Minnetonka City Council Candidate: Peggy Kvam

Editor's note: This week we feature candidates running for the Minnetonka City Council. You can meet and grill all the candidates at our Speed Dating For Your Vote event at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the Gold Nugget Tavern.

PEGGY KVAM, running against incumbent Bob Ellingson in Ward 1

Minnetonka Patch: What qualifications do you have that will make you an effective Minnetonka City Council member?

Peggy Kvam: I bring energy, commitment and breadth of skills to help our city deal with new challenges in a changing world.

I am an Electrical Engineer with strong analytical and problem-solving skills. I have an MBA and corporate management, budgeting and small business job experience as well. I am very engaged in our community through city and volunteer activities, and already have working relationships with city government and community leaders. With a city council composed of just one woman and six men, I will bring more diversity to the group.

Patch: What is the biggest issue for the city of Minnetonka? Why?

Kvam: Although Minnetonka is financially sound now, the costs of maintaining our services will continue to rise. There is little open space left in the city for new development to build our tax base, and we must not  price our residents out of their homes with property tax increases. Also our children  are looking for affordable housing in the neighborhoods they grew up in.

One way I will address this financial concern is to look for innovative ways to reduce costs. Listening to our residents is a great source of ideas. Already citizens I've met while campaigning have suggested many areas to examine to lower costs. Also, redevelopment is appropriate in areas such as around the proposed Shady Oak Road Light Rail station. With the light rail and trail links as a featured amenity, the area can attract new residential, retail and commercial development. To address affordable housing, I support Minnetonka's programs for home repairs and first-time homebuyer loans. I welcome young families to our city.

Patch: What is current Minnetonka leadership doing well? What could be better?

Kvam: Doing well: Minnetonka's parks are excellent, and it was our residents who made it possible by approving a $15 million Parks and Open Space bond referendum ten years ago. Half of the funding was  used to update recreation areas in our 43 parks. Neighbors were involved in determining how their neighborhood parks should be used and updated. The other half was used for open space preservation, restoring areas that have been overrun by weeds and buckthorn and converting unused mowed areas to native habitat. I participate as  a volunteer on the Minnetonka Natural Resources Restoration team which helps remove invasive species and plant native trees and shrubs in these parklands.

Could be better: Many of the concerns I've heard during my campaign are a result of poor communication. The residents feel left out of decisions affecting their neighborhoods. Public hearings do not have a two-way dialog that builds a framework of working together. I think we can do much  better, and my response to the next question will address this.

Patch: How will you get input from your constituents?

Kvam: Improving council/constituent communication is very important to me. I believe a special role of a ward City Council member is to bring the residents’ voices into the discussions.

I will always visit the locations of my ward’s projects and seek comment from the residents. I plan to hold quarterly town-hall type meetings in Ward 1. These will be informal opportunities to meet  with the neighbors, to keep the communication lines open. I will use my website www.peggykvam.com to post Ward 1 topics that will interest the residents. I look forward to hearing from my neighbors and will always return their calls and email.

Patch: Give us a brief background of yourself.

Kvam: I was born in St. Paul and raised in St. Paul and Roseville, third born in a family of six. I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and worked as an Integrated Circuit Design Engineer at Control Data and Honeywell.

While working full time, I earned an MSEE and MBA and moved into a corporate management career path. Nine years ago my husband Bruce and I left our corporate lives to work in our own small software business. We have been homeowners in Minnetonka for 26 years. My hobbies are playing volleyball and restoring my own yard's native habitat. I enjoy world travel, and have studied French, Russian and Japanese languages.

I am committed to the well-being of my community, and am an active volunteer for a variety of local organizations. This has given me an opportunity to work with people throughout the community, building relationships with both residents and local government.

• Lead Election Judge for Minnetonka Precincts
• Senate Recount Election Judge
• League of Women Voters of Minnetonka & LWVMN Board Member
• Minnetonka Natural Resource Restoration Volunteer
• Nine Mile Creek Watershed District Raingarden
• We Can Ride Volunteer
• Reach For Resources Empowerment Group Speaker
• Freedom Pointe Senior Assisted Living Speaker
• Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society Leader
• Maria Ruud Campaign Data and Website Administration Volunteer