dykstra and i am currently the mayor of holland i have been the mayor for just over three years midway through my second term and before that i spent five years in the city council so in january it was just over eight years that i have now served in city government here in holland we're going to continue to work on making sure that our organization runs efficiently provides excellent service but at a cost that is affordable but we're also going to start looking at some of the longer term capital questions we've got things like windmill island and the campaign we're in the middle of now to try and raise funds to not only repaired improve the windmill but really make that whole place a destination and not just a tourist attraction questions about the civic center it's been a great facility for us here in holland for multiple generations but it's tired and it's a structure in need of some at minimum t l c so we're going to have to really figure out what should we do with a facility like that should we keep a facility like that and if we should how do we fund as a community that facility for the next couple of generations we've also got some some transitions in terms of staffing here internally so we need to make sure that our organization is well run that we've got succession plans in place so that when some of our key people with long term experience and very much institute a lot of institutional knowledge about holland in the city of holland retire that we've got people in place who can really not not only sort of keep the organization running well but hopefully continue to improve where we're headed so you know i guess you never know what a year brings but those are some of the things i think that are going to be pretty important for us as i look here in january in the twenty thirty you know boy the favorite thing about holland that's a pretty tough question because there's so much to like i think i'll work my way up really enjoy our strategic location i enjoy being very very close to lake michigan as many people know i grew up close to lake michigan on the wisconsin side so being close to the lake has always been part of my experience and it's been very very  beneficial but also very nice to be that close to the lake michigan or downtown area is really spectacular it's fun to be a part of it's fun it's a fun place to be and it's such an enjoyable experience to watch people come into our community and really enjoy themselves in a remarkable downtown area but all of those things i think are overshadowed by just the nature of the people who live here and it might sound trite and i don't mean it to but really there's a tremendous sense of community here in holland and as someone who moved into this community with their family and has now had the benefit of having a decade plus of living here really is a place that has become home and becomes home very very quickly so the ability to come into a place place with a lot of character a lot of history and a lot of tradition but yet be warmly welcomed in embraced as being a part of this community i think really is what sets us apart as a community and as a city what i like best about serving as mayor on the council in the city i think there are really two things that come to mind one is the ability to really have an impact on people's situations occasionally someone will call up and just be sort of at wit end not being able to cut through some of the red tape and not that i have the power to make certain things go away or make certain decisions but it's helpful if i can help them make the right call and make a call on their behalf and you know see the waters part a bit and find a dry way through and really making a difference in the lives of people in their businesses in their homes and in their communities that's one of the great things the other great thing is hopefully and i guess time will tell on this but hopefully making this community even better into the future when all of us who are currently on council joined council one of the things that we keep in mind is let's not screw this up we've been given such a great community that has really been the work of people who came before us and we now reap the benefits of that work our goal is to continue that tradition and hopefully make wise decisions and make things in this community today and make decisions today that will have very very good effects ten or twenty years from now so the future councils are not given a mess but given something that they say is well wow what a gift we've been given