You are the aren't you assistant? No, that's Rob. I >> think we're all set. >> All right. Call to order the Roseville City Council meeting special meeting for August 19th, 2026. Uh the roll call stands. We have all of our council members here. Uh and we also have our chair of our equity and inclusion commission, Pra Feetti, here with us. Um and uh so the roll call is done. Uh the only thing we have on our agenda this evening for this special meeting is interviewing uh candidates for the Equity and Inclusion Commission. Uh and that's what we'll proceed to do. And we have our first candidate ready to go. So feel free to come on up to the table and get the process underway. take out my official name. >> And here we go. >> All right. Perfect. Well, welcome and thank you for applying. Uh I believe you're applying for a second time for >> I am. I am. I think the first time was for the planning commission. >> Yes. And we spoke on the phone. We had a lovely conversation. >> I think we spoke on the >> All right. Well, anyway, welcome and thank you for applying for the Equity and Inclusion Commission this round and we appreciate you being able to be here this evening for the interviews. Uh the process we do is we do a round of questions uh and your answers uh and we rotate the who starts the questions each each candidate. Uh but then at the end of that, if there's anything that either we didn't cover during the questions that you want to make sure and make sure we're aware of in support of your uh uh application to the commission, uh feel free to let us know that. uh or if you have any questions for us. >> Sounds good. >> I think we're allowing about uh about 10 minutes for the each candidate. So, we should be able to have a lot cover a lot of ground in 10 minutes usually. So, uh about that. >> Okay. >> All right. With that out of the way, uh I will uh start this round of uh questions with Council Member Grath. >> Hi. Thanks for being here. So, the first question is, how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission? >> Sure. Okay. So I would say let me lead with my soft skills first before I go into my hard skills. So I have kind of an interesting career arc and for me career and my life is all it's all the same. And so I have been in fitness. I have been um a manager of a large and diverse team. I have worked as a user researcher for a multinational tech company. I have also worked as a marketing director for a local entrepreneur. And so it may seem like an interesting career arc, but the through line for all of that is that I have had to get very good at refining my interpersonal communication skills because all of that is deep work that means a lot to the people who are in it. And so I have gotten very good at listening to what's being said and what's not being said. I've gotten really good at having brave and courageous conversations that can be hard and leading with empathy and kindness and clarity. Um, and I those things I think could be useful on a community that is focused on equity and inclusion and all the nuance that that entails. Um, hard skills. So again, interesting career arc, but through all of that, I have had to take very vague goals and visions and translate that into something meaningful and clear with action behind it and a plan and measurable outcomes. So for a committee that um is looking to create real impact in the community, I think that could be useful. And also I have really deep experience working pretty closely with a wide and diverse group of people. So different races, different genders, sexualities, class, all of it. Um, in really personal ways, particularly in fitness. And so I may be able to see gaps and ways we might be leaving people behind in ways that other people might might not be able to spot. So >> thank you. The second question from council member st. >> Thank you. So what motivates you to be a part of this volunteer commission? >> I really want to get more involved with my city. So, and you're probably hearing that a lot from people, I would guess, uh, given just the state of the world. Um, but I love Roseville. I love living here. I love my community. Um, and my kids are grown, so they have flown flown the coupe, you know what I mean? And so, I have the time now to invest in ways that I didn't before. And I would really like to learn more about how everything works and start with a commission that is meaningful to me. >> Great chair. I'm ready. >> Please explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commission you applied for. >> So my understanding is that it serves in uh more of an advisory and recommendations role than in making decisions. So, we are the committee. We I'm not on I'm not on the commission yet, but we meet once a month. We are working on whatever initiatives are decided by the commission and we do the research and we get the uh make the evaluation and then we give the recommendations to the council and then you take it from there. So, that's my understanding. Right. >> Council member Schroer. Um, what do you believe should be the focus of the commission? >> So, I would be wary of walking in given my limited scope and understanding of what the commission has done so far. And I did do some research and have learned what you all have done so far as far as the um like the uh new commission member packet. I read that um at the email template you came up with for the um uh residence during uh when ICE was here in the Twin Cities. Amazing. Um but my understanding is still kind of limited to what you all do. So, you know, at the outset, I would say it would be nice to have a community-f facing win that we could show the community that um lets them know that we are being really proactive in understanding their concerns and that they're being heard and um a way to kind of measure that so that we can help prioritize what we might do next for the community. Um, other than that, I would take your lead, you know, so put me wherever you need me. >> Uh, Council Member Bower. >> Okay. >> What do you love most about living in Roosevelt? >> So, I am I'm a St. Paul girl at heart. And stick with me because I know we're not technically St. Paul, but uh I lived in Mallister Goldland up until the fourth grade. And then my parents who had divorced each other remarried each other and they're still married. And when they did that, they moved me to Rapids from Mallister Grove. You couldn't imagine that that might have been a little bit of a culture shock for me even in the fourth grade. I was like, "It's too quiet here. Everybody's white and they all drive the same car." Anyway, I stayed friends with all of my friends in St. Paul. I went to Central Lutheran Elementary on Lexington and we I grew up at Harmar, you know, I grew up at Rose at Rosedale in Komo Park. And so when I met my husband, uh my now husband about 20 years ago, he's a graduate of Roseville High School and his whole family is. And I when we you know cohabitated we bought a house in Ros. It just felt like coming home was like this is where I was like always meant to be. So that's my kind of long-winded answer to that question. >> All right. Well, I get the next question. We go from sort of the softball question to uh to a little more challenging question. Um sometimes uh commissions and specifically this commission can make recommendations or look at making recommendations to the council on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings uh from the public perhaps from opposing point of views points of view. Um how would you expect to deal with those types of situations while serving on the commission? Perhaps there will be testimony from members of the public to the commission. Sure. And then you know pros and cons about the the particular recommendation that you're considering. >> Sure. I found that in anytime people come heated and which I'm sure happens especially you know in in this area that it's my job to stay here. So people might be up here and elevated and hot and I just stay I just stay right here. And when I do that it seems to give people they lets them know they have the space to feel their feelings without judgment. And then I may, in depending on the scenario, may ask some questions to kind of get at what's really behind the emotions. Um, and usually I found when you do that, people aren't as far apart from me or somebody else as they might have originally thought they were. They just want to be heard. And so, but really, I just kind of just stay right here. give people the space to feel their feelings and ask them questions to help keep them grounded. When it comes to any recommendations that we the commission might make. Um, I would want all of those recommendations to be grounded in evidence, any sort of research that we may have done that is relevant to the community and that is aligned with the commission's mandate. So, everyone knows this didn't come out of nowhere. You know what I mean? And it's also not the recommendations aren't catering to the people who are the loudest in the room and in fact also include people who are under rep often under reppresented in recommendations which is the point of the whole commission in the first place. Um, and then I would also say that, you know, on the commission we might make a recommendation to the council that we feel really strongly about and we've got all, you know, it's very um, well reasoned and you might not take it and I'm here for that process, too. You know what I mean? So, that's where I would that's where I would live in in that realm. >> Right. Well, those are the questions. Uh, and so now if there's anything you wanted to make sure that we uh knew as we were considering your application or any questions you have for us, this is the chance for that. >> Um, I would actually do you mind if I just ask you like where you see the commission having the most impact right now and where the gap might be to what you want to achieve. >> No, it's uh, you know, obviously we are a politically divisive commission, right? Um and by ordinance we apply an equity inclusion lens to city policies procedures and programs. have it memorized and that's very it's very broad right and so the first year we spent a lot of time looking at the commissioner on boarding process right and so going from that handbook to like a three-page document putting things in plain English >> and you know I think we're still at a crossroads of where to go from here but we're taking a look at the annual um Leatherman is that what it's called trackman survey >> so taking a look at the survey and seeing if there's anything we can find in there to improve on and then go from there right we can kind of again equity inclusion is very broad and There are a number of city policies that we'd probably look at. Um, one also including like building a new maintenance center looking at actually the bid process potentially um actually one idea that I had because last week the nonprofit that presented um they said that they do dental work for children at elementary schools. I have a potential idea to potentially expand that to vision care. Um I have a finance background. So I'm going to probably build a model and see how much cash it'll actually cost. Um but it seems like they have exposure to that. So that's one idea I have. But a lot of this commission is I'm still figuring it out. You know, I'm trying to like throw things on the wall and see what sticks and you know that commissioner quick stuck and then just taking it one day at a time. >> Okay. >> What do you think would be most helpful for you from a new commissioner? >> No, definitely understanding um how the city operates in the first place, right? And again, same seeing the gaps that could be lying. Again, I was specifically looking at the commissioner on boarding process, but again, maybe how parks operates or finance operates and seeing how we can make that more inclusive for residents um is kind of my focus. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> All right. Well, that brings us to the end of this interview and we appreciate once again uh your interest in serving and coming back for a second round. Yes. Um, as I think we've probably said the first time around or communicated to you is that we do have a number of applicants and and one opening to fill here this time around. So, um, certainly want to make sure that we connect your enthusiasm and your interest in serving the community in whatever way we can. And if that means this appointment, you know, great. If it means trying again in the spring for the next round, that's good, too. And certainly um Rachel out in the lobby can help you connect with a lot of volunteer opportunities that aren't even as uh official as serving on a commission. But we really appreciate once again interest from members of the community, especially longtime members for uh stepping forward to uh serve. So thank you again for being here. >> You're welcome. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> The rest of your evening. >> Thank you. You as well. seat here. You're Dion. >> I am. Yes. Stopped at Dan's block party earlier this year. So, um, all right. You're all set. You've been well trained. uh putting your name and badge up and being ready to go. We appreciate you being here this evening and being interested in serving on the Equity and Inclusion Commission uh and subjecting yourself to this interview process. Um we'll just describe the process a little bit to you let you know what to expect here and uh then we'll dive right in. Uh first we'll do a round of questions. We've got the council members here as well as our chair of the commission pra over here. Um, and each of us will have a chance to ask a question. Uh, and you'll have a chance to answer and then at the end of that process, if there's anything that we haven't covered there that you want to make sure we know about supporting your application or any questions you have for us, we have hopefully a few minutes for that as well. >> Wonderful. >> All right. Well, with that, we'll start the next round of questions with Council Member Bower. >> Thank you. Thanks for being here. How do you how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission? >> Yeah. Well, I think um when I was looking through the the packets from past meetings, one of the things that I noticed was that the uh the commission is um or has been working on um finding out or figuring you finding their way around um you know, what are the differences between policy setting versus operationalizing um you know, a decision with staff versus advising. And uh I'm really fortunate in my role, I I work full-time as the emergency manager for the city of Brooklyn Park. And so, um, I get to work with community members and directors and the council and, um, and I've I've seen, you know, times where those roles get a little blurred and, you know, we get out of our our swim lane and we're not nearly as effective as when everybody understands um, you know, why any particular team is there. And so I think one of the assets that I would bring to the team is uh hopefully some um ability to help uh with clarity around um around what the role of a a commission is. I also uh you know working in emergency management um one of the things that it gives me an opportunity to do um when we look at at the community that I serve uh and we look at where can we have the biggest impact in terms of preparedness ahead of time uh so that when we have a bad day uh that we we minimize the impact and the the demand on on first responders and other government services. Uh a lot of it comes down to uh disparities in people's resources, whether it's um because of language barriers or because of economic status or um you know, whether or not they have a big network of of community, you know, friends and and relatives in the in the community. And so a lot of the work that I do is to try to um bridge uh some of those disparities ahead of time. And so uh when we do have a a bad day, the impacts are lessened. And it feels like to me that that work is really aligned with um this specific commission. >> All right. Um and so these these first two questions sort of go in handinhand with each other and the answers can flow back and forth between them. Uh so one question is about sort of general experience and background and how that can affect serving on a commission and the other part is this specific commission. Um and so the second question is um you know what motivates you to be a part of this particular commission? Um and you can you can weave back and forth in your answer if you want to as well. >> And so second part um why this commission and then first part again >> well so just generally your skill sets for serving on a commission like this. >> Gotcha. >> Uh well you know I've I've been in public service for for most of my life. when I was um 22. Uh I joined the Falcon Heights fire department and was on that until the um until the department was disbanded. And uh and I loved it. I loved being able to to help um members of the community when they're having a bad day uh make it a little bit better. And uh you know the um there was a huge sense of of reward from that. And I've also been able to do it uh full-time uh working as an emergency manager. uh you know my um in terms of my background one of I I sat on a um task force it wasn't a commission but it was the Falcon Heights policing inclusion and equity task force back in 2017 after the city experienced an officer involved shooting and um well I hope that type of event never um happens again that experience was really valuable um it was one of the most difficult uh things that I've done is be be part of that group. Um, but I you know through that process we had folks with a wide variety of backgrounds and lots of different opinions and passions coming together on a topic that was getting national attention and um you know it felt like the eyes of the world were on on this task force to solve a problem that was in no way limited to Falcon Heights. Uh and and it was it was exhausting. Um but it was a really great experience and how do we um come together when we have a table with all different opinions and all different backgrounds and try to reach some consensus on you know find that that common ground and figure out what are the things that we can actually move forward on that that are tangible. um this commission by this commission um you know I uh was born in the 70s and growing up in the 80s and the 90s as a gay kid uh there's a um a lot of disparities uh a lot of um challenges a lot of discrimination a lot of hate uh that I was subject to and in some ways I feel like um because you don't just automatically know that I'm gay when you see me u that that that there was people that felt safe in expressing their hatred that didn't know that they shouldn't around me. And and so I know what my experiences are. I don't know what anybody else's are, but I know um the other day I went to a clinic and they had a um sign on the door as a rainbow flag and it said all are welcome. And I thought, you know, I've been to the doctor's office a lot of times and I've never seen that sign. And I told the guy at the front desk, "That sign makes such a difference to me to I mean, that's something that's so simple, but yet it tells me that somebody here has thought about how to make this a more inclusive environment." And it just it just made my day. And so when I see simple little things like that that that can be done that make a big difference, um, and then I I just I I'm excited about the the thought of what what could we do as a city that would make an even bigger difference. >> Great. Thank you. Uh, Council Member Croft, >> please explain your understanding of the scope uh or duty of this commission. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's a it's a um it's a tough position. Uh I think being on a commission because um you're an adviser, right? And you you you don't set policy. That's up to this group. Uh you also don't direct staff, right? That's up to the directors and and others. Um, but you have an opportunity, probably more so than the average citizen, calling their council member and providing input to really help, um, uh, get hands-on with city policy, um, you know, city programs and and identify ways that you can recommend, uh, that some alterations be made or um, different ways of doing things that will make the world we live in a better place. And so I um very much see it as an adviser role uh which is uh very much in line with what I do on a day-to-day basis because as the emergency manager um I don't oversee anybody but yet when a bad day happens and things are really really bad part of my job is to advise the mayor, hey I think you ought to declare a disaster declaration and that's going to grant a whole bunch of other people some powers that they don't normally have. And then my job is to advise the person running that event on on how they should do things. That person is usually many paygrades above mine. And so you're in this awkward position of um you know advising someone and and today the role is this, but once this emergency is over, the royal goes back to this, right? And so um advising uh is something that I'm comfortable with, but is definitely what I would see as the role of the the commission. >> Thank you, Council Member Strong. I think in this you get to have a little bit of creative vision. Um what do you believe should be the focus of this commission? >> Uh I believe that this is kind of a dangerous answer. I believe I don't know what the the focus should be. I think that the focus I think that one of the things that we ought to do is figure out what the focus and I I I'm sure that a lot of time and energy has been put into this already. One of the things that that I have questions about um would be, you know, uh the difference between the thoughts and feelings and opinions of the commissioners versus the general public and and just how do how do those come together. Um, but I think that our job is to listen uh and and hear what what the needs of of the community are and then to work collaboratively uh in a way um that we can figure out um what what's what's feasible um and uh and and bring that forward. But uh I don't know that I know the answer specifically to one topic that that the commission should focus on, but I'm really excited to to find out. Thank you, >> Mr. Chair. >> Yeah. What do you love most about living in Roseville? >> Uh, you know, I um when I first moved into my house, I live on the southern edge of Roseville, one block out of Falcon Heights and uh and I was on the the fire department and so lots of the St. Anthony police officers would stop by my house on break and you know, whatnot just to say hi and check in and whatever. And I'd been there for about a year and I had a neighbor that came over one day and she said you know we've never seen as many cops in this neighborhood as we have since you moved in really suspicious like what are you up to and I'm like oh you know my name is Dan you know this is like they're friends you know they're coming and so um I love the fact that we don't see a lot of cops in the neighborhood uh because we live in a very safe neighborhood. Uh I love the sense of community. I love the block parties that we have. Um I love the the assistance from the city. Um uh when we do have a block party or whenever there's any um other need I've I've found the staff to be unbelievably responsive when I have a reasonable request. Um and so I think I would say that the city of Roseville makes it easy to be an active and an happy resident of the city. Council member Sher. >> Great. Well, thank you for that last um response because it's always good to hear what people what what we're doing right. We hear a lot of times what is going wrong and so thank you for that. That's it's nice to hear. >> Um the question I have are sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public >> perhaps from opposing per pceptions. Can't even talk to that. How would you expect to deal with such situations of serving on my collection? >> Yeah. Um well, thank you for the um the comment. I um as the guy who any concerns about tornado sirens get funneled to um I hear you on on complaints because I have yet to get a call from anyone saying, "Thank you. All of our sirens are working." It's usually why this or why that. So I I feel your pain there. Um, you know, I I um I just blanked on the question. Would you just I'm sorry. Would you >> No, no. It's like when you're having to deal with strong feelings and opposing >> I think that's a big challenge in Minnesota specifically because we are so Minnesota nice that sometimes we are a little hesitant to get into a good debate. Um, I I spent uh a couple weeks in Italy um this this past year and uh I mean the conversations around the dinner table, you'd think everybody hated each other because they're so engaged in the conversation and the hands are going and the the volume, but they all love each other and it's all great conversation. And so, uh I think differences are great. I think that different viewpoints are great. You know, I I've learned a lot. you know, my um like I said, I feel like I wear two hats in a way because a lot of people assume that I'm a straight guy, but I'm not. And so, you know, I hear opinions and like you think I'm part of this group, but I'm not part of that. You know, I'm and uh and I think that's all good. And I think that we need to embrace the fact that we all have different viewpoints. I think with it's pretty easy to um to work with folks if you just have uh ground rules that you operate under. You know, things like eye statements uh that we act in a respectful way. we conduct ourselves professionally in a meeting um and we encourage differences. Uh I would say that with the the um policing uh inclusion and equity task force there's a lot of very strong feelings um and a lot of ideas that were not tenable uh you know a lot of desires from different people in the group but we landed on some some actionable things despite those those big differences. So um I welcome it. Uh, it can be a challenge, but I think that's a great thing. And I'm I'm Irish, not Italian, but I still love a good debate. So, >> thank you. >> Well, those were the questions. Uh, was there anything you wanted to make sure we knew about or any questions you had for us in just a couple minutes here? >> Um, just one question. So, uh, in in looking over the history and and the the packets from the past, it looks like, um, a lot of foundational work has been done. um the the guide for new commissioners on and things as an example um figuring out you know what exactly the role is. So um moving forward how do you see the balance between um council or staff uh priorities for the commission versus u uh priorities that commission members bring forward and feel are a priority for the community? >> I guess I start with you sir. Um, you know, that's a great question. Actually, we're just talking about that in our last meeting, right? Because we're trying to find that balance of we want buyin from council and what we're working on. But we also want input from this, you know, the residents, right? Because that should be our focus, right? Inclusion to government for again people who usually don't have a voice in government. And again, it's tricky to find that balance. But I again trying to focus on tangible small wins, right? Looking at the commission on boarding process, that packet is tangible. It's something I can point to after. Something I don't like about government. kind of see is like I feel like a lot of times politicians they speak in platitudes right like oh I'm you know I'm I'm pr I'm running for to improve the city and I'm like okay like how what's something tangible I can point to so I'm focused on tangible wins that the commission can focus on but that's not always clear especially you know as we're still kind of navigating um government and figuring ourselves out because again compared to other commissions who've been in the government or in the city for like 20 30 years we were just created I think about 2 years ago less than 2 years right So still finding our footing and what are other things that we could actually work on and hopefully you know we created an email template to respond to residents. I'm hoping we get more resident outreach so we have like more ideas and more brainstorming and again tangible things to advise on to city council. >> Wonderful. >> Thank you. I would actually say um um one of the and it is because actually I actually was on a commission the finance commission brand brand new so I remember you know trying to figure that out um and it's it's fairly well established now but it one of the things is we went through a strategic plan session with the city and one of the things we wanted to make sure that when we're going through that process and setting up the different pieces that this commission gets very involved in making sure how we're doing that is actually going to be inclusive and and that that was you know because a lot of and and part of it is we may not see what's missing in that and so that's why we're hoping hey you know I know we're looking at this particular part but this might be a better way to actually achieve that or something and that's I think one of the uh key pieces we're hoping for because the strategic plan was, you know, is big and it's we're trying to figure out how to, you know, digest that and make sure it it's going to include everyone. And so to me, I think that that's a big piece that I think the commission needs to be involved in. >> Thank you. >> The only thing I would add is that that as you've as this conversation has gone on, I mean, what this commission is looking at is is, you know, a subject matter that is huge. And um the challenge I think we want to make sure as a as a as the entity that has commissioned this commission to do this work is that um that it's manageable work and that you know the that there's not sort of that that um there's so much to do and so much to focus on that nothing gets done or focused on. And so I think that's that's where we've really been trying to make sure that that you know um plans are managed and manageable and that we can have these achievements that we can you know kind of chalk up and and then move on and things like that. So it's all it's all about trying to work the way through sort of the big picture of everything and still staying focused on and accomplishing work and and so I think from my perspective that's part of what the commission is still trying to work through. But I think the council is is is for coming at it from the point of view of of making sure that we don't put too much on the commission um and and you know set set the commission up to fail basically. So we don't want to do do that. >> Good. >> All right. Well, thank you again for applying and of course we've got a number of applicants for a small number of positions. I think one good. Um, and so not everybody can be appointed this time around, but we certainly always encourage people to either try again if you're not appointed, uh, or regardless of whether you're appointed, find those ways, uh, to, uh, connect with the city, uh, in ways that you can do that service to the community that you want to be. So, uh, we'll be making our decision in the next few weeks here and staff will follow up. >> Okay. Well, thank you all, >> Mr. Mayor. Council member, thanks for congratulations on the, uh, primary results talking about not related. All right. How you doing? >> Good. You are Julie. >> I am Julie. It's actually all in, but not to be overly particular. >> Easy enough to fix. >> It's the type of thing that I obligation. So, that's a good sign. >> Yeah, that is a good sign. >> All right. Well, uh, thank you for applying for the Equity and Inclusion Commission and subjecting yourself to the interview process this evening. Um, we hope to to be easy on you here. Uh, but it is very helpful for the council in determining you know the the assets and the capabilities of all the candidates and how uh, you know, how to factor that in in making our appointment decisions. So, we do appreciate your participation. >> Thanks for coming again since we saw you in the in the spring. Thanks for having me again as as it was in the spring. We'll do a round of questions here. We've got our chair paj with us who will be part of that and then uh once that's done if there's anything uh that we haven't covered you want to make sure we know about or if there's any questions you have for us uh there may be a little bit of time for that as well. >> Okay. >> So with that we'll jump right into the questions uh and then the first question this time around will be asked by council member Straw. >> Thank you. >> So how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission? >> Um yeah sure. I think uh last time I went pretty deep into like my social work background. Um so that definitely does um uh help me, you know, the experience and skills for this as well as working for a council of governments. Um kind of those procedural things um and uh my time spent at the United Way working on equity and inclusion there. Um but this time I kind of want to highlight some of my personal experiences as well. Um I grew up in Iowa. I grew up in Iowa very poor. I um lived uh in an area where I uh was the minority and so it just gave me a different experience I think that kind of led me down the path where I wanted to gain more like knowledge and information. Um so kind of just a different pathway into social work and those types of things that I think really do relate to the equity and inclusion component of this particular commission. >> Great. chair. >> What motivates you to be a part of this specific volunteer commission? >> Um, I think my the background that I have, the passion that I have for equity and inclusion. Um, and also I think that there's so much good that goes on here in Roseville. Um, you know, in this in the spring I became kind of uh a little bit knowledgeable about Do Good Roseville and just so many things that are so awesome that happen here that I just really would like to be a part of in a deeper and more meaningful way. >> Council member Shorter. >> Yes. Um, please explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commission you applied for. >> Um, yeah. It's my understanding um that the uh the duties include uh going over the agenda of course so that you know what will be discussed um that was pretty well highlighted and then um having uh some background information maybe doing a little bit of research so that you can ask really good and thoughtful questions around the topics that are being discussed and work together as a team to advise um and what maybe we would want to consider or maybe what we would want to do moving forward. forward. >> We're better. Thank you. What do you believe should be the focus of the commission? >> Um, so I I don't know if this is cheeky or not cheeky, but I went with like the strategic plan goals because um I think that, you know, those are outlined as something that the commission should be focusing on. um they've already been identified as things that we would want to be talking about and advising on. So, I think that those would probably be in the forefront, especially for any forward movement. Um I'm sure that there are things that come up that we would want to add to agendas as we move through the year and whatnot, but it seems like according to the July notes, that would be a great place to start. >> All right. Um a little bit of a softball question here. What do you love most about living in Roseville? And you can you can revise and extend your remarks from your previous interview if you want. >> Well, my my neighborhood's great. I think I mentioned that last time. I live very close to Julie and wonderful neighbors. We we have a really nice block there. Um I also really enjoy the small businesses and like the diversity of the small businesses around. I love to uh try new coffee shops especially and I find that there's just so many different ones to try out and that that do have like diverse ownership and I think that's really neat. Um I'm still exploring more about that. And I also really love the parks and the trails and my dog loves those as well. So that's a plus too. Everyone's really friendly and I love the central location. It's easy to get anywhere from here. >> All right, Council Member Grath. So this is the harder question. Sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public perhaps from opposing perspectives. How would you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission? >> Um that one's actually uh something that I am pretty well I guess trained in. I've done a lot of training around like deescalation techniques like Mant and CPI. And so it's a lot of like seeking to understand first. So if somebody comes to discuss something that they're very angry about, you first want to express empathy and understanding or ask questions so that you can understand and help to deescalate, but then you also want to know more about what they hope to see happen in the future and put that on your radar, you know, to bring forward. >> Thank you. All right, I think that is all of the questions here. Okay. >> Was there anything you particularly wanted to emphasize in support of your uh candidacy for this commission or any questions you have for us? >> Um well, I think emphasize um I definitely have a huge passion for this and um I'll probably just keep showing up like over and over again. So, and I mean that's fine. You know, I don't mind it at all. And this time was a little easier than last time. So, you know, if there's a third time it'll be even more pleasant than this. So, um, yeah, I'm just really passionate about it. And then, um, as a question, if we have a moment, like, you know, should I not be chosen this time? What is the team looking for? What what do you what do you guys want from your commissioners? >> Well, that's the that's the million-dollar question. >> The the e the sort of the easy answer is, well, we're looking for a diverse group of people with a lot of different points of view that can work together and come to uh positive outcomes with each other. Um, anybody wants to add anything to that? That was sort of the the platitude answer. >> Well, I think that's that's accurate. I mean, you know, each commission is made up of different people and you look at the who's on them and I like to have a variety of voices on them so that we get different perspectives. That's why I echo what the mayor always says at the end. I'm going to take you, you know, just because you don't get on chosen this time, it's not because you didn't do a good interview. It's because we're for me anyway. I'm looking for a variety on the on the commission. So, >> that makes perfect. Well, I think it depends on who's on the commission now or who who >> terms off or who decides they can't aren't able to stay on. It really depends on the combination of people. And I would think Kra would probably feel the same way. But it kind of depends on >> you don't always know what skill you need until maybe somebody says something you're like, "Oh, that's a skill we don't have or something." So, >> number one is just passion, right? I mean, I started this two years ago. You know, my my friends got me a shirt that said them ready for America, which I don't know if you watch Westwing. When I interviewed, I brought it up, right? Right. But it was like that I considered giving some something bigger than yourself, right, in the community. And I didn't know what a commission was and what what the interview was like. It was just I showed up like you did and I interviewed and I think the ones that were resilient and keep showing up in our passion are the ones who will eventually get a commission. >> Awesome. Well, that's great to know. So, you know, it just will keep me coming back. If it's not this time, maybe it the next time. >> Well, spring we have more because that's when the the terms are actually out. So, yeah, this is uh happens to be a vacancy in the fall here. So, but I'll just uh end here by thanking you again for coming forward and also uh thank you for your resilience and your passion that means you'll be back if you're not appointed this time. But certainly hopefully we can uh either way channel that into a number of different opportunities to serve the community and give back to your city. So uh certainly uh Rachel out there in the hallway can can help folks plug in as as you may know. So thank you again. Uh best of luck to you. We'll make that decision in the next few weeks here and staff will follow up. >> Well, best of luck to your decision making. Thank you. >> Name tag. >> Oh, you forgot your misspelled name tag. >> I was doing that for you just to remember. Thank you. do that. All right. Well, welcome and thank you for applying for the Equity Inclusion Commission. We appreciate your interest in serving the community in this way uh and for being here this evening uh to to subject yourself a good process. Um we have a lot of repeat applicants this time around. Yeah, actually everyone, all the rest of them are repeating. >> Um, so anyway, you've got kind of a handle on what the process is like here and we'll do a round of questions from the council members. We also have our chair page here uh to participate as well. Uh, and if there's time at the end, if there's anything you want to make sure and emphasize or if you have something you wanted to ask us about, we'll have a chance for that as well. >> Okay, so with that, this round of questions will start with Council Member Schroer. >> Oh, thank you for coming today. >> Thank you. Um, how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission? >> So, I mean, I have a lot of things I think that that dubtail with what the commission is doing. And since you've I think all heard this before, or maybe somebody wasn't here last time, so I mean, I don't mean to bore you, but um by what I do for my profession is I'm involved in um helping organizations deal with affirmative action equal opportunity issues. So that's what I've been doing for 40 years. So I have a a very deep background in understanding at least in the employment context and really in a lot of context what what some of those kind of things are all about. I was involved in diversity issues before the term diversity had shown up on the scene. Um and so it's it's really been part of of who I've been for many years. Um, the other part of my experience I think that's got some value to to the commission to the city is that I've been involved in lots of of various kinds of organizations um outside of work that would bring some value to what's going on here. Um, I was a a school board in uh in Wisconsin where I used to live for six years. to have some insight into how government functions and and how difficult all of your jobs are and you know what the what the role both of of the council is and of the organizations that support the council. Um I've been involved in and helping with nonprofits. Um we had a nonprofit that um was part of the community that I lived in that where I was on the board for um 10 or 15 years um that dealt with issues for women, children, elderly folks in the in the population. Um I spent a lot of time in that nonprofit. Um, I was involved in in an organization that um was helping um companies that that had people who were in the affirmative action equal opportunity field um to come together to understand what was going on in the field to be able to talk to each other, to be able to talk to regulatory agencies, to be able to get insights on how they could do their jobs better, how they could make sure that they were informed about the law, how the how frankly the regulatory agencies that that we were all dealing with um could understand the perspective of the employers who were working under their regulations. Um did a lot of things to facilitate conversation there um to make sure that that we had participation from sectors. Um so I've been involved in in a lot of things that that certainly our our diversity you know equity involved um have have continued to do that. Um I am currently working um on a part-time basis for an organization where the other person I work with is also been doing this for about 40 years. So so we have we have between us some experience in some of these issues and some of the unique things that come up >> what motivates you to be part of this volunteer commission. >> Um I am um I have a real desire to put some of my skills to use on behalf of other people. Um, I think that I have some unique skills that I could bring to this process. Um, I have some experience that would be of value to to the commission, to the city, to the people who live here. Um, and that's something that's always been really important. I think service has always been part of who I am, what I've done. Um, the the organizations I've been involved in on the outside have always been fundamentally, you know, involved in service issues. How do we do things for the community? How we do things for for folks at large? Um, and I think it's, you know, part of what I want to do in any place that I live is I want to be able to to be involved in the community, to be of service in some way. This commission just happens to fit very clearly with some of the things that I know, some of the interest I have. So, it it, you know, it seems like the right place to be. I have to admit when that, you know, when the the uh when the first time I saw something, um which I think was your article about, you know, your participation here, um it was just like this sounds like a a great thing to be involved in and it sounds like something where, you know, I could put some skills to use. So, so I that's a lot of what where I'm at. >> Uh please explain your understanding of the scope and duties of the commission that you applied for. a a commission like this is um acts as an adviser to the city council. So um you know I I think one of the things that you don't have to worry about in my context is that I think I'm running for city council cuz I'm not you know that's that's something that uh you know I think Wayne you're you're you're the one who's currently on the ballot. I know and you know and you're you know I'm sure you're out and about doing all of those things. Um I that's not what the commission's about. You know, commissions are not meant to to run the city, to be the the governing body. Commissions are there to provide input to the city council, to provide input to the city, you know, the various parts of the city who need some input on on various things that touch on the expertise of the commission. Um the other thing that's I I think you know the commission what you're looking for is you're looking for people who can um not only like make a commitment to the community but you know think about things strategically because I would think that the city is you know the city council is really looking for this this commission to provide input on some areas um to provide a strategy for how can we make some of these things go forward in a way that's going to be productive for the city and productive for the residents of the city. So, um, you know, this commission is is important. The commission is not the city council. They're very distinct roles. And, you know, I think that's that's it's something I understand very well. >> Thank you, Council Member Gra. Thanks for being here. >> What do you believe should be the focus of this commission? >> Um, so this is something where I I have to admit, you know, I I'm going to say something very different than what I said the last time I was here. You know, I I think that that the focus of this commission um you know, the the basic idea for the commission is is really important. You know, looking at equity, inclusion issues are something that we need to do more of. I will tell you that I'm really concerned about the times that we live in. I think we all are. Um and it's not just what happened in Minnesota in, you know, the early parts of this year. um more and more there are just things that are happening around the country that are really problematic. um that we see in so many different places in the work that I do in the people that I talk to that there are real serious issues going on in terms of how the federal government's handling what it thinks it's its priorities in regard to to diversity and equity and inclusion and um and I think in terms of of priorities in terms of where where this group needs to It's important to understand that the world's a different place than when I think the the council was originally talking about having this commission. Um, in in 2020 when the George Floyd, what do you even say call it? It's not an issue. It's not a situation. It's a tragedy, a disaster. When that happened and the country really started to think in a constructive way about, you know, how do we approach where we are in in terms of of race relations, those things were, you know, I think they were they're really high in people's minds and and there was a lot of places that were really, you know, trying to to do something useful and constructive. Today at the moment what you're seeing is a lot of effort certainly on the part of the federal government and some other you know units of of government. Thank God not here not in Minnesota but other places where people are taking a very anothetical view of what's going on. And I think one of the the roles of the commission at the moment has to be to think about that in a really careful way. I've been really surprised by some of the stuff that's happened in the last year. Um I'm expect but don't know if you've had you know discussions in the commission or or in the council about the fact that Austin, Texas is currently undergoing a review by the Department of Justice based on some of its um diversity actions and and policies. Um it's appalling but it is what it is. Um, recently in Houston, a federal judge struck down Houston's um, ability to to do to to try to draw in minority womenowned businesses. A lot of that the judge basically said, you know, those are not acceptable under what where the Supreme Court is at, where the courts are at in terms of of priorities and perspectives. I think those discussions have to come into what's going on here. Um, and I would strongly encourage you, whether you pick me for this group or not, to take those up as issues that are really important because I don't want to see Roseville be the the next Houston, the next Austin, the next whatever city we want to talk about. Um I I think there's a lot that can be done in the equity and inclusion area. I think there's a lot that should be done in terms of equity inclusion. Um I do think that equity inclusion should be looked at in a very broad sense. Um I know that that the strategic strategic racial equity action plan has been important here. Frankly, you know, from my perspective, maybe there's some additional things that really need to be a focus at this point. Um I I think that that there are many people, many programs, many things that can be served by looking at at diversity in in a broader sense and making sure there's an understanding both that there are things that we need to do as a community, but there's also things that are going on the external environment where you need to think about how do we understand how that affects us as well. And it's it's just a different time. And frankly, it it scares me and I think it probably scares everybody. But I also think that this is the kind of commission that really needs to do things to think about what does that mean for all of us? You know, how do we think strategically about those issues and how do we make sure that the programs we have are things we can really make go forward. >> Sorry, I'll get off my little soap box. No, >> that's fine. Um, all right. Uh, Council Member Strong, >> I have the easy one. What do you love most about living in Roseville? >> You know, I I was having an interesting conversation with um a couple people out in the hall and cuz I I sort of assumed when I I came to this um last time and and came into this this time that I would be the person who's be like, you know, oh, I haven't been here that long. And so, you know, I I u you know, I I'm, you know, not the right choice because I don't know that much about, you know, Roseville. I've been here for 4 years and you know I it was really helpful to me to to meet the other folks who were candidates you a little bit cuz you know they were talking about the fact that you know we haven't lived here you know our whole lives we you know we've been other places too. Um Roseville is a great place you know we're really excited about about what's happening here in Roseville and we really like the we like the neighborhood we live in. We like the parks. We like you know a lot of things that people traditionally say about Roseville. I I will tell you that um for me personally um what I'm really committed to is community to the communities that I live in. Um and for me I guess there's a sense in which Roseville is a place I would like to be involved with. Um but I'm here because I want to be able to serve, you know, the community I'm part of. Um I you know we have no intention of moving away anytime soon. You know we we really aren't grounded here and are because of my my personal circumstances which I talked about last time. But um I I guess what I'm I'm I'm committed to most is being part of the community and being able to serve. >> Great. Thanks. >> Yeah, Mr. Chair. >> Yeah. Sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public perhaps from opposing perspectives. How do you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission? >> Um I have experience doing that. You know I think that's the background that I you know that I bring to this process. You know I've been on like I said I've been on a variety of nonprofits. I've been involved in a variety of professional organizations. I've been on a school board. um you don't live through those processes if you don't figure out, you know, how do you deal with people who have very very different opinions than you have. And the bottom line is that you need to treat people respectfully and understand that not everybody feels the same way that you do about things. Um that that people bring their own unique interests and experiences to a process and that it's important to hear people out. It's important to try to understand where everybody's coming from. It's important to realize that, you know, what what you think is important may not be most important to the group that you're in, to the place that you live, to other people to to make sure that you're you're being a part of the process. And then truly to approach things in a respectful, you know, respectful, positive way. Um, I had I guess the one story I'll tell because I assume I told this one, but you haven't heard it, so it'll be fun. Um when I was on the schoolboarders on um I was the lone vote in favor of a policy that that people were very unhappy with you know in the community and I voted for it because the study that the the district had done and and the you know the process they had gone through seemed to make you know good sense and it would be something in the long term to be but someone called me on the way out the door and said what are you thinking? you know, you we can't do that. And I said, I get it. I understand where you come from. You know, I understand that this is a change. It's a hard change and I understand and you know, and the board has decided to go in a different direction and I understand that, too. But, you know, I have a perspective. I can share that with you if you'd like. If if you don't, that's okay. and we spent I think an hour and talked through that whole process and she walked to me and said I don't agree with you but I feel a lot better you know because we've had this conversation. Um I think those things are always important to be able to do that. >> Well I think we uh >> that time yeah I'm sure sorry about that question or anything but we covered a lot of good things here. So, I appreciate your willingness to share with us and certainly coming back for a second round here and happy. I'm very interested in this commission obviously and >> if at first or at second you don't succeed again. We appreciate it again and best of luck to you. >> Thank you very much. Appreciate your time. >> Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your evening. one can. Well, thank you uh for being here this evening for interviews and uh we've got a lot of repeat applicants here. So, we appreciate people's persistence as well in wanting to serve the community. Uh as you may remember from the last time around, we'll do a round of questions from the council. We also have our chair, Mr. Ready here. >> Uh so, we'll do that and then if there's time at the end, if there's anything you want to let us know that we haven't covered or any questions you have for us, we can uh do that at that time. >> So, we'll dive right in with the questions this time around. Uh Mr. Chair, you can start. >> Yeah. How do your experience and skills relate to serving on a city commission? >> Yeah. Um, currently as a project manager and guest relations manager for a number of cons um throughout the Twin Cities and the Midwest, um, I think it would be fairly easy to translate those skills into city council, figuring out what's the best way to organize everybody's time and make sure that we are able to address everything in a timely manner. Um, additionally, being able to be personable with not only other council members, but the constituents that we serve. >> Council member Shore. >> Yes. Um, what motivates you to be part of this volunteer commission? >> Um, big factor the last time I was here was being able to help my community grow and feel safe and protected. Um, I've been here since 1994, so very small child at the time when I came here. Um, but I love my community. Um, seeing how much everybody came together in January. I'm so sorry. That's all right. >> Um, but seeing how everybody came together to help just thank you. >> It's better than >> see how everybody like came together to help one another um was truly just very fantastic. um being part of that community as well, doing community watch um with other members of Roseville to make sure that everybody felt safe even when I did not. Um but also being able to see what else Roseville can do for its people. um and seeing how I can better myself as a human to help those who need it more than I do. >> Thank you. Uh council member Bower. >> Thank you. Uh please explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commission uh you're applying for. >> Yeah. Um so my understanding of the commission, yes, it is a volunteer position. Um but being able to um address the concerns of those who maybe don't have that voice um with the diversity inclusion, having an opportunity to represent not only um more of the women in Roseville, but also uh somebody who doesn't look like a typical politician or typical person that they would see in city council or in any kind of environment like that. I'm not I I know I'm not the typical applicant given my hair, my tattoos, stuff like that. Um, but being able to still be a part and show like, hey, you can be a part of the same thing or trying to think of phrase that you can still be a part of your city council. You can still be a part of your community and not be your typical applicant. um as well as being able to um help serve in those communities as well. >> Um I have the next question which is um what do you believe as we go forward should be the focus of the commission? >> I think the focus of the commission should be um making sure that every person has a voice in diversity and inclusion. And I know that it's a very broad spectrum. Um, but being able to see what's next for Roseville, seeing how it's going to grow, seeing what we can do to help better the community, both in um, education, in regular everyday tasks, what can we do to make sure that people feel that they are being seen and heard, as well as finding a way to address problems that maybe we haven't thought about before. um in the waiting area. I don't know what we want to call that. Um having a chance to talk with the other applicants and figure out like why they love Roseville and things that they want to see grow. I would love to partner with them as well to kind of figure out what is the best way to make that happen. I know one thing that we were discussing out there was how can we help people with finding better housing, finding more affordable housing. What would that look like for the city council? What would that look like for the commissioners board to help assist with that? >> Great. Thank you. Uh, council member Grath. >> I still um, this is the easier question. What do you love most about living in Roseville? >> Oh, that's so much. Um, >> since you've lived here a while, >> just like the accessibility to everything. Um, I had lived out of state for a while uh post college, came back um like there's so much stuff that's here that I continue to find and I'm just like amazed that we have it. Like there's the Manakqua Coffee off of Hamlin. They're fantastic. They are the most chill little coffee shop I found besides Buttsers. Um everything that's offered in the parks and wreck is amazing and I think it's a great opportunity for a lot of people to kind of figure out like what are you passionate about? Um especially for there's a small children like educational programs for children that are super young as well as elder care and elder activities for those who maybe don't get to get out and see the community as much. So offering those opportunities for people like it's Roseville has come together in such a way that I think it makes sure that everybody in the community is supported in one way or another. >> Council member second don't know your ears are not >> technical difficulties. >> Yeah. No no just sorry. Um, sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public, perhaps from opposing perspectives. How would you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission? >> Yeah. Um, currently dealing with that with work. Uh, finding out ways to like look at both the pros and the cons, seeing what's best overall. Maybe it's not always going to be the happy solution that we want to see, but figuring out a way that it's going to be beneficial and show how it's going to be beneficial in the long run. Um, taking everybody's voices into account is important, but at the same time, because of the size of the community that we serve, it's kind of figuring out what is best for the community and not just the four or five people that have the biggest gripe with it. Um, in addition to looking at what is the long-term effect that that is going to have on the population that it's going to affect, is it going to cause long-term issues? Is it going to be more beneficial long run? What is that going to look like? And what is that return going to look like? >> Thanks. Uh, is there anything you wanted to make sure we knew about that maybe we haven't covered in our questions? >> I was trying to think about that on the way. I don't think so. Not off the top of my head. >> Any more questions for us? >> What do you guys find the most rewarding in this position? And what would you like to see happen with this position? >> In the commissioner, >> in the commissioner role. >> Okay. Not what we find rewarding in our positions, but >> I know what you find. >> Um Well, I'm going to defer to other council members or the chair if you want to answer. Um because I could talk all day about any subject. No, I mean definitely I found this very fulfilling, right? I wanted to be more civically engaged and I learned a lot more than I knew two years ago. I mean two years ago I didn't know what a commission was or what a city manager was, right? So it was a really good learning opportunity. I got to learn people in my community and finally they know me too which is also super cool. >> Um and still want to make a lot of progress but taking one day at a time. >> So other feedback thoughts. >> I've served on a couple commissions. I served on this the the forerunner of this was the human rights commission and we changed the format of it and changed it to be equity and inclusion. So you know getting a variety of voices I found that very uh rewarding to have people from all different you we learn I learned a lot on the commission because you learn from other people that come to and then I was on the planning commission so I learned a lot about zoning and um and the uh comprehensive plan and those sorts of things. So, I think you have an opportunity to learn a lot about city government and how things work. >> All right. Well, thank you again for taking the time. Um, no, we appreciate your passion and your caring. I think that's an important part about being a part of your community. So, uh, never never feel bad about that. Um, and as far as not necessarily looking like the typical applicant, I don't think that enters into our thought process either. So, we're glad you're here. >> There is one at this point. I think it's pretty there's a lot more variety I think in the world. That's right. >> That's true. >> That's right. >> No. So anyway, really do appreciate you being part of this and looking to serve. Uh if you once again, if you don't happen to get appointed this around, we will have other opportunities. Uh, and we really, you know, want to make sure that people who are passionate and and and care about people find those ways to to connect with the community, even if it isn't serving on a commission, which can, I think we can all attest, can be kind of boring and and not feel like you're making a lot of progress either. So, >> like I used to film them forever ago in high school and now it's like all digital. I'm like a >> Oh, that's right. You were uh >> CTV, right? >> Yep. Absolutely. >> So anyway, best of luck to you again and uh thank you again for being here and enjoy the rest of your evening. >> Yes. Thank you so much. to have a seat at the table here. >> We've reflected on how many repeat applicants we have this evening. >> And you had have you had a number of them? >> Yeah. Um all but one. So, I didn't know whether to bring in my old, >> you know, it's saving the city a little bit of money if we we should have checked into that and had people bring it back. >> Uh, well, thank you for being here and for applying again to serve uh with the city. Uh, we appreciate your interest in being of service to your community uh and subjecting yourself once again to this grueling interview process. Uh, as you're aware from the last time around, we do a round of questions from the council. Uh we do also have our chair uh with us this evening, Mr. Veretti, and he will participate as well. Uh if we have time at the end of that, if you do have particular emphasis you want to make on anything supporting your application or any questions you have for us, we'll uh have a chance for that as well. With that, this round of questions will start with me. And so the first question is um as you may remember, how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission? maybe broadly and not specifically a particular fiction. >> I'm going to try to say something different when I said that. >> I have written down the last one. >> You probably know it better than I do. Um well, first of all, in in my career, I lived in a lot of different places and I worked with a lot of different people. Uh, one of those places that I enjoyed working was in San Jose, California. And we had the the work group was actually a minority of people were from California and lots of them were from Asia and South Asia. Um, prior to going there, I worked in Roseville at Unicus at Sperry, if you remember that. And we also did a a bunch of work using or connecting with people in Japan and compete and people in India. So over time that helped me start to realize that the thinking process, the perspectives, the cultural influences bring great value to bringing together ideas and finding better better ways of doing things. I also had the luxury of having the parents I had I think that's on your sheet and um they taught me to question. They taught me to be open-minded and and to question. >> All right. Thank you uh Council Member Grath for the next question. What motivates you to be part of uh this volunteer commission? It's it's similar to stuff that I've done before. Um, as you may remember, I do tutoring in the AVID program, but I had done a lot of that in Rosemount and got involved in the school district 196, the school districts pretty much equity and diversity and inclusion organizations. There were several different committees that I worked with and I was also part of a push from the residents, the parents um to raise ourselves up in our abilities to embrace diversity. >> Council member Strong. >> Excellent. Uh please explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the comm of this particular commission. >> My understanding is it's it's an advisor. It brings in ideas um and is a bridge a little bit from the community to the city council. Um, so the city council as far as I understand it and and the city management lead the way with actual execution of plans, but this this commission is basically to help in bringing information in and connecting things. >> Thanks. >> Right, Mr. Chair, >> please explain your understanding of the scope or do Oh, you're that was on your side as Okay. What do you believe should be the focus of the commission? >> This might be a little different than last time. Um, there are certain things I've started to wonder about being living where I live. um where there is visible diversity and where there is inequity. And I would like to see somehow that we as a commission partnering with with the city um could see what we could do to help with that. Now, a lot of that comes from economic inequity, and that's a hard nut to crack, but still, I'm I'm thinking there are steps we can take. One of them being education. Everything is about education. So, I I'm hoping that the commission can um maybe go a step or two beyond what it might have done in the past. And perhaps what I'm talking about was tried in the in in the past, but I'd like to see more of it. Council member Sher. >> So, um, what do you love most about living in Roseville? >> This is probably the same answer. >> Um, when I was first here long time ago to me, it felt homogeneous. There was very little diversity. What I love most about it now, besides you got some tremendous trees here, um, is the the increasing diversity that has happened here over years and I believe is still going on. I think that's pretty cool. >> Council member, >> thank you. Sometimes the commissions make a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public, perhaps from opposing perspectives. How do you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission? >> Um, I don't believe in absolutes very much. I don't believe in an answer is always the answer. um there's always learning steps and also what what I think you're talking about there's a balance so it's to try to recognize um the ideas and the different perspectives associated with the ideas even the different cultures or races associated with the different ideas and see what we can do to balance. We're not necessarily I don't think any organization is necessarily going to have answers to things. One sizefits all. There's always going to be complication of some sort. Balance is is the word that comes to mind. >> Thank you. >> All right. Well, that is the end of the questions. Uh, was there anything you wanted to make sure and let us know about in support of your application or any questions you had for us? >> Did I do better this time than >> I don't grade you either time? >> I am writing down answer. >> Um, I the question I did think of relates to the answer that I gave you. Um, but I think it's a long conversation and that that's about the pockets of inequity and what what can we together do about it? I don't I don't know if you want to tackle that. >> That is the the the kind of the primary question. Right. Right. Um, I don't know that we we any more than you have the answer yet at this point, but uh certainly something that we need to keep talking about. As you said, >> I'd say keep following things that we're doing at the council. We we've had some pretty big conversations recently along those lines as far as utilization of various funds and such. So I think there's TBD >> the So real quick if the corner of Lpinter and Rice and that area you know by the park there are these signs and I've read about was it the 2018 2019 there there was activity of the three cities to get together and try to lift lifted up and what happened with that >> still ongoing. Uh there in fact there just was this past Saturday. One of the one of the efforts of the Rice and Larur Alliance is uh three times a year they do community building events and the traditional summer event just happened which was the block party on on St. Paul's side. Um but certainly big parts of that are uh some of the work that that group has done around um you know sort of being prepared for redevelopment of various sites along there. So there was a study that was done uh in with a lot of help from the US EPA and funding from the US EPA to look at all the brown fields and sort of catalog all of the the sites and what are the opportunities or what are the things that need to be looked at for development. Um there have been a lot of efforts by that group to be the conduit of funding whether it's from the Ramsey County uh or from St. St. Paul on the St. Paul side uh to help small businesses with you know things like signage with things like you know how how do I run a small business and what do I need to know you know those sorts of things connecting people with other resources and so those are some of the examples of some of the things that have been done but it's still a group that's ongoing and we're looking for people in the community that would be interested in um being a part of that in one way or another and so uh being that you live in that area you would certainly qualify. Not that there's any pressure on you on public TV here that that you have to do it. >> If if there's something I can do to help, I don't know, you know, whether my skill set matches. >> We'll follow up afterwards here. >> Yeah. >> Is there a website for that? >> There is. Yeah. If you just Google Rice and Larry Alliance, you should get there. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> All right. Thank you. >> Enjoy the rest of your evening. >> Thanks. You too. >> And with that, that is our last interview. Uh and so we are having no more business before us. We are adjourned. Thank you everyone.