Mayor urges council to unify

WILLMAR - Willmar Mayor Marv Calvin is encouraging City Council members to work together and get the people’s work done when they hold a retreat to discuss priorities and goals Oct. 16 at the Willmar Conference Center.
The retreat will be led by Bruce Miles, owner and CEO of Big River Group of St. Cloud.
Calvin offered some comments about working together and council unity just before the council adjourned Monday night.
“We have worked together collectively. We know the issues that are in front of us,’’ Calvin said. “Let’s get a good one under our belt. We can do this. I have all the confidence in the world that we’re going to get this done and we’re going to have a great outcome … get some of the negativity behind us, and then let’s start moving forward in accomplishing some great things.’’
Calvin said the retreat will be a good springboard for the new city administrator. He said council members will meet at 5 p.m. Oct. 19 to select administrator candidates for interviews.
Calvin also said the new council member, who will be elected Nov. 10 to fill the vacant Ward 4 council seat, will need a little bit of time to get up and going.
Calvin said he was sad to hear from Councilman Steve Ahmann that one of the seven current council members will not be attending the retreat. But Calvin said the remaining council members can get the work done.
“We need to move forward and we need to make it happen. We need to make it a positive experience,’’ he said. “I’m looking forward to a good turnout from those that can be there.’’
Speaking for himself, Calvin said there are some things that he would have done differently during his first 10 months in office.
“But at the end of the day, we make good decisions, folks, and we’re getting our citizens’ business done. To the public, give us some breathing room. Let us do our work,’’ he said.
The mayor said he is not opposed to people speaking at the council’s open forum.
“I’ve said this to council member (Rick) Fagerlie many times, I can take whatever somebody has to say for three minutes. But think about what you’re saying. Is it for the betterment of our community and is it going to move our community in a positive direction?’’
Calvin said he was encouraging the council.
“We can do good work. We just have to get behind each other … support each other, and let’s get after it, get the people’s business done.’’