Mayoring a small city: Sharon Zelazny

To be a can-do attitude and solid people skills. Cromwell’s Mayor, Sharon Zelazny, has risen to the challenge, and she loves her job and her staff.

Sharon and her husband Bill built a house on Cromwell Lake as their retirement dream home. In the fall of 2016 she made a last-minute decision to run for Cromwell mayor. Her husband and then city clerk LuAnn Freiermuth encouraged her. She won handily, and two years later was enthusiastically re-elected.

Cromwell, with a small spatial footprint, is a challenging city. Its main street is Highway 210, with trucks barreling towards the lone stop sign, often defying the 30-mile-per-hour posting. It serves an extensive portion of northwestern Carlton County, both organized and unorganized townships. Its largest employers are the Cromwell-Wright School — which brings students, teachers and families to town for nine months of the year — and the Cardinal Court and Villa Vista assisted living and nursing care facility. Despite the affinities of many, few people live within the city limits, vote in its elections, or pay city taxes.

In an interview, I asked Zelazny why she decided to run. “It was a last-minute decision. The community was very welcoming to us when we moved here in 2011,” she said.

Neighbors encouraged her.

“It’s probably some of the most important work I’ve done in my life,” she said. “Not always good or fun or wonderful, but very rewarding.”

Zelazny brings considerable administrative and governance experience to the job. She worked as the administrative assistant for the Floodwood school district. After retirement, she served on and chaired Floodwood’s school board. These roles exposed her to everything from hiring to coping with controversy.

“None of the tasks in this office intimidate me,” she said. “I faced a steep learning curve the first year. I went to meetings in the surrounding cities: Meadowlands, Floodwood, Wright.”

As mayor, she’s present at many local meetings: Young Oldtimers (YOT), Cromwell-Wright Fire and Ambulance Joint Powers, Cromwell Area Community Club, Big Sandy Area Lakes Watershed Management Project.

Despite the small size of the city and her formal duties, Zelazny confirms that “it’s impossible to not also serve the wide-ranging community.” Cromwell provides public spaces and services for more than a thousand people living in the northwestern corner of the county. “We have a big park, a community center, a public beach, a baseball field, a small park next to Northview Bank and another by the medical clinic,” she points out. All are maintained on the backs of, and taxes paid by, a population of 234 and the businesses in the city limits.

Mayor Zelazny loves her staff. She works with four elected city council members and a staff of three: city clerk/treasurer Nikkie (Nicole) Johnson, maintenance manager Tom Johnson, and Krysta Konieska, manager of the city-owned municipal liquor store. She praises all of them, and her elected city council members: Ray Lally, Artie Vigness, Phil Lippo and Josh King-Hage. “They are willing to help with whatever is needed. We’ve accomplished a lot.”

Zelazny’s top priority is to improve the quality of life in Cromwell.

“We’ve raised enough grant money for a new emergency siren alert system which will be installed this spring,” she said. “I’m excited about the redo of Highway 210, which will update our sidewalks and lighting and improve our storm sewer system. Simultaneously, the city will be redoing adjacent alleys.”

By partnering with the school, she’s hopeful they can install a walkway from the intersection of Highways 210 and 73 to the Villa Vista-Cardinal Court complex. The mayor is confident that these upgrades will give Cromwell more of a downtown feel, encouraging trucks and motorists to slow down.

As mayor, Zelazny actively courts community organizations as partners. For instance, she’s teaming up with the Cromwell Community Club, Riverside Saddle Club, and the Kaleb Anderson Run and Memorial Playground to raise grant funds for the park.

Her biggest challenge? Money.

“Our annual property tax receipts are just over $100,000. Grants are the only way to bridge the gap,” she said. “Our water and sewer system sustains itself. But for improvements, like our drainage problems, we need more.” She finds the county government accessible and helpful, especially the economic development team — Connie Christianson and Brenda Nyberg — and Auditor Paul Gassert.

Because of her work in a K-12 school, Mayor Zelazny has a strong commitment to public education.

“Having a lake in the city limits brings with it the responsibility to educate our kids about the importance of good water stewardship,” she said. She partnered with the school and the Big Sandy Watershed management project to present a program to fourth-graders.

Mayor Zelazny hopes to improve community appreciation for public service, elected leadership roles, and local government jobs. She developed a session for third-graders with city clerk Johnson and maintenance manager Johnson explaining the work of the city and the kinds of skills needed. She will be presenting to the ninth-grade civics class as well. The mayor hopes to make these annual presentations.

Cromwell’s Mayor Zelazny demonstrates what just one woman can do, working with others, to pilot a small city through its financial, environmental and community service challenges.

Ann Markusen is an economist and professor emerita at University of Minnesota. A Pine Knot board member, she lives in Red Clover Township north of Cromwell with her husband Rod Walli.