A mining company that operates a rock quarry in Grey Cloud Island Township on Thursday withdrew its petition to be annexed into neighboring Cottage Grove.
Officials from Aggregate Industries, which had filed an annexation petition last month to have 120 acres annexed to Cottage Grove, said they had decided to “further evaluate our options.”
The company owns about 600 acres in the township.
Grey Cloud Island Township Supervisor Richard Polta said he was happy to hear the news. “This means the township will survive,” he said. “I want to thank all the people who helped gather information and show why the annexation should not take place.”
Township officials had worried that the annexation of the land into Cottage Grove would have been the first step in three different annexation proceedings. “They would have been back in a year with a petition to annex another 120 acres,” he said. “This would have been just one of three.”
The company’s annexation petition listed several reasons for the request, including concerns that “the township form of government is not adequate to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the community surrounding this property because of a shortage of staff and resources.”
Cottage Grove City Administrator Jennifer Levitt said city officials could not speculate on the company’s motives for withdrawal — “just like we could not speculate on their intentions for requesting annexation other than what they stated in their petition.”
Because the petition was noticed as a public hearing, it will appear on the agenda of Cottage Grove City Council next meeting, “but it will be struck as ‘withdrawn,’ so no public hearing will be held and there will be no discussion on the matter by the Cottage Grove City Council,” she said.
“The city is obligated to respond to an annexation petition, and we followed the requirements of state law to schedule it for a public hearing,” she said. “The city council has taken no action and made no decisions on the petition up to this point but were intending to consider the matter through a public hearing process, as required. Due to the withdrawal of the petition, we consider the matter closed.”
In a letter to Cottage Grove officials, Aggregate General Manager Tom Schmit wrote that he “appreciates the mayor, council and staff’s dedication and service to Cottage Grove and looks forward to continuing our working relationship moving forward.”
“As you are aware Aggregate Industries is a longstanding member of the local community and we are proud to supply construction materials and services on projects throughout Cottage Grove and the greater Twin Cities’ metropolitan area,” he wrote.
