Brooklyn Park Approves Hire of New Community Development Director

The Brooklyn Park City Council approved the hire of a new community development director, Tim Gladhill, at its Aug. 19 meeting.

Gladhill comes to Brooklyn Park from Stillwater, where he served as community development director since 2021.

He replaces Kim Berggren, who left in May to take the community development director job with the city of Bloomington.

Gladhill, who grew up in nearby Coon Rapids, said he always admired Brooklyn Park’s development potential.

“I’m really excited to take a really creative vision that you all have for Brooklyn Park and go out and make that vision a reality,” said Gladhill.

The Brooklyn Park City Council unanimously approved the hire. The position was approved for an annual salary of $165,000 effective Sept. 3.

Strategies for Future Growth

City leaders selected Gladhill out of roughly 40 applicants, which was narrowed down to nine and then two finalists, said Brooklyn Park City Manager Jay Stroebel.

Stroebel pointed out Gladhill’s experience as the former president of the American Planning Association (from 2016 to 2019) and his time serving on the board of directors for the National American Planning Association (2022 through 2023).

“It has provided an opportunity for Mr. Gladhill to see not only some of the best practices throughout the state of Minnesota, but also nationally, and so we think that will be great to bring here to Brooklyn Park,” said Stroebel.

In answering questions from the city council, Gladhill emphasized a proactive approach in development by “not just settling for what comes to us, but actually getting out to site selectors, real estate brokers and find those tools to bring that big, bold vision to success here in the city of Brooklyn Park.”

Gladhill also stressed the importance of taking care of what already exists in the city.

“We’ve got to take care of what is here today as well,” he said. “So really taking some time to make sure we’re not leaving the existing community behind as we look at some of our future growth strategies.”

Brooklyn Park