[14:12] All right. Good evening everyone. Uh

[14:14] this is the August 19th, 2026 Cottage

[14:17] Grove City Council meeting which I'm

[14:18] calling to order. Our first order of

[14:20] business is the pledge of allegiance. So

[14:22] if you please rise.

[14:25] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[14:28] United States of America and to the

[14:30] republic for which it stands, one nation

[14:33] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[14:37] justice for all.

[14:41] » All right. Will the uh clerk please do

[14:43] the role?

[14:43] >> Council member Clawson

[14:44] >> here.

[14:45] >> Council member Olsen

[14:46] >> here.

[14:46] >> Council member Thei

[14:47] >> here.

[14:48] >> Council member Garza

[14:49] >> here. Mayor Bailey

[14:50] >> here. All right. Next item on our agenda

[14:53] is open forum. This is the opportunity

[14:54] for anybody who wants to speak on

[14:56] anything that's not on tonight's agenda.

[14:58] I will mention we did have a signup

[14:59] sheet out in the entryway, but nobody

[15:01] did sign up. Uh just wanted to make sure

[15:03] no one snuck in that wants to speak

[15:05] during open forum. Seeing none, I'm

[15:08] going to go ahead and close open forum

[15:09] and I'm going to move to number five,

[15:10] which is adoption of the agenda.

[15:12] >> Move the agenda.

[15:13] >> All right. So, we have a motion by

[15:15] council member Theiti and a second by

[15:16] council member Garza. All those in favor

[15:19] signify by saying I. I.

[15:20] >> I. Opposed.

[15:22] >> Motion carries. [clears throat]

[15:23] All right. Now, we go to presentations.

[15:25] And for those of you can't see from

[15:27] home, if you're watching on on TV, uh we

[15:30] have a very very large group of people

[15:32] out in the out in the entryway area. Uh

[15:34] because we do have a special um event,

[15:37] couple of special events tonight

[15:38] actually. The first one is the A is the

[15:40] public safety swearing in ceremony uh

[15:43] for uh uh to appoint Brad Peterson as

[15:45] the public safety director. And so, uh,

[15:48] before we get to the actual nuts and

[15:50] bolts of it, um, council, I do need, uh,

[15:53] a motion and a second, uh, to approve

[15:57] his promotion.

[15:58] >> Mayor, I would like to, uh, move that we

[16:01] appoint Brad Peterson as public safety

[16:05] director and chief law enforcement

[16:06] officer for the city of Cottage Grove.

[16:08] >> All right. So, I have a motion by

[16:09] council member Olsson. Do I have a I'll

[16:11] second that.

[16:11] >> Second by council member Theiti. Any

[16:14] discussion?

[16:16] You don't want to talk about it. Where

[16:17] is he? [laughter]

[16:19] All right. All those in favor signify by

[16:21] saying I. I. I. Opposed. Motion carries.

[16:24] So, I don't know. Does the group out in

[16:26] the entryway want to come in? All right.

[16:28] Come on in. Uh, council, let's go down

[16:30] in front. I know our administrator is

[16:32] going to administer the oath.

[16:34] [cough and clears throat]

[16:49] You guys know the drill.

[16:52] as far down as you can.

[17:07] [laughter]

[17:17] » That's not my position.

[17:26] stack.

[17:31] Oh, no.

[17:52] » The uniforms provide good cover.

[17:57] >> Put Dandel in front.

[17:58] >> Nope. I'm walking with

[18:06] [laughter]

[18:12] » Well, good evening everybody. Tonight is

[18:14] a very special night. Tonight we will be

[18:16] swearing in a new public safety director

[18:19] and police chief for the city of Cottage

[18:21] Grove in Brad Peterson. Brad is a

[18:24] longtime resident of Cottage Grove where

[18:26] he lives with his wife and their two

[18:28] adult sons. He is actively involved in

[18:31] the community serving the Mississippi

[18:33] River Valley Beyond the Yellow Ribbon

[18:35] and the Cottage Grove Lions Club. Before

[18:38] beginning his law enforcement career,

[18:40] Brad earned a bachelor's degree in

[18:42] criminal justice and gained valuable

[18:44] experience as a firefighter and

[18:46] paramedic. He is a 23-year veteran of

[18:49] the Cottage Grove Police Department

[18:51] where he has served in a variety of

[18:52] roles including community service

[18:54] officer, police officer, paramedic,

[18:57] field training officer, instructor,

[19:00] detective, and patrol sergeant. As the

[19:03] deputy director of public safety, Brad

[19:05] served as the patrol captain and interim

[19:08] director of public safety. He also

[19:10] served several roles with the Washington

[19:12] County SWAT team, ultimately retiring as

[19:15] the assistant commander. During his law

[19:18] enforcement career, Brad served for 10

[19:20] years as a calvary officer in the

[19:23] Minnesota National Guard. Brad is

[19:25] committed to enhancing public safety,

[19:28] strengthening community partnerships,

[19:30] and serving the residents of Cottage

[19:31] Grove with professionalism and

[19:33] dedication.

[19:35] The position of police chief plays a

[19:38] critical role in our community. The

[19:40] badge that is worn represents the top

[19:43] tier of leadership in public safety,

[19:46] holds the ultimate accountability and

[19:48] burden of public safety decisions. The

[19:51] badge signifies absolute commitment to

[19:54] serving the community. It also

[19:56] represents and sets the moral and

[19:58] professional standard and tone for the

[20:01] entire public safety team. Tonight's

[20:04] oath and badge pinning carries with it

[20:06] the public's trust and confidence. And

[20:10] tonight, his wife, Jeanie, will be

[20:12] pinning his badge.

[20:18] All right, Brad, please raise your right

[20:20] hand and repeat after me. I, Brad M.

[20:24] Peterson,

[20:24] >> I, Brad M. Peterson

[20:26] >> do solemnly swear

[20:28] >> that [snorts] I will support the

[20:29] Constitution of the United States

[20:31] >> that I will support the Constitution of

[20:32] the United States

[20:33] >> in the state of Minnesota

[20:35] >> and faithfully discharge the duties

[20:37] >> and faithfully dischar and faithfully

[20:39] discharge the duties

[20:41] >> of the position of public safety

[20:42] director and police chief

[20:44] >> of the position of the public safety

[20:45] director and police chief

[20:47] >> for the city of Cottage Grove

[20:49] >> in the county of Washington

[20:52] >> and state of Minnesota

[20:54] >> to the best of my judgement and ability.

[20:56] >> Best of my judgment and ability.

[20:57] >> So help me God.

[20:59] >> Congratulations.

[20:59] >> Thank you.

[21:04] [applause]

[21:23] » [applause]

[21:36] » All right, I'm going to keep this quick.

[21:37] Those of you who know me um know I'm not

[21:39] about flowery speeches and

[21:41] overpromising. Um, I like to let my

[21:43] actions and and the reputation of the

[21:45] department uh do the talking for us. Um,

[21:48] but I figured tonight's a a milestone

[21:50] for for me and the department and I

[21:52] figured it wouldn't be a good look to to

[21:54] not give uh give proper ad to the people

[21:57] who played a role in my career and put

[21:58] me in this position. So, uh, without

[22:00] further ado, uh, I want to recognize my family for their sacrifices and their

[22:05] support. uh your patience for the long

[22:08] hours, the many meetings, the endless

[22:12] stream of phone calls and emails at all

[22:15] hours of the night. Um your patience for

[22:17] that uh means more to me than I could

[22:20] ever express. Um I wish I could say it's

[22:23] going to get better, but we all know

[22:25] it's not. [laughter] The Chief's badge

[22:28] comes with a heavy burden and a lot of

[22:30] responsibility, and if anybody knows me,

[22:32] uh I'm going to step up to that

[22:33] challenge and do it to the best of my

[22:34] ability. And so I apologize in advance.

[22:37] Uh it's going to be a long five years

[22:38] until I retire. [laughter] Um but what I

[22:42] do know uh is that I couldn't shoulder

[22:44] that responsibility without my family.

[22:46] And so I appreciate you standing by my

[22:48] side and supporting me uh and uh letting

[22:51] me focus all of my energies on the

[22:53] community and this team. Um it means a

[22:55] lot to me. So thank you.

[22:58] I'm incredibly honored and grateful for

[23:00] this opportunity to serve our community.

[23:02] I'm honored to lead this exceptional

[23:04] public safety team. When I look around

[23:07] every single day, I'm impressed. I'm

[23:10] proud. I'm honored every day with the

[23:12] way you deliver top-notch care and

[23:15] service to our community. So, thank you.

[23:18] >> And I'm proud to carry on this proud

[23:20] legacy. And I want to take this

[23:22] opportunity to acknowledge retired Chief

[23:24] Pete Kerner for your leadership and

[23:26] mentorship and everything you've done to

[23:28] position this organization and me at

[23:30] this moment in time. So, thank you and

[23:33] to your family as well because I know

[23:34] the sacrifices you made as well,

[23:38] mayor and council and city

[23:39] administrator. Thank you for the trust

[23:42] and the support that you've shown me and

[23:44] this team. Um, your ongoing support um

[23:48] allows us to do what we do every single

[23:50] day. We couldn't do it without you. So,

[23:52] thank you.

[23:54] Until recently, I never aspired to this

[23:57] role or imagine myself standing here

[23:58] tonight. I think most of us could agree

[24:01] upon that. Nobody saw me here in this

[24:03] moment, right? Um and so sometimes in

[24:07] angst and sometimes in serious

[24:09] reflection and always humbled by this

[24:11] experience, I've often asked myself

[24:13] recently, how did I get here?

[24:17] And it comes down to two things. I care

[24:20] incredibly about this community and I'll

[24:22] work tirelessly to advance our public

[24:24] safety agenda. And secondly,

[24:27] I'm surrounded by an incredible public

[24:29] safety team, friends, families, mentors,

[24:34] staff, and leaders, and community

[24:35] partners throughout this city and this

[24:37] community that share my passion, my

[24:39] vision, and you've shaped me into the servant leader that this

[24:45] organization needs today and in the

[24:47] future. And so for that, I'm grateful

[24:50] for the trust, the support, and the

[24:51] guidance that you've all invested with

[24:53] me.

[24:56] While Cottage Grove is is while Cottage

[24:58] Grove public safety is undergoing many

[25:00] changes, under my leadership, we will

[25:02] remain fiercely committed to the core

[25:04] values, mission, vision, and strategic

[25:06] goals that's made us successful to this

[25:08] date. Some things will not change. We'll

[25:12] continue to deliver exceptional service

[25:14] with empathy.

[25:16] We'll work alongside our community as

[25:18] partners to promote safety and security.

[25:21] to maintain the public's trust. We will

[25:22] be transparent and held to the highest

[25:24] professional standards

[25:26] and [clears throat] we will be resilient

[25:28] and innovative as we adapt to the growth

[25:30] and challenges that lie ahead. Kajill

[25:33] public safety will continue to be a

[25:35] source of community pride.

[25:37] I'm thankful for this opportunity and

[25:39] grateful to everyone who made it

[25:40] possible. I'm extremely proud to lead

[25:42] the men and women of Cottage Grove

[25:44] public safety and I look forward to the

[25:46] work ahead.

[25:48] Thank you to those who joined us

[25:49] tonight. It means a lot to me and our

[25:51] entire team and thank you for the many

[25:53] messages of quick congratulations and

[25:55] support that I've received over the

[25:56] recent days. This evening is a

[25:59] meaningful milestone for me and the

[26:01] team. So, let's take a minute to

[26:03] celebrate because tomorrow it's back to

[26:05] work. Our focus returns to the

[26:07] community,

[26:09] our mission and the team.

[26:11] Together with our residents and

[26:13] community partners and this devoted

[26:14] public safety team, we'll continue

[26:16] building a community that we're all

[26:17] proud of. And so thank you.

[26:21] [applause]

[26:45] for us here with all the council.

[26:47] >> You're wonderfully important, by the

[26:48] way. That's [laughter]

[26:51] >> That's perfect. One, two, three.

[26:52] Everybody's smiling. It's perfect.

[26:56] >> Thank you.

[27:04] » I know. Beautiful.

[27:07] [laughter]

[27:09] Okay, we're going to do a handful of

[27:11] them so my communications friends don't

[27:13] get cranky.

[27:16] >> A very serious role here.

[27:26] » Thank you everybody.

[27:32] a little bit.

[27:42] » Oh, actually everybody hang on. Hang on.

[27:45] We got one more thing to do.

[27:47] >> Oh, sorry. Sorry. I'm screwing up

[27:49] already as my first official moment.

[27:51] [laughter]

[27:54] [clears throat]

[28:00] » [clears throat]

[28:00] >> All right. So, my first official act as

[28:02] the director of public safety and police

[28:03] chief is going to be bittersweet. Um, I

[28:05] get the the pleasure, the honor um to

[28:08] honor and recognize uh reserve sergeant

[28:12] Matt Jordan tonight after his his

[28:14] retirement. And it's bittersweet to me u

[28:17] because Matt is a friend. He's been an

[28:20] asset to this organization. Uh and so on

[28:22] one hand, I'm sorry to see him go. On

[28:24] the other hand, I know that he's going

[28:26] to have more time to spend with his

[28:27] family and more time to devote to uh his

[28:30] other service endeavors in the

[28:32] community. And so, I'm I'm glad that

[28:34] he'll be able to do that. And so, uh

[28:36] before I get carried away, I want to

[28:37] invite Matt to come up in front of the

[28:39] crowd. I know he's going to love this.

[28:41] [laughter]

[28:43] [clears throat]

[28:44] >> Yeah.

[28:50] » All right. So, I'm going to read uh the

[28:53] certificate real quick and then I'm

[28:55] going to add Lib and talk a little bit

[28:57] about Matt and he's going to enjoy every

[28:59] minute of it. [clears throat]

[29:01] In recognition of outstanding

[29:03] excellence, Reserve Sergeant Matt Jordan

[29:05] is presented the certificate of

[29:06] appreciation. With great with great

[29:08] appreciation, the Collegegrow Police

[29:10] Department recognizes your dedicated and

[29:12] exceptional service as a reserve

[29:14] officer. During your 13-year career, you

[29:16] volunteered over 10,000 hours in support

[29:18] of CGPD's mission and provided

[29:20] exceptional service to the citizens of

[29:22] Cottage Grove. You demonstrated calm

[29:24] professionalism, selfless service, an

[29:27] everpresent helping hand, and genuine

[29:29] care for our community. You were a

[29:31] dependable partner and trusted mentor

[29:32] within the public safety team. You

[29:34] embodied CGPD's model of guardians

[29:37] serving our community. And for that,

[29:38] CDPD is eternally grateful for your

[29:41] service and friendship.

[29:43] And so in just a moment I'm going to

[29:44] present Matt with this certificate and

[29:46] the badge that he wore uh for the last

[29:49] 13 years. And so this is something new.

[29:51] We've never done this here in Cottage

[29:53] Grove where we recognize a retiring

[29:56] reserve officer with their badge and the

[29:57] certificate. Um

[30:00] we felt it was time to start honoring

[30:02] them, recognize them for their

[30:04] incredible service and the amount uh of

[30:06] effort that they put into this program.

[30:08] So, for those of you who aren't f

[30:09] familiar with the reserve program, um

[30:11] they're 100% volunteer sworn officers

[30:14] who uh do all the things that aren't

[30:17] glamorous and uh but they're are vital

[30:20] to our mission, right? They they direct

[30:22] traffic when it's raining during the

[30:23] parades and events. Uh they stand on our

[30:26] perimeter. They transport prisoners to

[30:28] jail at night. Um whatever it is, they

[30:30] answer the call and they do it for no

[30:32] pay. Um, sometimes it's because uh, this

[30:36] position is a stepping stone to a law

[30:38] enforcement career, but in other times

[30:41] it's just a truly devoted individual who

[30:43] wants to give back to the community. And

[30:45] that's the case for for Matt Jordan. For

[30:47] the last 13 years, he wasn't pursuing a

[30:49] career in law enforcement. He did he did

[30:51] this because he loves Cottage Grove. U,

[30:53] he answered the call every time we

[30:55] asked. He [clears throat] was a

[30:58] the consmate professional. He never

[31:00] questioned, never complained. he just

[31:02] stepped up and he did what was great,

[31:04] what was [clears throat] right for the

[31:05] community uh and what was helpful to the police department. And so for that,

[31:10] for being a friend to all of us uh for

[31:12] your service to everybody here on the

[31:14] whole public safety team, I can't thank

[31:16] you enough. And again, I want to

[31:18] apologize and thank your family for all

[31:20] the years and hours that you've

[31:21] dedicated. Um and so with that, Matt, I

[31:25] want to present you this certificate and

[31:26] your badge that you work for the last 15

[31:28] years. [applause]

[31:35] » [applause]

[31:44] » Everybody smiling

[31:46] outside.

[31:50] » Let's Let's have the family come up.

[31:53] Come on up here. Let's get you in the

[31:54] picture, too. Yep. Mom, dad, too.

[31:56] >> Kids, wife.

[32:00] That's

[32:22] one more. So, hold on.

[32:28] Awesome.

[32:29] [laughter]

[32:40] Thank you. Appreciate it.

[32:42] Congratulations, guys.

[32:44] >> Nice job. You got it.

[32:48] >> Thank you.

[32:55] » Um, no, I've already

[33:06] Everybody appreciate it. Means a lot.

[33:19] » [laughter]

[33:33] » I love the turn we have. Thank you so

[33:36] much.

[33:37] >> You know, that's just always nice. It is

[33:39] definitely

[33:40] >> It's the love. You can't beat that.

[33:48] » [laughter]

[34:05] » I'll sit. I'll sit. Yeah, I'll I'll

[34:12] [cough]

[34:14] » All right. As you can see, we have a

[34:16] large group that was here for these two

[34:18] great events.

[34:20] >> We're just going to let the doors close

[34:21] and then we'll uh get her going.

[34:37] » You going to talk about the new

[34:39] >> What's that?

[34:40] >> Are you going to talk about the new

[34:41] seat?

[34:42] >> Yes.

[35:08] No, I was going to say if you want to go

[35:09] out there and mingle, you're welcome to

[35:10] do so.

[35:11] >> [laughter]

[35:12] >> All right, sounds good. All right. Uh,

[35:14] next on our agenda is the consent

[35:16] agenda. Um, is there anything that

[35:18] council would like to pull on consent?

[35:20] Council member Olson.

[35:21] >> Item D, please.

[35:22] >> Item D for you. Okay,

[35:23] >> I'll do I'll do E.

[35:24] >> And then, uh, Council Member is going to

[35:26] do E. Is there anything else? Okay. So,

[35:29] we'll go ahead and start with uh, item D

[35:31] for Council Member Rosa, which is a

[35:33] planning commission appointment.

[35:34] Ironically,

[35:35] >> it is.

[35:37] >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, council. I pulled

[35:39] this item because I simply wanted to ask

[35:42] for your support in the [clears throat]

[35:43] appointment of Pete Kerner to our

[35:46] Cottage Grove Planning Commission with a

[35:48] term that will end on February 28th,

[35:51] 2027. For those of you who don't know

[35:53] Pete, he's a longtime resident of the

[35:55] city of Cottage Grove. Uh he did grow up

[35:58] here. He went to Park High School. Um he

[36:02] uh served the community as a youth

[36:04] athletics coach for several years. and

[36:06] oh by the way he was our public safety

[36:08] director for quite some time as well. Um

[36:10] Pete recently retired from that role but

[36:13] has a strong desire to continue serving

[36:15] the community. Uh Pete is also a member

[36:17] of the Cottage Grove Lions Club and very

[36:20] active in that role but since he had a

[36:23] little spare time uh he thought maybe

[36:25] joining the planning commission would be

[36:27] a good idea and I happen to agree. So,

[36:30] uh, we are looking to appoint Pete to,

[36:33] uh, a term on the planning commission

[36:35] with your support and I would ask for

[36:37] your unanimous consent. Thank you,

[36:39] mayor.

[36:39] >> Awesome. Fantastic. Thank you. And then

[36:42] item E is the park, recreation, and

[36:44] natural resource commission appointment.

[36:46] Uh, Keer to a youth seat.

[36:48] >> Yes. So, I I also have a a

[36:51] recommendation for commission for parks

[36:53] and wreck and and uh so, uh, Vice Chair

[36:57] Susie Brown and I interviewed Kase Keer,

[37:00] uh, who's actually I think he's a junior

[37:05] this year, uh, or he might even be a

[37:07] senior now. I got I can't remember. But

[37:10] at any rate, he he's actually a perfect

[37:13] person to be a youth member of the parks

[37:16] and wreck. He he actually is a volunteer

[37:19] with the uh uh with parks and wreck and a uh u staff member for the

[37:25] supervised summer playground and uh so

[37:28] he's uh glad he stepped up and uh I'd

[37:32] appreciate it very much if he uh was

[37:34] approved because he's a perfect

[37:35] selection.

[37:36] >> Fantastic. Thank you.

[37:37] >> In my opinion.

[37:38] >> All righty. So, seeing nothing else was

[37:40] uh pulled on consent this evening, uh

[37:42] I'll look for a motion to approve and a

[37:44] second. I'll make a motion to approve.

[37:46] >> Okay. So, we have a motion by uh council

[37:48] member Garz. Do I have a second?

[37:49] >> I will second.

[37:50] >> Second by council member Clawson. Any

[37:52] further discussions?

[37:54] >> Seeing none, all those in favor signify

[37:56] by saying I.

[37:57] >> I. Opposed.

[37:58] >> Motion carries. So, if anybody's

[38:00] watching or happen to be here for

[38:01] anything on tonight's consent agenda,

[38:04] all of those items have been approved.

[38:06] Uh number eight is approved

[38:08] dispersement. AA is to pay the bills.

[38:10] >> Move the bills.

[38:10] >> We have a motion by council member

[38:12] Olsen, second by council member Theiti.

[38:14] Any further discussion? Seeing none, all

[38:17] those in favor signify by saying I.

[38:18] >> I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. Well,

[38:22] we're moving quick here. Uh, public

[38:24] hearings, we have none. Number nine, 10,

[38:26] bid awards, we have none this evening.

[38:27] 11, regular agenda. There's nothing this

[38:29] evening. We're already down to council

[38:32] comments request. And I'll start down

[38:33] with Council Member Clawson.

[38:35] >> I've got nothing tonight, Mayor.

[38:36] >> Oh, there we go. He wants to get out of

[38:38] here. [laughter]

[38:39] >> All right. Thank you, Council Member

[38:41] Olsson.

[38:42] >> Well, thank you, Mayor. First and

[38:43] foremost, uh I want to get the important

[38:45] stuff out of the way. Uh the city of

[38:47] Cottage Grove recently held their

[38:49] employee appreciation event at River

[38:52] Oaks and uh it is my honor and duty uh

[38:56] because I lost a bet to congratulate um

[39:00] Captain Greg Renzel and uh Pat Nickel

[39:03] for their victory in the allimportant

[39:07] and extremely competitive uh bags

[39:10] tournament that was held. Um, I do know

[39:13] that the city administrator

[39:14] participated. Um, I believe her partner

[39:17] was uh our HR manager for the second

[39:20] year in a row and uh if I'm correct,

[39:24] they may have been bounced in the first

[39:26] round both years. Is that right? Is that

[39:28] accurate?

[39:31] >> Thank you for not using the word

[39:32] annihilated. Say

[39:33] >> yeah. Uh, [laughter] you know, pick your

[39:35] adjective. It's just fine. Um, but

[39:38] again, uh, congratulations to to Greg

[39:40] and Pat on their hard one victory. Uh, I

[39:43] also just wanted to take a moment, um,

[39:45] as we honored, um, a friend of mine this

[39:48] evening, Matt Jordan, uh, who serves

[39:50] with me on our, um, Mississippi River

[39:53] Valley Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Network

[39:55] team. He's our treasurer, um, along

[39:58] with, uh, Chief Peterson and and Captain

[40:01] Nickel and some others. Um Matt is a

[40:05] tremendous individual and if you know

[40:07] Matt um you know that he's a very quiet

[40:10] fella. He's not real flashy, but um Brad

[40:13] said it very well when he talked about

[40:15] Matt's contributions to the community

[40:17] over the last 13 years. And I just

[40:20] wanted to add my compliments to him for

[40:23] all the hard work and effort that he's

[40:25] put forth. I've seen him in action uh

[40:28] doing any number of jobs uh in uniform

[40:31] as a reserve, whether that's uh

[40:34] patrolling Strawberry Fest, helping out

[40:36] at the Fourth of July festival,

[40:37] directing traffic at parades, uh work

[40:40] working in all kinds of bad weather

[40:42] conditions, uh super hot, super cold,

[40:45] rainy, wet, etc. Never a complaint. And

[40:49] uh we're very lucky to have him as a

[40:51] member of this community. and we're also

[40:53] very grateful to have him as part of our

[40:56] Mississippi River Valley Beyond the

[40:57] Yellow Ribbon team. So, I just wanted to

[40:58] add my uh congratulations to him uh on

[41:02] his retirement. While I'm certainly

[41:04] happy for Matt and his family, I'm I'm

[41:06] sad for us, but um change is constant.

[41:09] So, uh we'll move forward and uh we'll

[41:12] move forward with gratitude. And then

[41:14] last, mayor, um I know you were at a

[41:18] ceremony last week in which the city of

[41:20] Cottage Grove was honored for uh our

[41:24] support of our military families and

[41:26] veterans in the community. And uh I just

[41:28] wanted to take a moment to uh

[41:31] congratulate the entire city uh city

[41:34] staff. Uh I know our public safety team

[41:36] was uh involved with this as well. Um

[41:40] this was quite an honor and something

[41:42] that uh you know I I understand um you

[41:46] were able to uh further commit to as we

[41:49] move forward. So um I mentioned our

[41:53] Mississippi River Alley beyond the

[41:54] yellow ribbon team. It's something that

[41:55] we take a great deal of pride in is

[41:57] supporting our our military families and

[41:59] our veterans and we have a lot of those

[42:00] folks who actually work for the city of

[42:02] Cottage Grove. and um congratulations to

[42:05] the the city for being recognized for

[42:08] that level of support. I think that's a

[42:10] very special thing. With that, I'll turn

[42:12] it back to you.

[42:12] >> Sounds good. I guess I'll I'll just real

[42:14] quick piggyback on what you just shared.

[42:16] Uh just to let you know, they will be

[42:17] coming

[42:18] >> to a future city council meeting to

[42:20] officially present us um and share with

[42:23] us the award that we got.

[42:25] >> Okay. Uh, and then obviously our goal is

[42:27] to continue to I'll call it move up

[42:29] ranks maybe [laughter]

[42:31] as we continue to support uh veterans

[42:33] and their families. So, all right. Uh,

[42:35] Council Member Theiti.

[42:37] >> Yeah, I really don't have too much to to

[42:39] add. Just also uh congratulate uh Brad

[42:43] for his advancement and and I know we'll

[42:45] be in good hands. Uh and uh and also to

[42:49] uh um Matt Jordan on hoping he has fun

[42:53] in his retirement and has time to to do

[42:56] some things as opposed to just attending

[42:58] to a honeydew list or something like

[43:00] that. But uh so uh that's all I got.

[43:04] >> All right, sounds good. Uh Council

[43:05] Member Garca.

[43:06] >> Thank you, Mayor. Well, congratulations,

[43:09] Brad, and your speech was great. So, you

[43:11] did well. I will talk food because that

[43:14] is my favorite thing to talk about. Um,

[43:17] we are having food trucks here tomorrow

[43:18] at city hall and it is a taco truck.

[43:21] It's Twin Cities taco truck from 11 to

[43:23] 1. So stop down to or stop up here to

[43:25] city hall and have some tacos. Following

[43:28] that next month, September 19th is our

[43:30] food truck festival. So that is going to

[43:33] be amazing with 30 plus food trucks and

[43:36] a lot of other fun activities that

[43:38] starts at 11:00. And come on down to

[43:40] Kingston Park and have fun with us with

[43:42] that. Mayor, give it back.

[43:43] >> There we go. And I guess I'll just

[43:45] piggyback on that just uh so it's from

[43:47] 11 till 6 uh at the Kingston Park. Uh

[43:51] and there is going to be some vendors

[43:52] and such there too I believe. Uh so it's

[43:55] not I shouldn't say not just food trucks

[43:57] because that's the purpose. Uh admission

[43:59] is free obviously got to pay for the

[44:00] food but there are some maybe giveaways

[44:02] and things at the And then there's

[44:03] music. So we have a variety of uh music

[44:06] opportunities there too. It almost

[44:07] sounds like a mini uh strawberry fest

[44:09] but in the fall. So, it's all it's all

[44:11] good and it's been very well attended

[44:13] the last couple years. Um, one other

[44:15] item I'll just mention real quick is

[44:17] there is going to be a public safety

[44:18] open house uh that will be um at the

[44:21] Hero Center uh at the training center

[44:23] next door here to city hall on

[44:24] Wednesday, September 23rd uh from 5 to

[44:27] 8:00 p.m. Uh lots of hands-on

[44:29] activities, things to explore, uh some

[44:32] giveaways. I'm sure there'll be some

[44:34] food there too. There always seems to

[44:35] be. Uh and uh it just you'll be able to

[44:38] see kind of what uh keeps our um local

[44:41] uh first responders uh active in our

[44:43] community and keep them safe as well as

[44:45] all of you safe. And then the last thing

[44:47] I'll just throw in there, um, not

[44:49] specific to that, but what was really

[44:52] telling tonight for me, uh, is when I

[44:55] look at all the people that were behind

[44:57] us, uh, when we were standing down in

[44:59] front, and then looking at, uh, the the

[45:03] previous, uh, public safety director,

[45:05] Pete Kerner, is a Cottage Grove guy.

[45:08] And, uh, now we got, uh, Brad, uh, who,

[45:11] uh, has, uh, been living here for quite

[45:13] a quite a long time and raised his

[45:14] family here. And I look at all the

[45:16] police officers and firefighters that

[45:18] are out there. There are so many that

[45:21] came up through the ranks, if you will,

[45:23] and came up as uh members of our

[45:25] community over the years. So, um, I

[45:27] truly believe that that is part of the

[45:30] reason I think there's such a connection

[45:33] within our community between our public

[45:34] safety and police, fire, EMS departments

[45:37] and the community here because so many

[45:40] of our police officers, medics, and uh,

[45:43] firefighters have all come up through

[45:45] and leadership specifically have come up

[45:47] through uh, being a member or uh, grew

[45:50] up here in Cottage Grove, maybe went to

[45:52] Park um, or whatever school. We'll we'll

[45:54] give him whatever.

[45:56] >> Well, okay.

[45:58] >> All right. All right. So,

[45:59] >> we we'll let it go.

[45:59] >> All right. Thank you. Thank you. I I'll

[46:01] do that. But, uh the I just want to say

[46:03] it's uh it's been uh fantastic to see

[46:06] and um Brad uh as you know, we've talked

[46:10] before uh very much uh excited for you

[46:12] and the team and really look forward to

[46:14] some continued amaze things happening in

[46:16] our public safety uh fire. I have to

[46:19] throw the fire and EMS in there with

[46:20] because that's your big title now. You

[46:22] have it all. So all right that was it

[46:25] for me then. Um and so we do not have

[46:28] any workshops open to the public or

[46:30] closed to the public. So we are now at

[46:31] the point of adjournment.

[46:34] >> All right. So we have a motion by

[46:34] council member Olsen. Do I have second

[46:37] by council member Garza?

[46:39] >> All of those in favor signify by saying

[46:40] I.

[46:41] >> I opposed. We are

Cottage Grove City Council Meeting 8-19-26

Transcript