Editor’s Note: This is part one of a two-part series on Clint Gridley’s retirement as Woodbury City Administrator. We also note that Woodbury News Net is a member of the Woodbury Area Chamber of Commerce.

When asked why he’s retiring in June, Woodbury City Administrator Clint Gridley responded with the benchmarks he contemplated before making the decision.

They include his over 20 years with the City of Woodbury, 40 years as a full-time professional, and some key city projects coming to fruition. 

“Retirement isn’t just about age,” Gridley, who will be 65 in June when he officially retires. “Retirement is thinking through your career.”

Mayor Anne Burt wasn’t surprised to hear Gridley had a well-thought-out answer to his retirement timing. It was on brand. “He’s very strategic, thoughtful and detailed,” Burt said. 

Burt calls Gridley’s time as city administrator: “Outstanding is how I would describe it in one word.”

The Woodbury Area Chamber of Commerce agrees. The organization presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Gridley at its annual gala Friday. It’s not the only major honor Gridley has received for his work. In 2015, the Minnesota City/County Management Association gave Gridley its Dr. Robert A. Barrett Award for Management Excellence.

Almost Passed On Woodbury

In receiving his award at Friday, January 24th’s gala, Gridley said he almost dropped out of the running when Woodbury was seeking a city administrator in 2004. The interview date conflicted with another interview, and he wasn’t too excited about the homework he was assigned – submitting 12 job references and answering five difficult questions.

But his wife, Sibylle, stepped in, urging him to respond, pointing out that the interview date could change. Gridley got to work and submitted the materials, and the interview date shifted. “I had a chance to come here and the rest is part of Woodbury’s history,” he told the crowd. He added his wife is central to his success and “I’ve learned to listen to her, over and over.”

Mayor Burt said Gridley’s experience as a city administrator in Cedarburg, Wisc., before coming to Woodbury served him well. That smaller city came with a smaller staff so Gridley learned the intricacies of several city departments, like finance and planning, providing  him with a sound knowledge base for his role in Woodbury.

Gridley is only the third city administrator in the city’s history. He said he inherited a community in good shape. “I didn’t have to come in and do surgery,” Gridley said, “We were in good health.”

He immediately followed the advice of his predecessor, Barry Johnson, to create relationships in the community. He said he’s lucky to have worked with three of the “best mayors possible” as well as functional city councils. “There’s a fair amount of good fortune that comes into play,” he said.

He added that he feels he’s surrounded by a talented team of city staffers. “The number one thing I do is I pick other leaders,” he said. “Picking department heads becomes your force multiplier,” he said. “We have a great senior leadership team.”

That team is no accident. Gridley focused on building internally, seeing part of his role as a leader to develop other leaders. He proudly points to three examples:

• Mary Van Milligen, director of public works, who before gaining her current role worked as assistant to the city administrator, interim streets supervisor, streets supervisor in Woodbury and deputy public works director in Bloomington, Minn.
• Jim Westerman, assistant director of public works,  has also worked in Woodbury’s departments of public works, community development, and engineering.
• Michelle Okada, director of parks and recreation, went from recreation specialist with the city to public safety supervisor and then back to the parks and recreation department. 

Planning

When he first came to town, Gridley saw one his first tasks as bringing a more systematic approach to city planning. He stressed comprehensive planning that included lots of input from the public is a key to Woodbury’s success dealing with continual growth. The city has grown from about 50,000 when Gridley arrived in 2004 to about 82,000 now. “Rather than resisting growth, we were going to manage and control it,” he said.

Gridley said planning is why the city has avoided a hodge-podge of mixed developments, and the disputes that environment can foster.

He’s most proud of several city projects, including the M Health Fairview Sports Center, the massive Water Treatment Plant being built, the Metro Transit Gold Line Bus Rapid Transit that opens in March, the renovated Central Park reopening later this year, and the planned Public Safety Campus.

In the video that played before he received his award on Friday, Gridley said he and his wife feel fortunate to have moved to Woodbury, for that job he almost passed on.

“We got to know the very intertwinings of the community and the people,” Gridley said, “and just actually have fallen in love with Woodbury.”

Next week, in part two, Gridley talks about the biggest challenges he’s faced as city administrator.