Shifting Power Back to Residents

• Citizens Code Review Task Force: The Citizens Code Review Task Force, composed of local residents, spent three years rewriting and modernizing the city code into plain, easy-to-understand language, enhancing accessibility & clarity for all.
• Participatory Budgeting: Estabilshed a Pilot Project where community members directly decide how to allocate part of a public budget, fostering transparency, inclusivity, and better addressing neighborhood needs.
• Food Forests: Created through private grants, a food forest is a publicly accessible garden where residents can harvest edible plants, trees, and bushes, promoting community access to fresh produce.

Community-based Policing Initiatives

• Behavior Health Unit Support: Continued support for our Police Behavioral Health Unit, which addresses the growing number of mental health calls by collaborating with social workers and county services to provide appropriate assistance and ensure community safety. The unit also follows up with individuals in crisis to offer ongoing support and care.
• Pilot Program for Drug Issues: Supporting the Fire Department’s Pilot Program aimed at reducing drug addiction and overdose deaths through proactive strategies.

Neighborhood Revitalization

• Neighborhood Grants: Residents could apply for funding through the economic development fund, empowering them to address their specific needs while fostering community ties and collaboration.
• Redevelopment Initiatives: Promoting redevelopment in business areas to attract new ventures, create jobs, and enhance the local economy.
• Arts Commission: Advocating to establish an arts commission to leverage Burnsville’s cultural assets, such as the Ames Center and local art galleries, to boost tourism and community engagement.

The Landfill (and our schools)
We have a unique opportunity to safeguard our water, spur incredible economic development, and improve our schools – and it all ties back to our landfill situation. The Old Freeway Landfill needs to be cleaned up, as it sits on top of our aquifer and is unlined. There are two solutions Minnesota Pollution Control and the State Legislature are looking at. One is to just dig up the garbage, put in a liner, and then put the garbage back in place. It’s expensive and has a single benefit – protecting our aquifer.

The second option is the one I’d like to explore as it protects our aquifer while making possible some exciting development such as the only marina on the Minnesota river in the Twin Cities. This second option removes the garbage and moves it a lined landfill. Kraemer Mining is interested in mining the rock and remediating the rock if it is contaminated.

The additional tax revenue from such an area would provide millions of dollars to our school district. A district which is in a budget shortfall and closing 3 schools and looking at selling off property. Additionally, this would reduce the amount of taxes Burnsville residents pay on their property taxes.

I have been a strong supporter of the second option and continue to push our legislators to vote yes.