Spring Grove eliminated the position of city administrator in January 2013 and briefly had an administrator for four months at the end of 2018 and the first two months of 2019. The city took action to hire Fillmore County resident, Julie Amundson on February 18.
Spring Grove’s new city clerk/administrator started on April 13 after two false starts due to COVID-19.
Julie Amundson was scheduled to start her new job after she returned from an out-of-state trip, which occurred at the same time as the start of COVID-19. At the request of Spring Grove Mayor Sarah Schroeder, Amundson self-quarantined for 14 days. Then it was the mandatory shelter-in-place mandate issued on Wednesday, March 25, by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz that kept her home for another two weeks.
“Starting a new job during the pandemic proved to be more like a soft start as it gave me time to get my feet wet before jumping in,” mentioned Amundson.
Amundson is very familiar with Spring Grove and the surrounding area, as she and her husband Richard own and operate a farm in Wilmington Township.
The Amundsons have two grown children and are blessed with five grandchildren.
Amundson graduated from La Crescent High School. She continued her education at Western Technical College, La Crosse, Wis., earning an Associate’s Degree in Accounting.
Her impressive resume will serve Spring Grove well. Amundson served over 25 years on the Wilmington Township Board as treasurer and then held the combined office of clerk/treasurer.
Amundson spent 10 years at CenturyLink in La Crosse, Wis. During her tenure at CenturyLink, she worked her way up to floor incharge, which is equivalent to a floor supervisor. She was responsible for monitoring and assisting 20 to 30 people throughout 10-hour shifts.
Amundson explained that “Any call at CenturyLink that was an emergency, irate caller or needed to be escalated were transferred to the incharge to handle. Those calls could be anything from a natural disaster, domestic abuse, or life and death situations.” Amundson went on to emphasize that “every day was something new.”
As the environmental service clerk for the Environmental Services Department for Houston County, Amundson was responsible for all clerical work. After being promoted to solid waste coordinator, she managed five drop-off sites, worked with the recycling center leads, and scheduled drop site supervisors. A major responsibility was overseeing budgeting. She also coordinated collections of fluorescent light bulbs, and hazardous waste materials and arranging the transportation of tires, electronic waste, and cardboard for recycling.
Throughout her career, Amundson has worked with budgets, communicated with a variety of people, and collaborated with vendors and other local units of government and state agencies.
After an unusual start, Amundson plans to spend her first 90 days on the job familiarizing herself with interdepartmental relationships while gaining an understanding of the organizational structure of City Hall. Amundson shared, “I am looking forward to learning what projects are in place, what projects are coming down the line, and what projects are still in the planning stages.”
As clerk/administrator for Spring Grove, Amundson is responsible for overseeing the administration of all city departments and the municipal liquor store.
Amundson immediately became a familiar face around town as she is a regular attendee at city and community meetings. She is responsible for providing support to the city council and various advisory boards as well as a participant in economic development meetings, planning/zoning activities, and other community meetings.
Through it has been a soft opening, Amundson shared that “COVID-19 has made it more challenging and increased the stress for everyone involved. Between social distancing, working from home, rotating office hours, the lines of communication are even more important. Everyone has been very understanding and doing their best in working with me and answering countless questions.”
If you see Amundson at a meeting or walking around town, take the time to stop and introduce yourself or pick up the phone and give her a call to say hi. Amundson can be reached by email at julie.cityofsg@springgrove.coop. Her office number is (507) 498-5221.
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