| |  | Eden Prairie is a wonderful community that is a great place to live, raise a family and work. We have top notch schools, parks, bike and walking trails, recreation programs and a beautiful community center. We also have many fine restaurants, shopping locations and access to everything we need to live. Eden Prairies has a great variety of fine homes, condos and apartments and beautiful neighborhoods with good access to transportation. We have a very safe community thanks to our involved citizens and our innovative professional Police and Fire Departments. Our community has about 64,000 residents, 2200 businesses and is 36 square miles of land. Our City is financially sound and we have a Moody's Financial AAA rating. We have been ranked by Money Magazine as a Top Ten City in the United States to live in because of the above items, but most importantly because of the great residents and businesses that call Eden Prairie home. Taxes are always an issue that everyone is concerned about, especially in financially challenging times with rising costs. There are many things that the city is asked provide and it would be nice if we could provide them all, however we need to always ask, "What is the role of the City and what services should it be providing at what cost." I believe that it is the responsibility of the government to provide the services expected by it's residents in an efficient and effective manner at the lowest cost possible. I firmly believe that smaller government with less control over us is a better thing. I will continue to work to keep the cost of government down while maintaining our infrastructure and amenities. Letting families keep more of the money they earn is better for them and will ultimately benefit our community and allow people to keep their homes and standard of living. Transportation access is and will continue to be an important issue, especially as the outer ring develops around us exerting more pressure on our roadways as people need to pass through our community to access Minneapolis and St. Paul. We need to accommodate the current load while planning for the future. I would like to continue my work as a member of the I-494 Corridor Commission. We are working with Local, State and Federal officials to focus on important transportation issues like fixing the I-494 and Highway 169 interchange. Development and more importantly redevelopment issues are a large part of the City Council's work as we are about 98% developed it is critical that the remaining development be planned properly to accommodate the needs of the current residents as well as the new developments. The Major Center Area plan will help to guide business and private enterprise to revitalize the "Downtown" area into a compact walkable area with the services and products that the community desires. The Golden Triangle area between Shady Oak Road, Highway 169 and Highway 62 also needs planning and help from the City to encourage redevelopment. This is already happening and will continue to retool this area into the kind of properties and facilities needed by the businesses of today and tomorrow.
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