Laserfiche WebLink
Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas thanked Mr. Spooner 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 Lin Brown. <br /> Councilmember Abdulle asked Ms. Brown to provide the Council with a brief history on her background and <br /> community involvement. <br /> Lin Brown explained she had several volunteer positions that she has done. Currently, she sews baby items for <br /> the Bundles of Love organization in New Brighton. She noted she worked at the Federal Reserve Bank <br /> downtown and she served on the green team and worked to improve recycling efforts. She commented years <br /> ago she volunteered with her daughter's girl scouts troops. <br /> Councilmember Allen asked what motivated Ms. Brown to serve on a City Commission. <br /> Ms. Brown indicated she moved to New Brighton five years ago and she was now looking to become more <br /> involved in the community. She stated she has always been interested parks and recreation. She commented as <br /> a kid she visited parks. She explained she has not taken any classes through the New Brighton Community <br /> Center, however she was interested in doing this. She noted she just received her book and she understood all <br /> classes can be signed up for online. She stated she was really interested in the environment, climate change <br /> and understood PREC addressed environmental concerns. <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. Brown <br /> what she would do if she disagreed with a policy or ordinance already in place. <br /> Ms. Brown explained she has a long history as an analyst. She discussed the research she does in her job and <br /> explained she would take this same approach if there was a concern she had with a policy or ordinance that she <br /> did not agree with. She indicated she would make a suggestion to the Commission and see if they wanted to <br /> give it a go. <br /> Councilmember Dunsworth requested Ms. Brown to speak to the City's biggest opportunity and biggest <br /> challenge in addressing inclusion in New Brighton. <br /> Ms. Brown stated the Commissions were becoming more and more important. She indicated diversity in these <br /> groups would be important, along with different walks of life. She anticipated it would be a challenge to <br /> getting a diverse group of people to know about the opportunities that are available. She noted she heard about <br /> this position through the NextDoor app which led her to the City's website and she learned about the different <br /> commissions. She explained she appreciated the information she received on the NextDoor app. She <br /> encouraged the City to continue to reach out to the public through apps and social media. <br /> Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas thanked Ms. Brown 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 JoAnn Lindman. <br /> Councilmember Abdulle asked Ms. Lindman to provide the Council with a brief history on her background <br /> and community involvement. <br /> JoAnn Lindman explained she was involved in girl scouts for 10 years when her daughter was younger. She <br /> described the work she did with the girl scouts organization helping with camps. She stated before COVID <br /> started, she volunteered to help organize the gala event for the Smile Network at Union Depot. The year before <br />