Shoreview’s public works director retires after 29 years

Shoreview’s public works director Mark Maloney on one of his Christian Mission trips from previous years.

Mark Maloney made an everlasting impact on the Shoreview community in his role as the city’s public works director.

But after 29 years at the helm Maloney officially retired at the end of July.

Maloney says his decision to retire was because the time was right and there was someone capable on the team to step up and take his position.

Maloney says Shoreview is a special place and “there isn’t another city I would have ever wanted to work for. That’s why I was here for 29 years.”

“I feel like I’m kind of going out on top. I don’t think it could get any better for me. It feels like I had a fairytale career here,” Maloney said.

But it did not start out that way.

In 1994 he quit his job at the city where he was working because it wasn’t going in the direction he had hoped. He saw an opening to work for Shoreview and joined the city works department.

Maloney said working for the city of Shoreview lined up perfectly with the way he wanted to do his job.

When Maloney arrived, the department did not work together because it was separated in two buildings. Twenty employees worked in the maintenance building while the 10 worked across the street in Shoreview’s City Hall.

Maloney said it was a lot of work at first. The separation of buildings created “very different work cultures” and his priority was the department working together.

Maloney says the city “is now in a much better place as far as having that whole group of people all feeling like they are on the same team.”

His work went beyond forming a cohesive team and beyond the boundaries of Shoreview.

The city encouraged him to gain outside knowledge and use it to help the city improve.

Maloney became involved in the City Engineers Association and the American Public Works Association. He served as the Minnesota chapter president of the American Public Works Association in 2011.

“I joined these organizations assuming it would bring value to Shoreview at some point,” Maloney said.

And it did.

Maloney was always interested in research and how research can help in everyday life. Maloney was specifically interested in research and institutions specializing in transportation.

These research tools and the knowledge acquired from working in affiliated organizations helped Maloney and Shoreview. Examples include the public works team decisions on green infrastructure and permeable pavement.

Maloney says his biggest accomplishment working for the city wasn’t the multiple awards and recognitions the city received on his behalf. Rather it was “getting our department to work together.”

Maloney recently received from the Shoreview city council a proclamation award listing his extensive awards the city received because of his work and his individual awards.

Maloney’s honors and recognitions includes president of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Public Works Association, the Hugo G. Erickson Award, the Gerald J. Rohrbach distinguished service award, the Minnesota Local Road Research Board service award, Ray L. Lappegaard distinguished service award and the City Engineer’s Association of Minnesota Engineer of the year award.

Maloney was instrumental in the city receiving national and state awards for excellence in concrete pavement, an award for research partnerships, and acknowledgment as a step five GreenStep city.

Besides spending more time with family and his hobbies, Maloney plans to travel.

He has plans for several Christian mission trips and this fall Maloney leads a group to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees. Next year Maloney and other church leaders will go on a mission trip to Ethiopia.

Maloney also plans to spend more time on his hobbies of beekeeping, gardening and taking care of the pollinator habitats around his property.

Maloney, reflecting on his Shoreview career, says it was “such a privilege to be with your friends every day, share lives, and work on things together. I’ll miss that.”

He wishes his team the best and for long-term careers in Shoreview or elsewhere.

Despite the multitude of awards and recognition he received, Maloney says he “didn’t get into this business to get credit. “I got in this business to serve.”

Pride isn’t the right word to describe what Maloney feels in what he accomplished. He says it is happiness.

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