I recently did an open records request from our Village Board and found a couple very interesting documents that I felt needed to be shared.
It seems that Village Trustee and registered lobbyist Paula Severson actually “owns” the firehouse. It is nice to know that will be coming off the tax roll next year since it is her private domain. I wonder if she charges the fire fighters and EMS rent?
Secondly, there was an anonymous email sent to the Village President. I had written about how unethically the village board appointed Mike Mikalsen. Now, thanks to an anonymous source, it maybe have been done illegally. illegalmeeting
For the past year, I have known what really happened with the Norton resignation. One of the current trustees unloaded everything to me regarding the Norton resignation on the Sunday after his resignation. The CURRENT trustee told me how meetings were held behind closed doors for week, how Scott purposely resigned at 4:00 pm on the last business day before the next village board meeting, how you were selected as the next president, and how on the Monday meeting everything was handled efficiently so no one knew about it until after the board meeting. I also know through this trustee that Diane was not invited to speak or give advice, and that you guys had all of your ducks lined up in a row and knew exactly what to do before the public got wind of it. To me, this is dirty politics 101, but I kept my mouth shut because I am friends with this trustee and I did not want to put this trustee under the bus.
Nothing but the best for The Village of Cottage Grove, I always wondered how the trustees involved(Paula Severson, Micah Zielke and Duane Hubing, along with Mike Mikalsen) could pretend to be ethical when they knew what they did. I guess it does not stop the Fitzgerald family either.
Let us hope the village sends a clear message to the current board in today’s and we restore ethics and integrity to our local government.
