Photo by Clay Schuldt Incumbent City Councilor Larry Mack (left) and challenger Michelle Markgraf participated in a League of Women Voters election forum on Wednesday.

NEW ULM — The League of Women Voters held a Wednesday election forum for Ward 4 city councilor position.

Ward 4 incumbent Larry Mack and challenger Michelle Markgraf answered questions drafted by LWV and from the audience.

The forum began with opening statements. Mack gave a brief summary of his eight years as Ward 4 councilor and his time on the Planning Commission and Blight Committee.

Mack said his work on the council led to more support for local businesses, updated zoning, completed Reinvest in New Ulm project, progress on the day care shortage and potential workforce housing. He hopes to help complete work on the city’s comprehensive plan.

Mack is a sixth-generation New Ulm native and has worked as a tool and die maker at 3M for 23 years.

Mack said he has a long history of community involvement; working with the New Ulm Jaycees, Turner Hall, Lind House and Heritage Preservation Commission, as well as volunteering at city festivals. He is currently involved with the Sister Cities Commission, Brown County Historical Society Board, Junior Pioneers and The Grand Building Committee.

If re-elected, Mack said he would continue to make sure residents were heard and support decisions that put New Ulm first.

Markgraf said she came to New Ulm in 1986 as a Martin Luther College student, but she returned many times to visit family.

“Every time I came to New Ulm I wondered what I could do to help this great little town on two rivers,” she said. “Now that I am living here I have the ability to affect change in this city.”

Markgraf said since moving to New Ulm she started the 100 Women Who Care initiative, which helps raise money for nonprofits.

“As a newer person, but with a long history here, I will bring a fresh perspective to this position,” Markgraf said, “and ideas that are informed by my long history in New Ulm and yet open to new possibilities.”

The first question of the forum was given to the candidates in advance. Each was asked to give an example of working productively with those who do not share their feelings.

Markgraf said as an executive director, she has worked with boards full of people with different opinions, and she learned important lessons from the experience.

“It taught me to work with others who have diverse opinions and often times those opinions are better than what I think my own is,” Markgraf said. She borrowed a quote from her husband, saying, “Have a belief that people come to the table with good intentions.” She believed that mindset helps people work together.

Mack said in his time at 3M he would need to work on projects with others and there were disagreements on how to proceed. In one case he and a co-worker needed to disassemble a mold but there were no blueprints on how to do it. They both had different opinions. A third party was brought to offer an opinion. Each side modified their opinion, and they were able to complete the task.

“Whenever you are working as part of a team, such as a city council, staying open-minded and being respectful is the key,” Mack said. “You ask questions and do your homework, keep your emotion in check, work toward a solution that is best for the community at large.”

Workforce expansion was a top priority for both candidates. Mack said if elected to the City Council, he would support businesses of all kinds, finding ways to grow. This included offering abatements or encouraging expansion.

Markgraf believed workforce development was a priority and the recent work on the city’s comprehensive plan would help strategize how to grow the community.

The candidates each indicated workforce housing was directly connected to the workforce.

“We need to make sure middle-income workers in New Ulm have a place to live and raise families,” Mack said.

Markgraf said the expansion of businesses would require more housing. Citing a 2017 housing study, she said New Ulm has a 1% vacancy rating, and this needs to change.

“Since 2015 we’ve had an average of 21 new homes built in New Ulm every year,” she said, “which is not very much for expansion.”

Markgraf added day care and mental health as important for maintaining a workforce.

New Ulm’s park system and the budget to maintain it was discussed. The two candidates agreed the New Ulm park system was exceptional, but costs need to be monitored.

Markgraf said last year’s budget was nearly $4 million. She said the focus was often on the expenses, but she wanted to look at the budget. Markgraf called for raising user fees to increase revenues.

Mack agreed there were challenges to expanding the park system without increasing fees but wanted to be mindful of people using the system.

“It has got to be affordable for all users, whether it is the little kids or the senior citizens who want to swim,” Mack said.

In his time on the council, Mack said the city has made gradual increases to recreation fees to accommodate everyone while maintaining facilities.

Selling park property was another question from the audience. Mack said he took the sale of park land seriously because the city’s forefathers dedicated land for parks, but he said he some land was undeveloped for a reason. He believed context was important for each situation.

As an example, South Market Park on German Street presented significant topography issues for park development, but he believed it could be sold as a housing development.

“I think it comes down to choosing our future parks wisely,” he said. “We may not need to make them as big as previous parks to maintain a future budget.”

Markgraf was open to selling land but also believed context was important. She would want to know the usage of the park land being sold, whether there were other parks in the area and what the land would be used for.

Asked if they supported official steps to make New Ulm a pollinator-friendly community, Markgraf said it was something to look at further but it was not a major ask from citizens at this time.

She wanted more community input on pollinator issues. Markgraf believed it could benefit the community, but the city needed to make sure it was a good fit for New Ulm first.

Mack said he supported the efforts and said the work done at the Pollinator Park on North Broadway was a great example of what could be done. He believed there were other places that could be made into pollinator gardens and were willing to hear plans for implementation.

Mack and Markgraf were both enthusiastic about completing the comprehensive plan in 2023. Markgraf praised the public input on the project. She supported individuals by giving staff input whether in person or online.

Mack said there were three areas of focus on the comprehensive plan: downtown, Upper Cottonwood and Airport industrial park. He said the city is still taking input on the plan and encouraged students to give input on the city they would like to see in 10 years after they graduate.

A recent issue was whether city councilors should be voting members of boards and commissions. Markgraf said she leaned toward restricting council to the advisory. She did not want a commission and board members to worry about going against what a councilor said.

Mack said he could go either way with this issue. If the public wanted the councilors to stop voting on commissions and boards, he would support that decision.

He warned the city had trouble filling all commissions, and this was one reason councilors were allowed to vote.

For their closing statements, Mack said it was an honor to represent Ward 4 for the last eight years.

“A lot of projects were completed in that time, but there is still a lot of work to do,” he said. “I would like the opportunity to serve another term and keep working toward the city’s best future.”

Markgraf said as councilor, she would bring fresh ideas informed by the past, but not bound by it.

“I believe that I am the best person to work for you these next four years, and I ask for your vote this November,” Markgraf said.