Well, I sit on the EDA loan um committee. I sit on um a few boards that um require budget input through the departments. Um I have experience in my past uh career in developing budgets. Um but mainly just making sure that you're asking the right questions.

It seems that uh budgets budget decisions made by city council are fulfilling community needs. Uh when I reviewed the budget and levy hearing for taxes payable 2026 presentation documentation or document, sorry. I found nothing unreasonable present.

So my training is as a nurse. I spent a number of years as a nurse at the bedside and then as a nurse leader. So I was responsible and accountable for a budget that included frontline staff and capital improvements and such as well. I was a part of Mayo Clinics Bold Forward Onbound in Rochester project prior to my time at that organization coming to a close. That's a $5 million investment.

I think the addition of a third water tower is a priority, especially with severe drought conditions observed in Minnesota in 2021 and this past year. Each year since 2020 uh drought has been reoccurring. I would also like affordable housing to be made a priority as well.

So capital improvements are an important thing. And as we evaluate those, we have to first see what do we have and we need to take care of the things that we have. So, my first commandment is always to uh do the best with what we have.

As far as capital improvements, we've made great strides this year in getting the streets finally um updated and maintained. We've got the infrastructure underneath um almost completed. Um we are outgrown several of like the fire department needs a new building. It'd be nice to have a new library. Um it'd be nice to have a new city hall. Unfortunately, that costs a lot of money.

We have a a a committee. It's the age friendly and they have taken made great strides in looking at um the aging aspect of the community and trying to uh develop resources that allow um more senior community members to remain in their home.

Yeah, so I've had a lot of interaction with different demographics in Pine Island and for our more seasoned citizens, I would say that you know, their priorities are that they would like to see more affordable housing for seniors. So, I definitely would like that to be something that we can focus on.

So, for the individual asking the question, how do we make it this community better for senior citizens? It's important that we go to those folks and understand what their what their needs what their desires are.

So, for me, it's important that we maintain um being a community that is uh open for business. And so, um for our small businesses, I had a conversation that just a couple weeks ago just around how do we make it more affordable for young entrepreneurs to open up small um businesses in town and continue to thrive and be a part of even the Main Street community.

It's a difficult situation when you are a small community and you are 15 miles from a big city. Um over 1,300 people leave this city every day to go work somewhere else. And they drive by five grocery stores on their way home. Um we have to get the community engaged in supporting all of the local businesses.

Uh based on community feedback, I'd like to see businesses come into town that actively benefit the community, such as a laundromat, a coffee shop, or restaurant that serves breakfast. Businesses that employ people in the long term.

Uh everyone has a right to feel how they want about the data center. People have a right to be excited about it and it's potential opportunities. People have a right to feel concerned about it. Um, for me, I I understand that there is uh, potential benefit for the city and the school, um, but it can have great consequences for the residents and the neighboring property owners.

So, for whoever submitted that would love to connect up to learn more about that. Um I always love some good research to dig into. Um so, for me what's important is we have to look at the whole equation uh as well. And so, I don't intend to belittle or say that your home losing property value is somehow insignificant. Um that's certainly a a meaningful thing and a and a piece of the equation. And we also have to look at the potential benefits of a project like that.

I actually live less than half a mile from the proposed area. So, I would be impacted just as much as anybody else. Um but I agree with Dominic, you have to look at the big picture, not just pieces of it. It would be unfortunate if someone's property value did decrease, but again, you weigh the risk and the benefit of having a new business come in that is very supportive of the community, who's looking to be very much a good uh community member.

To continue to have open dialogue. I mean, everybody has the right to a difference of opinion. Um I think that there's um been a disconnect um within the city.

Uh pretty much as addressed in my opening statements, if elected, uh I intend to be more engaged with the community and innovating ways to um get in get important information out. There's folks that don't go online at all. There's folks with mobility issues.

The important thing here is I opened with really a focus around unity and what that means for me isn't that we all have the exact same way of thinking or the exact same perspective about every issue that comes to our community. In fact, let us recognize for a moment that there's a great deal of benefit that Delaina and Tosca might think about a situation differently than I do.

So, education is incredibly important. That's how we grow in knowledge and um that's how we raise up a next generation. And so, um we have four children of our own. Uh we actually have made the choice to educate our children in our home currently. Um but I grew up in the Pine Island um school system and um because we educate our children in our home does not mean that public education is not important to us.

The school has always been kind of the core of the community. Um I graduated there. Our son graduated there. Our grandkids Several of our grandkids went there until they moved. Um it's a highly respected school.

Yes, I've definitely gotten the impression that city leadership is very engaged with the school and is very considerate of their needs. And I I do think that um decisions, recent decisions have been to support the school. And I do feel that the school is important for looking at our future leaders and productive members of society.

So I think that to address rising costs that basically affordable housing needs to be priority. Thank you.

So, scarcity of housing and take care child care, did I hear correctly? Yeah, so for me the important thing there is that we understand what that looks like for those particular families that are challenged with that. I think the idea of affordable housing is a fantastic idea. How we facilitate and do that needs to be done really thoughtfully.

Housing and child care are are two topics that um I have talked with many people about um especially when you have child care providers that are getting out of the the business so to speak. Um there have been many conversations in the community about how to move forward with different types of child care resources.

I think if you were to ask people about that question not related to the data center, you'd probably hear something about e-bikes, e-scooters. I think that is a uh new and prevalent challenge that uh many of us are encountering.

For me, um that's based on the community, uh what needs are not being met, um and I want to be um I want Pine Island to be financially solvent, um but I also want to protect the interests and assets of the property owners, homeowners, and business owners.

I think the EMS um for Pine Island, the fire fighters, uh firemen, um Pine Island covers 132 square miles um our fire department is responsible for, which is pretty large for a small town. Um Looking to get more people interested in becoming a fireman. It's strictly voluntary.

Well, we've talked with the deputies on multiple times. Um We're working with the schools resource officer for education. Um you can't legislate parenting, so to speak. So, working with the parents um and legislation has to decide what really constitutes an e-bike.

Yes, so I think um definitely this is an opportunity uh for more community engagement and um educating on the dangers of these e-bikes and respectful conduct with your e-bike. So, I believe this is something that maybe we could have a tent or something at a community event. Um and have maybe law enforcement as well uh provide comments and just provide an education opportunity and some community engagement on this issue.

I assume with you Delina, I'm not sure we can legislate parenting. You know, there's certainly a component there where we do need to engage those who we might consider to be under age drivers in what it looks like to properly participate in activities on the roadways designed currently many for cars. We certainly may have you know, biking paths and things of that sort as well.

Well, we have to work with the willing. Um, and so, uh, that means that we have to, uh, make ourselves available for businesses and then we need to vet them out and see is that a business that we want to bring into our community. Um, and understand are they going to be someone that ultimately benefits our community? Are they going to be able to, um, you know, pay off debt as an example and things of that sort.

Yes. Uh, for me, I really like to attract businesses that, uh, provide a good number of jobs and long-term jobs. Um, I've done some research, um, about ways that others have been successful in attracting businesses. Um, so, I'd like to see if there is any adjustments that can be made with tax or fee reforms, uh, to promote business growth.

I think we need to look at what's the space available first of all. Do we have the space to actually invite businesses to come? ... Um but looking at businesses that uh are more community-based. Not We're never going to support big box store type businesses, but more of the you know, we need a laundromat, we need a coffee shop, we need um a family-style restaurant.

I'm not really a fan of that. I I'm not quite sure why that incentive needed to be offered to a corporation like that. Um I I certainly wouldn't have made that call. Um I wouldn't support that call, and I think uh that's something you know, that we should definitely be more careful about uh in future business um dealings and proposals.

First of all, I need to dig into the question there and make sure that that is a factually accurate representation of the tax abatement agreement. Um I genuinely don't know that to be true. Um if that were to be true, what I do understand is that um Ryan Companies has also committed to um 100 million of infrastructure improvements as well.

Tax abatement and TIF, there are different types of tax incentives that um communities are allowed to offer. Um Again, I don't know about the 85% either, but um I think that we stand to gain. Most businesses when they come into a community are not looking to provide the school with money. They're not looking to um provide any extra. They're just coming to open a business and hopefully the community supports it.

Um I think one other important thing to note too, Delina mentioned TIF as an option. So um for this particular um use case, my understanding is that TIF is not actually, um, an opportunity that could have been used, um, to attract this business.