e e I called the meeting of February 20th 2025 city council to order and tonight we have council member St with me council member Bower and myself Wayne Gra I'm the acting mayor that will stand as our roll call we also have our chair lindsy Matt Benson with the uh parks and recck commission and so we'll be doing a series of questions for applicants to the commissions and we have our first applicant here so if you could come up to the table and our other board members our other thank you yes we have two other board members obviously that are not here we have the mayor could not make it danro and we have council member roben schroer and they will be catching up on the tape and they'll watch that so that they can participate in the appointment process on March 3rd will'll be with the city council so welcome thank you for attending and so we'll be asking a series of questions and uh we'll rotate through on the questions and uh then we'll have some time if you have questions at the end or other clarifications we can do that so I'll start with uh member thank you thanks for being here tonight uh if you don't mind how do your experiences and skills relate to servana City commission um first thank you all for your time and consideration you have a a lot of people to be going through so I greatly appreciate your time um I think two areas of experience uh I worked at metronic forever and uh while there I worked in a an organization that was a service group we would serve the various uh manufacturing plants for metronics so worldwide we had uh customers worldwide um and my role was to uh be the liaison between my management who would give me um directives uh metrics goals that kind of thing and then I would go out to the manufacturing groups and provide a service but as part of that I was the liaison to gather information learn about their needs um learn about unique situations because every country is different with requirements and so I see that as similar to being on the parks and wreck uh Commission in that um I'm the one who is facing our customers learning about them and then providing the information back to my management and through that process I can better inform them so if there needs to be changes in goals um whatever it may be and I loved that being that person to build those relationships to me that was that was very important um similarly I was on the board for the Midway speed skating club and president for several years and that was another area where I felt I played the liaison rooll very well in that we had skaters who were you know little kids grade school age on up to those who had Olympic dreams and my being on the board I wanted to represent each of them and so in you know funding in you know just knowing things about the kids I wanted to ensure they all had an equal experience so again being that person to be a bridge between the kids their parents and then our um I guess our budgets and other goals as a club so thank you um I'm just gonna rotate through it's easier certainly yeah Dan kind of goes in weird like Happ we always get confused so the next question is what motivates you to be part of this volunteer commission well recently retired so um for most of my adult life it's been volunteering being part of my daughter's activities so participating in those and now I get to sit back and go what do I want to do with my time and I've always loved the Roseville Parks I live across from Maple viw right now and on a daily basis it's like oh my gosh as I left for this there's a girl out there skating on the rink it's like it makes my heart happy to see what Roseville offers in the form of parks and wreck and how our community utilizes that so that's that's what motivates me to to want to be a part of this can you explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commission uh that you've applied for yes uh volunteer advisory position advising to mayor uh city council as well as parks and recx staff um I I do understand it's not a decision making um but you know again back to that word liaison you know finding out what you know the voice of Roseville residents is um finding out the parks and wreck um what their master plan is and how those two fit together I also noticed there are goals that the commission has and so the the opportunity to be a steward for any of the goals or participate in you know just actively being engaged in executing um those goals what do you love most about living in Roseville well I already talked about Maple View yeah just the the parks themselves and and that's that's why I'm here because they've offered so much to my daughter myself um and I I just love the Way Roseville cares for their Parks I see that on a daily basis through the winter the uh clearing of the ice um in this summer you have you know getting getting the ball fields ready for kids to play in um offerings for everybody really you know from children to older adults just such a wide variety of offerings and council member Brower gets the last question sometimes on these commissions uh there's a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings uh from the public perhaps from Opp uh opposing perspectives how do you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission um I guess the biggest thing is to listen um to make sure that people are heard um I've found that something I've been very strong at in my various roles professionally and in volunteer work just listening to people and making sure that they know that they're being heard then it's a matter of taking that information comparing it to what is the how does that align with the the city comprehensive plan how does that align with the parks and recck master plan you know are there adjustments that maybe as a commissioner we could advise you know a modification um so that's the biggest thing I can offer is just ensuring that people are heard thank you is there anything you'd like to clarify or add to your I don't think so um one question I was it pleasantly surprised how many people are interested in the Parks and wreck commission it's pretty awesome how many seats are there that you're filling in front of you four it's four okay originally three but then four due to unforeseen circumstances okay so okay the most amount since I've been on the commission right it's we have we have a lot of applicants for all of the commissions tonight so that was impressive last night we did also interviews last night so we've had two nights so we've had a lot of interviews that kind of leads into my next part of it of course uh we wish you all the luck but there there are enough of appli so if you aren't chosen of course there are we have new openings that happen technically in the fall and in the spring but sometimes during the year we we'll have openings to and Rachel would be your contact person to uh keep in touch with those things and of course she has other other volunteer uh projects that she keeps you posted on so okay about March 3rd was the date right on Monday March 3rd the city will Council will meet reviewing all of the applicants making a decision and you will be notified or you you can watch the meeting also okay okay and the mayor or council member stroeder May uh reach out to you to speak with you if they have other questions okay all right all right thank you all for your time thank you so much go get out there how are you I'm good how are you good Mr acting mayor yes see how I do she'll be the ultimate TS so you know doing a series of questions tonight and I do you reviewed those you'll go through them we're just going rotate through them and then at the end uh we'll have a chance to answer anything you might have or questions you might have about the process so all right I'm going to be the first one asking the first question should we introduce ourselves first oh let's do that why don't we start over here you all um I'm Lindy mat Benson I chair The Parks of R commission that's what I heard yes strong and acting mayor Wayne gr council member B welcome to the council thank you very much so Lucy how do how do your experiences and and skills relate to serving on a city commission well in preparing for this I reflected and I realized that my uh interest and focus on public policy began in 8th grade when I decided I was going to be a political science major and didn't even know I what college I was going to so um that actually has turned out to be what my career has been uh public policy from a variety of perspectives um starting with um I've served in government uh a variety of uh positions I was a a Deputy Administrator in shurn County I was um assistant commissioner at um uh DNR and I was assistant to the chief of police in St Paul so I've worked at all three levels of government and there are others too but those are some of the primary ones um second I've served on a variety of boards so I have the perspective of what it means to be a member of a board or commission and uh work with folks um I just recently um timed out on the visit Roseville board um and in fact was uh lucky enough to be a part of that as we were working on the wayfinding project and I'm pleased to see that while it's maybe not as originally envisioned it's still creating some uh uh great opportunities and I was I'm uh currently the chair of the friends of the oval Foundation a board and um previously I was on the Minnesota chapter of the ALS Association board and third uh my husband and I have had an Association Management lobbying company and so I got some significant experience over the years uh working with associations um which gives me more a staff perspective of how how the relationships are when you're working with a a group of folks um among other things I was executive director for the Minnesota Association of County officers which is all of the Auditors treasures and Records across the state of Minnesota and um also directed and lobbied for the Minnesota ski areas Association which is all of the downhill ski areas in Minnesota so I have a lot of perspective all focused on public policy and working together for good results what more motivates you to be a part of this volunteer commission well I um this is what I love um this is what I've done my whole career public policy and related issues so from a personal standpoint if I can combine that um by providing some benefit to my community that seems like a good fit for me um secondly um we've lived in Roseville since 2015 I love this city um the services um that are provided here are exceptional and I've had dealings with many of the Departments and uh to a person uh they are professional competent um caring um and just um provide ex excellent service to both the residents as well as the businesses and the visitors to the city and if there's something that I can do to help support them I would like to do that can you explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commission or commissions you applied for um it's advisory um uh we don't have decision-making power which is kind of exciting um I think that um freeze the group up for conversations um on issues that you might not be able to do as the decider and maybe reaching out and gathering information that might not otherwise be available in the process and obviously the hope would be that uh by having a a more broad process you might end up with a better work product at the end you alluded to this previously but if you expand what do you look most about living in Roseville well to quote uh uh visit Roseville I know this is kind of a softball yeah we're perfectly positioned I love Lear people accidentally just say it like that you're like did you read that I know um you know if you should ever decide to need to leave Roseville which it's a life goal of mind to do that only when I absolutely have to you can get anywhere it's just amazing we lived in Shoreview for many years and this it doesn't compareed geographically or Access wise to Roseville it's um it's it's just an amazing city um and um uh again the the the culture here and the attitude um it's welcoming it's um um it's a robust community that has an incredibly um surprising amount of services and opportunities for again visitors residents and businesses um and at at the process um in a variety of uh Avenues in the city seems to be a a a process that's driven for a fair result and a and a good result and and um the staff seem very sincere in doing that so I it's just it's a great place to live sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public perhaps in imposing perspectives how would you expect to deal with such situations while serving on um I have a mediation background in addition to being an attorney retired now but and again in thinking back preparing for this I realized that I was a volunteer mediator for the City of Roseville on a neighborhood issue probably 20 years ago with another volunteer mediator you had a a new construction in the neighborhood that was pretty troubling for the neighbors and and uh I think we actually spent almost a year working on it and my recollection is um the result that we came up with the council actually adop adopted and the neighbors accepted and and uh we couldn't make the building go away but folks felt a little bit better about it afterwards so what I learned from that and what I've learned over the years is is um two things when you're in a difficult situation one is respect for the people that are involved um don't judge them or assume that um well that's kind of a silly opinion or whatever but you need to to seriously um engage people and give them the chance to tell their story so that they and this is kind of a trait phrase but so that they feel like they're heard and that they're understood and then once you've accomplished that if it's possible then you start the conversation about the specific problem and and look for the different options that might be available and and um my experience has been that that usually leads to a good result and and often again you you get some information that you might not have had that gives you a better result as well thank you that is the end of the questions from us so you can ask us any questions you might have or any clarifications well I just um um sorry I can't I've got them here um um just a I have I do have a couple quick comments as far as the process but um as for me I you know I think I I bring a an ability to analyze situations um and resolve or reconcile multiple points of view um I have years of working with committees and and sometimes very contentious and very difficult but but again uh respectful and thoughtful and I have a a pretty comprehensive perspective on issues um I I'm not a micromanager I'm not a subject matter expert on many things but I can see how things fit together and um I think that's a benefit particularly looking at all the responsibilities for Parks I mean there's there's a lot of moving parts and pieces there um there two the two comments that I would have to share with with Rachel rather than with us on comments on the process I think we can hear okay we' have maybe a minute well just two things that the one question that I would have for the council which which I'm not sure this is the place to answer but what do you need or or what are your expectations for what you get from the commissions and the Commissioners to help you make your decisions how do how do we fit together and um I didn't see anything in any of the paperwork that and like I say I don't know that that's something that you Rachel will get that to us yeah that'll be and I actually talked to her about that out there so um um um but we have joint meetings um with each Council and then Lindsay and I have uh cross path that many Park events have an opportunity um to to connect frequently um I think it kind of depends on who you overlap with depending on what events you attend but we we look to the decisions they make because they take a deeper dive on some of the things and we have the time to okay because you know some folks come with a real focus and in on what their perspective is or whatever so it just obviously you want to do the best you can and actually provide you some some useful information and then the other question and I couldn't find this at any of the material I went through but the linkage between the the goals of the commission and the department goals oh oh like the city parks and rec goals and the commiss goals the uh commission goals are ones that we kind of create as just kind of touch points throughout our time on the commission so we each kind of really have a sense of those commission goals as being something that we um we pay attention to we attend events on we talk to um Matthew Johnson the director of parks and rec about um and that we just kind of keep at the Forefront of our minds that we're especially listening to and then those I think really align well with the parks department goals too uh again like as in an advisory capacity and things like that okay thank you I think just to add in I think one of the things we look at at least I do as a council member is to have a range of voices on the commissions so you don't want everyone with the same skill set the same life experience on a on a commission so so that's why you never know exactly when you apply who will be appointed to a commission even if you have really good qualifications right no I understand that but of course if that should happen that you aren't this time you know we do keep your name and Rachel will'll call you again openings do come up right during the year yeah I'm not going anywhere thanks for your questions and uh responses thank you and good luck thank you and you are the vice chair no chair so we're going to acting mayor this is Julie St she's one of our Council MERS this is Matt Bower and he's another council member Lindy Matts Benson is with the Parkson recission she is the chair is and she's the vice chair so we'll be rotating through questions um which I'm up and which you're you're applying for planning I listed both okay that's fine so we have some questions we'll go through them and council member St will start the questions and then we're just going to rotate around with them thank you thank you nice to meet you and thanks for coming tonight um how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission um well I live in Roseville I have for seven years um it's my second house in Roseville I live right here on Victoria Street and I love our city um I'm not a Minnesota native but I've moved to Minnesota and love it it's going to be my forever home um I moved here to go to the humre school the University of Minnesota Masters in public policy and have worked in public service my whole career um I worked at Minnesota Department of Transportation doing government improvement work and uh business process and I currently work at uh for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation board and I'm a Data Insights analyst so um trying to build a datadriven decision-making culture at the parks um and taking anecdotes and bringing data to them taking processes that would just live on and and surveys that just live on somebody's desktop and an Excel document integrating it into our online data Hub and being able to build off of that and to be able to get insights anything from as small as wood ducks to as big as our Ada transition plan which is going to have $800,000 year budget for the next five years to try and make our Parks more accessible and also to communicate so I live and breathe this my wife works for the Department of Veterans Affairs at the federal level I love serving the people and um I wanted to get more involved in the city that I live in I live in Roseville but work in Minneapolis but I don't live in Minneapolis so I wanted to I felt like trying to do some of this sort of work would be a way that I could participate and give back to my city so you kind of this leads in perfectly but what motivates you to be a part of a volunteer commission um I think that I want to get to know my city better and I want to be part of it and I want to give back and I wanna get more involved in the day-to-day and I want to meet more people and um I really Thrive off of community and post pandemic I feel like I'm going to call it the flake factor is pretty high I try and get my friends over I try and do things with but it's 37 and I've got three kids and they're um 7 five and two and so it's a lot going on all the time but I want to try and take a proactive way of getting involved in the community building Community um I want to meet more people help improve the area that I live in because I feel committed to this area uh can you explain your understanding the scope or duty of the commission you applied for um so for sure and I watched a couple of the parks um commission meetings to try and uh to try and understand what the scope is a little bit better at the park board we have it's called Tech uh tax technical advisory commissions which are more like subject matter experts but I feel like from what I've read and seen that this is more of like a liaison or like a maybe if I'm like the the advocate for the city residence and maybe as a translator of something that might take a sentiment that is out there in the city and try and digest that and turn it into tangible actionable recommendations to the city council because like the park board we have all these times where people are feeling having very strong emotions about centralized registration and there's a lot of good reasons for it to exist and maybe some unintended consequences for it to maybe exist in a slightly different way than we have it planned but I think the advisory Council would be good my understanding is that like we T take in what is what does it mean why are you so upset about this or why do you love it so much and how can we how we we the city and The Government Can we adjust and make improvements to what we think is here for a good reason we have a plan to do something for a good reason because it's unfair to these other people but you can't always avoid no harm but you want to try and minimize it and you want to try and provide as much good to as many people as possible and um I hope I have a right understanding of what the commission is but to try and and and to some level maybe provide some subject matter expertise that the city council and the mayor have a lot of things that they have going on and the same way that a congressman at the or congresswoman at the federal level might be on a subcommittee about something there they might be a doctor and so they might be on the health and education subcommittee because they know something about it they can help guide and give directions in that area and um I have some technical expertise but if nobody wants I don't want to step on anybody's feet as well I know I don't want to step on the feet of the staff um and so if to answer maybe one of your next questions what would be your biggest challenge not getting too involved I think might be my biggest challenge so can you speak to that on the Planning Commission to this briefly um so the Planning Commission is an area of which I have a lot of instincts and maybe more as like a resident than a um or as a user than as somebody who does this professionally I feel like I have a lot of professional expertise in the planning or in in parks and R and um my planning I mean we're in strategic planning but it's all planning parks and trails and um but I do feel like as somebody with little kids who likes to try and bike places and likes to go out to eat and shop and wants a livable walkable safe healthy Comm community that mixes you know wild areas and density in an appropriate way like I feel like I have a sense of how things could go or might be a good advocate for the public I don't quite have as much expertise um from a professional level as I do in Parks and Recreation but I'm very interested in it the you know I was torn between putting planning or budget and finance as my second one but I would really be happy to I really want to get involved I really want to serve and I want to try and do what I can okay thank you take the next question thank you uh what do you love most about Lan Roseville um I love sounds a little silly um I love the lack of bad things I love the proximity I love the uh I love the schools um my kids I have two kids that go to to park viiew and um we've just had the best experience and everybody who we meet at the at birthday parties and at after school events is always so welcoming and friendly and um you know there's there's a diversity of kinds of people there's I don't I like that my kids go to school with kids from different nationalities and speak different languages and I like that we are kind of a mix of urban and Suburban that I don't think I would be happy in liono lakes and I might not be happy in certain neighborhoods of Minneapolis and St Paul not because I don't like those cities I like a more urban feel myself but um I also like having a backyard where my kids can have a swing set and kick the soccer ball around and that there's big parks with you go sleding at and have birthday parties at the picnic shelters so I like just the work life balance and I have the last question it's 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 well I think that the biggest thing that you need to do is listen and try and empathize and okay people's and like reactions and try and understand why why are you feeling this way what is it that's affecting you so much what would you like to see different because a lot of times people don't feel heard or understood they can feel oppressed or trampled and so if you can learn to stand and a lot of times it's not always what you do it's sometimes how you do it or what needs what something could change within a project or a scope that might not tangibly change the total outcome but could make a big difference to some people you know accessibility Ada communication um those kind of things like whether or not there's how the approach is to a new building or there's a bike path there or if there's bike parking or if it's just Paving over things to create 40 new parking spots like people might have strong opinions about it but you know at a certain point we need to balance parking versus no parking because of accessibility issues and people who can only get to things via car and some who can't get to them in a car so you need to like try and listen and make adjustments but um I also know you can't you can't always make everybody happy you can't and that's too bad I want us all to the world was a little bit more like Sesame Street we're just a little smarter stronger and Kinder I think we'd be in a better place but um really just to listen and then to try and understand and make adjustments or make recommendations based on that but always not necessarily listening to the loudest person in the room because sometimes one really loud person can really get a disproportionate and unrepresentative um influence on on the outcomes you know we're running a little short on time but if you had a couple quick questions or clarifications we could answer them perhaps um I don't know if I I didn't come prepared with any questions for you guys but um I do hope that you consider my application and I'd love to be able to serve and if there's a place that you feel like is a good fit for me one over the other or neither or something else you know I'd be happy to and I'd really appreciate the opportunity so two members that are not here the mayor's not here tonight danro and and council member schroer so they'll be watching the tape reviewing that there is a possibility they will reach out to you just for clarification since they aren't here and able to ask the questions sure and I'd be I have nothing to hide yeah happy to talk to anybody about anything do you guys know when you're going to make your decision by the decision at the city council meeting that night and then the staff will uh let you know what the results are if I were to come if I were to watch the on YouTube I'd find out right away yes okay that's what happened to me come here and be present if you I watch a lot of I watch a lot of Minneapolis parkboard meetings on YouTube after the fact at 1.75 speed that's a that's a smart move for so thank you so much thank you guys very much for the opportunity and good luck with the rest of your interviews thank you so I'm Wayne graph I'm the acting mayor tonight and this is Julie St she's a council member Matt Bow's on my left he's a council member and we will be doing the questions along with Lindsay Matt Benson she is the chair of the parks and rec commission cool yeah I've seen you in the videos oh no sorry how the mayor wrote Dan Ro here tonight and uh council member Robin Schroeder but they they'll be watching the tape and and participating in the appointment it's not tap it's just not tape okay on the video or the it's a recording it's a VCR saving money yeah very cool so we'll start with the questions and I think we were up to where were we Julie I think I get to start this time you right all right well welcome Chris we'll try to make this a pleasant experience uh how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission yeah I um I've been in sales for a long time um but ultimately I got into sales because I'm I'm a people person um so I think the big draw to being on the committee or or being a part of this group is that I get to talk to people and get them out in the in the Parks and and engage him in the recreation um uh Recreation things that we have for a lack of better word thank you what motivates you to be on this volunteer commission yeah um ever since I was a kid I really enjoyed just being outside playing sports um just the other day we made some pickle ball plans and it they fell through and I was so upset and I had a moment to myself and I realized why I get so upset about not being able to play sports um and it's because I just really enjoy the community aspect of it um so I think that's a big driving um point for me to be a part of this group can you explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commissioner yeah um from what I understand this position is um kind of like a grassroot position where you're in the field making connections with people and Reporting back to the city council with um findings and and maybe some suggestions from the community what do you love most about living in Roseville looks like for two years yeah I've been here for two years I lived in St Paul prior and then I got married and moved in with my wife in Roseville uh I really enjoy a handful of things but top two things that come to mind are one the people I think the people are just super generous and very nice here um and two I really enjoy all the different green spaces that we have here in Roseville um I recently mentioned priorly previously but I got into bigle ball recently and um I started playing at brim Hall on Sunday mornings and I loved it um so and then go to Evergreen like every other day during the summer great the last question all right sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public um perhaps with some opposing perspectives how would you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission yeah um I'm I'm kind of a a a numbers person so I think um there has to be some logic to make an a decision when it comes to something like that um especially when there's so many people and so many emotions involved so I mean hopefully there are some data points that we can go off of to make a um a educated decision well that's all of our questions is there anything you wanted to add or you wanted to ask us uh what brings you guys onto this um uh committee or where is just city council right what brings you guys to the table I mean what what draws you here does you would want to answer that I ran for Council in 2020 during covid because I felt like no one else was saying um things that I wanted to hear or I wanted them to talk about so um and then I said I was done and here here I am for my second four-year term so um I guess there's still things that I need to say cool so and I'm hopeful that our work on equity and inclusion will um change and uh make the city even a better place that reflects even more of the people who live in the city oh so as a mostly lifelong resident of Roseville I moved to St Paul for a few years in there um I wanted to give back to my community and being a parent and everything I wanted to do something a small thing that can do good I guess and so that's um I've been on the parks and commission for three years I'm starting my second term um and it's just been a really amazing and life-changing experience to get to connect with people from all over anything oh I kind of echo that very much about giving back and serving community and have an opportunity with my job in life to do that and to serve the residents and really enjoy that I come from a long history of being on commissions and then I ran six years ago and was elected and ran again and uh it's very interesting because you come become very connected with the community you know what's going on you feel like you're able to contribute meaningfully to what's happening all good answers yeah each have our own kind of communities of people that we who look to us for answers and so I think that's what's great about bringing other Commissioners in who maybe aren't our exra neighbors but who represent a different community of people that needs to be have have their voice brought to the table gotcha so thank you for being here and uh the decision will be made March 3rd it's a city council meeting so uh if you want to come to that you can they will the staff will notify you and we do have quite a few applicants we you interviewing last night we're interviewing tonight again and so if you don't happen to get selected this time be sure to the Box she's our volunteer coordinator and she will notify you if there are any other openings openings happen usually twice a year maybe they have cleanups of Evergreen Park I don't know and yeah there's always that too the natural resources plan just came up there's a unlimited number of opportunities or build a playgrounds we had build playgr that's great one do that I haven't heard of that one yet yeah they'll be doing a playground build Lexington Park Park yes fun i' heard about that I didn't know was play it was from that organization though but that's cool and Rec commission and then all the volunteers who do it so so keep stay tuned and uh they will notify you we'll do head out Rachel will send in the next person okay thank you guys thanks for your time yeah and en e well I'm Wayne gr I'm the after here tonight I've met you a few times earlier when you first started at some of the volunteer events yes we have met yes this is you're the new councilman thanks for meeting thanks for exciting to meet you and then this is Julie St she's on the council yep I know Lindsay matb you're Park and Rick I'm chair oh chair I know she participating in the round of questions nice we have uh the mayor is not able to be here so he will watch the and so will schroer the council member this so um I think we are up to you again M thank you for being here tonight if you don't mind could you um explain or describe your experiences and skills related to suran this commission and how they would benefit it sure I've been involved uh in the natural resource program from its Inception so it's been 10 years was on all the Committees and with being in that I became a constellation leader so at that point we had constellations I don't know how you know if that was set up yet northeast southeast and that so I was a Northeast constellation leader and then that got trimmed down to pretty much being the leader the constellation sort of died out um and and recently I was on the TAC committee and uh the technical advisory with met Council no with Roseville for the natural new natural resource okay yep for that and I was uh I want to thank you guys which made me very proud that with Matt Johnson and how they presented it that you guys voted it and budgeted that in I thought in my mind that was very important so I appreciate it as a citizen not in this realm but thank you for doing that CU I think we really needed that desperately in my opinion um I volunteer weekly at AR bedom I've done that for way back since L well way before La before Lonnie and Jeff were there so many many years right now it's Patty Sullivan um and I lead small groups there so I do that Weekly so I do basically eight hours a week there um I do all the uh the the the monthly uh City volunteer groups I help lead those and I've done them from their Inception so every month I do that and help Jim Taylor and Rachel's there a lot but mainly Jim Taylor and some of your smaller David Ian some of those guys come in and help but I lead that or help lead that one of the leaders not the leader take groups and help whatever our task is seeding Buckthorn invasive species mainly um over the years I've done many projects uh and and uh this is for Rachel bogs and and Jim Taylor uh um signage trimming i' I've worked on almost all the playground builds in the park so this is a volunteer for these guys I've done small maintenance for the city that they couldn't do put you know AR read them throw a the a door in you know so I was you I was in construction in my past before I retired um and that's for gim and then Rachel bogs this many little tasks she'll say go out I want to see how will you go out Bill and see all the volunteer parks see if the signs are up so I just gives me a map I go there yep uh the Nature Center I volunteer almost for all the special events I do the tapping wild rice days I've done that from in such way back uh uh when Debbie used to work there now Dion's a new one and so I do a lot of side things for her also besides events she'll call Bill can you come down and tap the trees two weeks ahead of time so it's going to be coming up I tap the trees for or I need this lugged or this so I I help out a lot with with her so she knows me very well in this in in Roseville it's going on but in Roseville I've coached hockey here from mites to the bantams for many years I've coached a baseball in this community many years from all the way up in the through the system so I know all I know the playgrounds I know the oval I've worked in all those areas explicitly a lot um I play myself I play Ro for Roseville senior softball with the largest senior softball league in the United States we have about 385 guys and I don't know if you guys know you probably know we're one of the biggest Renters of your Fields we'd rent them all summer during the day so I'm on the board of that too so I'm very familiar with Victoria Lexington some years we do bdale I wish we would do more HKS cks because we get real tight but I know I understand the I know I know what's going on um that's pretty much in that realm and then I'd like to State here too that uh uh and this is because of the city and I have it written down here I was a 2019 Gabel Association 2019 recipient of volunteer of the year and I would like to thank the City of Roseville not you guys but there's certain people was a member of the city you have to get a nomination in there and then they go through the represent and I was represented Roseville and got that award in 2019 we had that right at the O so I was very honored with that um and okay with all these with all these this events and volunteering so basically I've been at 99% if not higher of all parks and natural areas in the whole city so I know it well and uh I've dealt with all tremendous amount of the staff not so much city council but all the staff from Jim Taylor to uh Matt John son and the old ones Lonnie I'm going way back cuz I started this many years ago and um I've dealt with all those um and and by doing all this I think my past life in my in the industry I worked in but here this really helped me uh doing all these events managing this stuff coaching have made my communication skills better not saying they were bad but they sure improved them my social skills it's helped me become a better Ambassador which I'm a good Ambassador but it maybe even become a better Ambassador you appreciate your city more um uh it's allowed me to be uh better inclusive all people so when you coach and you do all these huge groups and these events at Saturdays you you deal with you got to be inclusive with everyone I mean you know from age to race to uh gender disabilities you know sexual Orient all that stuff which you have inclus you got to be so inclusive that's just a name a few there's you know many more well we do have five questions so you might be able yeah I know that's my longest one thank you uh the one I was going to ask is what motivates you to be part of this fure um because of my skills and I think my experience I think this position would uh provide a great opportunity for me to fit into the community and help the community there is that a short enough one for you made up for your time I made up I'm going to made up for my time I mean I can go I can elaborate I'm a talk well you had a lot of things to say there can you explain your understanding of the scope and duty of this commission oh absolutely um what the community well I've read all the Scopes and I I I I I fully understand all the Scopes and I can go through them if you want just maybe kind of how you see um what the role of that Commission of the parks and commission is um and maybe Linds okay besides all the you know yeah I mean not really having well it's it's an opport it's it's you're you're representing your city and I'm proud of my city you represent your city you're an ambassador you're ambassador to your city you give your opinions I know I'm only advisory opinions so ultimately it's the park and rec director and you guys you guys got to make the final decisions alls I can do is put my two cents in whatever the task may be if they're saying uh we're going to Rose book Park and uh look at the playground do we need a new one or do we got to add anything you know whatever that task is you know and you got to get out there you got to be Ambassador you got to talk to the people you got to go under the direction of the park and Rex director obviously and your chair but you you want to be in a bass you got to you want to do your homework and give the best to your ability be honest don't don't hold anything back just tell them the truth of what you believe in an orderly and a kind and you know you got to be fair kind honest that's basically a Lind what do you love most about living in Roseville that could be a long one you get one well I have some I even wrote it down but I don't even I don't even know where that is but oh yeah maybe um I love everything about Roseville I was born and raised close here so I'm going to I got to make this short I was born and raised to Anthony Park real close on the border my whole life you should even say your age I'm 72 so i' I've been around a long time we always looked up to in that area as Roseville is being the modern Innovative so when I moved here 31 years ago 32 years ago whatever it was it was it was the Innovative and you guys in Roseville I feel I've been here 31 years you keep up on things the maintenance you keep up on the improvements we have to keep doing them that's another reason I want to be want to make sure we stay in the new realm of our society things change and so I want to be part of that change and and make it happen but the most I love about Roseville is uh the parts the trails and the natural areas um to me uh Roseville is a little bit of what I it's a little bit of Paradise in an urban area baa that's my because it is we're an inner city suburb and there's no land left we should feel so lucky we have Reservoir Woods we have the Nature Center we have these areas we should be so proud that they didn't get developed you go to some of these and I'm not saying they're bad but you know rich they don't have they don't have the many as we have now these bigger suburbs yeah they could pre-plan ahead and they could leave these big nature centers 400 acres and we can't I'm so glad that it wouldn't be you but the council we did have and the people we had running the city Rag and all these guys from the past lones and that they took the they established these things and we should be so proud and that's my number one best thing and you can go to the the the other things of course everyone's going to say oh yeah the convenience and it is true it's between the two cities yeah and it's close to everything the amenities the stores are there well now everywhere I think it's there the way we we move in our society now but that that's a good thing too I'm not saying it's a bad thing but for me it's the park the parks even the wreck department with the the the baseball and the youth Athletics that they run and the trails we have some of the best trails and we are maintaining them they plow them so I mean it's unbelievable I had so many people that live in neighboring things yeah they do plow them but two days later I mean if I think if the Snows ours are plowed and people use them and I want to get more use and I and and I'm a I'm a Believer and we have to and not saying that I'm old you don't have to if even if I'm not chosen I don't care we need Youth and I triy to instill that in all my things that I working to get some more youth I go to these events and it's all people my age mostly I said we got to get we got to get youth involved that's why we need yes we need younger I mean and not to say we need we need the experience we need us we need people like me but we need youth these new ideas so Matt has the last question sure last question uh sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public sometimes these are opposing perspectives how would you best how would you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission okay well first uh if someone if you're having someone's opposing you I I don't know what the situation is uh first you got to listen number one you got to listen to them you got to hear what they're doing you got to sort of get into into their mind what are they really thinking you have to briefly explain what's been approved on whatever you're doing depends what stag this is in I don't even know where it is and it it depends on the stage so you don't want to say too much and if if these people are opposing so we have to go to our park and wreck chairman or you know Matt Johnson say hey I got someone here and I told them a little bit what I got how much more can I go with him or can I talk to him or help him help that person refer him to our park and rec director but before refer them but immediately get a hold of him so he knows it's coming whatever this opposition is this probably could be a little thing it could be a big thing I'm not saying but me as a I'm I'm I'm not I'm representing the city but I'm not in the city so I can't definitely say you know well this is you know and and I would want to not step on the city's toes so that's why I would refer to a Matt Johnson or city council or city manager you know and I would help them I refer them and then I would after I referred them to a Matt Johnson or I say you could talk to your council member or you could talk to the city manager and if some really tiny I wouldn't even bother you guys but was something and then and then I would follow up with that it say it's Matt Johnson Matt we had this problem I would follow up immediately on what's going on is there can I help follow up on this do you need any help you need any information and um that's what I would do if there's confrontation but it's mainly listen and it's within our group listen I mean if it was within my own commission you know you can still have that happen but you got to listen resolve that's why we have a chair and and go just you got to Res respect everyone thank you all those I'm sorry I'm long keep going yeah I'll keep going any other questions we go off tape I don't even know if I'm on tape you are on recorded Yeah March 3rd will be the decision it'll be city council and Rachel will let you know or staff will let you know what they and as you know there are several applicants for every position absolutely I I totally understand and you've been around long enough that you know keep your name in the hopper and oh absolutely if yeah if you fail try try again but and another and I know I'm another reason I'm just getting old you know older and I just want to be able to do this while I'm still capable of doing it I don't want to be 80 92 and sitting here 80 wait that's not that far no it's not for me thank you for coming all you need this take that out with you as youred than you let Rachel she can very nice to meet you guys thank you so much for your time e you walk in your dog for a while I know my dog passed away well that's why I haven't seen you walk in your dog for a while years old I'm telling you right now it's how you get neighbors is by having them walk by with their dog it's been devastating terribly of us here do I'm the acting mayor tonight Wayne gr and this is council member I know council member strong and we have Lindsay mattenson chair no I think I'm guessing you're a neighborhood person she's on the Hamlin side you're on the Lexington side yeah and I've been around a long time doing a lot of things in the city and you've done this before so you know we go through a round of questions and and then uh the mayor and uh Rob and Scher will review so that they have the information sure there's a chance they'd contact you but you know they they know so um so I don't know where we are it's your turn I didn't put my name start I'm so sorry I was chatting too much with Rachel oh you no worries so the first question is how do your experience and how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on this commission well I feel like um being a Community member living in rolls for for 32 years and um being involved with a lot of the organizations committees I was on the park and rec gosh like 15 years ago for a long time I which is why I'm really passionate about it still um currently finishing up my term on the Planning Commission my second one next month I'm glad we actually have a meeting which I was thinking we might not um and just my skills and my Um passion and experience and wisdom and just being around I've been involved in so many things besides just the commissions I was on the clubhouse committee with cedar home um lot of the visioning process I know a lot of people working where I do and my kids were super active I chaired and was president of the basketball board the softball board all of that I just feel like I have a good feel and understanding of what people and want with programming and Parks um I just feel that um we're doing so many things right but there's other things that we could maybe pursue differently or yeah I just feel really strongly about our community and our city and want to stay involved thank you Julie what what motivates you to be part of this volunteer commission um after all the others I know um just that I really feel being involved in rolling up your sleeves and being um a person that stands up in your community is important it's kind of what we've taught our children too they all worked for Park and wreck and loved it um I just think someone's got to do it and not everybody has the skills the ability the desire um the lifestyle that they can do it uh I just want to continue to watch Roseville grow into the future continue keeping the programs we have in place our parks are outstanding just I just have a I love Roseville I live and work here and been involved for a long time all right can you explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commission you applied for well we are a um just a recommending body we don't have any say we can't make any formal decisions we listen we hear the input and we're here to support what um whether it's Park and wreck or like what I'm on the Planning Commission what the staff says is fast and we are just like a recommending board uh citizen to what we're hearing and what's happening happing in the city with whether it's Parks or whatever organization we have no legal binding Voice besides that what do you love most rosville everything our Parks our one thing um as Julie knows I walked our dog Faithfully in Lexington Park for many many years um yeah I mean even our small tiny Parks like Mayflower are wonderful um our Green Space programming that we have for you know preschoolers all the way up to seniors people of different diversity and equity and we are inclusive community that really is helping shape we have people that come from all over to use our parks and programming I just took a dance class with last night with some former friends and there's people from St Paul Maplewood like we are a destination for a lot of the things that we have and we offer yeah I think that sums it up I'm just we like where we are we actually were recently looking to possibly move or byy a place on a lake and can't find what we want and the city is a big part of the reason why I want to stay so we're remodeling our house instead that's what we did familiar familiar story yeah WS in that I know it's like when it's perfect like we kept thinking okay we want to Big a garage we want to be in a lake but what are we giving up you we're giving up so much like our porch our backyard and and I just like the city I like the location I like I've been involved I like the fact that the community we work together we care about each other neighbors we are there for each other you know I call my neighbor we're out of town for a week keep an eye on our house and you know well I have the last question and sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public perhaps from moving perspectives how would you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission first of all you sit back and you listen to everybody's thoughts and opinions and ideas and try and sift through it use your think more with your head than your heart because we all come from that heart place especially if it's neighbors or people you know or you can empathize with the situation and really just try and make the best decision you can I mean we are just a recommending board um don't take sides just stay neutral listen if you're out in the public and somebody approaches you um you know you just listen but don't say much back just be there to support them let them know you care but wait till um you have all the facts and then look at what's best almost like best practice or what's best for the city or whether it's a park or a new development coming in um kind of sift through it I guess and you've been through it I know I was say one of our first Planning Commission meetings this place had about 150 people in it development that was a that was my second meeting seriously and I'm like wow luckily I've been through a lot of other things in the years of you know president of boards and stuff like that but yeah we don't get a lot of public com at Park meetings but when you do have like the Park on County Road B there was a lot of participation in the planning and there were people that came into those that were yeah when strong opinions so you do get some of that but um but thanks for your that's one of the best parks I mean they're all great but that one was just like it's right in the middle you wouldn't expected to be there it used to be a school years ago when we first bought our house and oh Lexington Park yeah Lexington we my aunt went to that school yeah I just like was my favorite place to sit with my dog just every day after work it's amazing how much you miss them when they're gone and and that's the other thing I'm not getting to our Parks since September like it's on even a day like today I'd be out there walking my dog there's a lot of Fosters that are looking for home I know it's true I heard that too is there anything you had for us because we you laugh up our time is kind no I don't think so I just um appreciate your time and and March 3rd will be the decision the council and you'll be notified or you can watch it if you're okay interested sounds good coming in yeah thank you guys nice to see you back thank you have a great night to at least it's warming up yeah feels good e and you are Aaron Lynch thank your name to H up I'm way GFF I'm the acting mayor tonight and this is council member bow on my left as council member St on my right and chair of the board of the uh parks and wreck uh commission is Lindsay Matt spens we'll be rotating through questions okay and then at the end we'll have a maybe a little time for us to interact if you have some things to add after questions are added so I think we are up to you Julie so you can start thank you do your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission well um I have been uh involved with a lot of activities with well just within the city uh I do volunteer with uh Boy Scouts have volunteered for Girl Scouts um very active in the Roseville community and ensuring that uh people have access to some of the things within in Roseville um especially the parks especally especially with Scouts and U so I'm kind of familiar with that uh I am also quite familiar with working in a group organizations that um are restricted by government working with the public uh I work for the state in my civilian job and have been in the military for quite a while and a lot of that has you know enforcing laws and giving recommendations and going through regulations and meeting expectations along with you know being able to Define what the left and right limits are and sometimes delivering bad news to people um in a kind manner to not you know make anything worse so communication skills organizational skills being able to read regulations and be able to interpret them to um others for understanding so what motivates you to be a part of this volunteer commission um well I really do enjoy being part of the community I am soon going to be retiring from uh the reserves and uh was looking some for something to fill my time and uh I have been thinking of you know being more involved at the government level in the local community my daughter was one was able to participate in uh the youth program for being on a commission she was on pette and that first got me you know looking into what the commissions do um understanding you know how it works what the uh expectations are for the commission and how they can inform the city council and you know potentially be Outreach to the rest of the people within Roseville So yeah thank you uh can you explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commission that you're applying for yes so uh from my understanding uh it is more of a recommendation role and being able to interpret to provide guidance and uh community outreach uh kind of being a conduit between the the council and the uh people within Roseville and to to do more public Outreach and then again with the people within the committee you know having an emphasis in the Parks and Recreation thank you thank you what do you love most about living in Roseville I love the community um I was just talking to this with the neighbor that I can go out and go for a walk and I see people walking around and people acknowledge you know you're there people are smiling uh things are pretty close to you know what you need is all within Roseville itself uh there's public transportation available here uh there's you yes this basically the community and uh there's many opportunities for people that may not have family within Roseville to be able to reach out uh I've done visits with some of the churches the you know the scouts and we've done Outreach with uh ah the Gibbs Farm uh and you know there's so many opportunities for people to get out and see their community and I really would like to enhance that and keep that going and I think it's wonderful I love that uh the the parks are kept very nice uh there's been a lot of Outreach to get volunteers more involved I'd like to see that with some of the more uh smaller parks that also can you know use some love from volunteers uh Central Park is like the the flagship you know and uh and that that's wonderful it's great I love walking around that uh but I'd like to see some love to in some of the smaller Corners uh more celebrated um especially in like the Roseville daily or weekly monthly uh paper thing that comes out thank you 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 calmly minimal emotion um sometimes it is preconceived notions on what is going to happen and so I think it is important that if somebody expresses uh a dissatisfaction or strong emotions uh because of plan that's going to be implemented it's important to understand what what are they actually fearing sometimes it is just miscommunication and uh it's not it it may just be a miscommunication thing and so the interpretation may be much more overwhelming than is actually going to happen or it might have actually be something that uh somebody didn't take into account and so understanding where that person is coming from maybe there is a way like maybe we did go outside the bounds and we need to pull it back a little bit but I think the big thing is if if someone gets emotional about it they need to not and maybe even pass on you know can you address this or give me a moment to try to understand what's going on sure thank you thank you very much that's all the questions we have is there anything you need from us we will be doing March 3rd will be the decision ision with the city council and you'll be notified either by Rachel or you can watch okay than that do you have any questions or clarifications are you guys pretty much tapped out since you've been doing this for hour yesterday the piece on that is we did do this last night and we're doing it tonight so there are a lot of lot of people applying which is wonderful we like participation from the public but if you are do not happen to be selected yeah don't take that you know keep your name and just know that your neighbor hood is well represented on um commissions uh yeah your block you saw your neighbor leaving um yeah yeah so ohigh Michelle is just on the next block Katie amman's on the next block Brian fi is on the next one of the scouts parents is on the Roseville the parks and recomm EXA about I'm like we we are very involved our whole little group is very involved with so yeah I guess it's peer pressure too I just yeah I have to keep up thank you for coming in for your time thank you you can pass that e e e e e e e e well seconds and I have to bring us back to order need 10 seconds acting mayor yes I'll bring our our meeting back to order after a brief recess and I'm Wayne gra I'm the acting mayor and this is Matt Bower he's one of our council members and this is Julie spr she's another council member we are mayor Dan row is not able to be here tonight but he will review the information and so will our council member Robin schroer when they have time and we have Lindsay mattz Benson she's our chair with the parks and rec department and we have Karen shaon she is the vice chair on the Planning Commission so those will be they'll also ask questions and uh you're Aaron Schmidt so we're going to start the conversation with you and I don't know where we are in question okay Lindy Matt bson will start hi Aon welcome thank you uh if you could just uh share a little bit with us on how your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission sure um I guess specific to these commissions or in general um both both okay um so I work in healthcare I'm a family physician so um definitely um from the health side of things uh the importance of um you know open space for people to enjoy um and also on the planning side um you know cities that are um beneficial to health and set up that you know for people to live healthy lives and have access to um resources and um parks and and those sorts of things um I have had some volunteer experience in the past I was in the Peace Corp for two years in Kenya um that was 2004 to 2006 so that was my longest stretch of doing volunteer work um after that when I was living in Iowa I did I was on the library board um of a very small town library um in Iowa Falls Iowa um which was a good experience and then um you know since then I've been mostly raising kids and things so haven't had as much time to dedicate but I think it's important to note that you live with five teenagers true I just think that's an important thank you and Karen sh have a question so what motivates you to be part of this volunteer commission yeah I mean I guess it's something I've it's always kind of been in the back of my mind as just feeling like I should start giving back a little bit more in that way um I think more acutely when the vote came up for the um uh maintenance center and the passport center and things um I guess I was a little bit surprised to see that Parkland was going to be used for that and it just made me feel motivated to get more involved and you know have more understanding of how those decisions are made and um that sort of thing can you explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commission that you to both for parks and for planning yeah and I I mean I've understand and I've got a lot to learn about it um and my understanding is the park side may be a little bit more um like at least from what I was reading about the planning a lot of it is kind of it's set you know there's rules you have to follow and there may not be a lot of wiggle room sometimes for the commission to make you know changes or recommendations necessarily um whereas maybe a little bit more of that on the park side but of course you know more advice to the council and getting input from the community um and that sort of thing to um and I I guess I I just I feel like I like to know what's going on and how decisions are made even if they aren't the ones that I would choose I feel like there's benefit in kind of understanding the process and being involved this is the easy question I get today what do you love most about living in rosville well we moved here large part for the parks um before I lived in Roseville I used to come and play volleyball um at Central Park so that was kind of how I got to know the area and then it ended up being a good um central place I work in Stillwater um and things so it's um the parks and then just the accessibility to everything else around the Twin Cities sometimes the commissions have a recommendation on a matter that is 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 I guess I would see my role as as just trying to listen and take in the different perspectives um you know not I mean expressing my opinions but not necessarily like arguing that with people that have an opposing Viewpoint um but just you know trying to make people feel like they've been heard and and being able to um I mean I feel like I could communicate viewpoints that I wasn't necessarily um the same as my viewpoint but be able to you know pass information Along on how people feel about things thank you that is all of the questions do you have anything you uh wanted us to clarify or anything you want to add to your resume I don't think so I appreciate the opportunity and so thank you good well thank you for being here March 3rd will be the the decision uh uh that'll be our our Monday meeting that week and either you can watch watch it or you can get box she would let you know the decision and there are as you know we were makings last night and tonight so there are quite a few interviews for everything but um also we're just notified that we have another opening coming coming up so there are always things changing and even if you aren't in this group perhaps it would you could keep your name in it we appreciate any volunteering you would do for the city thank thank you I'll let you get settled and get your name take off are John barad John barad how long have you lived in Ros uh about 18 months 19 months okay it's just a big on the there's just a blank there so um we uh closed May uh 2023 oh okay excellent I would have been here sooner uh if I would have known Rose will was here I was uh we were downtown uh for about nine years uh but uh looking for something different and found the gym yes you did we all agree with you on that I think I'll be speaking on that behalf so just a way of introduction I'm Wayne gra I'm the acting mayor tonight because Mr row could not make it and he will be following up with uh watching the interviews this is Julie St she's a council member and Matt bow he's another council member and we have Karen schafhausen she is the vice chair of the Planning Commission so we will be rotating through questions and Robin Scher who's not here will also be just watching it and then there is a small chance that they would contact you if they have any questions for I was going to ask that if they there's any other um council members here that uh even the mayor they have any questions uh um I think I got my contact information you do and if you know Rachel will be following up with you on that so so I think we are over to you Karen with the first question how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on a city commission um uh my experience and skills uh so my background educationally I've got a Bachelor of Science in construction engineering from Iowa State it's part of the civil engineering department the CES do more of the transportation and and uh Bridges and and treatment plans and the cones the construction do more of the building that's where I wanted to get into so um kind of my uh um desire there um and after that uh graduating with that I I've got 35 plus years under my belt developing around the country um virtually uh doing new constructions remodels expansions and so forth ranging from you know $100,000 to well over uh uh $250 million um in in cost there um I've worked both priv and public sector so a a variety of um environments in and working with the communities or uh corporations um has been a good experience in in education as well um uh part of the public and private sectors um I've done some residential with some you know Assisted Living uh facilities around the country um Pittsburgh area and Del Beach Florida for example um they range about 350 units plus 60 beds in a health facility so some large uh uh private corporate and then uh some medical facilities as well as educational and then on on the public side uh I've got some experience um manag the Fort Pierce City Hall project was one of my projects in Fort Pierce Florida and then I was one of H 15 team members on the Palm Beach County Courthouse development representing the uh uh Palm Beach County um with that endeavor and that development um and not only just working domestically I've got some little experience International as well so again it's it's a good mix I think where you get an experience from other cultures around the uh the world and how they operate and how you uh decide on how to build and some of the things you have to take in consideration I think those things align somewhat with what I understand is some of what the Planning Commission looks at in when they have proposals and look at submissions that are presented the uh City uh for businesses or developments of of any sorts um how does that fit within the uh City's plans and and uh um looking at uh how it will help the city um grow and and Thrive as a community thank you very much thank you uh what motivates you to be part of this volunteer commission um I I like um i' like to uh uh the process of building and planning and looking at um not just a physical building but putting together U the decision-making process and and how to guide the what Tod do and wise looking at uh um what's being requested uh I think again with what I think and understand looking at some of the videos Planning Commission looks at um how does that fit with the uh uh comprehensive plan the city has adopted and developed um looking at the codes and statutes make sure everything is compliant um uh and put together in a fashion that's uh meeting those requirements um and then um once aligning uh that alignment with the uh comprehensive plan um creating a narrative to submit to the council for advice and recommendations on how to uh um what uh what may be a good a solution or a good decision in in accepting or potentially rejecting um one thing or another here to help um direct the Council on action can you explain your understanding of the scope and duty of the commissions you are applying for um and again like on the scope is I think the commission is the initial uh resource for the council to gab that information um take in that request those requests um kind of initial triage of information that would come in um whatever the business may be or development um or request would be um knowing what that uh uh development is like understanding that well um understanding I think the impacts that it may have potentially uh I I think of um what uh uh might the Public Works um be involved in and you know how does that impact their plan their budgets their uh functions within uh the community when these things are implemented or decided um and then again uh as I mentioned before looking at the codes and making sure they align with the ordinances that the city has adopted and um make sure things uh U done in a proper um code compliant way and again as I mentioned uh present that narration to uh how to proceed with recommendations um defining that value and and potential risks um in whatever decision uh the commission would recommend what what do you love most about living the the water in specific McCarron's Lake um I I swam 15 years summer and winter so uh spent a lot of time in the water and water to me is very therapeutic and I just I love being around it um as I mentioned before I think uh Roseville in in this area is a kind of a Hidden Gem that uh to me and when we found this it was just amazing that the locate the location of Roseville and where we're at um is phenomenal with the uh access to the medical facilities the health care the schools the retail um uh the airport is less than 20 minutes away um not just nationally but a globally renowned Airport International Airport so uh that brings a lot of value without having to have a lak house that you would have to drive to and spend a lot of time with a second home so it is just um to me a perfect fit and uh we're very we're very pleased here so sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public uh perhaps from up clausing perspectives how would you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission so I think um for the most part people um want to be comfortable and they like comfort and inherently um when uh people seem to be opposed to change and I think when you want to do something in a progressive manner um uh you're going to do it with change and the one constant in life I think everybody can agree on agree on is change so um I think looking at that um when you know there may be some discomfort with the community I'll I'll put that in opposing Force I think it's the best way to uh influence that opinion is and I've seen this as well with some of the uh video I've seen with commission get together with the residents or with the community listen and listen well uh two ears one mouth um take that information in um do that in you know hear their voice uh listen to the concerns and do it in a manner that is is not dismissing to uh the community and showing a lot of respect to the community as well I think that will send a very clear message as well and me uh open up dialogue with them um then if it's not at that same meeting in that dialogue uh I'm assuming the commission may go back and lay out the facts and the information um that would identify the pros and the cons and I keep I've said before is the values or the risks associated with whatever decision uh that's in front of them and to uh uh give that direction if there is a direction to be given Define those pros and cons with the community and give them the facts and the information and be very transparent with them in that process um and then uh in doing so uh that helps then Foster that uh and develop that narrative for the council to also Echo that same sentiment and positive or maybe not I say positive but U rational um decision on making those decisions um one thing that I've experienced with two different large firms I've worked for is a Six Sigma process and it's looking at a process and defining some of the def defs and not that um looking at the defects in a proposal that might be submitted to the council it's a matter of looking at things and what makes sense and and um is a way that uh um I've learned through the Six Sigma training is ask a lot of questions get a lot of information and try to put all that together and see what makes sense and that helps drive that that U direction to solving those those conflicts or those that tension a little bit and I will say this I guess in in wrapping up that question if the commission um presents the consequences uh to a decision or recommendation uh and Define those values and risks to the uh community in a manner that is I think uh best way to put is reasonable logical and rational in their thought process um answering a lot of their questions and probably a lot of what if questions um is my guess the commission has probably received in the past but uh Define those that's probably the best method to convince the uh residents on how the decisions uh going to be best um uh to support the communities uh health safety and well-being while also developing that credibility and trust and I think if in my mind doing that I think you get back to that comfort and that credibility where people have PE pie of mind if they know what the commission is doing or the council's doing I think there's um more confidence in that and and respect even if it's going to take some time for change but uh um hopefully and I and the goal is to show over time those decisions yield uh successful and sustainable uh growth and and benefit to the community thank you well that is all the questions is there anything you want to add or um so I saw there's a bit of training um is there any uh anything you could share on some of the um criteria um that you look to have uh the coun the commission uh go through some training what does that look like do you have a rundown on the onboarding process that they're currently using because it's been so long since I've been on a commission that I'm not as familiar with it's relatively I mean and and Matt can kind of speak to it as well so I mean it's not I think that it's fair to say that it's not daunting the goal is not to have you have chapter and verse understand the master plan and the codes and all that kind of good stuff that's the that's the job and responsibility of the Development Group um so it's more the onboarding is making sure we understand the components of the the role how we operate as a team on when we're sitting in the listening sessions and then um really Clarity around you know why the Planning Commission existed um um how it serves in relation to the state of Minnesota and why it's kind of there so I think it's it is not daunting and the expectation isn't that you're going to have the master plan memorized at least by your first three meetings but you know where to find it EXA exactly and the only other thing I would add to that is every year we have ethics training to do that all the commission members are and actually the council is to because that has a lot mainly to do with open meeting laws regulations and communicating outside of meeting and things like that it's probably a great pressure nonetheless too especially on some of those sensitivities as well exactly or things will change over the course of the Year yep thanks all right thank you for coming in much I appreciate the opportunity the last thing is March 3rd will be the decision the council will decide on on appointments at that point and then U either Rachel will notify you or you can watch it at that time if you want to okay very good all right good night your name tag up so that the people watching know who Wayne gra I'm the acting mayor tonight is not able to attend this is Julie St she's one of our council members and Matt Bower and this is our vice chair Karen schauser from the Planning Commission so we'll be rotating through questions uh mayor Ro and uh council member Robin schroer are not able to be here so they will be viewing this so to start I uh I'm just start okay thank you it's a team effort you're around 25th or 20 yeah starting to get I'm sorry if you it's trying not to be a pull together exactly uh if you don't mind could you uh how do your experiences and skills relate to serving on the city commission yeah so I mean I think first and foremost um I just kind of love like being involved in the Comm community and and um doing charitable work um volunteering um and some of the the things that I've done the last couple years um I worked uh for a food bank Second Harvest Heartland um doing a data analytics for them supporting the uh fundraising and volunteer engagement departments with them um I've volunteered with um food shelves um also volunteered recently with uh Habitat for Humanity um so I I just really enjoy kind of getting getting behind those causes and and um and and getting involved um and so that's kind of what got got me interested in the in the commissions was um just kind of wanted to take some of that energy and and put that into um uh you know just my my own Community here in Roseville as well um as far as professionally um I started my career in sales um and uh kind of the the focus there was basically working with big customers and uh developing relationships long term and and just you know solving problems and um trying to be creative working in teams um and so I think from the standpoint of just kind of devel developing communication skills and and working in teams and and um kind of developing rapport um there I think um I think that was a good experience um uh since then I moved uh into data analytics um so I really just like digging into into Data uh spreadsheets and good statistics and um analysis um to try to uh you know find Trends and insights and data um and then you know take that and you know take that to like the business team or whoever I'm working with and try to you know see like okay how is that can to influence like data driven decision- making for us and so I think um kind of that more like analytical mindset um as well I think would be something that I would bring to a the the Planning Commission as well um additionally I just love to kind of just learn new new stuff all the time I'm I'm very curious um I think if I were on the the Planning Commission I would just U just be very dedicated to learning about zoning um and just kind of become a a student of it and um learn about different philosophies and and um kind of dive into it so um yeah but I would say really it kind of comes back to that you know wanting to do public service and and wanting to kind of give back to to the city thank you what may motivates you to be part of this volunteer commission when you're applying for so yeah but more I thought about that like I I think I think zoning and land use policy is really important uh it seems like there there's there's a lot um you know that kind of kind of rides on it and and um I feel like changes or uh you know adopting new policies um it seems like in some cases it potentially could have large impacts and so I think uh just like being very uh kind of balanced and measured and and making sure to kind of see things from all different sides um and you know just really be in tune with residents and businesses and and what we're hearing um I think is really important um and I think also you know I would I would also kind of like bring that analytical approach into it a little bit I think I think if if there are if there are times when you can make uh data driven decisions I I think I think it's important to try to look at at what data is available um to help that drive those decisions um I think one example of that I was watching in one of the meetings um I think there is like a housing needs assessment that's being done and and so I was kind of thinking like you know that's something where you know maybe maybe I would be leaning a certain direction on on an issue but then okay but then there's this housing needs assessment that comes out and maybe that points in the other direction and so I think just like having that flexibility to um you know to be able to adapt to uh to data as it comes available um so those are a couple things that I I think are important um that I would bring to the uh to the Planning Commission thank you can you explain your understanding of the scope or duty of this commission um yeah so I watched quite a few of the meetings online um I think uh you know considering like rezoning requests um land use uh like like sort of proposed Chang to city code as as it pertains to land use um conditional land use um so you know basically uh kind of working with the the fellow commission members talking through uh issues that uh residents or uh businesses are bringing up as proposals to changes that they want to see made um so yeah and then you know voting on those things and uh basically as uh you know an advisory uh um to these city council um and then I would always you know anytime there's a a change proposed I mean I would always just go go out to the site and just get a get a sense for like how how things would feel you like just try to visualize like what change would be made um uh to just try to get a sense for for what would happen and what impacts it might have and then you know that's kind of like a qualitative data point I guess that you know I could bring back to the uh Planning Commission and talk through um so yeah yeah that's about it thank you chair so what do you love most about living here in Ros the thing I love most about it is my neighborhood uh I'm on South McCaron Boulevard um I just love the neighborhood I you know the um I think I think it has a lot of character I think one of the uh one of the things I love about it is like the is actually the kind of diversity in housing stock so like you know we've got everything from like big new builds to um you know 80 100 year old th s foot houses and everything in between and I think I think that mix gives a lot of character um to the neighborhood I love the uh walking path around McCarron's Lake uh I love McCarron's Lake um and all all the parks uh around there as well so um yeah this will be the last question um sometimes the commission makes a recommendation on a matter that has a lot of strong feelings from the public perhaps from posing perspectives how do you expect to deal with such situations while serving on the commission yeah I think um just trying to to make sure everyone feels heard um and I I think like there's it's it's not very often that an issue is like black and white there's there's just always a lot of nuance and like um and I think you know I think the commission exists to to serve residents and businesses and I think you know we got to just be um be sensitive to uh to goes into um opposing positions um and I think yeah make sure you fully understand um all sides um and then you know potentially look for for areas of compromise as well um but uh but yeah that would be the kind of the the key thing is is just making sure you fully understand it um and then uh and also you know potentially if if there are data sources that you can kind of bring into to um help guide the decision making I think that is helpful as well thank you that is all the questions do you have anything you'd like to add you know no I don't I've watched quite a few of the meetings I feel uh like I um have a pretty good pretty good sense for it um but I thank you for uh considering me uh be an honor to to serve thank you for coming in and the decision will be made at our March 3rd meeting with the city council and you'll be notified that there's a possibility that uh mayor Ro or Robin schro or the other council member might might contact you if they have further clarification that they need so um they will use the information that was in your application to do that okay perfect sounds good thanks for you good right take care e oh Wayne I understand you're the acting mayor I'm the acting mayor I was going to he's acting like the mayor you look good we're telling D did you have your name tag to put out oh yes thank you I beg your pardon yes Alison Jenson Y and I'm the acting mayor Wayne grff and this is of course you know Julie St is our council member Matt bow is a council member we have Vice chair Karen shusen from the Planning Commission here tonight and since mayor row and council members Robin schroer are not here they will be watching this and reviewing it and participating in our conversation after that so can I just a point of clarification you had indicated planning and second was the human rights inclusion and engagement you wish for that to be the equian inclusion at this point changed the name has changed oh the name has changed thank you Julie uh yes said a couple different places in our equity and inclusion sounds like a very good second choice for me thank you just wanted to clarify because thank you that was a more recent um Amendment and um mostly we learned that human rights uh issues occur the um mediation of those occurs at a state level so that's no longer a part of that Commission because it wasn't something they could actually accomplish so have changed since the early 90s when that was formed so it's good to be clear on your scope it is isn't it yes so I don't know who who's is it me now I was going to say I thought it was I'm going to start with the questions and then we'll just rotate to everybody sure so how do your experiences on skills relate to serving on the city commission well I have done some work with Roseville before I was with the Imagine Roseville 2025 and here it is 2025 and I'm here so I've seen some of the things that we've accomplished and uh I you know that was very interesting I was in a subcommittee of that group but it's very interesting to see the vision that we came up with was in the 2040 plan um chapter 2 Pages five and six and I sorry um and I'm also um I volunteer in community some in Roseville um and I have volunteered with St Christopher's in the Episcopal Church in the past and we have a beautiful you may not have noticed it but got a beautiful solar array you can see from Highway 36 um these you know I'm a PR lady and a Communications person by experience but I think one of the things that's impressive to me about what we're doing here in Roseville is there's a lot of transparency and there's a lot of communications about what's going on and I think I could be a contributor to that I'm terribly interested in land use questions I've been a environmentalist since I was a Youngster nature lover bird watcher for 30 years and so I just think questions about um balancing our natural environment and our land use with are you know human built use is very important one of the things that struck me was reading that there's only like less than 2% of land is in rville is considered like I'm not sure if it was not used or you know vacant or you know like 40% is family housing this was in the 240 chapter on land use and I was just stunned so every in my opinion every land use decision then becomes really quite important because this is uh something that we hold together for our community and we must try to make the best informed decisions and just do the best we can to balance different um calls Upon Our Land so thank you welcome Julie you're second yes so what motivates you to be a part of this volunteer Commission on of course in this meeting planning or equity and inclusion I'd like to do more on a local level I did some work as a couple of you know on uh city council campaigns in the recent past and I just think that the way that I as an old political science major po political uh politically interested person can make a difference is probably best done by getting involved in the most local politics so that I can have a voice and be heard and hear other people's voices as a former journalist I'm used to getting input summarizing input you know trying to put together um what you might call a narrative or a story that makes sense for a situation so um planning I think um you know Roseville has done a terrific job of it I think in terms of anticipating the future doing the best they can to we can to make a difference for the future and there's obviously things that come up that can't be anticipated but um planning and being aware of the vision and the goals and the values of this community is um super important to our future and for our children and our grandchildren and anybody else who happens to move in here thank you so can you explain your understanding of the scope or do to the commissions plural that you've applied so for so both planning as far as in order well I would talk about the planning because that's what I prepared for my interview um so I thought there was this great explanatory document about how to prepare for your appearing in front of the Planning Commission you know and it explained land use related items or what the Planning Commission deals with uh the commission holds hearings gathers input and then provides the council with expert advice based on the city code which I know nothing about I have to say I know it exists and then and then the comprehensive plan so it seems to me that knowing that the city council ultimately makes the decision and that this is you know study analyze advise kind of position and you know discuss issues is what's interesting to me um terms of equity and inclusion um I'm just um brought up to be someone who uh believes everybody deserves dignity and a voice and uh I believe I mentioned perhaps in my application my parents who also were white marked marched with Martin Luther King Jr when they lived in Dallas in uh the way back times and they always instilled in us that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity and I and I think inclusion because there are new people to come into Roseville and they're going to feel like oh these people they've been I know I don't know about you Matt but maybe they third generation Roseville people or they you know folks who have a status in the community in real estate for example and very many people know them and then when you can come into an established Community like this as a newcomer as I did some 25 years ago you know it takes it takes some doing to feel like you belong and belonging through community centers or Community volunteer work or whatever is a lot of what we need as a society so you know building on little neighborhood parties is totally a great way to begin to have that feeling of belonging and then you know volunteer efforts and other things so yeah I'm um a big proponent of the rights of everyone and for everyone to feel like they have a stake in the community have easy one yes you do what do you love most about living in Ros that's not easy like what do you love most like am I supposed to pick one thing one child who's your favorite who would be the first one that was be able to pick one okay so because I'm a journalist I wrote myself a know so I would say connection convenience and Care are kind of like the big buckets thank you thanks for noticing headline and um so connection you know I my little house backs up to a little pocket park we our neighbors we don't know everybody's names but we see each other we know each other a bit there's another Park Lexington Park just down the road I want to go to the Ramsey County Library I can walk there in 20 minutes I want to go to Cub I can walk there in half an hour I mean or take my bike you know and so all those ways of connecting to people and to transportation and to you know the places I want to go the Harriet Alexander Nature Center is not very far it's not a far bike ride from my house um it's just you know there's a hockey rink down the way for when my grandson wants to come over and try hockey yet again so that connection whether it's geographical or with people is super important and then convenience I mean you know there's rosdale there's Cub there's coffee houses which are actually great you know what's great about that so a lot of people because I'm a writer a lot of people I know are in the business and they they want to meet over in Minneapolis and I'll say well we'll do that this time but next time you come to like the Caribou or one of the other independent coffee houses up here and you know it's just it seems like a small amenity but it's just a Gathering Place that's neutral and you can meet there with one person or 10 people and and then the care I think is super important we see it with the parks we see it with our really as far as I can tell really good schools my one of my grandsons went to one of the schools for a while until they moved out of town um you know the fire EMT fire response is great there Lake the RZ Roseville area high school has a a a passionate and small group of people you know students who follow climate concerns Kathy I'll say her name that wrong now ront has the do good Roseville I was just reading her newest newsletter all these things are people caring for each other um my husband does the meals for Wheels program with some members from his chur I mean it's just anything is possible once people know about the problem and can do something about it and that they care enough to try to do something is super important thank you 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 well that's a difficult question because of course feelings seem to run High these days um I think trying to make sure that things are based in fact and evidence and um not just on feeling is super important we're not logical automatons you know we do have feelings and that's okay right but it's um it's just trying to call out the best in people to see things perhaps from another perspective or you know like on the Roseville 2040 results of an online survey what should roseville's priorities be for the next five years the first one is protecting Wetlands rivers and GRE green spaces when I saw that I thought oh there must be a lot of people who agree with me but there will be people who will say that Wetland Is A Wasteland you know I know that my first father-in-law was that way so you can't try to convince him otherwise but you might try to convince him that this land use for this piece of land makes sense for the Ducks and this land use for this piece of land makes sense for a new auto dealership you're not going to put in a pond where that old Cadillac dealership is you know I hope that made sense sorry that's all the questions um do you have anything you want to add or anything you have questions for us about uh thanks Wayne um acting mayor Wayne acting mayor Wayne [Music] I think so I think there's some real opportunities here to do some Redevelopment and uh I would appreciate being part of that process and I super appreciate you guys taking the time to interview me thank you for coming in and just so you know March 3rd is the city council meeting when the decision will be made and then uh you can laun that of course if you want to but also Rachel will contact you or the staff will contact you there are several applications as you know so I do each position so if it doesn't happen this time always keep in touch so that we keep in touch and not be a gadfly but we'll see so you have your name tag I do in of me because I am the acting mayor tonight Wayne gra that was explained to me okay and we have I'm not acting like the mayor she's acting like a council member is her job no I mean he's acting like the mayor and I'm acting mayor is a title not a not a personality ccil member Matt Bowers here yes yes hello and we have the uh um Vice chair Ken from the Planning Commission yes so we will be rotating through questions okay and uh the mayor Dan row and Robin schroer were not able to be here tonight so they will be watching this reviewing that the information and then they will participate in the uh discussion on March 3rd which is when we will be deciding on the position filling the positions have you been on a commission before no thank you so I don't know are I finished so so it's me it's Karen all right she have the first question so how do your experiences in skills relate to serving on a city commission well I have lived in Roseville since uh owned a home in Roseville excuse me since 1997 um and two of those years I think 99 and 2000 I was living in California rented out the house but since 2000 been a continuous resident of Roseville and have been paying attention to the pace of change and development in Roseville and I think I've gotten a feel for the community expectations for uh how quickly we will achieve our aspirations for growth for development for improved city services and um and I have seen that come to pass due to the leadership of the council and the mayor and the commissions and um my my background is in chemistry so I don't think that my education or my career experience really applies um but uh as a concerned and and observant citizen of Roseville I think I have gained uh some knowledge that would be helpful to the commission um I have applied for commission positions before um I think twice for the public works environment Transportation Commission and and both times I think during the interview I said you know this is not a position that I think individuals should campaign for this is is a position that you should offer your services to and and that's my feeling this evening that um I'm I'm more than happy to offer my experience and my uh connection to the community based upon 20 years of of living here that's a long answer to a very short question sorry for that but cogent I hope appropriate uh next question uh what motivates you to be part of this volunteer commission oh I I think that there is a a plan for Roseville there has been for a long time I did serve on the Imagine Roseville 2020 uh commission uh back in 2000 so um and of course that's come and gone and now it was imagine Roseville 2040 um but uh there's there's a mission there's a plan there's aspirations and the um the Planning Commission in particular has an important role oh I shouldn't be telling you this you know this better than I has an important role in directing the progress towards Meeting those goals and aspirations and also the pace uh which I think is important even among Roseville citizens who agree that higher population density is in our future they don't all agree on the pace or they you know some may want things to happen faster some may want it to happen slower um and some of the recommendations that come from the planting Planning Commission impact the pace at which those changes or those goals are achieved and and I want to be part of that um I think it's it's an important role I don't know who the other candidates are for the planning commission positions they may be tremendously qualified in which case um I would want them to be on the Planning Commission I want the best qualified Commissioners uh on every commission for the City of Roseville thank you can you explain your understanding of the scope or duty of the commission oh well there there are um basically three roles uh one is to advise the city council on issues that are brought to the Planning Commission another is to identify issues that might be brought to the Planning Commission and work with City staff to bring them forward in a format that allows for discussion um um city planner Thomas paski uh helped me with a variance back in uh the second or third year that I uh owned a home in Roseville and uh I saw from him the the uh the service that City staff can uh Supply in helping me understand how to apply for a variance and what the process was and even providing photographs of the site so that I could show the uh Planning Commission and then the city council uh what I was talking about um which was very helpful but um the third is to uh how is it worded to engage the general citizens of Roseville and to hear their concerns and that requires a fair amount of patience and curiosity about what it is that they're trying to tell you um because there are public comment periods when people will sit at this table perhaps and speak about their concerns for uh a development in Roseville um maybe the roof on an industrial building is being raised too high and it will look like a skyscraper or who knows what the issue might be uh Dynamic billboards that flash at night um and and might provide light pollution that people don't want or do want I uh but it is very important for the Planning Commission to listen to those concerns um at length not necessarily as long as people want to talk but a considerable length thank you we've all been there that's what're if it were if we weren't laughing would be crying Doug what do you love most about living in Roseville you know my neighbors um I have neighbors to the North and South who are just wonderful people um and I've had the same neighbors to the North and South for over 15 years and um you know they cooperate we let each other know when we're out of town they keep an eye on the place um I have taken the neighbors dogs out for walks um when they needed to be away for a whole day and dog needed to get out uh and um yeah and I I think that that experience of loving your neighbors best about all of the good things in Roseville is shared with uh a lot of Roseville residents I think the people that are closest to us uh geographically are are most important to the quality of life and um and I think Roseville is special for just that reason that we've got a lot of people who get along as groups not just as insular family units but neighborhoods and I I grew up with that in Northeast Minneapolis where as a very young child I was over at the neighbors houses playing um indoors um they would you know knock on the door and even if their kids were gone for some reason I would get invited in you're very personable I can see that I wasn't that good a kid they were they were really good people good neighbors yeah good neighbors Karen you have the last question do so 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 well you you do have I I think it's very important to listen first and with real curiosity uh to to try and understand um not just the the surface uh objection or concern or or passion about a particular development or issue but what's underneath that what's behind it um yeah uh and that won't get you all the way there um at at the end of the day you may have to just disagree and um invite people to continue to stay engaged with the process of uh planning roseville's future but also uh to allow the process of making decisions to go forward that um if someone has spoken their peace and has been encouraged to stay engaged and still wants to prevent a decision from being made I I I I think you you have to start to move towards being fairly harsh with people about you have to let us do our work and um the Planning Commission has work that needs to be done part of that is listening to the citizens and so until you've done that part you can't do the rest of it which is make a decision about what recommendation will go to the city council and usually our decisions move so uh deliberately that there are multiple opportunities for people to come back and perhaps speak to the council if they disagree with the Planning Commission or with any commission for that matter um and there are also Online ways that they can offer comments uh in in writing or by email so I would encourage people to to speak up and to be in engaged in that decision-making process but to let that decisionmaking process reach a conclusion so that we don't become uh stuck thank you those are all of the questions and is there anything you want to add or have anything to I um yeah my appreciation for the council members um the commissions meet once a month Council meets much more often than that meetings uh tend to be short and and very uh well organized uh at least the ons which meetings the Planning Commission meetings I'm like I'm okay I did watch some of them I I like to do homework and to be PR I was going to say the ones that I think you mentioned were short yeah there are long sometimes and and there was a time when City Council meetings went on for hours and hours and hours um that I I remember actually sitting in the audience watching some of those it was painful uh I don't think that's happening now uh but the service on uh the city council and certainly as mayor um takes a lot of time and um and I as a citizen appreciate that thank you thank you for being here tonight and participating and as you know there were many applic applicants we were interviewing last night and tonight also so there will be a decision made on as I said March 3rd and the um staff will notify you if you don't and as it works out I am the last of the candidates so you folks have completed your mission and we are almost on time which is amazing because we weren't sure we would be earlier because we had some long long interviews so yeah yeah thank you so much thank you thank you I get to keep I get to keep my nameille second so we have a motion from Matt power in a second from Julia St no uh discussion on a motion to adjourn as I've heard many times from the mayor but we are adjourned