Blaine lands city manager after 6-month search

Clark Arneson brings 20 years of experience with the city of Bloomington to the high-paying and coveted position.

By PAUL LEVY, Star Tribune

Last update: January 28, 2008 - 9:03 PM

With ambitious development plans but still without a police chief, Blaine took a major step in shaping its future Monday when longtime Bloomington city official Clark Arneson formally accepted an offer to become Blaine's city manager.

Blaine officials searched six months to find "an experienced manager with Minnesota ties," Mayor Tom Ryan said. They found their man in Arneson, an assistant city manager who worked in Bloomington the past 20 years.

Arneson, 54, who said he faxed a signed agreement to Blaine officials, must now await City Council approval of that contract. With a salary that can range from $114,000 to $147,700 -- more than the pay for similar positions in Edina, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Brooklyn Park and Minnetonka -- the Blaine job was considered among the most coveted in the region.

But the job does not come blemish-free.

Once considered the likely future home of the Minnesota Vikings, Blaine has had to adopt a Plan B mode after being spurned by the pro football team 14 months ago. This month, Police Chief Dave Johnson resigned to take over as executive director of CriMNet, a program run by the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension designed to connect 1,100 police and sheriff's offices, jails, prosecutors and probation agencies so they can share information electronically.

Team player

Rather than shy away from these challenges, Arneson challenged Blaine City Council members during his interview process, Ryan recalled.

"He was the only one who looked at the City Council and asked, 'How organized are you?'" Ryan said. "He stressed that he was a team player, who worked with elected people, the police department, with staff. And he asked the council, 'How strong are you?'"

Assuming Arneson's contract is approved Feb. 7 by the council, he comes to a city with considerable strengths that include this year's scheduled opening of the new $20 million home of Infinite Campus, a provider of data-management systems for 900 school districts in 41 states; expansion of the Anoka County/Blaine Airport; and the proposed SportsTown USA recreation and retail development project.

Tale of two cities

With a population that is expected to swell beyond 80,000, Arneson said comparisons between Blaine and Bloomington are not far off. Arneson, who became Bloomington's assistant city manager in 2004, said the Blaine job was the first for which he's applied in 20 years.

"Managing Blaine's continued growth will be a key priority," Arneson said. "In central Blaine, there's lot of potential for redevelopment activities in infrastructure. In eastern and northern Blaine [are] the future growth area[s]. It's an interesting time."

The city manager's first major task will be hiring a new police chief, said Ryan. He said it was important to keep politics out of the hiring, so the appointment will fall to the city manager and not the mayor.

Arneson was selected over Dwight Johnson, village manager of Homer Glen, Ill., a city of 25,000, southwest of Chicago, said Terry Dussault, Blaine's director of Human Resources.

Arneson is expected to replace Ron Wood, who resigned Aug. 2. The boundaries of the salary that Arneson will receive are dictated by state law; Blaine officials said they will release the salary figure after the council approves his hiring.

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419

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