Our town is awesome, but it needs a vision and it doesn’t have one. Instead, its council and staff spend their time on the issues of the moment. These are important, but time also must be provided for planning our future as we shape it.
Imagine trying to journey to an important destination this way: an out-of-date map and a broken compass, just seeing where you end up at day’s end. Usually, it takes a lot of time to get only a little further down the road. Sometimes it means taking a few wrong turns, which Excelsior has made in recent years.
Right now, three things concern me most:
- Your taxes are going up, fast. The council’s preliminary levy would raise the city portion of a median home’s tax bill about 21 percent next year, and it’s not just one bad year. (See “Your Taxes Are Going Up.”)
- Our last buildable sites are about to be decided. Whatever goes on them will be there for 50 years or more, so we have to get them right, not just get them done. (See “5 Developments That Will Change Excelsior.”)
- Our Comprehensive Plan must be updated by the end of 2028, and the process hasn’t started. I helped shape the last one as a Planning Commissioner and refine and approve it as a council member. Among council members and candidates, I’m the only one with that experience. (See “We Need a Vision and a Plan to Reach It.”)
I’m running for City Council to enhance Excelsior by creating a road map for how our town can grow while retaining its character along the lakeshore, in its historic downtown and within its residential areas on both sides of Highway 7. For character to continue, it must incorporate new with old. (See “My Top Priorities.”)
This means working with homeowners, business owners, nonprofits, developers, renters and everyone else with a vested interest. And it includes researching, and bringing in, best practices from cities like Excelsior elsewhere in the country.
Most of all, it includes hearing from you! Thank you to the residents who opened your doors and talked with me in recent weeks. I’m still out there knocking and look forward to meeting you if I haven’t already. (See “What Are Your Thoughts.”)
I’d appreciate your vote on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Ever Upward!
Dale
Photo courtesy of Al Whitaker.