League of Women Voter's Profile - Wes Volkenant

Each candidate was invited this fall to submit our profile and answers to their questions by October 24th.  I managed to get mine completed on Saturday, so hopefully by the time you read this, you can find my profile and others on line.  Tonight, only the Schmeig, Shoemaker and Trude replies were available, however.

So, I'm posting my reply here, and you can read it for more understanding of my positionsd heading into the election in eight days.

LWV Voting Guide Answers

Name:	Wes Volkenant	Please email headshot to webmaster@lwvmn.org
Election Date:	11/2/2010
Jurisdiction:	Andover
Office:	City Council - 2 seats, 4 year terms
Contact Information:
Address:	1482 - 158th Lane NW
	Andover, MN  55304
Phone:	(763) 434-1551
Cell:
Email:	cwvolkenant@msn.com
Website:
Is the information above complete and accurate?  If not, Email corrections.

Occupation:      Staff Development Trainer - Hennepin County Human Services & Public Health Department

Education:        Graduate of Anoka High School; Graduate of St. Cloud State University - Education Degree in Social Studies with History Emphasis; post-graduate Special Education certifications - LD, EMH, E/BD

What issues will the city face in the next few years?
Most would characterize these as difficult times and local government has faced the difficulty of reducing services due to loss revenue from the state and feds and property taxes due to declining home values and changes in commercial property assessments.  Andover has core services it needs to provide.  It operates a very lean budget with only about 50 city employees.  The City must generate revenue to pay for its services and expenses.  If it fails to attract businesses to the City, it will have to consider modest tax levy increases in future years to meet its infrastructure needs.  Parks need upkeep.  Snowplowing, potholes, road resurfacing and reconstruction, weed-cutting - all these things must be dealt with and paid for. 

Quickly - other issues:  safer right-turn exits into neighborhoods;  fair redistricting of precincts in 2011; looking at bringing MTC or other transit options into Andover; continuing the Open Spaces program, balancing rural and suburban neighborhood needs - as in the 2010 exemptions for December bowhunting in a neighborhood in eastern Andover.


What are your ideas to increase city revenues and/or decrease city expenses?
As noted above, I am inclined not to reduce or cut city expenses any further.  We're already lean without resorting to proposals such as Furlough Fridays which would cause suffering for our employees and their families - 20% pay cuts.  Voluntary furlough options work for those of us who can afford to furlough hours, while recognizing others living paycheck to paycheck can not.  I like the work City Administrator Dickinson has done in monitoring every piece of city equipment and gleaning extra years of service out of well-functioning pieces.

Modest property tax increases may be necessary by 2012 again (no change in the levy was approved for 2011) if revenues state and federal resources continue to be limited in our economic downturn.  By 2014 we may see the City benefitting by earlier foresight re: the Community Center and having rid the city of its junkyards.  The City should also look anew at economic development along the rail line passing through the city.  Bringing a rail-based company to the Andover Blvd. vicinity might provide some new revenue sources for Andover.


How would you balance the short- and long-term goals of the community?
This City can be tugged between many different factions; needs of rural, farm-based Andover vs. suburban commuter Andover; needs of local, family-owned small businesses vs. the desire for "big-box" retailers and chain restaurants; and the need for improved transit and transportation into-and-out of Andover vs. the costs of maintaining the infrastructure and the need to partner with Anoka county on every major arterial road passing through the City.

Andover revisits and resets its goals every year.  Its five-year plans are re-adopted after careful reconsideration.  Nothing is static - changes in planning are common. 

What won't change or go away is Andover's Vision:  "Andover, a safe, growing community in which to live and work which enhances the quality of its citizens' lives through recreational opportunity, quiet neighborhoods, civic involvement, fiscal and environmental stewardship."

My twin themes are "A New Voice" and "Embrace Andover's Future."  I hope you give me an opportunity to show you what they can mean in the next four years.