Jamie Davis - Rogers City Council

September 16th

2009-09-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 3-year anniversary of the Rogers tornado. My thoughts and prayers are with the Wendt family.

Off to DC

2009-03-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, 3/14, the City Council (with the exception of Steve Rauenhorst who was unable to go) and City Administrator Stahmer travel to Washington DC in hopes of obtaining additional Federal Stimulus money to fully finance the 101/94 interchange. We are meeting with Oberstar's Chief of Staff and directly with Senator Klobuchar and Congressman Paulsen. Let's hope that we are successful...I'll post recaps of the meetings as soon as I can.

Last Few Meetings

2009-03-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

At the past couple of Council meetings, there has been significant discussion on a proposed Respectful Workplace Policy. The policy is more geared toward City employees, but would also apply to elected officials, appointed positions and volunteers. One topic in particular garnered a lot of attention – guns and those individuals who have a permit to conceal/carry. There was a fine line as to when elected officials are “conducting City business”. A conversation at the grocery store about taxes could be construed as “conducting City business”. Or, a hunting trip out west where taxes come up could be construed as “conducting City business”. At least one Council member has a permit to carry and I believe another is in process of obtaining the same permit. I personally enjoy hunting and own several guns. I have no issues with anyone carrying a legally permitted weapon and believe strongly in the 2nd Amendment. Ultimately, the provision related to the elected officials was pulled, and the balance of the policy was approved.

Another item involving considerable discussion is the potential of Federal Stimulus money and the potential upgrade to the 101/94 interchange. On March 16 & 17, the Council is heading to DC to lobby our congressional delegation to get funding for this project. Using rough numbers, the project is in the $16M range. We previously received about $7M in Federal Funding. We are trying to get additional funding to fully fund the project, with no cost to the City. I am optimistic that something good can happen. This is the closest we’ve been…stay tuned. For more information on the alignment, see www.erstarnews.com. Bob Grawey is writing a two-part article on the project.

New Council

2009-02-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the delay in getting a new post up, but here it goes…

So far, there have been two meetings with the new council and I have to say I have been pleased with the discussion so far. I was not sure what to expect. There have been a couple of items that there was disagreement. Rather than providing a generic recap of the meeting, I will focus my posts on items where the Council is divided.

First, we discussed giving non-union staff a 3% salary increase. In these economic times, that did not seem right. Every day, it seems another company is cutting jobs. Ultimately, after much discussion we decided on a 4-1 vote (Steve Rauenhorst dissenting) to give staff a 1.5% raise now and then re-look at the economic conditions by no later than June. As a reference, this is the same methodology as Elk River used. Also, one of my co-workers is on Otsego’s City Council and he told me that he thought their staff received a 2.5% raise. Looking back, however, I think I should have agreed with Steve on this one.

The second item was which paper to use as our official newspaper. Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with the content either paper does or does not publish. This designation is only for where we put our legally required notices – public hearings, special meetings, etc. The issue came up to cost versus circulation. The Star News is a free paper distributed throughout ISD 728. It cost us about $2000 more to advertise in this paper versus the Crow River News, which has a circulation of about 700 households in Rogers/Hassan and requires a $38 or so/year subscription. I sited a discussion at a Park Board Meeting, as well as my own personal experiences, with delivery issues of the Star News. Again, after much discussion we decided on a 3-2 voted (Steve Rauenhorst and I dissenting) to go with the Star News. I really could have gone either way on this, but ultimately decided to lessen the financial impact in difficult economic times. I was personally torn, as I campaigned two years ago on improving communication. At the same time, I also vowed to be fiscally responsible. It was really was not an easy decision. Let me know your thoughts – I look forward to the feedback.

Results are in…

2008-11-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the citizens of Rogers elected a new mayor (Jason Grimm) and two new council members (Jay Bunting and Rob Bell). I would like to say congratulations to these three individuals. Your hard work paid off. Speaking from my own experience, enjoy the next few days/few weeks - soak everything in. But, then start thinking about what you've promised to do and how you can achieve those objectives and hit the ground running in January 2009.

I look forward to continuing to work with Mr. Grimm, as well as working with Mr. Bell and Mr. Bunting at a different level. I look forward to having productive discussions at future City Council meetings. I want to be clear - just because I supported these three individuals, I do not expect us to agree on every issue. There have been several items from the planning commission that I have not agreed with that Rob and/or Jay supported. Likewise, I have not always agreed with Jason on every issue facing the City Council over the past 6 years. My hope is that we can have open conversations/dialog and involve the residents, business owners and civic groups to avoid the nasty letter to the editor war that we have seen in recent months.

Two days to go...

2008-11-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

With only two days left to the election, I think back to this time two years ago. I know this is a very hectic time for a candidate - thinking all the what ifs - just to name a few:
Should I have ordered more signs?
Should I have knocked on more doors?
Should I have distributed another piece of literature?
Should I have said something different in a flyer?
Should I have not said something?

Speaking from my own experiences, Election Night is a stressful night - waiting for the results to come in is the worst part of it. Once 8pm roles around, you breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that it's over and there is nothing you can do now. But then you have to wait for the votes to be counted and certified. There's nothing like the feeling though of knowing your hard work paid off when you see that checkmark by your name

Now that I am at the half-way point, in the next week or so I intend to review my own pieces of literature to see how I have done against what I've said I would. I'll share my thoughts.

Lastly, there is a change to the polling locations. If you live north of I94, you vote at the Rogers Activity Center (RAC) - the ice arena. If you live couth of I94, you still vote at the Rogers Community Room. See the City's website if you have questions:

http://rogers.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={64CFF0EA-3DF6-4F6E-A885-D0E378F87605}

Make sure you get out and vote and I will offer my thoughts on the results on Wednesday.

Final Endorsements

2008-10-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

With one week remaining until the general election, I have decided it is time to endorse candidates in the race for Rogers City Council and Rogers Mayor. My decisions are based on who I want to serve with and where I think the most can be accomplished to benefit the City. None of the candidates formally approached me and asked for an endorsement. These are my opinions only.

City Council
Jay Bunting - I previously wrote a letter supporting Jay. See the link below.
Rob Bell - Along with Jay, Rob is the only other candidate I saw at Council Meetings. I base my decision on my interactions with Rob and Jay as members of the Planning Commission, as well at regularly scheduled Council meetings.

Mayor
If this election would have been 12 months ago, without a doubt I would have been supporting Scott Adams. For about 3 years, Scott and I were in the minority on several issues. In fact, I disagreed with Jason Grimm on a number of these issues during that time.

Overall, on most issues the three of us all agree on how to proceed. However in the past 12 months or so, it seems like there have been a couple of significant issues that I have not seen eye to eye with Scott and agree more with Jason. I am not going to go into any specific issues - they've been covered in the local media and in various letters to the editor(s).

That said I will be supporting Jason Grimm for Mayor.

I refuse to say anything negative about any of the candidates, as to why I am not supporting a particular candidate. There is enough of that at every other level.

Finally a new post...

2008-10-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Things have been a bit hectic for me recently, so I haven't had too much time to update my blog. I would like to thank those people that offered me support in completing my first marathon. Steph and I ran together in the Twin Cities Marathon. Despite getting soaked for the 1st half of the race (we ran by Sven Sungaard from Kare 11 thru downtown and I asked him if it was going to ran and he said not until the afternoon - LIAR!!!), we were able to finish in just over 5 hours. I was hoping for between 4:30 and 4:45 - next time. I was unable to run for 3 weeks right before the race, and I think it did in my legs.

Anyway, in the most recent edition of the Star News, I wrote a letter to the editor supporting Jay Bunting for Rogers City Council. A link is below:

http://erstarnews.com/content/view/4418/42/

I believe a similar letter will be in the Crow River News on Monday, Oct 13.

Since I am sure the "opposition" will not like my comments, any of those individuals who want to comment here will be able to do so only if they give their full name and e-mail on any posts. No more anonymous posts...my site...my rules!!!

Bummer about the Royals football team..I was hoping they would have defeated Becker.

New Information related to Rogers Police Department

2008-09-24T08:08:00.001-07:00

I was not able to attend last night's meeting due to an abscessed tooth. That said, I wanted to pass on some information from the Rogers' PD relating to the creation of an improved communication process with residents and businesses. I applaud the innovation and encourage everyone to sign up. See the text below:

The Rogers Police Department is developing an email database and notification system to enhance communication between the Rogers Police Department and our community and business members.

This email notification system will provide community members with crime alerts, police news, and other information that the police department would like disseminated to the community. The information that we plan to broadcast will be accurate, timely, and of community interest.

I am seeking subscription information from those people who would like to subscribe to this free email notification. To make this notification system function, I will require the following information from each subscriber:

· Full Name (first, middle and last)
· Name of Business (if applicable)
· Address
· Phone Number
· Email Address

I will be responsible for distributing the emails to the community members via rogerspolice@ci.rogers.mn.us. To subscribe please send an email to rogerspolice@ci.rogers.mn.us with the above required information. Please label the email in the “Subject” line: Email Notification Subscription.

Any information that you provide to the Rogers Police Department for the purpose of this email notification system will be considered nonpublic information and will not be released pursuant to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, 13.02, subdivision 9.

If you need more information about this notification system or have questions or concerns, please contact the Rogers Police Department at 763-428-3450.

Remember, if you wish to report a crime, suspicious activity, or have an emergency call 9-1-1.

Sincerely,

Officer Michael Hayen 6822
mhayen@ci.rogers.mn.us
(763) 428-3450

9/16/2006

2008-09-16T06:03:00.001-07:00

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the F-2 tornado that hit Rogers, tragically killing Jaymi Wendt. My thoughts and prayers are with the Wendt family on this extremely difficult day. As a community, we have rebuilt but there are just some wounds that will never heal…

9/11 Remebered

2008-09-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 7th anniversary of the horrific events of September 11, 2001. My thoughts and prayers are with those that lost loved ones that day.

Couple of Notes

2008-09-08T07:08:00.001-07:00

Primary on Sep 9
I would like to encourage everyone to vote in the primary tomorrow, Tuesday 9 September. Jeff Johnson is a Republican endorsed candidate running for Hennepin County Commissioner (District 7) - Penny Steele's seat. I have had the opportunity to talk to Jeff on a couple of occasions and believe he would represent us well.

City Council Meeting
Due to the Primary Election being held on 9 September, the Council meeting scheduled for that evening has been moved to Wednesday, 10 Sep, starting at the normal 7pm.

Sad News

2008-08-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

I learned yesterday that former Rogers City Attorney Bob Miller passed away on Sunday (8/24). Services will be next Wednesday at Lord of Life in Maple Grove. A full obituary will be in Sunday’s paper.

I had the opportunity to work with Bob during my first term on the Council and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Update from 8/12 City Council Meeting

2008-08-20T12:18:00.001-07:00

There were three items of note from the last Council meeting on 8/12. My thoughts on those topics are below.

Cabela's
Last year, Cabela's requested the City Council approve a site plan that would allow them to add on to their existing building. They had previous wanted outside boat storage, which required a Conditional Use Permit or CUP. This was defeated due to the impact on the Tax Abatement. This time, the site plan did not contain the outside boat storage component and did not require a CUP. Legally, the council could not deny the request. That said, I have always been against the Tax Abatement extended to Cabela's. Even though I had no legal reason to deny the request, I could not bring my self to approve the request. Councilman Adams spoke up and stated he could neither vote for nor vote against the site plan and I agreed with him. I am not sure Steve Rauenhorst's rationale for abstaining, but mine and Scott's were quite clear. After two motions (the first one died die to the lack of a second), the Site Plan was approved. I am sure I will be criticized for abstaining, but I just I could not bring my self to approve the request.

Administrator
Steve Stahmer was selected as the top candidate to fill the vacant City Administrator position. I was impressed with Steve, and not just his "youthfulness" as pointed out in the Star Tribune. I was trying to imply that Steve bought freshness to the table in that he was not a long-tenured employee with another city and possessed a particular mindset. I did not mean to insinuate that he was my first choice simply because he was the youngest. Freshness of perspective and the drive to have a vision for the City turned turned into youthfulness - kind of an open mouth insert foot situation. Mr. Stahmer scored the highest in the various interview panels as well as the testing conducted by our consultant. I hope he decides to take the job because I feel he is the best candidate to lead the City in the right direction.

Civic Partnerships
I have always said we have great individual and corporate involvement in Rogers. There are two more recent examples from our 8/12 meeting. First, Broadway Pizza owner Jason Hines is hosting the 4th Annual Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness ride on September 20, 2008. The 100 mile ride (500 motorcycles are anticipated) will conclude at Broadway Pizza with a pizza party and two bands scheduled to perform. Kudos to Jason for being civic minded. Second, Fatboy's Sandwiches owner Jay Downs requested permission to host a charity concert in his parking lot on September 7, 2008. The charity has not been finalized, but he stated he preferred to provide the funds to the Rogers high School Music and Arts Program or the Children's Welfare League of Minnesota. He has done a similar event at another location in the past. Again, kudos to Jay for also being civic minded. I know in this economy dollars can be tight, but I encourage you to support both businesses and let them know their efforts are greatly appreciated.

Administrator Search Cont'd

2008-08-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

At the Tuesday meeting (8/12/2008), the Council voted unanimously to offer Steve Stahmer as its City Administrator position - pending negotiations with the City Attorney. I was impressed with Steve's background - even though his experience as an administrator was not as vast as some of the other candidates. He asked us some tough, thought-provoking questions during his interview, which showed to me a genuine interest in the position. I am keeping my fingers crossed that a deal can be reached. I surely do not want to go through the interview process a third time....

There is an article in today's Star Tribune - see the link below.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/26936829.html?elr=KArks:DCiUMcyaL_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

In my next post (either today or tomorrow), I will comment on a couple of other items from the 8/12 meeting.

In the News

2008-08-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

I have been interviewed a couple of times in the recent week:

first in the Crow River News regarding the Police Open House:

http://www.pressnews.com/articles/2008/08/07/north_crow_river_news/news/2rogpoliceopenhouse.txt

and also in the Minneapolis Star Tribune regarding the search for a new administrator:

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/26360704.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU

Happy reading....

Noteworthy Events

2008-07-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

At the Council meeting on 24 July, new Police Chief Jeff Luther was officially sworn into office. I would like to thank Jason Foster for stepping up and assuming the responsibilities of Chief until a replacement could be found. I look forward to working with Jeff and believe he will do an excellent job as Police Chief. At the meeting, the topic of the Police Open House was brought up. Interim Administrator Willis provided a memo that provided some rationale why it is not a good idea to do (staffing, budgetary and ethical concerns). I mistakenly thought we had allocated funds during the budgeting process to fund the open house, but it turns out those funds were only for the officer's time. Must be a sign of old age - my memory is starting to fail me… Chief Luther spoke up on the issue and raised some very good points. He expressed concern over having the police department solicit donations. Business owners who contribute might look for special favors from the department, as well as those that don't contribute might fear retribution. He said it crossed a line that as a department we should not be crossing. After giving it some thought, I would say I definitely agree with his viewpoint. Just consider this, I am a business owner who makes a large contribution, but one of my employees with or without my knowledge is selling drugs out of the business. How would I/my business be treated? Would the officers look the other way because I am a contributor? What would happen if I did not contribute? I am in no way implying that our officers would do this - I am just using a very hypothetical situation to raise some valid concerns. That said, the Fire Department is still holding its annual Octoberfest event on Saturday, 27 Sep. The Police Department will participate in this event as more of a "Public Safety" Open House. More details will follow.

Also, just as noteworthy, last Monday and Wednesday we conducted 5 interviews for our Administrator opening. Of the five candidates, I felt there were two that stood out. We will be meeting later this week on Thursday to review the staff/department heads/Council and citizen panels assessments. It will be interesting to see how those pan out. I'll post more as I know it.

Filings for Office

2008-07-19T10:46:00.001-07:00

The period for filing for Rogers' office offically closed on Tueday afternoon. The following people have filed for City Council:

Jay Bunting
Rob Bell
Tammy Sternal

The following have filed for Mayor:

Jason Grimm
Scott Adams

As the election draws nearer, I will be offering my thoughts on the Council Race. I know two of the candidates well, but not the third. I want to wait to comment on this.

As for Mayor, there is one comment I will make today - since Scott Adams has officially labeled me as the "opposition", there is no way I will be supporting him. It's too bad - he helped me considerably on my re-election bid in 2006 and I was looking forward to returning the favor. I think he has taken our recent disagreements a bit too personally. I am not going to advertise his site, but if you read the minutes, except for the votes on Eitel, Oldfather and the candidates to interview for police chief, I had agreed with him on pretty much every issue. I guess I should be honored to be labeled "opposition".

Updates

2008-07-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, a number of noteworthy events occurred. First, the accelerated annexation of Hassan Township was approved 3-2 by the Rogers City Council. I voted against the accelerated merger because I felt I had inadequate information to make a decision. I asked for a detailed analysis of what each department would look like from a headcount standpoint. I wanted to compare a potential increase in salaries and benefits to the projected expense stream used in the model, which was based on a straight percentage increase. I also asked what assets would need to be purchased to support the larger geographic area. The short answer I was given is that we have 3 years to figure that out. I would rather have had everything laid out prior to approving the accelerated annexation. Just my opinion…

Second, the Council has decided to move forward with hiring Jeff Luther as our next Police Chief. Jeff comes from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. I want to make it clear that I have no intention of going after Jeff's job if a new Council is elected in November. I disagreed with the decision to let Keith go and I disagreed with the decision not to interview an internal candidate, Mike Miller. That said, I do support Jeff and believe he will do a good job. I will not be part of any witch hunt to remove him in January should the makeup of the Council change in November.

Third, Jason Grimm announced that he is not running for re-election to the City Council, rather he is running for Mayor. I am curious to see who else files - to date no one else has expressed an interest to run for Mayor. I gave some serious thought to running for Mayor as well. However, Jason and I have agreed on a number of issues as of late and I see no reason to run against him. I wish him the best of luck in his campaign.

Lastly, we made it through another Rockin' Rogers Days. What a great event! I was so excited for Mike Miller. Not only was he the Grand Marshal of the parade, but also his daughter Tate was crowned Miss Rogers on Saturday. Congratulations to both - what a great day for the Miller family. I had a number of people come up to me on Saturday Night and let me know they read my comments. A few gave me a hard time for not updating it more often…I am trying my best to provide more regular updates.

That's about it for now.

Annexation revisited

2008-06-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night (Thurs., 6/5), the City Council will be having a joint meeting with the Hassan Town Board at the Rogers Community Center @ 7pm. The Board, on last Monday night, decided they wanted to accelerate the merger date to Jan 01, 2012. This is up from the year 2030. I am not sure what changed from February when it was clear Hassan had no plans to accelerate the annexation. I hope to have more answers tomorrow and will post my thoughts after the meeting. I'll pass on information as I get it.....

My heart goes out to Hugo

2008-05-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

It sadness me to see the damage in Hugo - especially the death of a 2-year old. Just when it seems like our own wounds are starting to heal, a tragedy like this tends to reopen them. September 2006 was an extremely difficult time for me as a parent, homeowner and Council member. Even though my home's damage was all external and no one in my family was injured, I know it could have been a lot worse. The storm still took a mental toll on my kids - every time it thunders I am asked if we have to head to the basement. Plus, as elected officials we had to deal with the tragic death of one of our residents. Now with fresh pictures of tornado damage in the paper and on TV, we have a new reminder of what happened almost 2 years ago in Rogers. Like Rogers did, Hugo will have to come to terms with what happened and start to rebuild. From our own experiences we know it does not happen quickly and we appreciate a helpful hand. My heart goes out to them...God Bless.

Personal Observation

2008-05-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

In his latest "recap" of Council Meetings, Scott Adams wrote the following:

"I am at a loss to explain why Grimm and Davis voted no to approve the top six candidates.. Their qualifications in education (4 of 6 have Masters Degrees) and experience (all have held positions 2 to 5 levels above Patrol Officer) outweighed all the other candidates. Grimm and Davis did try to elevate another candidate to the interview list, but his documented qualifications were not equal to the top six. Were they trying to do a favor for a friend?"

It's too bad I was taken off of distribution (I always looked forward to receiving the recap) and someone had to forward this to me.

Anyway, here is my response:

First and foremost, I was not doing a favor for a friend. Scott, you and the others, can call it what you want. I could care less what you think and you can write what you want - as can I. My objection to the list is simple. I have always believed that you look at internal candidates - there are benefits (employees have careers not just a job, continuity, etc). Paper resumes do not mean much to me - it is easy to make a resume look better than it is. The decision not to give an internal candidate the opportunity to interview is contrary to what at least 2 others have said in public meeting, supporting internal development and advancement. To not do so, is a slap in the face of existing staff. I'll gladly provide specifics (remember a few meetings ago when we approved Stacy's tuition reimbursement???) if someone wants to challenge me more on this. I will always object to an interview list if no internal candidates are given the opportunity to interview and I feel there is a qualified candidate. In this instance, I thought there was a qualified internal candidate. I base this on my professional work experience over the past 10 years, including over 3 years in a management role.

Speaking of Stacy, I am curious as to what kind of message this sends her? The taxpayers of Rogers are paying (approx $25k) for her to complete a Bachelors degree. So what is going to happen when she is up against candidates for an Administrator job with a Masters degree and previous Administrator experience? Are the taxpayers of Rogers going to be asked to finance a Masters degree for her to compete against other candidates or will she be excluded from the interview process? It will be interesting to see how this one pans out……

Spring Cleaning

2008-05-18T11:38:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had an opportunity to take advantave of Rogers Cleanup Day. When I got into line at around 7:40am, the line was almost to the end of the water treatment plant. By the time I left at 8:40am, the line was all the way to Northdale. I heard it was just as long for most of the time. John Seifert and his Public Works staff did a wonderful job as always. The turnout seems to get bigger and bigger each year.

It must be getting closer to November...

2008-05-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Having two kids involved in 2 sports each (plus being coach and on the Board) has limited my amount of free time as of late. In fact, it's been non-existent. That said, I've noticed that in the past couple of weeks two candidates have already expressed an interest in running for City Council - Jay Bunting and Rob Bell. To date, Scott Adams and Jason Grimm (the incumbents) have not yet announced their intentions for November. All I can say is that it will likely be an interesting race (I am glad I am not up for re-election). As the primary (which I am assuming will be necessary) and general election draw nearer, I will provide my input on the candidates and identify which candidate(s) I will be supporting. Stay tuned…I feel it is going to be interesting….

Captain Michael Miller

2008-04-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

With the recent negativity surrounding the Rogers Police Department, it is nice to report something positive involving the PD. At the meeting on 4/8, there was an item on the agenda to discuss Rogers Police Captain Mike Miller attending the 234th F.B.I. National Academy in Quantico, VA from July 6, 2008 through September 12, 2008. Cost of training is minimal with travel, tuition, meals and lodging provided at no cost. Mike originally submitted his application in September 2002. Only the best of the best get an opportunity to attend this 10-week training. Less than ½ of 1 percent of all law enforcement officers will have the privilege of attending the FBINA; with acceptance based on invitation through a nomination process only. In fact, there were only 3 police officers from Minnesota were selected - one of those being Mike. This is a phenomenal opportunity and honor for Mike - one that he has been hoping for since 1989. No one deserves this more than Mike. If you see Mike around town, please congratulate him and wish him well.

Meeting on 4/8

2008-04-11T05:23:00.000-07:00

The meeting on 4/8 was one of the quickest I have ever been part of. It was over by 7:30. A few of the highlights are as follows:

· Mayor Przybilla was absent.
· Nancy Sanford addressed the Council regarding Preschool U. They will be eventually utilizing space at the new High Pointe Church that is scheduled to be completed by December 2008. However, they need an interim location from approximately July to December. There was some brief discussion about allowing the use of the former Word of Peace building or allowing them to use the space Highpoint is currently using off of 81. The WOP building is currently for sale, so we recommended exploring an interim-use permit to allow the preschool to meet at High Pointe's current location in case the WOP building is sold. This item was referred to staff.
· The Senior Advisory Board made a presentation and I would like to pass on that there will be an open house at the Rogers-Hassan Senior Friendship Center (Hassan Town Hall) on Wednesday, April 23 from 1:00 - 4:00pm. I encourage everyone to attend and show your support of our City's seniors.
· A TIF workshop was set on 4/22 prior to that night's council meeting from 5:00-7:00 pm.
· At the last Council Meeting, Councilman Adams had asked Acting Chief Foster for a list of vehicles and how many miles are on each vehicle. The officers will be looking at the list to see what vehicles can be sold. The Acting Chief was also asked to begin tracking expenses by vehicle to see if there is a pattern of problems with a certain make/model. Right now we use mostly Chevy Impala's, which have been cheaper than a Ford, but if the maintenance costs are higher over the life of the vehicle it would make sense to look at buying Fords.
· There was one more item discussed, but I am going to dedicate a separate post to the topic.

New Post...Finally

2008-04-04T05:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in getting a new post up. Things have been quite hectic with my family's vacation, transitioning into a new job, etc…

In the past week, each of the local papers published an interview with former police chief Oldfather. I am glad that he has chosen to make some of the details from the closed meeting public. I think he summed the situation up a lot better than I ever could. To this date, I have no second-thoughts regarding my decision to support the chief. Despite what has been said about me, I will continue to support Keith.

I was not at the Council meeting on 3/25 due to my flight being delayed on the way home, so for now there is nothing new to report. Thanks for your patience with me over the past few weeks and I promise I will get back to publishing new posts on a more frequent basis.

Needed break

2008-03-18T17:41:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to let you know that my posts over the next week will be limited. I am on vacation with my family and have very limited internet access. Please be patient...I will get current when I return.

Update Coming...

2008-03-10T15:48:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe my little blog has received so much attention...thanks to everyone checking this out. I learned a valuable lesson though - my site was featured in both the Star News and the Crow River News. The funny thing is that neither reporter contacted me for comments - they just took what I had posted on here. I guess I need to careful with what I say...

That said, there were a couple of comments I need to respond to. I will do so in the next day or so.

More Dialog

2008-03-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

As I stated earlier, my goal in creating this blog is to improve communication with you the residents of Rogers. Are there any topics that you would like my thoughts/perspective on? I look forward to your comments...fire away...

Chief - Part II

2008-02-29T19:12:00.001-08:00

I had originally planned this entry to be a recap of the 2/26 City Council Meeting. However, given the events the next evening that seems pretty irrelevant right now. Again, I struggled with what I wanted to say…so here it goes.

The meeting started as a public meeting. However, Mayor Przybilla quickly informed the audience (probably 40 or so people) that there would not be any time allowed for public input or comments. The Council, City Attorney, Interim Administrator, City Clerk and the Chief all moved into another room to conduct the “performance review” in a closed session of the Council. Unfortunately, I cannot discuss the particulars. This closed session lasted almost and hour and then the Council returned to the main room of the Community Center. A motion was made to accept the resignation of Chief Keith Oldfather with 3 months severance. To no one’s surprise, the vote was 3-2 – with Jason Grimm and myself dissenting. The audience was shocked and saddened. I cannot imagine this is the way Keith wanted his career to end. I know I wouldn’t.

Keith had a plenty of supporters in the audience, a testament to his character and performance on the job. I heard first-hand a number of people say, “You don’t know me, but you did a great job and will be missed.” I think that sums it any better than I could…

During my 5+ years on the Council, there were no complaints due to poor response time to calls. There were no complaints of excessive force by the officers. There were no concerns over public safety. That’s what I expect from a police department.

Now what???? I don’t know. As of today, there are no plans to name an interim chief. I have not been part of any conversation to determine a future chief. I spoke with Keith Thursday morning while we has cleaning out his office at around 10:30am. At that point, no one from the City had the courtesy to let the staff know how to proceed. Someone (I don’t know who) was supposed to be there at 8:00am to address the staff. I’ll keep you posted as I find out more.

Police Chief

2008-02-26T12:44:00.001-08:00

I have spent the past few days thinking about subject and how I wanted to write this, so here it goes…

On Monday, 2/18, I received a phone call from the Chief of Police, Keith Oldfather, stating that Mayor Przybilla asked him earlier that day to resign based on a performance review held by Interim Administrator Jim Willis the prior week (Keith Oldfather has provided his consent to allow me to publish this information). It is my belief (based on comments made in numerous public meetings) Scott Adams supports the decision and I can only guess that Steve Rauenhorst does as well. A special meeting has been called for Wednesday, 2/27 to discuss the Chief's performance review - again conducted by Willis. I guess we'll find out Wednesday.

I have first-hand witnessed numerous instances where other members of the City Council have belittled or dressed-down Keith in public meetings. It's my opinion that these actions were unwarranted. It seems to me that they were attempts to discredit Keith and lead to his eventual termination/resignation. If you want the details, I talked about this during my recent interview on http://www.rogerscast.com/.

Then there is the investigation (that cost around $30,000) into wrong-doings of the police department. Unfortunately, since the matter was discussed in a closed meeting of the City Council, I cannot go into the specifics of why there was an investigation. I can say that nothing illegal or unethical was found.

During my time on the City Council, I have had the opportunity to interact with Keith on many occasions. Not for one minute have I ever questioned his professionalism on the job. I have great respect for police officers and the job they do and would never, ever be one second-guess their decisions. These men and women do not have the luxury, like many of us do at our jobs, to over-analyze decisions. Their personal safety, as well as the safety of others, would be in jeopardy if they had to think about potential ramifications after the fact. That said, I do not support the decision to ask Keith to resign.

In the past week I have heard from many residents, as well as business owners, while at various events around the City. Not one person has stated they support the decision to fire Keith. He is well-respected in Rogers.

This situation sounds eerily similar to the termination/forced resignation (call it what you will) of former administrator Gary Eitel.

County Convention

2008-02-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, 2/23, I was a delegate at the endorsing convention for Hennepin County Commissioner - District 7. This is the seat being vacated by Penny Steele. Two very qualified candidates were seeking the Republican Party's endorsement - Jeff Johnson (former State Representative) and Warren Limmer (current State Senator). I have met Warren a number of times and just recently had an opportunity to meet Jeff last week. I cannot explain it, but once I met Jeff and talked politics with him, it became pretty clear he was the candidate I would support - nothing against Warren. I believe Jeff will give the suburbs a voice against the interests of Minneapolis. The majority of taxes come from the suburbs and we need to ensure our hard earned dollars are spent wisely. The first vote was around 55-45 in favor of Johnson. 60% was required to win the endorsement. The second vote was 59-41. I have to give Warren credit; he did not concede and was still fighting for support despite the odds being stacked against him. The third, and ultimately final, vote was 61-39. The convention ended around 3pm after starting at 9am. It was a very interesting experience and I urge everyone to become involved and experience this first hand.

At the convention, Jason Grimm and I also had the opportunity to talk with Erik Paulsen. He is the Republican candidate seeking Jim Ramstad’s seat, after Ramstad decided to retire. Ramstad has always been a supporter of our pursuit of Federal dollars to fix the intersection at 94 & 101. We wanted to speak with Erik and make him aware of the problems with the interchange. Additionally, we wanted to let him know that we have been to DC in prior years lobbying for Federal assistance. First he has to get elected…

Improving Communication - 02/20/2008

2008-02-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

When I campaigned for re-election in November 2006, one of my goals was to improve communication with the residents. In the past year, I feel improvements have been made. The City's website contains a lot of new information that it never previously did (i.e. entire Council Packets prior to the meeting, agendas and minutes from prior years, etc). I feel this blog is a continuation of improving communication.

On Sunday, 2/17, I participated in an interview with Mike Mauren on www.rogerscast.com. The interview is available for download - Click on "My Podcast". A wide range of topics were discussed during the 40-minute interview. Take a listen and let me know what you think. Again, just another vehicle to let the public know what is going on in the City of Rogers

Entry #1

2008-02-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

Welcome...I will be using this blog to discuss politics in Rogers. Your comments, praise, criticism and feedback are always welcome.

The opinions on this site are my own.

Thanks for your support.