Gregg Larson
Name: Gregg Larson
Public Office Sought: Arden Hills Mayor
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-895-2064
Campaign Website: advanceardenhills.com
Twitter handle: NA
Facebook Page: NA
Candidate Bio
I grew up in St. Paul, graduated from Macalester College and the UofMN, and served in the US Army. My early career included management of public and private environmental, wastewater treatment, and energy planning projects in North Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
Later, shifting gears, I joined the UofMN’s School of Public Health to lead operations for a large clinical trial network conducting infectious disease research in HIV, influenza, Ebola, and COVID at 100s of clinics in 35 countries. Now semi-retired, I still assist with research endeavors.
I’ve been an Arden Hills resident since 1993. Our community’s lakes, woods, and wetlands, proximity to Twin City sporting and cultural attractions and the airport, and highly-ranked school district enhance its attractiveness and property values.
Wanting to contribute, I served four years on the Planning Commission, and nine years on the City Council, choosing in 2006 not to run again. I’ve also led numerous public and non-profit boards, including the Lake Johanna Fire Department, the Minnesota State Board of Assessors, and the Minnesota Charities Review Council. I currently volunteer with Ramsey County’s Medical Reserve Corps, as does my partner of 45 years, Rob Carlson, a Mounds View HS graduate and Physician Assistant.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
First, development of the vacant, 427-acre, old arsenal (TCAAP) site is crucial to our Arden Hills’ future. We’re a built-out community with aging housing. TCAAP promises an expanded tax base, new businesses, market-rate and affordable housing, and employment opportunities. After 27 years and millions of our taxes spent, we’re tired of waiting. The current Council can’t reach agreement with the landowner, Ramsey County, on housing numbers, and has failed to move the project forward. We will, and we’ll boost our fiscal well-being.
Second, complete safe trail connections, in a City that lacks sidewalks, without having to wait decades.
Third, listen and encourage, rather than discourage, public participation and transparency in our City government, especially now that we’ve lost our only suburban newspaper. Unlike the Current Council, demonstrate that we want to change its reputation as a Council that’s “...difficult to work with.”
How would you characterize the business climate in Arden Hills and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
Because we’re a built-out community, we have limited space for new businesses that want to locate in our City. In addition, because of public transportation limitations, we also lack a base of prospective employees for seasonal, part-time, or entry-level jobs. Our City also does not regularly meet with business leaders in our community to discuss their needs and assessments regarding our business climate, population growth, and housing. That’s unfortunate, because employment opportunities, vibrant retail development, and business expansion have a major impact on quality-of-life perceptions of our residents.
What role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and what steps would you take to solicit new businesses to, and retain existing businesses in, Arden Hills?
The City could have a very significant role in attracting and retaining jobs with the development of the TCAAP property north of Highway 96. The 427 acres of vacant land is an asset that every other City would love to have, but our current Mayor and Council have been unable to move the multi-use project forward, despite 27 years of planning and millions of tax dollars spent. TCAAP is integral to the future of our City, and it holds the promise of a greatly expanded tax base, room for business and retail expansion, a new town center, new market-rate and affordable housing, and new employment opportunities that would also benefit and stimulate the overall climate for our existing businesses.
The current Council’s attitude toward business expansion has been disappointing. The most recent example was its reaction to Costco’s interest in locating a new store in TCAAP. According to recent court documents, the Council was opposed to the proposal because some Costco clients “...are people we don’t want in the community.”
What policies, if any, would you support to help employers address the labor shortage?
Negotiate a mutually acceptable compromise with the TCAAP landowner, Ramsey County, that ends the existing stalemate over housing numbers. Moving forward with TCAAP expands our population base with over 1,500 or more new households, provides more incentives for the Metropolitan Council to add transportation resources in our region, and offers more opportunities to new residents to work in the community where they live.
Do you support any specific employment-related proposals in Arden Hills (such as minimum wage, sick time, or mandatory scheduling notice)? If so, what steps would you take to understand the impact of an ordinance on the many types of businesses in Arden Hills and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
I don’t expect that our City would be directly involved in the examples of employment-related proposals; however, if those proposals did affect in some way the key responsibilities of municipal government (public safety, streets and transportation, public utilities, and public parks and trails), we would want to understand their impact and carefully review the costs and benefits of any proposed implementation.
Public safety and rising crime rates are of serious concern to the business community and residents. What strategies or policies would you propose to address public safety issues facing your community?
Public safety is one of the four key responsibilities of City government. Arden Hills has a long history of contracting with Ramsey County for policing. If we determined that rising crime rates were adversely impacting our community, we would want to consult with the County Sheriff and affected businesses and residents on the causes and solutions to ensure that the issues were properly addressed, and businesses and residents retained confidence in the City’s public safety response.
What strategies or policies would you propose to address housing issues facing your community?
Three:
First, move TCAAP forward so that we can help meet regional housing needs for both market-rate and affordable housing;
Second, address the aging of our existing housing stock by supporting flexibility in our City zoning code to encourage investment in resident housing renovations; and
Third, advocate for, and seek, federal, state, metro, local, and private financial resources needed to construct more affordable housing.
What strategies or policies would you propose to address transportation issues facing your community? Have your strategies or views changed on transportation since we’ve seen shifts in road use, public transportation use, work from home models, etc. due to the pandemic?
The importance of TCAAP can not be over-estimated. With additional population, housing, and employment opportunities, we create more demand and leverage in seeking transportation resources from the Met Council. While working from home may affect that demand, unaffordable housing for our seniors, young singles, new families, and already cost-burdened households in Arden Hills will also affect whether employees can reside in Arden Hills, or need to commute to Arden Hills from other, distant, less costly locations.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
Fiscally conservative.
Developed in collaboration with residents, businesses, and other key stakeholders.
Unlike the current Council, truthful in its presentation of the tax levy.
Minimize reliance on new tax increment financing.
An expanded tax base with TCAAP development that generates new property tax and enterprise fund revenue.
Reconsideration of how street improvements are funded – the optimal mix of general and capital fund support, other public sources, and adjacent property owner assessments.
Management of capital assets and improvements in ways that emphasize energy conservation, new technologies, and sustainable growth.
What will you do to expand Arden Hills’ tax base?
Negotiate a mutually acceptable compromise with Ramsey County and move the TCAAP /Rice Creek Commons project forward. Our current Council members’ past election year promises have been as empty as the current site. An estimated $700 million in private investment still remains unfulfilled.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
Our Mounds View School District is one of Minnesota’s best, and it makes our community a very attractive location for families with school age children. We also have two post-secondary institutions that are fully or partially located with our City (Bethel University and the University of Northwestern). We need to bring together the business community and these educational assets to better understand future needs and potential synergies that would benefit our residents, the education of their children, training and skills development, and future demands of the workplace.
Are there any services currently provided by the city that you believe should be cut back or eliminated? Are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
Our City needs to reestablish its relationship with Northeast Youth and Family Services. The current Council severed its support of the organization in November of 2021 with no public discourse at a Council Work Session, despite a long history of collaboration and partnership with it, and with its predecessor, Northwest Youth and Family Services. Supporting mental health services for youth, adults, and families is a priority for 16 of our neighboring municipalities, Ramsey County, and the Mounds View School District – it should be ours as well.
What is the role of the Mayor in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Arden Hills?
Leading by example. Ensuring that our City staff reflects the population diversity of the larger region. Supporting initiatives by our businesses and educational institutions that broaden diversity in employment and learning. Highlighting our community’s welcome of minority- and women-owned businesses. Actively boosting the visibility and patronage of these businesses whenever possible
What further policies can Arden Hills adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Arden Hills needs to conduct a systematic review of City services in 2023 to determine how it can better and more efficiently serve residents and businesses, based on our experiences over the last three years. This review would examine how the COVID pandemic changed City work practices and performance, community service demands, supply chain issues, revenue and expense, and employment, and how City functional changes affected our relationship with the broader community. This review would also examine how responsive the City was to business needs, and what adaptions should be implemented for better City delivery of services.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
Our team of four candidates - myself, Tena Monson, Emily Rousseau, and Tom Fabel – are campaigning under the banner “Advance Arden Hills.” We want to move Arden Hills forward again with a revitalized City Council. While we’re running as a team, we won’t always speak with one voice, but we do share the same goal. A Council majority that looks to the future, not the past.
Public Office Sought: Arden Hills Mayor
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-895-2064
Campaign Website: advanceardenhills.com
Twitter handle: NA
Facebook Page: NA
Candidate Bio
I grew up in St. Paul, graduated from Macalester College and the UofMN, and served in the US Army. My early career included management of public and private environmental, wastewater treatment, and energy planning projects in North Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
Later, shifting gears, I joined the UofMN’s School of Public Health to lead operations for a large clinical trial network conducting infectious disease research in HIV, influenza, Ebola, and COVID at 100s of clinics in 35 countries. Now semi-retired, I still assist with research endeavors.
I’ve been an Arden Hills resident since 1993. Our community’s lakes, woods, and wetlands, proximity to Twin City sporting and cultural attractions and the airport, and highly-ranked school district enhance its attractiveness and property values.
Wanting to contribute, I served four years on the Planning Commission, and nine years on the City Council, choosing in 2006 not to run again. I’ve also led numerous public and non-profit boards, including the Lake Johanna Fire Department, the Minnesota State Board of Assessors, and the Minnesota Charities Review Council. I currently volunteer with Ramsey County’s Medical Reserve Corps, as does my partner of 45 years, Rob Carlson, a Mounds View HS graduate and Physician Assistant.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
First, development of the vacant, 427-acre, old arsenal (TCAAP) site is crucial to our Arden Hills’ future. We’re a built-out community with aging housing. TCAAP promises an expanded tax base, new businesses, market-rate and affordable housing, and employment opportunities. After 27 years and millions of our taxes spent, we’re tired of waiting. The current Council can’t reach agreement with the landowner, Ramsey County, on housing numbers, and has failed to move the project forward. We will, and we’ll boost our fiscal well-being.
Second, complete safe trail connections, in a City that lacks sidewalks, without having to wait decades.
Third, listen and encourage, rather than discourage, public participation and transparency in our City government, especially now that we’ve lost our only suburban newspaper. Unlike the Current Council, demonstrate that we want to change its reputation as a Council that’s “...difficult to work with.”
How would you characterize the business climate in Arden Hills and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
Because we’re a built-out community, we have limited space for new businesses that want to locate in our City. In addition, because of public transportation limitations, we also lack a base of prospective employees for seasonal, part-time, or entry-level jobs. Our City also does not regularly meet with business leaders in our community to discuss their needs and assessments regarding our business climate, population growth, and housing. That’s unfortunate, because employment opportunities, vibrant retail development, and business expansion have a major impact on quality-of-life perceptions of our residents.
What role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and what steps would you take to solicit new businesses to, and retain existing businesses in, Arden Hills?
The City could have a very significant role in attracting and retaining jobs with the development of the TCAAP property north of Highway 96. The 427 acres of vacant land is an asset that every other City would love to have, but our current Mayor and Council have been unable to move the multi-use project forward, despite 27 years of planning and millions of tax dollars spent. TCAAP is integral to the future of our City, and it holds the promise of a greatly expanded tax base, room for business and retail expansion, a new town center, new market-rate and affordable housing, and new employment opportunities that would also benefit and stimulate the overall climate for our existing businesses.
The current Council’s attitude toward business expansion has been disappointing. The most recent example was its reaction to Costco’s interest in locating a new store in TCAAP. According to recent court documents, the Council was opposed to the proposal because some Costco clients “...are people we don’t want in the community.”
What policies, if any, would you support to help employers address the labor shortage?
Negotiate a mutually acceptable compromise with the TCAAP landowner, Ramsey County, that ends the existing stalemate over housing numbers. Moving forward with TCAAP expands our population base with over 1,500 or more new households, provides more incentives for the Metropolitan Council to add transportation resources in our region, and offers more opportunities to new residents to work in the community where they live.
Do you support any specific employment-related proposals in Arden Hills (such as minimum wage, sick time, or mandatory scheduling notice)? If so, what steps would you take to understand the impact of an ordinance on the many types of businesses in Arden Hills and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
I don’t expect that our City would be directly involved in the examples of employment-related proposals; however, if those proposals did affect in some way the key responsibilities of municipal government (public safety, streets and transportation, public utilities, and public parks and trails), we would want to understand their impact and carefully review the costs and benefits of any proposed implementation.
Public safety and rising crime rates are of serious concern to the business community and residents. What strategies or policies would you propose to address public safety issues facing your community?
Public safety is one of the four key responsibilities of City government. Arden Hills has a long history of contracting with Ramsey County for policing. If we determined that rising crime rates were adversely impacting our community, we would want to consult with the County Sheriff and affected businesses and residents on the causes and solutions to ensure that the issues were properly addressed, and businesses and residents retained confidence in the City’s public safety response.
What strategies or policies would you propose to address housing issues facing your community?
Three:
First, move TCAAP forward so that we can help meet regional housing needs for both market-rate and affordable housing;
Second, address the aging of our existing housing stock by supporting flexibility in our City zoning code to encourage investment in resident housing renovations; and
Third, advocate for, and seek, federal, state, metro, local, and private financial resources needed to construct more affordable housing.
What strategies or policies would you propose to address transportation issues facing your community? Have your strategies or views changed on transportation since we’ve seen shifts in road use, public transportation use, work from home models, etc. due to the pandemic?
The importance of TCAAP can not be over-estimated. With additional population, housing, and employment opportunities, we create more demand and leverage in seeking transportation resources from the Met Council. While working from home may affect that demand, unaffordable housing for our seniors, young singles, new families, and already cost-burdened households in Arden Hills will also affect whether employees can reside in Arden Hills, or need to commute to Arden Hills from other, distant, less costly locations.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
Fiscally conservative.
Developed in collaboration with residents, businesses, and other key stakeholders.
Unlike the current Council, truthful in its presentation of the tax levy.
Minimize reliance on new tax increment financing.
An expanded tax base with TCAAP development that generates new property tax and enterprise fund revenue.
Reconsideration of how street improvements are funded – the optimal mix of general and capital fund support, other public sources, and adjacent property owner assessments.
Management of capital assets and improvements in ways that emphasize energy conservation, new technologies, and sustainable growth.
What will you do to expand Arden Hills’ tax base?
Negotiate a mutually acceptable compromise with Ramsey County and move the TCAAP /Rice Creek Commons project forward. Our current Council members’ past election year promises have been as empty as the current site. An estimated $700 million in private investment still remains unfulfilled.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
Our Mounds View School District is one of Minnesota’s best, and it makes our community a very attractive location for families with school age children. We also have two post-secondary institutions that are fully or partially located with our City (Bethel University and the University of Northwestern). We need to bring together the business community and these educational assets to better understand future needs and potential synergies that would benefit our residents, the education of their children, training and skills development, and future demands of the workplace.
Are there any services currently provided by the city that you believe should be cut back or eliminated? Are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
Our City needs to reestablish its relationship with Northeast Youth and Family Services. The current Council severed its support of the organization in November of 2021 with no public discourse at a Council Work Session, despite a long history of collaboration and partnership with it, and with its predecessor, Northwest Youth and Family Services. Supporting mental health services for youth, adults, and families is a priority for 16 of our neighboring municipalities, Ramsey County, and the Mounds View School District – it should be ours as well.
What is the role of the Mayor in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Arden Hills?
Leading by example. Ensuring that our City staff reflects the population diversity of the larger region. Supporting initiatives by our businesses and educational institutions that broaden diversity in employment and learning. Highlighting our community’s welcome of minority- and women-owned businesses. Actively boosting the visibility and patronage of these businesses whenever possible
What further policies can Arden Hills adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Arden Hills needs to conduct a systematic review of City services in 2023 to determine how it can better and more efficiently serve residents and businesses, based on our experiences over the last three years. This review would examine how the COVID pandemic changed City work practices and performance, community service demands, supply chain issues, revenue and expense, and employment, and how City functional changes affected our relationship with the broader community. This review would also examine how responsive the City was to business needs, and what adaptions should be implemented for better City delivery of services.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
Our team of four candidates - myself, Tena Monson, Emily Rousseau, and Tom Fabel – are campaigning under the banner “Advance Arden Hills.” We want to move Arden Hills forward again with a revitalized City Council. While we’re running as a team, we won’t always speak with one voice, but we do share the same goal. A Council majority that looks to the future, not the past.