[0:00] [Music] [0:07] [Music] [0:51] [Music] [1:06] [Silence] [1:17] [Applause] [1:41] [Silence] [1:48] [Music] [2:09] [Music] [2:16] [Music] [3:06] [Music] [3:45] [Music] [3:55] [Music] [4:10] [Music] [4:22] [Music] [4:41] [Music] [4:53] [Music] [6:19] [Silence] [6:29] **Tony Alongi:** Yeah, good evening Hastings. My name is Tony Alongi, I'll be your moderator for this evening's event. Welcome to the Hastings City Council forum for city council candidates. We will be spending the next 90 minutes together talking to each of the candidates about the issues most important to them and how they might lead this city. A few notes before we get started: we want to thank the city of Hastings for the use of this lovely facility and the community as well. We want to thank HGTV for producing the video that we are currently making here for you; it will be available not only tonight but also on the web at their website and on the Facebook page. We want to thank Hastings Progressives for their sponsorship of the event tonight. Hastings Progressives, for those who may not know, is a local organization—it's a non-profit not affiliated with any political party or campaign, nor is it a political action committee or anything like that. It's an organization that welcomes people of the Hastings Community from all backgrounds who believe in the principles of representative democracy, equality, human rights, women's rights, civil rights, non-violence, Global Peace, renewable energy, a healthy environment, and mutual respect. And if you'd like to learn more about Hastings Progressives, please do visit the website at www.hastingsprogressives.com. So thanks to them as well. I want to thank the audience that's in attendance here and just, it's wonderful to see the participation both in person. We also want to thank those of you who are viewing us, whether you are viewing us on the web or on cable TV right now. We really appreciate your interest in the issues facing Hastings today and in these candidates who are so responsibly and thoughtfully putting their names forward. [8:00] **Tony Alongi:** I also finally want to thank the candidates themselves. I've done this before—this isn't easy. Thanks for doing it. You know, it's really, I think it's only gotten harder in the last 10, 15, 20 years to do this sort of thing and you are to be commended for your commitment to this community and to representative democracy. It's encouraging to see. I do want to point out for folks who may be wondering because you follow the local news: you may notice that there were seven candidates at one point. Unfortunately, Dean Martinson for personal reasons decided to withdraw his candidacy. He's a pillar of this community, a wonderful, lovely man—very sorry that he won't be able to continue his candidacy, but that said, we still have six candidates to choose from. [8:45] **Tony Alongi:** Let's talk about that because I've got some audience questions and I imagine some viewers are wondering as well: what exactly are we voting for here? What is this all about? What are we doing? Was this, is this, there's two seats? There's one seat? There's a council? What's going on? Hastings City Council is made up of seven members. There's a mayor—Mayor Mary Fasbender is in attendance here, welcome your honor—there's a mayor and then there are four wards generally split by basic population across Hastings. And so each of those wards gets a representative. The ward representatives are not up for re-election or election this year because that happens on the presidential years by our own City Charter. What's up this time are the two members of the city council who are meant to represent the city at large, so we call them "at large" seats. You will be voting—those of you who vote on both the primary on August 9th, Tuesday August 9th, and also in November in the general election—will be selecting two names to move forward in the process, and those two names will sit alongside the four ward representatives and Mayor Mary. The mayor's seat was technically up for re-election, but Mary's running unopposed this year. Congratulations again, Mayor Fasbender. And so we are only here tonight to talk about the city council, the two at-large seats. [9:31] **Tony Alongi:** By way of explanation on how the event will go this evening: we will ask each of the candidates to spend about a minute introducing themselves. After they are done with that, we have a series of questions that were submitted through the process of Hastings Progressives by community members directly. These questions have been only very lightly edited by me—I only saw them about an hour ago; I've only spent the last hour looking at them and making sure that the flow for time purposes and clarity purposes—that's the only editing I've done of these questions. And so we will be asking the candidates these questions sequentially. Each person, each one of them, will get a different opportunity to answer first and or last. Once they are done with their answers, we'll move on then to the next question. I've asked the audience here to limit any applause or response that might take up a little bit of time here because we are trying to keep to a schedule. We want to make sure that viewers and everybody here can learn as much as possible in a short time. So, the less talking I do the better, right? Let's get to it. I'm going to ask each of these candidates please to introduce themselves. We're going to start over from the viewer's perspective on the far left with candidate Ian Martin in your 60 seconds. [11:03] **Ian Martin:** Thank you, Tony. Welcome residents, family, and friends. Ian Martin, 1770 Greystone Road. A little bit about me: born and raised in Hastings, 2005 high school graduate. I went on to pursue a bachelor's degree in law enforcement from Metro State University, spent several years in law enforcement, and am currently an operations agent for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Recently graduated with a master's degree in public administration also from Metro State. Personally, I have been involved in several city commissions: the Heritage Preservation Commission and most recently, Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, and served in those roles from 2013 to 2020. It's been real exciting to see residents engage with them and look forward to the rest of the process. Thank you. [12:13] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you very much, Mr. Martin. All right, moving on to Tom Wright. [12:15] **Tom Wright:** Hello everyone here, and those watching live, and those watching us later on. I'm Tom Wright, running for Hastings City council at large. I want to first commend council members Lori Brooks and Mark Vaughn for their service to the city the last eight years. I think they have done a tremendous job and I think they have big shoes to fill. Well, here's me: I'm a South Dakota native, blessed to have been raised in a big Catholic family. Growing up, I was a soccer player, snowboarder, baritone player, and a theater kid. I'm an Army veteran that served seven years, including three as an Army Ranger. I'm the founder and coordinator of the annual Memorial Day March for Them. I have degrees in radio broadcasting and communications. I enjoyed working 15 years for Hastings Community TV, the last 10 as the executive director. I am now the co-owner of a local business, Method Organization, with my co-lady sitting over there, Melanie. Melanie and I also co-run our Minnesota Brady Bunch family at home, which includes seven great kids. Again, I'm Tom Wright, I'm excited to run for Hastings City Council and I hope to earn your vote tonight. [13:19] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Wright. All right, moving on now sequentially to Angie Haus. [13:21] **Angie Haus:** Good evening. I'd like to thank you all for here being here and watching at home. My name is Angie Haus, I'm running for city council here in Hastings. I'm a lifelong resident of Hastings and I have a deep-rooted love and passion for our community and town. I'm married to my partner over there, Chris Morgan, and we've been married for about a year and a half now. We have one dog, Annie, and then two cats, Now and Daffodil. I graduated from Hastings High School and went and furthered my education at Century College and graduated there with honors in an associate's degree in dental assisting. I work at Smile Orthodontics here in St. Paul as a dental assistant and as the clinic operations specialist. I'm currently a board member on Thrive and IDEA in Hastings, which are non-profits that work on the greater diversity, inclusivity, and equity of our areas and local surroundings. I want to be on city council because I believe that the best work in government is done locally and I want to be a voice on the council for establishing strong, high standards for government performance. We have a very involved community and I'm thrilled to further my involvement beyond Council. Thank you. [14:45] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Miss Haus. Wonderful, thank you. We can move now to Dave Pemble. [14:48] **Dave Pemble:** Good evening. I'm Dave Pemble and I'm just recovering from COVID, so that's the reason the mask is here. Um, what am I? I'm a person who has been a representative of this community for decades. I've been involved in a number of things: served 25 years on the Hastings police reserve, six years on the Park and Rec—which I'm finishing this year—and I've also served four years on the Hastings School Board. And we have looked at various things in the community and felt that there was a need to respond and be involved. These are the reasons I'm looking to be your representative as a council at-large person for the Hastings City Council. Thank you very much. [15:50] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Pemble. All right, moving next to Joe Balsanek. [15:52] **Joe Balsanek:** Thank you, Tony, and thank you citizens of Hastings for the opportunity to talk to you this evening and express my concerns about what we should do for our city. What is a city council? I think this might be a good example: the metropolitan area is a garden, a garden full of blossoms. The city is one of those blossoms, and the city council is the stem that improves that blossom, nurtures it, moves forward, and allows it to be the most brilliant color that it possibly can. I'm a 22-year veteran of the military, I believe in public service. I'm a senior citizen; we need representation for both of those entities. All right, I've served 12 years as a member of the board of directors of the 911 Commission for Dakota County— [16:53] **Tony Alongi:** Joe, we're going to be closing up. I might ask you to finish the introduction maybe in response to the next question. We did hit 60 seconds on that. [16:59] **Joe Balsanek:** We had 60 seconds? I didn't see his hand, I apologize. [17:03] **Tony Alongi:** No, he did give it up. Okay. It's all right, we'll give you time as well. There will be a closing statement opportunity as well. Thank you for your understanding. We're moving on to candidate Dennis Piney. [17:15] **Dennis Piney:** All right, thank you Tony. My name is Dennis Piney and I'm running for city council. I'm a lifelong resident of Hastings. My dad's family is from the Miesville area, my mom's family is from the West St. Paul area. I grew up outside the Hastings in an area known as Friendship Circle. I attended Guardian Angels and Saint Boniface schools here in town and the middle and high school. I went on to study at the University of Minnesota, Dakota County Technical College, and NDSU. I studied architectural technology, architecture, and environmental design. In my professional career, I worked on projects such as the Robert Street Redevelopment project. I worked with Regions and Woodwinds hospitals, Northwest Airlines, Creighton University, and the Metropolitan Airports Commission. I've been volunteering here in town for about 15 years with the Planning Commission and most recently with HEDRA. Thank you. [18:13] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you Mr. Piney. Let's move on to the questions—again, submitted by community members, viewed by me only as recently as one hour ago, and only lightly edited for clarity, content, and time. So with that, we're going to turn first to candidate Wright here, starting with you, sir. We're going to be asking you: what do you believe you could bring to the city of Hastings and why are you the most qualified candidate for City Council? [18:41] **Tom Wright:** Well, I bring many perspectives I think would be valuable to the Hastings City Council. For one, my experience as a journalist covering local media news in town here, much of which covered local government actions. I was down here in these chambers many times as a reporter and back at the studio editing packages and interviewing council members, interviewing staff members of the city. So I feel I have a lot of great experience there. I feel like I have a lot of knowledge of the council without being on the council. So I bring also a perspective as a local business owner with Method Organization—I've been getting that perspective in the last three years, so it's connected me with other local business owners. So that's my main selling point, I would say, is my multiple perspectives. [19:40] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you Mr. Wright. Well, I think your volume was fine there, just a general note from the good people at HGTV: just for all candidates, make sure you're speaking as close as you can into your mics so that all the viewers can hear you really well. You all have lovely voices, we'd hate to miss a single word. Candidate Haus, if you could then answer the same question: what do you believe you could bring to the city of Hastings and why are you the most qualified candidate for City Council? [19:48] **Angie Haus:** I would say I bring also a unique perspective like Tom said. I think all of us up here can agree on that—we each have a different perspective and that's why we're all up here because all of our voices matter. I volunteered extensively throughout my lifetime and being on city council is an extension of my desire to help others and I truly believe that there's such a good community here in town and I've been a part of that and I want to further that more so in making sure that everyone here feels, you know, heard and welcomed in our town. [20:23] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you Miss Haus. Mr. Pemble, same question. [20:25] **Dave Pemble:** I'm looking at it and saying okay, here's Dave Pemble, and we're looking at a person who volunteers, who has been raised to give back to the community that they were brought up in. We're looking for people that have experience? Well, I've got almost 40 years working as a nuclear professional at Prairie Island, working on big projects, extensive contracts, items that would need real involvement. Secondly, I'm a retired individual; I have the time, I'm available. I have the experience in city government with the process in the public service through the different commissions that I've served on, and I think those things will have brought a very good representation for me as a person on the council. Terrific, thank you. [21:37] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Pemble. Mr. Balsanek? [21:39] **Joe Balsanek:** In my 12 years on the city council—excuse me—in my 12 years on the city council, we worked very hard to reduce the tax rate. Even during the Great Recession of 2009, '10, and '11, we reduced that rate from eight percent to four percent and I want to see that continue. I think we need to get going on more street improvements; we're behind on that and we have a lot of out-of-date water, sewer, and utility lines. I'd also like to do a better job in terms of our tourism budget so that we can attract more visitors and even businesses to use our trail system, our three rivers, and the businesses that we have. I'd like to create a Fine Arts Commission that also has a budget, and I'd like to develop J.C. Park into a regional preserve and learning center in cooperation with the National Park Service. [22:28] **Tony Alongi:** Terrific, thank you Mr. Balsanek. Mr. Piney? [22:31] **Dennis Piney:** All right, thank you. I believe we have great momentum going here in town. In the last few years with HEDRA, we see the Stencil project which is bringing 89 apartment units around town with a price tag of roughly 17 million dollars. We have the Siewert building going up, bringing 36 units downtown with a price tag of about seven million dollars. We have the Confluence going in with 18 units, 16 hotel rooms, 350 seats for an event center with a 20,000 square foot restaurant—uh, the tab on that one is still running, unfortunately, but HEDRA was instrumental in securing four million dollars in government and environmental cleanup funds to make that project possible. We also have the Enclave, which was just approved, which is about 211 units at a price tag of 40 million dollars. I want to see that continue. [23:35] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you Mr. Piney. Mr. Martin? [23:37] **Ian Martin:** I feel that I can bring to council the courage and compassion to lead and have a voice if need be. While on the Planning Commission, I was able to hear from residents their concerns and what they desired and how that fit in with our zoning code. And I feel professionally, my experience in law enforcement and currently as an operations agent at the airport puts together all of that and I can find the gray in between sides of competing interests. Professionally, I hold a master's degree in public administration and feel that my knowledge being on the Planning Commission and my professional degree provides me with a lot of experience with public finance, CIPs, things like that, collaborative governance—and I feel that that would do me well on City Council. Thank you. [24:43] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, candidates. All right, this brings us to our second question. Miss Haus, you will be the first to respond to this question: what do you believe is the biggest issue that needs to be solved in Hastings? What might your highest priority be as you enter the city council? [25:01] **Angie Haus:** Thank you. I believe economic growth and development is a huge thing that we need to focus on straightforward with Hastings. I believe that there are things like the Vermillion Street Corridor that we still need to work on—that's been brought up since, you know, before 2014 and we're still working on it, and I think that's a big project that I'd like to see through and see continued and finished. [25:29] **Tony Alongi:** Okay, thank you Miss Haus. Mr. Pemble? [25:31] **Dave Pemble:** I guess I'd look at it and I'd say the biggest thing here is we're looking at a community that has been basically hovering around the 21, 22,000 population number. We need to look at growth; we need to figure out what's the way to bring—I'm looking and saying okay, yes we have these developments coming in, but we've had these developments coming in and we're looking to see okay, is this giving us more? Are we gaining or are we just a stable situation? So my first priority would be to develop growth and improve the process so that we can get folks to come to Hastings, live here, and enjoy what we have. Thank you. [26:12] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Pemble. Mr. Balsanek? [26:15] **Joe Balsanek:** Well, I would like to look at this answer in terms of long-term and short-term. Long term, I agree with Dave: housing is something that we need to really improve upon. We need to have a variety of housing—market rate, affordable housing, and things like that—and also housing for our seniors, that's very important. Short term, I'm looking at things like the Vermillion Corridor, which the state is now starting to pay attention to. I think there's some short-term things—I mentioned the J.C. Park regional Nature Preserve proposal. I'd like to see a Motocross track here in Hastings; a lot of other cities have that and there's no reason that we shouldn't either. And then I'd like to see the Confluence project completed because that's been going on for 10 years and we're losing tax money for every year that project is not open. [27:08] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you Mr. Balsanek. Mr. Piney? [27:11] **Dennis Piney:** All right, thank you. I think a major issue we have here in Hastings—and I hear repeated again and again—is housing. I think that rental housing has really gotten a bad job. Um, we haven't seen really good projects come through town in a long time—buildings that have the amenities that we see in other communities are just starting to show up here. I think with HEDRA, it took a little bit of education to make people see that rental housing doesn't have to be a detriment to your neighborhood; it's very necessary. It's necessary for college students just returning home, it's necessary for people looking to downsize later in life as they become singular or living partly out of state. I think that now we're getting these types of housing here, I think that we can develop the idea of urban villages and livable communities all throughout our town. Thank you. [28:10] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Piney. Mr. Martin? [28:13] **Ian Martin:** I agree with housing, and I think building on that, we need a safe community. I think public safety is a big issue right now. Currently, we don't have Community Service Officers. A CSO—if you find a lost animal and you call the police, a sworn officer comes and picks that dog up, drives all the way to Red Wing, and drives it back. That takes an officer out of our city for a long period of time. That reduces our department's ability to be proactive, be in parks, be out shaking hands, meeting business owners. Our fire department—we're in the midst of a study right now with that. There's a definite need for staffing there that's not being met. Paid on-call is harder and harder to find people that are willing to do that. So I'd really want to do a deep dive into our public safety and ensure that the foundations of our city are solid, and that will in turn bring in people that want to come to Hastings. Thanks. [29:08] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Martin. Mr. Wright? [29:10] **Tom Wright:** Uh, for me the biggest concern is we are losing some key members of staff—a few key members of staff in a short period of time. That's a concern for me, and so I can't jump to conclusions on why that is, but I think it's something that should be investigated. I think because there's a number of reasons that could cause that: it could be competitive pay, it could be management, it could be culture, it could be a number of things. And I don't want to—it's unfair to come to conclusions on that without knowing all the facts, but I have been actually asking around just to do my own little investigation and I think there is something to be concerned about there. And so I think that's something that should be addressed and addressed soon. We cannot afford to lose key, good staff members. [30:04] **Tony Alongi:** Right, thank you Mr. Wright. I believe everybody's had a chance to answer this question, so with that we will move on to our third question. Many of you mentioned this particular topic about economic development, and so this is exactly where we're going to go. Mr. Pemble, you'll be the first to answer this question. It is a blended question involving a couple different community questions that we're going to synthesize here: How will you help industry and therefore jobs and families come into town? While you answer that, if you could get specific about the Vermillion Corridor and how you might speed up developments in that area. [30:42] **Dave Pemble:** I'm looking and saying okay, in the first part of the question, I think we need to be objective and try and get out and promote ourselves. If you look at the communities around us, they're busy; they have been doing their homework. They realize that if you're not out communicating what you have to offer, what you can do for folks—what can these businesses, these industries make a Hastings situation more viable?—those are the things that you're looking for. The second part about the Vermillion Corridor—I share the frustration I've heard here that the Vermillion Corridor project is basically a project that has been sitting on the shelf. We need to push and get something done with it. Thank you. [31:47] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Balsanek? [31:54] **Joe Balsanek:** As a member of the council over the years, we did a number of things that I think we can spotlight to help improve things. One of them is HEDRA, the Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority—that's quite a mouthful. When I first arrived on the council, one of the things I pushed for was an economic development director on our staff. We now have that. It's no coincidence that we now have affordable housing, senior housing, and market rate housing starting to really take hold here in the city. I want to continue to utilize those types of things, in addition to things like United Way, Thrive, which also was really an instigator in the Tilden Center for our seniors as well. Thank you very much. [32:38] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you. Mr. Piney? [32:41] **Dennis Piney:** Um, I think one of the big issues with industry here in town is workforce housing. I know that folks around city staff and members of HEDRA have met with people on the Industrial Park, and that was a clear issue that was made over and over again. One of the results that actually came out of that is the Enclave project, again specifically targeted towards being workforce housing within a walkable distance to the industrial park. Moving on to Vermillion Street: the success of downtown is hopefully going to be marching up the street very soon. HEDRA has already begun to purchase property on Vermillion Street. We will set the bar of what happens on that street and not wait for things to happen. We have the ability to do that and as a city council member, I'll be a very strong proponent. Thank you. [33:38] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Piney. Mr. Martin? [33:40] **Ian Martin:** I think, you know, infill development, as Dennis said, there's some key property along Vermillion Street that the city could get what's called "shovel ready"—have that ready to go: zoning, permits, all those things streamlined for industry to come in. Our land-for-a-dollar program has been great out in the industrial park—potentially expand that to other parts of the city to spur up development. And then just a roundtable with those industries and and other cities: you know, what's working? What do you need from a city to want to come there? And then the Vermillion Corridor—you know, I think there's some low-hanging fruit there. You drive down it, there's rusty, mismatched light poles; there's rusty stoplights. I remember as a kid hanging flower baskets, banners, things like that, that really, when people would come through this town, they'd take a look around and think, "This is a really cool niche town, let's go check it out." If they're not going to downtown, they're not seeing that. So I think we need to build on that. Thanks. [34:36] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Martin. Mr. Wright? [34:40] **Tom Wright:** Could you repeat the question for me please? [34:41] **Tony Alongi:** I sure could. Yeah, no, it's been a little while, hasn't it? Uh, so: How will you help industry and therefore jobs and families come to this town? And then as part of that, if we can get specific about the Vermillion Corridor—what can be done to speed up development along that corridor? [35:00] **Tom Wright:** You know, with industries, a lot of it is schmoozing to be honest with you. Um, you got to cater to them, you gotta hear them out, listen to them—what do they want? What are they looking for? What is our competition providing for them? What are they getting offered outside of Hastings and can we match that? Do we have a budget for that to schmooze them? Can we provide a study? There's a number of things I think you can do there for that. When it comes to Vermillion Street Corridor, I think honestly as a member of the media for a while, it's kind of become a broken record. Um, I think there's a lot of good intention with the Vermillion Street Corridor and the plans, but as it's been mentioned, it doesn't seem to be happening. Nothing's happening. I think it's because we're trying to swallow one big plate of steak and we just need to take a bite at a time. I think there's ways you can do that and have more realistic plans and ideas than what we have going on. A lot of great drawings in the plan, if you look at it—a lot of great drawings and mixed-use buildings and stuff—but, you know, I think there's a lot of people already developed on those properties. So thank you, that's my answer. [36:09] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Wright. Miss Haus? [36:13] **Angie Haus:** Yeah, I agree with most up here. I believe working closely with HEDRA is a great start and then also, you know, hearing from the industries that already have started businesses here—seeing what they liked, what they didn't like, you know, working towards that end goal of what do we do to make sure that the industries stay and they don't go places. I also think, you know, going with the Vermillion Corridor, I think there's a lot that can be done. I think, you know, building on this spine of the city is really important because we have a beautiful downtown area and building to the rest of our town to make sure that economic values are for all businesses, especially our local businesses, is really important. So going forward with that, I think we all just need to work together—you know, going together with the commissions like HEDRA and making sure that we're correlating together as well. [37:06] **Tony Alongi:** Sure, thank you Miss Haus. All right, I believe everybody has had an opportunity to answer this question. We're going to move on to the very related issue of housing. Some of you have brought up housing before, and of course that comes up because we often find in a city like Hastings, our school district, our businesses, our economy, our lifestyle—a lot of the things that make Hastings the place that it is today—depend a lot on young families coming in and being able to afford a place to live. So this question is going to focus on affordable housing for young families. And so we're going to start with you, Mr. Balsanek, if you could please answer: what can a city council do around affordable housing, and what would you do specifically if elected? [37:52] **Joe Balsanek:** Well, as I stated earlier, one of the things I really pushed for in my 12 years on the council was an economic development director. Uh, we've seen the results of that now that we have that person on board on the city's staff, and that's something that that person is going to go out and bird-dog for with the support of the council and the rest of the city staff. That is really paramount for me, that we get our population growing so that our tax base is broader. That way we don't have to put so much tax pressure on businesses that are here in Hastings. I think that's really important. Our population increased I think about four or five people over the last 10 years and that's really a shame. We need to move forward and I think the city can do great things on that. Thank you. [38:46] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Balsanek. Mr. Piney, same question. [38:54] **Dennis Piney:** All right, thank you. Um, I think we need to look at our developments in the future. It's very easy for someone to come in and say, "Hey, I'm here in Hastings and I'm here to sell half-a-million-dollar houses to everyone." Well, that's great, but we have more residents here than that. Our residents all come at different price points, but we have equal value. We need to make sure that economies of scale include all types of development within new projects. Life-cycle housing—it is an amazing thing: bringing young people in rental units, they upgrade to townhomes, they move into single-family homes, and then the reverse when they start downsizing. You can stay in the same neighborhood, you're able to put down roots and actually enjoy the fruits then. That's something we need to start demanding. Thank you. [39:41] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Piney. Mr. Martin? [39:46] **Ian Martin:** Dennis said what I was going to say: full life-cycle living. You know, and we're starting to see that now in town with senior housing coming in. I'm real excited about the Mint development project out on 47—that is anything from a senior that drives their own car and cooks their own meals up to someone that needs full assisted living. What that does is open up their homes, that are many times decades old and need some refurbishment, to a first-time homebuyer. What a council can do is keep down taxes. We need to really tighten our belts; inflation right now is rampant. We need to make sure that we're as fiscally responsible as possible because we all pay taxes. That plays into affordable housing and what at the end of the day comes out of a month's income toward housing. So um, really that's a lot of our control: maintaining a low tax rate in the county and then really encouraging a full life-cycle living. Thanks. [40:38] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Wright? [40:41] **Tom Wright:** Thank you. You know, what can we do about affordable housing? What's in the city's control? That's kind of the million-dollar question a lot of cities are asking themselves right now. I don't have the million-dollar answer, to be honest. Um, I think that doesn't mean we should give up on it by any means, but I think it's something that's a complex issue that you have to talk to the experts and get creative. I think you're going to have to get creative for sure. Is it something where we look into a tiny home community in Hastings? That we go and cater to a developer that does tiny homes and we give them a tax break on a parcel of land or something like that? I'm not sure, but that's just off the top of my head. But if elected, I would certainly be happy to be part of any commission to explore options to find affordable housing and that kind of thing. I will say—and this may not rub some people the right way—but you may know that St. Paul has a tax cap on their landlords for rent; I'm not sure I'm a proponent of that. I don't think that is the solution. Um, if people are thinking that, I don't think that would do it. Thank you. [41:48] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Wright. Miss Haus? [41:52] **Angie Haus:** Yeah, being part of a younger family, it was not easy to find and buy our first home here. Um, you know, we did that a few years ago now and you know, it's a really, really hard market to buy. And I think, you know, the way we look at it again is full-cycle living. And I also think, you know, making sure that we have not only affordable housing but safe housing as well is really, really important in town. So I think, you know, we have a lot of things building in town right now—we have a lot of new apartment buildings that are just starting to pop up, we have a new senior living center. I think these are all great steps working towards that full-cycle living. So I'd like the council to continue that and I'd love to be a part of that as well. [42:35] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you. And Mr. Pemble? [42:38] **Dave Pemble:** Looking and saying okay, how do we manage housing and an economy that is—some people would say full of energy, other people would say nope we're suffering. But when you come to the community—to our community—you have to look at it and say okay, how do we derive development that gives affordable housing? Yes, there's rent control options; I don't know that I'd like to go down that route. There's also supplemental income-based housing. But when you're starting to look at it as a senior who lives in their home—I mean for us, example, we've lived there 40 years and to try and sell that home and move into another half-a-million-dollar Villa home is not the process. So we have to do something better. All right, thank you. [43:24] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, candidates. Our next question is going to be about annexing land. For those viewers who may not be aware, the city resides inside of a variety of townships. Through certain legal actions—not all of which are appreciated by the townships—there can be annexation of land that occurs over time. It's an unusual but occasional process that a city in Hastings' position can undertake. So, I believe Mr. Piney will be the first to answer: would you favor annexing more land outside of the current city limits—essentially expanding our city limits to encourage more residential or community development—and why or why not? [44:17] **Dennis Piney:** If you could explain a little... I do not support it as a go-to option. I think that it's more important to look at this community as a quilt or a patchwork and we need to fill in and strengthen the weak spots first. I think we talk about maybe the difficulty in attracting affordable housing and apartments—well, maybe a 500-unit monolithic project isn't reasonable, but maybe these infill lots scattered throughout our community where really nice four- and six-unit buildings can pop up... they're all over St. Paul and Minneapolis and Uptown, why can't we have that here? Again, that provides life-cycle housing to existing neighborhoods. I think that that should be a first option, but then like I was saying before, we need to raise the bar when we do agree to annex property. So thank you. [45:15] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Piney. Mr. Martin, you're next. [45:19] **Ian Martin:** I agree with Dennis. I think infill development's the answer first. Let's build out what is within our borders and spur growth that way, and streamline the processes we have in place with local developers first and let's open that door when it comes and see where it goes. But currently right now, I would say infill development before we annex more land. Thanks. [45:48] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Martin. Mr. Wright? [45:52] **Tom Wright:** Yeah, we're going to really feed Dennis's ego because I'm going to agree with him as well. I think um, I completely agree. If we—and he put in a very good way using the quilt reference there—I think we have to have our core set, we gotta have our core strong before we branch out, otherwise we don't—it's going to be really tough to maintain all of it and we're going to get spread too thin and we're going to run into issues with it. So I completely agree with Dennis on that one. [46:24] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you. Miss Haus? [46:27] **Angie Haus:** Well, that sounds like we're all thinking pretty similar here. Um, I would agree exactly with what Dennis said too, as well as you as well. I think that we need to strengthen our weak spots in every area of our city and then move forward. And you know, I wouldn't leave annexing completely off the table, but I would prefer to seek further options more suitable first rather than choosing to do something as drastic as that. [46:48] **Tony Alongi:** Right, thank you. Mr. Pemble? [46:50] **Dave Pemble:** I guess I'd wholeheartedly agree with what people are saying here. Basically, you're looking at—we have some areas in our community that are 10 to 15 acres of land that are within the city limits that are undeveloped. There are issues there about getting those projects going, but with a little work, I think that some of those things could be done and we could build into where we're at. Because if we want to try and do some annexation, we're also looking at how to provide services into that annexed property or land—that also makes what we have thinner and more difficult to manage. So my buck-for-the-buck is: we work harder to try and get our infill process complete with development of various kinds and then move forward from there. Thank you. [47:43] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Balsanek? [48:07] **Joe Balsanek:** While on the city council, I did vote to approve and we did go ahead and forward with the development of my general Sieben Drive to the south of the Catholic church. How's that going? Well, it's going well. It's not a whirlwind; they're kind of slow and steady with what they're doing. I kind of like that because we want to be sure that our tax base remains steady. You go and add 250 homes—what does that do to the police department, the fire department, City staff, building departments, so on and so forth? Annexation is good if we can meet the needs of a developer in town, that's fine. If they need something that's out there beyond the city limits, we should go for it. [48:58] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you very much, Mr. Balsanek. Thank you very much, candidates. We're going to shift gears slightly. We're going to take a little bit of a tangent from some of the development talk, but this is still at least tangentially related, and this has to do with sustainability. Sustainability is a concept—again, for viewers and the audience who may or may not be familiar—as human activity encroaches on the environment over the last couple decades, there's been a discipline of sustainable development that has come forward in an effort to both be able to grow as a community but also respect the surroundings and grow at a pace and in ways that don't damage the very community and the fabric of what we're trying to find here in Hastings—the things that make it a beautiful and wonderful place to live in the first place. So with that in mind, the city lists a number of sustainability initiatives on the website. The first one is called Minnesota Green Step Cities—the city joined this in 2016. You don't need to be an expert in this to answer this question though. We would just ask you to answer this question—and we'll start with you, I believe Mr. Martin: how would you help Hastings move forward to fully embrace sustainability in our city? [50:08] **Ian Martin:** I think what I would need to see is the return on the investment and what that investment is—how that effort would benefit all residents of Hastings. If it's something like water, for instance—I mean certainly that's a basic city need that we need to make sure we're meeting. You know, I would really want to see what dollars and cents are going into those efforts and what's coming out of that investment for the long term. So I would definitely have some questions there on that program, but certainly support it. You know, avid outdoorsman, fishermen, things like that—so that's what draws us to Minnesota and Hastings, is the water and the surrounding ravines and different things. So we got to make sure for future generations that's there for them as well. Thanks. [50:57] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Wright? [51:00] **Tom Wright:** You know, we're very passionate in this town. We have a lot of people that care about a lot of things. I know that the environment is definitely one of them out there, and I'm definitely pro—very much pro-environment. My dad was the landfill superintendent back in our hometown; I remember as a kid being completely embarrassed all the time because we would drive down the road and if he saw a pop can on the side of the road, he would pull the car over and go pick up that pop can and bring it in the car. That's how dedicated he was. I think there's a lot of things you can do for sustainability and get creative and work with the experts again to come up with solutions. And of course, copycat method—look at what other cities are doing. But that's something I would fully support and be very interested in being a part of. Thank you. [51:47] **Tony Alongi:** Miss Haus? [51:50] **Angie Haus:** Yeah, I believe completely that protecting our environment is very important, specifically when we live in such a gorgeous and beautiful area that we do. I mean, we have 30-plus miles of trails in this town and I think protecting the area that we have is really important. Um, sustainability-wise, I think there's a lot of things the city can do to promote that. I think there's different initiatives we could make—whether it's trying to have renewable energy and making sure we're pushing that forward onto new developments and housing, or whether it's making new recycling programs, making sure that we are getting involved in any possible way we can to make sure that everything we do within our town is sustainable and eco-friendly. Thank you. [52:43] **Tony Alongi:** Mr. Pemble? [52:45] **Dave Pemble:** Looking forward, we always have to look back. We're looking at a community that is like the second oldest community in the state, and what has this community done to survive? Yes, in some instances we have not taken care of our water, we've not taken care of our land, but there are things that we are doing. We do recycle, we're looking to be good, conscious caretakers of the water that we use and play in, and we don't want to be coming up short. Part of that is we need to work harder at sustainability and draw on the experts and get things done. Thank you. [53:32] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Balsanek? [53:36] **Joe Balsanek:** Yeah, please repeat the question. [53:38] **Tony Alongi:** Of course. About—around here somewhere—the city lists a number of sustainability initiatives on its website. The first one is Minnesota Green Step Cities, which the city joined in 2016. Please explain how would you help Hastings move forward to fully embrace sustainability in our city? [53:57] **Joe Balsanek:** I was on the city council when we accepted the award as a Greenway City down at the League of Minnesota Cities Conference in Rochester—very proud of that. Some things that we've done on the council and will continue to do: the recycling program where we separate our trash—we're now including things like vegetation recycling and so on and so forth. The Riverfront Renaissance helped stabilize the riverfront—that was something I was a part of. J.C. Park, as I mentioned, I think would be a great thing to have as a regional park preserve that would be a learning experience for the citizens of Hastings—not only Hastings but also of the region. We could get together with the National Park Service, the state of Minnesota DNR and so forth, and that would be a great step forward for us. Thank you. [55:01] **Tony Alongi:** Mr. Piney? [55:05] **Dennis Piney:** All right, thank you. Um, I think that these initiatives can be done in both older and newer neighborhoods. In newer neighborhoods, being a council member is about holding the bar. I think that we can look into having tiny house neighborhoods, we can have community gardens, we can have water features within those neighborhoods that aren't just ponding basins that fill up but actually serve an ecological purpose. I think that in older neighborhoods—let's keep them viable, let's keep our older buildings maintained and safe so that we don't need so much new construction and we can cut down on that. That keeps, again, our urban fabric in a better quality. People are wanting to stay in town, and I think it's just better overall. But I think a multi-pronged effort would be best. [56:02] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you. All candidates have had an opportunity to answer that question. We're going to move on to another very specific issue within city control. We're going to start with you, Mr. Wright, if you could please answer: what changes, if any, would you make to the sign ordinance and why would you make—either make or not make—any changes to the sign ordinance? [56:15] **Tom Wright:** Well, I didn't do a whole lot of homework on that one, but um, I'd have to look into that more if I could give a definite answer. But as far as I can tell and heard, different people I've spoken to haven't heard too many issues on it, so at this point I could just say I'd keep it as it is. [56:37] **Tony Alongi:** Okay, thank you Mr. Wright. Miss Haus? [56:39] **Angie Haus:** Um, again, I agree—I have not heard a lot about any issues with the sign ordinance. Main issues I've had is that it's not being monitored enough, if any, um if I've heard any. Um, so maybe looking better into that, but again not a lot to play off with that. Thank you. [57:02] **Tony Alongi:** Mr. Pemble? [57:07] **Dave Pemble:** The city reacts to comments and complaints about the sign ordinance and right now I think that there's not a big to-do when it comes to sign ordinance. When there's questions that come up, they are dealt with and in some cases the signs either change or are modified to fit into the sign ordinance that's laid out for the city. At this point I would say probably better monitoring, and that would be as far as I would go with it. Thank you. [57:37] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Balsanek? [57:39] **Joe Balsanek:** When I was stationed in Italy with the Air Force, I needed some leather repair and I was looking around the city of Aviano for the leather guy. I was told he was down this street—I went down the street back and forth, back and forth. Finally the smell of shoe polish and leather brought me through a door and there he was. And I said, "Why don't you have a sign?" He says, "Why do we need a sign? Everybody knows where I am." Uh, it's a crazy thing: you put up a gas station, you have to have signs all the way around—you have to have a pedestal sign, you have to have a landmark sign, you have to have signs all over the place. I think they're overdone, but they are legal; we have to allow them. I think our sign ordinance is pretty good, all things considered—we're about the same as any other community. Thank you. [58:43] **Tony Alongi:** Mr. Piney? [58:45] **Dennis Piney:** Um, I think that a one-size-fits-all ordinance probably isn't going to work. Being a community of a historic nature and also wanting to attract new development, one thing may not work in either part of town. I think we should look at that. Um, I know that in other areas they've done a great deal and it actually enhances the aesthetic of the neighborhood. If you look at Apple Valley about 15, 20 years ago, there was no identity whatsoever—they did it merely through park benches, garbage cans, street signs, and fences. That created a downtown that was all vacant, and if you go over there now, it's being built up with townhomes. "If you build it, they will come"—that worked for a newer area. I think that maybe signage can be developed for that, but then maybe something that has more of a historic significance would work in older areas. Thank you. [59:38] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Martin? [59:40] **Ian Martin:** Excuse me, yeah. I think just enforce it. Um, you know, two examples: I was on the preservation commission, we had a business come in and want to change their facade and it ultimately got denied. And there's a business down on 2nd Street that has an animal screwed to the front of it that isn't historic at all. You drive down Vermillion Street, there's a 20-foot enclosed trailer with uplights on it that's been sitting there for five years. The city went after a liquor store that had a sign in the back of a licensed, insured pickup truck. So I think, you know, monitoring it is great, but we need to have follow-through. And when I say that—you know, education first. Maybe these business owners don't know it; that would be the first step, is educate and ultimately if need be, enforce the ordinance to rectify the issue. Thanks. [1:00:39] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. All right, our next question regards partnership government. Again, for the sake of viewers and audience: government—often when we think something's being handled by our local city council, it's actually something that maybe a school district deals with, or a county deals with, or a state or other kind of level of government. It all can seem awfully complex, and part of the trick to effective government is making sure that we work seamlessly with each other as entities. So my first—my question to you, Miss Haus, for you to answer first would be: how can the city better partner with our school district, School District ISD 200? [1:01:13] **Angie Haus:** I think there's a lot of opportunities and options we have here. I think we've taken quite a few steps already—the current Council has already taken a few steps. I know a few years ago they made an inclusivity and diversity and equity launch and I think building off of that and making more partnerships and proclamations like that is really important. Um, I think working with our local schoolteachers and seeing what they think is important and what's important to their students—but I also think, you know, our school board does a fantastic job and I think making sure that we build off of everything they need and cohesively working together. [1:01:44] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Pemble? [1:01:46] **Dave Pemble:** A number of years ago, the school district and the city had a joint committee/commission that they met on several occasions throughout the year to kind of invigorate talk about discussions, try and build for a common-sense approach to different subjects. That committee/commission has kind of fallen apart and we need to re-energize that and bring that back into the forefront so that activities in the school district and activities within the city are more closely tied together and people can more readily understand what both entities are about and what they're doing. Thank you. [1:02:35] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Balsanek? [1:02:37] **Joe Balsanek:** Yes, on the council we had these joint meetings with the school board and the city council. When I started out on the council, we met quarterly, then we met semi-annually, then we met annually, then we didn't meet at all. And that was all due to a previous superintendent who decided that it really wasn't worth the time to get together. I object to that because we've done great things—one prime example is the work that I did to create the Tilden Senior Center, very proud of that. One thing that we have to work together on with the school district is to take a look at tax increment financing, which affects the tax base of the school district. We can do that and we have done that, but we need to be very careful that we don't leave the school district high and dry. Thank you. [1:03:30] **Tony Alongi:** Mr. Piney? [1:03:32] **Dennis Piney:** All right, thank you. Um, yes, I definitely believe that partnerships are definitely in order and more face-to-face conversation. I think if we could shut down Facebook for a day or two, it would all do a wonder of good in these parts. We need to figure out ways to get people talking, engaging—not just commenting. Um, how to do that? I think it's going to have to be a grassroots thing. I don't know if there can be an edict or a dictate; I think it needs to be: citizens, can we start matching kids in school that are interested in professions with professionals here in the community? Can it be—I mean just anything just to get people talking. Um, give parents and they're involved having informational sessions down here at City Hall, getting kids and their parents aware of how things work and what to do about it. But yes, definitely getting people working face to face. Thank you. [1:04:27] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Martin? [1:04:30] **Ian Martin:** Um, I think of two things: the police department—the School Resource Officer—that's a great partnership right there. Building on that: sitting down with not only our police department but the school district as well, seeing how that's working, if there are needs that aren't being met, if we can address those somehow. And then, you know, shared space, mixed use—being conscious of the dollars and cents that affect all of us residents. So sharing parks, sharing sports fields... um, maybe maintenance. If a city lawnmower is driving by a school playground, if there's a partnership there that that maintenance is shared—instead of having 12 lawn mowers, you only need six, and those six can do everything. I think that collaborative governance, as we move forward into the future with costs going up, needs to really be seriously evaluated. Thanks. [1:05:40] **Tony Alongi:** Okay, thank you. Mr. Wright? [1:05:43] **Tom Wright:** I listed the improving the relationship between the city and school district as one of my objectives in a questionnaire—I'm not sure which one it was—but because I believe that it is an issue. I think it's—as someone that was in the media, I could, based on conversations behind the scenes, I knew that the relationship was strained, I'll put it that way. And so I think, and there's a lot of potential there—if we could get these two parties together we could have one big party, a successful party. Because, like Ian just mentioned, sharing resources, saving money that way—it's a win-win deal. The city saves money, the school district saves money. But for some reason, yeah, it lost use. But I think I don't know if it's a big formal committee/commission thing that needs to happen; I think might just be simply those are driven to make this happen, meet behind closed doors and talk and hash it out and come to an agreement and just start baby steps: "Okay, what's what we can do first?" and go from there. Thank you. [1:06:50] **Tony Alongi:** All right, our next question. By way of context: the city has a variety of volunteer commissions that residents can serve upon. They can apply when an opening occurs and then serve on those commissions. We've mentioned one or two of them this evening—HEDRA being one of them, the Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority. We have similar bodies for public safety, for Parks and Recreation, so on and so forth. So, this is the area for this question. Mr. Pemble, if you could answer: what can be done to attract more residents to apply for these commissions when a vacancy occurs? [1:07:15] **Dave Pemble:** I think the biggest process—having sat on not only the Parks Commission looking for membership but on the public safety group looking for membership—is that people don't understand the need for the commissions and what they do for the community. That's the grassroots portion of the community being part of local government. And I think we need to work harder at how we bring that process forward. A lot of times when people would come in and they'd say, "Okay, here and here," we'd hand out "this is how it works"—and that's probably the first time most folks have been able to see what a commission does, doesn't do, or should do. And those are the things we need to work on. Thank you. [1:08:11] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Balsanek? [1:08:14] **Joe Balsanek:** While on the council, we didn't really have a problem getting people to apply for volunteering on city commissions; it worked very well. A previous administrator, however, developed a kind of a process by which potential commission members were interviewed, and it was a pretty thorough process. We have to be careful that we don't box people out for volunteering, so they don't walk away and say, "Holy cow, you know, did I have to answer a bunch of questions? I'm not really sure I want to go through that ever again." We want to be inviting to these people as much as possible. Terrific, thank you. [1:09:12] **Tony Alongi:** Mr. Piney? [1:09:20] **Dennis Piney:** Um, I think that to attract people to want to be up here and do this, you need to make them first feel that their voices and their opinions matter. And that's up to the people that ultimately end up sitting behind this desk. If they feel that their voices matter, they'll feel that their actions matter—they will want to be on these commissions and committees. We need to let them know that what happens up here, what happens in there matters—I mean, it matters greatly how development is directed, how policies are made, how funds are spent. This is very real and again, it's more than just commenting in a text platform online. It needs to be participatory and somehow we need to get us back to that. Thank you. [1:10:02] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Martin? [1:10:05] **Ian Martin:** Yeah, I agree. Um, serving on several for close to eight years, um, you know, really opened my eyes to the process and it's a large part of why I'm here tonight. I think, you know, with the addition of social media coming on real strong in the time I started it now, um, you know, marketing that not only electronically but out at civic events: Rivertown Days, Rivertown Live, on the Power Show that's this weekend at the Bauer Farm... um, really let people know that there's a way that they can connect with the community. And you know, if you're on the Facebook community page—or any one of them—you see a lot of people complaining, but not a lot of action. And I think if we leverage that, there's a way that those complaints can be channeled into action and really moving forward and recognizing what we all have in common versus what we have different within each other, we can really start making some headway. So thanks. [1:11:00] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Wright, and could you repeat the question for me please? [1:11:04] **Tony Alongi:** I can, I just like hearing your voice. You're very kind. Please, please answer: what can be done to attract more residents to apply for City commissions? [1:11:21] **Tom Wright:** You know, like Joe said, I think it may be a little bit too tough to get in. They might have more of a gate up rather than a welcome mat, an open door. And so um, and maybe it's just a matter of communicating it better and having ad campaigns, promotionals, whether it's through social media, through our new city newsletter, so forth. Um, really selling it and how um—and maybe just, you know, just like anything else, just like business, just to get you to come in for that little free thing, you know? And whether it's "come in for some free donuts and coffee this morning, we're just going to talk about being on a commission, you don't have to—no obligations, just come on in." Um, but just to maybe entice them. Honestly, in my experience, food does matter when you have those kind of things—that does increase attendance. So you're welcome Dunkin' Donuts or whoever else is watching this in town. But I think um, something like that just to make it more welcoming, make it sound easier to get the people in—not to scare them away—and then you get them in the door and I think that could be more successful. [1:12:31] **Tony Alongi:** Okay, thank you. Miss Haus? [1:12:35] **Angie Haus:** As I've said before, I do truly believe that the best working government is done locally through grassroots campaigns and making sure that, you know, we're working together. Um, you know, like they've said before, there may be some gates, you know? And I think all of this stems from inclusion—you know, making sure that Hastings offers resources in programs and initiatives that make people want to be a part of these commissions. You know, it's not easy to be a part of these commissions—it's time, it's effort. But I think the benefit is you're working together with your community, with your neighbors. Um, so I think that there's ways that we could portray that together, um, you know, through promotional displays or free food like Tom said—that's always a good incentive as well. But I think, you know, making sure that we're promoting that and encouraging it. [1:13:28] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. I believe we've all had an opportunity to answer that question. Folks here in this room may have noticed—and the candidates may be feeling this too—it's getting a little warm in here. Thanks for putting up that, thanks for being here. It's about to get a little warmer. Some of these questions are going to come at you a little bit harder and they are about some of our fundamental values as a city to be sure, and how we perceive the world. Mr. Balsanek, if you could please kick us off for this question: do you feel the Hastings Police Department treats people of all backgrounds equally? And then whether you answer yes or no or however you answer that, if you could just talk a little bit about how you would work on city council to ensure that the Hastings Police Department treats people of all backgrounds equally. [1:14:02] **Joe Balsanek:** Wow, I—you know, I hate to sound like a broken record, but on the council in my years, we had three police chiefs that I worked with. And we tried very hard and I think very successfully worked to create a force that was very ecumenical, very inclusive. We have not had—thank heavens—any incidences where, you know, they might mirror what's going on in other cities. Uh, we're fortunate to that extent. I think one of the things that really helped improve that is that we moved the supervision of the police chief from the mayor to the city administrator, and that has worked very well and I think it will continue to. [1:15:05] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Piney? [1:15:08] **Dennis Piney:** Thank you. Um, I have family members that serve and have served in the police force. I fully understand the sacrifices and the responsibilities that these folks make. We do have to take our history and all of it seriously, whatever that may be. We always need to be critical of ourselves and if there's room for improvement, we need to find it. I believe that we have an amazing force—I have no issues with their credibility—but if there are elements in town that are not feeling included, we need to have that conversation. And there's been talk about having, you know, liaison officers within the police force—I think that's a really good idea—but I think that conversation is due. Thank you. [1:16:14] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Piney. Mr. Martin? [1:16:17] **Ian Martin:** Well, this one hits close to home as a former cop and a kid of a cop and an uncle and—it runs in the blood. So um, I think Hastings does a wonderful job with our public safety advisory commission and the public safety committee of council. We're one of the first cities in the county to adopt body cams that—having worn them—can be an officer's best asset. My dad gave me the words of advice that as long as you do everything today that you'd be fine printed on tomorrow morning's newspaper, you'll never have a problem. But I think we're doing a great job building on that: citizens academies—we can get those back open, open up the public to see what it is that job entails, and really show that decisions happen in split seconds and sometimes you're acting on limited information. And if there is force being used, evaluate that force and if it was appropriate and what to do moving forward. Thanks. [1:17:12] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Martin. Mr. Wright? [1:17:15] **Tom Wright:** Um, yes, I feel the Hastings police department does treat people of all backgrounds equally as far as I know. I have not heard of an incident. My personally I have not—I have yet to meet a Hastings cop I didn't like, to be honest with you. In all my time working at HCTV, I always felt they'd done a good job hiring personable police officers that could approach people. It's a difficult issue because nobody likes to be told how to do their job by somebody that doesn't do their job. So um, you gotta be fair, you gotta be delicate and tactful, because they're the ones on the front lines. And for someone from the back seat, the back row, to tell them how to do their job—it's a difficult thing to do and you got to be careful about that. Um, but of course we always want to make sure they are treating everybody equally and we don't have any issues. And um, you know, I think it's ongoing training and uh, I think what they're doing now it seems to be doing okay. Thank you. [1:18:08] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Miss Haus? [1:18:12] **Angie Haus:** Yeah, I've spoken with many police officers in our town and I truly do believe that, you know, police in our town understand how to protect and serve our community um better than, you know, all of us up on here on the stage do right now. Um, you know, except for Ian—you know, he's got the background of course. But you know, I know after Ferguson, issues in Ferguson—our police in Hastings proposed to have body cameras and the chief then proposed to have those body cameras and that was agreed upon. And I think that we've always, you know, taken the right steps—our cops in safety have always taken the right steps to move forward and to bring those new initiatives forward. And so I think you know, I again have not heard of any instances. Um, and if there are instances though that have come up, you know, I wish them to be brought to light at this time. Thank you. [1:19:12] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Pemble? [1:19:15] **Dave Pemble:** Looking at our public safety—our police department especially—I think they provide a very delicate service that's been well received in our community. I think they do an excellent job under the conditions that are laid out there. But I agree with this panel here that if there is a situation or a need, it behooves the city to be responsible and make sure that those needs are met, those responses are managed, and people move forward in this community. We don't need more negative comments on what happens in this community. So I think that what we are doing and what our police department is doing for us has kept us in a very stable situation, and I think that we could continue to work that situation as it is. Thank you. [1:20:08] **Tony Alongi:** All right, all candidates have had an opportunity to answer that question. Our next question—as I read it, I realized it could be interpreted a couple different ways. And what I'm going to do for this one is I'm going to ask it as a compound question. Hopefully we'll keep it clear for all the candidates. I would ask our timekeeper to maybe allow for an extra 10 seconds—maybe go to 70 seconds instead of 60—because it's... there might be a little bit in this. And it involves issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which of course is deeply important in the context of the values of the city, but of course—and also of course as city council members, you have a great say in how we implement that. So starting with you, Mr. Piney: in your opinion, how well does the city reflect values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (first part)? Second part: what would you do on city council to ensure a continued commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the hiring and the retaining of City staff or in other ways? I can repeat the question if you need me to because I know it's a mouthful, but I want to make sure I do justice to the question. The person who wrote this question isn't here for me to ask what they meant, so I'm taking both meanings. [1:21:44] **Dennis Piney:** Well, um, I'm sitting up here today as somebody who is a product of this community. I was announced as "Denise" Piney at my junior prom. I decided to be better. We are too often afraid of what we don't understand, and again you're not going to learn anything by yelling and screaming—you're only going to learn it by listening. If I can do anything by example, I'm here. That's my choice in life, I guess—I want people to know that it is possible here. Um, I feel ridiculous having to talk about it because it is getting better. I sat in my yard this year and watched a Gay Pride parade go right by my house, and we sat there with three generations of our family. Things do get better, but we still need examples. If I can be an example of that, then then so be it. But I want that to be brought up through every level of our school, every level of our government, our committees and so forth. It is possible. Thank you. [1:23:01] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Piney. Mr. Martin? [1:23:05] **Ian Martin:** Um, you know, having the job I do and been through a lot of diversity and inclusion training, I equate it to a dinner. Diversity is getting the invitation; inclusion is ensuring everyone likes that dinner. Um, so I I guess I challenge the feedback that the city is getting from those groups of people and what that feedback is and what we're doing with it. And what I would do is increase the training across all departments of diversity and inclusion—even the streets department. You know, it's something as small as empowering employees that if they're on a job and they hear someone saying something that is inappropriate, having the courage to say, "That's not okay, and this is why," and as a city and a council having their back and giving them the empowerment and courage to say that. So um, really I think um we're on our way as as Dennis mentioned, but I think there's always room for improvement. Thanks. [1:24:16] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Wright? [1:24:20] **Tom Wright:** I hate to be a pain, but could you repeat that for me please? [1:24:22] **Tony Alongi:** It's never a pain, it's completely within rules. I did go over the rules with candidates. This is all totally legit, so folks can be rest assured that our process is being followed. In your opinion, how well does the city adhere to values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (part one)? Part two is: how would you on city council help this city embody those values, whether it's through the hiring and retention of more diverse staff or through other means, whatever may occur to you? [1:24:50] **Tom Wright:** Great. So to answer the first question: I think the city has taken steps to actually do this very fairly well represent the values and diversity. I believe the city did sponsor and promote—or they promoted—I know the pride festival that occurred this last summer as the first ever... I believe the—you guys, it was a parade last year, and then this year was the first official Festival. I did attend that with my kids to check it out and show our support. Um, I think so I think that was a great—I was actually really pleasantly surprised to be honest that the city had supported that. I didn't know if we were at that point yet and I I was really happy to see that. I was like, "Wow, great, we're in 2022." All right, um so I think the city has done a good job—I think they're there so far. And from my perspective now, what I could do as city council—I think um you know, again I guess I'm volunteering myself for everything here, but you know for—if there's anything that a commission or committee that would be needed to form to encourage this, to increase diversity within our city staff or residence for new incoming residents, I'd be very happy to be a part of that as well. [1:25:54] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Miss Haus? [1:25:56] **Angie Haus:** A few years ago, the city made a proclamation, and I am a product of that proclamation here today. Our city announced a few years ago that they, you know, were for inclusivity, diversity, and equity, and that brought me to this journey of being up here. Um, I've worked and I'm a part of Thrive and IDEA, which are you know both non-profits that work towards this greater idea. And I think that Hastings and the city has done such a beautiful job at starting this, and I think that we can still—no matter what the instance is—we can always have room for improvement. And I think it's really important that we continue making sure that we have commissions, that we have people who want to be a part of this town and making sure that it's inclusive to all. And I think the city has started that and I want to keep it going forward and I love to be a part of that. Thank you. [1:26:53] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Pemble? [1:26:56] **Dave Pemble:** Three years ago, when I was on the school board, I was part of the process that developed a joint statement with the school district and the city about development for diversity, inclusion, and equity. We—I would say sadly—have not worked hard enough at those discussions. I think we've done a good job in certain instances, but more still could be done. We're talking about it here tonight, but how do we as a community stand up and support all of our members of our community? Those are very difficult words in some people's minds, but those minds have to be changed. We all live in this community, we all want this community to succeed, and so we cannot drop the ball on this. Thank you. [1:27:49] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Balsanek? [1:28:16] **Joe Balsanek:** Sounding again like a broken record, but I was very enthusiastic about developing the proclamation for Thrive. I attended the first meeting in the high school cafeteria that was attended by over 200 and some people. I read the proclamation to the public to make that known that we are about being inclusive. Running for office the number of times that I have—racism is there, discrimination is there, the ability to have that sense of hatred is there in our community. Is it prevalent? I'm not sure, but it is there. All you have to do is knock on a door, a certain door, and the person starts talking to you and they start asking questions that are leading and you get a kind of a chill on your spine. It's there, and we need to continue to work as hard as we can to remove it. Thank you. [1:29:14] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Balsanek. All members up there having had a chance to answer that question, we're going to move on to the—essentially the last question before your closing statements. We're going to start to bring this home a little bit now; we're talking go back big picture again regarding vision. So the first person to answer this question will be Mr. Martin. Mr. Martin, what does vision mean to you and what is your personal vision for Hastings? [1:30:10] **Ian Martin:** I think what what vision means to me is what I would leave for future generations, for my my nieces and nephews. Um, going to work every day as a council member, um, making Hastings one bit better, being responsive to the community and its needs, ensuring that um you know those needs are met equitably and that everyone in this community feels heard and valued. Um, my vision for Hastings is a community that recognizes its history in the future. My signs say it and I've gotten some flack for it online, but I'm going to defend that. And uh, I'm a history nerd; Hastings has a lot of history. We need to honor that. If that's through architecture, parks, different things—that builds on the fabric that we've talked about here tonight to make Hastings a unique part of the metro area. Thanks. [1:31:04] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Wright? [1:31:07] **Tom Wright:** Thank you. Um, to answer the first part: vision to me is the ability to see what's not there but definitely could be there. Um, it's anticipation of needs—seeing an issue before it becomes an issue. Uh, that's what I see as somewhat the vision. I think it's... and as far as what my personal vision is for Hastings, I think we have a ton of potential. Um, we're not running on all cylinders right now and that's why we're not reaching that potential. But I think we have a ton of potential for a stronger community. I think we've got a good start with the Riverfront Renaissance on the on downtown riverfront, but I think it's time to turn our attention away from that area and down on the Vermillion Street Corridor—start taking baby steps, whatever we can do to make changes. And I think in other areas of our community: we have a great trail system—I know it's having some issues getting maintained, stretching us a little bit—but we have a beautiful trail system that I think we could use to attract even more people in this town for with tourism. I think that everybody involved has been doing a great job of that so far, but we can keep it going. Thank you. [1:32:02] **Tony Alongi:** Miss Haus? [1:32:04] **Angie Haus:** What vision means to me is, you know, seeing what's out there, recognizing it, and reaching its potential and pushing it further. I think we can do that as a town and I think we can do that as a community. I think that there's many things that I would like to see, you know, brought forth like the Vermillion Corridor, and there's also projects like transportation—you know, having a public transportation throughout town I think is a really important step in playing in this long-term sustainable goal of having a vision of what we want Hastings to be like in 10 years, in 20 years. You know, I think it also ties in with public safety—you know, making sure that we have a good, safe town and making sure that we're keeping it that way. And also, you know, playing in with our tourism a little bit—you know, making sure that we still have these beautiful parks and trails that we can continue to have for years to come. Thank you. [1:32:51] **Tony Alongi:** Mr. Pemble? [1:32:53] **Dave Pemble:** Looking at vision: vision as a perception. And part of the perception here is we have this great river community, but are we taking full advantage of it like folks up here have said so far? Again, when we're looking at the downtown, but there's other areas of the community that that need attention, and maybe we can start taking some baby steps working towards that—is looking as far as what the potential is. We've kind of sat and been kind of just steady-as-it-goes for a number of years, but one of the things we discussed tonight was growth and developing what we have within the community. And sometimes that's hard to look for, and sometimes we think very smallly about what can be done. But every little step moving forward is a vision for improving our community and keeping it going. Thank you. [1:34:21] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Balsanek? [1:34:25] **Joe Balsanek:** Housing, services, jobs—that's what we want to try and create here in the city so that it's convenient, it's safe, and affordable. My vision—I've mentioned a few of them before, but we're trying to run through them here as fast as I can: how about an incubator high-tech business park here in Hastings? What about J.C. Park, as I mentioned, becoming a regional recreational and learning center? The Vermillion Corridor; Vermillion Falls Park, which needs repair—my daughter did a post on that on Facebook and she got 500 responses. 500 responses for people saying we need to do something about Vermillion Falls Park. A Motocross, Confluence, and Hudson—let's get that done with. How about public transportation? We're the county seat for heaven's sakes, and we don't have it. Thank you, appreciate it. [1:35:10] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Piney? [1:35:14] **Dennis Piney:** Uh, there was a vision and it was called the "Heart of Hastings" plan that was developed by citizens and adopted and ratified by the city council. That was the directive given to us to get the heart beating again. We've done that. Downtown Hastings is going to go through a period of prosperity not seen before since the turn of the century. Uh, HEDRA developed a multi-pronged effort. We do realize that there are many areas in the city that needed help. We are ready to deal with them now. HEDRA has directed city staff members—and they've already been doing this—to work with private property owners first to encourage them and give them the tools to do what they can with their properties. If and after that does not work, then city investment is worthwhile. HEDRA has already begun purchasing property on Vermillion Street, so the myopic view of downtown is definitely starting to expand. So thank you, the vision is there. [1:36:35] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Thank you all candidates. All right, we're here at closing statements. We're going to start with Mr. Wright—again, 60 seconds if you can come in tighter. Our friends at HCTV will certainly appreciate that. Do what you can. [1:36:52] **Tom Wright:** Well, first of all thank you Tony. First of all I'm going to start—my open my mic up here, there we go. Um, well first of all thank you Tony and Hastings Happenings—I'm sorry, Hastings Progressives. We'll give you a plug too on that. Hastings Happenings, sure why not. And HCTV for providing this forum. Way back when I was a new executive director for HCTV, um I got a phone call, surprise phone call, from another executive director in town, Chris Cope from Hastings Family Service. And she was calling to ask me if I could be on her board of directors. And I remember saying, I was flattered and I was like, "Yes, I'd be honored to be on your board." And then she said something that really stuck with me. She said, "Well, don't say yes to the honor, say yes to the responsibility." And that really stuck with me. And so I'm here to tell everyone today—whoever's watching this—I'm running for the responsibility of Hastings city council. It's a big responsibility, I won't shy away from it, it's a responsibility I'm eager to be a part of and help the cause for Hastings to become a better community. If elected, I will support what is fair to all, what is best for our community. I will research, I will listen, I will keep an open mind and I will make informed, thought-out decisions. And if that sounds okay to you, then I'd really appreciate your vote for me, Tom Wright. Thank you. [1:37:58] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Wright. Miss Haus? [1:38:00] **Angie Haus:** I'd like to thank Hastings Progressives for hosting this event, the city for letting us use the chamber, and Hastings Community TV, and all of you for watching today. I think important discussions like this and making sure everyone is informed is, you know, the most grassroots thing we can do in making sure that, you know, everyone is welcomed here. Um, I really would appreciate your vote, you know, this primary and in November, because I really do believe that this community has what it takes to keep pushing the boundaries, to keep growing, to keep prospering. I, you know, full-heartedly believe in this community and I'm committed to it with my whole heart, with my whole being, with my whole amount of love. And I hope to have your vote this August 9th primary and in November. Thank you. [1:39:06] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Miss Haus. Mr. Pemble? [1:39:08] **Dave Pemble:** I'd first like to thank everybody who helped put this on: Hastings Channel 14, the city for allowing the use of this, the Hastings Progressives, Tony for being the moderator, and for everybody coming up and participating. I'd like to blow my own horn a little bit and say that yep, Dave Pemble's the person. Dave Pemble has the experience. Dave Pemble has been in this community for many years. I've been part of this organization and that organization—I'm still part of different activities that are within the community. I think that I have the experience, I have the knowledge, I have the listening ears to help understand what needs should and can be done in this community. Therefore, I would ask for your vote on the 9th of August and again in November. Thank you. [1:40:00] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you, Mr. Pemble. Mr. Balsanek? [1:40:02] **Joe Balsanek:** How much time, 60 seconds? [1:40:04] **Tony Alongi:** 60. [1:40:05] **Joe Balsanek:** If you paid attention to what I've done on the city council, uh, I worked with two Fire Chiefs, three Police Chiefs, two Mayors, three City Administrators over my years of the council. What have we done? We lowered the tax rate in half, we have an economic development director, we have a new bridge, we have the Riverfront Renaissance, we have the Tilden Senior Center, we have Thrive, we have HEDRA—which I helped create—we have an expanding trail system, we have body cameras for our police officers. I already listed the things that I want to see happen in the future. If you believe that we can get that done, I would appreciate your vote. I'm Joe Balsanek, and uh, there's something to be said for taking something that is a little bit better if you have the advice... it's taken a little bit better from somebody who has been there. Thank you. [1:41:27] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Piney? [1:41:30] **Dennis Piney:** Uh, thank you everyone for putting on and participating in this forum tonight. Especially the folks who are here participating, thank you. Um, I feel very lucky. I knew when I was five years old that I wanted to go into architecture and as it turned out, I was somewhat good at it. I was in an environment where I was able to receive an education and have professional experience to do it. To be able to bring something like that back to your hometown and shape the built environment—not only for yourself but for the future generations of your family and friends—is amazing. I've been doing it for 15 years. I would really appreciate your vote so that I can continue to do it into the future. Thank you. [1:42:25] **Tony Alongi:** Thank you. Mr. Martin? [1:42:30] **Ian Martin:** Uh, as everyone said, thanks for putting this all together everyone. Um, I stand for public safety, law enforcement, fiscal responsibility, and getting the focus off downtown. It's been far too long. We just spent seventy thousand dollars for garbage cans down there; we need to expand that. We gotta get the focus City-wide. I have the courage to say what needs to be said. I've experienced failures on on the city's behalf personally as well as a commissioner, and I had the courage and foresight to go against city staff and ask some tough questions, table decisions, things like that. Um, and that's what I would vow to residents of Hastings—is if those tough questions need to be asked, we need to ask them. And I feel like I'm the person for the job. So appreciate the support, thanks. [1:43:18] **Tony Alongi:** All right, thank you to all the candidates, to all of our partners of course, to HCTV as well, Hastings Progressives, and the City of Hastings. A reminder to all of our viewers: vote Tuesday, August 9th—7 A.M. to 8 P.M. polls are open. If you don't know where to vote, go Google Minnesota Precinct Finder. August—what did I say? Did I say November? That's what vision is folks, vision is looking ahead. And by the way, all six of these candidates didn't know the proper date—they all corrected me simultaneously. It's a tie in that respect. August 9th, then November. August 9th, please vote. If you don't know where your precinct is, where to vote, please go to the Secretary of State of Minnesota website; you can just Google it real easily, enter your address, find out where to go. Thank you all very much for watching and thank you all once again for participating here and putting on such a wonderful forum for the good people of Hastings. Thank you to our audience and thank you viewers. [1:44:30] [Silence/End]