CIRCLE PINES, Minn. – (Sept. 16, 1016) – It took several months, interviews with eight different candidates, additional interviews with the top four candidates, but after much deliberation Circle Pines has found their new city administrator. “I was born into this profession. My dad was a city manager. I grew up in Moorhead, Minn. I went to the University of Minnesota for undergraduate, I went to the University of South Dakota for grad school. I started working in Iowa and always knew that I wanted to make it back to Minnesota, make it back to the Twin Cities area,” said Circle Pines city administrator Patrick Antonen.
The job of hiring the city administrator is the responsibility of the city council. Circle Pines mayor Dave Bartholomay knew it would be tough to replace Jim Keinath who had served the community for 30 years. But, in the end Bartholomay said it turned out as it usually did with Keinath – he was right.
“Moving ahead from Jim was a tough call, but at the end of the process after we had done this long search process I went up and talked to him and said he was right. He was always telling me don’t worry about this, it will work out fine. I kept saying I don’t know. You’ve been here 30 years doing a great job, how do we make this turn. He said somebody will come along that will have more energy than I will and he’ll have some new ideas that I just don’t have and it’s time for me to go fishing up north and that’s what I want to do. So he was right, we ended up with a great group of folks to look through and ended up with a real winner,” said Bartholomay.
The stability that Keinath brought to the city is one reason that Antonen pursued the job. “Circle Pines had been managed very well for 30 plus years. These opportunities don’t come up very often so when they do come along you have to jump at it. My wife and I are very happy to be here and are looking forward to being here for a very long time,” said Antonen.
Antonen has spent the first few weeks getting to know his community and so far he has been impressed. “Very nice community, looking at the park system, all the public infrastructure is outstanding. It’s a really nice community with great roads,” said Antonen. The city administrator role in Circle Pines is unique.
The city has runs its own natural gas utility which is uncommon, especially in today’s landscape. “The gas utility is very unique. I have not had to operate a gas utility before so that’s an interesting new challenge because it is very unusual for a city to have their own gas utility. Most cities have water, sewer, garbage, those are the common utilities. A lot of cities have electric to but gas is unique and it’s a moving target because everyday the market changes. You are kind of hedging your bets and making sure you provide the best services for your citizens at the best rate possible,” said Antonen.
The council is looking forward to having Antonen’s youthful enthusiasm as an asset for the community and Antonen is going to focus on building upon the stability put in place by his predecessor. “He brings a lot of energy, he’s a real sharp guy, he’s working toward a Ph.D. which is obviously not needed or required for this field but it just shows his depth of interest,” said Bartholomay. “I don’t plan on changing a lot but just maintain the quality of life that people come to expect from living in Circle Pines,” said Antonen.
