The Cottage Grove Council met Dec. 20 at City Hall for its regular bi-monthly meeting.
With council members Monique Garza, Dave Thiede, and Tony Khambata in attendance along with Mayor Myron Bailey and city staff, the night consent’s agenda was lengthy, including various license renewals, appointment of a deputy fire chief, fee schedule update, a personnel policy update, insurance contract renewals, part-time firefighter pay plan, funds transfer related to economic development, and park-related items.
Reapproved for commercial licenses Dec. 20 were The Healing Place, Shiny Balance Nails and the Summer Spa (for massage), the VFW and Top Ten Liquors (for liquor), along with the Holiday Station Store at 8610 East Point Point Douglas Road, Top Ten Liquors. and Walgreens (for tobacco).
Reapproved for rental licenses were several individual property owners, including Unique Homes Rental and JCA Homes LLC.
As to the city’s deputy fire chief, Nicholas Arrigoni was recommended for the position, to take effect March 25, 2024.
As to the 2024 fee schedule update, the schedule shows most fees stable, with some increases made for inflation and other factors. Administrative fees will not increase for 2024, while water will increase by 3 percent and sewer by 5 percent. Streetlights are to increase by 8 percent to fund high operating and replacement while, while fees for building permits and instruction are also due to go up, in part from inflationary factors “such as IT services, fleet, and fuel.”
Additional fees for the Parks and Recreation Department are to rise in 2024 following direction from Council during budget review.
Of these, ice arena rental and River Oaks are prominent, with the latter to meet sufficient revenue for irrigation bond system payments.
Renting the ice arena out will increase by $10 from the previous schedule, with amounts raining from $120 plus tax to $140 plus tax depending on time and day of rental. Turf rental from March through September will remain at $90 plus tax.
As for River Oaks Golf Course, cart rental rates will remain the same along with facility rental for bocce ball, while the “ceremony fee” will increase from $875 to $1,000 as will room rental for the golf shop and main banquet room facilities, the former up $100 to $500 total, while the latter is increased by $500 Sunday through Thursday, and by $1,000 Fridays and Saturdays.
EMS/Medical services related to Public Safety are also set to rise slightly by some 3 percent to cover operating costs, with a $200 animal administrative hearing fee for dangerous and/or potentially dangerous dogs. The fee is meant to help recoup the cost for a hearing officer and administrative support. Police and fire reports will increase by 75 cents to $1 per page for 10 pages.
Contained in area charges and connection fees, a 3 percent increase is in view to help finance comprehensive plans for each utility in two distinct areas; these being the East Ravine (defined as that area generally east of Keats Avenue and West of the East Ravine) and Utility Staging Area 2, including the Shoppes at Cottage Grove and 3M land that will be developable once the 100th Street realignment has been completed. That alignment is scheduled to meet Highway 61 at Keats Avenue and continue west, connecting to the planned Southwest Arterial Study.
Comprehensive utility plans were updated in 2023 with the 3 percent increase also being applied to public works labor and equipment rates for Public Works, based on inflation and a 3 percent COLA included with the 2024 budget.
Also in for fee adjustments are changes to the park dedication fees, with commercial land now at $8,100 per acre or four percent of fair market value, single family residential at $4,600 per unit or 10 percent of fair market value, and townhome fees down by $100 to $3,300 per unit or 10 percent of fair market value for townhome construction.
In other council news from Dec. 20, the council adopted a resolution to approve the updated Annual Leave Policy, following state passage of an earned safe and sick leave law that takes effect Jan. 1, 2024. The resolution as adopted allows new full-time hires to have 40 hours of annual leave on their first day and seeks to make the city an employer of choice, with employees then earning one hour of earned safe and sick leave for every year of work, up to 48 hours per year or 80 hours banked. Full-time salaried employees must take sick leave in increments no less than eight hours, with employees now earning 192 hours per year of annual leave to stay at the rate until they reach 10 years of service.
As of Dec. 31 each year, meanwhile, those “non-represented employees” having at least 15 years of service to the city and 264 hours or more in their annual leave bank will also be able to transfer up to twenty hours of pay from unused leave each year to a health care savings plan, with the hours deducted from their annual leave bank.
Also covered at the Dec. 20 meeting were contracts for health and dental benefits, the city opting to go with Delta Dental and Medica Master Group for this coverage. The city also approved a part-time pay plan for fire department employees in which Firefighter/EMT pay will start at $22 per hour for new hires, with firefighter/medic pay for new hires starting at $28. The hourly scale will increase by 50 cents for every five years of part-time service, with said employees paid time and a half for working on regular scheduled shifts on holidays as recognized in the City Personnel Policy.
In park news, the city approved a change order for ongoing work at Glacial Valley Park, consisting of a change order for $13,318.48, as well as a service agreement with Becker Arena Products for production and installation of acrylic glass and protective netting the at the Glacial Valley Ice Rink, estimated to cost $45,439.
Also in parks news, the council approved two new playgrounds for Cottage Grove, one at Granda Park and the other for West Draw. The playground at Granada Park is quoted by St. Croix Recreation at a total cost of $59,925, a playground at West Draw also by St. Croix Recreation quoted at $53,832. Staff recommended approval of both bids along with install cost of $37,476 by Michael Basich, Inc., resulting in a total project cost for the two parks estimated at $151,233, Flagship Recreation also bidding on the project.
Regarding economic development, the council authorized a resolution to transfer funds from the ED Trust Fund (286) to Economic Development Authority (EDA) Fund 285 in the amount of $212,500. The transfer follows a prior resolution approved by the EDA of a professional services agreement with Dowdle Studios LLC to design and create a painting that tells the unique story and rich history of Cottage Grove, the decision made at the EDA’s Dec. 12 meeting. The ED Trust Fund in turn supports and finances economic development endeavors.
In housing development news, the city passed a resolution authorizing $19,104.91 to be paid out to OMG Midwest Inc. as the final payment for a Summers Landing street project bid at $366,575 that came out to $392,167.34, or $25,592.34 higher than contracted.
In holiday news after the Dec. 20 council meeting, meanwhile, the city suspended winter parking for Christmas and New Years this year, with the instruction that if snow fell during such times residents were asked to move their cars to assist city crews in cleaning the roads.