The Clear Lake City Council has four positions open for Tuesday’s election; mayor, two four-year terms and one two-year special term. Five residents are running for the positions.

 

Mayor Tim Goenner is running unopposed for re-election. He has held the position of mayor for two terms and has been on the council since 1988. 

 

A lifelong resident of Clear Lake, he is an operator for Great River Energy, and is married with one child.

 

Mayor Goenner’s goal when he first became mayor was to get the city out of deficit, which was accomplished in seven years. His biggest challenge in recent years has been working with Clearwater Mayor Pete Edmunson to get the wastewater treatment facility upgrades. The current system, he says, is a burden on businesses and residents.

 

Incumbent Bob Arnold is running for re-election for one of the two open four-year council positions. He is a lifelong member of Clear Lake and has been a member of the city council since 1988. 

 

Arnold is married, has two children and seven grandchildren, and works at Arnold’s of St. Cloud. His years as both a business owner and manager have given him experience in problem solving and listening to people. He also has experience in budget management and setting priorities.

 

He is a member of both the Knights of Columbus and St. Marcus Catholic Church, where he has been choir director for nearly 40 years. 

 

During Arnold’s tenure, the City of Clear Lake has monitored and worked on improving water sources for its residents. The joint sewer project with the City of Clearwater has helped both communities provide affordable and up-to-date sewer treatment for their residents. A substation fire department has also been established in Palmer, which, together with the primary fire department in Clear Lake, makes fire and rescue services more available to the city and Palmer and Clear Lake Townships. 

 

Serving Clear Lake is important to him because the city has been his lifelong home. He wants to continue to be a part of building a strong community for the residents who live there now and for those who will live there in the future.

 

Dave Michalski is running for one of the two open four-year council positions. 

 

He has lived in Clear Lake for 34 years, works as a custodian at the Maple Lake High School, and is married with two children and four grandchildren.

 

Michalski wants to use his life experiences to maintain a balanced and positive budget for the city. His goal is to help guide the city in a positive direction and not compare it to much larger cities when setting policies. 

 

He feels Hwy. 24 is a big factor in citizen safety and in the ability to draw new residents and businesses into the city, and will continue to work with the rest of the council and the state for improvements. He also wants to address the water and sewer rates to make them more affordable to all residents who use them.

 

Michalski enjoys the community of Clear Lake, and thanks everyone for their support.

 

Karen White is running for one of the two open four-year council positions. 

 

She was lived in Clear Lake for 11 years, is married with two children, and works at Country Lumber in Becker.

 

Along with working, White was a volunteer at the St. Cloud Hospital and was also involved with the Relay for Life. 

 

White is running for city council because with two young children she wanted to get more involved. She enjoys the small town feel of Clear Lake, and wants to help create improvements in the community.

 

Sandra Paige is running unopposed for the two-year special council position. 

 

She has lived in Clear Lake since 2014, and after many years of fulltime employment is currently working part time at an elementary school in the principal’s office and as a special needs paraprofessional substitute. She is married and has one child and one grandchild.

 

Along with working and raising a family, Paige enjoys helping to foster, and occasionally adopt, dogs that have been rescued. She loves spending time with her granddaughter, working in her garden, and walking her newest rescue dog, Peanut.

 

Paige’s years of business experience has involved working with and for people when attempting to resolve issue and solve problems. Her goal is to learn more of what needs to be worked on and accomplished in Clear Lake and be a part of the answers.

 

She has grown to love Clear Lake and all the people she’s gotten to know, and respects the other council members and the work they have done.