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NB administrator settled in nicely to job heading the cityBy Barbara Brown North Branch City Administrator Joe Lynch believes his job is to be an ambassador for the city and work as a liaison between the council and citizens to improve life for everyone in North Branch. Born in Syracuse, NY, with 8 brothers and sisters, Lynch believed his future lay in teaching. Lynchís family moved to Wisconsin when he was three after his father got a job with Trane. He attended the University of Wisconsin, both at the Madison and La Crosse campuses. Originally, Lynch pursued a teaching degree with plans to be a math teacher. Those plans changed about two years later when Lynch started to see the financial challenges that can come with teaching. He changed his major and received a degree in parks and recreation administration. Within three consecutive weekends in 1984, Lynch graduated from college, married his girlfriend Barb and moved to St. Paul where his wife had gotten a job as a physical therapist. The family, which now includes three sons and a gerbil named Skittles, still lives in St. Paul. Lynch worked for several cities as the director of parks and recreation departments or coordinator for city sports. He then got a job at Hamline University as the schoolís director of recreational and intermural sports. While he was employed at Hamline, Lynch took the chance to get his masters degree in public administration. ìMy thought was instead of directing one department maybe I could look at running a whole city,î he said. Lynch earned an internship with White Bear Township and after six months he had proven himself worthy of taking the interim administrator position. He held that job for six months and took every opportunity to learn, hands-on, about city administration, he said. After Lynch left White Bear Township in 1991, he was named the city administrator for Chisago City. In 1994, Lynch left Chisago City to be administrator for the City of Long Lake. That job lasted about five years when, in 1999, Lynch became administrator in Arden Hills. In August 2003, Lynch took the job as North Branchís administrator when previous administrator John Moosey was hired as the county administrator. Although he had worked only a few miles from North Branch while he was in Chisago City, Lynch was only vaguely familiar with the town. While in Chisago City, he had organized officials from several cities in the county to meet regularly to talk about developments within their towns and seek guidance and ideas from each other. He said he had a similar impression of the town that others had prior to the consolidation in 1996 with Branch ñ that North Branch was just a stop on the highway. He said it wasnít until he returned in August 2003 that he realized the city has impressive geographic area and a ìdepth of character that so many people miss.î Lynch said the administration of the city, council and citizens all need to work together now to increase the exposure of other Minnesotans to that depth in North Branch. Part of the job of the administrator, Lynch said, is to act as an ambassador for the city, promoting the city and all it has to offer to potential residents and businesses. That could mean not only providing information for potential developers and facilitating their need for information, but also acting as a representative to state and federal officials in situations where North Branch may benefit. Internally, the city administrator has a more business-like role. Lynch said his main job inside City Hall is to act as the staff leader. ìI need to make sure we have the right people in the right positions doing jobs for the city,î he said. He said the administrator also acts as a liaison between the residents and the city departments and council. One of Lynchís aims is to have an annual goal list adopted by the city council that would offer guidance to the council and staff as to what objectives are most important. For example, the bridge over I-35, planning for future public facilities and examining the cityís storm water system are among this yearís goals. One of the biggest issues facing North Branch right now, Lynch said, is that there is so much change happening at a fast pace. He said businesses are showing a lot of interest in the city and several have located to the area. New residents are moving in nearly every day and the city needs to make sure it addresses the needs and desires of both groups. ìChange is inevitable,î Lynch said. ìThe question is: how are you prepared to deal with the change?î Lynch said the city needs to make plans ahead of change and try to be less reactive to situations. ìWe need to try to foresee what is going to happen down the road,î he said. Lynch said the city will have to confront head-on the social issues that are creeping onto the scene now. Discussion and possible repercussions of the countyís plan to build a library in North Branch, a potential community center and the need for affordable housing are all underway, and Lynch said that is a good thing. He said the city needs to understand the issues coming in the future in order to prepare for them and pointed to the example of the cityís housing task force which is examining the impact of development on the people who live here or may come to the area. ìI have to give the council a lot of credit,î he said, ìbecause they have looked at how they can be involved in the lives of the people in the city.î Lynchís vision for North Branch is that the city grow to be a leader within Chisago County. As the countyís largest city, North Branch may be looked to in coming years as a guide for others. He said the city needs to be prepared for that possibility and look 20 or more years down the road at the impacts of decisions made today. Having a long-term goal is most important locally for Lynch. He said the city must look out for the best interest of its citizens through planning and finance. ìWe can be pretty unique in terms of what we plan for,î Lynch said. ìWe just donít want to end up in a situation where weíre going to be overrun with housing or business, but have a nice balance.î ©ECM Post Review |