One thing is certain, Mayor Myron Bailey is active in looking for information from the community. This is evident when you follow his Facebook page. This is a welcoming trait for both journalists and community members. Mayor Bailey had noticed a number of people asking questions on Facebook about various things around the community and he wanted to address them with a quick post. It’s refreshing to see a politician in a more relaxed venue answering questions.

80th Street questions.

Questions regarding the 80th street delays and when it will open. Hopefully, his answer of it opening on November 2nd is correct, which means a part of this will be “old news” at the time of printing. As is the case with all MN road construction, the timeline is ‘Weather permitting.’ “We have one more layer of asphalt to put down and finishing some of the wiring issues for the streetlights. Due to the extreme cold – we were not able to lay the final layer until the temperature rose. They expect to be able to do that on Friday and Saturday. Striping on Sunday and Open on Monday! (I live in this area…I feel the pain!)” Bailey said in his post.

What about some of the delays and keeping it closed? “We had underground water, electrical and sewer to repair or put in. We had to keep a portion open to allow the homes without any other access to get in and out. Otherwise…it would have been done months ago. This project took longer because we had to split it up.”

There were also trails added to both sides of the roads, powerlines installed underground and there were some sections they had to rework due to some unforeseen issues. Mayor Bailey

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“Crazy to say that after the first layer was put down… they tore some up to fix some issues under the street. I guess the good news is we are not charged anything more for things like that.” Bailey added.

Pizza Ranch Pizza Ranch was in the processes of expanding to Cottage Grove, that has since been put on hold. “Pizza Ranch has decided to sell the parcel that they bought next to Muddy Cow. They are looking at some other options in the city for a restaurant. Due to COVID and the high cost of materials – the price to build a new restaurant from the ground came in 1 million over budget. We worked with them to cut costs – but due to COVID and the uncertainty of the current state of restaurants they have decided to do something different. I and disappointed… but understand. Once I know more…I will share when I can. I have spoken to the broker in the last few weeks. Pizza Ranch Executives have been in town the last few weeks.” Mayor Bailey said.

Citizens also asked about the kind of help the city was offering Pizza Ranch. There was no taxpayer money going to Pizza Ranch to help them build. One question was brought up about TIF money. TIF money is Tax increment financing, a method of financing real estate development costs. The MN Legislature website does a great job explaining TIF money, a quick google search of ‘what is TIF money MN’ will bring you full details. The basic is, TIF uses the additional property taxes paid as a result of development in the district to pay for part of the development costs. When a new building is constructed, the market value of the property and its property taxes typically rise. Classic examples would be building a new store on an undeveloped parcel or replacing one or more old buildings with a new, larger building. In both of these instances, the market value of the property will rise because the improvements add value to the parcel.

When asked about using TIF money for Pizza Ranch, Mayor Bailey replied “Nope. We did own the land they bought so we did get that money! We were working with them on building materials and permit fees.”

Traffic Congestion in certain areas “We are aware of the traffic congestion around the intersections of East Point Douglas and Jamaica and 90th and Jamaica. The fix for this area will cost over eight million dollars. We are planning to completely redo this area and possibly create a different layout by Cub, Ashland Credit Union, and Taco Bell. Once we get closer to the final design and decision…we will let everyone know. It’s not as simple as resetting the lights. We have done that in a variety of ways. But we are working on a permanent solution,” Bailey said.

Kwik Trip “Kwik Trip has been sniffing around town for quite a while. They had an approved plan by the City Council to go in by Ace Hardware. That fell through – I have spoken to the broker in the last two weeks. We are working with them to find a suitable location,” Bailey said.

The spot by ace hardware fell through as the owner of that property could not reach agreements with some of the existing tenants.

Snowmobile trail “The City Council will be discussing removing the short snowmobile trail that runs along 70th Street from Keats to Hinton. Due to numerous complaints by homeowners in the area regarding conflicts with the pedestrian trail and the sledding hill at Highlands Park… The plan is to vacate this trail and offer a site out near Lamar to trailer sleds to get on the star snowmobile trail system. The Original Cottage Grove Snowmobile Club recommended removing this section due to safety concerns. Our Public Services Commission and Police Department agree with that recommendation. You will still be able to snowmobile in areas of Cottage Grove – but not through urban residential areas,” Bailey explained.

Shoppes of Cottage View, general retail additions, and Grove and Community Center “Cottage Grove Community Center/Water Park Update – We expect to have a rendering/design of what it would look like and what amenities would be involved in late December or early January. The aquatic center will be similar to the brandnew New Hope Facility! All of this will be contingent on voter approval hopefully next year. Stay tuned,” Bailey said.

The Community Center and Shoppes of Cottage View development is planned to go into the field behind/above Walmart.

“Things are typically quiet on the retail side at this time of year. We do have many different types of businesses looking around at various sites in town – Including the future Shoppes at Cottage View. I would expect to see some announcements early in 2021 – of course…depending on the economy with COVID,” Bailey concluded.

Thank you Mayor for the update and thank you to the citizens that asked additional questions.