Part 2 of 2

Updates about community developments, public safety, and community relations were part of the Mayor’s “State of the City” address on April 3. During her presentation at Eagle Valley Golf Course, instead of giving the entire address, Mayor Anne Burt introduced the heads of the six main city departments who talked about upcoming projects and developments. The mayor introduced each department head, with an ice breaker question. 

Community Developments

Burt asked Janelle Schmitz, community development director, what her most memorable project has been and she responded that it was the renovation of the old State Farm building on Radio Drive.

“Elion Partners came in from Florida about 10 years ago, took over the old State Farm building which had been vacant for 10 years. At the time they bought it, the building and the hundred acres were valued at about $12 million. We did an estimate as part of this year’s January report, and it’s valued at over $250 million, there was no city subsidy provided in that project.” This place is now known as City Place.

Schmitz reviewed many recent additions. Most significant was the Gold Line Bus Rapid Transit service that started last month from Woodbury to St. Paul. The starting point at Woodlane Drive has a 500 car-parking facility. 

“We have two more stations, a station on Queens Drive and a station at Tamarack Road. The Gold Line provided the city with a lot of other infrastructure, so there are some new trails, some new lighting, and road repavement also,” said Schmitz. “The biggest public improvement that came with this project is the new Bielenberg-Helmo bridge over 494, connecting Woodbury and Oakdale.”

This fall, Washington County will open a Central Service Center across from the Gold Line Park and Ride Station on Woodlane Drive. This will be the county’s only service center with direct access to all-day transit. The existing service center on Radio Drive will relocate to the new space. 

Some unique restaurants, new entertainment activities, family fun, new businesses, are all coming to Woodbury soon. According to Schmitz, the city has seen two million square feet of commercial development in the last few years and half of it has been leased. 

“We have two new affordable housing projects. These are for families, not restricted to seniors – one is Reserve at Settlers Ridge. The other one is just off I-94 on Manning Avenue, Meadows at Prairie Ridge.
Between those two, Woodbury will have almost 500 affordable housing units again, very needed within our community, and I’m excited to see those come to fruition.”

Public Safety

Jason Posel, public safety director and police chief, also addressed the gathering. Posel opened by saying, “We are in the people safety business”. He mentioned that in his department Emergency and Medical Services do “the biggest lift.” 

In a shift in culture, starting at 8 am on Sunday, April 6, the Woodbury EMS team shifted to its first 24-hour shift model from the previous 12-hour shifts. The fire stations will be remodeled to add extra bunks.

Currently Woodbury has 67 officers. Six more will be added this summer. Through its Pathway program, the Woodbury Police Department identifies and connects with youth who start as Community Service Officers and often join the police force. In response to an audience question, Posel stated that the department is making strides to add diversity to its team. “Female officers are also a focal area for us. Nationally and locally the average is 10 to 12 percent. We are closer to 30 percent,” Posel added. “The Public Safety Building will be remodeled from 2026- 2028. During that displacement, police operations will move over to the current licensing center.” 

Community Relations

The final presentation was by Shelly Schafer, community relations manager. She started out by saying that over the years communications and community engagement have changed quite a bit in the city, and the city created a new division, Community Relations in 2023. “We have four focus areas that we are working on: communications, community engagement, equity and legislative.”

Schafer talked about the city’s legislative priorities first. “Every year I lead a process in consultation with our department heads, city administrator and council to identify legislative priorities for the year. Then, once the city council approves the priorities, I work to communicate that with the community as well as our state legislators” said Schafer. 

She reviewed some past “wins” including the $7.5 million in bonding for Central Park, and appreciated the support from Woodbury’s state legislators to be able to bring that project to fruition. 

This year, one of the city’s legislative priorities is a request for a sales tax exemption for materials and construction costs for the water treatment plant pipeline projects and the water tower, which will be built near the intersection of Bailey Road and Cottage Grove Drive. The exemption would cover the cost of the project that is not already covered by the 3M settlement agreement. A sales tax exemption would reduce the overall costs for Woodbury residents.

”I’m excited to report that we’ve had a hearing in both the House and the Senate tax committees. We had the mayor and our public works director testify on our behalf, along with our partners in the legislature, and we are crossing our fingers that it might get included in,” said Schafer. 

The city has many exciting new projects. The recently launched Destination Marketing Organization and its standalone website www.destinationwoodbury.com will give residents and visitors options and information about Woodbury’s many attractions: places to stay, parks and trails, entertainment activities, and food options. 

State Of The City Part 1: Mayor’s Annual Address Provides Development Updates