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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL – JANUARY 9, 2023 12 <br /> <br />this was hurting the poor. She indicated the County raised her property taxes by 20% this past year <br />but after reading this agenda she stopped sighing and she just got mad. She clarified that the new <br />Councilmembers do not have a mandate, rather the Mayor has a mandate. She encouraged the new <br />Councilmembers to not rob the Mayor from his ability to govern. She believed the new <br />Councilmembers were spurring on imbecilic governance. She questioned why Gregg Larson, who <br />lost the mayoral election should be appointed to the JDA. She reported she has had it to the gills <br />with imbecilic government. She noted the new Councilmembers have turned things political. She <br />reported City Council positions were non-political, and the three new Councilmembers broke <br />these rules. She understood the new Councilmembers had letters of support from the DFL. She <br />reported this project could have been built three years ago without all of the increased inflation if <br />Ramsey County had not acted imbecilic. She stated stripping the Mayor of his office as the new <br />Council’s first act was unethical and simply wrong. She believed the new Councilmembers were <br />not playing fair and nor were they being transparent. She indicated the government was broken <br />and to cave to their demands was wrong. She explained she was ashamed of the new <br />Councilmembers if they were going to allow the County to do whatever they wanted on the <br />TCAAP property. She believed this was unethical and immoral. She reported the 35% of Arden <br />Hills that live north of I-694 would be impacted most by the TCAAP development. She <br />anticipated the TCAAP, North Heights and new Shoreview developments would bring 4,000 plus <br />residents to the area. She encouraged the new Councilmembers to consider this when making their <br />decisions. <br /> <br />Chris Hughes, 3515 Snelling Avenue North, indicated a lot of great discussion has been held <br />tonight. He encouraged the Council to weed through all of discussion and act in the best interests <br />of Arden Hills. He hoped the Council could work together as a group with five open minds. He <br />stated the Council also needed open minds with Ramsey County. He reported nothing has <br />happened for decades on the TCAAP development, and he wanted to see this project moving <br />forward. He understood there were different opinions and voices in the community. He <br />encouraged the public to continue showing up and participating in the City’s government. <br /> <br />Sherrie Marcy, 1460 Arden View Drive, stated she was from a very poor background and she <br />didn’t grow up to be a criminal. She discussed how important stable housing was to good public <br />safety, public health and public education. She believed all residents in the community deserved <br />this. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant opened the meeting to comments from those attending the meeting via Zoom. <br /> <br />John Gohde, 1871 County Road D West, stated he has lived in Arden Hills for the past 16 years. <br />He hoped the Council could work together and reported he was distraught that the new <br />Councilmembers’ first action was to take away the power of the Mayor. He encouraged the <br />Council to work together as a group. <br /> <br />Kelly Balthazar, 1680 Wedgewood Circle, discussed how she would be heavily affected by the <br />TCAAP development and increased traffic levels. She commented on the letter she posted to the <br />Arden Hillbillies Facebook page that was written by Councilmember Tom Fabel. She explained <br />she did this on behalf of a friend, but she wrote it her way and voiced what she felt. She believed <br />what Councilmember Fabel was doing was wrong. She indicated she voted for a mix of <br />Councilmembers for a reason because she wants checks and balances in the local government. She