January/February 2019
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Meet Councilmember Jess Robertson Ward 2 Jess Robertson is a 20 year resident of Blaine and is married with three children. In addition to running a family business in the north metro, she is very active in the business community. Over the last decade, she has been involved in the Metro North Chamber of Commerce and various organizations throughout Anoka County. With a firm belief that local government should be accessible to everyone, Jess is looking forward
to being an advocate for the City of Blaine: its residents, business and our community. Jess believes in leading a life of service, the opportunity to serve as the new ward two councilmember gives her a new venue to be a strong voice for the residents, and businesses in Blaine while helping the city prepare for the future.
Meet Councilmember Richard Paul Ward 3
Mayor Tom Ryan’s Office Hours at City Hall
Richard Paul immigrated to the United States in 1995. Richard fled from his war-torn home country of South Sudan to Kenya before immigrating to the United States.
Richard has focused on building trust between immigrant groups and government organizations. He sees being on the city council as a new way to build community.
Richard came to Minnesota and eventually settled with his wife and six children in Blaine in 2004. Throughout his life, Richard has worked to build bridges between different parts of his community. Since relocating to Minnesota
Richard has taken many trainings and completed several educational courses to help him prepare for his new role as ward three councilmember. Richard looks forward to serving the community in this new way.
Blaine Mayor, Tom Ryan, holds regular office hours every Tuesday from 2:30 to 5:30PM. Stop by Blaine City Hall at 10801 Town Square Drive NE and meet with Mayor Ryan on any issue you want.
Office visists with Mayor Ryan are held in the Laddie Lake Conference Room located on the 2nd floor of Blaine City Hall, on the west side of the building.
There is no need to call and make an appointment; visits are done on a drop-in basis.
City Manager, Clark Arneson Announces Retirement Long time Blaine City Manager Clark Arneson has announced his intent to retire as Blaine’s City Manager on July 31, 2019, giving the City Council seven months to hire a new City Manager. The City Council initiated the search process for a new city manager in December.
reduce the budget by $2,000,000 over the next two years while retaining Blaine’s high level of service.
Mr. Arneson’s retirement from Blaine will cap a 40-year public service career. Arneson began his career working in community development in Bemidji and then Staples. From there he went to the City of Chaska as the Community Development Director and Assistant Administrator. He then went to the City of Bloomington where he became the Planning and Economic Development Director and eventually the Assistant City Manager. While at Bloomington, Arneson was the point person for the City during the development of the Mall Of America. Arneson was hired as the City Manager for Blaine in January of 2008.
• The development of the pavement management program which provides the funding that allows the City to do long term planning for road repair and reconstruction projects.
Arneson started his career with Blaine at the same time as the economic downturn and was faced with the challenge of navigating the growing City through tough economic times. Through Arneson’s leadership the City was able to reduce staffing by 17 positions and
Some of the things that Arneson is most proud of in his career at Blaine are:
• The continued modernization of the Police Department with staffing and technology. • Modernization of community notification and engagement opportunities through social media platforms and additional technology. • Continued improvement in the City’s bond rating with sound financial management as the City continues to work toward achieving a AAA rating. • Professional staff training and development opportunities helping Blaine to become a “best in class” city.
According to Arneson, “Blaine is very well positioned for the future as it continues to grow from 66,000 to eventually 85,000 residents. It is well on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse in the north metro area.”
