Linda Garrett-Johnson
Name: Linda Garrett-Johnson
Public Office Sought: Apple Valley City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (612) 888-2758
Website: https://www.ElectLindaGarrettJohnson.com
Twitter handle: @LindaGJforAVCC
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LindaGJforAVCC
Candidate Bio
My 25 years of experience in public policy/community engagement and organization development/business process improvement are skills needed on the Council today. My leadership style to serve and elevate stakeholder voices.
I’ve served on the West Side Citizens Organization (planning council for Saint Paul District 3) and Neighborhood Development Alliance (affordable, sustainable housing) organization. I have designed and facilitated several Community Engagement processes, centered on information sharing, dialogue, and learning that authentically brought residents and stakeholders into long-range decision-making designed to develop more equitable solutions. I have a Bachelor of Art degree (Organization Development/Business Management), Associate in Applied Science (Computer Science/Business Management) and I’m a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (Process Improvement Methodology).
I’m currently a board member of 360 Communities. I have successfully created the Center for Intersectional Leadership, which brings leaders together to work on public policy in an intersectional way. And just a few additional former boards and statewide committees I’ve been appointed to are the Regatta Manor Townhome Association (President), MN Women’s Foundation Board, MN Academic Excellence Foundation, St. Paul Public Safety Advisory Council, Umbrella Rule Advisory Committee Department of Human Service/Department of Corrections, Restorative Justice Youth/Family Committee, and Saint Paul Schools Racial Harassment Policy Committee.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
The first priority would be implementing a civic engagement model, centered on information sharing, dialogue, and learning, that authentically brings residents/stakeholders/business owners into long-range decision-making designed to develop more equitable solutions. The second priority is developing more transparent reporting (and data collection) by community-facing departments, including the disaggregation of data (ex: consumer insights, age, race and ethnicity), identifying any issues in specific departments. And third, based upon conversations with resident/small business owners, I’d like to design financial incentives and/or subsidies for small, locally-owned businesses. Many would like to start a small business in our city, but need these incentives to make it work. If done correctly, this could be a win-win, including increasing the number of individuals who work in Apple Valley and adding to our tax-base.
How would you characterize the business climate in Apple Valley and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
I believe Apple Valley could enhance the business climate by the proactive engagement of the business community to learn how long- and short- range plans could impact this important stakeholder group. As previously mentioned, I’ve reached out to residents on a similar topic to learned what they would like to see to help small, locally-owned businesses. To understand the business climate, we must engage the business community in conversation. While we have a strong local business community, more could be done to support them, as they play a vital role in the economic growth and stability of a city by job creation; and drawing people to the city to live, work, play and shop.
When employers (and their employees) engage with their community by supporting local schools, afterschool programs, Booster Clubs, senior activities, families in need, etc. they are contributing to the quality of life within that community. And employers also make contributions to the quality of life of the community through their internal business practices for their employees (ex: company culture, hiring local, workforce development, livable wages, and benefits); and most importantly, through the customer experience they provide.
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, Apple Valley?
Cities can attract and retain jobs by way of what is contained in the economic development section of their long-range plans. In order to design the most effective plan, they need to proactively, authentically involve all stakeholders, including residents and the business community, in the development of the plan. This engagement goes beyond seeking input AFTER the plan has been created, because by then minds and opinions are more difficult to change.
Cities should consider how zoning, as well as ordinances, make it attractive to new business or difficult to retain existing business in a city. Again, connecting with business and residents on these topics is key to knowing how to make decisions that work for the broader community.
I have been communicating with a regional organization of which the SPACC is a strategic partner. It would be great if the city of Apple Valley would intentionally partner with this organization to attract more cultural businesses to the city, as our demographics have changed. And finally, as I mentioned in the previous question, the City needs to address the need of small businesses needing some form of financial incentive to start up.
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Apple Valley (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 Apple Valley and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Creating opportunities for the business community, along with residents and the Council, to learn from each other and develop proposals that will benefit all involved is key to understanding the impact of any ordinance. I have implemented an engagement model that does this when I lived in another city, and have been piloting it in Apple Valley.
Prior to COVID-19 I had begun to attend events hosted by both the Apple Valley and Saint Paul Chambers, as well as the Dakota County Regional Chamber. This was an opportunity for me to network with other small business owners (and leaders) and to learn about their challenges (and successes) in Apple Valley and Dakota County.
I do support employees earning a livable minimum wage and having access to sick time, because this is an important part of creating a healthy workforce, families, and economy in a city. However, I believe it is equally important that we understand the impact of these proposals to employers. Business type (corporate, self-employed, for-profit, non-profit), financial ability (budget size), and number of employees should be a part of identifying any helpful exceptions to these proposals. And proposals should not be looked at as “one size fits all.”
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
Addressing public safety starts by understanding what issues the community is facing or experiencing. We need to develop more transparent reporting (and data collection) by community-facing departments, including the disaggregation of data (ex: consumer insights, age, race and ethnicity), identifying any issues within specific departments.
Several suburban cities in MN have created Human Rights Commissions or Departments to advise their City Council as they seek to address racial disparities in areas including health, employment, education, housing, and policing. Some also have a Racial Equity Coordinator
position, responsible for integrating race and equity principles into all operations, projects and services of their City. Apple Valley should create both, to proactively address community issues and build an inclusive community.
Housing costs are rising faster than incomes. In Apple Valley, the 2014-2018 ACS survey notes rental costs over 48% of the median gross income, nationally it’s recommended to be 30%. Before development, housing projects should include a wider range of rents/mortgages, and that a larger percentage is not above 25% of median income. After development, more innovative work with Dakota County CDA to expand rental/homeownership assistance so more city residents in need are afforded these services is needed.
Finally, transportation solutions need to address more than travel in general, or travel by car. We have an aging population, individuals in wheelchairs and we have individuals that would like to travel by bus: and solutions require options addressing these needs. Cedar Avenue and the two County Roads (42 and 46) are main travel access points. Transportation solutions should also consider travel safety on these access points (speed, stop signs, stop lights). And transportation solutions should also take into consideration safety at school travel points. There are several schools for which crossing the street for students has become a safety hazard that should be addressed, immediately.
While the Council is in the process of updates to the cities 2030 Plan, to create a 2040 Plan, the Council needs to authentically engage all residents, businesses, and stakeholders to inform the Plan, and truly build a livable, attractive community.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
One of my top funding priorities is ensuring as a city we have a mechanism to conduct systematic reviews of our services and programs to identify areas of waste and ineffectiveness. To do this, I will bring to the Council my background as a Certified Lean Six Sigma business process improvement expert to identify how we can use those principles in our budgetary process. My priority is to allow information and data to tell the story of the effectiveness, and areas of waste, within our city services and programs so we know where increases or decreases need to occur.
As a member of the City Council, I promise to work with the other Council members to implement Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement strategies that allow us to identity wasteful, ineffective spending. You can’t truly identify the appropriate areas within a budget that warrant reduction (or increase) until you understand how the work within the business process is performing. We need to look at each department systematically to understand where to reduce (or increase) the budget.
The initial programs and services that I would focus on evaluating for continuous improvement in this order are Administration, Human Resources, Community Development/Planning and Police.
What will you do to expand Apple Valley's tax base?
According to the MN Department of Revenue, Apple Valley has a relatively high property tax base per capita compared to other cities, resulting in the city receiving zero dollars in Local Government Aid (LGA). We are also in the middle of one of the worst economic crises in history with COVID-19, which is putting a strain on employment (increasing the number of unemployed and business closures) and destabilizing families/the community.
Given this, we need to first stabilize the tax base by ensuring federal and state aid is provided to local businesses, especially the smaller businesses that may not have a large reserve to fall back on. For example, we are seeing a trend of restaurant businesses who may have already been on the edge, closing due to loss of revenue related to lower capacity rates. We also need to stabilize families who are now unemployed by using City authorized to use funds to go directly to individuals and families through a consumer grant program to prevent evictions, assist in preventing homelessness, and for the loss of income to provide direct emergency financial assistance to families/individuals. When families are unstable, we lose part of our tax base (ex: no longer shopping or dining out, increased foreclosures, etc.).
Once we are out of the current crisis and in a more stable situation, we can talk more about ways to expand the tax base. Right now, we need to focus on not losing any more tax revenue than we have already lost. However, part of my vision to increase our tax base includes attracting new and different cultural businesses, restaurants and the like to the city by expanding our regional partnerships and working directly with entities that understand how to do this well.
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 schools and communities are becoming more diverse. More students are coming from families where multiple languages are spoken. Yet, many of our educational institutions are not prepared for the changes to the demographic make-up of their student population. If we are going to develop and retain an educated workforce, K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions need to proactively address these deficits. I have been involved in this space for many years, providing insight to educational institutions who are ready for that needed conversation. And I continue to play that role today. This is one of the most important steps that is needed.
Over the Summer, I’ve engaged youth in the District 196 AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Program, which prepares students for future success in a college or university. And recently I’ve been asked to consider how to engage students in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) program. For AVID students, I’ve dialogued with them about governmental structures and how they can engage in local and state public policy development. For the STEM Program, I want to encourage students to explore several educational and employment options, based upon my own experience as a Certified
Six Sigma Black Belt. For me, this is a hands-on way to help prepare students for future employment and civic engagement.
Finally, it’s important to have general knowledge regarding Minnesota K-12 and post-secondary education legislation and funding, including the multiple funding formulas, because of the impact to school District budgets. The size of District budgets determines class size, educational offerings, staffing, student to teacher ratios and the like. Any conversations about developing and retaining an educated workforce needs to be grounded in understanding education funding.
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?
As someone who has a certification in business process improvement, I would not recommend cutting back or eliminating any city services until the city underwent a process improvement project which identified that a service and/or program was no longer needed, wasteful or was ineffective. That same type of project or initiative would surface services that could be shared with other entities. I believe the city should adopt the Lean Six Sigma continuous process improvement methodology, and pilot its implementation in an area such as Administration, then roll it out in a systematic way across all city services and programs. I hope to bring the knowledge of this methodology to the Apple Valley City Council to advise them as to benefits of implementing this in city government.
Lean Six Sigma is a methodology designed to “reduce variation and waste” while promoting the use of work standardization and flow, thereby creating a competitive advantage. It is a methodology that can be used anywhere.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Apple Valley?
Unfortunately, outlining how the City Council would increase BIPOC- and women-owned business is non-existent in the cities current 2030 economic development plan. BIPOC is a term that stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. It is important to understand how these communities identify and see themselves before you interact with them.
Quite frankly, the current composition of the City Council is ill-equipped for this task, as there is no one representing the BIPOC community on the Council today. That voice is missing from the Council. Therefore, there is a knowledge gap/deficit. I believe that is why there is a gaping hole in the cities 2030 economic development plan related to fostering an increase in BIPOC- and women-owned businesses in Apple Valley.
If the City Council is going to increase BIPOC- and women-owned businesses this needs to be intentional, with goals and strategies to get this done. It also involves the Council understanding how to do true, authentic community engagement with the BIPOC- and
women-owned communities to inform the development of appropriate goals and strategies.
What further policies can Apple Valley adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
It’s important to look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic holistically, not in parts. When you look at it solely by how it impacts one part of the community versus another, solutions can be developed in a disjointed way. My preference is that the city of Apple Valley look at how to help the entire Apple Valley community recover from the pandemic.
My preference is to answer the question by looking at policies that can help the entire community: residents and business. I’ll start with residents (families), because without them frequenting establishments, making purchases and being a part of the workforce, there will be no business. Also, business owners are often residents too. Stabilizing individuals and families can have the effect of stabilizing the business community.
The City is authorized to use pandemic funds they received to go directly to individuals and families through a consumer grant program to prevent eviction, assist in preventing homelessness, and for the loss of income for payments to provide direct emergency financial assistance. It’s important to know that social service agencies in Apple Valley are expecting a severe amount of foreclosures and evictions due to families experiencing job loss due to COVID-19. Our city needs to allocate money towards individual families to prevent this disaster.
The City also needed to streamline the application process and develop additional partnerships to find more resources for businesses, similar to how the city of Saint Paul has done. “The Saint Paul Bridge Fund” is supported by “Saint Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority funds, and support from the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and Ecolab Foundation (and many other foundations).” This is allowing Saint Paul to extend the resources allocated to them from the State of Minnesota. Saint Paul has also created a specific office to help in the administration of the funds. It’s my understanding there is a timeline for spending funds, so it’s important for the city to act quickly.
Finally, the City should have brought business owners, local leaders, and residents together in a virtual “round table” to discuss together how best to address the impact of the pandemic on each of them, so creative, collaborative approaches could have been developed. Saint Paul thought “out of the box” and Apple Valley should have too.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
City Council members serve the stakeholders (residents, business, local leaders, others) of Apple Valley. They are the voice of those stakeholder groups. In order to be effective leaders, they need to adopt a new model of engaging in dialogue with the community to inform their decision-making and co-create with stakeholder’s city plans that address issues.
Our current way of bringing community voices to the table is outdated and antiquated. It’s a model that does not build community. It’s a model that creates more frustration, instead of proactively addressing problems.
As a City Council member, I will work with my colleagues to authentically engage all stakeholder groups in city planning. The City Council should reflect the voice of all of its community. The demographics of Apple Valley has changed, yet the composition of our City Council does not reflect that change. There are voices missing and I want to represent those voices.
Public Office Sought: Apple Valley City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (612) 888-2758
Website: https://www.ElectLindaGarrettJohnson.com
Twitter handle: @LindaGJforAVCC
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LindaGJforAVCC
Candidate Bio
My 25 years of experience in public policy/community engagement and organization development/business process improvement are skills needed on the Council today. My leadership style to serve and elevate stakeholder voices.
I’ve served on the West Side Citizens Organization (planning council for Saint Paul District 3) and Neighborhood Development Alliance (affordable, sustainable housing) organization. I have designed and facilitated several Community Engagement processes, centered on information sharing, dialogue, and learning that authentically brought residents and stakeholders into long-range decision-making designed to develop more equitable solutions. I have a Bachelor of Art degree (Organization Development/Business Management), Associate in Applied Science (Computer Science/Business Management) and I’m a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (Process Improvement Methodology).
I’m currently a board member of 360 Communities. I have successfully created the Center for Intersectional Leadership, which brings leaders together to work on public policy in an intersectional way. And just a few additional former boards and statewide committees I’ve been appointed to are the Regatta Manor Townhome Association (President), MN Women’s Foundation Board, MN Academic Excellence Foundation, St. Paul Public Safety Advisory Council, Umbrella Rule Advisory Committee Department of Human Service/Department of Corrections, Restorative Justice Youth/Family Committee, and Saint Paul Schools Racial Harassment Policy Committee.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
The first priority would be implementing a civic engagement model, centered on information sharing, dialogue, and learning, that authentically brings residents/stakeholders/business owners into long-range decision-making designed to develop more equitable solutions. The second priority is developing more transparent reporting (and data collection) by community-facing departments, including the disaggregation of data (ex: consumer insights, age, race and ethnicity), identifying any issues in specific departments. And third, based upon conversations with resident/small business owners, I’d like to design financial incentives and/or subsidies for small, locally-owned businesses. Many would like to start a small business in our city, but need these incentives to make it work. If done correctly, this could be a win-win, including increasing the number of individuals who work in Apple Valley and adding to our tax-base.
How would you characterize the business climate in Apple Valley and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
I believe Apple Valley could enhance the business climate by the proactive engagement of the business community to learn how long- and short- range plans could impact this important stakeholder group. As previously mentioned, I’ve reached out to residents on a similar topic to learned what they would like to see to help small, locally-owned businesses. To understand the business climate, we must engage the business community in conversation. While we have a strong local business community, more could be done to support them, as they play a vital role in the economic growth and stability of a city by job creation; and drawing people to the city to live, work, play and shop.
When employers (and their employees) engage with their community by supporting local schools, afterschool programs, Booster Clubs, senior activities, families in need, etc. they are contributing to the quality of life within that community. And employers also make contributions to the quality of life of the community through their internal business practices for their employees (ex: company culture, hiring local, workforce development, livable wages, and benefits); and most importantly, through the customer experience they provide.
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, Apple Valley?
Cities can attract and retain jobs by way of what is contained in the economic development section of their long-range plans. In order to design the most effective plan, they need to proactively, authentically involve all stakeholders, including residents and the business community, in the development of the plan. This engagement goes beyond seeking input AFTER the plan has been created, because by then minds and opinions are more difficult to change.
Cities should consider how zoning, as well as ordinances, make it attractive to new business or difficult to retain existing business in a city. Again, connecting with business and residents on these topics is key to knowing how to make decisions that work for the broader community.
I have been communicating with a regional organization of which the SPACC is a strategic partner. It would be great if the city of Apple Valley would intentionally partner with this organization to attract more cultural businesses to the city, as our demographics have changed. And finally, as I mentioned in the previous question, the City needs to address the need of small businesses needing some form of financial incentive to start up.
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Apple Valley (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 Apple Valley and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Creating opportunities for the business community, along with residents and the Council, to learn from each other and develop proposals that will benefit all involved is key to understanding the impact of any ordinance. I have implemented an engagement model that does this when I lived in another city, and have been piloting it in Apple Valley.
Prior to COVID-19 I had begun to attend events hosted by both the Apple Valley and Saint Paul Chambers, as well as the Dakota County Regional Chamber. This was an opportunity for me to network with other small business owners (and leaders) and to learn about their challenges (and successes) in Apple Valley and Dakota County.
I do support employees earning a livable minimum wage and having access to sick time, because this is an important part of creating a healthy workforce, families, and economy in a city. However, I believe it is equally important that we understand the impact of these proposals to employers. Business type (corporate, self-employed, for-profit, non-profit), financial ability (budget size), and number of employees should be a part of identifying any helpful exceptions to these proposals. And proposals should not be looked at as “one size fits all.”
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
Addressing public safety starts by understanding what issues the community is facing or experiencing. We need to develop more transparent reporting (and data collection) by community-facing departments, including the disaggregation of data (ex: consumer insights, age, race and ethnicity), identifying any issues within specific departments.
Several suburban cities in MN have created Human Rights Commissions or Departments to advise their City Council as they seek to address racial disparities in areas including health, employment, education, housing, and policing. Some also have a Racial Equity Coordinator
position, responsible for integrating race and equity principles into all operations, projects and services of their City. Apple Valley should create both, to proactively address community issues and build an inclusive community.
Housing costs are rising faster than incomes. In Apple Valley, the 2014-2018 ACS survey notes rental costs over 48% of the median gross income, nationally it’s recommended to be 30%. Before development, housing projects should include a wider range of rents/mortgages, and that a larger percentage is not above 25% of median income. After development, more innovative work with Dakota County CDA to expand rental/homeownership assistance so more city residents in need are afforded these services is needed.
Finally, transportation solutions need to address more than travel in general, or travel by car. We have an aging population, individuals in wheelchairs and we have individuals that would like to travel by bus: and solutions require options addressing these needs. Cedar Avenue and the two County Roads (42 and 46) are main travel access points. Transportation solutions should also consider travel safety on these access points (speed, stop signs, stop lights). And transportation solutions should also take into consideration safety at school travel points. There are several schools for which crossing the street for students has become a safety hazard that should be addressed, immediately.
While the Council is in the process of updates to the cities 2030 Plan, to create a 2040 Plan, the Council needs to authentically engage all residents, businesses, and stakeholders to inform the Plan, and truly build a livable, attractive community.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
One of my top funding priorities is ensuring as a city we have a mechanism to conduct systematic reviews of our services and programs to identify areas of waste and ineffectiveness. To do this, I will bring to the Council my background as a Certified Lean Six Sigma business process improvement expert to identify how we can use those principles in our budgetary process. My priority is to allow information and data to tell the story of the effectiveness, and areas of waste, within our city services and programs so we know where increases or decreases need to occur.
As a member of the City Council, I promise to work with the other Council members to implement Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement strategies that allow us to identity wasteful, ineffective spending. You can’t truly identify the appropriate areas within a budget that warrant reduction (or increase) until you understand how the work within the business process is performing. We need to look at each department systematically to understand where to reduce (or increase) the budget.
The initial programs and services that I would focus on evaluating for continuous improvement in this order are Administration, Human Resources, Community Development/Planning and Police.
What will you do to expand Apple Valley's tax base?
According to the MN Department of Revenue, Apple Valley has a relatively high property tax base per capita compared to other cities, resulting in the city receiving zero dollars in Local Government Aid (LGA). We are also in the middle of one of the worst economic crises in history with COVID-19, which is putting a strain on employment (increasing the number of unemployed and business closures) and destabilizing families/the community.
Given this, we need to first stabilize the tax base by ensuring federal and state aid is provided to local businesses, especially the smaller businesses that may not have a large reserve to fall back on. For example, we are seeing a trend of restaurant businesses who may have already been on the edge, closing due to loss of revenue related to lower capacity rates. We also need to stabilize families who are now unemployed by using City authorized to use funds to go directly to individuals and families through a consumer grant program to prevent evictions, assist in preventing homelessness, and for the loss of income to provide direct emergency financial assistance to families/individuals. When families are unstable, we lose part of our tax base (ex: no longer shopping or dining out, increased foreclosures, etc.).
Once we are out of the current crisis and in a more stable situation, we can talk more about ways to expand the tax base. Right now, we need to focus on not losing any more tax revenue than we have already lost. However, part of my vision to increase our tax base includes attracting new and different cultural businesses, restaurants and the like to the city by expanding our regional partnerships and working directly with entities that understand how to do this well.
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 schools and communities are becoming more diverse. More students are coming from families where multiple languages are spoken. Yet, many of our educational institutions are not prepared for the changes to the demographic make-up of their student population. If we are going to develop and retain an educated workforce, K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions need to proactively address these deficits. I have been involved in this space for many years, providing insight to educational institutions who are ready for that needed conversation. And I continue to play that role today. This is one of the most important steps that is needed.
Over the Summer, I’ve engaged youth in the District 196 AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Program, which prepares students for future success in a college or university. And recently I’ve been asked to consider how to engage students in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) program. For AVID students, I’ve dialogued with them about governmental structures and how they can engage in local and state public policy development. For the STEM Program, I want to encourage students to explore several educational and employment options, based upon my own experience as a Certified
Six Sigma Black Belt. For me, this is a hands-on way to help prepare students for future employment and civic engagement.
Finally, it’s important to have general knowledge regarding Minnesota K-12 and post-secondary education legislation and funding, including the multiple funding formulas, because of the impact to school District budgets. The size of District budgets determines class size, educational offerings, staffing, student to teacher ratios and the like. Any conversations about developing and retaining an educated workforce needs to be grounded in understanding education funding.
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?
As someone who has a certification in business process improvement, I would not recommend cutting back or eliminating any city services until the city underwent a process improvement project which identified that a service and/or program was no longer needed, wasteful or was ineffective. That same type of project or initiative would surface services that could be shared with other entities. I believe the city should adopt the Lean Six Sigma continuous process improvement methodology, and pilot its implementation in an area such as Administration, then roll it out in a systematic way across all city services and programs. I hope to bring the knowledge of this methodology to the Apple Valley City Council to advise them as to benefits of implementing this in city government.
Lean Six Sigma is a methodology designed to “reduce variation and waste” while promoting the use of work standardization and flow, thereby creating a competitive advantage. It is a methodology that can be used anywhere.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Apple Valley?
Unfortunately, outlining how the City Council would increase BIPOC- and women-owned business is non-existent in the cities current 2030 economic development plan. BIPOC is a term that stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. It is important to understand how these communities identify and see themselves before you interact with them.
Quite frankly, the current composition of the City Council is ill-equipped for this task, as there is no one representing the BIPOC community on the Council today. That voice is missing from the Council. Therefore, there is a knowledge gap/deficit. I believe that is why there is a gaping hole in the cities 2030 economic development plan related to fostering an increase in BIPOC- and women-owned businesses in Apple Valley.
If the City Council is going to increase BIPOC- and women-owned businesses this needs to be intentional, with goals and strategies to get this done. It also involves the Council understanding how to do true, authentic community engagement with the BIPOC- and
women-owned communities to inform the development of appropriate goals and strategies.
What further policies can Apple Valley adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
It’s important to look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic holistically, not in parts. When you look at it solely by how it impacts one part of the community versus another, solutions can be developed in a disjointed way. My preference is that the city of Apple Valley look at how to help the entire Apple Valley community recover from the pandemic.
My preference is to answer the question by looking at policies that can help the entire community: residents and business. I’ll start with residents (families), because without them frequenting establishments, making purchases and being a part of the workforce, there will be no business. Also, business owners are often residents too. Stabilizing individuals and families can have the effect of stabilizing the business community.
The City is authorized to use pandemic funds they received to go directly to individuals and families through a consumer grant program to prevent eviction, assist in preventing homelessness, and for the loss of income for payments to provide direct emergency financial assistance. It’s important to know that social service agencies in Apple Valley are expecting a severe amount of foreclosures and evictions due to families experiencing job loss due to COVID-19. Our city needs to allocate money towards individual families to prevent this disaster.
The City also needed to streamline the application process and develop additional partnerships to find more resources for businesses, similar to how the city of Saint Paul has done. “The Saint Paul Bridge Fund” is supported by “Saint Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority funds, and support from the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and Ecolab Foundation (and many other foundations).” This is allowing Saint Paul to extend the resources allocated to them from the State of Minnesota. Saint Paul has also created a specific office to help in the administration of the funds. It’s my understanding there is a timeline for spending funds, so it’s important for the city to act quickly.
Finally, the City should have brought business owners, local leaders, and residents together in a virtual “round table” to discuss together how best to address the impact of the pandemic on each of them, so creative, collaborative approaches could have been developed. Saint Paul thought “out of the box” and Apple Valley should have too.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
City Council members serve the stakeholders (residents, business, local leaders, others) of Apple Valley. They are the voice of those stakeholder groups. In order to be effective leaders, they need to adopt a new model of engaging in dialogue with the community to inform their decision-making and co-create with stakeholder’s city plans that address issues.
Our current way of bringing community voices to the table is outdated and antiquated. It’s a model that does not build community. It’s a model that creates more frustration, instead of proactively addressing problems.
As a City Council member, I will work with my colleagues to authentically engage all stakeholder groups in city planning. The City Council should reflect the voice of all of its community. The demographics of Apple Valley has changed, yet the composition of our City Council does not reflect that change. There are voices missing and I want to represent those voices.