My Vision

Environment/Minnesota Green Step City

Infrastructure

  • Working alongside city staff and engaging citizens to identify the best and most efficient use of tax revenue to support our aging infrastructure and roads.

  • Address the future transportation needs for the community.

As a current member of the County Road E Corridor Project Team, I am advocating for our community, and our neighboring communities, to keep future transportation needs in mind as we help define goals and plans for this vital East-West corridor in our community. It's important that people have the option to safely travel within our communities and to neighboring communities without needing a vehicle. This will mean investing in complete paths/sidewalks and exploring if there is an efficient way to incorporate public transit in this corridor. As an elected Council Member, I would continue to advocate for other options for the community to travel within or thorough the County Road E Corridor.

Why do we have to access everything by a car? This really became apparent to me after my daughter was born and I now frequently visit parks and playgrounds. I can walk to one of them safely, but the rest, I drive because there is not a sidewalk or path to get there and I don’t want to walk along a well-trafficked county road shoulder.

As an elected Council Member, I will strive for our city to complete our fragmented (and at times non-existent) sidewalk network so we can all navigate our city safely. We should be able to take a leisurely stroll, walk our dogs, walk to the local store and bring our children to school with peace of mind. I will advocate for our community to get Safe Routes to School funds and other federal, state or county funding sources. I will also look to update our requirements for developers as a means to contribute to building out sidewalks in the development’s area. In addition, I will look for opportunities to partner with developers or Ramsey County to build out sidewalks/paths nearby if efficiencies with equipment and time exist.

What would you like to see change along County Rd E?

Community Engagement

  • Increase engagement with citizens to provide more input into future residential and commercial development.

There are opportunities available to provide input, but even when some step up to the microphone, they do not feel they are heard and then feel dissatisfied with outcomes because their input feels dismissed. This has occurred multiple times with recent higher density housing developments in our community.

I would work to encourage citizen input and discussion on varying opinions so the collective community’s vision and goals are known and understood, and then ultimately reflected in the decisions of the City Council.

What can I do to make sure everyone's voice is heard?

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  • The City should seek to incorporate more native plantings in our green spaces to replace turf in areas where it is not used by the public (e.g. sports fields). This reduces maintenance expenses (e.g. mowing) and provides more pollinator and wildlife habitat. There are several grant opportunities out there to help cover the initial conversion cost. There are several metro-based organizations that can be tapped to help in installation and maintenance such as Minnesota Water Stewards and Wild Ones.

  • The city should encourage all new medium or high density developments to build energy efficient buildings. Any project that requires flexibility from the City Council through variances or the PUD (planned unit development) process should attempt to meet SB 2030 energy efficiency standards, or at a minimum incorporate energy efficient materials and design that still reflect the character of the neighborhood, but result in an enduring, energy efficient structure that minimizes impact to local utilities.

  • New medium or high density developments should exclusively use "Dark Sky" energy efficient LED lighting for buildings, street signs, or any other lit outdoor lighting. This is an energy efficient practice that reduces strain on electrical grid and also helps reduce light pollution within the community.

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The Green Step City program guidelines provide many examples of ways to incorporate positive green actions. The examples above are just a few of many suggested actions the city could consider as a part of this voluntary, go-at-your-own-pace program.

What ideas do you have for how our city can be more energy efficient, green, and environmentally friendly?

What Green Steps could we do?