The Crookston City Council held a special meeting Tuesday evening to select a new City Administrator. After interviewing the three candidates, the council selected Jeff Shoobridge. “The council decided who would best fit Crookston’s needs now and into the future,” said current Crookston City Administrator Corky Reynolds. “They determined that Jeff Shoobridge would be the candidate. Baker Tilly and I will enter into negotiations to see if we can arrive at an agreement to employ Jeff Shoobridge as the City Administrator.”
Shoobridge comes from Florida and is a University of Central Florida graduate. Before this, he was also the city administrator for Madison Lake, Minnesota. Shoobridge gave some comments before being offered the position. He spoke about what he liked about Crookston, why he felt he was a good fit for the job, and how he thinks he can help the community.
Shoobridge felt he was a good fit for the position here in Crookston due to his prior experience as the City Administrator in Madison Lake. He was also on the board of the Minnesota Association of Small Cities. Shoobridge said Madison Lake and Crookston are similar, “My experience really spoke because Crookston is my previous city on a slightly larger scale.”
He also mentions how he likes Crookston’s overall feel. “Every single person I met when I came into town yesterday, and I walked downtown, I walked into the shops just looking around, and everyone is so welcoming and friendly,” said Shoobridge. “It really kind of embodies the Minnesota nice it really does.”
Shoobridge’s biggest goal in Crookston is to build a staff succession plan. This succession plan would allow community services to run smoothly during transitionary periods.
The other two candidates for the position were Pat Oman and Mark Vahlsing.
