Find Tami in the East Metro Voter Guide

 

I believe in transparency, and as such I am the only candidate for Rosemount City Council who submitted their responses to the St. Paul Area Chamber East Metro Voter Guide. You can read my full responses here: 2023 East Metro Elections (eastmetrovoterguide.com), or find the full text of my responses below.

 

Full text:

Name: Tami Klimpel
Public Office Sought:  Rosemount City Council 
Email: tamiforrosemount@gmail.com
Campaign Phone: 952-240-8333
Campaign Website: tamiforrosemount.com
Twitter handle:  n/a
Facebook Page: facebook.com/tamiforrosemount

Candidate Bio

I am currently serving on Rosemount City Council, helping to guide our city through a period of unprecedented growth. I also serve on the Rosemount Port Authority, advocating for economic development in our town, and as an alternate commissioner for Rosemount’s interests on the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority. 
 
Together with my husband of 23 years and my two children, I have been a Rosemount resident since 2007, raising my children here and forging deep ties in the community. That includes local leadership roles with one of our largest local nonprofit organizations, Rosemount Area Athletic Association, where I served on the Board of Directors for four years including one year as President. I have held or currently hold other volunteer and leadership roles with Angel Foundation and Drake University. 
 
Professionally, I have worked in the banking sector for over two decades, including roles with Wells Fargo and Bremer Bank. I am currently the Director of Marketing at Minnwest Bank, and I hold an MBA from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. 
 
Lastly, I am a Dakota County business owner with my husband. This breadth of experiences uniquely qualifies me to serve my friends and neighbors on Rosemount City Council. 

What style of leadership would you bring to this position?

My philosophy behind leadership has evolved over time. Today I ascribe myself to be a servant-leader, seeking to bring out the best of those around me. 
 
As I thought further about this question, I surveyed some of my previous colleagues from volunteer roles, and this is what they had to say about me: 1) strong and confident, 2) attention to detail, 3) active listener, 4) not afraid to have tough conversations, and 5) interpersonal communicator. 
 
One colleague summarized this with, “You motivated us with your passion for doing what was right and aligned with our mission.” 

What would be your top three priorities if elected? 

My priorities include:    
 
Quality of life. I say you have to get the “little things” right before you can tackle the “big things.” In this context, I know from talking with residents that they expect a safe, clean community with appropriate levels of public works services, park maintenance and public safety. Those are the basics we need to get right as a city, while balancing staff efficiency.
 
Planful growth. Having lived in Rosemount since 2007 – just before “The Great Recession” – I have long envisioned the day when the UMore property and other well-known plots of land would realize their development potential. This growth is happening now, and we need to work closely with city, county, state and federal stakeholders to address traffic control, land use and other appropriate development plans in our town. 
 
Hometown feel. I love this town, and feel what sets us apart from neighboring cities is our hometown feel and the sense of community pride that our residents hold. With population growth booming, we are tasked with maintaining this feeling. We need to keep our residents active and engaged with each other though consistent and continuous communication, Councilmember visibility in the community, and engaging community events.  

What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in Rosemount?

I usually answer this question as “the growth is both.” Rosemount is going through rapid growth as we actively promote our city for economic development opportunities. This is already seen in project including FedEx, Home Depot, Roers, Lifetime, and Amber Fields. 
 
With this new development, ultimately will come increased tax base. However, property taxes are in arrears, and it can take some time for future tax revenue to catch up with the realized growth. In the meantime, the city is still tasked with providing expected levels of public safety, public works and other services. 
 
As City Councilmember, I plan to work closely with city staff to balance this difficult time frame and mitigate taxpayer impact as best we can. I also plan to keep an eye our city’s debt burden, with a lens toward maintaining our AA+ credit rating. 

How would you characterize the business climate in Rosemount and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in Rosemount?

I think Rosemount is seen as a very positive environment for businesses right now. City staff and Councilmembers maintain positive, productive relationships with local industry leaders, small business owners, and the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce. 
 
In our current situation, I see the City and Council leading the charge in attracting new developers and developments, which we see already coming to life with new FedEx and Home Depot facilities. It’s also coming to fruition in the new Lifetime Fitness development at Akron & 42, where the steps we’ve taken to bring a premier business to town is in turn attracting significant additional business interest from other entrepreneurs and business entities. 

What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?

We are fortunate that Rosemount remains a safe and desirable community, and that we have a hardworking, professional, and dedicated police force. Currently, our biggest challenge is the retention and recruitment of public safety talent in our growing town. Just a few short years ago, open police positions would attract over 100 hundred applicants. Now, we see that volume in the single digits. 
 
We are fortunate to have a leader like our Police Chief Mikael Dahlstrom, who instills a positive culture on our police squad. And to steal a line from Chief Dahlstrom, I believe it’s important to “take care of the people who take care of the people.” As Councilmember, I support the city’s Comprehensive Officer Wellness Program which resulted in the City of Rosemount being honored as a City of Excellence by League of Minnesota Cities. 
 
As City Councilmember, I’ve also been proud to be part of the team making a long-envisioned Police Department & Public Works Campus come to life in our community while also balancing fiscal responsibility and maintaining our AA+ credit rating. This modern facility includes attention to officers’ physical, mental, and professional preparedness and will set us apart in the recruiting landscape. 

What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability? 

I believe in building “lifecycle housing” in our community, which means our city will need a mix of affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing across different housing types. We want this to be a city that a young individual just starting out might see themselves living in, as well as a local retiree active at the Steeple Center, and everyone in between. 

How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike? 

We notably have opportunities to improve traffic safety in some key places in town, including: 

  • the troublesome intersection of 142nd Street and State Highway 3 by Rosemount High School, 

  • traffic control at multiple locations along County Road 42 east of downtown, such as Biscayne and Blaine Avenues, 

  • the posted speeds on portions of Bacardi Ave north of Bonaire, 

  • the intersection of Highway 3 and Bonaire Path, and

  • several troublesome intersections with yellow left-turn signals along CR-42. 

Most of these locations involve other stakeholders or even decisionmakers – such as the State or County - and as Councilmember I am already engaged in pushing for traffic studies and other changes. 
 
As Rosemount’s alternate commissioner on the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, I already advocate for public transportation needs in our community including a current study of County Road 42 corridor utilization. This also entails pushing for new and updated data with the MVTA, as our rapidly growing population will change ridership models quite quickly. We need to make sure we keep up. 

What will you do to expand Rosemount’s tax base? 

As a member and Vice Chair of the Rosemount Port Authority, I am already actively engaged in promoting development opportunities in Rosemount that will help grow our tax base. This includes evaluating opportunities for industry, small business and housing growth, all of which play a role in growing tax base in our rapidly expanding community. 

Are there any services currently provided by the city that you believe should be cut back or eliminated? Are there new opportunities to share services with other entities? 

This harkens back to my response on Question 4, where our rapid growth is both an opportunity and a challenge. With this new development, ultimately will come increased tax base. However, property taxes are in arrears, and it can take some time for future tax revenue to catch up with the realized growth. In the meantime, the city is still tasked with providing expected levels of public safety, public works and other services. 
 
As City Councilmember, I plan to work closely with city staff to balance this difficult time frame and mitigate taxpayer impact as best we can. I also plan to keep an eye our city’s debt burden, with a lens toward maintaining our AA+ credit rating. 


 
 
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