Public safety and marketing the city to new families and businesses are the top priorities for the newest member of the Spring Lake Park City Council.
The council appointed Larry Raymond at its March 18 meeting. He replaces Dale Dahl, who has moved out of Spring Lake Park and stepped down in January. Raymond was one of seven people who applied for the job.
"I felt it was time to get out there and give back to the community," Raymond said.
Raymond, 66, is a retiree and Army veteran who has lived in Spring Lake Park for the past three decades. He climbed the ranks of the fire protection industry, starting as a sprinkler system installer and rising to vice president of fire protection for the NewMech Companies. His career in safety will influence his work on the council, he said.
"If there is a platform I was going to stand on, it is public safety. I want to make sure the residents, the kids and the schools are protected," Raymond said.
Raymond grew up in Superior, Wis. He was drafted into the Army and served in Germany from 1966 to 1968. After returning from overseas, he moved to the Twin Cities, where he completed a fire protection program at St. Paul Technical College.
He and his wife, Rose, moved from northeast Minneapolis to Spring Lake Park in the early 1980s for the schools and parks. They have two sons and two daughters. Rose Raymond works in the cafeteria at Spring Lake Park High School.
In the fall of 2012, Raymond ran for an open seat on the City Council and lost. He will serve out the reminder of Dahl's four-year term, which ends on Dec. 31, 2014.
