by Dennis Dalman
If all goes as planned, St. Joseph will very likely have a multi-purpose community center sometime in 2025 – one that would include a pool, tennis courts, an exercise area, and more.
In an interview with the Newsleader, St. Joseph’s new city administrator, David Murphy, mentioned the community center as one of highlight developments in the city’s future. The center, he said, would be a partnership project between the current St. Cloud YMCA and the City of St. Joseph. A fundraising drive is now underway with the goal of raising about $20 million, half of it from private donations, the other half from other revenue sources – local, state and maybe some federal funds.
If the funds are raised by 2024, the center could be constructed on land right next to city hall. It should be open in 2025.
Another upcoming city project Murphy mentioned is the extension of water/sewer lines from the city to the area near the Interstate-94 interchange west of the city. The city council just recently approved capital funds for that project, which would open that area up for commercial development.
Murphy had applied for and was chosen to be St. Joseph’s city administrator, with a starting date of April 24. He has a wide-ranging background and several areas of experience and expertise.
He was hired to take the place of Therese Haffner, who resigned in 2022 to take the job as the community development director for Big Lake.
“I’m happy to be here,” he said. “It’s a very welcome change. It’s been a good move for me. St. Joseph is a great city and getting greater. It’s a clean and vibrant town.”
One thing he said pleases him very much is how receptive the city council members are to undertake visioning/goal-setting sessions. Such sessions allow the council and city staff to be “on the same page” and encourage everyone to take a series of steps to realize the visions and goals. A lack of that kind of forward momentum, Murphy said, often leads to plans being “put on a shelf” and more or less forgotten about.
Another thing Murphy is happy about is how well city officials in all the area cities work together, such as through their membership in the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization. Murphy has been getting to know colleagues in other cities.
“It’s very good to know them,” he said.
Murphy, 52, has 25 years of experience with city and/or county government. Before his current job, Murphy was the city administrator for East Grand Forks, Minn., which has a population of about 8,600.
Among the other jobs he’s held was an internship with the administrator of Meeker County where he worked in the assessor’s office and in the planning and zoning department. He was then hired as the city administrator in Hector. Later, he became the assessor for McLeod County, then moved to Belle Plaine to become its city administrator for about 10 years.
Murphy graduated from Mankato State University where he earned a bachelor’s degrees in law enforcement and public administration and a master’s degree in public administration.
For now, Murphy commutes to his job from his family’s summer-vacation cabin on Horseshoe Lake near Richmond. The family home in East Grand Forks is up for sale. His wife, Sherry, is a social worker for the East Grand Forks School District where she works with very young students. She plans to work one more term with the district before moving to St. Joseph. The Murphys have two children: Emma, 21; and Sean, 17, who will also remain in East Grand Forks in order for Sean to finish his senior year of school there.
