The 10 candidates running for Plymouth City Council came together to discuss salient topics like redevelopment, cybersecurity and data centers at two back-to-back forums hosted by League of Women Voters Sept. 17 at Plymouth City Hall.Incumbent Mayor Jeff Wosje is running for reelection against challenger and At-Large Council Member Clark Gregor. Candidates seeking to fill Gregor’s At-Large seat include Angela Bassett, Adêle L. Braun and Jesse Vavreck. In Ward 2, incumbent Council Member Julie Peterson is running alongside challengers Sarah Anderson and Scott Ray Johnson. In Ward 4, incumbent Council Member Julie Pointner faces challenger Aiden Schmidt.With so many candidates, answers were diverse. The following is a snapshot of the questions and responses featured at the forum. A video of the full forum is available online at lwvlmpa.org/candidate-forums/forum-videos.
Plymouth At-Large Council Member Clark Gregor and Plymouth Mayor Jeff Wosje share their platforms at a forum hosted by League of Women Voters Sept. 17 at Plymouth City Hall.
(Sun photo by Jay Morgan)
Mayor’s forumCommunity inputCandidates were asked how they would obtain and consider community input regarding city decisions. Wosje said it was important to have community input, such as elections. He felt feedback was important beyond the inside of the council chambers to reach the average Plymouth resident.Gregor was proud of the community listening sessions he and other council members had throughout the year to engage the community. He felt the public forum at council meetings did not allow council members to engage in a dialogue with residents. He would continue those sessions. TransparencyCandidates were asked how they would address citizen requests for additional transparency.Gregor said transparency was a high priority. He wanted to record and broadcast study sessions. He wanted to continue the current city communication avenues, such as city document sharing as well.Wosje agreed with Gregor. He felt everything the city and council did was transparent, and the information was accessible. He also wanted to record and broadcast study sessions, although it would be expensive. He said local government was good at being transparent.RedevelopmentCandidates were asked what their vision, priorities and goals were for developing and redeveloping Plymouth.Wosje spoke about working on the City Center area, which began when he was elected in 2019. He said it was designed for walkability and shopping, but lacked a master plan. Now, council has been reimagining the area. Wosje also noted work on a bus rapid transit corridor for Highway 55 to connect Plymouth’s transit system with Metro Transit’s system.Gregor said redevelopment was a major priority of his. He spoke about the 2050 Comprehensive Plan as a blueprint for the future and how it involves community engagement. Following the plan, the city could look at what else to add. Local sales taxCandidates were asked where they stood on Plymouth’s continued interest in pursuing a 0.5% local sales tax to help fund major city updates through the Legislature and how they planned to fund the included projects. The tax would fund the expansion and renovation of the Plymouth Ice Center, the construction of a new year-round fieldhouse to replace the current seasonal dome at the Plymouth Community Center and a new regional sports complex at the former Four Seasons Mall site.Gregor said that while the Legislature did not approve Plymouth’s request, he supported it due to residents wanting the facility improvements. He specified the tax was an option for residents to vote on.Wosje agreed with much of what Gregor said. He said they would ask for Legislature approval again during the next legislative session. He also wanted to hear what residents wanted out of the project.Data centersCandidates were asked where they stood on future data center proposals. Currently, the city of Plymouth is in a one-year data center moratorium.Gregor did not want to see large-scale data centers in Plymouth. He noted land-use issues, economic benefits or trade-offs and a variety of environmental challenges. He wanted to study the issue further during the moratorium.Wosje said the biggest questions when they passed the moratorium had to do with the impacts to water, the electrical grid and more. When the council has additional information, he said future conversations could involve data center size limitations.CybersecurityCandidates were asked how they would address cybersecurity related to city infrastructure and services. In July, Plymouth was one of several Minnesota cities involved in a cybersecurity attack that affected over 30 water systems.Wosje said the city learned lessons from the attack. He was proud of how city staff handled the attack and followed security protocols. During another question, he added that Plymouth was one of very few cities who told its residents that they were attacked.Gregor said cybersecurity is a real and growing threat. He was also proud of city staff for their work. Earlier this year, he said he proposed the council study the issue further to make sure they were prepared for future emergencies.
Plymouth City Council candidates Sarah Anderson, Scott Ray Johnson, Julie Peterson, Julie Pointner, Aiden Schmidt, Angela Bassett, Adêle L. Braun and Jesse Vavreckshare their platforms at a forum hosted by League of Women Voters Sept. 17 at Plymouth City Hall.
(Sun photo by Jay Morgan)
Council forumRedevelopmentCouncil candidates were also asked what their vision, priorities and goals were for developing and redeveloping Plymouth.Bassett said Plymouth was fully developed, but wanted to see the city redevelop carefully. Her priority was housing.Pointner said the reason she joined the council was to see what else could be brought into the city. Her priority was also housing, specifically senior housing like condos and co-ops. She also has been a part of the city approving buildings for uses like pickleball and soccer.Johnson said Plymouth needed to focus on bringing in the right developers for redevelopment.Vavreck said the vision for the future was Plymouth’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan and council members needed to understand it. His focus was less on a central downtown and more mixed-use areas and transportation.Schmidt said it was important to redevelop Plymouth, but to also focus on road infrastructure around redevelopments.Peterson also focused on the importance of the 2050 Comprehensive Plan. She called Plymouth’s industrial corridor a great city asset.Braun noted her background in infrastructure, and felt the city needed to be sure services were available to support incoming developments.Anderson also mentioned the 2050 Comprehensive Plan and encouraged residents to look at it. She wanted to be sure the city did not lose its unique character.Local sales taxCouncil candidates were also asked where they stood on Plymouth’s continued interest in pursuing a 0.5% local sales tax.Pointner specified that the city’s interest in the option was alongside other interested cities. She said the sales tax is one way the city could continue to grow and that the decision would be up to the voters.Vavreck supported the projects the sales tax would fund. He noted the preliminary nature of the idea and trusted the voters to decide, while also saying lower-income people would be most affected by the tax. He wanted to look for funding partnerships.Peterson spoke to the project need, particularly for the Plymouth Ice Center and additional ice sheets. She said the tax was better than relying on increasing property taxes. She emphasized the decision would be left to the voters.Anderson thought the project was great, but she was concerned about the impact it would have on lower-income people. She also said residents would have to decide.Bassett said it was a great initiative as well. She also agreed residents would decide and emphasized that the sales tax would be paid by visitors as well.Braun said the choice was up to the citizens. She wanted to be sure the project would be self-sustaining.Johnson liked the option of the tax instead of increasing property taxes and said the cost would be minimal. He also suggested Plymouth look into a municipal cannabis dispensary.Schmidt was also cautious about the tax due to its effects on lower-income residents as well as young residents. He wanted to look at other areas of taxing and gaining revenue in other ways. He also wanted to use the industrial tax base for additional revenue opportunities.Data centersCouncil candidates were also asked where they stood on future data center proposals.Braun mentioned environmental concerns, including water use, and thoughtful planning for future proposals.Peterson said the moratorium would allow the council to study the issue further.Vavreck thanked the current council for the moratorium and felt data centers needed to be regulated more at a higher level. He said data centers were important but put a strain on resources, and did not think Plymouth was the right place for them.Schmidt agreed with the moratorium and felt Plymouth did not need data centers. He did not want to lessen Plymouth’s quality of life.Pointner led the creation of the city’s moratorium. At the time, she was worried about what was happening to other cities. She wants to receive more information about data centers.Anderson said she had a lot to learn about data centers. She felt there were pros and cons, and residents needed to be listened to.Johnson said Plymouth did not allow data centers prior to the moratorium through their zoning policy. He said Plymouth does not need data centers.At a previous council meeting, city staff stated only one data center currently exists in Plymouth.Bassett was grateful for the moratorium. She also felt there were pros, like revenue, and cons, such as environmental concerns.CybersecurityCouncil candidates were also asked how they would address cybersecurity related to city infrastructure and services.Johnson noted his two-year attendance of city council meetings and said the cybersecurity attack did not impact Plymouth and was immediately stopped due to current systems. He said he avoided social media use due to potential hackers.Schmidt wanted to work with the city manager and staff on the issue further and potentially bring on a cybersecurity staff member.Anderson called the attack a “wonderful wakeup call” and said additional city costs would come from cybersecurity. She wanted to be sure they were allocating funds for it.Braun applauded Plymouth’s response to the cyber attack and with her infrastructure experience, wanted to ensure that work continued.Vavreck said the best way to handle risks was to prevent them and it would save the city money. He also felt the city handled the attack well and thanked the city for its transparency.Bassett called the attack “a lesson learned” and commended the city for its reaction. She felt the same lessons could be applied for Flock cameras and data security.Pointner also thanked city staff for their work and transparency, and emphasized her interest in seeing cybersecurity accounted for in the budget.Peterson’s day job is in critical infrastructure related to the electric grid. She called cybersecurity a continual challenge, and said prevention and preparedness were both important. She also wanted to prioritize the budget and transparency.
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