Ryan Hankins
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Name: Ryan Hankins
Public Office Sought: Birchwood Village City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 651-447-9192
Website: http://www.ryanforbirchwood.
Twitter handle:
Facebook page:
Candidate Bio
I grew up in Birchwood and attended White Bear schools. I moved back with my family in 2017 because Birchwood has the small town feel we wanted our son to experience. I have served on the Birchwood utility committee since 2019. I'm running for the Birchwood city council to ensure the city is well run and everyone can have the same great small town family experience. I graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with degrees in math and German in 2003, and in 2009, I completed my MS in computer science at Metropolitan State University. I work as a software engineer and I teach college computer science classes in the evenings.
I've served on the Birchwood Utility Committee since 2019.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
We have lots of great resources in Birchwood, including beautiful trees, trails and parks, and the Lake Links trail provides an ideal complement to those facilities. My top priorities are to manage upcoming necessary utility upgrades, including water meter upgrades, the Wildwood lift station and the Dellwood lift station generator for the long term to make sure Birchwood gets the best possible value. I will also make sure our maintenance and investment dollars maximize the benefit our parks and trails provide, particularly for the growing number of families with children who are moving into Birchwood. We need to make sure the Birchwood is fair for everyone, and take the whole village into consideration as we make decisions, and to that end, we should explore ways to make the city council more responsive to feedback from members of our community.
How would you characterize the business climate in Birchwood Village and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
Birchwood is a residential community
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, Birchwood Village?
Birchwood is a residential community
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Birchwood Village (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 Birchwood Village and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Birchwood is a residential community
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
The city council needs to think long-term when we make decisions affecting the city. When we are upgrading and replacing utility infrastructure and roads, the big picture is important: how long will our investments last and what alternatives provide the best value for residents? We should continue to evaluate the best options for police, fire and animal control, but, for the most part, our current choices provide good value.
We should worked toward clarifying and streamlining our building codes, so that it's clear what is acceptable, and we should make sure our road, street and utility infrastructure gets the maintenance and rehabilitation it needs to maximize its long-term value.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
Birchwood’s city council has been wise in seeking and getting grants for utility work on Birchwood Lane, and negotiating with White Bear Township to eliminate the lift station and its ongoing expenses; we should use a similar philosophy when undertaking work on the other lift stations and roads in the city.
What will you do to expand Birchwood Village's tax base?
As a residential community, much of our tax base is from homeowners, and we should continue to manage our budgets prudently, to provide the best possible value for city services for our neighbors.
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 should continue to explore the possibility of whether White Bear or Mahtomedi schools provide the best value for Birchwood. With the recent bond referendum in White Bear Lake, school taxes between the cities have become more consistent, reducing the cost for Birchwood to consider a change in districts.
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?
Much of our city's utility and billing services are already handled by other cities; for example, we work closely with Saint Anthony to manage out utility billing, and this arrangement provides good value to Birchwood. We should explore ways to make these services more convenient and less expensive, such as by allowing residents to pay water and sewer bills online.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Birchwood Village?
Although Birchwood doesn't have many businesses, we should make sure that when we are hiring city contractors, that we ensure those opportunities are advertised and available to minority and woman-owned service providers from outside Birchwood.
What further policies can Birchwood Village adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
To recover from COVID-19, we should make sure we make the best use of state grant funds. Birchwood has a bucket of approximately $60,000 to spend on projects, and we should ensure we are able to use this money, for example, implement automated water meter billing. We should also maintain connectivity among neighbors; we've done a great job with making village meetings online and available via Zoom, and we should continue to reach out in ways like this.
We should also promote parks, trails and recreational spaces within Birchwood, and take advantage of the Lake Links trail to connect Birchwood together.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
I think Birchwood is a great place to live. We need to make it better by promoting a sense of community, and making sure residents are treated fairly and consistently, and by promoting a sense of community, based around our parks, easements and trails. As the Lake Links trail comes through Birchwood, we should coordinate the mixed bike traffic it will bring with the parks in Birchwood.
Public Office Sought: Birchwood Village City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 651-447-9192
Website: http://www.ryanforbirchwood.
Twitter handle:
Facebook page:
Candidate Bio
I grew up in Birchwood and attended White Bear schools. I moved back with my family in 2017 because Birchwood has the small town feel we wanted our son to experience. I have served on the Birchwood utility committee since 2019. I'm running for the Birchwood city council to ensure the city is well run and everyone can have the same great small town family experience. I graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with degrees in math and German in 2003, and in 2009, I completed my MS in computer science at Metropolitan State University. I work as a software engineer and I teach college computer science classes in the evenings.
I've served on the Birchwood Utility Committee since 2019.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
We have lots of great resources in Birchwood, including beautiful trees, trails and parks, and the Lake Links trail provides an ideal complement to those facilities. My top priorities are to manage upcoming necessary utility upgrades, including water meter upgrades, the Wildwood lift station and the Dellwood lift station generator for the long term to make sure Birchwood gets the best possible value. I will also make sure our maintenance and investment dollars maximize the benefit our parks and trails provide, particularly for the growing number of families with children who are moving into Birchwood. We need to make sure the Birchwood is fair for everyone, and take the whole village into consideration as we make decisions, and to that end, we should explore ways to make the city council more responsive to feedback from members of our community.
How would you characterize the business climate in Birchwood Village and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
Birchwood is a residential community
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, Birchwood Village?
Birchwood is a residential community
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Birchwood Village (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 Birchwood Village and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Birchwood is a residential community
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
The city council needs to think long-term when we make decisions affecting the city. When we are upgrading and replacing utility infrastructure and roads, the big picture is important: how long will our investments last and what alternatives provide the best value for residents? We should continue to evaluate the best options for police, fire and animal control, but, for the most part, our current choices provide good value.
We should worked toward clarifying and streamlining our building codes, so that it's clear what is acceptable, and we should make sure our road, street and utility infrastructure gets the maintenance and rehabilitation it needs to maximize its long-term value.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
Birchwood’s city council has been wise in seeking and getting grants for utility work on Birchwood Lane, and negotiating with White Bear Township to eliminate the lift station and its ongoing expenses; we should use a similar philosophy when undertaking work on the other lift stations and roads in the city.
What will you do to expand Birchwood Village's tax base?
As a residential community, much of our tax base is from homeowners, and we should continue to manage our budgets prudently, to provide the best possible value for city services for our neighbors.
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 should continue to explore the possibility of whether White Bear or Mahtomedi schools provide the best value for Birchwood. With the recent bond referendum in White Bear Lake, school taxes between the cities have become more consistent, reducing the cost for Birchwood to consider a change in districts.
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?
Much of our city's utility and billing services are already handled by other cities; for example, we work closely with Saint Anthony to manage out utility billing, and this arrangement provides good value to Birchwood. We should explore ways to make these services more convenient and less expensive, such as by allowing residents to pay water and sewer bills online.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Birchwood Village?
Although Birchwood doesn't have many businesses, we should make sure that when we are hiring city contractors, that we ensure those opportunities are advertised and available to minority and woman-owned service providers from outside Birchwood.
What further policies can Birchwood Village adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
To recover from COVID-19, we should make sure we make the best use of state grant funds. Birchwood has a bucket of approximately $60,000 to spend on projects, and we should ensure we are able to use this money, for example, implement automated water meter billing. We should also maintain connectivity among neighbors; we've done a great job with making village meetings online and available via Zoom, and we should continue to reach out in ways like this.
We should also promote parks, trails and recreational spaces within Birchwood, and take advantage of the Lake Links trail to connect Birchwood together.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
I think Birchwood is a great place to live. We need to make it better by promoting a sense of community, and making sure residents are treated fairly and consistently, and by promoting a sense of community, based around our parks, easements and trails. As the Lake Links trail comes through Birchwood, we should coordinate the mixed bike traffic it will bring with the parks in Birchwood.