St. Michael Recognized by League of Minnesota Cities

City-administered initiatives involving government collaborations, parks and recreation development, and effective use of volunteers were recognized today when the League of Minnesota Cities announced City of Excellence Award winners for 2011. The awards were presented at the League’s Annual Conference in Rochester.

To compete for consideration as a City of Excellence, cities nominated a project, program, or initiative that was administered to achieve one or more of the following: improvement of the quality of a city service, development of an effective or innovative way to solve an old or common problem, modification of a program from another community or organization to fit city needs, discovery of a way to save the city money without compromising service results, and/or creative involvement of city staff or citizens in making a decision.

Awarded in the category for communities ranging in population from 5,000 to 19,999 was St. Michael, who was recognized for the St. Michael City Center.

The center, which includes a library, senior center, city hall, and public meeting rooms, was completed in November 2010 as a collaborative effort by the cities of St. Michael, Albertville, and Hanover, along with the Crow River Senior Center and the Great River Regional Library (GRRL) system. The community also supported the new center by forming a volunteer committee and raising $75,000 in contributions.                                                                                                                                  

According to the city's application for the award: "The collaboration allowed the cities to bring improved services to their growing populations and resulted in increased community participation, enhanced customer service, improved efficiencies, and lower costs. Since opening last December, the senior center has attracted 15 new volunteers, and the library has seen an increase in program attendance of almost 300 percent. Costs are shared among collaborating communities based on facility location, population, and tax capacity."

Bob Derus, city administrator, and coucilwoman Nadine Schoen traveled to Rochester to accept the award. 

Judges for the 2011 City of Excellence Awards were Jane McPeak, associate professor for the School of Business, Public & Nonprofit Department, at Hamline University; Louis Jambois, executive director of the St. Paul Port Authority and former executive director of Metro Cities; and Mary Quirk, volunteer resources leadership project manager with the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration.

The League of Minnesota Cities is a nonprofit, membership organization dedicated to helping cities throughout Minnesota build quality communities through effective advocacy, expert analysis, trusted guidance, and collective action. The League serves its more than 830 members through advocacy, education and training, policy development, risk management, and other services. For more information about the League and about the City of Excellence Awards, visit www.lmc.org.