planning but from a like a paperwork perspective I look at plat drawings for each each mortgage that comes across my desk because I have to review appraisals so I can come onto the planning commission with a general idea of how to read a a plat sketch and look at property drawings and make the decisions that are going to need to be made based from from my work experience there.

Thank you.

What interests you most about the Planning Commission's uh goals?

Well like I said the the goals of the Planning Commission are I mean essentially it's to be a good neighbor.

You've got to look at what's coming before you not only from the idea of expanding our tax space but what's good land use for the city as a whole what's good land use for the neighborhoods that are are being looked at I believe in looking at the character of the neighborhood not just the project that's being built but again looking at things from the purpose of expanding the tax base and getting good building done in Duluth is what I'm looking forward to the most thank you.

How do you view the role of a board member?

It's an interesting role because you are signing up for a lot of volunteer work and sometimes a lot of grief but um living in Duluth my whole life I really do have a passion for for the city.

My wife and I chose to stay here for a reason.

We we really love where we live and serving on a a position like this is kind of a labor of love and it's a labor of enthusiasm.

So I really have a I've always had a passion for wanting our city to grow and grow correctly grow smartly not just looking at what is going to result now but what's going to result 10 years from now because those decisions that a planning commission makes are really going to have some downstream effects.

But the role of a board member is that of just being enthusiastic and passionate about what you're looking to do.

So coming onto the planning commission again I've I've got a really great passion for the city of Duluth I always have I really I our city's got so much going for it and so much potential that the role of of being on this board and commission is pretty critical because your hands are right on everything that's that's happening.

So being the role of a board member is just that of commitment of enthusiasm of passion and being prepared and ready to go.

Thank you.

How can the board support the executive director well the a board can always support his executive director by first by being honest.

If you've got I don't have this written down oh sorry no the um there's not exactly an executive director I know I I I that's okay take that question in any in any way you would like no the the best the best thing a board can do for an executive director and executive committee or whoever is in charge is just be honest.

Don't just sit on it because you think you might be causing trouble.

Because whoever's in charge of things does need to know that and a lot of bad things have happened because people have just squirreled ideas away because they didn't want to be seen as making trouble.

Well I appreciate your flexibility and how to answer that question.

Sure.

How do you approach problem solving and decision making well as a compliance officer I I need logic I need things to make a lot of sense for me to to make a decision.

So I've always start with the end in mind I like to reverse engineer things I've always thought of it almost like like a game of pool.

You know if you've you got to look at where that eight ball is and just backtrack every single shot of of how to make that eight ball.

So reverse engineering a problem all the way back to the beginning is how I like to go about about problem solving.

Okay.

What is your perspective on the importance of diversity and inclusion on a board?

Having a diversity of thought is actually really important because that's how you don't exist in an echo chamber um differing perspectives can bring about ideas that nobody thinks about sometimes and if you've got a room full of people that all think the same way you can end up just talking in a circle and sometimes that circle is just a road to nowhere and a diversity of thoughts always going to bring up an idea that just sometimes nobody thinks about and you're not going to get that without a room full of diverse opinions tell me um do you serve on any other boards or commissions?

Yes, I'm currently the board chair for the Chester Bowl Improvement Club.

Ah, very good.

Uh can you describe a time when you went above and beyond your duties to help an organization succeed?

Yeah, absolutely.

Uh for Chester Bowl, I have really stepped up to do a little bit more than previous boards have done just because the fundraising needs have increased.

Um every year for up until about 2020, we had an event called Ski Suds and Slices, which was our one of our main fundraisers.

We got all the pizza places in town would come in and give samples of pizza, and the breweries would come and offer beer samples, and that that was our event.

Well, the pandemic happened and it kind of shut that down, and we tried to bring it back, but staffing levels for the restaurants weren't really anything that could support this event anymore.

So we as we as a board had to decide are we going to just do a silent auction online and call it good, or we're gonna try to have an event?

Well, I wanted to have an event.

So I just started looking for different things we could do.

And last year we acquired the first rights of refusal for the Warren Miller ski film, which is if you're a skier, it's a really it's kind of a big deal.

It's it's like the start of people's ski season.

It was a risk.

Uh it was a lot of work, it was a lot of communication that I had to coordinate alongside of a silent auction.

And last November we broke our fundraising records from years prior.

Good to hear.

Before I open it up to counselor questions, are there any other things you'd like to tell us about your background, your expertise, why you want to be on this commission?

Yeah.

I I want like I said, I wanna be on this commission because I really believe our need to expand in Duluth, get proper housing built of all levels and increasing our commercial tax base is one of the most important things we can do going forward.

Um I believe it can serve as a hedge against potential LGA cuts that could always happen.

You just never know.

Uh if that were to happen, having that solid tax base is just a nice security blanket for for the city in case you were to lose other sources of funding.

So just being on the lookout for projects that can assist in that and moving them forward in a smart and strategic manner is something that I'm I'm all about.

I would really love to serve in that capacity.

Thank you.

We have five minutes for questions, so I'll uh call on Councillor Forsman.

Thank you, President Tamonic and Mr.

Bayou for your interest in the planning commission.

I'll be brief.

I think one of the greatest challenges for planning commissioners is balancing these overarching policy goals of the city, like more housing, with when there's a development proposal put forward the neighborhood concerns from those most affected.

So I just wanted to uh hear your take on how you would balance those two things as a commissioner.

Yep.