Martens brings public service to BP job

People in small towns are known for wearing many hats, from serving on multiple committees to volunteering for community events and running for local government.

In Anthony Martens’ case, that public service is lending itself to his ability to help run a city.

Now nearly two months into his new role as Blooming Prairie city administrator, Martens spent the last three years as the city administrator of New Richland.

As he refines that career path, Martens is grateful for his time spent as a first responder: 16 years in law enforcement and 20 years on the fire department in New Richland. He spent 15 years, off and on, as a member of the ambulance service there.

“I think one of the unique perspectives that gives me is that when working with those units, I’ve been there,” he said. “I know what works, what maybe doesn’t.”

He may not be current on updated technology the departments use, “but I’ve been part of that situation, and am able to connect with those people. I can tell you that firefighters think a different way than a police officer, and a police officer thinks a different way than an ambulance person does.”

Martens’s experience, he said, gives him the ability “to modify that message (according) to who I’m talking to.”

On the management side of the public service coin, “when we get requests for certain things, having been in that line of work before, I can kind of claw through the mud a little bit” and note the difference between a need and a want, he said, “or I’m able to tell the (city) council that what (a department) is asking for is important to that line of work, so we should probably pay attention to it.”

Shortly before his arrival in Blooming Prairie, its police department voted to unionize – the first city employees to do so.

Martens believes the department “is happy and feels like they have a connection to administration (so) they can work through some of the challenges.”

He hasn’t had enough opportunity to work with the fire department or ambulance yet, he said, but during the interview process for the job, “I think they were very happy to have somebody that kind of understands their operation as part of the administration staff here.”

Former interim city administrator and longtime city employee Terri Zwiener agrees.

“Tony’s strengths are his experience in several departments of the city,” she said, “including ambulance, police, fire and city administration – along with IT experience.”

His transition into the role has been smooth, Zwiener said.

Martens didn’t hesitate to share his impressions of Blooming Prairie.

“I love it here,” he said. “The council has been wonderful; the people in the community have been very open and welcoming.”

Just the day before, Martens and City Council member Greg Johnson had visited the majority of the businesses on the 218 corridor “to actually introduce myself and give them my contact information.

“Greg and I had talked a little bit about it when I came here,” Martens said. “He didn’t feel like some of the previous administrators maybe had had a lot of contact with the people in the business community, so we just kind of decided that it would be a good idea … to keep that line of communication open between the city and the business owners in town.”

Some were surprised to see him, “but most of them were, I think, very happy to have somebody there to talk to and put a name with a face,” Martens said. “I think it’s so important for us to be able to connect with our community and business owners; whether they live in town or not, they’re definitely part of the community.”

He and Johnson have planned another day “where we take the Main Street run and talk to those businesses as well.”

Comparisons to his former city are inevitable, but Martens said the biggest difference he’s found is that things are structured differently.

“Every city is a little bit different in how they run themselves,” he said, “so that’s just an adjustment I have to make.”

The other takeaway, he said, is that “every city pretty much has the same challenges, then there are challenges that are specific to that city.”

There have been no surprises, Martens said, because “the staff here did a really good job with the tours (during the hiring process), just basically telling it like it is.”

He knew the U.S. Hwy. 218 reconstruction project through Blooming Prairie was “a huge, huge deal, but I think just seeing all of the pieces that are coming together – I guess it was a little bit bigger deal than I had anticipated.”

Still, Martens said, “I don’t think it’s something that we’re not going to be able to overcome. It’s just a matter of getting the correct pieces of the puzzle to line up.”

The city remains on a funding request list for both U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and District 1 Rep. Brad Finstad (R). The federal government shutdown could affect the timing of any decisions made.

Martens’s biggest goal now is to get through the budget process; the city council last month approved a 14.1% preliminary property tax levy, with the goal of cutting it in half.

From there, he said, “we’re going to really look at some development opportunities here.”

The city has a proposal for a housing study, with hopes for a grant to help cover the cost.

At $18,000, the study could raise some eyebrows, “but it covers the expected growth and needs for the community of Blooming Prairie through 2035,” Martens said. “The hope is that by having (the study), and having some of this land we can develop, we can get to the point of maybe building out some more housing.”

New developments can be instrumental in increasing a city’s tax base.

“It’s just a matter of, how do we get there? And how do we prove that we need to get there, so that we can get a little help?”