2012-12-01 Eagan Business NewsJ O U R N A L O F T H E E A G A N B U S I N E S S C O M M U N I T Y
Fourth Quarter 2012 Vol. 11 No. 4
BusinessNewsEagan
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Who are your
new legislators?
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Briefly:
Eagan businesses
in the news
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Looking ahead —
and back —
with Tom Hedges
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It’s the week of Thanksgiving and
Tom Hedges has a to-do list a mile long.
That’s a bit surprising: After all, Hedges,
the longtime city administrator of Eagan,
proffered his retirement letter two months
ago and plans to step down in February.
Shouldn’t he be winding down,
resting on his laurels a bit?
“The world doesn’t stop
because you’re moving on,” he
says. “Counting down the days is
the furthest thing from my mind.”
Instead, he’s got the day-to-day
demands of a diverse $45 million enterprise
— which boasts 65,000 residents and
50,000 workers — plus, the need to prepare
his staff for his departure and the desire to
provide a thorough transition document for
the yet-to-be-hired new city administrator.
How does he feel? “A bit overwhelmed,” he
says with a smile. You know how much work
it takes to get ready for a vacation? This feels
like that to the nth degree.
Getting started
Thirty-six years ago, a headhunter contacted
Hedges at his city administrator job in
St. Peter, Minnesota. Just 26 years old
and four years into his position there, he
had never even heard of Eagan. But he
recognized a great opportunity.
After all, the village of Eagan had recently
become a city; its population was 14,000 —
nearly double that of St. Peter; and many
businesses were here too, including Blue Cross
Blue Shield, Coca Cola and Sperry-Univac.
And while much of the area was farmland, like
St. Peter, the city’s proximity to Minneapolis
and St. Paul paired with talk of planned
interstate highways meant future growth.
Hedges lauds the work of the city’s first
mayor, Herb Polzin,and his council, calling
them hard working and forward thinking.
The city’s first chance at long-term economic
expansion came via a phone call, when a
business person called to learn about the
possibilities for land acquisition for an
unnamed textile manufacturer. Hedges
welcomed the inquiry and offered to help.
Not long after, he received another phone call
— this time from John Nasseff,an executive
at the unnamed company: in actuality, a book-
binding company called West Publishing.
Turns out, West didn’t want to play its hand
before learning whether Eagan was interested
in working with the company.
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Eagan Business News asked Tom Hedges, Eagan’s retiring city
administrator, to pause a bit and look back at his career, helping
to lead city and commercial growth. “I don't usually look in the
rearview mirror.”
Looking ahead —
and back —
with Tom Hedges
2 Eagan Business NEWS
J O U R N A L O F T H E E A G A N B U S I N E S S C O M M U N I T Y
Tom Hedges
continued from page 1
Fourth Quarter 2012
Polzin and Hedges met with Nasseff at the
company’s headquarters in St. Paul. “That’s
where the relationship started,” Hedges says
of the long-term association between Eagan
and West Publishing, now Thomson Reuters.
Polzin and Hedges drove Nasseff throughout
Eagan, weighing the possibilities of various
sites. Eventually, the company purchased
land in 1976, planning ahead for growth.
In the early 1990s, the company needed
to expand its corporate office space
and returned to negotiations with Eagan.
While the city of St. Paul wanted to keep
the company, “West Publishing looked at
the numbers and said Eagan made the
most sense,” says Hedges, adding that the
company also liked the idea of corporate
consolidation.
Today, like many Eagan businesses,
Thomson Reuters offers a “wonderful
corporate presence and is a great member
of the community,” says Hedges. “West
Publishing’s decision to come here helped
put Eagan on the map even more.”
Creating a legacy
If Hedges weren’t retiring but heading off to
a new position, what accomplishment might
top his resume? Without hesitation, Hedges
points to Eagan’s interstate infrastructure.
“Only two interchanges were planned for the
city,” he says. And that was not going to be
enough. Hedges, Public Works Director Tom
Colbert, and the city’s leadership could see
that interstate access would mean all the
difference to attracting both businesses and
their employees and to growing Eagan over
the long term.
“I spent a lot of time in Washington, asking
for more access to the interstate,” says
Hedges, who also found himself in court,
plus working with the “feds, MNDot and
others” to ensure a greater number of
interstate accesses. Today, Eagan enjoys six
interstate access points on Lone Oak, Yankee
Doodle, Pilot Knob, Diffley, Cliff and Hwy.
169/Dodd Road — not to mention the inter-
sections of Cedar and 35, plus 35 and 494.
Driving business expansion
Around that time, in the early 1980s,
the city began five years of bus tours,
inviting commercial brokers and real-estate
developers from all over the Twin Cities to
join bus tours of Eagan, not only showing off
the city, but bringing them to sites available
for purchase and introducing them to the
city’s leaders.
“That’s how Northwest Airlines’ move
to Eagan came about,” Hedges says.
A member of the firm representing the
airline joined one of the tours, and Hedges
received a call the following week.
It didn’t take long for the bus tours to bring
new businesses to Eagan. “Once Eagan
got discovered and noticed, it was like the
floodgates opened,” he says. After that, it was
all hands on deck,ensuring that the city’s
infrastructure expanded as companies set
up shop and subdivision after subdivision
was approved.
Tom has done extraordinary
things in his career in
Eagan. One was many years
ago when he attracted
Thomson Reuters, then
West, to relocate to Eagan.
We’ve been extremely
happy ever since, as he has
led a city that is balanced
— business-friendly and
people-friendly. With its
great places to live, terrific
parks system and more,
our employees love it here.
The city found that balance
because Tom has it himself.
He is a role model others
should study and emulate.
Rick King
Chief Operating Officer
Technology
Thomson Reuters
My business has prospered
as Eagan has grown under
the purposeful leadership
of Tom Hedges since I
started as a “scratch”
insurance agent in Eagan
in 1984. A few years ago,
I was one of many local
business owners who
attended a rather heated
work session with the City
Council regarding a sign
ordinance which the busi-
ness community didn’t like.
Concerned that Tom Hedges
may have been offended, I
approached him at a Rotary
meeting to apologize. Tom
responded with a big smile:
“No apology needed. I went
home and said to Debbie
that this was democracy in
action. Isn’t it great!”
As a resident and a business
owner, I feel so fortunate
and blessed that Tom Hedges
has been our city adminis-
trator all these years!
John Curlee, CLU, ChFC
Curlee Agency
State Farm
Eagan’s positive image directly reflects
the steady hand of Tom Hedges over
the years. His positive, careful and
financially prudent approach to the
city’s growth has been the backbone of
its reputation. He continually viewed
every situation as an opportunity for
problem solving, further improvement
and bringing people together for the
greater good. From his emphasis on
customer service, creative problem
solving and careful attention to hiring
the right staff, like a business, the
results show.
Sherie Wallace
Principal
The Wallace Group
Hedges gives a great deal of credit to
mayoral and City Council leadership over
the years, saying he and his staff (including
Tom Colbert, Gene VanOverbeke and
Ken Vraa — “they don’t come any better”)
returned time and again to the councils, ask-
ing for another reservoir, another water
treatment plant, another fire station. “We
were fortunate to have a series of councils
that were very proactive. And we became
Fourth Quarter 2012J O U R N A L O F T H E E A G A N B U S I N E S S C O M M U N I T Y
The 88th session of the Minnesota Legislature opens for business on Tuesday, January 8,
2013, with many fresh faces. That certainly includes Eagan’s representation following
November’s election. In Senate District 51 and House Districts 51A and 51B, three
Democrats swept three Republicans out of the offices they had won in 2010. Meanwhile, in
Senate District 52, which includes one Eagan precinct, voters returned Sen. Jim Metzen (DFL)
to office; Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL) retained his seat in House District 52B as well. If you have
business concerns you wish to share with your legislators, below are the email addresses
they’ll begin using next month.■
rep.joe.atkins@house.mn (52B)
sen.jim.carlson@senate.mn (51)
rep.laurie.halverson@house.mn (51B)
rep.sandy.masin@house.mn (51A)
sen.jim.metzen@senate.mn (52)
Who are your new legislators?
Eagan Business NEWS 3g EBN is printed on paper which contains a minimum of 10% post consumer fiber.
• PEOPLE:Michelle
Engdahl,Thomson Reuters,
has been named the new
board chair (2012-2013) of
the Dakota County Regional
Chamber of Commerce. Kelly
Schaefbauer,DanburyIT, is
next in line as board chair for
2013-2014. Allen Glynn,KLC
Financial, has been named
treasurer. The DCR Chamber
also named two new board
members: Lin Nelson,direc-
tor of Legislative Affairs and
chief lobbyist, Blue Cross and
Blue Shield of Minnesota; and
Troy Solis,Sol-Information
Systems.… Colleen Sexton,
a commercial services and
brand manager at Destron
Fearing Corporation, will chair
the 2013 Y Partners Annual
Giving Campaign for the YMCA
in Eagan.
• BUSINESS:Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Minnesota
was the only company to
receive a perfect score of
100 percent on the Human
Rights Campaign’s 2013
Corporate Equality Index, a
national benchmark for LGBT
workplace inclusion.… Eagan
Homestead Studio Suites
will become an Extended Stay
America, the City’s second
Briefly:
Eagan businesses
in the news
continued on page 4
known for our approach: ‘Eagan will get it
done.’ I’m really proud of that.”
Focusing on the future
Hedges has always been a list guy, keeping
both a to-dos list and a vision list. No
wonder he sticks with his Franklin planner —
a throwback, he admits, although he also
keeps his smart phone handy. Many days as
a city administrator, however, he doesn’t get
the chance to tackle either list. “I’m here for
whatever the day’s issues are — from a
water main break to a fire to a police mat-
ter,” he says. “You have to be flexible.”
That flexibility is paramount on the list of
adjectives Hedges would use to describe
the job of city administrator. Organization
is key as well. As is excellence in service to
the community.
But Hedges notes that the new city
administrator’s challenges will differ from
his experience. Rather than developing
infrastructure, the new city administrator
must both maintain it and look ahead. And
Hedges says those challenges are weighty:
“How will we do business as a city in the
future?” he asks. “How will technological
infrastructure change? And how will changing
technology affect our city’s mission and the
services we offer?
“How will we continue to manage a volunteer
fire department? Can we as a city maintain
Cascade Bay, with all its competitors?
Is hockey going to be as important in the
future for our civic arena? Will the civic
arena be needed for other purposes?
Will the Eagan Community Center continue
to be a draw for weddings? How can we
keep our city’s employees inspired? How
will Access Eagan help our commercial
and industrial base? How will we keep our
neighborhoods looking good?”
Hedges pauses after his top-of-mind list of the
challenges ahead and adds, “There’s no way
to rest on Eagan’s success today.”
Someone else will now have to add
to the achievements the “dean” of city
administrators has overseen in Eagan
during his 36-year career.■
The Eagan City Council has retained
Brimeyer Fursman, a Twin Cities
recruitment firm, to search for a new
city administrator to replace Tom
Hedges, who will retire in February
2013 from the position he has held
since 1976.
Tom has always valued the opinion
of the business community in Eagan.
He will help guide you through the
barriers that sometimes pop up during a
development project and, along with his
staff, help you to a successful outcome.
Tom and Kay Butler
Owner/Operators of McDonald’s of Eagan
T&K Restaurant Franchise Group Inc.
Eagan
4 Eagan Business NEWS
Business News
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Looking ahead — and back —
with Tom Hedges
U page 3
Who are your new legislators?
C page 3
Briefly: Eagan businesses in the news
i n s i d e t h i s i s s u e
3830 Pilot Knob Road ●Eagan, MN 55122
Editor Karin B. Miller, Working Words, Inc.
Designer Brent Kastler, Illumine Associates, Inc.
Send comments and story ideas to EBN@cityofeagan.com.
Briefly continued from page 3
hotel under this banner.… During annual alcohol and tobacco
compliance checks, the Eagan Police Department found alcohol
noncompliance at eight of 70 businesses, a nine percent decrease
from 2011. Tobacco noncompliance rates stayed roughly the same:
five of 43 businesses in 2012, just a one percent decrease from
2011.… YogaSoul celebrated its grand reopening in November
with new class offerings, a mobile app and a new look for the
3,000-square-foot space.
• NONPROFITS:Four programs were recognized this fall by
Mentoring Partnership Minnesota. Among them, Eagan-based Kids ’n
Kinship received the Bob Dayton Quality Mentoring Award.… Eagan-
based ProAct named four businesses, including two Eagan-based
businesses — Chuck & Don’s Pet Food Outlet and Peanut’s Place —
as exceptional employers of people with development disabilities.
• GOVERNMENT:The Eagan City Council unanimously approved the
preliminary subdivision, rezoning and site-plan requests last month
for an upscale outlet mall in the Cedar Grove Redevelopment
Area.Final approval of the Paragon Outlet Partners’plan could be
voted on as early as February 2013, and construction could begin
next spring.… On America Recycles Day in November, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency recognized Minnesota venues
— Target Field, RiverCentre, Xcel Energy Center and Eagan
Community Center — for reducing food waste.… The Eagan
City Council approved an ordinance amendment establishing rules
regarding the use of the City’s new 16.2-mile fiber optic cable
loop and creating a fund for its maintenance and operation.…
The Eagan Advisory Planning Commission is scheduled to review the
proposed residential development plan for the 80-acre Parkview
Golf Course in December. The City Council will consider the
potential to change the land use from private recreation to low
density residential and the Commission’s recommendation regarding
the development plan in January.■
Standard
U.S. Postage
PAID
TWIN CITIES, MN
Permit No. 4902
Mandi Simon, a nine-year-old
Eagan resident, is founder of
Simon Says Give,a nonprofit
that collects new and gently
used backpacks, books, school
supplies and birthday presents
to distribute to kids in need. Last
month Eagan-based Big Ink
Display Graphics jumped in
with major help, distributing
more than 100 collection boxes
to clients and asking them to
donate books and school sup-
plies for the cause. On Dec. 15,
the collection boxes will be returned to Simon for distribution.
To donate or volunteer, visit simonsaysgive.org.