Manali Shah
Jeffrey Dahl has begun his work as Woodbury's city administrator.
Woodbury’s new City Administrator, Jeffery Dahl, is already comfortable in his new job.
Woodbury is home for Dahl and his previous internship with the city makes City Hall familiar territory.
Dahl was also able to give up his long commute to Wayzata where he served as city administrator for the past decade.
Dahl is thankful for a chance to serve Woodbury.
“It’s a good culture here, and I look forward to enhancing that even more.”
The city council selected Dahl from a list of five finalists. He became the fourth city administrator in the city’s history, replacing Clint Gridley who retired after 20 years in the role.
In his first year as city administrator, Dahl plans to concentrate on establishing relationships with city staff, council members, and community residents.
There’s plenty to keep Dahl busy in his new role including setting the 2026 budget, designing the new public safety campus, and completing the Water Treatment Plant and pipelines, the largest infrastructure project in city history.
“We have a lot of great leaders working on those projects already, so it’s really supporting those efforts and just establishing and growing relationships,” Dahl said. “It is a lot easier to have robust conversations and get things done when you know the people and you have a good connection with them. So that is definitely the priority.”
Dahl values economic development in a city and working with local businesses to create a strong business environment. He is aware that Woodbury already has a rich history of doing that. “So, you know, working with good people, having opportunities for growth, having a positive culture where employees and community members and everyone is recognized, that’s kind of my style, I would say.”
He prioritizes developing a good rapport and respect and trust with everybody and lauded the city’s reputation as a premiere community to live and work. “We want to hear from everybody, regardless of what their opinion is on items, if they have differing opinions, it’s really important, just to maintain those lines of communication,” he said.
Dahl recalls growing up in Maple Grove which has a lot of similar types of dynamics as Woodbury, a growing community. “So I’m very familiar with this environment. I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to cities. I used to watch Council meetings when I was a kid. I always cared about seeing it develop, I was always curious about that.”
Dahl lives in a newer area of Woodbury with his wife, Christine, stepdaughter Camila, and son Jack.
What are Dahl’s favorite things in Woodbury? “Aside from the people and the diversity of the people, I would say the natural amenities and how the city has really prioritized access to those amenities with the trails around the lakes. That is not common. Also the beautiful parks. I like to run, and I run around Colby Lake and Valley Creek Park all the time.”