Hills, MN | City Council Election
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Hi 👋 my name is Allen Saakyan, and I am running for Hills City Council.
I believe Hills can be more transparent, more welcoming, more financially clear, and more prepared for responsible growth.
My campaign is focused on practical local issues: land, sewer capacity, city records, housing, Main Street, parks, and making sure every resident can understand what City Hall is doing.
My Platform Points
🌾 Keep Hills Whole: Prevent Unnecessary Land Detachment
Hills is currently facing a serious land issue involving edge-of-town agricultural land. My goal is to work with affected farmers and residents on a Rural Service District solution that treats agricultural land fairly while keeping Hills’ future commercial and residential growth options open.
A Rural Service District can help recognize that agricultural land does not receive the same level of municipal services as developed city property, while still keeping that land connected to the long-term future of Hills.
Goal: prevent unnecessary detachment, treat farmers fairly, and preserve future growth corridors.
🚧 Fix the Sewer Capacity Bottleneck and Lift the Moratorium
Hills cannot responsibly grow if new sewer extensions are restricted. MPCA records show that Hills has had a documented hydraulic-capacity and infiltration/inflow problem, with future residential, commercial, and industrial growth restricted by wastewater capacity.
The 2025 MPCA inspection letter also states that, due to hydraulic overloading, no further sewer extensions will be allowed until Hills addresses hydraulic-capacity requirements.
When I say “lift the moratorium,” I mean this specific sewer-extension restriction. The path forward is measuring the problem, identifying city-side and private-side infiltration/inflow, fixing the worst leaks, and working with engineers and state agencies on a real repair plan.
Goal: restore Hills’ ability to support new homes, businesses, and responsible development.
🏗️ Enable Future Growth Near Highway 6 and 270
The corner of Highway 6 and 270 is one of the most important long-term growth areas for Hills. But land potential does not matter if the city cannot provide sewer capacity.
Before Hills can attract new commercial or residential projects, the city needs a clear public plan for wastewater capacity, infrastructure readiness, zoning, and development priorities.
Goal: prepare Hills for future commercial and residential growth instead of staying stuck.
💻 PUBLISH OUR NEW Modern City Website With 24/7 Public Access
Residents should not have to chase basic city information. I have already built a free modern website where residents can easily find ordinances, resolutions, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, budgets, disbursement registers, revenue registers, forms, and public notices.
Minnesota Local Government Aid is general-purpose aid that cities may use for any lawful expenditure, which makes transparent local reporting even more important.
Goal: make city records easier to access, easier to search, and easier to understand.
Helpful links:
Proposed New Hills City Website
City Finances / Budgets
Ordinances / Public Records
🎥 Keep Recording and Posting City Council Meetings
Since March 2026, I have recorded and posted City Council meetings so residents can see what is happening even if they cannot attend in person.
This should become normal. Public business should happen in public whenever legally possible. Important deliberation should not be moved off-camera when residents deserve to understand how decisions are made.
Goal: normalize transparent public meetings and make local government easier to follow.
Helpful link:
Hills City Council Meeting Recordings on YouTube
🏠 Rehabilitate Existing Housing Stock
Hills needs new growth, but we also need to take better care of the homes we already have. Housing rehabilitation can help residents, improve neighborhoods, protect property values, and make the city more attractive to families.
This should include community involvement, grant research, code clarity, and practical help for residents who want to improve their properties.
Goal: improve existing housing without shaming residents or creating unnecessary conflict.
🌳 Improve Rez Park Through Grants and Engineering Support
Rez Park is one of Hills’ most important public spaces. Improvements should be planned carefully, priced clearly, and funded through grants whenever possible.
The city should work with engineering partners and state/federal funding sources to pursue practical improvements without putting unnecessary strain on local taxpayers.
Goal: improve public spaces while being careful with taxpayer money.
🏪 Revitalize Main Street
Main Street should be active, attractive, and welcoming. That means beautification, better property standards, fewer long-term vacancies, and more support for small businesses.
I support a practical Main Street strategy that combines code enforcement, incentives, beautification, and business recruitment.
Goal: make Main Street feel alive again and help Hills attract more visitors, customers, and businesses.
📊 Make City Finances Clear and Searchable
Residents deserve to understand where city money comes from and where it goes. The city budget shows Hills depends heavily on state general-purpose aid, property taxes, utility revenue, fees, and grants. Local Government Aid exists to help cities fund lawful public needs, but residents should be able to easily see how those dollars are being used.
That means publishing financial records in a clear, consistent, and searchable online repository.
Goal: help residents see city spending, city revenue, contracts, major projects, and public value.
💧 Modernize Water Meters, Utility Billing, and City Workflows
City staff time matters. Residents’ time matters too. Hills should move toward modern utility systems, including automated water-meter reading, clearer utility billing, and better digital workflows.
This is about reducing repetitive manual work, improving accuracy, making city operations more efficient, and channeling the savings into these other big picture projects.
Goal: save time, reduce errors, and modernize basic city services.
🧾 Review Major Contracts and City Arrangements
Any city arrangement involving public property, public money, leases, contractors, or long-term obligations should be documented clearly and reviewed for fairness.
This means making sure public decisions are transparent, consistent, and in the best interest of Hills residents.
Goal: protect the taxpayer purse and make sure city arrangements serve the public.
🤝 A City That Belongs to Everyone
Hills should be a town where residents, families, businesses, school children, farmers, newcomers, and long-time community members are treated with dignity.
I believe local government should promote fairness, neighborliness, accountability, and basic respect. No resident should feel like the city only belongs to a select few.
Goal: build a more welcoming, united, and future-ready Hills.
🌟 Let’s Make Hills Radiate Together
Hills has real strengths: location, people, land, community history, school spirit, and room to grow.
But growth will take transparent records, public trust, wastewater capacity, housing improvement, Main Street energy, and a city government that is willing to plan for the future.
My focus is simple:
Keep Hills whole.
Fix the sewer bottleneck.
Make city government transparent.
Improve housing, Main Street, Rez Park, and public spaces.
Prepare Hills for responsible growth.
Contact
Allen Saakyan
Candidate for Hills City Council
Website: allensaakyan.com/2026
Email: allensaakyan@gmail.com
Phone: (415) 632-6716