St. Michael residents will have a few city elections to cast their ballot for at the polls next month. Matt Kammann’s resignation from St. Michael’s city council earlier this fall has opened up a special, two-year seat on the council. Candidates for this seat include Joe Hagerty and Douglas Wilson.
Additionally, two councilmembers’ four-year seats are up for election this November. Cody Gulick and Nadine Schoen are both running for re-election, and a third candidate, Ryan Gleason, has thrown his name in the hat as well.
Lastly, Mayor Kevin Kasel is running for another term as mayor unopposed.
We asked all council and mayoral candidates the same series of questions to help readers understand the different candidates’ views. Their answers are below.
Two Year Council Term Candidates
Joe Hagerty
Age: 56
Family: Married with three adult children
Years in St. Michael Community: originally from St. Michael
1. How, specifically, would you like St. Michael to grow into 2020 and what is the city’s role in promoting that growth?
St Michael is an attractive place for families to live for a variety of reasons including tremendous public and private schools, variety of faith communities, proximity to the metro area, effective public safety, many residential options including “work force” housing, strong community education, dedicated city staff, and a growing business / industrial base. How we manage this growth is key. Currently we have adequate sewer and water capacity for growth and have improved our transportation system (Frankfort Parkway, St Michael Parkway, expansions of Hwy 241 and CR 19, Trail Blazer Transit). As more residential developments are added, improvements to CR 19 south of CR 35 to Hanover will need to be explored. St Michael has done well in partnering with our neighboring cities, county and the state in successfully lobbying the state and federal governments for highway funding. St Michael staff, city council, EDA and Planning and Zoning have done well in keeping developers and builders accountable with building and design standards. I wish to become part of this team.
2. Residents are often concerned about keeping taxes low and the city’s budget flat. What’s the best way to do that while combating rising costs?
Residents expect value for their tax money and I believe the services provided by the city provide great value. Our talented public works department performs some amazing functions such as efficiently and timely clearing the streets of snow and debris, maintaining our parks and ball fields, performing asphalt and concrete projects, and manages the compost site and the joint cities’ clean-up day. The city’s contract with Veolia in my opinion has expertly managed the sewer and water facilities. The city’s building department saves money by sharing staff with the city of Albertville. City administration has reduced staff during the economic downturn. I am a proponent of “wants” vs “needs” and expect governments to “listen” to residents in addressing their needs.
3. Families have responded to city surveys stating they’d be in favor of a proposed park or community center aimed at recreation and entertainment. Is this something you could support? If so, what the best way for the city to make this happen?
There has been much discussion over many years regarding community centers, whether public or private. A combination of private and public partnerships has been explored and may continue. St Michael has city owned land near city hall where a facility (indoor and/or outdoor) could be constructed. Community Centers in general are subsidized by the tax payer and are generally controversial during the exploration, planning and construction phase. Ideally a private / public partnership could be formed.
4. How can the city play a larger role in supporting local business?
Due to nearby surrounding communities such as Rogers, Maple Grove, Elk River, Monticello and Buffalo all having “big box” retail stores and a variety of dining choices, it is difficult to directly compete in those ventures. Niche stores/restaurants/businesses can attract our own residents as well as people from elsewhere. For example, the recent opening of BK Tap Haus in our downtown area has been a success. Ideas for successful businesses are always welcome.
Douglas Wilson
Age: 33
Family: Single
Years in St. Michael community: 1
1. How, specifically, would you like St. Michael to grow into 2020 and what is the city’s role in promoting that growth?
I would like to see St Michael grow in a sustainable, responsible way into a mature city. Too much change too quickly isn’t a good thing and can cause instability or degrade the social fabric that holds our community together. People come to St Michael for a small town feeling. We have to cherish our identity and be careful to not lose what makes St Michael special in trying to compete in the rat race. I’m against demolishing historical buildings, especially when we have plenty of good land. I’d like to see more restaurants in St Michael and more access to cable/Internet.
The role of the city council in this is careful city planning that makes the city more livable. City council should also protect pedestrians from traffic, protect citizens from pollution, shady contractors/developers and slum lords. The city council should work to attract the right developers and businesses that the citizens want.
2. Residents are often concerned about keeping taxes low and the city’s budget flat. What’s the best way to do that while combating rising costs?
The measure of a good government is how much services a government can provide for the least cost. The best way to keep taxes low is fiscal responsibility. As a city councilor, this is my primary responsibility. The 2018 budget increased 6% which is too high. I’ve studied the budget and it’s a good budget but there’s room for improvement. We’ve borrowed from the street light budget to pay for different sized recycling carts that aren’t bringing in enough revenue. There’s only a 25% price difference between the smallest and largest cart although the largest cart is almost 3x the volume. If the pricing were fair, each household should pay for what they use. I’d also like to mention that we spent more on our street light electricity budget than the senior center. That doesn’t seem like our priorities are in the right place. Senior citizens are more important to me than street lights. When we’re illuminating some streets that are totally empty for most of the night, it seems wasteful.
3. Families have responded to city surveys stating they’d be in favor of a proposed park or community center aimed at recreation and entertainment. Is this something you could support? If so, what the best way for the city to make this happen?
I would ask the community development director to hire a municipal research company to put together a proposal for 3 separate scenarios each for a park and community center. It would start with a series of community engagement meetings to get feedback from citizens about whats important to them. The data collected from these meetings would be used to create 3 possible scenarios for each. The results would then be submitted to citizens for feedback. The final scenarios would be given to a referendum for direct vote by the citizens for adoption into the budget. We have a lot of land in St Michael and something like this is certainly a possibility. Being fiscally responsible doesn’t mean being cheap. If the people want something, it would be my job to ensure they get the most for their money. The government can’t tell the people how they should live. The people should tell the government how they want to live.
4. How can the city play a larger role in supporting local business?
Locally owned businesses are critical to the vitality of St Michael.
1. Rather than strip malls and large developments, we could zone for pedestrian friendly districts that include a mix of small and large commercial spaces. Having diversity in building types and ages encourages more small businesses.
2. We can reserve a section of storefront for small or locally owned businesses in new developments.
3. A Business Diversity Ordinance that requires a special use permit and special criteria be met before a large chains move in and crowd out small businesses.
4. Adaptive Reuse of vacant buildings, especially historical ones – a program which can waive permit fees and streamline projects for local startups.
Four Year Council Term Candidates
Cody Gulick
Age: 38
Family: Married 4 children
Years in St. Michael community: 10
1.How, specifically, would you like St. Michael to grow into 2020 and what is the city’s role in promoting that growth?
Use plans in place to use as a flexible guide for what and where development happens. I believe these plans need to be updated and which many are about 15 years old. For qualifying projects, the city offers Tax Increment Financing to help with ground level and below construction costs. The city has been flexible when changing its ordinances to adapt to business and resident wants and needs.
2. Residents are often concerned about keeping taxes low and the city’s budget flat. What’s the best way to do that while combating rising costs?
Focus in on providing residents with high quality services at low costs. Our administrator Steve Bot and staff have been very successful with this focus over the last decade. Saint Michael has some of the lowest CITY taxes in the region.
3. Families have responded to city surveys stating they’d be in favor of a proposed park or community center aimed at recreation and entertainment. Is this something you could support? If so, what the best way for the city to make this happen?
Yes, we are currently working on a city center park that is planned to be paid for with park fees made by new construction. This park will be built in phases as the new construction is built.
4.How can the city play a larger role in supporting local business?
We have updated our sign ordinances to be more flexible for local businesses. We recently increased our Economic Development Association budget, EDA, to work with and help local business. We promote the Shop STMA program. Approving Kwik Trip to move into the vacant lot in the down town district would be a driver of customers to other businesses in the area.
Ryan Gleason
Age: 27
Family: Single
Years in St. Michael community: 22
1.How, specifically, would you like St. Michael to grow into 2020 and what is the city’s role in promoting that growth?
City growth is at or near the forefront of a lot of minds right now. It is my belief that St. Michael should be continuously attractive to locally-owned businesses to support our growth as a city. It is also important to think long-term for any decisions being made in the near future. City planners need to keep in mind questions such as: What are the areas that will be affected now? Is there anything that could go wrong in time and if so, is there a solution in place? These types of questions should have answers to keep St. Michael as prepared as possible, helping to also maintain high functionality. When something is done hastily, it can lead to errors and corners getting cut. Those things do not help city growth.
2. Residents are often concerned about keeping taxes low and the city’s budget flat. What’s the best way to do that while combating rising costs?
This is a good question because I feel like there will be a variety of answers given. Creativity may be an asset here as yearly costs can fluctuate simply by the price of fuel or the amount of snow that accumulates over a winter. This would be an area where it makes sense to look at what has worked in the past and see how that can apply in today’s times to be beneficial. Overall, the key is to examine the budget to identify areas of potential waste and do everything we can to eliminate those areas.
3. Families have responded to city surveys stating they’d be in favor of a proposed park or community center aimed at recreation and entertainment. Is this something you could support? If so, what the best way for the city to make this happen?
I do support this idea if it is properly budgeted for and no shortcuts are taken. A splash pad/city center project is in the infant stages to be built next to City Hall. It is important to take this opportunity to build it correctly from the start, ensuring we do not have to go back to adjust later. I believe it would be a great “centerpiece” to the city and the downtown area with potential to provide a centralized space for the public to gather, plus provide the opportunity to host events and activities. The current plan of using park dedication fees from new housing developments is a step in the right direction toward funding the project. It would also be wise to reach out to local community organizations to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, but I believe the Council was waiting to determine the projected cost before asking about sponsors.
4. How can the city play a larger role in supporting local business?
I believe it is important to drive community events in order to increase exposure for local businesses. Finding creative and unique ways to have these businesses on display to large amounts of people can help them gain loyal customers. Shop STMA is a great initiative run by residents, but how can we amplify the outreach they currently have? A collaboration between local business owners and city leaders to decide new ways to get attention would be a great first step toward sustainable success.
Nadine Schoen
Age: 50
Family: Pat Schoen (Husband), Zach (oldest son), Kassi (daughter), Jack (youngest son)
Years in St. Michael Community: 29
1. How, specifically, would you like St. Michael to grow into 2020 and what is the city’s role in promoting that growth?
The vision for Saint Michael in 2020, at its root, comes from our community. I want to continue to be the representative to St. michael residents and business owners to bring their vision to its forefront. Serving on council the last eight years has given me the opportunity to sit on over eleven boards such as Planning and zoning, Economic Development Authority, Family Youth community connection, National Federation of independent Businesses, Wright county United Way, Joint Water board, and more. Serving on these boards gives me insight to the needs of Saint Michael.
2. Residents are often concerned about keeping taxes low and the city’s budget flat. What’s the best way to do that while combating rising costs?
Our number one role is to remain fiscally responsible while monitoring the budget and offering our citizens the services needed.
3. Families have responded to city surveys stating they’d be in favor of a proposed park or community center aimed at recreation and entertainment. Is this something you could support? If so, what the best way for the city to make this happen?
Yes, people in our community have been asking for some park and recreation area. We are currently working on this process and we need the continued support. We are looking at many options, trying to find a park that will provide for all age groups and activities. My next term will include continued work on this project and I look forward to how this will better our community.
4. How can the city play a larger role in supporting local business?
As a resident business owner, I can identify with the challenges business owners face. I will continue to support existing local businesses and will utilize conservative methods to attract future businesses.There are programs that can be developed and tailored to assist and advance new and existing businesses. Innovative financing programs can assist in initiating revolving loans for local industry. This is one of several different approaches that would improve and expand our business climate. Any increase in this area can broaden the tax base and lighten the tax burden to Saint Michael residents.