Governing neighbors meet in south Washington County

By Katie Nelson on Feb 14, 2017 at 4:00 p.m., South Washington County Bulletin

South Washington County Bulletin article

The mayors and town chairs of Cottage Grove, St. Paul Park, Newport, Grey Cloud Island and Denmark Township met last week with Washington County Commissioner Karla Bigham to discuss each municipality.

Bigham said she holds a meeting like this every year, as an “opportunity to touch base with them.”

“(It’s) essentially to let them know about the projects going on in the county, and get an opportunity to listen to them on their feedback on projects and what they’re working on in their communities,” she said.

Newport Mayor Dan Lund said the biggest concern the neighboring communities share is the BNSF car staging lot to be built on a 300-acre parcel in St. Paul Park, bordering Grey Cloud Island. BNSF plans to use Third Street in St. Paul Park to haul vehicles by semitrailer from the staging lot to dealerships in the region.

Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey said he said no to suggested alternate routes though Cottage Grove, though the group did talk about future work on 100th Street.

They also discussed working together on regional transit through bus rapid transit and the Red Rock Corridor.