Meet the candidates: Avon City Council

Avon City Council 

Vying for two council member seats are incumbent Aaron Goebel and Sarah Grutsch. 

Aaron Goebel

Age: 38

Occupation: Business system analyst for Blattner Energy

Why are you running for this position? Being in government to help and serve other people was always a dream of mine. I have been able to live out this dream by serving the citizens of Avon the last four years. I have enjoyed my time on the council, and I feel like we have accomplished a lot. Despite all of our accomplishments, there is still a lot of work to be done, and that is why I am running for a second term.   

Share your organizational or business experiences. I have worked in finance for eight years, was a former representative to the United Way-Youth as Resources for Albany, was a leader on two Habitat for Humanity trips, was a former intern for the Minnesota Eighth District Congressman to the United States House of Representatives, was chair of the Holy Family School Board and am a current Avon City Council member. 

What issue affecting your city do you find most pertinent and pressing? Why? Updating city streets is one of the most pertinent Avon issues. Many streets have not been touched for decades and are in desperate need of replacing. Despite getting several streets replaced during my first term, there are still several that need to be addressed. This is why we have done the engineering work around the First Street road project and are hoping to get this project started next summer. It is critical citizens vote yes to allow the council to continue taking in the one-half sales tax until the new cap is met, which will allow us to tackle the street issue.    

Are there other issues you want to address? An additional issue we have tried to tackle is getting a grocery store in Avon. So far, we have been unsuccessful, but this issue is something I want to continue working on. I truly believe Avon needs to be proactive in attracting new businesses.   

Sarah Grutsch

Age: 39

Occupation: Infusion pharmacy technician at Coborn Cancer Center

Why are you running for this position? I’ve always been passionate about politics and how they operate to make changes within our community and society. I want to use that passion to make Avon grow and thrive. As a homeowner and parent, I want to see and have others see that this is a great place to raise a family.

Share your organizational or business experiences. Being a previous business owner in town, I was able to witness the aspects of the city that affected our business in positive and negative ways. I feel with the knowledge I’ve gained from this, I will be able to help and assist other small businesses in our community. 

What issue affecting your city do you find most pertinent and pressing? Why? The issue I find most pertinent and pressing to our community is keeping the businesses we do have and also adding new ones to keep expanding. I also want to be able to keep up with surrounding communities who seem to be developing more so than Avon. 

Are there other issues you want to address? Another area of focus is the infrastructure in our city and what can be done to repair the issues most people deal with daily.