[0:03] John Alof: [Music] Good evening and welcome to all to the Rosemount City Council Candidate Forum. Before we start, as part of our Chamber mission to create healthy and vibrant communities, I am an American Cancer Society Ambassador—a man who wears pink each day in October. I never miss, and that is to raise awareness for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One of our scorers today, Mark Loftus, is an ambassador; he's wearing pink as well, and we join Rosemount Mayor Jeff Weisensel and other DCR region mayors in raising funds and awareness in Pinktober. Matter of fact, Mayor Weisensel will be wearing this when [0:49] he kicks field goals to raise money later on this week or next week, so very exciting and looking forward to that. But the message is just: please schedule or have those you love schedule their mammograms; early detection saved three people in my immediate family alone, and so it's important. Thank you. I am John Alof, the President and Chief Mission Officer for the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce. Our members include businesses both for and not-for-profit, educators, and elected state, county, and city officials across nine cities in Dakota County, including Eagan, Empire, Farmington, Lilydale, Mendota, Mendota Heights, Rosemount, Sunfish Lake, and West St. Paul, and the [1:35] three townships of Castle Rock, Eureka, and Hampton. Our mission statement reads that we are the voice of business and that we help cultivate vibrant communities in the region we serve. We say that we exist to drive business and communities forward, so strong local government is essential to the business climate and the creation and maintenance of vibrant communities. That's why we're here tonight. So, it's our honor to again present the candidate forum for the City of Rosemount City Council election. The facilities and the recording of this event are made possible by the City of Rosemount. The DCR Chamber of Commerce is grateful for this support. I welcome our candidates, and I'd like to thank them for taking the time to participate this [2:22] evening. I would also like to thank everyone in the audience here today who has taken the time to help make sure that they are making an informed decision on or before Election Day of November 7th. A few simple ground rules for tonight: First off, please turn off your cell phones or other electronic devices. This will be recorded for playback, so there's no need to record or any reason to have your phones out. I will serve as moderator and I will ask questions that have come in from DCR membership. The question topic areas were shared with each of the candidates in advance. Each question will be timed. The order was selected by random order generation. The questions will rotate from this initial random order until the [3:08] final summary statements. The final question order was again generated randomly. Our volunteer timer, Mark Loftus—thank you—he will raise the yellow card when 30 seconds remain in an answer, and a red card when 15 seconds remain, and then you'll hear a bell when your time is up. The current sentence, of course, can be completed after the bell sounds, but we ask you to stop at that point. The first couple of comments or questions have two minutes of answers; the others are all three minutes and they will all be announced. The DCR Chamber does not endorse candidates; we do endorse clear communication of ideas and positions so [3:54] that voters can make clear, informed choices. This candidate forum is not a debate, but rather the opportunity for these candidates to present themselves and their positions to you, the voters, in a clear, succinct manner, which will be done in just a little over one hour. I ask the audience to remain quiet if they can until the end, and then we'll thank the candidates at that time for their participation. So let's get started, shall we? So, candidates, if you’d please introduce yourself and provide anything you feel is important for the voters of Rosemount to know about you and your connection to Rosemount. And the random order we're starting with is [4:42] candidate Klimpel first. [4:45] Tami Klimpel: All right, thanks John. Good evening. My name is Tami Klimpel and I'm a current City Councilmember representing you since February of this year. I am an Iowa farmer's daughter and youngest of 11 children, and the values of hard work and service were instilled upon me from an early age. That hard work landed me scholarships to Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where I earned my bachelor's degree in marketing and started my career. I met my husband Mike at Drake and we've now been married for over 23 years. I followed him to Minnesota in 1999 and what originally was planned as just a couple of years here has turned [5:29] into our lifetime together, and we love it here—minus last winter. I earned my MBA from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, and my career has progressed to include leadership and executive roles in the banking and financial services industry. Mike and I have lived in some other suburbs over the years but found our way to Rosemount in 2007, impressed by Rosemount's downtown and agricultural roots. That is also when we bought our first business together here in Dakota County. Rosemount is where we've made a home and where we've raised our children: Anna, a 2022 graduate of Rosemount High School, and Ben, a junior [6:15] at RHS. I have forged deep local ties through my career, volunteerism, small business ownership, and service. I love this town and I am honored to serve you on City Council now and in the future. Thank you. [6:32] John Alof: Candidate Vile. [6:37] Al Vile: Thank you, John. Good evening, John, members of the Chamber, audience members, and citizens of Rosemount. My name is Al Vile and I'm looking for your vote as the next City Councilmember. I've been a longtime south-of-the-river resident, originally [7:01] making it to Eagan in the late 80s, building my first home in Apple Valley in '93, and then moving to Rosemount with my family in 2008. Obviously, I was attracted to the hometown feel, the farming community, the deep roots of the community together with the events that they have within Rosemount—all of that was an attraction. I have a 16-year-old daughter, her name is Leah, who is a junior at RHS this year, and we live with two orange tabbies and a miniature long-hair dachshund. By the way, none of my orange tabbies have gotten lost—that's kind of a little dig for the Rosemount Neighbors Facebook page. Over the years in [7:48] Rosemount, I've been involved in several community sports activities such as our RAAA track as an assistant coach. I was actually the track announcer for four years; that was actually a lot of fun. I have also been involved in event planning teams spanning across everything from Leprechaun Days to this year being a junior co-chair for the senior dance. I currently work as a partner technical consultant at Oracle, where I lead partner technical teams on their education and certification and industry solution design and go-to-market around our cloud infrastructure. But I'm also a small business owner, and that came about during the pandemic [8:34] and needing to do something unique in America's history; I created two companies. I love the outdoors, and that made moving to Rosemount so delightful with our access to over 30 neighborhood and community parks. Thank you. [8:49] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Hendle. [8:51] Robert Hendle: Yeah, thank you, John, for the invite tonight and my fellow candidates for being here. My name is Robert Hendle. I moved to Rosemount about 15 years ago. I am married; I have seven daughters—and yes, it is seven daughters—and two granddaughters, and I just found out on Sunday a third granddaughter is coming, so I'm a little outnumbered in the household. I work for the Minnesota Department of Transportation; I've been here almost 35 years. I am a supervisor; I've been a supervisor for [9:21] about 17 years. I do own my own lawn business—it's Rob's Lawn Service—I've been doing that for 33 years. Every position I've had in my career, I've moved to the top. I'd like to be your next candidate here for City Council. I love this city. I moved here 15 years ago and I was just going to stay for a little while; well, I've stayed 15 years and I plan on staying a lot longer. Everything is great about this town. I love the parade, and that was one of my things when I bought my house: I had to live close to a parade route. I was six houses away—now they moved it, so now I've got to go two blocks, but it's still very interesting to me. This is a great little city and I do like the hometown feel that it has here. It is growing, and I know it's growing, and we just got to do a few things different in my eyes that I see, but I look at things [10:07] different than everybody else does, and that's why I want to be your next City Council person. Thank you. [10:18] John Alof: Thank you. Okay, our our first question is: Please explain why you have chosen to run for this position and what are the things you feel make you qualified for the position? And we'll start with Candidate Hendle. [10:35] Robert Hendle: Okay, this one here... I've been coming to these meetings for a while and it all started back when they were going to build this apartment building over here in downtown. It was very interesting; a lot of people wanted it, a lot of people didn't want it. Listening to the residents, they wanted something a little different. The mall needed to go, I think, but is that really [10:53] what we needed—an apartment building? And then the people that live behind it, did they really get their bang for their buck? Listening to them, I thought, "It's time for me to step forward," so I thought I would do that here. The experience I can bring you is I have 35 years of road maintenance that could help us with the design of our roads. Roads are falling apart everywhere and everything's going up in value, so maybe I can help in that area. But I believe I'm a qualified candidate; I come up with good ideas, I'm a problem solver. Other things that will be coming later in this meeting that are happening in Rosemount—I understand we have a 20-year plan that they're trying to put in place, but maybe we need to have a few bumps in that 20-year plan. Although... that's [11:42] about all I got on that, I think. [11:49] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Vile. [11:51] Al Vile: Thanks, John. Yeah, why I want to do this: I've always wanted to learn how a city works from the inside. A city is basically a business, right? Where its customers are its citizens. It makes money, it spends money, it needs to budget that money, and then it needs to use that money to offer its citizens amenities, infrastructure, planned housing, and other services that help to improve the lives of its citizens. My Grandma Irene was the first mayor of Hampton. She gained accolades and [12:27] awards for her work kind of cleaning up the city, and that was back in the 70s. It takes several traits and characteristics when you think about what it takes to be a successful Councilmember. You know, some of those traits and skills... it’s active listening, right? Listening to your constituents and citizens within our city. Having strong communication skills, problem-solving capabilities and abilities, and empathy—empathy and compassion for the people and the diversity of the people within the town. I bring with that ethical integrity, a collaborative approach, being able to [13:13] work as a team, and having good organizational skills; these are very important in a City Councilmember, and I have every one of those traits. I'm happy to bring them to the Council chambers if I am elected. Thank you. [13:33] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Klimpel. [13:38] Tami Klimpel: Okay. I have loved Rosemount as our family's home since 2007 and have spent a lifetime gravitating to leadership and service roles. It is this combined love of Rosemount and spirit of service that called me to apply for City Council earlier this year and to run this cycle. In my 25-year career in the banking industry, I serve in leadership and executive roles where I'm tasked with understanding financial matters, working [13:58] with budgets, and motivating the people around me. I bring proven local leadership and volunteerism to this role, having served as president and board member of Rosemount Area Athletic Association (RAAA). I have experience and understanding of working within policy, building new policy frameworks, administering across disparate programs and budgets, and leading teams. My colleagues tell me I bring attention to detail, active listening, and a passion for doing what is right to my roles. These attributes are especially important when representing your friends, neighbors, and fellow residents. And my husband and I are small business owners here in Dakota County; I [14:44] understand the risks and challenges our local business owners face on a daily basis and how city codes and regulations can make a city easier or harder to do business in. My experiences will serve Rosemount residents now and into the future, and my budget planning and policy knowledge will help our town assure planful growth that will fit in the fabric of our community. Thank you. [15:15] John Alof: Thank you. Move on to question number two: Housing rates within Rosemount have been growing steadily. Do you feel business and commercial growth should be encouraged to go along with this housing growth? If no, why not? And if yes, what [15:30] ideas do you have to encourage this? And we'll start with Candidate Klimpel. [15:35] Tami Klimpel: All right. The short answer here is that yes, of course, I feel business and commercial growth should be encouraged. We have a premier location in the Twin Cities, and businesses and commercial entities should see us as an attractive location. First, let's talk about that residential growth. We must continue adding residential to our community, including a life cycle housing approach and density mix that can attract a diversity of ages and income levels. New residents in proximity of proposed new retail zones will ultimately make those areas attractive to developers. Second, regarding retail and [16:16] restaurant: we should look at the story of the Akron and 42 intersection. City staff reported this intersection was a challenge to develop for years, with multiple developers noting that we needed more residential in order to make their economic scenarios work. So, until residential growth catches up to developer expectations, we may be required to innovate and be willing to forge creative partnerships. We see that today with the unique Lifetime Fitness model, and if we see success with that model, we may need to explore similar creative solutions. The Rosemount Port Authority has access to some unobligated Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance that we may choose to offer in order to spur retail and restaurant investment [17:02] that our residents are asking for. We will need to do so judiciously with the right projects. And finally, back to commercial development: The real opportunity to expand our tax base and provide real property tax relief to our residents is going to come from large-scale commercial and industrial development. Most, if not all, UMore land is not currently on our tax rolls today; that landowner is actively seeking to sell some of their parcels and have them rezoned to tax-producing uses allowed within the city's comprehensive plan. Our single largest opportunity for tax relief in the coming years will hinge on [17:48] growing and developing these commercial opportunities. Thank you. [17:57] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Hendle. [18:10] Robert Hendle: Okay. With the housing that's going up here, we do have a lot of houses going up and we are close to major highways and major county roads. But are we looking at the right thing? Are we looking for tax dollars, or are we looking for something that's going to benefit the City of Rosemount and its members and its people here? Granted, the UMore project over here—it's going to be a big tax dollar, but is that really what we want? We need to have more housing, which is growing very fast now. We need to look at other things. Is our school going to be big enough? Do we need more businesses? Let's [18:34] get something in here that's going to benefit everybody here. If we just put in these businesses that are commercial trucking, is that going to benefit us? It's going to get some employees, or maybe they'll buy a house here, but is that going to benefit 50 people or is that going to benefit the 25,000 that we have here? Everything that we're doing here—and I know they have a 20-year plan—housing is a big thing, business is a big thing, restaurants are a big thing. Everybody the ones that I've talked to says they need more restaurants here, they need more businesses here. Okay, are people going to go to them? You know, we want the tax base, it'll help us lower our taxes here hopefully in the long run, but we have to think about where we're going to put things—strategically put them so we [19:21] could still access the highway. You know, this railroad out here, we can't do nothing about that—we have the problem every time the lights go down—which we could move that, but we can't. But we need bigger businesses, we need stuff to attract people. And by doing that, if we have enough—like Tami was telling us, if we have the houses going, we get the more people—maybe we will get more. But what are we looking for? And I think that needs to be shared more with the people. We need more input from the people on the outside. Could we use another grocery store? Sure. Could we use a hotel? Sure. That will benefit everybody. But we need to think about what we're going to put in here, and maybe the 20-year plan, we need to change that a little bit. We are already having more paved roads, we're having more thoroughfares so Highway 3 may not be so busy. But that's [20:08] the outlook we need to look at here, and we will attract more, and Rosemount will survive. But I would still like to keep the hometown feel. Thank you. [20:19] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Vile. [20:21] Al Vile: Thanks, John. Yes, I mean as Tami and as Rob are saying here, I personally do encourage both the business growth as well as the housing growth. Housing growth we already have going on today; we see some encouragement from that. But whether business or commercial growth, when you consider both of those in any community, it's a complex one and there's both advantages [20:53] and disadvantages to consider. Some of the advantages to consider—and Rob touched on this—you know, the economic benefits. I mean, are we truly getting the tax revenue that we should be getting? Are we just looking for tax dollars, or are we looking for things that people will go to, that will make Rosemount a destination? As opposed to other towns, make it a destination for eating because we have small business restaurants that are here as opposed to big franchise big chains and things like that. We have to look at the economic benefits, we have to look at the convenience. Where are they aligned in terms of the large structure avenues [21:41] and the county roads and the highways and things like that? Because we need that access for essential goods and services. Some of the planning—are we doing the community engagement in terms of that? Local businesses often play a very key role in fostering a sense of community and can support neighborhood events and initiatives, so how are we going to be doing that? Some of the disadvantages when you think of having too much growth too quickly—and I support responsible planning, that's one of my four priorities that I have in this election campaign—disadvantages are overdevelopment. Let's be careful: smart development. Because it's very easy to have rapid commercial growth and rapid [22:29] development of housing to the point that we end up losing the face of our hometown feel. And that's one of the reasons why I came here; I appreciated the hometown feel, I want to keep it that way. You know, we don't want to have the process of a possible gentrification situation based upon non-smarly planned developments. And then things to consider too are the traffic congestion in terms of infrastructure and then the environmental impact as well. So I think all of those things, both the advantages and the disadvantages, need to be considered when we look at both housing and business growth. Thank you. [23:14] John Alof: Thank you candidates. We'll move on to question number three: As Rosemount grows and becomes more diverse, how do you plan to integrate people with different backgrounds into the Rosemount community? Three minutes each, and we'll stay with Candidate Vile. [23:38] Al Vile: Okay, thank you, John. Yeah, I mean that is... it's true that Rosemount is growing in terms of different backgrounds and becoming more diverse, and that is a great thing. I loved this question when I first saw it. While not having an all-encompassing plan to tackle this, I think I'd like to [24:02] present some principles and strategies that the community can use to promote diversity and inclusion. I think one of the first and foremost is open dialogue: encourage open and respectful dialogue among community members and community leaders in those different cultural groups. This will help them to understand each other better and even those different groups learn about each other better and foster a better sense of belonging. Build a cultural awareness and training, offering cultural training and educational programs to raise awareness of different cultures or backgrounds. Another principle, another strategy: celebration of diversity. Organize events and activities that are [24:50] associated specifically with the celebration of those various cultures and those traditions in those communities—like festivals, cultural showcases, food festivals, etc., to celebrate those diverse cultural groups. Build out inclusive policies: think about ensuring community policies and practices that are inclusive and do not discriminate against any group within our community. Support networks I think are very, very important as well. We think about creating affinity groups for different cultural, ethnic, or religious backgrounds; these groups [25:36] can provide a sense of belonging and support to newcomers that are then coming into our community. Diverse representation: encourage diverse representation in the community leadership, so bringing some of the leaders of those cultural groups and bring them into the city with decision-making roles to ensure that different voices are heard and are considered in the decision-making process as we move forward. And then lastly, outreach and welcoming programs I think are very important. So, develop some welcoming programs for newcomers that are coming into our city and help them integrate into the community and provide [26:22] access to necessary services for these groups. Thank you. [26:30] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Klimpel. [26:33] Tami Klimpel: All right. Rosemount has a compelling legacy and history of embracing diversity in this community. After its founding by both Scottish and Irish immigrants in the mid-1800s, the city ultimately grew with nods to both industry and agriculture, forming around a confluence of railroad tracks and a grain elevator which we still see today. With every change along the way, Rosemount embraces each other and our differences. Our diversity of housing is necessary to increasing our appeal as a hometown of choice and to be a community that is both attractive and achievable [27:09] even to my children as they enter young adulthood. As our town grows, we're pressed with keeping residents active and engaged with one another. So structurally, I think it's important to maintain a neighborhood approach. For example, as we build new single-family home developments, we need to engage those homes around a community park amenity, creating a gathering spot for each new neighborhood. My own neighborhood is built around a park and a neighborhood school, and getting to know your neighbors is a huge part of that Rosemount experience. Experientially: Leprechaun Days, Night on the Town, Night to Unite, the upcoming Halloween Trail, and the Memorial Day observance at Central Park and the Food [27:54] Truck Fair are all amazing events here in Rosemount. We are known for our local events, and where I think we have a lot of potential is to engage and involve some underrepresented groups in our community and build out more multicultural awareness events together as a community. I look forward to welcoming new residents to town and exploring these opportunities together. Thank you. [28:22] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Hendle. [28:28] Robert Hendle: Okay. As a role model, if you're going to be a leader here, there is a diverse group of people that live in our areas here. I've met a lot of them over the last month and everyone's friendly. I never thought I'd have a problem living next to anybody, and I don't have a problem living next to [28:41] anybody. You could talk to anybody you want. What happened to just being nice to your neighbor? I mean, this is a problem and I understand there's a problem. Things we could do: The Leprechaun Day parade started with a conversation. The food truck thing, like Tami said, it started with a conversation. So maybe we need to reach out to our neighbors. If they don't understand it, let's explain it to them: "Hey, we could get this together here, we could have a thing." We could come up with another day—one more thing for Rosemount residents to have fun. If you've never met anybody from another country, I see them all the time. Their food is really good; they share. If you're there and they're eating, they share with you. Everyone is friendly. If anyone can be nice to you, you can be nice to them. [29:26] That's how this world goes faster, better—be nice to your neighbor. If they don't know it, help teach them. Maybe they don't mow their grass the same way you do—help teach them. They don't know how to work on their house—help teach them. They're going to tell that to their friends and it's just going to grow and grow and grow, and we'll go back—we'll be back to a great State of Minnesota, but a great Rosemount. I think we do have to have other housing for people too; if they need help, get them some help, get them back on their feet. It happens to everybody. But there's no reason we could not all just get along. Thank you. [30:08] John Alof: Thank you candidates. We’re about halfway through our evening, thank you. On to question four, it's three minutes each: Keeping Rosemount connected as it grows and adds new faces can be said to be one of the more critical tasks. This is really a "hometown feel" question. As the city grows, how can this be best maintained, and what is your overall position on growth and pace of growth? And we'll stay with Candidate Hendle. [30:52] Robert Hendle: Okay. Everyone here says they like the small hometown feel here, which I do think we do have here. Some of our growing with the housing—if you've noticed, if you've drove down Highway 42, there's a lot of new houses here, a lot of new kids, a lot of new people. Are [31:00] we growing too fast? We have one high school. Are we going to outgrow that high school? They're graduating over 700 every year. The last census, there was 25,650 people in Rosemount—that was a few years ago, so we're probably looking at 27,000 something. How many of them are little kids? Are we going to outgrow ourselves that way? So, I mean, that's something we need to think about. We're expanding with bigger businesses, we're going to get more tax base. Our taxes are going to go up. I mean, we need to think about all kinds of things in that area. Are we growing too fast? But do we need to grow faster to get more businesses here? It's something that we all need to sit back and think: What's our 20-year plan? We look at that 20-year plan—are we staying on that? Are we going up or are we going [31:46] down? Should we go faster, should we go slower? We do want more people here, it's great, it's a fun town to be in, but that one high school kind of worries me a little bit. All these little kids—you go into these neighborhoods and hopefully they all go trick-or-treating here at the end of the month—all those little kids running around are all going to go to high school. I don't think it's big enough right now. Maybe it's time we think of another high school, maybe we need to expand to other things. But I think we're going a little too fast, a little too soon, and that's where I stand on that. Thank you. [32:26] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Vile. [32:33] Al Vile: Thank you, John. Yeah, growth and pace of growth—let's touch on that first and then we can kind of reel that into another discussion here. You know, we look at current population: a little over 27,000. When we look to the future and look towards 2027, the predictions are around 35,000 to 37,000 residents in Rosemount. And if you equate that and push that out to, say, 2030 to 2035, there are some projections that could even double—so we're looking at 60-some odd thousand. It's possible; those are just projections, so take it as it is. But maintaining and enhancing the hometown feel of Rosemount is [33:18] essential to preserve our sense of community and the quality of life for its residents. I think that every citizen of Rosemount would agree that that is what we want to do—we need to maintain our hometown feel because that's what brought us all here. So there's some strategies that can be considered—and I agree with Rob—are we growing too fast? Maybe. Maybe we need to temper it a little bit. And yes, the high school is a problem, but I think that's being addressed by the referendum that went through, so I think the future is looking a little brighter on that side. But we still need [34:05] to consider that. Some of the strategies that we could look at as well are preserving community character: implementing certain zoning and land use regulations that protect the city's unique heritage and character. Some of that has been done already in terms of the plans that have gone about so far. I think that those should always be revisited as we look towards 2030 and 2040. Supporting local businesses is key: create a business-friendly environment that encourages the small business. I'm a big small business proponent; I'd [34:51] like to see four or five Gipsi's within Rosemount—obviously different food—and I'd like to see that rather than big corporate-owned franchises. Improving the public spaces and parks—we do a very good job of that right now, and I think we could extend that as well to maintain our hometown feel. And then there's a lot of other strategies that we could employ as we move forward, but we might need to temper it a little bit. Thank you. [35:25] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Klimpel. [35:28] Tami Klimpel: All right. Our current pace of residential growth is required to attract restaurant and retail development to our town that our residents are asking for and craving. So we know that as our town grows, we are pressed with maintaining our hometown feel, and this requires consistent communication, Councilmember visibility, and engaging community events. Some of these are already in flight or works in progress. The City Council actively provides feedback to the city's communications team, and my colleagues on the Council and I make efforts to attend community events and gatherings and to show up where our residents are connecting. I've mentioned before that structurally, I believe it's important to maintain a neighborhood approach as we continue this residential growth. For example, most if not all single-family home developments are required to build a community park amenity. My own neighborhood is like that. As the town [36:24] grows around us, we can connect within our neighborhood parks and our trail system too. Our trail system interconnects our neighborhood parks and community trails with the Koch Minnesota Trail, Carroll's Woods (which is my favorite place in town), Spring Lake Park, the future McMenomy Woods, and others. As an experience, it includes sponsoring engaging events from Leprechaun Days to Night to Unite, to celebrating and promoting our downtown district in our annual Holiday Night on the Town. And as we continue to grow, these events can continue to expand our outreach and engagement with many groups in the city. Finally, I think it's important to maintain close [37:10] relationships with our local schools, youth organizations, and athletic associations, as our community's heart beats with every marching band performance, every stadium night light, and every achievement of our local youth. As we all grow Rosemount Irish Pride with our hometown feel as well. Thank you. [37:34] John Alof: Thank you. On to question five: There's been much discussion on a new project being planned for Rosemount called "Project Bigfoot" within the city, and in print in the region as the Meta Facebook operation. Given what you know of the [37:56] project as of today, do you support this direction? Why or why not? You have three minutes, and we'll start with Candidate Vile. [38:15] Al Vile: Thank you, John. You know, the problem with this project and in supporting the direction—the question is stated as "based on what we know of the project as of today." I think that's the statement that most of us would have a problem with because, as opposed to other projects that ran the same process [38:42] through the city and through the City Council and were approved, no one is having a problem with the fact that they were under project names. We all understand that that is how the process works. Each one—Home Depot Distribution Center had a project name, FedEx had a project name—I don't think there's any problem with that. I think the biggest problem with this project, and why it's gotten so much attention, is a couple of things. One is that it was such "cloak and dagger" that it seems to us as citizens that how this came about, how it was negotiated, and how it was learned about... Project Bigfoot, that [39:28] project name, has been around for years, and yet it was only until and by accident leaked through the media that the parent company ultimately was Meta, parent company of Facebook. And I think that is part of the problem. The secondary problem is, up to this point, we as citizens know nothing about what Meta is planning on doing or what their plan is in terms of: How are they going to accommodate impact studies such as environmental impact studies, water impact study, electrical grid impact study? How is the infrastructure going to be defined and planned [40:15] around the center? I have been rather vocal about my—and I will not say the word opposition to this project—the correct term is: I do not support the project based upon what I know currently and what citizens know currently. I agree in progress—progress is a great thing—but progress for the sake of progress without having all the details is not progress. So, we don't have any of those details, so it's really hard to give support in any direction until we learn of those things. Thank you. [41:00] John Alof: Candidate Klimpel. [41:04] Tami Klimpel: All right. Both my opponents went on record with either their opposition or lack of support for Project Bigfoot at the October 3rd City Council meeting. I believe this represents not only a rush to judgment but a fundamental misunderstanding of the community and economic development process, which will not serve Rosemount or its residents well. With regard to Project Bigfoot's current status, I support the rights of private landowners to sell their land. I support the rights of landowners to request rezoning in alignment with guided use plans. I support expanding our tax base—in this case, the potential to return 280 acres to our tax rolls. And I support [41:51] entertaining any developer who brings economic opportunity to this town. I hope Project Bigfoot will culminate in a proposed data center coming ahead of our resident-led Planning Commission process for review and public hearing. It is at that time in the process where we all will have an opportunity to react to the proposal together, which will include possible building designs at that time, projected noise levels, water usage, power consumption, environmental impact, and all other details. But again, any opposition at this point in time is not only premature but detrimental to the city's [42:36] position with this developer and others. In my research on data centers, I reached out to other communities for their real-life experiences and perspectives. They assured me that the resident-led Planning Commission process works to mitigate concerns, and they all reported positive long-term benefits. Russ Trimble, the mayor of West Des Moines, Iowa—home of five Microsoft data centers—shared his perspective that, quote, "A data center is likely to be the single biggest shot of adrenaline your city can get for its economic future." Dean O'Connor, mayor of Altoona, Iowa—home of the largest active Meta data center in the world—shared that Meta has been an incredible partner to his town, [43:24] investing in the town's infrastructure and donating to their schools. I am hopeful that Project Bigfoot results in a proposal for our review and evaluation together through the resident-led Planning Commission process. As a City Councilmember, it is my job to represent all residents of Rosemount, not just the loudest. If and when a proposal comes before us, we will review it within our processes and make determinations for the good of Rosemount and all our residents. Thank you. [43:53] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Hendle. [43:58] Robert Hendle: Um, I do agree with... Al and I were very vocal at the one meeting we had here. That's the most I've heard about Meta since we heard about Meta and Project Bigfoot. There were some flags that were brought up for me. Why did our City Council sign a confidential agreement? Nobody else knew that. UMore land was going to build an all-green solar panel thing, all this stuff out there; they decided not to because there's hazardous waste out there, or contaminated soil was one of the reasons—it was going to cost too much to dispose of it. Now it's gone—where did it go? It doesn't go away. [44:57] There's a lot of questions I have about that. Was there an ammunition plant there? Nobody wanted to dig there. I heard years ago—one resident I talked to today told me his nephew, he's got to be 90 right now or 80 right now, found a blasting cap out there. That would make it contaminated. Once you disturb that soil, you're "birthing" that soil—you have to, whoever touches it and digs it, is responsible for that. I don't want that to come back onto the city. And then one other red flag: Why do they come in under a different name? From what I know about Project Bigfoot, they want to add 35,000 people—a city within a city. No tax increases? Anybody [45:42] else? They're going to build a school, they say. Well, this is all I've heard from others. Who's going to plow the streets? Who's going to patrol the streets? Is our police force big enough? Is our city maintenance big enough? That's something we all need to consider if they're going to do that there. Are we going to have to hire more city employees? We going to have to buy more dump trucks? One dump truck costs $400,000. There's a lot of unanswered questions right now and I don't understand why we haven't heard anything about this. Al and I were vocal and I think we have the right to be vocal. When it comes out, we'll know more. And even for the Bigfoot project—the Mayor just the other day [said] there is no [46:29] project in front of them. Why are we talking about it if there's no project? There is a project if they had to sign a confidential agreement; there's something in the works and I think every resident in Rosemount needs to know it. That's going to be a big factor. I don't want to just look at this as a tax revenue; we need to consider every option. Thank you. [47:04] John Alof: Thank you. Move on to question six: The city's Lifetime partnership is certainly innovative, and the city announced plans to build a large Public Works and public safety shared facility. What are your thoughts on these two initiatives, and do [47:18] you—or did you—support them and why or why not? And we'll start with Candidate Klimpel. [47:34] Tami Klimpel: All right. I have supported both of these projects and for very different reasons. First, with regards to the Lifetime Fitness partnership: I know that community surveys for years found that our residents wanted a recreation center in town. Long before I was a member of Council, I remember seeing city newsletters where they explored the possibility and drew up designs. But the long-term economics of that effort just weren't fiscally viable. And so with that project shelved, the city turned to other hopes of developing Akron and 42, but they met with developer resistance at that intersection—that it just wasn't ready. This public-private [48:05] partnership with Lifetime finally gets our residents the rec center option they've craved with discounted memberships and significantly upgraded amenities. But more importantly, Lifetime also stepped up as the long-sought developer of that intersection, and the "cherry on top" is that the prestige of their brand is attracting far more excitement and interest in business opportunities at that intersection than we even anticipated. Second, with regards to the PD/PW campus: In my original application to City Council, I shared that I viewed local government as responsible for maintaining and enhancing livability. This includes administering all the little things that add up to our daily resident experience—our parks and trails, our snow removal, public safety, and more. I know it's not all exciting all the time, but these are the little things a city needs to get right. In Rosemount, we call it "making normal happen." To keep "making normal happen," it is painfully clear that our police and Public Works staff have outgrown their current physical spaces. A resident task force came to that same conclusion years ago and began the planning effort for the facility we see being constructed on Biscayne Avenue today. In my work as City Councilmember, I'm proud to have been involved in this home stretch. We weighed project inclusions and exclusions in the name of fiscal responsibility, and we weighed funding options with the successful goal of maintaining our Double A+ credit rating. This modern facility will better enable our [49:39] Public Works crews in their work at making normal happen for all of us. And for our police team working in a profession coming off of some very trying years, this facility includes amenities for their physical, mental, and professional preparedness. I stand by my support of this project, and to steal a line from Police Chief Dahlstrom, I will stand by my decision to "help the people who help the people." Thank you. [50:15] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Hendle. [50:19] Robert Hendle: Um, I got a little heartburn with the Lifetime partnership, I could say. They're going to give every Rosemount resident $10 off; that's not even [50:27] 10%. If Rosemount is going to own the building, maybe we should get a better deal. I think maybe we should get founder memberships—we all "own a brick" in that building; every resident probably owns a brick of that building. It's good that they came, but we're dealing with a billion-dollar company; they own every other building. Why do we have to own this one? That kind of rubbed me a little wrong; that's one of my things there. For the police station and the Public Works: I think the police station and the Public Works have way outgrown their areas here. We do have crime in Rosemount and our police officers need everything they need to do their job. If they're going to put holding cells in there, give it to them. We just talked at the City Council the other day—they're going to get some [51:13] better cameras, they're going to get better door locks. They are our safety, and if we don't support them, there's something wrong. The Public Works trucks are getting bigger; everything's getting bigger, everything's getting more expensive. But they take care of our city streets; they make it so you can get to work every day. They plow your roads; they're there before I go to work in the morning sometimes. If they need more money—which it already had an increase, we're spending a lot of money in that building—I think they should get what they need to do it, because they are a support team for the city and for our police, and we need to support that. Thank you. [51:53] John Alof: Candidate Vile. [51:58] Al Vile: Yeah, thanks John. If I were a member of the City Council during the time that both of these projects were being approved or disapproved, I would have supported both of them and I would have approved both of them. I think it's a great addition in terms of an amenity which the citizens absolutely desire within Rosemount. To have a large Lifetime facility as is planned, it will be very well received by the citizens of Rosemount. With that being said, I agree with Rob that I think since we're owning the building and several other aspects [52:44] of the project, I think Lifetime could give us a little bit more. I used to be a Lifetime membership holder and it just... it can be very expensive. I would expect that given everything that we have tied from a city to the Lifetime project, that the residents would get a little bit more than what they are getting now. In terms of the PD/PW, absolutely I would support that. One of my top priorities is public safety and supporting the police department and first responders, and especially supporting [53:31] the officer wellness program that Rosemount has won an award for. I support continuing that, continuing to support that and the funding for that. When we look at the police contact statistics that have gone on, think about this: Between the year... so we're looking at October 13, 2023, as compared to 2022, police contacts were decreased by 3.54%. That is because we have had additional officers on duty, but I think that we could reduce that even further given the facilities that the police department needs in order to [54:17] accommodate all the things that they need for reducing the crime rate. As far as the Public Works, I totally agree with Rob. Trucks are getting bigger, there's more necessity for the services around Public Works, and to accommodate that, we just needed a bigger building and a bigger area in order to facilitate that. And so I totally agree with that. Thank you. [54:43] John Alof: Okay, well we’ve reached time for final candidate remarks. We used a number generator to get the speakers here, so we're going to mix it up a little bit here. Each of the candidates, if you please give us your wrap-up comments, and you will have [55:05] three minutes each. And we start with Candidate Hendle. [55:16] Robert Hendle: All right. Well, thank you for letting me have this opportunity and thank my fellow candidates for participating in this. I may not have answered all your questions the right way today. I'm a blue-collar worker; I hold my own, I can't be bought. I spent $267 on my campaign; I put out 30 signs. But in my business, I get to talk to a lot of people. This is a great city we live in and we are moving forward. We'll continue to move forward no matter what happens, no matter which one of us wins. We're still going to have a great City Council and we're going to do better. You know, the police chief loved this building; he said... he was here the other day when I was here and he stood [55:50] up and said, "I'll come back every day and answer questions for you." Mike's a great guy, so I think we need to give him... we will support everything that he needs, I believe. If I win, I'll do a great job for you. I will not let you down. Thank you. [56:07] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Klimpel. [56:22] Tami Klimpel: All right. I've already spoken a bit tonight about the love I have for Rosemount and my call to serve this community and my fellow residents and my positions on some pressing issues. So in closing, I want to call out some important distinctions between myself and the other candidates. The first distinction is proven: my local volunteer ties and experience run deep. Dating back to my [56:38] children's days at Shannon Park Elementary, I've been engaged with school extracurricular and volunteer experiences in this town. I am that person who dives in and works on things for the people around me—whether fundraising for a youth baseball trip to Cooperstown, managing communications for RAAA through a pandemic, or managing policy, bylaws, budget, and administration as president of RAAA. The second distinction is experienced: My 25-plus year career in banking and financial services and my family's foray into small business ownership have exposed me to the ways that small business economic development and even public-private partnerships [57:24] work. My leadership experience in managing teams and budgets in both my career and my volunteer roles, and my experience on City Council where I've demonstrated an understanding of the community and economic development process and a willingness to hear things out without a rush to judgment. And finally, nonpartisan: I understand that my job as City Councilmember is to represent all residents of Rosemount. I know this work will tap me to listen to residents across many viewpoints and to potentially lobby or collaborate with county, state, and federal leaders across the spectrum for the good of our city. Rosemount is best represented by a nonpartisan team who can keep focused on [58:11] what's best for Rosemount, our town, and our residents. I serve my fellow residents with a love for this town and a passion for advocating for what is right. For those in the room tonight, watching at home, or on video recording, I appreciate your time and I hope we can keep doing great things together with your vote on or before November 7th. Thank you. [58:27] John Alof: Thank you. Candidate Vile. [58:43] Al Vile: Thanks, John. In closing, I'd like to say that I believe I have many, if not all, of the traits and characteristics to make a successful member of the City Council and do my part to work as part of the team and work as a team to make Rosemount [58:58] safe and prosperous. The experience that I have with three decades as an IT professional leading technical teams in solution development and design and go-to-market, as well as being a small business owner—owning two small businesses, as a matter of fact—doing all of that has given me the experience to be a leader, to be a listener, to be one that strives to build solutions to the problem at hand. If I were to be elected by the citizens of Rosemount, I want all of them [59:43] to know that my duty as a Councilmember is to them, not outside influencers. If I do not agree with something that's going on, I'm going to make sure to call that out and not just say "yes," and I'll be recorded as such. Because I want my citizens to know that I will not be working for anyone else other than the citizens of this great town we call Rosemount. I'd like to thank Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce for giving me an opportunity to talk about some of the items and the issues that are on all our minds and the minds of the citizens of Rosemount. Thank you as well to the City of Rosemount for the use of this great [1:00:31] space that we have. I would appreciate your vote. Thank you. [1:00:37] John Alof: This is the very best of what democracy in our country looks like, and why I love Dakota County and in particular the City of Rosemount, that espouses this kind of discussion—professionally done, professionally handled, answers well prepared. I just want to thank the candidates, and I think we should all thank the candidates for the time they spent today with us. Thank you. Thank you. [1:01:20] So the candidates have done their part; they've made time tonight to come and speak with us. They've disagreed on some points and agreed on others. Certainly, you know where each of them stand on a number of key issues. And so, as I said, they've done their part—now it's time for you to do yours. If you haven't voted, Election Day is Tuesday, November 7th. Get it done. Thank you candidates. [1:01:41] Candidates: Thanks, John. Thank you. Thanks, John. [1:01:44] [Applause] [Music]