Connections...

Who is connected to who and what are they up to?

Did you realize that our city government officials (mayor and such) have their fingers in a lot of places. Number 1 - MEDIA. The local news choice (the only choice apparently) is EPLN - Eden Prairie Local News. When did it become okay for an elected official (or his wife) to hold commission seats in the same government they were elected AND also be a mouthpiece for a local news source (EPLN)?

Kathie Case (the mayor’s wife) holds a seat on the Eden Prairie Historical Society. The EP Historical Society is a non-profit organization in which Kathie Case is the President.

Doesn’t this seem odd:

“Tuesday June 19, 2019 Kathie Case, our President, received the annual award from the Historical Preservation Cultural Commission at the City Council meeting.”

So let’s get this straight, Mayor Ron Case gives his wife, Kathie Case, an award for what I’m not sure of other than writing and preserving historical Eden Prairie things. Also, the patting each other on the back for their accomplishments is somewhat nauseating. This is nepotism at its finest.

Let’s break this down more…

The City of EP has literally had 100s of developments over the last decade. How is ripping out natural habitat and replacing with 6 level senior housing, a light rail system, and housing developments preserving anything? Mayor Case has stated (see the emails) that the biggest reason the City wants to development the Standal property is for the tax base. Kate Rohlfsen (daughter of Jon and Carol Standal) also states in an email that she will ONLY allow the property to be sold to a developer. The Mayor has quite a cozy relation with Kate in that they exchanged many emails over the property. How can a Mayor whose wife is part of the Historical Society, and he touts conservation of the environment overlook what’s happening here?

This part of the prairie is part of the 1% that’s left in Minnesota. The prairies are almost gone. This means the bees will be gone. No bees, no humans because without bees we have no pollination and that means no food. The Rusty Patch Bee used to proliferate here in Eden Prairie. Now it’s endangered and very hard to find. And the Mayor and his supporters feel that’s ok. It’s ok to tear down an extremely diverse biozone and build houses. And it’s not just houses. It’s the root systems of the trees and the canopy they provide that’s so important. I could write a whole book (and many people have) on why we need this biodiversity. But the fact of the matter is that we have a Mayor who has directed the council to continue developing and ripping heritage trees and prairie land to build homes for the tax base.

Getting back to the historical committees that Eden Prairie has, there is another (so yes 2 different committees to preserve the heritage and history of Eden Prairie) committee called the Heritage Preservation Commission. This group is a charge of volunteers APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR to “promote the preservation and continued use of historic sites and structures for the education and general welfare of the people of the City. The Commission fosters civic pride in the beauty and notable accomplishments of the past.”

The question I have is - who is on this commission? The chair, Rod Fisher, is also the DFL SD49 chair. Whatever happened to non-partisan municipal government?

Eden Prairie City Code states: “SECTION 2.04. - CODE OF ETHICS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS OF THE CITY.

Subd. 1 General Declaration of Policy. It is imperative that all persons acting in the public service not only maintain the highest possible standards of ethical conduct in their transaction of public business but that such standards be clearly defined and known to the public as well as to the persons acting in public service. The proper operation of democratic government requires that public officials be independent, impartial, and responsible to the people; that governmental decisions and policies be made in the proper channels of the governmental structure; that public office not be used for personal gain; and that the public have confidence in the integrity of its government.

How is having a DFL chair on one of your commissions (which the mayor appointed) being impartial? How is it impartial when the Mayor very visibly litters his yard with political signs of one particular party during election time?

Just some things to think about.