Laserfiche WebLink
New Brighton has a lot of people interested in serving the community. She indicated she was a prior board <br />member at a private academy and was a volunteer for the Minnesota Medical Reserve Board and she has <br />hosted homeless youth in her home. <br />Councilmember Allen asked Ms. Kuipers to expand on her interest in safety and security in the community. <br />Ms. Kuipers stated she believed it was her civic responsibility, right and honor to be involved in the <br />community. She saw New Brighton as a smaller town in a great big city. She was happy that her voice could <br />be heard in this community. She commented when she thinks about safety and security her thoughts went to <br />sidewalks and if they were functioning for those in wheelchairs, if small businesses would remain viable <br />during COVID, and how public safety was performing in the community. She noted she enjoyed reviewing <br />data in order to learn how the community can improve. <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 Ms. Kuipers <br />what she would do if she disagreed with a policy or ordinance already in place. <br />Ms. Kuipers explained she would first have to recognize if this was a personal concern or a representation of <br />the community. She indicated if this was a community question, she would want to understand them, and <br />validate what their experience is. She stated she would encourage this individual to access the right individuals <br />to have their concern addressed. She commented if there were policies that exist that may need to be <br />reevaluated, she would hope the Council was open to looking at the policy, what it looks like compared to <br />other communities and when it was created in order to have respectful dialogue about how some changes could <br />be made. <br />Councilmember Dunsworth requested Ms. Kuipers to speak to the City's biggest opportunity and biggest <br />challenge in addressing inclusion in New Brighton. <br />Ms. Kuipers stated this was a great question and this needs to be an ongoing dialogue for the community. She <br />explained the biggest challenge is a resistance to change, and maybe not being able to own up to personal <br />biases. She encouraged the City to create spaces where people can be honest and real in order to say things in <br />a respectful manner. She hoped the City was poling enough people in a broad scale in order to address <br />inclusion. She understood the community was changing, which was a beautiful thing that should be embraced <br />for all that it is, even if this means things are different going forward. She indicated she was pleased the City <br />would be hiring an inclusive person to address these matters for the community. <br />Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas thanked Ms. Kuipers 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. <br />There was a brief break in the meeting while the Council waited for Julia O'Rourke to join the meeting. <br />Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas explained the next person to be interviewed was Julia O'Rourke. <br />Councilmember Abdulle asked Ms. O'Rourke to provide the Council with a brief history on her background <br />and community involvement. <br />Julia O'Rourke reported she has been on PREC for the past three years. She explained her educational <br />background was in environmentally sustainable product design and public policy. She noted she has a masters <br />in public policy and a PHD in environmental sustainability. She stated she has been living in New Brighton <br />for the past four years and she has two young kids. She explained she participated a lot in the parks and rec <br />