Herald photo by Bryan Zollman
Rose Ann Inderrieden, (from left) Dennis Rykken and Joe Heinen recently came out of retirement to help keep the city of Sauk Centre running until long-term solutions are in place.
by Bryan Zollman bryanl@saukherald.com
From rocking chairs to council chambers.That’s the transition Dennis Rykken, Joe Heinen and Rose Ann Inderrieden have made in the past several months.All three were enjoying retirement (not necessarily in rocking chairs) when civic duty came calling, and each is helping keep the city of Sauk Centre running smoothly until long-term solutions are in place. Rykken, 64, was enjoying retirement and working part time as a business consultant for an engineering firm the past four years when he was contacted about filling in as Mayor after Paul Theisen resigned in December.Heinen, 63, was enjoying his time gardening and caring for his hobby farm near Nimrod, Minn., when his name surfaced as a possible interim city planner for Karin Tank, who resigned earlier this year. Inderrieden, 55, had been retired for only a few months as administrator for the city of Melrose when Rykken asked her to fill in as Sauk Centre’s city administrator while Steve Bloom recovered from an illness.Now all three have found themselves back in the thick of things, elbow deep in work, although none of the three are complaining.“Isn’t it delightful,” said Rykken about having three retirees in three major positions at city hall. “Collectively there is nearly 100 years of experience between us, all from different perspectives. Not much will shake this group up.”Rykken, who worked as supervisor of social services in Blue Earth County starting in 1973 before becoming program director at the Minnesota Department of Corrections in Sauk Centre in 1986, said he enjoys the workings of city government.“As a state employee there were few opportunities to build or create a structure,” he said. “The city provides an opportunity to be part of building a structure and serves its’ citizens through policy, procedures, and services that are fair to all and encourage development within the guidelines developed.”For Heinen, city government has become second nature. He served on the Sauk Centre Park Board from 1967-1976, and was a councilman from 1979-82. In 1982 he became city coordinator before becoming city clerk in 1986 where he served four years. A former high school football official and softball umpire, Heinen has served 18 years as the treasurer of the local Rotary Club, been post commander for American legion Post 67 and served as a member of the Jaycees from 1968-1977. After Tank resigned as city planner earlier this year, the city looked to possibly hire a city planner/economic development director. The attempt didn’t turn up any strong leads. In the meantime, the city needed someone to issue building permits, answer questions for prospective developers, and correspond with the council. Heinen was the perfect fit, and despite suffering from Crohn’s Disease, which attacks the digestive system (he has had 14 feet of his small intestine removed), he saw that the city was in a bind and offered his services. A highly dedicated individual, Heinen is apt to recall off the top of his head specific ordinances from more than 20 years ago.“Joe has so much knowledge about the city and so much history that I rely on him for background information,” said Inderrieden. “He is very dedicated to the job he is doing, which certainly makes mine easier.”Inderrieden began her career at the city of Melrose in 1969 as a secretary/receptionist. She was appointed city clerk/treasurer in 1983 and when the city changed to a city administrator form of government, her title was changed to city administrator. Over the years she had developed a strong interest in city government, so when Rykken called asking for her services, she couldn’t say no.“When I retired from the City of Melrose I discussed with my husband what type of part time work I might be interested in,” Inderrieden said. “I thought about getting into municipal consulting work, so when Mayor Rykken called I saw it as an opportunity to see if it was something that I would like to continue to do.”The city has benefited from Rykken, Heinen, and Inderrieden’s services in more ways than one. Not only does it buy time in finding long-term solutions without having to make hasty decisions, it also is encouraging for the residents to know that the city is in good hands because of the wealth of experience in three of the major positions.“We all bring some specialties to the table, and that saves time when it comes to training, conducting meetings, and knowing the steps when capital improvement projects are to be undertaken.” Heinen said.Rykken said his typical workweek requires 10-12 hours per week. Heinen is in the office Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays from 9-4:30 p.m. Inderrieden was initially hired at 32 hours per week, and the city recently voted to extend her consulting contract to 40 hours through November 5. Heinen said he expects the city will hire a permanent replacement for him by December, and Rykken’s term ends in December 2006.Having been around the area for most their lives, all three had come to know each other well before they started working together. Heinen worked for the city while Rykken was on the city council, and Inderrieden has worked with Heinen in other capacities over the years. Now that they have worked together the past several months, they have come to know each other even better.Rykken said both Heinen and Inderrieden have a healthy cynicism about government and are thorough in their proceedings.“Both are fact checkers and like to be prepared before charging in,” he said. “ I expect that comes from a myriad of experience. The benefit is that it helps keep us all out of trouble, mostly.”Having served under Rykken while Rykken was council president in the late 1980s, Heinen described the current mayor as very knowledgeable. “He has a wonderful command of Roberts Rules of Order,” Heinen said. “He also is very adroit at personnel issues which is important when dealing with labor negotiations, hiring and termination of employees, to say nothing of his knowledge of the Minnesota statutes.”Heinen said Inderrieden is extremely easy to work with. “Both Dennis and Rose Ann bring years of experience to their positions,” he said. Inderrieden said her experience working with Heinen and Rykken has been great.“Both are very dedicated to the City of Sauk Centre,” she said. “I consider it an honor to have the opportunity to work with both of them.”The three retirees are spending their golden years doing more work than they planned, but it is to the benefit of the community because they have brought stability, albeit short-term, to a city government that is mired in heavy transition. Until permanent replacements are found, citizens of Sauk Centre can rest assured that there are three experienced, dedicated personnel not just holding Sauk Centre’s city government together at the seams, but leading in a way that strengthens it to its core.“All three of us share an interest in city government,” Rykken said. “We are doing it because we feel we can help.”
