City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Thank you.

GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. COUNCILMEMBER BEGARZA STOLE MY TABLE DOWN THERE. NO, SHE FOUND IT. BUT I'M CALLING THE SEPTEMBER 16, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO ORDER. OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. ALL RIGHT. WILL THE CLERK PLEASE DO THE ROLE?

COUNCILMEMBER CLASSEN?

HERE.

COUNCILMEMBER OLSON?

HERE.

COUNCILMEMBER THEDE?

HERE.

COUNCILMEMBER GARZA? HERE. MAYOR BAILEY?

HERE. Next on our agenda is open forum. This is the opportunity for anybody that wants to speak on something that is not on tonight's agenda. We did have a sign-up sheet out in the entryway, and we did have one gentleman sign up, David Turnberg. Yep, okay. We'll actually, we have a public hearing on your item, and so we'll let you come up and speak to us during the public hearing, if you're good. Oh, okay. Okay. Oh, no, you're good then. Well, if something comes up, you'll have that option here a little bit later. But in case somebody else wanted to speak on something that's not on an edge agenda that didn't sign up, is there anybody in the audience that wants to speak? An open forum. All right, seeing none, we'll go ahead and close the open forum. We'll move to adoption of the agenda.

So move the agenda. Second.

All right, so we've got a bunch of them there. I'll start with a motion by Council Member Thede, second by Council Member Garza. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Six is presentations. We have one this evening, which is coming up this weekend. It's the 2026 Food Truck Festival update. And Jamie Mann, who's the assistant to the city administrator, is going to kick us off here. And then I think Mr. Nichols, our public safety captain, is going to also be participating. So welcome, both of you.

Thank you, Mayor, members of council. I am excited to be here. This weekend we have our Cottage Grove Food Truck Festival. It's our fourth annual food truck festival hosted by Discover Cottage Grove, and it's this Saturday, September 19th, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Kingston Park. We have a lot of great food trucks lined up for this year, some new activities that we've included that even are new since our CVB board meeting, so most of you haven't heard about them. And it is pet friendly, so on a leash you can bring a dog if you'd like. So here you can see our food truck lineup for this year. There's 34 food trucks on this list. I have one that I'm waiting for them to pay for their Washington County license. So we will be at 35 food trucks for the event, barring any mechanical issues on trucks driving there the day of the event, like we had last year. So we should have a full parking lot of food trucks. There's a great variety as well. This year we have some more sponsors than we had last year. We ended up at $8,500 in sponsorships, which helped cover the costs of running the event. We do have both in-kind and paid sponsorships, which you can see on your screen. And then this is our second year of doing the, our third year of doing the Marketplace. Our Marketplace is growing. We have 32 Marketplace vendors this year who you can see on your screen. And there's a great variety of products and services that are offered in our Marketplace. So make sure you stop by and chat with our vendors. We also have live music during the event. So Caitlin White will be performing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. And closing out the day for us is Anti-Skip Protection with their kind of 90s grunge rock music. For kids activities, this year we have a new donut photo op station, which is at a kid's height. Last year our pizza and hot dog were a little too tall for the kids, so we had to stand for them. But we have the donut available for them this year, so that'll be new. We are also doing a giant coloring wall. I don't know if you remember when Dowdle was here with the puzzle. We did a puzzle coloring wall, where we have our graphic designer who designed the one you see on the screen. That'll be up for people to come and color. Strawberry Fest ambassadors will be back providing carnival games to the kids. And new this year, ODB kids will be there with kids area. It sounds like they have some fun activities planned for keeping the kids entertained as well. New, nobody's seen this yet. We just added them last week. We have a balloon artist coming to the event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. So Balloons by Kevin will be there twisting up all sorts of delightful designs for our participants. It's free to anybody that attends. They can get some balloon art made. That will be at the tent right next to the Discover Cottage Grove tent, so make sure to stop by. And then our charity partner again this year is Sahuasco Cares. They will be selling wristbands for the Lions beer tent. Sahuasco Cares will also be collecting donations of prepackaged snack foods for kids in need. And then the Cottage Grove Lions are back hosting our adult beverage tent again this year. So make sure to stop by and say hi to all the people working at the booth or at the tent. And we will have our Discover Cottage Grove booth back where we'll have giveaways again for all of the participants that come. It'll be staffed throughout the day, so if people have questions, they can stop by. And this year we have orange volunteer shirts, so anybody in the orange food truck shirt you see here, you can stop them and ask for questions while you're there. And with that, I'll pass it over.

Thank you, Jamie.

Good evening, Mayor, city council members. As you know, I'm the president of the Mississippi River Valley Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, and we have a fundraiser coming up this weekend. It's a 5K, it's called the Run, Walk, Ruck for Heroes. And as you know, we're a 501c3 nonprofit. We help out veterans, service members, and their families in need. Our event, like I said, is the Walk, Run, Ruck. You can, if you haven't signed up, you still have time, You can sign up the day of, and if you're not able to participate but want to help out, we are still looking for volunteers. You might find me at the donut area. I definitely will be there, but we try and tie it into the food truck festival just because by the time they get done rucking, they can burn those calories to kind of go eat some healthy food. Depending on any questions, I thank you for your time.

Thank you. Any questions, council? All right, just looking forward to a great event this week, and thank you both, and thanks to our staff, and obviously the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon.

I will say this. I'm sorry. If you do, it is on the screen if you want to participate. Otherwise, you can go to our website, Facebook, and sign up.

All right, fantastic. Thank you. Awesome, thank you. All right, looking forward to it this weekend. All right, council, we are now down to number seven, which is the consent agenda. Was there anything council would like to pull on consent for separate discussion? All right, seeing none, then I'm gonna look for a motion to approve and a second.

I'll make a motion to approve consent.

All right, so I have a motion by Council Member Garza. Do I have a second?

I will second.

Second by Council Member Claassen. Any further discussions? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed? Motion carries. So if you're here for anything or watching at home, anything on our consent agenda this evening, they've all been approved. Number eight is approved disbursement. Eight A's to pay the bills.

Move the bills.

We have a motion by Council Member Olsen.

Second.

Second by Council Member Garza. Any other discussion on the bills? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. NUMBER NINE IS A PUBLIC HEARING. WE HAVE ONE ITEM THIS EVENING, WHICH IS THE GENEVA MEADOWS SECOND EDITION, AND THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING, SO ONCE MAX ERICKSON, OUR SENIOR PLANNER, IS DONE WITH THE PRESENTATION, WE WILL SEE IF THE COUNCIL HAS ANY QUESTIONS, AND WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR THE PUBLIC, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE IT FROM THERE. MAX, WELCOME.

Good evening, Mayor and members of council. Although we typically don't have final plats on consent, or we typically have final plats on consent, an application has been made by Lennar to vacate a drainage and utility easement in conjunction with their final plat development plans and development agreement for a residential subdivision to be called Geneva Meadows Second Edition. As you may recall, on June 17th, 2026, council approved the rezoning in the preliminary plat for Geneva Meadows, second edition, located at 8591 Geneva Avenue South. The property was rezoned from R1 rural residential to R3 single family residential. The final plot is consistent with the preliminary plat with 23 23 residential lots one being in existing remnant residents There are six out lots proposed with the final plat to being dated to the city for stormwater maintenance requirements Site sewer and water will be serviced by St. Paul Park and this is outlined in the development agreement as well as a joint powers agreement between Cottage Grove and St. Paul Park. The final plot will require cash for tree mitigation as well as park dedication which is also outlined in the development agreement. As a reminder, there currently exists a private access road known as Geneva Avenue South. As part of the final plat, a segment of this private access will be removed between the existing residents on the north to the new access point of the development summit. This will ensure access to the new development is from a public roadway and not from a private private road. The existing residence which will be incorporated as part of the final plat will keep its private access off of 85th Street and the remainder of Geneva Avenue south will be will remain as a private access to a resident further south. A unique aspect of the site is the existence of the Marathon Gas Pipeline easement, which intersects the property on the north side. This area is unbuildable. It isn't practical to maintain for residents of Geneva Meadows Second Edition. It is not, this area is not included in the long-range park plan and it is not in the city's interest to maintain or obtain. Because Lennar is not implementing an HOA, which would take care of this area, they came up with a creative solution to deed the out lots of this area to the adjacent properties in the Feld addition just north. To any interested, I should say interested landowners of the Feld addition. Because these out lots and the and the Feld addition lots are in different plats. They cannot be combined So a deed restriction is going to be will be put on these to maintain that they stay with those lots should the Feld addition residents ever sell and Because the out lots are being dated and restricted to the felled addition Lots It is appropriate to vacate the existing rear existing drainage and utility easement which would exist between the out Lots and the felled addition Lots This will provide an uninterrupted access to the new properties which they retain it will prevent any small utilities from intersecting basically the middle of their new property. There are no existing utilities or drainage features in this area. And another unique request would be vacating the side lot drainage and utility easement between lots five and six. Those two lots are owned by one property owner and they have since combine those two lots under one parcel. They just never had the the DNU vacated so it is appropriate to vacate with the rest of the other segments at this time. The the side drainage utility easements on each lot will run in conjunction with the new out lots down the middle as one continuous and a new rear drainage utilities that will basically it basically will just be shoved to the back of the new out lot so as part of a Our typical requirements, we typically require a drainage and utility easement around the perimeter of every lot. And with that, I do have a recommendation before you. We also have a representative from Lennar here for any questions.

Okay, Council, first, any questions for our staff here?

I have one, Mayor.

Oh, yes, Council Member Clausen.

Thanks, Max. Can you go back to that deeded easement? That one, right? In between lots D and E, there's open space. Was the homeowner there not interested in having their property deeded? And then since they weren't, who will that be deeded to? Does that go, where does that property go then if the person wasn't interested?

Council Member Clausen, members of council, that is correct. The property owner, WAS NOT INTERESTED IN OBTAINING ANY NEW AREA, AND SO LENAR IS GOING TO INCORPORATE THAT WITH LOT 11 OF GENEVA MEADOWS, AND SO IT WILL JUST BE AN EXTENSION OF THAT LOT.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. INTERESTING. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THEM? OKAY. IS THE REPRESENTATIVE FOR LENAR WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? ANYTHING? Okay, sounds good. All right, then we do have a public hearing on here, so I'm gonna go ahead and open the public hearing. Is there anybody that would like to speak on this item? Is welcome to do so at this time. All right, not seeing anybody then. I'm gonna go ahead and close the public hearing. And council, we do have, I believe it is four different motions to make.

I'll take the first.

Okay.

Mayor and Council a move to adopt resolution 2026 dash 132 vacating public drainage and utility easements Located within the city of Cottage Grove, Minnesota.

All right, so I have a motion by Councilmember Garza. Do I have a second? Second by Councilmember Thede Any discussion? Seeing none all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? motion carries

Okay, I'll move that we adopt resolution 2026-133, approving the final plat for Geneva Meadows second edition, subject to minor modifications as approved by the city attorney.

All right, so we have a motion by Council Member Thede, second by?

Second.

I'll second. All right, second by Council Member Clausen. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Number four on the screen.

Mayor, I'll move that we approve the Geneva Meadows Development Agreement with U.S. Home LLC doing business as Lennar, subject to minor modifications, as approved by the city attorney.

All right, so I have a motion by Council Member Olson. Second. Second by Council Member Thede. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. And finally, number five.

Mayor, I'll move to adopt Resolution 2026-134, approving the Geneva Meadows Second Edition Development Plans dated 8-25-2026, prepared by Pioneer Engineering, subject to final approval by the City Engineer in writing.

Sounds good. That's a motion by Council Member Classen. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Council Member Olsen. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Max, thank you. Good luck with the development out there. Appreciate it. You got her, thank you. All righty, number 10 on our agenda is bid awards. We do have one this evening, and we were just talking about this prior to the council meeting, that this is kind of a big milestone for us, I guess. So Ryan Burfein, our public works director, is gonna walk us through this one.

Mayor members the council it is an exciting night because it was nine years ago when we had our emergency declaration and Built our first temporary water treatment plant down at well 10 down by a Werner electric at the time van meter now That was the all hands on deck to we had the watering ban and then when this was operational the watering ban went away so We're still not quite there yet. We've got a couple other temporary treatment plants. We're building the big treatment plant behind the fire station, but to be able to decommission this first one that kind of started this whole journey is exciting. So this is a project that is fully funded by the MPCA through a 3M settlement agreement process and a grant agreement that we'd put in place. We did take bids for this project. And three bids were received. You can see them on the screen in front of you. When we did the engineer's estimate, we had to be conservative and assume contractors would not want to salvage the building. And I think we're seeing in the pricing, because obviously the building itself is very new. So I think we're seeing that the Boulder Creek Incorporated, who's the apparent low bidder, Not one we worked with before, but we're not doing a lot of demolitions projects in the city. They're a commercial construction contractor with a very vast experience in the metro with a lot of expertise in roofing and siding. So I think you're seeing that with this project, hopefully salvage that building. The actual internal components are rented, all the treatment vessels. So that's actually a different effort to take those away. This is just to remove the building itself. And with that, recommendation is on the screen in front of you, and I'd stand for any questions.

Sounds good. Council, any questions?

All right.

Thank you, Ryan. Thank you. Look for a motion and a second, team.

Here I'll move Resolution 2026-135, awarding the Well Number 10 Interim Water Treatment Plant Decommissioning Project to Boulder Creek Incorporated in the total amount of $194,494.

All right, so we have a motion by Council Member Olson, second by Council Member Brathede. Any further discussion on this item? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Alrighty, thank you. Now we're to number 11, which is our regular agenda. We do have one item on our regular agenda this evening, and that's the Minnesota Fire Engine Strike Team Pilot Program participation. And our Fire Chief, John Pritchard, is gonna walk us through this one. Welcome, John.

Thank you. Honorable Mayor, Council, I'm really excited to share a great opportunity our fire department has to participate in the Minnesota Engine Strike Team pilot program. So just really aligns with our mission and vision, but especially to be an elite fire department is our vision. And this is really representative of being chosen for this pilot program or being offered the opportunity for this pilot program really just shows how our department has really been moved to that elite level. So the program was developed through the State Fire Marshal's Office for an increased need for statewide resources for large and complex incidents, which includes civil unrest, wildfires, and large and complicated fires. We've been identified as one of only four departments in the Metro to be invited to be one of these strike teams. And then there's 14 departments statewide. And the goals of this is to be an all hazards team to be called upon to provide professional response to large incidents within Minnesota, highly skilled resource with the right training and right equipment to provide great mutual aid to those communities in need and really provide compensation for our team costs. So when we respond to things that we will be made whole, and as we'll see, even offers revenue opportunities for the fire department and city as well. So the reason Cottage Grove was selected to be one of the departments to be part of this pilot program is we have a respected fire department with high standards professionalism, and we have a very progressive approach to an all hazards mission. There's a high demand from our firefighters to get these unique opportunities, like a big opportunity that has been more common in Minnesota is like sending firefighters out west to help with federal deployments. We're not quite there yet, but it is a big request for our folks to expand their role in the department and find these opportunities. But a big part of why Cottage Grove as well is we've had previous experience in large incidents. For example, St. Paul civil unrest, we sent a fire engine there on one of the worst nights of that. We were integral in the COVID-19 response for Washington County. Becker recycling plant fire in 2020. We have incident management team support, especially our police captain, Gwen Martin, who's been integral in that team, but that of course gets out there. That's Cottage Grove Public Safety. And then the police department leadership and mobile field force and SWAT, it really gets its name around the state. And when they see Cottage Grove, they obviously think not just the police department, but the whole city. So the benefits to participate in this for our fire department is we get is a great revenue opportunity, which I'll detail a little bit in a couple of slides. It's a good recruitment tool for us to get firefighters. There's a high demand by frontline folks. And really, as we see with especially new generation, the younger millennials into the new generations are really looking for that diversity of experience. And this is one of the things like things like this really get highlighted by them. ACCESS TO FREE TRAINING, THAT INCLUDES WILDLAND, HAZMAT, AND REALLY A LOT OF OTHER THINGS TO REPAIR US. POTENTIAL ACCESS TO FUNDING FOR EQUIPMENT, SO A BIG NEED FOR US IS TO BE BETTER EQUIPPED FOR WILDLAND AND BRUSH FIRES, THAT'S SOMETHING WE KIND OF LACK RIGHT NOW, AND WE'RE TRYING TO WORK OUR WAY UP TO THAT, BUT THAT STUFF IS EXPENSIVE, SO BEING PART OF THIS TEAM THAT MAY PROVIDE BETTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRANT FUNDING OR FUNDING, THOSE AREN'T YET QUITE PANNED OUT YET, OR AS THE PROGRAM IS SO NEW. AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST A WIDE OPEN FUTURE, AND BEING PART OF THE PILOT, WE HELP KIND OF WRITE OUR OWN TICKET AND BE ONE OF THE LEADERS IN THIS PROGRAM. ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS WE WOULD HAVE OPERATIONALLY IS WITH DAILY STAFFING, AND WE'VE ALREADY LOOKED AT THAT, IS THAT WE'D ONLY UTILIZE ONE FIREFIGHTER FOR SHIFT, JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH A HIGHLY CREDENTIALED AND HIGHLY TRAINED FIRE DEPARTMENT, ALMOST ANY FIREFIGHTER IN OUR DEPARTMENT deploy on this. We'd also utilize at least one chief officer so we're not pulling from daily staff and then that person would also go to provide support. We may also turn down deployments. For example, we have somebody out on leave or a couple people in paramedic school and we're running late. We can always turn down these deployments and then we would use our reserve apparatus or an apparatus otherwise not being used for daily operations. We'd be able to put that in service and then actually charge for the use of that equipment. We did work with our city attorney just to ask kind of some, since this is a pilot program, there isn't like an official agreement or anything with that in the state, would prefer that we work within our already state statute. So we evaluated that the Minnesota Interstate Mutual Aid Agreement would cover our ability to be requested Go on deployments. Very timely, our city approved a resolution to provide interstate resources for public safety this past April. This would cover responses within the state, especially outside of any mutual aid agreements we have in the metro. And all the requests would come from the state fire marshal office. LIABILITY COVERAGE, CITIES, WORKERS, COMP, AND VEHICLE EQUIPMENT INSURANCE WOULD COVER OUR RESPONSE. HOWEVER, IN THESE TYPES OF INCIDENTS, WE TYPICALLY WOULD, FOR EXAMPLE, WE GET A FLAT TIRE OR SOMEBODY SPRAINS AN ANKLE, WE WOULD CHARGE THOSE COSTS TO THE INCIDENT, AND THOSE WOULD BE REIMBURSED THROUGH THE INCIDENT. REIMBURSEMENT FOR, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE MADE WHOLE, THAT THIS ISN'T NECESSARILY, WE'RE NOT DONATING TIME OR OUR EQUIPMENT TO THIS. in a better word, renting our folks to provide that high quality response. The Minnesota DNR currently sets rate in the state for any wildfire deployments, but the idea would be we'd use those rates and those align very well with FEMA. And then the FEMA rates that we utilize for emergency response really anywhere that we'd also have that as a backdrop if there wasn't well established rates. We expect most deployments will be less than five days. And what we've seen, it's usually like one to two, maybe three days for these larger complex fires. But we do have an, we do, when we part of this team, we could go up to 14 days, but we'd have total control. If somebody can only say five days, we can work them or rotate them out. Reimbursement would cover travel time to and from the incident. And then while we're on the incident, In the current rates for this, so for 2026, and these are the DNR rate, if we sent a Type 1 engine, which is just your normal run-of-the-mill fire truck, we would get $465 per hour. And then a Type 6 engine, which is like a brush fire wildland truck, like a pickup truck, we'd get $210 per hour while we're working. And then just looking at what that, excuse me, like a type one engine deployment would look like on a five day deployment, assuming normal work, assuming the work cycles that are typical of these, we could actualize over $37,000 in billable time with labor and costs that would be assumed within that incident would be about 19,000. And then net revenue we'd bring back to our city is over $18,000. Now, of course, depending on who's there with deployment, overtime rates and all that, that might fluctuate a little bit, but usually what's typical folks that participate in these deployment programs, they do see significant revenue with each deployment. And then of course that's revenue we're getting for a truck that would otherwise be sitting dormant as a reserve apparatus. And then just to really show how every decision we make within the fire department and public safety in general, we're really looking at how does that align with our strategic plan and making sure any new things or any big decisions align with that. And we just circled here how this program really does hit on so many of our strategic plan items and how it can be a great asset to our department and our firefighters. So prior to jumping in discussion and questions that you may have, the request would be to authorize the fire department to participate in the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Engine Strike Team Pilot Program, and then I'll stand for questions.

All right, thank you, John. Council, any questions? Council Member Olsen.

Thank you very much. I appreciate the information, John. Sounds like a pretty exciting opportunity. A couple of questions that I had. First of all, you said we were...

solicited or selected to potentially participate in this program do you know how many other departments were asked i don't know that um it was part of it was like a garner interest or they sent out for the state fire marshal we said we were interested and then we filled out some specific things about our fire department but i do not know but it's something actually we have some meetings coming up i can definitely ask that question i'm just curious because i'm sure that there are

PARAMETERS THAT WERE UTILIZED TO IDENTIFY WHICH DEPARTMENTS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ASKED TO PARTICIPATE. AND I WAS REALLY CURIOUS WHAT THOSE PARAMETERS MAYBE WERE. SO SOMETIME MAYBE DIG INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT AND SEE. THE SECOND THING I WAS GOING TO ASK, AND I KNOW YOU ADDRESSED IT A LITTLE BIT IN YOUR PRESENTATION IS, YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU'VE AGREED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS, DO YOU HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO SAY NO? BECAUSE BURNOUT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO KEEP AN EYE ON, ESPECIALLY AS YOU MENTIONED some of these folks might be working overtime to participate, et cetera. So I thought I heard you say we can.

And I think it's a great question. I thought so, too.

Thanks.

Yeah. My favorite response. Yeah, I thought so. That's perfect. I think one of the things that, of course, just especially, and I think you did a great job, Councilmember Olson, at our last meeting talking about our transition from into that full-time department, which comes a lot of changes with that and a lot of commitments. One of the nice pieces with this, we can turn on a deployment for not in a good spot. Now of course if we turn down four or five six deployments that we're gonna be asked however The nice part is with the 14 teams and a stick typical one strike team is four departments So with the 14 teams, we do believe that a there'd be a good rotation It gives us the ability to turn down some stuff or even say hey We can give you three days and maybe split with some other fire departments as well So that's well within our ability to do that and monitor the burnout and those type of things. I

THANK YOU. AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION WAS, YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO POTENTIALLY UTILIZE SOME APPARATUS WE MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE BE USING ON THE REGULAR. HOW DOES THAT FACTOR INTO YOUR MANAGEMENT PLAN AROUND WHETHER OR NOT WE MAINTAIN CERTAIN APPARATUS OR LOOK TO POTENTIALLY SHUT OURSELVES OF APPARATUS THAT ISN'T IN USE?

And so one of the pieces that we've done a really good job of the last few years is shedding those apparatus as we kind of make a transition of going from like more volunteer paid on call model to all career. We've been able to shed a number of apparatus, big apparatus and saving plenty of money is that now we have a very, I call it a tight window where we have one reserve apparatus. Currently it's a backup ladder in case our fire engine goes down or a ladder goes down. So we will always need that apparatus just in case of the other things. However, it is most of the time available outside of some dramatic thing with another apparatus. But furthermore, we do have some ability to kind of shuffle some apparatus around utilizing one of our in-service ladder trucks to maybe provide some of that coverage. If this is on a deployment, we need to get it back and there's a day or two something, we do have the ability to work some things that were well covered and that will never leave Cottage Grove unprotected.

Good, good. Well, thank you very much for bringing this forward. Again, looks to me like it's a pretty exciting program. And I know, you know, with these opportunities to sort of diversify what the job looks like, that tends to be very appealing to the members of our teams, whether it's through the fire department or the police department or others. I know our team members are always looking for these kinds of opportunities to stretch themselves. So it seems pretty exciting.

With council approval, I'm actually excited to put it on our next recruitment flyer, assuming we get approval. So I'm actually pretty stoked to do that.

Okay, well, if you need me to come take pictures or something, let me know. I'd be happy to do it. Thanks. Thank you.

All right. Any other questions? Yeah, Council Member Clawson.

Thank you, Chief. You mentioned there was, we had some deployments of our department to help and assist. It's essentially mutual aid back in 2020. With this program, how many deployments do you think we're going to be doing? Just my mind thinking about big events, this may be once a year. Does that sound about right?

Yeah, and the real big wild card here, I think, is the wildfire thing and how much we get into that. And that's also something I want to be as very cognizant of. We can't go to every wildfire that occurs in Minnesota. However, what I would anticipate is one to two deployments a year is kind of, I think it's the right number based on history, based on some events we probably would be requested through this, and just based on working with the state fire marshal, that sounds like the right number is one to two deployments a year.

Thank you, Chief. Thank you, Mayor.

All right, sounds good.

All right, seeing nothing else, Council, if we're good with moving forward with this program, I'll look for a motion and a second from what's on the screen.

Mayor, I would like to move, excuse me, authorize the Cottage Grove Fire Department to participate in the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Engine Strike Team Pilot Program.

All right, so I have a motion by Councilmember Garza. Do I have a second?

I'm happy to second it.

There you go. Second by Councilmember Clawson. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Good luck.

Thank you very much.

Now you can put it on the brochure.

Yes, exactly. Thank you very much.

All right, so next on our agenda is number 12, is this council comments request, and I'll start with my normal, Council Member Claussen.

Mayor, nothing to add tonight, thank you.

All right, thank you. Council Member Bolson.

Thank you very much, Mayor. First, I want to just take a moment to thank Jamie Mann and Phil and the rest of the communications team and all of the folks who have worked DILIGENTLY SINCE LAST YEAR'S FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL TO MAKE THIS YEAR'S EVENT EVEN BIGGER AND BETTER. THE PUBLIC AT HOME, WHEN YOU COME TO THE EVENT AND HAVE A GREAT TIME AND ENJOY THE LIVE MUSIC AND ALL THE REST OF IT, THAT'S REALLY GRATIFYING FOR ALL OF US. What you don't see is what happens behind the scenes to actually make that happen. And it's a ton of work. So I know we had the presentation earlier and looks like it's gonna be just absolutely super fun for everybody of all ages in the family. I have spoken personally to our meteorological expert, Ryan Burfind, and he guarantees good weather. So that, I should say, personally guarantees good weather. So looking forward to that. But again, just want to extend my gratitude as the chair of the Convention and Visitors Bureau to all the team members who have put in so much hard work and effort to pull this thing together. It doesn't happen by itself. So I want people at home to know that. AND IF YOU GET AN OPPORTUNITY, STOP BY THE DISCOVER COTTAGE GROVE BOOTH ON SATURDAY AND LET THOSE FOLKS KNOW HOW MUCH YOU APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT THEY DO. SECOND THING, MAYOR, IS YESTERDAY WE STARTED NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND HERE IN COTTAGE GROVE, AND WE HAD A DECLARATION OF THAT AT OUR LAST COUNCIL MEETING. BUT I JUST WANT TO ASK PEOPLE TO JOIN US IN OBSERVING NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH SO THAT WE CAN CELEBRATE THE HERITAGE AND THE HISTORY AND THE TRADITIONS AS WELL AS THE CULTURAL DIVERSITY OF OUR LATINO AND HISPANIC AMERICAN FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS ACROSS THIS WONDERFUL COMMUNITY. IT'S A LITTLE ODD THAT THIS ACTUALLY STARTS SEPTEMBER 15th. IT DOESN'T START AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH. IT STARTS SEPTEMBER 15th AND IT GOES UNTIL OCTOBER 15th. BUT THERE'S A REASON FOR THAT. AND THAT IS SEPTEMBER 15th IS AN INDEPENDENCE DAY. for five Latin American countries where they declare their independence from Spain. That includes Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. And then today, Mexico celebrates its independence. Chile also celebrates its independence on September 18th. And Indigenous Peoples Day, or what they call the Dia de la Raza in the Latino community, falls within this 30-day period as well. And that's why it's a September 15th to October 15th. So again, our diversity makes us stronger as a community and as a country. And I hope you'll all join me in celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month here in the city of Cottage Grove. And then finally, Mayor, we have some friends in the audience from Hill-Marie School. They came to observe our meeting tonight and laugh and cry and share and do all the things that we do along with their supervisor and want to acknowledge that they're here. So thank you guys for coming by. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And, you know, if you have any questions for us, certainly feel free to step to the podium and ask based on your in-depth analysis of our meeting this evening. Otherwise, we'll be around afterwards and you can pick our brains. But thanks for coming. We always enjoy having young people come to the meetings and learn a little bit about what we do here. And with that, Mayor, I'll send it back to you.

Fantastic. Thank you, Council Member Wilson. Council Member Matheny.

Well, this is Count Sillmember. And I wanted to let everyone know that locally grown theater is going to present a mystery comedy performance for the fall season. And it's running on October 2nd through 4th and October 9th through 11th. And its admission is free. Bring your own chair. And it is BYOB. That's bring your own blood. Boy. So, should be a great time. So, check it out.

You're going to end on that one?

Well, we got also, we got the Public Safety Open House. That gathering is taking place at the Hero Center facility on Wednesday, September 29th, 23rd. Typically. from five to eight, and it is designed to give residents an inside look at first responder operations while building positive connections between the public and public safety personnel.

All right, I'll give that to you there. Thank you. Council Member Garza.

I can't follow this. I have nothing.

I was going to say, how do you follow that?

I want to hear your voice.

I will leave these last two events to you because I'm sure you have something good to say about them. But I can't follow his, so with that I have nothing.

All right. Sounds good. So just a couple other items for everyone out there. So one of the big events that they have at River Oaks a couple times a year is Dueling Pianos. And it's fun. I have not been down there for it yet. I always miss it for usually out of town. But it is on November 6th at the event center down at River Oaks Golf and Entertainment Complex. And the single tickets start at $80 or full tables. TO RESERVE A FULL TABLE IS $550, AND YOU CAN SIGN UP ONLINE IF YOU GO TO THE WEBSITE. THE OTHER ITEM, TOO, WHICH IS KIND OF INTERESTING, I KNOW WE GOT THE RUN HERE THIS COMING SATURDAY, RUN, RUCK, WALK, IN MY CASE WOULD BE WALK, BUT THE CINNAMON ROLL RUN, 5K RUN OR WALK, IS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10TH. and that is gonna start at nine o'clock at Hamlet Park. It is organized by a group called Live Like Laura Foundation, and it is to celebrate the memory of Laura Schmankler, who passed away in 2022 from complications of cardiac arrest. Proceeds from the run will fund college scholarships for the Pike Park High School students. So a very neat event there. And then speaking of park, I know we got Hill Murray But the colors are the same, right? Green. Yep. Yep. There we go. There we go. But the park homecoming game is going to be on Friday, September 25th, which is a week from this coming Friday. And the one thing I want to mention, though, is some of us park grads up here. are gonna be, there's a parade that will be starting at Crossroads Church, and this year it's going actually down to Crestview Elementary School, and the parade starts usually about five o'clock. Lots of events happening at the high school, so I encourage everyone to come support the high school team. OR PRIOR TO THAT, COME TO THE PARADE AND I THINK WE'LL BE THROWING SOME CANDY, A FEW OF US.

WE'LL HAVE CANDY AND ALL KINDS OF GOODIES.

YEAH, WE CAN HAVE OUR HILLMURRAY FRIENDS THERE. YOU'LL HAVE GREEN, SO YOU CAN COME SUPPORT US.

THERE YOU GO.

THERE YOU GO. ALL RIGHT, WELL, THOSE ARE THE THREE THINGS THAT I HAD. 13 IS WORKSHOP OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. THERE IS NONE THIS EVENING. SAME WITH 14, WORKSHOP CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. THERE ARE NONE THIS EVENING. SO I'M ALL THE WAY TO 15, WHICH IS... MOVE TO ADJOURN. THERE WE GO. SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMEMBER OLSON. DID I HEAR A SECOND BY COUNCILMEMBER GARZA All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye.

Opposed?

We are adjourned.