In the Village of Cottage Grove and the Town of Cottage Grove that really is not the question of the moment. The question of the moment is, with Micah Zielke, seemingly being the voice of the Cottage Grove Merger Committee, how can we trust what they say?
As I pointed out recently, Micah Zielke(who made the motion and made it clear he was not changing his mind no matter what the people of the village said) and the Cottage Grove Village Board, completely disenfranchised the whole village by appointing Paula Severson to the Village Board quickly, despite an election LOSS just a month prior.
As I also pointed out, two years ago when much of the same village board, appointed a village president, they immediately ruled out the next in line in terms of votes for their candidate. Saying that was not a condition that had any value. This time, they brought that to the forefront as the BEST possible reason to appoint Paula Severson back on the board. When called on their hypocrisy by a local resident, knowing they could not defend it, they chose to ignore him. Micah Zielke, having an obvious agenda, was even able to weigh in on both appointments with a straight face. Unfortunately, knowing that he will now say anything with a straight face, to benefit his own personal agenda, he has blown the trust many in Cottage Grove have with him.
I actually endorsed trustee Zielke in the election, thinking he would have the best interests of the village in mind. I am sorry to say that within the first half hour of the first meeting, I was proven wrong.
Now the question is when the merger study committee is finished and makes their recommendations, whose interests will they have in mind? As a homeowner and taxpayer in the community it worries me that a small group of people’s personal agenda is costing the Village dearly in the long run. Hopefully Trustee Zielke will redeem himself in the near future so he can regain some semblance of trust.
