My heart goes out to Hugo

It sadness me to see the damage in Hugo - especially the death of a 2-year old. Just when it seems like our own wounds are starting to heal, a tragedy like this tends to reopen them. September 2006 was an extremely difficult time for me as a parent, homeowner and Council member. Even though my home's damage was all external and no one in my family was injured, I know it could have been a lot worse. The storm still took a mental toll on my kids - every time it thunders I am asked if we have to head to the basement. Plus, as elected officials we had to deal with the tragic death of one of our residents. Now with fresh pictures of tornado damage in the paper and on TV, we have a new reminder of what happened almost 2 years ago in Rogers. Like Rogers did, Hugo will have to come to terms with what happened and start to rebuild. From our own experiences we know it does not happen quickly and we appreciate a helpful hand. My heart goes out to them...God Bless.

Personal Observation

In his latest "recap" of Council Meetings, Scott Adams wrote the following:

"I am at a loss to explain why Grimm and Davis voted no to approve the top six candidates.. Their qualifications in education (4 of 6 have Masters Degrees) and experience (all have held positions 2 to 5 levels above Patrol Officer) outweighed all the other candidates. Grimm and Davis did try to elevate another candidate to the interview list, but his documented qualifications were not equal to the top six. Were they trying to do a favor for a friend?"

It's too bad I was taken off of distribution (I always looked forward to receiving the recap) and someone had to forward this to me.

Anyway, here is my response:

First and foremost, I was not doing a favor for a friend. Scott, you and the others, can call it what you want. I could care less what you think and you can write what you want - as can I. My objection to the list is simple. I have always believed that you look at internal candidates - there are benefits (employees have careers not just a job, continuity, etc). Paper resumes do not mean much to me - it is easy to make a resume look better than it is. The decision not to give an internal candidate the opportunity to interview is contrary to what at least 2 others have said in public meeting, supporting internal development and advancement. To not do so, is a slap in the face of existing staff. I'll gladly provide specifics (remember a few meetings ago when we approved Stacy's tuition reimbursement???) if someone wants to challenge me more on this. I will always object to an interview list if no internal candidates are given the opportunity to interview and I feel there is a qualified candidate. In this instance, I thought there was a qualified internal candidate. I base this on my professional work experience over the past 10 years, including over 3 years in a management role.

Speaking of Stacy, I am curious as to what kind of message this sends her? The taxpayers of Rogers are paying (approx $25k) for her to complete a Bachelors degree. So what is going to happen when she is up against candidates for an Administrator job with a Masters degree and previous Administrator experience? Are the taxpayers of Rogers going to be asked to finance a Masters degree for her to compete against other candidates or will she be excluded from the interview process? It will be interesting to see how this one pans out……

Spring Cleaning

I hope everyone had an opportunity to take advantave of Rogers Cleanup Day. When I got into line at around 7:40am, the line was almost to the end of the water treatment plant. By the time I left at 8:40am, the line was all the way to Northdale. I heard it was just as long for most of the time. John Seifert and his Public Works staff did a wonderful job as always. The turnout seems to get bigger and bigger each year.

It must be getting closer to November...

Having two kids involved in 2 sports each (plus being coach and on the Board) has limited my amount of free time as of late. In fact, it's been non-existent. That said, I've noticed that in the past couple of weeks two candidates have already expressed an interest in running for City Council - Jay Bunting and Rob Bell. To date, Scott Adams and Jason Grimm (the incumbents) have not yet announced their intentions for November. All I can say is that it will likely be an interesting race (I am glad I am not up for re-election). As the primary (which I am assuming will be necessary) and general election draw nearer, I will provide my input on the candidates and identify which candidate(s) I will be supporting. Stay tuned…I feel it is going to be interesting….