Ramsey Resident - 1984 - November

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t- = ~~._~~~ -'--"'=~ / ~~~~~----~, ::::::=,,-:=-.:: =~-:-=-. ---==-, .1 RAMSEY Volume 1 Number 2 November1984 City gets planner "Staff' Profile" will be a regular section in the bi- monthly Ramsey Resident. It introduces members of the City staff, the appointed of- ficials responsible for im- plementing programs adopt- ed by the City Council. This month we .think our "Staff Profile" is important enough to be front-page news. We would like to introduce Ram- sey's new Urban Ec.onomic Development Planner, Anne Norris. The position of Urban Ec- onomic Development Planner was first discussed back in' 1980 and 1981 by City Council and the Planning Commis- sion. Consequently, Council authorized Staff to advertise the position opening and in- terviewed candidates for it. However, due to the state of the economy at that time, Council decided to delay fill- ing the position. The Planning Commission, at that time, felt that the posi- tion should have been filled, as there was a very definite need to coordinate land use and development in a growing city like Ramsey. At various times since then the demand for such a person to coordinate development planning has been expressed and discussed, but nothing materialized. As a means of promoting better communications bet- ween the Council and various City commissions, a series of Council/Commission Work- shops were held, commenc- ing in January of 1984. One significant end result of those workshops was that the de- mand for an Urban Economic Development Planner was still very apparent. The City needed s,omeone to: a. Prepare special zoning reports for the Planning Com- mission in regards to propos- ed land uses. b. Prepare Planning Com- mission agendas and attend Planning Commission meetings. c. Coordinate the City of Ramsey's policy in regards to .Iand use planning with Metro Couflcil and other governmen- tal jurisdictions. d. Work with the Ramsey Economic Development Com- mission in keeping them aware of the various types of grants that are available for use in the area of economic development. e. Various other duties, in- cluding processing of condi- tional use' permits and hom'e occupation permits. Accordingly, the Council 'and other City Commissions agreed that it was time to act on this need for an Urban Eco- nomic Development Planner. The position was advertised and interviews were con- ducted by a Selection Com- mittee consisting of the fol- lowing persons: two members of City Council, three com- mission'chairpersons and two members of City Staff.. .City Administrator Lloyd Schnelle said the committee put the candidates through.a rigorous selection process. The committee members split into three separate groups, each interviewing the can- didates in areas pertaining to their individual concerns Then, the Selection Commit- tee met as a whole to discuss their recommendations. Out of the 22 initial ap- plicants, the Selection Com- .mittee recommended Ms. Anne Norris to the City Coun- ci I as the candidate to fill the position of. Urban Economic Development Planner. Coun- cil approved her appointment unanimously. Anne was born' and raised In Plymouth, Minnesota and attended the Wayzata Public schools. After high school graduation, ,she attended Carleton College' in North- field, Minnesota and grad- uated with a degree in Political Science. . Anne remarked that her career in community develop- ment is a case of "hap- penstance", explaining that, "In my senior year of college it became evident that my ma- jor, Economics, and my mi- nor, Political Science, should have been visa versa; so I switched. Later, I att~nded a lecture given by Bill Craig, an alumnist of Carleton College and, at that time, City Manager for Hopkins. That Ramsey Resident Ramsey Municipal Center -15153 Nowthen Blvd. NW Ramsey, MN 55303 particular lecture caught my interest and as luck would have it, there was a job open- ing with the City of Hopkins consisting basically of perfor- ming special projects for the City Manager. I applied and got the job." Anne worked for the Hopkins City Manager for two years and was then promoted to Community Development Assistant Director. She spent two and one-half years work- ing with zoning and planning, redevelopment, transit and residential and commercial structure rehabilitation pro- grams. In April of 1984, Anne I~ft Hopkins to work as the Economic Development Plan- ner for Region 7E, based in Mora, Minnesota. She quickly learned that she missed work- ing for one city and came back to the seven county metropolitan area. Schnelle said,. "After we hired Anne, we received many fine comments about her from various governrner" agencies and profess1or'\a people n regards to Me' , ne professional abilities. That always makes you feel good when you have selected such a person. Anne presently serves as the president of the M i n- nesota Association of Urban Management Assistants, a local organization for in- dividuals interested in pursu- ing careers in city administra- tion. Anne's leisure time ac- tivities include skiing, biking, reading and doing 'crossword puzzles. Anne currently resides in South Minneapolis and re- marks that she finds it very "stimulating to have the op- portunity to work with and for a city in its earlier stages of economic growth and development." .T I FREE :l . ~ \ \ ./ .", ANNE NORRIS City Planner POS1-AL CUSTOMER CAR-RT-SRT BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 131 ANOKA, MN 55303 .......