Mark Statz, city administrator/engineer of Centerville, has been tapped to be city administrator of Forest Lake.

Statz, 48, will start his new job on Feb. 18.

Mark Statz (Courtesy of Mark Statz)

Statz has been city administrator and engineer in Centerville since 2017. Prior to that, he worked in private practice at Stantec for almost 20 years, providing engineering services for cities and towns throughout Minnesota, including Centerville.

“I feel like my skill set will lend itself well to a growing community like Forest Lake,” he said. “I’m excited to get to know Forest Lake and the people and discover what’s important to them.”

Statz, who lives in Lakeland, estimates he has been to more than 800 city council meetings throughout his career.

“When I first decided to throw my name in the hat for the position in Centerville, I wondered if I could do the job,” he said. “And then I thought, ‘Well, I’ve seen it done 600 times, I probably could do it myself.’ That gave me the confidence to know that I could be a competent administrator.”

Members of the Forest Lake City Council interviewed Statz on Wednesday night and then voted unanimously to offer him the position, said Mayor-elect Blake Roberts.

Throughout the recruitment and interview process, Statz demonstrated a calm, professional, thoughtful demeanor, he said, adding that Statz has a reputation for strong technical knowledge and creative problem-solving skills.

“I believe Mark is an excellent choice based on all his experience in both the private and public sector,” Roberts said. “I am looking forward and very excited to have the opportunity to work with Mark and the next city council to continue to move Forest Lake forward.”

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Forest Lake has been searching for a new city administrator for almost a year. The Forest Lake City Council in January decided to part ways with then-City Administrator Patrick Casey, who had served in the city’s top post since 2018. The council interviewed eight candidates during two different search sessions before deciding to interview Statz on Wednesday.

Statz said he had applied for the city administrator job earlier this year and had been asked to be a finalist, but declined at that time.

Statz graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1999 with a bachelor’s of science degree in civil engineering.

Statz and his wife, Angela, have three children.