Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part series on Woodbury City Administrator Clint Gridley, who plans to retire in June. Gridley has served in the role since 2004. Click here for part one.

(WNN) Woodbury – Clint Gridley didn’t hesitate to name forever chemicals being found in city water and the impact of the Great Recession as the top challenges he faced during his more than 20 years as Woodbury’s city administrator. 

PFAS exceeding government standards in the city’s water supply has “been the most dominant issue,” Gridley, who is retiring in June, said during an interview in his office. “You think about what are the most important services a city provides. Clean water is probably in the top three.”

Gridley said with the health of residents in question the stakes were high. “I remember the first public meeting we had on it. It was tearful. People stood up with cancer or with family members with cancer, when things were unknown.” Gridley said recalling the gathering at Woodbury Lutheran Church about a decade ago. “That was a tough meeting.”

The state sued 3M, the maker of PFAS that polluted Woodbury’s water, and won, creating a $850 million fund. The city recently broke ground on a permanent Water Treatment Plant, financed in large part by the settlement fund. Woodbury’s water is now treated in temporary facilities.

“It’s a $330-$350 million project, the biggest in our history,” Gridley said. “It has involved federal and state officials. It has been an overwhelmingly big project that has gone over a number of councils. It’s been quite a journey.”

Click here for a timeline of the water treatment process.

Gridley said the city pushed the state for a comprehensive water treatment when PFAS were found to exceed state limits in part of the city.

“We played Wayne Gretzky on water,” Gridley said, referring to a quote from the pro hockey great. “We did not go to where the puck was, we went to where we thought the puck was going to be. And frankly we were ahead of the state agencies as they just wanted us to treat those areas that exceeded the limit and we said, to the council’s credit, ‘We’re going to treat the whole city.’ ”

Great Recession Impacts

Another turbulent period for Gridley was the impact of the Great Recession that started at the end of 2008.

“It was a huge challenge,” he said. “Woodbury had never gone through a period of time where we lost property value. It was always viewed that property values go up. The city is so dependent on property taxes so when the property values dropped in 2008 and development slowed down…. The 2008 to 2012 period of time was very difficult.”

With no political will to raise taxes during the economic downturn, and falling property values, tax revenue didn’t grow. Meanwhile, Woodbury’s population kept growing, increasing the need for more services and city staff that couldn’t always be funded. In some ways, Woodbury is still trying to catch up, especially when it comes to police officers.

“We’re wrestling with what’s the right metrics for police officers,” Gridley said.

The city had about one officer per 1,000 people before the financial crisis. The continual growth and challenges of recruiting officers has caused that to fall significantly below that point. The city is adding two police officers this year as well as a recruiter to focus on public safety openings. Growth also has boosted the number of emergency medical calls, leading to the city adding six firefighters/EMTs this year as well as another ambulance.

Higher-than-normal inflation in the last few years has also squeezed the city’s budget.

Barry Johnson, Woodbury’s previous  city administrator, had nothing but praise for his successor and how he’s addressed critical community issues. “Clint has creatively and effectively handled extraordinary challenges including the PFAS problem, the renewal of Central Park, and the updating of our public safety facilities,” Johnson wrote in an email. “As someone who has been in his position I can say Woodbury owes him a debt of gratitude for his excellent work.”

Still Growing

The biggest challenge for Gridley’s successor? Continuing to deal with everything that comes with continued growth. 

The Metropolitan Council projects Woodbury will grow by about 25 percent from 2020 to 2050 with its population increasing from 75,102 to 94,200. “Woodbury is a beautiful place, with so many talented people. But it is becoming more complicated as it grows to 100,000 people,” Gridley said, “There are going to be a lot of balls to keep in the air.”

Gridley will stop his juggling act when he retires June 6, 2025, a fitting date since his first day on the job was June 7, 2004.