28 August 2023
On Oak Park Heights City Administrator Eric Johnson’s best days, he got to get out and talk to residents.
“You’ve got to be reachable, get out from behind your desk, go out there and talk to folks and see what’s going on,” said Johnson, who retires this week after 20 years as city administrator. “You can’t do the job from behind a desk, or if you’re stuck in a meeting in St. Paul.”
When a resident once called City Hall to complain that water was running off the street and coming up her driveway, Johnson and a public works employee headed out to tour the site. “That wasn’t really happening, but we walked the site with her and we talked with her and engaged with her,” he said.
Johnson helped explain that the woman’s driveway was pitched the wrong way, causing water runoff from her roof to end up in her basement. “It was nowhere near the street,” he said. “We said, ‘If you fix your driveway, we can do some work down at the end of the driveway.’ It made the resident feel listened to.”
When another resident called to ask if the city would partner with him to bring in a herd of goats to attempt a buckthorn-control project in Valley View Park, Johnson went out to see him and gave him the green light.
“I liked walking the site with somebody who had a drainage problem or talking with somebody who wanted to have bees or geese, or have a dead-end sign installed on their road,” he said. “Those are things that stick out in my brain: all those little things we were able to do for people in our community. We’re not always able to make everybody happy, but we’re always willing to try to listen.”
‘A lot of growth’
Johnson helped shepherd a number of significant projects during his time in the city, including the construction of the new St. Croix River bridge, the expansion of Walmart, the construction of Lowe’s and the expansion of Stillwater Area High School, Mayor Mary McComber said.
Stillwater Area High School in Oak Park Heights as seen on July 30, 2023. (Mara H. Gottfried / Pioneer Press)
“We have seen a lot of growth in the city since he has been here, a lot of developments,” she said. “He’s been a huge part in getting a lot of projects across the finish line.”
City Council member Mike Runk said Johnson has a gift for being “forward looking” and anticipating possible problems.
“He can see something in advance, and he thinks about it and he has a plan in mind, so when you talk to him, he has the answers,” Runk said. “I particularly notice it when we’re dealing with the county or the state. He knows what they are going to ask for, and that enables us to have a response.”
In 2009, Johnson required St. Croix Events to set up a $3,000 escrow account before the company’s first Stillwater Marathon. Months after the race, many agencies, including the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Patrol were still owed thousands of dollars; Oak Park Heights had the money in hand.
“Anytime we are asked to do something that would benefit a private interest, we require some kind of security,” Johnson said. “Because if something goes wrong, it’s on me. Who said ‘Trust but verify’? Ronald Reagan? I love that quote. I live by that.”
Said Runk: “That’s an example of Eric thinking of things in advance. We got paid because he had anticipated that. If you try to collect things afterward, it doesn’t always work.”
A city administrator’s job, Johnson said, is to be “that invisible hand that doesn’t let nonsense get in front of the city council.”
“That is an art,” he said. “Your job is to take out issues, whether they’re small or large, before they become problematic or blown out of proportion. The council doesn’t need to be engaged about a neighbor’s tree dispute or why somebody has a pod parked in their front yard and why they hate their neighbor.”
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Johnson, 53, a Milwaukee native, came to Oak Park Heights in 2003 after serving as village administrator of Winneconne, Wis., and economic-development director in Rusk County, Wis.
Johnson has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University.
When Johnson was little, he wanted to be a professional baseball player or a park ranger when he grew up. During his sophomore year in college, he took an Introduction to Public Administration class, and his career was set. “It was interesting to learn about how and why local government works in many ways, and how impactful it is in all of our daily lives,” he said.
Moving forward
The Oak Park Heights City Council has retained Matt Fulton of GMP Consultants to conduct the search for Johnson’s replacement. Police Chief Steve Hansen is serving as interim administrator until the new administrator is hired. The council is expected to make its selection on Sept. 26, and a new administrator is expected to be on board by Nov. 1, McComber said.
One of the new administrator’s top priorities will be navigating the closure of Xcel Energy’s Allen S. King Plant in 2028. The plant is the largest tax generator in Oak Park Heights, accounting for about than 35 percent of the city’s tax revenues, typically more than $2 million annually, Johnson said.
Fortunately, the city’s annual debt service of about $600,000 for the construction of City Hall will be retired around the time the King plant closes, he said.
“That’s a big chunk of revenue that can be applied to offset losses from the Xcel closure,” he said. “I think that the way the city has been managed is something to be proud of, and that’s not just me – it’s staff, it’s council. We are in incredibly strong financial shape. As we sit here today, we are arcing towards being debt-free in a couple of years. All things change, but I like to think, on balance, that the city is in a good position to move forward for the next 20 years.”
Eric Johnson (Courtesy of the City of Oak Park Heights)
Johnson said his leaving is bittersweet. “I’ll miss the people and the good work we do,” he said, but that he won’t miss the night meetings.
“You’re on all the time,” he said. “It’s a 24/7 job, and you have many folks to work with, try to keep happy, and, at the same time, try and get projects done. It’s a lot of juggling. It’s always talking on the phone. It’s always being concerned about what’s coming over the horizon, you know? You’re basically the lookout for a lot of things for the community. You’re constantly trying to predict and estimate and guess. … You lose sleep.”
He plans to take “six months of quiet and see what happens.” He and his wife, Tara, recently moved from Bayport to Rice Lake, Wis. Their son, Bobby, 19, is a student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
“Like every person who has worked their entire life, I’ve seldom had a chance to take myself offline,” he said. “For some period of time, I’d like to take a deep breath and reset and see what else is out there. I have worked full-time for 30 years, 31 years, something like that. It will be nice to take a pause.”
Eric Johnson open house
What: An open house to celebrate Eric Johnson’s retirement
When: noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30
Where: Oak Park Heights City Hall, 14168 Oak Park Blvd N.
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