Part 1 of 2
WOODBURY, MN (WNN) – It takes a lot of professionals to run the City of Woodbury as Mayor Anne Burt demonstrated in her approach to her annual “State of the City” address presented April 3 at Eagle Valley Golf Course. Instead of giving the entire address, she introduced the heads of the six main city departments who talked about upcoming projects and developments.
With so much information presented by the department heads, WNN focuses on the Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments this week and will provide additional coverage of other areas of city government in our next issue.
The mayor introduced each department head, with an ice breaker question. Jim Westerman, Assistant Public Works Director, was asked how many water towers are in Woodbury and which is his favorite. “There are four water towers in Woodbury and my favorite is the Lake Road water tower. When you climb up to the top you can clearly see the St. Croix Valley.”
Water Treatment Plant
Westerman talked about the Public Works Department’s big construction project: a $330 million water treatment plant. “The ultimate goal is to provide equitable quality of water to all 20 wells in the city. We are the organization that is leading the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) clean-up,” Westerman said.
Of the estimated $330 million price for capital construction, approximately $300 million is to come from grants with the MPCA under the 3M and State of Minnesota Settlement Agreement.
The permanent facility will be located south of Hargis Parkway, East Ridge High School and the M Health Fairview Sports Center.
“A parallel project is to design and construct the pipelines that will bring the water to the treatment plant and then allow the treatment plant to redistribute the water back out into the community through the current water towers. So the purpose of our effort, and this is our mission statement, is to deliver resilient systemwide treatment and drinking water for PFAS with continued urgency while being mindful of the community impacts,” Westerman stated.
Mayor Burt said that while the projects are underway, Woodbury residents and drivers will need to show patience and understanding and requested support for road closures during that time.
The next presenter was Chris Hartzell, engineering director. When asked about his favorite road, Hartzell responded “Lake Road.”
Hartzell mentioned the Environmental Stewardship Plan, which was adopted in December 2024. Environmental Stewardship is one of the city’s seven Critical Success Factors.
The engineering department will also be facilitating the water pipelines that will be going to the new water treatment plant and then for redistributing the water.
Park Projects
Michelle Okada, parks and recreation director, is one of three City Of Woodbury department leaders who started working for the city in 1996.
As the mayor introduced Okada, she mentioned that Okada was responsible for bringing Lacrosse to Woodbury. For her icebreaker question, Okada replied that she is proud to have had the privilege to bring to Woodbury, the Miracle Field, a specially-designed field for youth with cognitive and/or physical challenges.
Okada stated that Woodbury has 3,677 acres of open space with its numerous parks and 188 miles of hard and soft trails.
“Last year we had one of our most revenue generating years. Eagle Valley Golf Course has been generating revenue for the past two years. Forty-four thousand rounds of golf were played at EVGC in 2023 and 2024. New park projects include the Copper Hills Park and the development of La Lake on both the north and south sides. “La Lake is kind of split up into a north section and a south section. Both have great recreation opportunities, but really will benefit from some increased natural resource management, a little bit of trail establishment, and potentially a building. La Lake Park is spread over 77 acres and will remain mostly natural.”
Okada added, “We have a bond request in the Minnesota House and Senate right now this year, and we just learned that we’ll be able to testify and present that project to the Capital Investment Committee on Tuesday. So wish us luck. We’re asking for $2 million dollars to support the project. That is about half of what the project will cost in total.”
The department’s biggest project is the rejuvenation of Central Park which will open around September 2025. Okada said that the multi-purpose park serves many, many needs. “It’s one of our most diverse parks with mahjong playing seniors, moms with young kids, students doing homework together. Central Park will have a large multipurpose room that can seat upwards of 250 people which can also be broken up in three separate rooms.
Okada had special thanks for the Engineering Department that have been construction partners for Central Park.
In next week’s part 2, read about community developments, public safety, and community relations.
