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respected the great leadership provided by Chair Nichols-Matkaiti. He stated he liked the work he got to do <br />and the recommendations that were made to the City Council. <br />Councilmember Axberg stated each Commission is tasked with making recommendations to the City Council <br />that comply with policies, rules or ordinances already adopted by the City Council. She asked Mr. McQuillan <br />what he would do if he disagreed with a policy or ordinance already in place. <br />Mr. McQuillan stated Ordinances that are in place he supported because the City Council has the final say. He <br />commented for new Ordinances that were pending, the Commission has the opportunity to make comments <br />and offer opinions. <br />Councilmember Dunsworth requested Mr. McQuillan to speak to the City's biggest opportunity and biggest <br />challenge in addressing inclusion in New Brighton. <br />Mr. McQuillan reported he was Vice Chair of the Inclusive Community Committee. He believed it was a good <br />thing the City would be moving to create a Commission to address inclusion. He stated some of the challenges <br />the City faced was getting people of color and minorities involved in City government. He noted the task force <br />looked at areas where people should be brought in for greater involvement. He indicated a City-wide <br />celebration was discussed by the task force and he anticipated the new Commission would be able to move <br />these ideas forward. He stated he was looking forward to see what this Commission does for the community. <br />Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas thanked Mr. McQuillan for coming in and applying for this position. She noted City <br />Clerk Spangrud would be in touch with further information on how the Council was moving forward. She <br />explained the next person to be interviewed was Todd Biedenfeld. <br />Councilmember Abdulle asked Mr. Biedenfeld to provide the Council with a brief history on his background <br />and community involvement. <br />Todd Biedenfeld stated he works for a large company in the Twin Cities that was in the AG industry and he <br />leads a sales and business team within the organization. He indicated he spent a handful of years serving as an <br />election judge in New Brighton and was completing his first term on the Planning Commission. He noted he <br />also served on a Board of Directors for an organization within his professional realm. <br />Councilmember Allen asked what motivated Mr. Biedenfeld to reapply to serve on a City Commission. <br />Mr. Biedenfeld explained when he initially applied, he was new to New Brighton and wanted to get to know <br />the community and the people. He stated it has been fun to be a part of the development process and he has <br />enjoyed seeing things going from request to construction over the years. <br />Councilmember Axberg stated each Commission is tasked with making recommendations to the City Council <br />that comply with policies, rules or ordinances already adopted by the City Council. She asked Mr. Biedenfeld <br />what he would do if he disagreed with a policy or ordinance already in place. <br />Mr. Biedenfeld commented as a whole a lot of the zoning ordinances were dated. He reported Ben Gozola <br />does a great job going through this information and getting it organized. He explained his service on the <br />Planning Commission has allowed him to become more familiar with City Code and noted staff was cleaning <br />up the language at this time. He stated there was nothing he had a problem with at this time. He commented <br />further on the task at hand and explained once the City Code was updated and more user friendly, he could <br />look for dated our misguided areas that may need to be addressed. <br />