the VFW. This year it is on December 7, and it runs from 8:00 a.m. to Noon, again at the VFW Red Barn, which is located next to Walmart, 9260 East Point Douglas Road South. This is put on by our Cottage Grove Lions Club, of which I am a proud member. The price to participate is $12 for adults, $8 for kids, and that includes a full breakfast. We’ll have Santa and Sparkles the Elf there as well, we’ll have all sorts of games, giveaways, and prizes. The kids when they come in, they actually get to register for some of the giveaways, and we have some pretty nice things to give away this holiday season. So, I hope you can come and attend that. Then, right about the time that you just start getting hungry again, after that big breakfast, you’ll get to go to River Oaks for their Santa Brunch, which is December 21, 9:00 a.m. to Noon; this is at the River Oaks Municipal Golf Course, 11099 Highway 61, right across from Zywiec’s. It’s $25 for adults, $18 for kids 6-to-12, free for kids under 5. There are sleigh rides, there’s the big North Pole breakfast, there are photos with Santa Claus, and a whole bunch of other things. I know the mayor likes to take his grandkids to both of these events, so you’ll probably get a chance to mingle with the mayor as well, which is well worth the price of admission. So, I hope we’ll see you at both. Have a great holiday season, everyone. Mayor Bailey said and the one thing I really like about it this year is that there’s actually a separation between the two, not like only on one weekend. Council Member Olsen said we’ve made that mistake in the past, and we try to avoid it. Mayor Bailey said now we’ll move to Council Member Thiede and we have the Hometown Holiday in Cottage Grove. Council Member Thiede said yes, the Hometown Holiday in Cottage Grove, on December 4, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the City Hall here, at 12800 Ravine Parkway. You’ll have to come and join us for fun evening activities: Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there, wagon rides from parking lots, live reindeer, maybe even Rudolph, games, and activities, food trucks, the Park High School choir. It’s always a great time, and sometimes it’s been a little bit chilly, but then you’ve got your hot drinks and everything else. So, it’s just been a great time, and I think this is the fourth year. Council Member Olsen asked Kori, don’t you guys come with some of the hot chocolate and different things? Attorney Land replied this year, your honor, members of the Council, our firm is sponsoring, so we provided the donation for the cookies, but I will do my very best to help the cookie table; because, as you know, that’s a very important table. Council Member Olsen replied it is, thank you. Council Member Thiede said excellent. Mayor Bailey told Attorney Land I thought you were going to say taste test the cookie table. Council Member Thiede said, well, that too. Mayor Bailey said awesome, and that’s here at City Hall, and that’s coming soon. Mayor Bailey said and Council Member Garza, we also have something that’s pretty neat that happens in Cottage Grove for many, many years now. I’ll kick it over to you. Council Member Garza said yes, I am glad to share that Cottage Grove has the fun Holiday Lights Tour, that happens every year here. Registration opened on November 12, so I would say if you haven’t gotten registered for your lights, get on there and get them registered. The map will be out for your availability on November 26, and up until December 15, they’ll be adding new addresses. So, if you are a little bit later in getting your lights up, you still can get on that registration map by December 15. But we do an amazing display in our City, so if you haven’t gone and rode around the City to see all the lights, it is a beautiful display, and it’s so nice to go and hang, so I’m looking forward to it. Mayor Bailey said absolutely, and I’m already seeing some pretty nice ones out there already, they’re lit up already. Council Member Garza said my neighbor’s. Council Member Olsen asked Mayor Bailey how are yours coming along? Mayor Bailey replied they’re coming, I’m hoping to be ready, well for sure by Thanksgiving, but this weekend I’m going to be very busy, so. Council Member Olsen said it’s going to be nice out. Mayor Bailey said yes, I know, it’s supposed to be nice, that’s why I’m happy about that. Mayor Bailey said I’m going to finalize it, not that this again is the only thing, but it is a big, big event here in Cottage Grove for many, many years, and that is the CPKC Holiday Train, which will arrive here in Cottage Grove on December 13, which is a Saturday, by the way; it’s from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and it’s down on West Point Douglas Road, near the Youth Service Bureau. As you noticed, or I should say it’s on the screen here, this is the 27th year that they’ve been in Cottage Grove, and I always like to throw a couple kudos to our community and the surrounding communities because we’re one of the largest stops of all of the train stops across the United States. We’re also one of the largest stops for fundraising. I will mention to you that the goal that they’ve shared with me for this year is $125,000, and again, that is specifically going to the Friends in Need Food Shelf, which supports all of the area families, not just Cottage Grove, but St. Paul Park, Newport, and Grey Cloud. You can come as early as 3:30 p.m., there will be things to do, a warming tent, there’s music. I’m assuming there’s going to be glowsticks and all that again, snacks to eat, there are food trucks. Again, of course the train pulls in, usually around 5:15 p.m., I believe is when they usually try to get in there, and Dave’s got his shirt on if you can see that; the idea here, though, is it’s a fun event, bring the family. If you’ve been here, people do come every single year to these different events. If you haven’t been to the Holiday Train and see it coming down the tracks, and looking at the faces of the kids when they get to see Santa and everybody else there, and the lights that they do, kudos to CPKC for doing this; they didn’t have to do this, they do it and they always present a significant check to the Friends in Need Food Shelf when they’re here, too. So, we do appreciate them and am looking forward to this huge event and looking forward to seeing all my Council colleagues and our City staff. Let’s see if we can, hopefully it’ll be a good weather day, and if it is, let’s just completely fill up that area down there. The last thing I’ll mention, other than the fundraising goal that they’ve got, is there will be places down there for you to bring cash, there will be people with buckets that will be secured. Then, if by chance you wanted to donate things other than money, they do recommend you do paper products, like toilet paper, paper towels, essentials that maybe are not something you always think about getting at a food shelf, toothpaste, things like that. So, if you do have some of those things, if you want to donate those, you can obviously bring those and donate them there also at that time. Council Member Olsen asked what about parking, mayor? Where are people supposed to park for this? Mayor Bailey replied great question: There will be wagons that will be carting people back and forth, whether it’s down by the Park and Ride, which is down there along West Point Douglas Road. I also know that people park up by the Armory, up by the 80th Street Crossing, All Saints Lutheran Church. So, there are plenty of places to park, and there are ways to get down there, so I encourage everybody to join in, and let’s all celebrate this holiday season together. Mayor Bailey said with that, we will go back real quick to see if there was anything else Council wanted to present this evening. Council Member Clausen said I had a note to talk about the new bus route, but Commissioner Bigham talked about that. So, that’s all I had tonight, I’m happy to see that we’re finally getting some more transportation in South Washington County. That’s it, thanks. Mayor Bailey said I agree, absolutely. Council Member Olsen said I want to remind everybody that it is Give to the Max Day tomorrow, Thursday. The Give to the Max website for Minnesota has been open for several weeks, but tomorrow is technically the day, and if you are looking for an opportunity to make your annual charitable donations, Give to the Max Day is a really great time to do that. You can go to the givemn.org website, and there’s a little search engine there where you can search for nonprofits in the area that you may want to support. I would encourage everybody to take a look at Friends in Need Food Shelf, which is listed, Basic Needs of South Washington County is also listed, the Youth Service Bureau is another very good charitable organization that’s listed. This is an opportunity to take advantage of matching funds in many cases; for some folks, their business will also match their funds. For example, if you work for an organization like mine, and you make a charitable donation, my company will match 50 cents on the dollar, up to a certain dollar amount, and this web engine will allow you to seek whether or not your company plays a role in that or not. Again, Give to the Max Day, the need is great. As you heard Commissioner Bigham say earlier, there’s about a 30% increase in need for those who are dealing with food insecurity this holiday season, and it’s our obligation, as they’re friends and neighbors, to make sure that everybody has a happy and healthy holiday. So, if you can even give a few bucks, please take the time to do that. Again, that website is givemn.org. Council Member Thiede said yeah, I’ll mention something. I did do the November Council Update today, and talked about this a little bit, too, but with the potential of snow, we’re kind of getting into that season, and so I mentioned about the snowplows and they’re all getting ready and everything. Just to remind people that there is an overnight parking ban from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., and anytime it snows, you want to keep the car out of the road. Otherwise, the plows have to go around it, and it creates a mess. And even though they’re very, very good drivers, I’m not sure I’d want to take the chance of getting the old vehicle dinged up, right? Also, another point that we were talking about is that the garbage cans, some people put them in the street; well, that actually gets in the way of the snowplows, also, and those fantastic robotic arms on the garbage trucks can actually reach five feet into the driveway. So, even if you put them all the way kind of to the edge of the driveway so that you don’t back out in the morning and run into them or something like that, so keep them off the street so that the plow drivers have a clear path there, too, so they can continue to do the excellent job that they’ve been doing over the years. Mayor Bailey said fantastic. I think Ryan and his team are happy that you brought that up, so, there you go. Council Member Garza said thank you, mayor, I have nothing tonight. Mayor Bailey said all right, same here. The only thing I’m going to ask only because it’s related to the holidays, our Public Works Director, Ryan Burfeind, when do the holiday pole lights go up? Director Burfeind replied they will up the day after Thanksgiving. Mayor Bailey said there you go, so you’ll see our decorations around the community on the streetlights and our business areas around the day after Thanksgiving. So, I just wanted to mention that to the public. Mayor Bailey said we do have a Workshop, which is Closed to the Public. Just so everybody knows, we will be conducting a Performance Evaluation of Jennifer Levitt, our City Administrator. We will be closing that Workshop, pursuant to Minnesota Statute 13D.05 Subd. (3)a, in the Conference Room. So, after we’re finished with that, we will then adjourn this meeting from there. Everybody please have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving, and I’m looking forward to seeing everybody at the holiday events or maybe shopping around after Thanksgiving. Take care everyone. 13.WORKSHOPS - OPEN TO PUBLIC- None. 14.WORKSHOPS-CLOSED TO PUBLIC Performance Evaluation - Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator Staff Recommendation: Close the meeting pursuant to MN Statute 13D.05, Subd. (3)a to conduct a performance evaluation of City Administrator Jennifer Levitt. Motion by Councilmember Olsen to close the meeting at 8:03 PM. Seconded by Councilmember Garza. Motion by Councilmember Olsen to open the meeting. Second by Councilmember Garza at 8:54 PM. 15.ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council MemberThiede,second by Council MemberOlsen,to adjourn the meeting at8:55p.m. Motion carried:5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Tamara Anderson, City Clerk.