It’s a tradition as old as the U.S. Constitution, and on Wednesday Feb. 7 it streamed from City Hall.
“Thank you for joining me for the 2024 State of the City Address for the City of Cottage Grove,” Bailey said. “I’m very proud of the great work being done in our city, and I’m excited to celebrate the success our community has had over the past year, and to talk about what is coming in 2024.”
Thanking the council and commission members for helping guide the city into the future along with city staff, Bailey then launched into a summary of what the City’s Mission Statement was and supporting pillars.
“In 2024 we reworked our Mission Statement for the city. Cottage Grove’s Mission Statement is “to promote community pride and create a high quality of life by providing excellence in the delivery of public service to residents and businesses,” he said.
As part of that vision, Bailey shared that application of this plan entailed three pillars:
• Enhance the Quality of Life for Residents
• Energize the Business and Tourism Environment, and
• Engage as an employer of choice
Acknowledging the growth that Cottage Grove has experienced in the last couple years, Bailey then touched on preservation.
“An important part of this growth is preserving and celebrating the history of our city,” he said. “We have seen this preservation happening in multiple areas of our city and are actively working to build a space at city hall for residents to view some of Cottage Grove’s history.”
Saying that a commitment to life cycle housing and being business friendly “is important to me and to our city council,” Bailey then said estimates put Cottage Grove at “just over 42,000 residents,” and that the city was working to bring “more livable wage jobs to the city.”
So much of what we value in Cottage Grove is related to our community coming together,” he said. Name checking events like Strawberry Fest and the Holiday Train, Bailey said that, “these events are also a great opportunity for residents and visitors to experience the many parks and open spaces that Cottage Grove has to offer during any time of the year.”
Among the newest additions to city park are Glacial Valley and Mississippi Dunes, with 61 acres per 1,000 residents.
“You can tell with these numbers that our community values our open spaces and this acreage puts us in the top tier of metro area communities for preserving parks and open space,” he said.
Then pledging that, “we will continue to preserve land throughout our community for both active and passive recreational uses,” Bailey said the Reimagine Recreation Survey had shown that continued growth and diversity in parks and open spaces was important to residents.
“As we move through this year you will see a plan for our parks that has been put together based on your feedback and what some of you, our residents, envision our parks to become,” Bailey said. Along with this, residents will have the choice of approving a dedicated sales tax on the November ballot to help fund improvements at Hamlet Park, River Oaks Golf Course, Mississippi Dunes, including a possible boat launch.
Shifting to historic preservation, Bailey said the city’s Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (ACHP) had been involved in the renovations updating the property to become ADA accessible, ADA referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Planning a display case at city hall to showcase history, four schools were to be highlighted in the initial display.
Shifting next to housing, Bailey noted apartments and single family home developments, along with age restricted senior housing and market rate dwellings.
“A large part of planning for growth is understanding the needs for housing and development within the community,” he said. Then touching on a housing market study tool, Bailey said that such a study would help the city plan.
“As the old economic development saying goes, ‘retail follows rooftops,’ and we are seeing that in Cottage Grove as well,” he said, touching on different ribbon cuttings the city had had during the year.
Along with daycare and other businesses were restaurants and a food market.
“There is a developer that is interested in developing the Shoppes at Cottage View site, and we are working with them on developing the 73-acres that used to be a drive-in,” he said.
“There has been a lot of activity in the city’s business park as well,” he said. With Kwik Trip planning to open in 2025, the Logistics Park is growing, while Renewal by Andersen has completed its fourth expansion.
Touching on taxes, Bailey said Cottage Grove was second lowest.
“The only city lower than Cottage Grove is St. Paul Park, and they receive significant local government aid, which we do not,” he said of tax rates.
Speaking on the 100th Street realignment, Bailey said the realignment would include bike trails between Ravine Regional Park and the city’s newest park, Mississippi Dunes Reserve.
“The realignment of 100th Street also opens the area for development, which is why we’re completing a small area study of the area surrounding the realignment.” The study will include a market analysis to see what is most achievable with regard to the area.
Bailey’s full address including the city’s designation as a Heart Safe City in 2023 with eight AED stations and other achievements is available for viewing and comment on city social media.
