Longtime Robbinsdale City Manager Marcia Glick Retires

Marcia Glick has worked for the city of Robbinsdale for almost 35 years. She retired as city manager on Thursday.

So why Robbinsdale?

“I think you know where your place is,” said Glick. “To me, I’m more of a person who likes to be involved in things and working on projects.”

Glick started work for the city as a temporary employee, filling in for someone on a two-week vacation. After some encouragement, more education and a few mentors, she settled in for a career in Robbinsdale.

“Sometimes you open a door and go somewhere new and learn new things,” said Glick, who had previously been a math teacher at Benilde-St. Margaret’s. “It was really loving the city and businesses and people in the community. What a wonderful community here in Robbinsdale.”

Marcia Glick retires as Robbinsdale city manager.

Glick liked showcasing the community too. When an entrepreneur had questions or concerns about opening up downtown, Glick would take them downtown to talk to business owners. 

“We walked from business to business to talk to people,” said Glick. “It’s been fun to encourage entrepreneurs along the way. You have to believe in the dream that it’s going to work and get everybody to go in on it.”

Glick encourages residents to come to city hall and share their ideas.

“We’re really very open between city and community and wanting people to feel welcome here and have concerns addressed the best we can,” said Glick. “Robbinsdale is a place that you can call. Or you can drop by city hall, if you have a question about how things work, or an idea that you want to pursue. You can just pick up the phone, walk in and talk to us.”

For example, one of those ideas came from residents who wanted to beautify downtown.

“A couple people that identified as soccer moms went and raised donations and helped to put those flower baskets downtown and water them on the weekends,” said Glick. “You can’t do that in the big city but you can do that in a small place and that’s what I’ve really enjoyed about Robbinsdale.”

Another point of pride for Glick is the scattered site housing program that takes the ‘worst house on the block’ and turns it into the ‘best house on the block.’ Glick went back and counted and there have been more than 500 homes scattered throughout Robbinsdale that have been part of the program.

Robbinsdale