I'm happy to report that it actually went better than I anticipated. um in that they were actually able to accomplish a few things. There weren't supplemental budgets in every issue area. Uh but the issues that they did tackle were kind of the pressing ones and in particular um as it relates to Lake Elmo, they were able to pass a bonding bill, a capital investment bill, and that was really kind of the in my mind the number one priority of what the legislative session was to accomplish.

My suggestion would be to kind of have some meetings in the interimm here as we kind of move forward and start talking about, you know, what what what the options are. Uh, if not our legislation, then then what might be acceptable. And I think we got I at least I heard uh Representative Fischer's commitment to trying to Well, not only to meet with us, but to try to figure out some solution potentially.

I think having having that foot in the door um is important. You know, obviously I want to talk about how much we're looking to do for it and be have a clear plan and clear direction. Um but yeah, I I am in favor of continuing to put that into the budget.

Really what community education can provide is we can come in with we already have the structure, the registration system, the staff, all of the things that can design and deliver the programming. What we would need is an agreement so that we could use your facilities. So it would be a joint powers agreement, right? and that in order to keep that cost down for your community, we would ask that it would we would use those facilities at no additional cost.

I think partnerships such as this are the way to go for the short and medium term.

I love sports. I absolutely love the idea of this. I would personally be happy to contribute my own funds to something like this. I don't feel comfortable asking the city to pay for it.

I did ask to bring this uh forward uh and it has to be done in an election year because I think uh anybody that says they haven't had a an increase in stipen salary, whatever you want to call it, for 13 years would be out of their mind.

I think those are all good points. I guess honestly coming in I was kind of thinking I I don't really have a concern if this goes up or not simply because of right I don't think this should be something that you do for the financial side of it and I don't think anybody is because of you know where it's at obviously I'm always amazed at the number of people that say oh you're the mayor of Lake Elmo and then uh then they find out that that's not my only gig.

I I do think a change has to happen and I don't there is no perfect number. Like there there's no way to say here's what it shall be and that's a perfect number. I mean I wrote down Monaceel and Rogers and technically you average those two out. It's 8,200 for mayor and 7,000 for council. It's defensible. It doesn't mean it's right or wrong. It's defensible.