Based on the context of the Farmington City Council candidate forum (specifically the 2018 election context mentioned at the end of the transcript), here is the transcribed dialogue with the correct speaker names. Note: I have corrected the phonetic spelling of the names (e.g., "Maureen Scallen Failor" instead of "marine scale and Feiler" and "Katie Bernhjelm" instead of "Katie Beirne jump"). **[0:03] Maureen Scallen Failor:** [Music] good evening and welcome my name is Maureen Scallen Failor, president of Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce is the influential regional voice that champions promotion and improvement of the business environment cultivating vibrant regional **[0:49] Maureen Scallen Failor:** and local communities the chamber unites businesses by influencing public policy providing networking and professional development opportunities and encourages economic development as citizens of this great community we have the right to cast our vote for individuals that represent our interests the leaders you elect make the decisions that affect you your job health care taxes economic security our future workforce and more tonight's candidate forum is one opportunity to educate and engage voters of the city of Farmington we are honored **[1:38] Maureen Scallen Failor:** to have these candidates with us this evening running for the Farmington City Council this election will have two candidates elected to serve a few updates about the forum this evening Trina green has suspended her campaign I have received emails from candidates Jason Lamberson and Brett Wilson saying that they were not able to participate in tonight's forum we have decided to allow a write-in candidate to participate Joshua Hoyt this decision was deliberated and approved by the Dakota County Regional Chamber Executive Committee please help me welcome the **[2:25] Maureen Scallen Failor:** candidates who are participating this evening incumbent city council member Katie Bernhjelm, hold your calls please we have Nick Gessel, Joshua Hoyt, Joel Pritchett and Phil Winchell. Before we begin I would like to go over the rules and the code of conduct for this evening questions can be submitted for consideration during the forum all questions need to be addressed for the candidates for all candidates to respond please submit questions to the gentlemen up here in the white shirt we may not be **[3:10] Maureen Scallen Failor:** able to address all the questions with the time we have available but we'll do our best all seats have been assigned in a predetermined order switching seats is not an option each candidate will be given two minutes for an opening statement Nicole McCarthy our staff at the chamber will act as our timekeeper she will hold the yellow card indicating when you have 15 seconds remaining she will hold a red stop card when your time is up consideration for the stop card would be appreciated each candidate will have one minute to respond to each question a candidate can use less than one minute **[3:55] Maureen Scallen Failor:** when answering but cannot exceed one minute the order of candidates to answer the questions will alternate as each new question is asked finally each candidate will have one minute to provide a closing statement I will now review the code of conduct for tonight we will ask that you hold up no signs or any physical displays while on the premise refrain from applauding or in other ways demonstrating support or non support for a candidate please silence all cell phones there will be no taping of this form by audience members all right we will now **[4:42] Maureen Scallen Failor:** start with our opening comments and we will start with incumbent City Council member Katie Bernhjelm. **[4:42] Katie Bernhjelm:** [Music] Thank You Maureen and the Dakota County Regional Chamber for hosting us here tonight for those of you who don't know me I want to share a little bit more about my background and what I bring to this position I'm entering my sixth season working for the Minnesota Vikings in partnership activation and special projects and prior to joining the Vikings I worked in business development and special events at Mall of America I'm originally from Apple Valley and I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in communications my husband Will is a combat veteran and currently works at Mall of America overseeing their security operations we moved to Farmington a few years ago and you this was going to be a community we'd live in for a long time our daughter Hadley is **[5:28] Katie Bernhjelm:** 17 months old and keeps us entertained with her little personality I've been involved in several different organizations I sat on the board for the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce for two years and have been in fact really involved in the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce for six years through their leadership Twin Cities program prior to moving to Farmington I also spent six years serving on the board for the Eastview Community Foundation as the scholarship chair in April of 2017 I applied for the vacant Farmington City Council seat and at nine months pregnant was sworn in to finish out the term I think critically I set realistic goals and I don't make any false promises having not lived here most of my life I bring a perspective that is different new and unique I think most the most detrimental way of thinking is when you hear people say we've always done it that way that way of thinking will never help Farmington grow tonight my opponents and I are **[6:13] Katie Bernhjelm:** going to discuss issues that face Farmington that most of us probably agree on our taxes are too high we have poor communication and we need more businesses in our community will be most important for you to take away is how each of us plan to achieve that as a councilmember I've strived to find ways to continue making Farmington a city of fiscal excellence I've been supportive of being conservative in our spending paying off debt and working with city staff to prioritize important projects I'm supportive of expanding residential commercial and industrial properties and I believe that my previous and current experience will help the city forge new partnerships and grow the successful ones we have today you should be proud of the high level of engagement and passion we see in this community and together we will make Farmington a great place to live work and play. **[7:00] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick. **[7:00] Nick Gessel:** hi my name is Nick Gessel I come to you guys as a potential Farmington City Council candidate admittedly here to continue to girl the city and make it a better place for all of us as well as my family I live here with my three children Stella Millie and my newest Piper what I bring to you guys is a background of investigation for the last seven years I've worked as an investigator working in private matters what that means to the potential implications that I can bring to the City Council as I come to here with an open mindset as well as an investigative I I think that's what we need within our organization here today being that there are so many issues of transparency communication and items that really come down to promise keeping and the activity of movement I promise that keep a brief to myself so I have **[7:45] Nick Gessel:** done thank you. **[7:45] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua. **[7:45] Joshua Hoyt:** good evening my name is Joshua Hoyt first I'd like to say thank you to the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce for the late ad and allowing me to participate I've been a resident on and off since 2001 and my wife Christie my son Kellen my daughter cami a United States Marine Corps veteran I've got 15 years of retail automotive sales and service experience financial sales and operations management I'm a self-employed general contractor I constantly refer to myself as your average citizen I work hard I love the city and I'm very passionate about what **[8:31] Joshua Hoyt:** we've been able to do in past years and and ultimately what we can do together as a community going forward we've started our campaign built on honesty trust and open communication the word transparency is often over you stand a little diluted but I believe in in light of recent events and things that have happened over the last 30 to 60 days that I've shown you that actions speak much louder than words the common issues that we've struggled for several years and we're diligently working on and our council is currently working on from economic development retail industrial growth reduction of property taxes overall fiscal responsibility you know school safety the the items **[9:18] Joshua Hoyt:** that we all talk about and we need to come together as a community and be proactive not just rely on a council to make decisions that we ultimately live with Thank You. **[9:18] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua, Joel. **[9:18] Joel Pritchett:** good evening my name is Joel Pritchett I was born in Minnie Minnesota moved to Seattle about 20 years ago and one of the things that I bring to the table is that I used to build aircraft and I was juggling 180 million dollar aircraft on a regular basis so I can pretty much help with the juggling of a budget here in Farmington which I hope would be able to lower the taxes in the city a little bit in other places too I was raised in the **[10:03] Joel Pritchett:** restaurant business so I have small business experience I'm a Gulf War vet like I said I worked for Boeing for about 20 years moved back to Minnesota roughly six years ago for family health issues and made Farmington my home because I saw the Farmington being one of the nicest cities around the area it was still small-town to me it's like where I grew up in Park Rapids Minnesota which was a small town and when I got down here I saw that and I thought this is perfect I'm probably the only single person up here so I don't have a family here but I do own a house and I do plan on living here the rest of my life I currently work for l-3 Communications over in Burnsville and that's about it **[10:51] Joel Pritchett:** Thank You. **[10:51] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joel, Phil. **[10:51] Phil Winchell:** thank you I'd first like to start by thanking the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce for hosting this forum and for the continued support for my campaign from the residents of the city my name is Phil Winchell I'm excited for this opportunity to run for City Council and to serve the citizens of Farmington I'm married I have two children ages three year old and a four month old daughters currently I'm a licensed police officer and I have been for 17 plus years during this time I've gained I've had many different within the police department I've gained valuable knowledge not only city politics but also budgets within the city I'm devoted to Farmington I want to **[11:39] Phil Winchell:** see more economic development I want to see affordable housing for both seniors and veterans I want to lower the property taxes and ultimately I want to keep Farmington a safe community and make public safety of my number-one priority for both the police and the fire department as residents of Farmington I believe your voices do need to be heard and as a member of the City Council I will listen to my constituents I'll be honest open organized I'm very responsive and within the city I feel like there needs to be that open communication not only with the police departments the public works but every department within the city I feel they need to have that communication and they need to let the citizens let the residents of Farmington know what's **[12:25] Phil Winchell:** happening within the city and I think that's one area the city lacks right now is the communication with the residents as to what's going on Farmington is one of the top ten safest places to live and I think we owe that to not only the police department but to the city residents we need to keep that legacy going and if I'm elected I will certainly keep Farmington the safest place to live thank you. **[12:25] Maureen Scallen Failor:** thank you Phil now we will move on to the questions and we will start our first question with Nick. If elected what would be your top three priorities? **[13:13] Nick Gessel:** priority number one would would you again go back to I think is gonna be a key word tonight transparency a light education on with transparency I feel as though there's a lot going on with in Farmington there's a lot Farmington has to offer that we're currently doing today that the residents either aren't made aware of or don't fully understand taxes are also a hot-button issue that go with the the transparency in education I feel as though we do again currently have a lot to offer that our taxes are paying for we just need to be educated and informed on what we're doing with those items my second item would again be better fiscal spending and better tax planning looking at what we can do to eliminate high spikes in our taxes as well as as drive down our current tax growth number three would again be public safety looking at public safety **[13:58] Nick Gessel:** we have an issue that's gonna be on the plate for any incoming council members which is selecting a new police chief I think that's going to be highest on our priority list and will be number one for me at least Thank You. **[13:58] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick, Josh. **[13:58] Joshua Hoyt:** my top three priorities number one open communication that's a two-way street that's just not the City Council in our city government as a whole putting information out there because we have a we currently have great access to it the second side of that is community involvement communication is a two-way street neither buyer you need a seller you need a talk or you need a listener we need our community to pull together to be actively involved to become educated aware of and involved overall with all **[14:44] Joshua Hoyt:** situations not just the negative ones proactive number two economic development it's long talked about we we have land available we have current land that's been occupied we need to continue to drive business into this town to ultimately reduce the burden to the to the taxpayers and lasses fiscal responsibility overall we just need to be smart about how we grow our city over the next 10 15 years Thank You. **[14:44] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua, Joel. **[14:44] Joel Pritchett:** top three I would say number one in this town is that we need to get more business in here hotels big business something and we need to work on something to draw people here in the summertime or for all seasons I **[15:31] Joel Pritchett:** shouldn't just say summer because we don't have anything drawing people except for the Dakota County Fair on a yearly basis and one of the big things for me is trying to figure out how to get more money into our town that'd be the biggest priority for me secondly as everybody's going to say transparency make sure everybody has a well a knowledge of everything going on in our Chamber meetings all the time and number three I would say Oh 15 seconds I'll just have to move along Thank You. **[15:31] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joel, Phil. **[16:18] Phil Winchell:** thank you I think the number one priority for me is the communication I think as a as a city we need to let the residents know what's happening what is happening where it's happening I think as a community we also need to unite as one come together so we can all sit down have discussions and see what's best for the city number two is the development certainly we need more retail we need more industrial but we also have to we also have to realize we have a downtown business we got to keep those businesses thriving we got to support those businesses and we got to all work together to make the decision on what we want in Farmington for business and for the future the third thing is Public Safety I'll go to the police chief for an example that's an important decision that needs to be made it affects not only the police department but the city and we need to hire the right person **[17:04] Phil Winchell:** I've got 17 plus years in Dakota County 16 plus years in Dakota County almost 18 total and I can help that cause with the police department Thank You. **[17:04] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil, Katie. **[17:04] Katie Bernhjelm:** my first one is creating Farmington to be an employer of choice we've hired a lot of high level positions over the last few years and we are going to be hiring a police chief next year that's gonna be a top priority and that starts with evaluating the benefits that we offer to those full time staff that we have here to is this is something I brought up earlier this spring with our staff is meeting with the businesses that are already in Farmington and understanding their challenges and what their vision is for this community as well from a hiring and retention standpoint and those are businesses like Dakota electric or Kemp's that have big workforces here and three it's finding ways to fund projects that are currently **[17:50] Katie Bernhjelm:** getting left behind in our city budget things like maintenance projects that we have coming up parks and trails and roads and that's going to be looking at evaluating our budget not only for the next year but the next several years whether that's five years or ten years down the road because right now we don't have funding sources for a lot of those projects and it needs to be discussed sooner rather than later Thank You. **[17:50] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Katie we will now move on to question two. All of you have made comments about attracting and retaining businesses in the city of Farmington how would you characterize the local business climate what if any would you do to improve it and we will start with Joshua. **[18:36] Joshua Hoyt:** I would categorize the local business climate is stable we're not going backwards we don't have businesses leaving the city of Farmington we're not losing dollars most importantly we're just not taking advantage of the situation that we have we have a community full of citizens who are so adamant about being able to spend their money's here in town it's very difficult to go out and have entertainment within the city of Farmington especially if you have a family unless you're eating or you're bowling we have great community events we have great community programs but they're not generating the type of dollars that we need we have to look at the current land that's available we have to make it attractive and continue to draw businesses in before those **[19:22] Joshua Hoyt:** businesses turn to themselves instead of saying why should we go to Farmington they need to be saying I can't believe we didn't get to Farmington earlier Thank You. **[19:22] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua, Joel. **[19:22] Joel Pritchett:** well since I moved here I find it kind of tough sometimes to find places for dinner you know we have limited resources here in town for just something that's simple or go to a movie theater we have to go to Rosemount we have to go to Apple Valley we have to go somewhere else why don't we have a movie theater in Farmington you know I mean it's something really simple like that it's a draw to get people into this town the biggest thing I see is you know Dakota County Fair is obviously massive here it brings in tons of people you get to it helps with all businesses throughout the town I just think that we need to improve and we need to find something more to draw people and other types of businesses you mean maybe some big business we had we have Kemp's maybe there's something else we should be looking at out there that could draw in more revenue more taxes for the town I don't... **[20:51] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Thank You Joel, Phil. **[20:51] Phil Winchell:** yeah thank you I think the business climate is certainly growing and changing you can see that just within the downtown district you know place is remodeling I think one way to improve the business climate in town is certainly getting the residents involved seeing what they want seeing how we can improve to get the word out about businesses being promoted and what they're gonna promote I think community involvement and hearing what the people want and what restaurants they want what businesses they want in town is key to making the city prosper and grow Thank You. **[20:54] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil, Katie. **[21:40] Katie Bernhjelm:** yeah last winter we brought in the Urban Land Institute which came in and evaluated what our strengths and weaknesses were in this community and where we should put some focus and attention and one of the things that they brought up when they were here was that we really need to focus on downtown Farmington it's really unique to our city we don't have major freeways that come through here but we have a really beautiful and nice downtown and how can we drive more businesses and development to that area and created a hub for culture and people and gatherings and so over the last year we've spent a lot of time focusing on **[21:40] Katie Bernhjelm:** that what does that look like does that mean remodeling the rambling River Center to make it a more attractive space for community gatherings it's focusing on those events like the code County Fair that are out here to drive traffic but only that we had ramble jam here last weekend that's a huge traffic driver out here we have dew days how can we keep those that money from those events that are coming to town in the businesses in the downtown area Thank You. **[21:40] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Katie, Nick. **[22:26] Nick Gessel:** characterize our current business climate as budding we're in that awkward stage right now over stuck between a little town in a big city and we need something to perpetuate that and move that forward what that's going to mean is is leveraging the cities around us that have seen success going to the Lakevilles going to Apple Valley what did you guys do how did you present to local businesses to entice them to come to your areas I also think comes through **[22:26] Nick Gessel:** informative change let's learn let's do more of the research projects that Katie spoke to let's look at our traffic flows where are we where we're economically where traffic we're statistically can we support businesses and what types of businesses are those I think then as a whole we come back we present those opportunities as to the city to the city and its residents and allow you guys to guide those decisions as to what's what's brought in first comes with understanding second comes with the decision-making because we bring something in and ultimately can't support it we end up in another situation where we're scrambling to find additional opportunities for growth Thank You. **[23:15] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick. Now we will take a question from the audience. If elected how would you bring the City Council together if there was an issue that was divisive? And we will start with Joel. **[23:15] Joel Pritchett:** well I think teamwork is probably one of the things that wasn't here before or in the past from what I've been seeing there was two or three members that wanted to be on the side of one thing and two members on another I personally don't believe that we can't do anything by ourselves we have to do everything as a group I would probably be the most honest guy up here maybe I'm brutally honest probably to a fault sometimes **[24:02] Joel Pritchett:** so geez it's a tough question I wouldn't let things get out of hand like they did in the past I'll say that much Thank You. **[24:02] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joel, Phil. **[24:02] Phil Winchell:** thank you we're all humans we're not all gonna get along we're not all gonna say see the same viewpoints but I think it's key is to sit down and communicate you know discuss your feelings as to how you see a project how you see a decision that's being made within the city I think the biggest thing we all we all have to set our personal agendas aside this is all for the city of Farmington for the residents of Farmington we can't let our personality and our personal issues engage in these types of conversations and decisions that affects everybody in the city **[24:49] Phil Winchell:** not just the council but all the residents, the businesses so it's key to set our personal agendas aside and make the decision very knowledgeable and with the help of the citizens Thank You. **[24:49] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil, Katie. **[24:49] Katie Bernhjelm:** there's a great quote out there by Simon Sinek who wrote the book Leaders Eat Last and you said when people are emotionally invested they want to contribute and I think we've seen that over the last month or so here of people being very emotionally invested in what's going on you know we talk a lot about communication and that communication starts first with the council and the department heads and you have to find a way to be able to communicate with each other before you communicate with the public and that's really important if we're gonna move Farmington forward and heal from the divide that I think we've created over the last month it's **[25:35] Katie Bernhjelm:** difficult it's not an easy task and like you said we all come to this with different lenses and different perspectives I will say despite maybe public perception I think our council actually right now does work really well together and have a lot of respect for the opinions and ideas that are brought to it it's just a matter of building on that communication how we present those that the topic to the public then afterwards thank you. **[25:35] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Katie, Nick. **[26:22] Nick Gessel:** I think it comes to being level set you know if issues arise you all have to be on the same page you all have to understand what what agendas you drive what your end goals are where you want to be at so in a situation like that I think it's most important again to be transparent to communicate with one another get those things out on the table get those issues you know out in the open so that they can be discussed **[26:22] Nick Gessel:** from what I've seen from from the data released cover or data released that happened different people had different agendas different people had different goals for what took place and just using the police chief's release is a recent example I think more could have been done and more could continue to be done to drive unity and partnership you know it almost goes back to my leadership as I I do today is maybe we need to do some of the cheesy things maybe we need to get together go to the bar or get together do things as a group that helps not only with unity and decisions but unity and getting to know one another and also understand each other's Thank You. **[27:08] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick, Joshua. **[27:08] Joshua Hoyt:** most importantly I've always looked at myself as the voice of reason when you have a city council or any organization that collaborates as a group you're going to disagree you have to be respectful of the opinions of others if you expect them to be respectful of you it's that simple it's very open clear communication working together ultimately for the benefit of the citizens of Farmington the job in the role of a City Council member is to represent the citizens if you can't collectively work together and work through these issues regardless what they are what would you expect the public perception to be you have to have tact with facts you have to be able to sit in **[27:55] Joshua Hoyt:** a room and look across the table and say to somebody I respectfully disagree here's why but yet you have to listen to them at the same time when you work together you make change Thank You. **[27:55] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua. All right we will now move on to question three. Do you believe there are additional services that the city should be providing if so please explain and are there any services that the city should reduce or eliminate if so please explain? And we are going to start with Phil. **[28:41] Phil Winchell:** thank you additional services that the city could provide is you know nowadays you read about a lot of mental health issues in the community you know I think it's key to provide services to these people for their mental health is illnesses I've been a cop for 17 plus years I see the mental health illnesses in town and a lot of departments are changing and they're getting a social worker from the county in a Police Department in a city to help with these issues you know one of the services they provide is this vitals program it's a new program to Dakota County it helps people know about who has what mental health illness as a law enforcement officer it helps us treat them it helps first responders so I think that's key and that's certainly one additional service **[29:28] Phil Winchell:** that the city could provide Thank You. **[29:28] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil, Katie. **[29:28] Katie Bernhjelm:** I agree actually in vitals as a program that we've been looking at over the last couple months after a resident actually brought that to a recent City Council meeting and I agree with you I think it would be a great addition to the work that our police officers and firefighters are already doing and a great resource to the community in terms of reducing or eliminating things that the city is doing I think that's something that's going to need to continue to be evaluated if we want to reduce taxes something has to get cut along the way if we are going to keep those in check and that's a constant evolving process as we look at things like our garbage service and sanitation and water and all of those things that are important services that we provide residents we want to find the most cost **[30:14] Katie Bernhjelm:** effective way to deliver those out of high quality. **[30:14] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick. **[30:14] Nick Gessel:** ties back to the other question of what are the top three things you would do this is another one that would be good on the list is coming to you as citizens what are the services that you wish to see within your community and what are some of the services that you guys are under utilizing or don't know about and taking the opportunity to educate the citizens on what's out there what's available and then doing a litmus test what what are we using what aren't we using that's a great way to start with with either dialing back or eliminating and then that has to be a majority decision it can't be my personal opinion or anybody that sits up here in my places personal opinion some of the things that I think we could continue to expand on are social services within our community I believe that the way it currently sits **[30:59] Nick Gessel:** today there's not much to offer there and or there's a lack of education as to what sits within our group things like the city pool that recently was shut down looking at expanding or changing opportunities for something along those lines that will continue to bring people and keep people in Farmington Thank You. **[30:59] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick, Joshua. **[30:59] Joshua Hoyt:** one of the services that we need to expand on and ultimately add to within our community is is drive our own economic development we currently have some great programs that are in place that within the last 18 months from the storefront signage improvement grant program to land development studies we need to continue to put money in areas where we can make land ready and when if a **[31:45] Joshua Hoyt:** prospective buyer comes up and is ready to pull a trigger on a twenty million dollar business is a landowner prepared and ready to turn over that land if they're not we lose it the opportunity anything we can do to drive revenue is ultimately going to lead into the second part of that high profit organizations control their expenses they don't have to cut programs if we can generate more revenue to the city we wouldn't have to worry about what we're taking away we can build a well balanced budget have good fiscal management and put ourselves an opportunity to appease all parties Thank You. **[31:45] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua, Joel. **[32:31] Joel Pritchett:** well I've only lived here two years so I don't think I'm qualified yet to say what you know needs to be changed or what needs to be taken out of the city I do believe that it's the the people that will tell the council what it is that they want I I've never been the type of person to not listen to people that's kind of what I'm really good at I've always been a good listener so I can use that to you know hopefully make Farmington better I'm not as eloquent as Josh and Katie and these guys but you know I think that's a big thing if you listen to your constituents you're going to find out what it is that they need what it is they want and you know you move on from there Thank You. **[33:17] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joel. Onto the next question and this will be a yes or a no question so we can keep the questions going. Is it the role of local government to establish workforce regulation for example minimum wage and safe and sick leave? And we're gonna start with Katie. Yes or no. **[34:03] Katie Bernhjelm:** no. **[34:03] Nick Gessel:** no. **[34:03] Joshua Hoyt:** no. **[34:03] Joel Pritchett:** no. **[34:03] Maureen Scallen Failor:** that was easy alright I am now gonna go to a question from the audience. Every city is required to have a comprehensive plan could you please explain what the city of Farmington's comprehensive plan is and why is it important to the city to have one? And we are going to start with Nick. **[34:03] Nick Gessel:** look perfect you know that the comprehensive plan is looking towards the future and and what our goals are what our aspirations are as a city where do we want to be what we want to see a comprehensive plan it's kind of your your wish to be why it's important is is to continue to drive towards the central goal or a common goal how are we going to get there what do we need to do to drive towards our goal our lofty plan and it it needs to continue to be I would call it a pie in the sky type of deal you want to hope for the best you want to drive for the best and it's needed to figure out how to get there it's it's your roadmap to **[34:49] Nick Gessel:** city success it's your roadmap to guide what what you as the residents are looking for and want and it's a way to continue growth and sponsor growth Thank You. **[34:49] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick, Joshua. **[34:49] Joshua Hoyt:** ultimately your comprehensive plan is a combination of the vision of the city your financial plan for overall growth a comprehensive plan needs to be ever-changing and adaptive as you work through certain things economic development changes in population rapid growth you have to have the versatility to recognize that intentions are well sometimes things need to be changed you have to adapt improvise and overcome we use the term in sales management of backing yourself into a budget when you lay out a comprehensive plan it's not a path of **[35:35] Joshua Hoyt:** where you want to go it's an idea of where you want to end up and how do we ultimately get there and back ourselves into it we want to grow into a certain size for business and industry we want to have a certain vision downtown we want to maintain these things how do we get there and it's an action plan that ties everything together Thank You. **[35:35] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua, Joel. **[35:35] Joel Pritchett:** what they said um no I you know for me it's it is growth it is moving forward we need to we need to have a it's just like with business you have to have a plan you have to grow constantly and we it the business that I'm in is a it's a very very rough business that we're always looking for that little edge to to get better and in order for Farmington to **[36:22] Joel Pritchett:** get better we have to be able to draw people in here we need to be able to draw businesses in here and that's what a comprehensive plan is is trying to get those businesses here in my view. **[36:22] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil. **[36:22] Phil Winchell:** well thank you I think the comprehensive plan is how do you want the city to look for the future and for the present you know as residents you want the city to look you know for future developments within the city down the road I think the city lacked the vision of the Comprehensive Plan you know five ten years ago if they had had a plan in place five ten years ago we probably won't be in this place that we are today looking for the future trying to plan on developments so I think it's key I think you got to have some strategic planning you got to sit **[37:08] Phil Winchell:** down and discuss what we want the city to look like five ten eight years from now Thank You. **[37:08] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil, Katie. **[37:08] Katie Bernhjelm:** yes so I we are actually in the process this year of working on the 2040 comp plan and I'll be honest before I joined the council I didn't know what it was either but the Met Council does requires to do this 20 years out and it's looking at the zoning through all the properties throughout the city and what's going to be zoned for switches owning whether it's switching from agricultural zoning to residential zoning and industrial zoning and all of that and I served last year on our committee that worked with our neighboring cities and how our comp plan interacts with them so had several meetings with Empire Township especially a long highway three corridor and how all of the work that we're doing on both sides of us and them are working **[37:54] Katie Bernhjelm:** together on that comp plan so that we're meeting both of our goals for growth and development in the future it's actually also one of the best ways to engage residents in our future planning there was several public meetings held over the last year for residents to come and weigh in on the twenty forty comp plan and what they would like to see for growth around the city as well thank you. **[37:54] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Katie we will now move on to the next question. Do you feel the current level of transportation transit services in Farmington is adequate whose role is it to ensure there is in is an investment in infrastructure? And we are going to start with Joshua. **[38:41] Joshua Hoyt:** do I feel the current level of transportation transit services in Farmington is adequate I would first have to reach out to the citizen as a NASA dome are you utilizing the services that are in place in what areas would you like to see growth we can create on the local level any type of public transit system that we want we ultimately have to work with our neighboring communities the county in the state look at available resources and then go back to our comprehensive plan and decide does it fall within the vision of where we want to be do we have the financial resources to do the things that that the citizens are asking for if so we move forward Thank You. **[38:41] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua, Joel. **[39:27] Joel Pritchett:** I would say no looking around we see that the buses only make it to roughly down here on Cocina Road alright yeah we don't it doesn't make it very far we don't get down here close enough to Farmington we don't have any light rail down here which we're not going to get [Music] but do we need it I mean really the city is probably pretty self-contained you know people you don't have cars I mean if everybody has cars and stuff down here I don't I don't think that we need any of that kind of stuff down here personally I think it's a waste of money be honest with you. **[40:12] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil. **[40:12] Phil Winchell:** thank you I would say no to the question of is the level of transportation services adequate I think we can provide more services to the town more people come into town if we had a bus line you see something as simple as bikes you know bikes on the street corner you know why not have something like that to utilize to get people into to spend their money to make the economic part of Farmington grow you know you could have a bus dropping people off downtown let's say they want to come from Rosemount you know what's what's what's the stop us from having a bus stop it gets people in town it shows them the town you know and get somewhere own to spend their money Thank You. **[40:12] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil, Katie. **[40:59] Katie Bernhjelm:** I agree I don't think the current level of transportation services is adequate in the city and that is one of the challenges of not being off of a major freeway in the area that we are in and it's going to be a crucial part of attracting businesses to Farmington of having a solution for that I think I saw our County Commissioner sitting in the audience here and I actually I think this is a question I even defer to them because I think they're doing great things around transportation in Dakota County I'm gonna botch it but I know we just recently pulled out of we pulled out of a regional transportation fund that we were contributing to and now that money is staying within Dakota County so I think you're gonna see more projects around transportation start to happen over the next five or ten years and Farmington is going to benefit from that actually and it is a great decision that the county made and for everybody let lives in this area thank you Katie. **[41:45] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Katie and I believe you were referring to CTIB thank you yeah. Nick. **[41:45] Nick Gessel:** this question comes down to you know more a deeper question of accessibility and what can we offer to get people into town and what can we offer to get people out of town and make that attractive in order to attract residents you have to have these services to provide them you do have people that don't have vehicles that don't have any way to transport themselves to and from so they need both a way to get in and out of the city and that'll help both business growth as well as residential growth you'll attract the people to the city that may not prefer to drive but honestly this is this is going to come down a resident question I can't honestly speak to the current light of the transit system in place because I don't utilize it but it would be something that I would be interested in learning more about from all of you Thank You. **[42:32] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick. Unto the next question. What is the biggest challenge facing the city of Farmington today and in the next 10 years? And we're gonna start with Joel. **[42:32] Joel Pritchett:** like I said it's a drawing in business and in people we need to get more people here because if we get more business we get more families we will draw will be able to get more taxes and reduce the taxes for the rest of us which is the biggest issue around here as far as I'm concerned. **[42:32] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil. **[43:18] Phil Winchell:** I think the biggest challenge facing the city today is hiring a police chief you know I know that's been a hot topic in town and you know I think everybody knows it's costing the taxpayers money by having an interim chief and a chief gone that we're paying severance pay for two years so I think that is the biggest challenge right now and to get everybody that was for the resignation or against it together to unite as one to get to back together to get to the nuts and bolts of the city you know to get to the development of the city to get people moving to town to spend their money you know and for everybody just to reunite and to move forward as a city Thank You. **[43:18] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil, Katie. **[44:04] Katie Bernhjelm:** yeah I think there's a difference between the challenge today and what the challenges over the next ten years today I agree it is the police chief situation and the divide that that's caused in our community and at some point here we need to find a way to move forward together and make a solution for that I think over the next 10 years though the issue that I see that's most important is actually maintenance projects that the city needs to get done we did a maintenance survey research survey last year and it found that we have over 10 million dollars in maintenance projects **[44:04] Katie Bernhjelm:** that need to start occurring and there's no funding source for that currently and it's major things like roofs in this area fixing sidewalks things that are going to make sure that these buildings that we've created like the one that you're sitting in remain nice for residents to use for futures and we can't fall behind on those projects and that's something that keeps me up at night is how are we gonna fund that without causing a huge tax burden on our residents Thank You. **[44:04] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Katie, Nick. **[44:49] Nick Gessel:** over the next ten years we got to make a decision big city little city with that comes the opportunity to drive additional business grow business growth and the size of businesses which we desire over 10 years if we continue to drive that as an opportunity for growth within the city we'll see some of those things funded that Katie was just speaking to will see that funding come so I think we're a point in our development as a city as a whole right now we're seeing a lot of out-of-pocket expenses or out of city expenses that are being covered those things will slow down and we need to continue to look towards what our future is going to be in in 10 years I believe that again is is the big city little city debate we need to decide which direction we're going are we going to try to pull in some of these bigger businesses or are we going to try to appeal to a smaller business crowd something similar to Stillwater downtown area Thank You. **[44:49] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick, Joshua. **[45:34] Joshua Hoyt:** biggest challenge today and challenge is not a negative word it's simply that's a challenge we need to have community involvement look at everything that's happened eyes are on it when eyes are on it there's attention put towards it and actions can be made when we're aware of it we're involved I attended my first school board meeting on the same sheet of paper was January's roster we have almost 8,000 students and I was one of 35 for the year that had attended a school board meeting to me that's unbelievable we can't have growth we can't go through those challenges unless our citizens are involved over the next 10 years we have to look at the diminishing hole that is land we're either gonna have homes on them and we're not going to have the opportunity to have the development in the commercial industrial retail or it's all going to be homes and we've got to make that decision quickly we've got to be proactive we have to get businesses in here now we have to have somebody break ground and start when it starts it's a cascading effect okay thank you. **[46:22] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Josh. I am now gonna go to a question from the audience and we will be starting with you Phil. How will you work with other council members if you disagree or have strong disagreement? **[46:39] Phil Winchell:** it goes back to my whole point you got to set your personal agenda aside this is for the city this is for the residents you have to sit down you have to be able to communicate you got to be open to listening to the other council members you got to be able to take criticism and if you can't take criticism then you know then you're probably not made to be on the council I think you need to have an open mind and you've got to be willing to to go on either side of the issue I think you got a you got to be able to sit down you got to be able to talk and you got to be able to put your input in without feeling like you're being bashed or turned away Thank You. **[46:39] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil, Katie. **[47:25] Katie Bernhjelm:** I think it starts with creating a collaboration mindset and knowing that when you go into something you need to be open to the ideas that others are sharing with you and start with instead of saying no or that you disagree right away of I like that idea here's how we can make it better though and maybe here's how I would change it or evolve it into something that is gonna work well for all residents and all of us that are sitting in the room and and that it does start with having conversations being open and honest not having your feelings hurt over things sometimes those situations get uncomfortable and you have to be okay to live in the realm of uncomfortableness sometimes to get through that Thank You. **[47:25] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Katie, Nick. **[48:14] Nick Gessel:** excuse me continue to expand on my answer previously - you know divisive issues within the council I think it comes down to what do you guys want it has nothing to do with our personal agendas up here we're voting on what's in the best interest of you as a as a whole and as a excuse me as a citizen group I think I think once we have your guys's best interests in mind it will help us align our decisions and then it's about driving one another over that final hump and how do you do that again is through transparency through one another and equally representing both sides of the fence and being able to be open to and listen to both sides of the fence but ultimately coming back to the greater majority and the citizen group and saying in the end what do you guys want here's why or why we can't do it and then bringing that back to the group I believe that would answer and remove a lot of those barriers that would be caused some similar to the situation Thank You. **[48:14] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick, Joshua. **[49:01] Joshua Hoyt:** ultimately you have to be able work together through disagreements it's easier said than done there's very difficult conversations there's many decisions that have to be made by the council times that you don't envy council members for having to make those decisions and then have the recourse through citizens of we didn't know we didn't understand so it's believe it's just collaboratively working within the council I think it's it's continued community involvement the more people are involved the more aware we as citizens of this town are of what's going on oh my gosh we can accomplish anything and we have so many resources at our disposal but we have to be able sit in a room and look across the table and say you know I don't understand and I don't agree but I need more information help me understand your opinion your viewpoint and sometimes you have to be able to stand back and just say you know **[49:47] Joshua Hoyt:** what you're right Thank You. **[49:47] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua and finally Joel. **[50:33] Joel Pritchett:** I think you have to be able to say that you're wrong if you have an opinion about something and it isn't right for the community you have to be able to stand up and go it's not just me that I'm here for it's for it's everybody I found out a lot in life that people who can't tell you that they're wrong usually are the ones who are most wrong they they don't know what their boy I am the most horrible speaker on the planet sometimes no I am I don't care oh no it you have to everybody has to work together if you don't work **[50:33] Joel Pritchett:** together things don't get done it becomes a divisive things become very they people have feelings involved you get your feelings get hurt you can't be that way everybody has to work together up here for the community if we don't work for the community we're going to fail it's that simple Thank You. **[50:33] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joel. We're going to now go on to one last question from the audience and I'm going to change it up a little you're only going to have 30 seconds to respond because we're starting to get down to the the wire here. We will start with Joshua to respond. Why are you passionate about being on City Council? **[51:18] Joshua Hoyt:** I'm most passionate because I'm driven and absolutely committed to seeing our community succeed in any way possible I've not been involved in government in politics I don't like the overall picture of it but I understand the responsibility that comes with that seat is very heavily involved but I do understand people and I understand listening I understand it we can disagree and we can be objective at the same time Thank You. **[51:18] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua, Joel. **[52:05] Joel Pritchett:** being passionate I wanted to get involved in something in Farmington I have I just moved here like I said two years ago and I've seen a lot of little things that I don't agree with and I figured I better get involved and try to make a difference try to make a change get up here with hopefully one of these others and make Farmington better than what it already is which i think is a great city Thank You. **[52:05] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joel, Phil. **[52:50] Phil Winchell:** thank you I want to I want to make Farmington the best community around I want to grow I want to see the development I've worked with people all my life my whole career I love talking to citizens I love being around citizens I want to be able to get their input and discuss the projects that the city for now and for the future Thank You. **[52:50] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil, Katie. **[52:50] Katie Bernhjelm:** I think it's easy to have a lot of opinions but I think it's a lot harder to do something about them and I think that's why I wanted to be part of this when I move moved to this community it's been one of the best educations I've ever had the last year and a half serving on this council and I'm gonna get emotional about it because a month ago I would have questioned why I was doing this and I left a meeting very upset and I but I genuinely care about this community and the residents in it and that's what's keeping me going through this fall Thank You. **[52:50] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Katie, Nick. **[53:36] Nick Gessel:** I get passion and the desire to drive change I don't want to be a passenger to change I want to be a driver of change and what that becomes getting involved I want to make this this community better for all of you while making it better for my family as well this is my forever home and I plan on doing whatever I can if I get elected or not I'll still continue to drive change I'll still continue to contribute and I'll give back any way I can Thank You. **[53:36] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick and thank you all for your responses we will now move into closing statements each statement you will have one minute and we will start with our incumbent City Council member Katie. **[53:36] Katie Bernhjelm:** so I think doing the right thing for this city has always been more important in making a decision and possibly impacting my election I'd continue to work towards improving our communication with our residents making fiscally responsible decisions and forging new partnerships to expand the growth of Farmington sometimes you have to take risks sometimes you have to stand for something and you might make yourself a little uncomfortable in the process I'm excited about the ideas and the visions that were shared tonight and I think meaningful change happens when people come together with open arms open hearts and open minds come January two **[54:22] Katie Bernhjelm:** of us are going to be sitting on this council together and we're gonna have to work together to make Farmington a great place to live work and play so I'd leave this with all of you that are up here be curious make connections challenge yourself and be ready to cultivate new ideas I feel very proud and privileged to have represented this community over the last year and a half and I hope you see the determination enlightened me to continue serving you thank you. **[54:22] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Katie, Nick. **[54:22] Nick Gessel:** first want to thank you all for having me here tonight I want to be a little candid in the sense that none of us up here are great speakers and I hope that we're not being judged on our speaking styles and abilities and/or our delivery I hope that you're taking a look at our ideas and what we bring to the table because we're not all great speakers but we all have something different to bring we all have a different opportunity and a different mindset so I'm excited to potentially be **[55:07] Nick Gessel:** working with one of the fine group up here as I said earlier if if it's not this time it'll be next time I ensure you guys that I will continue to try to drive change and will continue to participate so again any support or anything that you guys have we're always an open ear and I can speak for all of us is where we're looking to make the city a better place not only for us but you guys as well and that starts through getting involved and being active and I'm out here to do my best to do as much as I can Thank You. **[55:07] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Nick, Joshua. **[55:07] Joshua Hoyt:** I've spent the last 30 days or so establishing communications getting to know individuals within the community city employees I've started the dialogue to increase my own personal awareness if I if I'm so fortunate to be elected as a city council member I have to be willing to do what I'm asking the rest of the citizens to do and that's to get involved I made this decision to to pursue a write-in candidacy because I didn't like what was in front of me I didn't like it and I and and I I just I knew we could be better and it wasn't for a lack of effort and he was a lack of awareness and a lot of eyes have been opened up about a lot of things but there are so many more things that we can do together the city is phenomenal we have unbelievable growth that we can go through great schools good business we need to continue to grow and work together and I will be your voice Thank You. **[55:56] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joshua, Joel. **[56:41] Joel Pritchett:** all I can say is I'm an extremely honest loyal and hardworking person I work extremely hard and I will work extremely hard for all of you that I can promise I do agree with Josh this is a phenomenal city I moved here for a reason I could have moved Burnsville I could moved anywhere because it would been closer to work but I didn't I moved here because this is an awesome city I will do everything for you people I'm not if I get elected I will not be up here for me I will be here for you only that I can promise you Thank You. **[56:41] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Joel and finally Phil. **[57:28] Phil Winchell:** thank you when I got hired as a police officer I took an oath and that oath was to protect and serve I'm gonna bring that same oath to the Farmington City Council not only am I going to protect you guys I'm gonna also serve you guys I'm gonna serve you with honesty integrity and commitment when I filed for my candidacy I made the commitment to make Farmington a better see and I'm sticking to that and I appreciate everybody's support Thank You. **[58:14] Maureen Scallen Failor:** Phil and thank you to the rest of you for your participation this evening on behalf of the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce my thanks to each of the candidates for taking time to share a bit more about themselves in their views on issues important to the city of Farmington thank you to the city of Farmington and the staff for recording and to our live audience members for being here and to our viewers we hope you feel a bit more educated on the issues and become engaged in the process the candidate forum is available through replay on the Farmington government Channel finally and most importantly please don't forget to vote on November 6 2018 thank you so much and have a wonderful evening [Applause] [Music]