Hes been called Farmingtons biggest cheerleader.
Now, after 12 years serving as mayor the longest in recent memory Todd Larson is passing his shop local megaphone to former city councilman Joshua Hoyt.
I told him, Trust your staff, dont micromanage, Larson said. You cant do everything. If you agree to do everything, youre going to get totally burned out and this wont be any fun. And always remember there are two sides to every story.
Hoyts term begins Jan. 1.
He could have added be financially transparent, to the list, a lesson he learned during his first term. He served on the Planning Commission for 11 years prior to being elected mayor in 2009, but never knew the city was broke until he took office.
The debt was huge and the money wasnt in the bank to support it, he said. We were borrowing from the sewer and water funds to pay our bills.
In the late 1990s, Farmingtons population of 6,000 began to increase rapidly. By the time Larson was elected, it was nearly 20,000 strong. City leaders went into debt trying to keep up, building an $8 million city hall/police headquarters and a second fire station. School leaders built a new high school, one of the most divisive projects in recent history and the reason why Larson decided to run for mayor.
It was very toxic, he said. At that time the city was suing the school and the school was suing the city and everyone hated each other.
Add to that a recession and the loss of $175,000 in revenue from the state, and Farmingtons credit rating sat at AA-. (Its now an AA+.)
Larson had to make some tough choices. He let 12 city employees go, slashed the budget, halted spending on projects and raised taxes incrementally over several years. The new City Hall suddenly seemed too big, with a skeleton crew rambling about the two-story building. He also started looking for other revenue sources and found one in the city-owned liquor stores.
Im very proud of our liquor stores, he said. They were barely, barely making a profit. We restructured them and made some changes from the top down. We went from a profit of $4,600 a year to $330,000. Thats money spent in the city that we dont have to use the general fund money or taxpayer money for.
Much of that profit went into building up the fire department, another accomplishment with which Larson is credited.
I didnt know how under-prepared or under-equipped our fire department was when I took over, he said. We were sending firefighters into burning buildings without radios; thats how bad it was. Theyve grown from a small-town, good-old-boys club to a very professionally run organization right now.
He doesnt regret hiring James Larsen in 2015 as Farmingtons first full-time fire chief, who was let go by the city two years later for placing too many demands on the volunteer crew, causing unrest.
He made the changes that needed to be made and really set (current Chief Justin Elvestad) up for success, he said.
Larson also helped improve the police department, but one acrimonious city council meeting in 2018 in which he was out-voted and the police chief was forced to resign for alleged insubordination, still bothers him.
That was the hardest meeting Ive ever had and the maddest Ive ever been, he said.
Through it all, Larsons consistent message was Shop local. Spend your money in Farmington, a motto he repeated at the end of every City Council meeting. He spent thousands of dollars out of his own pocket eating at local restaurants and patronizing businesses, often advertising them on his personal Facebook page.
I appreciated how he was always Farmingtons biggest cheerleader, said City Administrator David McKnight His consistency in leadership has been very valuable for the community.
An unfortunate north/south division of the city in which the north half shops in Apple Valley, often not even aware of the downtown businesses, has continued to plague the town, as has its inability to attract big business. The disconnect eventually led to Farmington losing its only grocery store in 2019.
Under Larson, the city worked to attract businesses to its 40-acre Vermillion River Crossing development. It attracted some businesses, but also got a lot of unfulfilled promises. Both Hy-Vee and Aldi grocery giants own land in Farmington, but have no plans yet to build.
I thought, Yes its finally going to happen and then it just stalled. That was so hard on me, Larson said. My biggest regret is just not being able to build the Hy-Vees and the Targets and stuff that people wanted.
Hes resigning his position, he said, because he believes in term limits and he feels hes done all he can do and wants to give someone else a chance.
Once his decision was made, he decided to permanently ink his experience in the form of a tattoo on his left arm. The tattoo, created by Josh Arment at Burnsvilles Aloha Monkey, took five hours to make. It includes the stars from the American flag, the iconic Farmington bridge from its logo, Proud Past from the citys motto and the dates of his terms.
Im proud of my service here, he said.
See more here:
Farmingtons mayor of 12 years memorializes his experience in tattoo - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
- Crowdfunding Hate in the Name of Christ - The Nation - April 4th, 2021
- Guest Opinion | Reflections on the course Women Unknown: Fight for Independence - UI The Daily Iowan - April 4th, 2021
- Part 3: How a Trini played a role in the life of Nipsey Hussle - Loop News Trinidad and Tobago - April 4th, 2021
- We want to keep him alive Family, friends remember San Antonios Tito Bradshaw two years later - San Antonio Express-News - April 4th, 2021
- Quick on the draw: Castagna the chaotic Tiger with a tattoo gun - The Age - April 4th, 2021
- Love Island Australias Phoebe Thompson reveals WAP lip tattoo as she celebrates birthday - The Irish Sun - March 8th, 2021
- Brave, Powerful, Complicated: The Most Formidable Heroines In Film - British Vogue - March 8th, 2021
- Jaden Hill is LSU's ace pitcher who has a bigger calling in life: 'I'm chosen to help people' - The Advocate - February 19th, 2021
- Gangland: a book about meth and the people whose lives it touches - The Spinoff - February 17th, 2021
- SA tattoo artist to the stars on taking his skill abroad - News24 - February 14th, 2021
- Memories of dad help make University of Houston's Justin Gorham a rebounding machine - Houston Chronicle - February 11th, 2021
- Tauranga's strongest head to the Highlands - The Bay's News First - SunLive - February 6th, 2021
- Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys Got His Paris Hilton Tattoo Just 3 Week Before They Broke up - Showbiz Cheat Sheet - January 30th, 2021
- 2 Green Country Women Share Stories Through Tattoo Ink; Competing In National Contest - News On 6 - January 30th, 2021
- Gangs? Cliques? Subgroups? Call Them What You Will There've Been 18 (Yes, 18) In The LA Sheriff's Department - LAist - January 22nd, 2021
- Trump's useful thugs: how the Republican party offered a home to the Proud Boys - The Guardian - January 22nd, 2021
- Proud Boys among groups being watched as inauguration approaches. Do they have Northeast Ohio ties? - Akron Beacon Journal - January 20th, 2021
- Who are Proud Boys? The Western chauvinist far-right group explained and what Donald Trump has previously said about them - The Scotsman - January 15th, 2021
- Theyve been hidden too long: Report details Los Angeles Sheriffs deputy gangs and violence toward communities of color - East Bay Times - January 15th, 2021
- Hawaii Proud Boy Charged By DOJ After Raiding US Capitol - Honolulu Civil Beat - January 9th, 2021
- Swimming With My Shirt Off - The New York Times - January 9th, 2021
- How the Internet Reflected on and Coped With the Capitol Attack - Hyperallergic - January 9th, 2021
- The Weekly-ish Mailbag is mailing it in this week. - Off Tackle Empire - December 31st, 2020
- Four months before her wedding, Mary knew it was over - Sydney Morning Herald - December 19th, 2020
- Family, determination and a dream: The Real Woods story - The Stanford Daily - December 16th, 2020
- Skating solo gives me time to study everyone else on the rink - The Globe and Mail - December 16th, 2020
- LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS: Price is Right Live show rescheduled - Goshen News - December 16th, 2020
- Controversial Mom Made One Of Her Twin Toddlers Get A Tattoo For Very Important Reason - BabyGaga - December 11th, 2020
- Mum of twins tattoos one so she can tell them apart leaving mother-in-law fuming - Daily Star - December 11th, 2020
- Im A Celebrity superfan gets tattoo of Ant and Dec at Gwrych Castle inked onto his thigh - The Sun - December 1st, 2020
- MacAdam: Fascination with Mike Tyson began in Albany - The Daily Gazette - November 27th, 2020
- 'Home town boys' return to Philippi Main Street - The Inter-Mountain - November 20th, 2020
- The Post-Election Proud Boys Meltdown Is Here, and It's Ugly - The Daily Beast - November 12th, 2020
- I just want to be with my friends: how will children cope with being cooped up again in second lockdown? - The Guardian - November 9th, 2020
- 240+ Inspirational & Meaningful One Word Tattoos (2020 ... - November 6th, 2020
- 75+ Best Small Tattoos For Men (2020) - Simple Cool ... - November 6th, 2020
- Tickets for sale in Snohomish County and around the region - The Daily Herald - November 5th, 2020
- Seances, tattoos and the unbreakable bond between Mikaela Mayer and Al Mitchell - ESPN - October 30th, 2020
- Students rediscover their childhood fandoms on TikTok - Daily Northwestern - October 29th, 2020
- Chase Winovich talks playing time, conspiracy theories with Zolak & Bertrand - 98.5 The Sports Hub - October 22nd, 2020
- The Cycle of Punitive Justice Starts in Schools. Eric Butler Is Showing Kids and Teachers How to Break It. - Mother Jones - October 21st, 2020
- The Proud Boys? - SOFREP - October 16th, 2020
- Theatre Alliance to perform outdoor production of Devil Boys from Beyond - Yes! Weekly - October 16th, 2020
- Freshers' Flu - Why My Mum Invented COVID - Cherwell Online - October 10th, 2020
- Who Are the Proud Boys Trump Told To 'Stand Back and Stand By'? - Snopes.com - October 8th, 2020
- Dan Osbornes tattoo shows hes protective of Jacqueline Jossa & the meaning behind Brooklyn Beckhams spoo - The Sun - October 7th, 2020
- When the Proud Boys came to town - The Economist - October 7th, 2020
- The ten essential facts you need to know about BTS's Suga - Film Daily - October 6th, 2020
- 30 Best Neck Tattoos for Boys and Girls - The Best Tattoo ... - September 30th, 2020
- Best 100+ Tattoo Designs For Men and Boys - Youme And Trends - September 30th, 2020
- Who are the Proud Boys, the extremist group Trump named in the debate - Insider - INSIDER - September 30th, 2020
- Fred Perry Will Denounce Proud Boys, But The President Won't - Highsnobiety - September 30th, 2020
- Hooligans With Heart: Phoenix Risings Red Fury fan club reaches out to refugees - Cronkite News - September 30th, 2020
- Whats New on Netflix UK & Top 10s: September 30th, 2020 - What's on Netflix - September 30th, 2020
- From the Fields: Soaking it up now | agrinews-pubs.com - Agri News - September 30th, 2020
- Who are the Proud Boys and why did Trump tell them to stand by? - The Irish Sun - September 30th, 2020
- The Giant Proud Boy Rally That Wasn't - VICE - September 28th, 2020
- Dallas Cowboys news: Defense is looking for improvements - Blogging The Boys - September 26th, 2020
- For Australia's military veterans, tattoos are an important reminder of the things they've seen - The Canberra Times - September 26th, 2020
- What is the alt-right group the Proud Boys? - The Sun - September 21st, 2020
- Police investigating after man tried to grab young boy from street - The Northern Echo - September 18th, 2020
- Cowboys news: Reviewing the rookies after the Cowboys season-opener - Blogging The Boys - September 18th, 2020
- Nas makes his latest claim to the throne with King's Disease - NYSMusic - September 18th, 2020
- The Boys Season 2 Episode 4: 20 Easter Eggs And Things You Might Have Missed - GameSpot - September 15th, 2020
- The Boys Season 2 Episode 4: 20 Things You Might Have Missed - GameSpot - September 11th, 2020
- Remembrance of Things Past: A favorite series features a book with a local tie - theday.com - September 11th, 2020
- RCB spinner Adam Zampa speaks of his love for whisky, need to carry microwave on tours - Times Now - September 8th, 2020
- Youth of color disproportionately represented in the justice system - Prescott eNews - September 7th, 2020
- Two "Boogaloo Boys" Allegedly Tried To Supply Weapons To Hamas And Join As Mercenaries - BuzzFeed News - September 6th, 2020
- Sophie Kasaei shows off full sleeve and chest piece in 'tattoo' snap - Heat - September 3rd, 2020
- Failed by the System - Eugene Weekly - September 3rd, 2020
- 'They're going to have to shoot me': A cop's son meets a tragic fate in Morris Township - Morristown Green - September 3rd, 2020
- Youth of color disproportionately represented in the justice system - Cronkite News - September 3rd, 2020
- 2 Boys Arrested In Suspected Attempted Carjacking, Armed Robbery - Patch.com - September 2nd, 2020
- Ask Billboard: Katy Perry's Career Bests, From 'One of the Boys' to 'Smile,' & Every Hot 100 'Idol' Top 10 - Billboard - August 29th, 2020
- This says Jimin's tattoo, it has a very deep meaning - Somag News - August 27th, 2020
- 10 Katy Perry Tattoos and the Meaning of Each - Music Times - August 27th, 2020
- Home and Away Review: Annabelle Stephens joins the cast as Angelos wife - The West Australian - August 26th, 2020
- Listen to this! New releases and livestreams from The Boy Band Project, Broadway Buskers, and Playbill - DC Metro Theater Arts - August 25th, 2020
- LASD gangs: Who are the Compton Executioners? - Los Angeles Times - August 20th, 2020