by Dennis Dalman
The “Beetle” is going to retire April 4 – 30 years to the day after he was first hired in 1994. “Beetle” is the nickname for Sartell Public Works Director John Kothenbeutel (pronounced “Cote-en-beetle).
Recently, a road near the Coborn’s Super Store was named in Kothenbeutel’s honor: Beetle Boulevard.
City employees are going to miss good ol’ Beetle deeply. A press release from city staff states the following:
“He served the people of our community with great fairness and listened to every complaint and compliment. His infectious laugh and historical knowledge of Sartell will be greatly missed by all staff, contractors and the people of Sartell. The City wants to thank John for his many years of dedication and the great strides he has made for the Public Works Department.”
In an interview with the Newsleaders, Kothenbeutel said he will miss so many people.
“I was happy working here,” he said. “It was a great place to work. Great administrators like Patti Gartland, Mary Degiovanni, Anna Gruber. And the city staff and council members were always so supportive of Public Works. And I’ll miss the ones I worked with in Public Works. They were always so dependable. Sartell staff now has new blood, lots of youthful energy. Good energy.”
He also praised an administrative worker, Jill Hollenkamp, who has been helping out with Kothenbeutel’s office tasks.
One of the “new bloods,” he noted, is the city’s current financial director, Rob Voshell, who worked for the city as a lawn-mower for its Public Works Department during his college years.
“Beetle” has always had an easy-going camaraderie with city staff and fellow workers, with wisecracks and jokes often flying back and forth.
At many a council meeting, council members – especially Mayor Ryan Fitzthum – would sometimes toss teasing-but-affectionate verbal darts at Kothenbeutel concerning the woes of his job – snowplowing, water problems, sewage issues (one of the council members once dubbed him the “official city sniffer.”). But Kothenbeutel always managed to toss darts back, using his sly, elfin, mischievous wisecracks.
Kothenbeutel started as a laborer in the city’s fledgling Public Works Department when he was just one of five employees working for the city. That was shortly after he’d earned a license from the St. Cloud Area Vocational Technical School’s Waste-Water Treatment Program. He worked up the ranks to maintenance worker, then to assistant director of Public Works in 2005, and in 2016 he was named its director at which time he appointed supervisors within the department.
When the Newsleaders asked what his job entailed, Kothenbeutel replied with his trademark rippling giggle-laugh.
“We do just about everything that happens in the city,” he said. “We oversee all the buildings, the streets, the parks, water and sewer utilities, all storm sewers, snow-plowing, the swimming pool/splash pad.”
It’s no wonder Kothenbeutel was at work and ready to go by 4:30 a.m. It was a hard, demanding job to accommodate the needs of so many people – and sometimes people’s complaints about this or that or another thing.
“A lot of nights I’d wake up and think about things,” he said.
When Kothenbeutel started his job in 1994, Sartell’s population was just slightly over 5,000. After years of steady growth and residential, commercial and public developments, it’s now home to more than 20,000 residents.
In 1994, Kothenbeutel noted, the city’s small water-treatment plant could only filter two million gallons per day. In time that plant was torn down and two new plants were eventually added, one that could handle fourmillion gallons, the other one six million gallons. There is a need for more water storage capacity, he added. The city has three water towers. A new one is planned for 2025.
There are about 120 miles of streets/roads in Sartell and about 110 culs de sac, which makes snow plowing a special challenge.
What many residents do not know about the Public Works Department is that its workers take pride in ownership, with a lot of in-house projects that include making garbage cans and park benches in the shop in the winter time.
“We have a real talented staff,” he said. “Eighteen full-time, and another eight to 10 part-timers in the summer.”
Early life
Kothenbeutel, who is now 59, was born and raised in Rochester. He came to the St. Cloud area to attend St. Cloud State University but then switched to studying at St. Cloud Area Vocational College.
When hired by Sartell, he and his family lived just outside the city, in Sauk Rapids Township. He and LeeAnn have two children – Nikki Gulden, who farms with her husband in Lastrup and who is a speech therapist in the Pierz school system; and Travis, who lives in Omaha, Neb. and is the regional manager of the Rocket Car Wash Change. Travis will get married next fall. The Kothenbeutels have one grandchild and one “on the way.”
When he retires, he and LeAnn will live in a house they had built in Onamia after selling the house they’d called home for so many years in Sauk Rapids Township. The new house, near Mille Lacs Lake, was constructed on family-owned property. In recent months, Kothenbeutel has been commuting from Onamia to Sartell.
During his retirement, Kothenbeutel will have plenty of time for his outdoor pursuits – hunting and fishing with his wife, spending time with children and grandchildren, and last but not least – gardening.
LeAnn plants a huge garden every spring. Last year, they canned 900 quarts of garden produce: pickles, pasta sauces, tomato juice, Bloody Mary mix, jalapeno peppers and much more.
“My wife always says if we can’t eat it, I won’t plant it,” said Kothenbeutel, laughing.
Another passion of his is hockey, a sport he played in high school in Rochester. That sport is a passion shared by his daughter and son, who played it in college. During what he called “the hell winter” (2013-14), Kothenbeutel spent that winter serving as a hockey coach for Sauk Rapids-Rice High School, all the while also working at his Sartell job.
When their kids were hockey players, John and LeAnn never missed a game. When son Travis played three years of junior hockey in Austin, Minn., the Kothenbeutels never missed a game and drove down to see every one of the 186 games Travis played.
“We never missed a game,” he said, his laughter rippling. “Nope, not a one of ‘em.”
Sartell Public Works Director John Kothenbeutel
