Todd Podgorski
Name: Todd Podgorski
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 6513300584
Campaign Website: https://toddpodgorski.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page:
Candidate Bio
Serving as an elected official and peace officer has been a calling of mine. I am currently finishing my third term on the SSP City Council. I have also served one term as a South St. Paul School Board Member. I earned an A.A.S. in Law Enforcement and an A.A. in General Studies from Inver Hills C.C. After Inver Hills I went to Winona State and earned a BA in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. I served on the NDC4 Cable commission. I am proud to have helped improve our parks system by supporting a voter approved bond in 2014. This helped improve Kaposia Landing, Woog Arene and McMorrow soccer fields. Improving our Capital Improvement fund so we can pay more for projects with cash on hand vs borrowing is also an accomplishment. As a Peace Officer for over 26 years I understand the importance of public safety and supporting good cops. As a parent, peace officer, husband and homeowner I have a vested interest to help keep our community a great place to live, work and play.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
Servant leadership with a collaborative focus on bringing people together.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
Implementing our updated parks masterplan with a new pool is a top issue. Our parks and pools are important to our citizens and their quality of life. I believe the residents deserve to make their voices heard in 2025 with a voter approved parks and pools bond referendum. Economic development along Concord and at Wakota Crossing is important. Expanding our tax base helps keep our taxes lower. Public safety is also a priority. Good cops help bring justice to our community. The state’s current economic outlook should not have a negative impact on these priorities. It would help if the state passed a bonding bill in 2025 as they didn’t pass one in 2024 as was scheduled.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in South St. Paul?
There are a number of challenges and opportunities in our community. Residents have told me they are concerned about taxes, roads, parks and pools and code enforcement to name a few. Crime and retaining and recruiting good cops is also a challenge. Supporting our youth and partnering with our school district as they face challenges is important.
The biggest challenge and opportunity might be in economic development along Concord at the Hardman Triangle and over at Wakota Crossing. These projects will expand our tax base while adding housing and jobs. Finding the private developers will take some time.
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?
The ideal Collaboration would include good communication and understanding of what is working well and what needs to be improved upon in each of these important areas of our economy. I am not sure what the impact of the last legislative session will be on that collaboration as local governments and school districts and private sector development work together better in some areas than others.
How would you characterize the business climate in South St. Paul and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in South St. Paul?
The business climate in SSP is good. Our Council and Mayor are business friendly. Our staff works hard at helping businesses understand what assistance they can get from not just the city but other government agencies as well. Our staff works for win wins when possible, for attracting and retaining jobs here in South St. Paul.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
Hiring good cops is challenging in this current environment. We as a Council and Mayor have to support good policing so we can attract and retain good cops. We also need to continue to collaborate with our partners at Dakota County as we now have imbedded social workers to assist with the many calls for service related to mental health. Many of our public safety challenges are related to those struggling with Drug addiction and Mental Health. We need more treatment options for those struggling with addiction and mental health and that should be from the State and County. We must continue to have good working relationships with our nearby police departments as crime and criminals often cross city and county boarders. We have a full time fire department at SouthMetro and we must continue to support our local firefighters as well.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
The Hardman Triangle plan adds housing options similar to what has taken place off Concord and Grand Ave. Housing affordability is difficult. There are a number of factors that impact housing affordability. The City with the EDA has now created more affordable loan options for homeowners that need some assistance with fixing up there homes. The County CDA has a number of 55 plus apartments in town and we can look at what city owned land is available for them to consider adding another as well. The state may want to consider a mansion tax for homes valued over $1 million that goes into an affordable housing fund.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
Having a well-funded road and sidewalk improvement plan is critical to making these improvements. We have recently improved our Capital Improvement funding by using the taxes that were previously in the TIF district of Bridgepoint business park. We work with our Engineering and Public Works department staff to assist us in improving these areas when a road is in need of repair or replacement.
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?
Being fiscally responsible and having a balanced budget is one the most important tasks we have as a City Council. We take it seriously. Looking at long term Capital Improvement projects is where it gets difficult to fund projects. These projects often are eligible for state, federal and/or county funding and we need to partner and collaborate with them to ensure the funding is available from the city. This may include bonding if the project is large.
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?
SSP has benefited from a number of state grants from DEED and the MET Council when it comes to economic development. The state has also assisted with state aid funds for roads. The City and County work together to assist one another with law enforcement, parks, roads and some human services. Local City government helps provide basic services such as police, fire, public works, and parks. I do not foresee our Council and Mayor wading into policies such as Uber/Lyft and childcare subsidies.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 6513300584
Campaign Website: https://toddpodgorski.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page:
Candidate Bio
Serving as an elected official and peace officer has been a calling of mine. I am currently finishing my third term on the SSP City Council. I have also served one term as a South St. Paul School Board Member. I earned an A.A.S. in Law Enforcement and an A.A. in General Studies from Inver Hills C.C. After Inver Hills I went to Winona State and earned a BA in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. I served on the NDC4 Cable commission. I am proud to have helped improve our parks system by supporting a voter approved bond in 2014. This helped improve Kaposia Landing, Woog Arene and McMorrow soccer fields. Improving our Capital Improvement fund so we can pay more for projects with cash on hand vs borrowing is also an accomplishment. As a Peace Officer for over 26 years I understand the importance of public safety and supporting good cops. As a parent, peace officer, husband and homeowner I have a vested interest to help keep our community a great place to live, work and play.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
Servant leadership with a collaborative focus on bringing people together.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
Implementing our updated parks masterplan with a new pool is a top issue. Our parks and pools are important to our citizens and their quality of life. I believe the residents deserve to make their voices heard in 2025 with a voter approved parks and pools bond referendum. Economic development along Concord and at Wakota Crossing is important. Expanding our tax base helps keep our taxes lower. Public safety is also a priority. Good cops help bring justice to our community. The state’s current economic outlook should not have a negative impact on these priorities. It would help if the state passed a bonding bill in 2025 as they didn’t pass one in 2024 as was scheduled.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in South St. Paul?
There are a number of challenges and opportunities in our community. Residents have told me they are concerned about taxes, roads, parks and pools and code enforcement to name a few. Crime and retaining and recruiting good cops is also a challenge. Supporting our youth and partnering with our school district as they face challenges is important.
The biggest challenge and opportunity might be in economic development along Concord at the Hardman Triangle and over at Wakota Crossing. These projects will expand our tax base while adding housing and jobs. Finding the private developers will take some time.
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?
The ideal Collaboration would include good communication and understanding of what is working well and what needs to be improved upon in each of these important areas of our economy. I am not sure what the impact of the last legislative session will be on that collaboration as local governments and school districts and private sector development work together better in some areas than others.
How would you characterize the business climate in South St. Paul and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in South St. Paul?
The business climate in SSP is good. Our Council and Mayor are business friendly. Our staff works hard at helping businesses understand what assistance they can get from not just the city but other government agencies as well. Our staff works for win wins when possible, for attracting and retaining jobs here in South St. Paul.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
Hiring good cops is challenging in this current environment. We as a Council and Mayor have to support good policing so we can attract and retain good cops. We also need to continue to collaborate with our partners at Dakota County as we now have imbedded social workers to assist with the many calls for service related to mental health. Many of our public safety challenges are related to those struggling with Drug addiction and Mental Health. We need more treatment options for those struggling with addiction and mental health and that should be from the State and County. We must continue to have good working relationships with our nearby police departments as crime and criminals often cross city and county boarders. We have a full time fire department at SouthMetro and we must continue to support our local firefighters as well.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
The Hardman Triangle plan adds housing options similar to what has taken place off Concord and Grand Ave. Housing affordability is difficult. There are a number of factors that impact housing affordability. The City with the EDA has now created more affordable loan options for homeowners that need some assistance with fixing up there homes. The County CDA has a number of 55 plus apartments in town and we can look at what city owned land is available for them to consider adding another as well. The state may want to consider a mansion tax for homes valued over $1 million that goes into an affordable housing fund.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
Having a well-funded road and sidewalk improvement plan is critical to making these improvements. We have recently improved our Capital Improvement funding by using the taxes that were previously in the TIF district of Bridgepoint business park. We work with our Engineering and Public Works department staff to assist us in improving these areas when a road is in need of repair or replacement.
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?
Being fiscally responsible and having a balanced budget is one the most important tasks we have as a City Council. We take it seriously. Looking at long term Capital Improvement projects is where it gets difficult to fund projects. These projects often are eligible for state, federal and/or county funding and we need to partner and collaborate with them to ensure the funding is available from the city. This may include bonding if the project is large.
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?
SSP has benefited from a number of state grants from DEED and the MET Council when it comes to economic development. The state has also assisted with state aid funds for roads. The City and County work together to assist one another with law enforcement, parks, roads and some human services. Local City government helps provide basic services such as police, fire, public works, and parks. I do not foresee our Council and Mayor wading into policies such as Uber/Lyft and childcare subsidies.