Kevin Zabel
Name: Kevin Zabel
Public Office Sought: Oakdale Mayor
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612-227-1186
Campaign Website: www.zabel4oakdale.com
Twitter handle: @kevinjzabel
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/zabel4oakdale
Candidate Bio
Elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, I have the honor of serving the more than 28,000 residents of Oakdale on the City Council. Before that, I served on the city’s Planning Commission, including serving as its chairperson.
During my tenure, I have worked hard to remain accessible and approachable to our residents and businesses and have let the feedback I’ve received from the community help shape my approach to governing. Since I was first elected, I have fought for increased transparency in city government, a responsible and fair city budget, and strategic investments in our public safety, city infrastructure, and environment.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
Public Safety: The demands on our public safety professionals are ever-changing, and local government and the resources we allocate need to change with it. Since 2015, incident reports have climbed almost 50%, while calls for people in crisis (mental health, chemical dependency, etc.) have risen 452%. This dramatic shift in the types of calls our public safety personnel are responding to warrants a shift in how we fund public safety, and Oakdale’s Police Chief will be among the first to agree that there are better ways to address these needs. I agree and believe a regional solution to better address mental health needs is possible.
Fiscal Restraint: People everywhere are feeling the “financial squeeze” and while costs also continue to climb for city government, we must strike the delicate balance between addressing our core needs and leaving as much money in our residents’ hands as possible. To achieve this, Oakdale should continue exploring shared service agreements with our neighboring cities, allowing us to share in costs. I also support a more robust effort to bring in grant dollars and funding from the state and federal government to supplement our city’s operational costs and alleviate the burden on Oakdale property taxpayers.
Smart Growth: Oakdale is a growing city, with exciting development opportunities occurring now and on the horizon. As we grow, we cannot lose our “bedroom community feel” but must also be welcoming to anyone that wants to call Oakdale home. As we grow, we must also invest in our infrastructure needs, to ensure we aren’t spreading resources too thin and sacrificing the high level of service our residents’ value.
How would you characterize the business climate in Oakdale and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
Oakdale’s business community continues to grow, with recent business developments including:
Welcoming HOM Furniture from Woodbury
Expansion of the Animal Emergency Referral Center
Groundbreaking on 200,000 sq. feet of new commercial space at the 4Front campus
Every business in Oakdale plays a critical role in supporting a high quality of life for their employees and patrons. Economic resilience is a well-oiled machine, and without a thriving and engaged business community, Oakdale would feel the impact in every corner of our city.
What role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and what steps would you take to solicit new businesses and retain existing businesses in Oakdale?
Beginning in 2022, Oakdale launched the Business Retention, Expansion, and Attraction (BREA) program, with assistance from the St. Paul Area Chamber and the Oakdale Area Chamber. This program will be a wonderful opportunity to establish and expand open lines of communication between the city, our residents, and the business community. I hope this program will help identify opportunities for the city to become even more business-friendly through ordinance/regulation reform, third-party funding opportunities for businesses, and/or greater regional marketing opportunities.
What policies, if any, would you support to help employers address the labor shortage?
Transportation remains one of the largest barriers for employees. In addition to a comprehensive system of city roads, trails, and sidewalks, we must also address the need for a robust transit network. The Gold Line BRT will tremendously benefit area businesses, connecting them with new, prospective employees living in neighboring cities. I am proud of the role Oakdale has played in making this BRT project come to fruition in the east metro.
Do you support any specific employment-related proposals in Oakdale (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 Oakdale and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
I do not. While it is important to have a debate on these issues, local government is not the appropriate level of government to do that. Creating a patchwork of local labor laws will only pit cities against one another, in competition for workers and businesses. The state legislature and Congress are more appropriate venues for these decisions.
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?
First and foremost, Oakdale must expand our police department campus to provide more adequate space, training facilities, and maximize operational efficiencies. We have outgrown our current facility and that limits our ability to pivot as a department and address the needs of our residents and business community. To do this, I am supporting Oakdale’s proposal for the creation of a local option sales tax, in the amount of $.50 for every $100 spent (0.5%). I believe this is a fiscally responsible approach for our property taxpayers while addressing a core need of the department.
Secondly, we must address the mental health crisis impacting every community. For the past decade, we have seen calls for service for those experiencing a mental health crisis explode, and it has only gotten worse since COVID. Police officers are some of the first to admit that sending an armed, uniformed officer into a complicated, uncertain mental health situation is not always the best approach, and Oakdale can lead by creating a collaborative municipal model of mental health professionals supporting our police officers and keeping our community safe.
What strategies or policies would you propose to address housing issues facing your community?
Housing is a challenge for every community. Housing supply has been drastically underbuilt for almost two decades, pushing costs higher in rental and ownership situations. As Oakdale builds more than 1,500 units of housing with the Willowbrooke development and the Gold Line BRTOD development, it is important that we keep two important factors in mind:
The city needs to promote housing variety. As prices have climbed and seniors aged in place, there has been a bottleneck in the natural progression consumers have with housing. COVID only exasperated this phenomenon. This means the housing market is flooded with buyers and renters, all seeking different things. Requiring a variety of housing options (sizes, style, lot size, etc.) will address the demand of buyers and renters in every demographic.
Fiscal Responsibility = Stable Residence Base. Oakdale is fortunate to have longevity amongst many of our current residents, and a responsible city budget will keep property taxes reasonable and residents in their homes.
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?
I am proud of the detailed and comprehensive street improvement program Oakdale has in place. Every city street is routinely evaluated to ensure quality standards are being met so transportation can move smoothly throughout the city. We also need to keep working on addressing our transit needs. Gold Line BRT is a major transportation initiative for the city, and I am proud of the role I have played in moving that project forward. In terms of responding to the pandemic, my views on transportation have not changed. The demand for quality streets and accessible transit remains and Oakdale is committed to supporting both.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
We continue to experience economic uncertainty, with a looming recession, record housing prices, and wages not keeping up with the rate of inflation. Even though city taxes are only a small piece of a resident’s overall property tax bill, we must be extra critical in determining which expenses are mandatory and urgent, and which can be delayed. In looking at our early 2023 budget draft, key investments in public safety rise to the top of the list, while also analyzing needs in Public Works, and capital infrastructure.
What will you do to expand Oakdale’s tax base?
Oakdale is fortunate to be welcoming unprecedented development in our Willowbrooke development, as well as the transit-oriented development along the Gold Line BRT route. Both opportunities will add to Oakdale’s tax base. In addition to these projects, I believe Oakdale should also look at significant regulatory reform that encourages existing residents to reinvest in their properties. One example would be right-sizing our city’s permit fee structure to lower the fees associated with residential property redevelopment/rehabilitation. While the city will collect less in permit fees upfront, the long-term benefit to the city will be offset.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
We must address workforce shortages in the trades. My six-year career working in the real estate industry exposed me to just how bad the workforce shortage is in the trades. During the Great Recession, most trades laid off employees, and the prolonged nature of the recession led to many of them never coming back. At the same time, schools were forced to make budget cuts, and many cut the trade programs from the curriculum. This created a workforce gap that we are feeling today and reverberates through so many other public policy discussions.
When cities try to tackle issues related to housing affordability, we must look at the underlying causes and workforce shortages are a big part of that. Cities like Oakdale are in a prime position to create and deploy workforce training programs, where students from Tartan or North High School can job shadow city employees and discover whether a career in the trades is right for them – doing this all before students have to rack up large amounts of student loan debt. Strong relationships with our school district can open the door to creating a job shadowing programs like this.
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?
Cities should always be open to changes in operations and I have actively encouraged city staff to bring forward recommendations on things we can change if we are not sacrificing the high quality of service our residents have come to appreciate. Shared service agreements should always be on the table and can be a cost-effective way to cut costs and build relationships between municipal neighbors. We currently participate in a few shared service agreements, and they all have merit and offer value to the city. For example, Oakdale currently provides fire and water service to the city of Landfall. It is a beneficial partnership that allows Oakdale to recoup part of the cost of that service while not needing to bring on any additional personnel or equipment.
What is the role of the Mayor in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Oakdale?
Oakdale has a responsibility to ensure equity and fair access to our local economy for any entrepreneur seeking to create or grow a business here. As Mayor, it is on me to engage with prospective business owners and carry any concerns they have or hurdles they face to the full city council for addressing.
What further policies can Oakdale adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Consumer habits changed dramatically during COVID, and I believe Oakdale’s regulatory framework should evolve as well. This includes:
Revising the required amount of parking for retail businesses, as many consumers have expanded online and drive-up shopping habits.
Relaxing standards to allow more restaurants to add permanent patios on-site
Updating and broadening the list of “permitted uses” within city zoning to diversify our commercial and retail hubs, growing the tax base and lessening the financial impact on existing businesses.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
None.
Public Office Sought: Oakdale Mayor
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612-227-1186
Campaign Website: www.zabel4oakdale.com
Twitter handle: @kevinjzabel
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/zabel4oakdale
Candidate Bio
Elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, I have the honor of serving the more than 28,000 residents of Oakdale on the City Council. Before that, I served on the city’s Planning Commission, including serving as its chairperson.
During my tenure, I have worked hard to remain accessible and approachable to our residents and businesses and have let the feedback I’ve received from the community help shape my approach to governing. Since I was first elected, I have fought for increased transparency in city government, a responsible and fair city budget, and strategic investments in our public safety, city infrastructure, and environment.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
Public Safety: The demands on our public safety professionals are ever-changing, and local government and the resources we allocate need to change with it. Since 2015, incident reports have climbed almost 50%, while calls for people in crisis (mental health, chemical dependency, etc.) have risen 452%. This dramatic shift in the types of calls our public safety personnel are responding to warrants a shift in how we fund public safety, and Oakdale’s Police Chief will be among the first to agree that there are better ways to address these needs. I agree and believe a regional solution to better address mental health needs is possible.
Fiscal Restraint: People everywhere are feeling the “financial squeeze” and while costs also continue to climb for city government, we must strike the delicate balance between addressing our core needs and leaving as much money in our residents’ hands as possible. To achieve this, Oakdale should continue exploring shared service agreements with our neighboring cities, allowing us to share in costs. I also support a more robust effort to bring in grant dollars and funding from the state and federal government to supplement our city’s operational costs and alleviate the burden on Oakdale property taxpayers.
Smart Growth: Oakdale is a growing city, with exciting development opportunities occurring now and on the horizon. As we grow, we cannot lose our “bedroom community feel” but must also be welcoming to anyone that wants to call Oakdale home. As we grow, we must also invest in our infrastructure needs, to ensure we aren’t spreading resources too thin and sacrificing the high level of service our residents’ value.
How would you characterize the business climate in Oakdale and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
Oakdale’s business community continues to grow, with recent business developments including:
Welcoming HOM Furniture from Woodbury
Expansion of the Animal Emergency Referral Center
Groundbreaking on 200,000 sq. feet of new commercial space at the 4Front campus
Every business in Oakdale plays a critical role in supporting a high quality of life for their employees and patrons. Economic resilience is a well-oiled machine, and without a thriving and engaged business community, Oakdale would feel the impact in every corner of our city.
What role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and what steps would you take to solicit new businesses and retain existing businesses in Oakdale?
Beginning in 2022, Oakdale launched the Business Retention, Expansion, and Attraction (BREA) program, with assistance from the St. Paul Area Chamber and the Oakdale Area Chamber. This program will be a wonderful opportunity to establish and expand open lines of communication between the city, our residents, and the business community. I hope this program will help identify opportunities for the city to become even more business-friendly through ordinance/regulation reform, third-party funding opportunities for businesses, and/or greater regional marketing opportunities.
What policies, if any, would you support to help employers address the labor shortage?
Transportation remains one of the largest barriers for employees. In addition to a comprehensive system of city roads, trails, and sidewalks, we must also address the need for a robust transit network. The Gold Line BRT will tremendously benefit area businesses, connecting them with new, prospective employees living in neighboring cities. I am proud of the role Oakdale has played in making this BRT project come to fruition in the east metro.
Do you support any specific employment-related proposals in Oakdale (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 Oakdale and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
I do not. While it is important to have a debate on these issues, local government is not the appropriate level of government to do that. Creating a patchwork of local labor laws will only pit cities against one another, in competition for workers and businesses. The state legislature and Congress are more appropriate venues for these decisions.
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?
First and foremost, Oakdale must expand our police department campus to provide more adequate space, training facilities, and maximize operational efficiencies. We have outgrown our current facility and that limits our ability to pivot as a department and address the needs of our residents and business community. To do this, I am supporting Oakdale’s proposal for the creation of a local option sales tax, in the amount of $.50 for every $100 spent (0.5%). I believe this is a fiscally responsible approach for our property taxpayers while addressing a core need of the department.
Secondly, we must address the mental health crisis impacting every community. For the past decade, we have seen calls for service for those experiencing a mental health crisis explode, and it has only gotten worse since COVID. Police officers are some of the first to admit that sending an armed, uniformed officer into a complicated, uncertain mental health situation is not always the best approach, and Oakdale can lead by creating a collaborative municipal model of mental health professionals supporting our police officers and keeping our community safe.
What strategies or policies would you propose to address housing issues facing your community?
Housing is a challenge for every community. Housing supply has been drastically underbuilt for almost two decades, pushing costs higher in rental and ownership situations. As Oakdale builds more than 1,500 units of housing with the Willowbrooke development and the Gold Line BRTOD development, it is important that we keep two important factors in mind:
The city needs to promote housing variety. As prices have climbed and seniors aged in place, there has been a bottleneck in the natural progression consumers have with housing. COVID only exasperated this phenomenon. This means the housing market is flooded with buyers and renters, all seeking different things. Requiring a variety of housing options (sizes, style, lot size, etc.) will address the demand of buyers and renters in every demographic.
Fiscal Responsibility = Stable Residence Base. Oakdale is fortunate to have longevity amongst many of our current residents, and a responsible city budget will keep property taxes reasonable and residents in their homes.
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?
I am proud of the detailed and comprehensive street improvement program Oakdale has in place. Every city street is routinely evaluated to ensure quality standards are being met so transportation can move smoothly throughout the city. We also need to keep working on addressing our transit needs. Gold Line BRT is a major transportation initiative for the city, and I am proud of the role I have played in moving that project forward. In terms of responding to the pandemic, my views on transportation have not changed. The demand for quality streets and accessible transit remains and Oakdale is committed to supporting both.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
We continue to experience economic uncertainty, with a looming recession, record housing prices, and wages not keeping up with the rate of inflation. Even though city taxes are only a small piece of a resident’s overall property tax bill, we must be extra critical in determining which expenses are mandatory and urgent, and which can be delayed. In looking at our early 2023 budget draft, key investments in public safety rise to the top of the list, while also analyzing needs in Public Works, and capital infrastructure.
What will you do to expand Oakdale’s tax base?
Oakdale is fortunate to be welcoming unprecedented development in our Willowbrooke development, as well as the transit-oriented development along the Gold Line BRT route. Both opportunities will add to Oakdale’s tax base. In addition to these projects, I believe Oakdale should also look at significant regulatory reform that encourages existing residents to reinvest in their properties. One example would be right-sizing our city’s permit fee structure to lower the fees associated with residential property redevelopment/rehabilitation. While the city will collect less in permit fees upfront, the long-term benefit to the city will be offset.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
We must address workforce shortages in the trades. My six-year career working in the real estate industry exposed me to just how bad the workforce shortage is in the trades. During the Great Recession, most trades laid off employees, and the prolonged nature of the recession led to many of them never coming back. At the same time, schools were forced to make budget cuts, and many cut the trade programs from the curriculum. This created a workforce gap that we are feeling today and reverberates through so many other public policy discussions.
When cities try to tackle issues related to housing affordability, we must look at the underlying causes and workforce shortages are a big part of that. Cities like Oakdale are in a prime position to create and deploy workforce training programs, where students from Tartan or North High School can job shadow city employees and discover whether a career in the trades is right for them – doing this all before students have to rack up large amounts of student loan debt. Strong relationships with our school district can open the door to creating a job shadowing programs like this.
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?
Cities should always be open to changes in operations and I have actively encouraged city staff to bring forward recommendations on things we can change if we are not sacrificing the high quality of service our residents have come to appreciate. Shared service agreements should always be on the table and can be a cost-effective way to cut costs and build relationships between municipal neighbors. We currently participate in a few shared service agreements, and they all have merit and offer value to the city. For example, Oakdale currently provides fire and water service to the city of Landfall. It is a beneficial partnership that allows Oakdale to recoup part of the cost of that service while not needing to bring on any additional personnel or equipment.
What is the role of the Mayor in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Oakdale?
Oakdale has a responsibility to ensure equity and fair access to our local economy for any entrepreneur seeking to create or grow a business here. As Mayor, it is on me to engage with prospective business owners and carry any concerns they have or hurdles they face to the full city council for addressing.
What further policies can Oakdale adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Consumer habits changed dramatically during COVID, and I believe Oakdale’s regulatory framework should evolve as well. This includes:
Revising the required amount of parking for retail businesses, as many consumers have expanded online and drive-up shopping habits.
Relaxing standards to allow more restaurants to add permanent patios on-site
Updating and broadening the list of “permitted uses” within city zoning to diversify our commercial and retail hubs, growing the tax base and lessening the financial impact on existing businesses.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
None.