Cottage Grove Charter Commission to move meetings, seek more public input

Talk about it

Seeking more public involvement in the plodding process of deciding whether the city should draw up a new governing document, the Cottage Grove Charter Commission has said it will move its monthly meetings from the spartan surroundings of the city’s Public Works Department break room to the new City Hall building that opened Monday, beginning next month.

The 15-person commission appointed by a Washington County judge earlier this year has begun examining a possible home rule charter for the city that could lay new stipulations on some aspects of city government, like spending, referendums and elections, and could go before voters for approval.

But, six months in, there has been little public involvement in a process that was created by an act of community activism — in the form of a 1,500 signature-strong petition — by a group opposed to the city’s decision to build a new city hall and public safety facility.

That has been, in part, by design, commissioners said. The group, which spent the first handful of meetings seeking input from other cities that have undertaken the creation of a charter and laying out a work plan for how to tackle the process, hasn’t necessarily been ready for public input, said Charter Commission Chairwoman Karla Bigham, a former City Council member and state representative.

Moving the monthly meetings from a staff cafeteria at the city’s Public Works Building on West Point Douglas Road to the new Cottage Grove City Hall may help bring more public participation, some commissioners said. Adding an open forum portion to meetings could boost involvement, too, said Tony Jurgens, commission vice chairman.

No members of the public attended the commission’s Wednesday, Oct. 24 meeting. Only eight of 15 commissioners were in attendance.

Jurgens said waiting to involve the public until the end of the process could hurt a potential future referendum on a charter.

“Knowing they have an opportunity to speak at an open forum might get more people involved,” Jurgens said.

The commission is expected to vote next year on whether to move forward with the creation of a charter.

Its next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, at the new Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway.

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