[Music] greetings my name is JIS Thad and I'm a proud to be a part of the League of Women Voters Dakota County welcome to the Rosemount city council candidate Forum it is my honor to present our moderator Lynn Lewis Lynn is a trained moderator and a valuable member of our league serving as a co-president and a co-chair of the service committee thank you Lyn thank you Tina good evening and on behalf of the leag of Women Voters Dakota County and the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce welcome to the Rosemont city council candidate Forum thank you to the candidates for attending tonight would also like to thank Rosemont Community TV for their willingness to record and broadcast this event and the city of Rosemont for allowing us to use their facilities the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce is a 66 year-old chamber organization that serves nine cities including Rosemont and three townships while representing 50% of Dakota County residents the DCR Prides itself in driving business and communities forward they are the voices of business and work to develop vibrant communities through programming like this candidate Forum the DCR is grateful for the partnership with the League of Women Voters Dakota County for this event the League of Women Voters is a 114-year-old organization that strives to empower voters through education engagement and civic participation the league does not support or oppose a political party or a candidate for office League of Women Voters Dakota County provides unbiased candidate and issue information that's used by Minnesota voters regardless of their political beliefs sponsorship of this forum is a public service providing you with an opportunity to hear the candidates discuss important issues face to face the views expressed here are those of the candidates and not those of the League of Women Voters Dakota County or the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce sponsorship of this form is not an endorsement by the league or chamber of any particular candidate League of Women Voters Minnesota and local leagues post complete unedited recordings of forums editing is authorized only for official media reports ing excerpts or edited clips of candada forums may not be used for partisan or political purposes Le Women Voters post only complete unedited recordings of our forums we'll start the candidate Forum with opening statements each candidate will have two minutes for their opening statements and two minutes for their closing statements opening statements will be in alphabetical order closing statements will be in Reverse alphabetical order the order of answering questions will be randomly determined questions will or candidates will have 90 seconds to respond to the questions and we ask the candidates to respect these time limits please note our timekeeper who has a yellow 15sec sign alerting you that you have 15 seconds to complete your response there's also a stop sign that indicates you should conclude your sentence so we can move on to the next candidate many of the question questions for this evening were submitted to the league Andor chamber by email they were reviewed by a committee of League members and edited for clarity in addition the committee developed some questions based on topics of Interest they identified in the community because of time constraints were not able to ask all of the questions submitted the Forum will conclude in about an hour so let's begin with our opening statements the order for opening statements will be Heidi fresky followed by Paul Tyson and then Al vile Heidi thank you to the league of women's voters of Dakota County and Dakota County Chamber of Commerce for hosting today's Forum I am Heidi fresy I am currently serving my second term on city council I started this journey eight years ago when my boys were four five and 15 at that time I wanted the council to have a voice for young families fast forward 8 years and we have accomplished more than I could could have ever imagined Rosemount is one of the fastest growing communities in the Twin Cities and it's the place where people want to live we are making continuous investments in public safety Fortune 500 companies are investing in our community new schools are being built to support our growing population and we are experiencing record Economic Development growth these accompl accomplishments are a result of diligent planning a strong leadership team at the the city and a council who is proactive and focused on providing our residents a high quality of living while wisely spending their tax dollars throughout the past eight years I've had the privilege of being the community um liaison to the leprechaun days and Haunted Trail committees I learned very quickly our Comm Community is not about City Hall it's about the residents who make up our neighborhoods old and new our Rosemont brand is hometown feel and I and preserving that is always the number one goal in my full-time job and a vice president at a financial institution locally and I'm responsible for executing the Strategic direction of the digital consumer segment I am running for a third term because our community is in the midst of tremendous growth it is critical this is done in a smart strategic way my experience as a council member professional and leader will continue to be an asset to the city council thank you Paul good evening everyone my name is Paul Tyson and I'm proud to be here tonight as a candidate for election for Rosemont city council My Story begins on a small farm in central Minnesota where I learned the value of hard work integrity and Community these values have guided me throughout my whole life from those humble beginnings I worked my way through college driven by a desire to make a difference that determination led me to a successful career in leadership and management at my current company Genentech which is a biotech company in South San Francisco there I've honed my skills in strategic planning collaboration and Innovation skills that I've brought with me to our city council family is at the heart of everything that I do my wife Jessica of 24 years and I are blessed with two children Carter who's a sophomore at St John's University excelling in a business management degree and also playing baseball and then my daughter who I actually just came from the soccer game has now joined soccer as well but she's a senior at rhs and very involved with basketball lacrosse and will be playing lacrosse at St Ben's College next year but it's this sense of community in Rosemont that I believe is truly second to none and it's the community spirit that motivates me to help serve and do more so for the past two years I've had the honor of serving this community on city council and the Port Authority working alongside dedicated colleagues and City staff to help shape the future of Rosemont we've made great strides and I'm proud of a lot of the things we've accomplished but there's still more to be done as you heard from Heidi there's a lot of development a lot of things that are coming so I'm running for election because I believe that the potential of this city and its people is very high together we can continue to build a vibrant connected and Pros Rosemont so thank you for your trust and support and I look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve you thank you I'm El I'm a 16-year resident of Rose Mount I have a 17-year-old daughter Aaliyah that I co-parent uh that will be a senior this year at rhs who wants to go on to study data science and artificial intelligence we have a docsend and two Orange tabies I'm a technical Alliance consultant at Oracle in its Oracle Cloud infrastructure uh business as well as owning two small businesses of my own that do IT consulting and media marketing I was a part of R triaa for several years even being a track announcer for four years and I currently sit on the board of directors for Rosemount Arts uh Rosemount Area Arts Council as its technology chair I'm built for this job I'm Third Generation in my family devoting our time and skills to public service and public office my father ran for City Council of the city of now then and was also chairman of the roads and bridges commission my grandmother Irene was the first woman mayor of Hampton and received accolades from Hubert Humphrey for all her work in helping that City get on a progressive P path to Improvement and she still had time to get us all together for Sunday meals my top priorities are Public Safety responsible planning supporting small business fiscal responsibility and transparency to the public running a city is hard but I believe that my continued Devotion to service ability to handle multiple complex streams of activity decision-making skills and my analytical approach to projects and my ability to work within a team makes me your best choice for Ros Mount city council thank you thank you candidates now we'll move on to questions the response order for the first question will be Paul Tyson Al vile and Heidi fresy okay and our first question is what is your favorite place or places to spend time in Rosemont and why Paul well this one this one's easy I love this one so I would have to say the my favorite place to spend time in Rosemont is definitely the parks whether it's playing football and coaching football like I did for many years with r triaa at uh Shannon Park on those fields right there to Carol's Woods where I take my Fat Tire Bike or or just run through uh time and time again but the the trails in the parks are definitely where I find myself spending the most time just because I think Rosemont has done a great job of expanding and and and and not only that but putting a lot of time and effort into their Parks but then also the value of the connection and the community coming together so I mean Saturday mornings at Shannon Park is is nothing but loud noisy and as fun as possible because you really truly see all these different generations of grandparents parents and everybody coming together to play football it's it's exciting it's something I actually miss as my kids have gotten older so I find myself biking or running strategically in that area right during uh that that time of the morning so my favorite you know just answer the question to come back to it it's it's definitely the park system and all the different things that we're doing to keep this city um exciting in the Parks Al I'd have to say the parks as well um you know we have done in this city and the city has done a great job uh in facil facilitating the fact that we have 14 wonderful Parks uh in order to choose from and Shannon Park uh as Paul had said uh I love white tail Woods as well um um so seeing the sun come up early in the morning uh over the trees and several of these Parks uh whether it's biking or I especially enjoy hiking uh so I again I have to come back to the question and say it's the parks we have a phenomenal Park system in this city and Heidi well I have three things that I want to mention so the first thing that came to mind is I graduated from Rosemont High School way back when and so I always have a natural draw to the high school campus specifically the Irish Stadium whenever you're driving down Highway 3 it's it's that how it's built into kind of the the hill there that always draws me and I always love going there um I'll Echo what they have said the trails are something that I cherish out of my neighborhood um Crossing into a couple different neighborhoods that's where my husband and I get to kind of spend some one-on-one time these days and then the third I'll just say downtown as a whole that's where I tend to meet my family and friends for dinner or for some nightly entertainment and just to kind of catch up so I can't just say one it's all three thank you and now the response order for our next question will be Al vile followed by Heidi fresy and then Paul Tyson okay our next question is what is your position on growth and the pace of growth in the city of Rosemont Al yeah that's uh that's a great question question so my my position on that is you know small towns progress is progress and you know as a town that you know a city that is as popular as Rosemount is becoming uh progress is pound is bound to happen um I you know the growth that we currently have and the pace of growth uh that I feel are relevant for what is required in terms of housing uh infrastructure um everything else that we need from a growth standpoint and that you know one of the things is is that we see an explosion and growth within Rosemount today what we have to keep our eye on uh as we've talked about is the hometown feel for Rosemount um a lot of my constituents that I talk to many of them feel like we're growing a little too fast sometimes I agree with that sometimes I do not um there you know we have to we have to balance out the need for growth in order to balance that out with the uh the ability to maintain the gems that are a part of our town and continue to Foster that Hometown feel that we have as a city Heidi um the growth that we're experiencing is a result of lots and lots of planning over many many years and even decades um I really understand how some residents can feel overwhelmed there's a lot of dirt moving in Rosemount especially on the east side of the east side of town um but with that our housing growth is due to demand and we've been fortunate enough to have some land developed over in the Umar parcel which has resulted in several units um and and the good thing about that is we're seeing a more diversity of housing high high density medium density and single family homes which is very much needed when you look at the data commercial growth is is happening it's coming right along and they're very much tied commercial growth doesn't happen unless you have housing and so now we're experiencing that growth in commercial new restaurant we've got some new dayc carees a gas station will be opening up a bakery a bank I could go on and on I feel like every city council meeting we're approving a new plat of something that's coming to Rosemont that's part to our housing growth and frankly the new schools that are being built so while I understand some may feel like it's too fast we've planned for this I think it's just a little overwhelming that it's happening at the same time if you look at our strategic plan right under growth we have two things continuing our community connections and preserving our hometown F so we we make sure that're we're doing all three at the same time Paul yeah I I love this question because I think the the growth is is is great but I think there's a lot of people to Heidi's point that don't realize that this has been a plan for quite a while there's been a lot of land on the east side that hasn't been developed so rosem Mon's growth is a clear indication though that our community is thriving and attracting new residents which I I find to be very exciting I believe that in order to sustain this growth and maintain the quality of life that we all value as that hometown feel it's essential that we encourage businesses and Commercial development alongside with the housing expansion because businesses truly are the lifeblood of any Community you know they provide jobs Services a stronger tax base all the different things that we're looking for on city council here and that all supports that public infrastructure of schools and the vital services that we provide and as Rosemont continues to grow it's important that our local economy grows with it so ensuring that our residents have access to employment opportunities like local shopping and a lot of this building kind of has to come first and then the commercial piece of it really does come second if you look at the numbers and the more that I've learned in the last two years being on city council I've really kind of had that in-depth education so I think I truly believe that we should focus on you know several areas and I think it goes right back to what our strategic goals are is really creating a business friendly environment supporting small businesses that are already here and then third attracting strategic Investments to make sure that we can pay for all the infrastructure of this new development and growth thank you the response order for our next question will be Heidi fresy okay followed by Paul Tyson and Al vile and our next question is how would you describe your leadership style can you tell us about a time you demonstrated leadership skills Heidi yep so two things that come to mind I think first and foremost as a leader and what I've done as in city council is you listen you need to listen to your residents I often meet with them for coffee exchange emails you listen you learn their perspective you learn their side of story and that helps you make educated decisions um the second thing is when you're in a leadership role you have to build a strong team because your team you're only as good as your people and so I think that's one of the things that we've done here in the past eight years we have an amazing leadersh leadership team at city council that has really allowed us to grow at the extent that which were growing and attracting the companies that want to come to Rosemont so you got to enable your people to do their job and give them the the the breath and the freedom to get things done once they understand your vision and I think we've done that we've done a really good job of that in on the council in the past few years Paul yeah so you know within the last two years of Rosemont city council I deeply believe in the principles of a servant leadersh ERS ship and so for me that means prioritizing the needs and well-being of others above all else so my leadership style to answer this question is rooted in listening empathy and genuine desire to understand and then validate the opinions and concerns of those I serve or the those that the council serves and I think that's important to kind of spell that out that this is a council that we work together to really listen and do those things you know so that's kind of our leadership style and that's kind of the culture that has been built here and it's been very successful so leading with that positivity is also a central piece of how I approach my role I believe that a positive outlook not only Fosters collaboration and trust but also empowers others to contribute to be their best and to have the best ideas and efforts come forward so whether it's in Council meetings community events or one-on-one conversations with residents on night to un8 that we just had last Tuesday or two Tuesdays ago I strive to create an environment where everyone feels respected heard and valued I understand the effective leadership is not only imposing my will but also about facilitating dialogue encouraging participation and then thirdly building that consensus as a group and I think the staff here at Rosemont as well as the city council does it I'm IM Immaculate job of that or uh exceptional job of that so it's about making these decisions reflect the collective good even those those decisions can be difficult at times Al yeah thank you I don't have the experience of already having a team being a part of the city council but when I look at this from what I do as a daily job uh my leadership style is identifying the resources there's a task there's something that needs to be done identifying the correct uh operative people that will be a part of that team you are the leader but the my leadership style is is identifying the correct resources that are needed on that team to get that done and get it done quickly uh but then taking the feedback from the team as well um you know of being part of that team and everybody collaborating together and building that dialogue with the people that are part of that team and my uh and being that leader is to help um provide the vision for what needs to be done uh and also allowing those folks that are part of your team to have that responsibility uh and the independence in order to do what needs to be done in order to get that task done and that's something that I do um on a regular basis um in what I do today thank you the response order for our next question will be Paul Tyson followed by Al vile and then Heidi fresy so our next question is Rosemont is a community with lots of Housing and not much commercial space many residents want more places to shop dine out Etc what should the city do of anything to encourage businesses to move to Rosemont Paul yeah so you know one of the things that I've learned on Council in the last two years is that um you know we've had a lot of people come and present to us and one of the things that I continuously heard was that there's not the numbers to support whatever it might be a hotel there's not the numbers or the demand to support this type of restaurant there's not the numbers to demand so it's kind of this what I mentioned earlier it's kind of this you know teeter totter what do you have to do first in order to bring the other and so what I've learned in that process is that it's very important to make sure that you know if you build it they will come and what I'm proud to say is that to answer to this question right now there's a lot of things coming this way I mean we've seen the development noties we see fields we see the development we see the apartments going up that high density apartment even though there might be some objection to some of that is really bringing in people to our staff that are literally excited about bringing these new restaurants that everybody's looking for it's it's bringing that the second location for existing businesses in our town like the bank which I think is a great example of not only new businesses coming to Rosemont but expansion of current and and founder businesses in this community and then also the the creativeness of these businesses to not only have a secondary Bank location but add a coffee shop and a and a bakery to this right so we're seeing that kind of thing coming it's coming maybe a little bit slower but we're seeing good things happen because we're doing the right things first yeah a a great question um obviously bringing in more more businesses more small businesses more shops more more small food uh I think that one of the things that we should encourage one of the things we can do to encourage businesses to move to Rosemount is maybe maybe updating our small business uh opportunity uh capabilities that we have within the city today maybe that's through things like tax abatement tax deferment things like that in order to encourage more small businesses this goes dovet tales and goes hand inand with you know what is in the comp apprehensive plan for revitalizing the downtown I my aspirations what I see and my vision uh would be a revitalized downtown with lots of small shops and small food food places um especially for like the folks that are the seniors that are so close to downtown where they have to go you know kind of a ways in order to find things like that and not have the ability to just say walk or go down uh the street a block in order to go shopping for little things and and eat things here and there so I think we could do some things we are encouraging businesses today uh but we could do a better job of that Heidi um to Echo a little bit about what Paul said is we have a lot coming and a lot of it you can see where dirt is being dug and some you can um see where we have recently just approved it like I mentioned before our bank is expanding we have new daycares that are being built and that were approved we have restaurants that are being built a new gas station is coming to the corner of 42 and in akan the there are multiple quadrants within our community that we're focused on and one of the things that we did and back in 2021 is we did a Vision visioning study with a with a local architect team and we took specific quadrants within our city and said what could it look like and we brought it to life and we use that to meet with prospective business owners and our communities so they could see our vision and that has really triggered a lot of the development you're seeing here we're going to do that again and we're doing that on some key areas 42 and Highway 3 Highway 52 and County Road 42 and then we're going to continue to expand along Highway 42 on some of those key intersections with the Rosemont Middle School being built at biscan and Highway 40 or County Road 42 that is an ideal location we are seeing interest in so we are very proactive we do have a team here at City Hall who's completely focused on economic development and we're really now just seeing the fruits of our labor once the economy gets a little bit better interest rates may come down some of these things may be a little bit more affordable for our developers thank you and the response order for our next question will be Al vile followed by Heidi fresy and then Paul Tyson and our next question is did you support the meta Facebook data center approval why or why not Al uh great question uh yeah in in in the heat of the debate of the metad DAT Center uh which I know is going to develop into an an AI super cluster for meta is um I I voiced my opinion on that and said that with the data that we have in regards to any of the studies that had been done in the a aars that had been U that had been done which in that particular case there was one that had gotten to a point where there was an expiration that had occurred on it I mentioned that I could not support it um I you know I have really changed my tone on that um it's happening it's being built it it doesn't matter at this point um um I support the fact that we have that what I would have chosen to see is an industry like meta or several high-tech Industries coming into this area in order to provide more jobs my indications are that the metadata Center outside of the actual construction uh is only going to employ 49 to say 52 full-time employees for a $710 million project um I I still have an issue with that because that doesn't really seem like they're really doing that much for our community Heidi I did support it um I still do support it I am thrilled to see the construction underway um ell is correct it did bring I think well over a thousand um jobs to bring it to life from now until I believe it's the spring of 2026 um with that said I think it's amazing that any Fortune 500 company is going to choose Ro Minnesota let alone Rosemount to invest over 700 million to build a facility that alone I think puts Rosemount on the map and having a high tech um industry leading company um invest in US is something that I'm I'm thrilled about and I just think it opens doors for us in the future um one thing to keep in mind is we did do a lot of due diligence on this we spoke to a lot of people who have Facebook meta data centers across the country specifically in the MO area and we did not hear one negative thing from mayor's city council people or the residents that we spoke to and in fact Meta Meta has been a huge partner with the communities to bring bring new programs to life within their community so I'm really excited to see them here and I can't wait to see how we can partner to um bring more opportunities to the to our residents Paul yeah so just to answer the question right away I I absolutely supported Meta Meta something that came um on in into my understanding kind of right when I started with city council just kind of hearing you know some of the things that are going be on behind the scenes and then the process was definitely different and probably not the way everybody would have liked it to happen but I I really want to commend our staff for the due diligence to Heidi's point that they've done to make sure that this was the right fit I mean it's great that this Fortune 500 company wanted to do business in Minnesota specifically in Rosemont but making sure that it's right for Rosemont was something our staff spent unbelievable amount of time working on and I learned that very very quickly so what I'm really excited though is all the different things that we're going to continue to do with them at the ribbon cutting we were able to meet with our community director a community partner and their partnership is ex like substantial you know one of the things that our one of our colleagues Tammy kimple was able to do is meet with several different mayors in the de MO area that have Amazon uh Google I I think fa a couple Facebook and and maybe uh Microsoft data centers and they they couldn't say enough good things about not only after they were built in the tax base that they would bring to the community but also the Community Partnership the partnership that we can have with the schools and and the the local businesses in the community I'm really excited for that so yes I did support this and I'm excited for what it's going to bring to this town thank you candidates the response order for our next question will be Heidi okay followed by Paul and then Al and our sixth question is as Rosemont grows and becomes more diverse how do you plan to integrate people with different backgrounds into the community yep um thank you I think it it comes to our in our strategic plan gr goal number two and I hold this up because while we're growing it's really important that we continue to do those things and that second goal is all about creating Community connections there's no magic bullet um one of the things we recently did and she just started is we H added a second communication person to our staff and the prime primary reason for that is we want to increase the engagement with our residents especially those residents that are new to Rosemont get them acclimated with us so that was one of the the proactive things that we've done we also have a big significant emphasis on communication and communication is through multiple vehicles and to all audiences to make sure that they get the information they need how can they how can they um um participate in our community events and then the last thing I'll mention is that we continue to focus on adding additional community events throughout the year I think most people are familiar with leprechaun days we have a fall food track Festival we're going to have an October Fest this October but we continue to add new events and our ultimate goal is to have one monthly and that's really the opportunity to bring our entire Community together so I think um um our proactive nature um will get there but it all goes back to listening if people have ideas we'd love to hear them that's what we're here for Paul yeah so as Rosemont continues to grow we're seeing increasing diverse range of people that are choosing to make this their home which I think is exciting their diversity is a strength and bringing New Perspectives cultures and ideas that enrich our community I think our art is fantastic so however the growth comes the responsibility to ensure that everyone feels welcome valued and integrated into the fabric of Rosemont is crucial and I think it's truly things like Heidi just referenced it's leprechaun days it's it's all of our far fall festivals that we that we talk about and hopefully are are doing a better job of getting that information out there whether that's in the flyer here whether that's social media whether that's YouTube channel whatever we can do to help show that we are a welcoming committee and really F our community and really focus that that we're promoting that inclusivity for all for all cultures and all backgrounds uh we're that we're focusing on community engagement so we just like I referenced earlier the night to unite was a great opportunity for for not only city council but the police department the fire department to go out into the community and really see these neighborhoods that have some older neighbors some brand new neighbors to Rosemont intertwining and working together and and just celebrating kind of one night together and that kind of collaboration that kind of community I think is important and something that we should just continue to do and as City Council Members that's one of our priorities like Heidi mentioned is to continue to Foster that positive um diversity Al um yes uh I I I agree with everyone here is that you know number one the city does a very good job uh already in providing those communication channels to those folks um making them feel welcome into the community providing services and events that um that are inclusive um of different types of people and so we do a good job so far I I think really it's like let's just keep it going you know times two quite honestly um to make those folks feel valued in the community um providing that communication to those folks um uh you mentioned a couple of things the leprechaun days I would add in as well um I think about the uh uh with rack arts art blast is we do a phenomenal job of doing ethnic based events that are part of that week-long celebration of the Arts Council and I think we could even do more of that and so I I would be happy to be a part of the city council as we continue to push that forth and welcome more and more people to make our our population more and more diverse as it will be thank you and the response order for our next question will be Paul Tyson followed by Al V and then Heidi friski and our next question is what benefits and challenges do you envision for Rosemont residents related to the development of umore Park Paul okay thank you for the question I I think I see a lot of benefits to the just what what what's going on and it goes back to a little bit what we refer to earlier is is is planning really looking at that parcel parcel of land on as an opportunity to really grow and kind of do the kind of planning that we want to as a city so whether that's new housing Amber fields and some of the things that are going on there but then we have this land with Yar Park where we have somebody that's really you know we consider ourselves a shovel ready Community we're we're looking for businesses and the one of the great things about meta is we really are kind of on the map as a community that is looking to do business and here we have this porsel of land where the land owner the University of Minnesota is is really excited to to sell this land and use this land and what I'm most excited about it is here's a a piece of land that right now is not bringing any tax revenue to the city and with some of the planning and some of the Strategic um things that the city council and the staff are doing right now we're really kind of turning something that's not generating value to generate value and in the right way I think is is one of the biggest conc concerns but it's it's very exciting to see what might happen with all that all that land and all that possibility out there for bringing new new companies interesting companies and um yeah I'm I'm I'm more excited than any than I see challenges with that L I agree with Paul um we think of this it's a big chunk of land we're we're not seeing any revenue from it currently um so it makes sense right um that as a city that we um through responsible planning that we we look to uh develop that in you know smart ways to enable both as I mentioned you know housing uh industry business units um a and some of the other aspects of what we could do with that with that um with those parcels and it provides a lot of value ultimately to to Ros Mount and what Rose Mount will become uh as we as we do that it will take you know the challenges are let's be smart about it the benefits is the tax revenue the the uh the related services and capabilities to the community uh that that will bring to bear Heidi I'm aligned with the University of Minnesota's um market-based approach they they pivoted to that approach back in 2015 and I I think that's the most ideal So based on what opportunities come up for a given piece of land I am definitely open to listen I any attempt to can clean up some of the land that may be contaminated I think is a win for our residents any opportunity to convert a piece of land to be a taxable parcel is also a win for our residents so I would definitely listen but with that said any opportunity would have to go through and me our requirements um and that is that is a very diligent process because we need to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place but from my perspective it's a win-win if it works if it makes sense and it can it can meet our standards thank you the response order for our next question will be Al vile followed by Heidi fresy and then Paul Tyson and our eighth question is there there have been several large projects such as the metadata Center and the FedEx facility approved in Rosemount residents are concerned about noise use of electricity and water Aesthetics and preserving the natural environment how should the city go about getting feedback on these sorts of projects and are more opportunities for feedback needed Al well the city already does that from the perspective of the city council and with the help of staff and in order to allow the public to provide you know Public public commentary during uh during um during City Council meetings but in my feeling I think that I believe that there could be more that could be done in order to get the feedback uh from the public perhaps Town Halls on a fairly regular basis in order to capture that feedback um some of the other avenues that are being done already is you know feedback can be provided through uh some of the web-based uh capabilities through the city's website but really getting in front of the citizens and hearing what they are feeling about that and capturing that feedback I think is extremely important we should do that on a regular basis Heidi um it it's interesting because after the meta data center went through we we all know that there there was some there was some cautious residents out there and we kind of did a retrospective internally to figure out how could we do that better next time because there's going to be a next time and it's going to happen quickly and what what we've come to the conclusion of is there are times where we can share information and there's times where we can't there are times where um our residents may think we know more more and we really don't um but I think the the ultimate conclusion is is that we're going to continue to be more transparent we don't want to surprise anybody and I think one of the things that was really beneficial at the the later age stages of the meta project is we had an open house and we had an open house that can people from Excel Energy the U ofm um meta all sorts of people were there to help answer questions for people so I think you're going to see a little bit more of that um ironically earlier this week at our Port Authority meeting we were talking about another potential project and one of the things that we brought up is how are we going to get in front of this so our residents aren't surprised how are we going to communicate how are we going to provide that transparency for what we can share because as we've tried to communicate out previously there are cold name projects and that's just the way Fortune 500s Fortune 500 companies do business but we continue to learn we are definitely open to opportunities but it is a focus of ours moving forward yeah Paul yeah and I think I would I would agree with both both comments but but Heidi specific bringing out the The Meta deal I I think whether whether we thought we did everything right or not the perception might have been that that that it still wasn't enough and so the more that we can do to help educate not only ourselves on what we can communicate right away that we do communicate that but also that we help communicate the public and that's where I think we've really see that that infrastructure that we put in with staff by hiring not only a communications director but an assistant communications director to be more proactive to have more of these Community meetings one of the things I'm really proud of the meta deal though is that to Heidi's point we brought in the experts so when people were talking about oh it's going to make all this noise well let's walk over here to the Excel professional that actually has that exact answer uh well we're worried about it's it's it's going to be um use all of our water well let's go over to the meta expert that actually can talk about exactly how much water they're going to pull and it's when you really get the why and the the the the the the facts behind this the source the the anxiety kind of goes down and I think we could do more of that which I'm excited to to bring and do more of that with city council but I'm really proud that we did the right thing we stepped up when we could because we don't always have that that leeway with with some of these projects but but uh always more is is what we're searching for for sure between staff and city council thank you the response order for our next question will be Heidi followed by Paul and then Al and our ninth question is as the city of Rosemont grows how can the hometown feeling of the city be maintained Heidi well I'm going to hand hold up our little thing again because that's goal number three is um preserving our hometown F and and again there's no magic bullet um I think Hometown feel is different to everybody I have mine it's the Irish Stadium it's the you know the Grain Belt on Main Street um but I think it starts with the people and we just have to continue those Community connections we got to community um continue offering community events um one of the things that we talk about is just the ongoing engagement we hired the new communication Specialists but it all starts with the neighborhoods I think now with social media each neighborhood has their own little community and it's a community within a community and we just got to continue to Foster Foster and encourage that throughout our our city Paul yeah so one of the things that makes rosmont so special is that Hometown field you hear that everywhere it's on our our strategic goals it's on our planning but it's it's a sense of community where neighbor Neighbors know each other local businesses Thrive and there's a shared pride in our city and there's nothing more of a sense of that positive feeling than when you're at leprechaun days where you see the local businesses being supported at at the at the um you know at the fair or the or the parade where you see all the different representatives of the school activities being represented that's what I think about about when I think about the hometown feel but you know with that you know it's it's with all this growth that's coming and growth is inevitable and when managed correctly I think it brings new opportunities and services to and vibrancy to our community which is which is awesome but however it's essential that that growth happens in the way that preserves that Hometown charm and that close-knit atmosphere and that's why it's one of the top five priorities on our city council's uh agenda so I I I'm here to believe that the best way to maintain that Hometown field is three things and that's continued thoughtful Planning and Zoning how we're how we're laying out what we want to do with with some of this land out here on the east side how we do it strategically that really Fosters maintaining that Hometown feeli with that growth number two supporting the local businesses like we saw with for State Bank supporting them when they want to expand frana uh Home Depot these businesses that are expanding or spectral Alloys that are expanding within the in this market and then three just preserving those green spaces again in public areas continuing to make sure our parks are maintained and and kept up H I agree with all data points here um I I I always talk about the responsible planning and that goes um that that is combined with this um we Rosemount has so many Little Gems that makes this our Our Town our hometown that we are proud of um we need to do our due diligence that responsible planning that smart planning in order to preserve those gems that we can preserve but to Paul's point is growth is going to happen no matter what but as long as we within the council and within the city Administration that we are doing our due diligence to continue to identify and and retain those Little Gems that that are our hometown U I I lived I lived in Apple Valley before here um for 15 years built my first house there and I came here because it was such a HomeTown feel I just love the feel of it and all the Little Gems that Heidi mentioned the you know you flugal the the the grain silos the the the Farms that are about that have been here since the city was barely starting as a city we have to preserve those things uh in order to keep that feel thank you and we've reached our last question in the order for the response to this last question will be Paul followed by Al and then Heidi and our last question is how do you approach controversial or complicated issues yeah so this is this is one that we see many times whether it's dealing with an individual resident um looking for a variance on something that doesn't meet City standards or city codes and and and I think you know I go back to what I mentioned earlier that I lead with positive intent that whole idea of we lead with empathy and what's great about this Council and I think our staff as well is that we have a culture that really um embodies that that whole idea of we want to do what's right but we also want to make sure that we're we're kind of following the the zoning and the strategic planning that we've worked hard to make sure that we're proactively um you know setting out there and setting the standard of what good looks like for the community but when when controversial or complicated issues come up I think the first response is to really kind of sit back and listen as As Leaders of this local community I think it's it's our job to really kind of listen first consult second and then and then answer third and I'm actually very proud of what I've been able to do for the last two years on city council as well as work with this unbelievable that's one of the things that I was most pleasantly surprised when I came on board is this staff from Administration from the directors of each of our individual um departments to the staff at the very bottom um that you know might be pushing a broom or or mowing the Lawns we we really have a great team here and I'm excited to continue to work through these controversial problems with them H yeah Paul nailed it I think with me as well is number one is listen right if you don't listen listen to what the issues are you don't know what those issues are and you have to listen really to both sides of it and there will be a city side of it and there will be a resident side of it depending upon what that issue is you have to be able to empathize with what that issue is and then you have to be able to communicate I think communication is utmost uh and then the you know the answer thing we have to from a city persp perspective we would have to take into account you know rules and regulations um uh that may be a part of this particular issue controversial controversial complicated or not um and then we have to decide from there but taking all those Avenues into account and providing that that two-way Communication in order to uh understand why we came to the decision that we came too Heidi for the controversial one I think I I would Echo what these guys said is the first thing you need to do is listen you really need to understand all the different perspectives that are coming that are coming at you and then we need to discuss the matter and and and kind of like talk through each of those perspectives and and how does it impact our Rosemont residents and then um come to a conclusion and once that's done when we meet back with the the the you know response the parties is explain the why that communication is really important explain our perspective I think that's really helpful when it comes to complicated issues this could be a little bit different and and I think a lot of times what we have to do with complicated issues is break it down into its different components whatever they may be and explain it because me many times what we may view as pretty straightforward they can be complicated to a resident so breaking it down into consumable Parts EXP explaining it if there's something we're trying to figure out I'm very data driven what does the data tell us um that also helps us um deal with some complicated issues and then it comes back down to Consulting again and explaining the why the why on the matter thank you candidates and this brings us to closing statements you'll have two minutes for your closing statement and the response order will be Al vile followed by Paul Tyson and then Heidi fresy L thank you Lynn first I'd like to thank uh the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce along with uh and very importantly Lynn and Lynn and Tina Tina's out there um from the League of Women Voters uh for putting this event on tonight and thank you very much your vote matters that's why it's important for everyone to get out and vote on September 20th when early voting starts and also on my favorite November 5th when in-person voting uh happens we have both exciting and difficult times coming to Ros mount in the years ahead and it makes sense to have a balanced and skilled city council working as a team uh that can take on current and future issues with the public in mind at all times and revel in the success that will be Rosemount now and in the future we have 74 days I humbly ask for your support and your vote for me Al vile to be elected as a member of the Rosemount city council head over to alile for Ros mount.com for updated information on our campaign and remember we are Rosemount we embody the spirit of Pride and progress thank you Paul well I'd like to also thank the League of Women Voters for putting this event together and for your thoughtful questions I would also like to thank my fellow colleagues up here tonight to take the time and energy to help serve uh in this community I think is noble and and I I appreciate it very much but now I kind of focus to the residents of Rosemont and you know I I really Rosemont is more than just a city to us it's a community where we all live work and raise our families I'm proud to call this place home and I believe in its potential for even greater things in the future my vision for Rosemont centers around Positive Growth enhancing that small tone feel like you heard tonight and ensuring our parks and trails are not only maintained but expanded these spaces are where we connect where we build relationships and it's where we find the true Spirit of our community so both growth and development aren't enough on on their own we need to continue fostering strong relationships between the council working with dedicated City staff and more importantly each of you the residents of Rosemont together we can create a future that honors the past while embracing the possibilities ahead of us I bring this Council I bring to this Council positive energy a commitment to listening and a determination to work hard for the people of Rosemont I really like this quote from Warren Buffett what he said is someone sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree long time ago so if elected I can ensure that we will continue to plant those trees both literally and figuratively so that Rosemont can thrive in for generations to come thank you for your time and I humbly ask for your vote Heidi thank you again for hosting tonight's forum and to the Rosemont residents for taking time to learn more about us my vision for Rosemont is the same as it was eight years ago provide residents with a high quality of life with the desired amenities commercial options and a safe environment preserving our hometown feel is not just words it's how I make decisions Community is always first continued strategic growth I Am pro business and believe we have tremendous Assets in both land and people but with growth we need to think through the impacts and ensure our plans for infrastructure are in place roads intersections Public Safety in all forms Water and Power resources and finally Public Safety is always the top priority as we continue to make investments in both police and fire with buildings equipment Staffing technology and continued education ensuring we have safe water and our contined focus on our roadways and intersections I am proud of the Rosemont brand we have created our focus on transparency increased Communications and ongoing engagement is a priority in a recent survey 96% of Rosemont residents said Ros was an excellent or good place to live those results prove that our decisions and our future goals are on track I hope you'll give me oh I don't mean to get emotional give me the honor of serving four more years you can learn more by um checking out Facebook and Instagram and I have a website page fresky for rosemont.com thank you thank you candidates um the League of Women Voters Dakota County and the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce would like to thank everyone for participating in our Forum we'd especially like to thank the candidates for being part of the democratic process by running for office and being willing to serve their Community the League of Women Voters also researches issues important to our members and to the health of our communities if you're interested in finding out more about what we do and how you can make a difference please visit us at lwv Dakota county.org you can find out more information about voting and candidates at vote411.org again thanks for viewing and remember to vote by November 5th [Music] [Music]