Local Video
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| Vohs: Ready for a third term |
By: By SUZANNE ROOK, Senior Reporter
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Posted: Friday, July 25, 2008 11:37 pm
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(Editor’s Note — This story is part of a continuing series featuring candidates for Northfield City Council.)
NORTHFIELD — Investigations. Accusations. Resignations. It’s been a rough year to be a city councilor.
Despite the turmoil and accompanying anxiety, Kris Vohs says he’s ready for a third term.
Vohs, who’s running for the full term at-large seat, moved to Northfield in 1974.
KRIS VOHS:
Age — 62
Family — wife, Caryl; sons Eric and Christopher Swenson; daughter Rachel Vohs and two grandchildren, Hailey and Noah Swenson
Occupation — carpenter, retired from St. Olaf College
Education — Faribault Senior High, two-year certification as a tool and die maker at Makato Vocational |
An unabashed advocate for sustainability, green living and affordable housing, Vohs is focused on the city’s residents and its uture. The 62-year-old Faribault native said the environmentalist in him surfaced in the early 70’s after he noticed bubbles forming in a marshy area near his parents’ cabin every time laundry was done. Later, he observed a number of dead fish. “I knew that was bad,” he said.
Vohs said he’s interested in looking for long-term solutions that not only preserve and restore our environment, but save money. Even with the downturn in the nation’s economy, Vohs said, there are solutions.
A longtime member of the city’s Housing & Redevelopment Authority who also served for more than two decades on the county’s HRA and with the local Habitat for Humanity, Vohs takes great pride in a residential neighborhood the authority is planning.
When construction on the development begins next year, the neighborhood will feature affordable homes built using green building techniques. Timing was key, said Vohs, noting that the HRA took advantage of the soft housing market and low interest rates to get a deal on 14 acres on the southside of town.
“I want to look at opportunities and deal with realities,” he said.
It’s also important that the city broaden its business and industrial tax base, he said. “Industrial real estate taxes will help keep our (residential) taxes down,” he said.
City facilities need updating as well. The $880,000 City Hall remodeling project isn’t wasted money, he said, noting that the council, after more than 25 years, is finally saying that’s the permanent City Hall site. The Safety Center is his next priority, Vohs said, noting that it’s inadequate for the city’s fire and police departments.
Following those projects, he said are a library expansion and a new liquor store.
— Suzanne Rook can be reached at srook@northfieldnews.com or 645-1113.
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