Heidi Freske
Name: Heidi Freske
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612.220.3972
Campaign Website: freskeforrosemount.com
Twitter handle: N/A
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/freskeforrosemount/
Candidate Bio
I’m currently serving my second term on City Council. In doing so, I have also been a commissioner on our Port Authority (economic development commission). In my full-time job, I oversee the strategic execution of our consumer digital organization. Collaboration, communication and prioritization is something I do on a daily basis.
My professional experience and leadership roles combined with my council experience will continue to be an asset for Rosemount.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
My leadership style is to listen to our residents to learn their perspectives and opinions. This is critical in making decisions. Once decisions are made, be transparent and explain the “why”.
The second thing is building a strong leadership team at the city and providing a vision for Rosemount. We have done so over the past eight years. Allowing leaders to do their job and implement and maintain our vision is the ultimate success.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in Rosemount?
Biggest challenge: being strategic about our growth and ensuring we have the right infrastructure to handle it (public safety, roads and intersections, water and energy).
Biggest opportunity: continued growth in commercial development. As our housing continues to increase, behind that comes new commercial which is something our resident’s desire.
Please characterize your perspective on the ideal collaboration between government and the business community when it comes to tackling challenges whether they be education, housing, or workforce development. Do you feel the outcomes of the 2023-2024 legislative session positively or negatively impacted that collaboration and our state's business climate?
Collaboration between a city council and business leaders is always important. As new Fortune 500 business are coming to our city, we need to ensure we have the available diverse housing in place so employees can also live in our community. This is a priority and something we closely monitor.
In my opinion, the state should not be dictating housing requirements to a city.
How would you characterize the business climate in Rosemount and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in Rosemount?
We are experiencing record economic development growth in Rosemount. This is a result of a dedicated team at city hall and a proactive council. This includes diverse new housing, Fortune 500 companies building facilities and commercial growth. Our focus on bringing new businesses to Rosemount will continue.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
We continue to invest in pubic safety in various arenas. This includes building a new police and public works campus, investing in a full-time Fire Chief for the first time in history, and continue increasing our safety personnel to name a few. Public safety is always our top priority. We discuss frequently current happenings and challenges with our leaders and make decisions accordingly.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
We are very proactive on addressing housing. We have experienced record-breaking housing permits over the last few years. Multiple apartment buildings have been approved and currently under construction, both market-rate and income-based. Providing diverse housing with high-density, medium-density and single-family homes is monitored closely.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
Our residents would love to see local transit that were available pre-covid back at this time. We work closely with MVTA on monitoring ridership across the south metro area to ensure needs are being met.
Cities have addressed many ongoing needs with temporary, federal COVID relief dollars, what are your plans to ensure fiscal stability as these federal, one-time funds run out?
There is limited impact to Rosemount. A community of our size did not receive the sizable funds that larger cities did.
Uber/Lyft wages and proposed childcare subsidies funded by local property taxes are just a few areas where local units of government are wading into policy debates that may be best suited at the state. Please articulate the different scopes of work between state and local government (City/County). Are there specific areas of policy that the city should lead on in lieu of the state or county government?
Wages described above and childcare subsidies should not be managed in our community of less than 30,000. The city should work closely with our County and State elected officials to ensure our voice is at the table.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612.220.3972
Campaign Website: freskeforrosemount.com
Twitter handle: N/A
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/freskeforrosemount/
Candidate Bio
I’m currently serving my second term on City Council. In doing so, I have also been a commissioner on our Port Authority (economic development commission). In my full-time job, I oversee the strategic execution of our consumer digital organization. Collaboration, communication and prioritization is something I do on a daily basis.
My professional experience and leadership roles combined with my council experience will continue to be an asset for Rosemount.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
My leadership style is to listen to our residents to learn their perspectives and opinions. This is critical in making decisions. Once decisions are made, be transparent and explain the “why”.
The second thing is building a strong leadership team at the city and providing a vision for Rosemount. We have done so over the past eight years. Allowing leaders to do their job and implement and maintain our vision is the ultimate success.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
- Public Safety
- Ensuring through growth, we emphasize our “home town” feel. It’s always community first.
- Continued strategic growth, both in commercial and housing.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in Rosemount?
Biggest challenge: being strategic about our growth and ensuring we have the right infrastructure to handle it (public safety, roads and intersections, water and energy).
Biggest opportunity: continued growth in commercial development. As our housing continues to increase, behind that comes new commercial which is something our resident’s desire.
Please characterize your perspective on the ideal collaboration between government and the business community when it comes to tackling challenges whether they be education, housing, or workforce development. Do you feel the outcomes of the 2023-2024 legislative session positively or negatively impacted that collaboration and our state's business climate?
Collaboration between a city council and business leaders is always important. As new Fortune 500 business are coming to our city, we need to ensure we have the available diverse housing in place so employees can also live in our community. This is a priority and something we closely monitor.
In my opinion, the state should not be dictating housing requirements to a city.
How would you characterize the business climate in Rosemount and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in Rosemount?
We are experiencing record economic development growth in Rosemount. This is a result of a dedicated team at city hall and a proactive council. This includes diverse new housing, Fortune 500 companies building facilities and commercial growth. Our focus on bringing new businesses to Rosemount will continue.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
We continue to invest in pubic safety in various arenas. This includes building a new police and public works campus, investing in a full-time Fire Chief for the first time in history, and continue increasing our safety personnel to name a few. Public safety is always our top priority. We discuss frequently current happenings and challenges with our leaders and make decisions accordingly.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
We are very proactive on addressing housing. We have experienced record-breaking housing permits over the last few years. Multiple apartment buildings have been approved and currently under construction, both market-rate and income-based. Providing diverse housing with high-density, medium-density and single-family homes is monitored closely.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
Our residents would love to see local transit that were available pre-covid back at this time. We work closely with MVTA on monitoring ridership across the south metro area to ensure needs are being met.
Cities have addressed many ongoing needs with temporary, federal COVID relief dollars, what are your plans to ensure fiscal stability as these federal, one-time funds run out?
There is limited impact to Rosemount. A community of our size did not receive the sizable funds that larger cities did.
Uber/Lyft wages and proposed childcare subsidies funded by local property taxes are just a few areas where local units of government are wading into policy debates that may be best suited at the state. Please articulate the different scopes of work between state and local government (City/County). Are there specific areas of policy that the city should lead on in lieu of the state or county government?
Wages described above and childcare subsidies should not be managed in our community of less than 30,000. The city should work closely with our County and State elected officials to ensure our voice is at the table.