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<br /> <br /> <br />Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas thanked Ms. Forbes 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 Leah Kuipers. <br /> <br />Councilmember Axberg asked Ms. Kuipers to provide the Council with a brief history on how her personal and <br />professional experiences will help her be an effective commissioner, if appointed. <br /> <br />Ms. Kuipers stated she works as a family practitioner and was also a mom. She appreciated serving on the <br />public safety commission because she understood the importance of making life and death decisions. She noted <br />she was part of the Minnesota Medical Reserve Core before COVID and during COVID she was administering <br />vaccines. She explained she was also working on becoming a training for mental health. She noted she was <br />part of the first compassion clinic, which was a grant opportunity for providing wholistic care in another way. <br /> <br />Councilmember Allen asked what motivated Ms. Kuipers to want to continue serving on a City Commission. <br /> <br />Ms. Kuipers explained she believed people had a duty to serve. She noted there has been a lot of news about <br />policing and she wanted to be involved with policing in New Brighton. She indicated she was reapplying <br />because she felt comfortable in her position after building a foundation of knowledge over the past three years. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dunsworth stated each Commission is tasked with making recommendations to the City <br />Council that comply with policies, rules or ordinances already adopted by the City Council. She asked Ms. <br />Kuipers what she would do if she disagreed with a policy or ordinance already in place. <br /> <br />Ms. Kuipers commented on the number of catalytic convertor thefts that were occurring in the community and <br />how this was becoming a criminalized crime in New Brighton. She discussed how criminalizing minor thefts <br />has not been super effective in creating upstream change. She stated she had a discussion with Chief Paetznick <br />regarding this matter and felt very heard. She appreciated that both parties could agree to disagree and she <br />understood the State was considering legislation to address this matter on a broader level. <br /> <br />Councilmember Abdulle requested Ms. Kuipers speak to the City’s biggest opportunity and biggest challenges <br />in New Brighton. <br /> <br />Ms. Kuipers stated she hoped the City could gain an embedded social worker within the Public Safety <br />Department. She discussed how Ramsey Count y was working to address how calls are dispatched by police <br />and fire, which would bring about positive change. She noted use of force was a concern for her and she had <br />discussed this matter with Chief Paetznick. <br /> <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. She <br />explained the next person to be interviewed was Kristin Hicks. <br /> <br />Councilmember Axberg asked Ms. Hicks to provide the Council with a brief history on how her personal and <br />professional experiences will help her be an effective commissioner, if appointed. <br /> <br />Ms. Hicks stated she has been a resident of New Brighton since 2015. She explained she has experience with <br />how the City has grown over the past eight years and how the City navigated through the pandemic. She noted <br />she has two kids ages 9 and 6. She explained her kids enjoy participating in the City’s parks programs. She <br />indicated she was a huge park and rec nerd, ever since she was a kid. She reported she was a corporate chain <br />manager for an agricultural company. She assesses impact of technological changes and communicates with