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Politics & Government

Eagan Promotes Matthys to Public Works Director

The City Council approved the appointment of Matthys at Tuesday's meeting. He had been the city engineer since 1997.

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Editor’s Note: This is a press release from the City of Eagan.

The Eagan City Council Tuesday night formally hired longtime Eagan employee Russ Matthys as the City’s new Public Works Director, replacing Tom Colbert who retired last month after 34 years service.

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Matthys, 46, has been Eagan’s city engineer since 1997 and brings a wealth of experience to the job. He was recently named 2011 Engineer of the Year by the City Engineers Association of Minnesota.

“Eagan has taken hold of my heart and I’m determined to help it continue to be a place that its citizens and businesses love to call home,” said Matthys. 

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Matthys was chosen from a field of some 25 qualified applicants including three finalists. “His knowledge of our whole system, his ability to communicate with the community, his civil engineering credentials made Russ the clear choice for the City Council,” said Eagan City Administrator Tom Hedges. 

In addition to evaluating and implementing more than $8 million worth of storm system upgrades following the July 2000 Super Storm, Matthys was lead engineer for interagency road projects (Highway 149 and the County Road 30 roundabout), as well as constructing two local bridges and overseeing 143 miles worth of street improvements. Matthys also helped form and supervises an internal multi-department team that has formulated and implemented a leading storm water pollution prevention plan and he has been an active mentor in the community.

What are some of the biggest challenges ahead for Public Works? As a maturing city, some of Eagan’s infrastructure is beginning to age, in ways perhaps not readily apparent to most people. Matthys believes Public Works will need to help the City Council clearly describe the nature of those maintenance challenges to the public. 

“We will likely begin to see maintenance required in more areas, many that are underground or not as easily recognizable as the streets we drive on,” Matthys says.

The process to replace Matthys’ City Engineer position he’s vacating to become Public Works Director is just getting underway.

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