Leading Burlingame with a smile (by Heather Murtagh, Daily Journal)
Burlingame City Manager Jim Nantell has a number of goals for the future including finding a way to fund storm drains, increasing hotel tax to create more income and to at least have a plan for a new community center in place.
Many people might reveal they have an identical twin during conversation.
Not Burlingame City Manager Jim Nantell. Nantell decided to cover his identical twin brother Bill's head in gauze prior to giving a speech during his tenure as president of the local Rotary Club. During the speech, Nantell had asked a friend to stand up and offer Nantell a clone to help with all his work then unraveled Bill.
Nantell, 60, remembered the instance with a great smile one seen often around Burlingame. Nantell is normally smiling, dimples showing, and generally talking with his hands while working quite often as a mediator for the Peninsula city where he has worked since 2000.
He's like the Energizer Bunny,? said Mayor Ann Keighran. He's just non-stop and gives dedication a whole new meaning.?
Nantell fought the idea of holding his current position until about nine years ago. Before then, it was never about leading a city, that isn't what Nantell wanted. At least he didn't think it was what he wanted. Funny enough, leading and planning cities were things Nantell always enjoyed.
Nantell was raised as one of six children in Wisconsin. As a boy, Nantell enjoyed building cities with his brother on a Ping-Pong table. Everything centered around the train, he said. Buildings were made out of paper. Matchbox cars took up the parking spots. My brother and I would walk around it. People would say, Those boys think they own this park.' And we did, because we lived across the street,? he said.
Each neighborhood had their own park. Nantell live across the street from one. The pride for their neighborhood park led Nantell and his brother, while in third grade, to organize a baseball league with younger children challenging teams from the various neighborhoods. The brother team acted as umpires. Nantell truly was a child who grew up through community-based athletic programs. As such, he grew through leadership roles within it until he was in college, working during the summer as a playground leader or overseeing the skating rink.
Before college came love. Nantell met his future wife Christine as a freshman in high school. Cupid's arrow did not strike, however, until junior year in history class. It was her quick sarcasm that catapulted their relationship to love, he said. The pair was married in 1970 their junior year in college. Today the couple lives in San Mateo and has four children Erin, Ashley, Michael and Madeline. Erin and her husband Jason have a 5-year-old little boy and a little girl on the way.
When it came time to get a degree, Nantell decided to study psychology. In that era, we all wanted to change the world,? Nantell said noting his brother decided to major in business, a decision at the time Nantell questioned. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1971, Nantell began to look at graduate programs. At his wife's suggestion, Nantell decided to study parks and recreation administration at San Francisco State University. The pair moved to San Bruno. Nantell commuted to the city for classes and worked as an office supply delivery guy in his down time. For Nantell, the experience was his first in a big city outside of his Midwestern roots. The move, which was supposed to last one year, turned into a permanent home. After earning his master's degree, Nantell began working in San Mateo at the Lakeshore Recreation Center. He slowly moved up the ranks and still remembers the children whose lives he aided.
From 1981 to 1985, Nantell worked as the superintendent of recreation and human services. He was then promoted to assistant city manager which essentially included the same responsibilities along with the library. When the city manager position became available, Nantell was honest not interested. Instead, he took the deputy city manager role in April 1990. While in that role, Nantell was given a unique opportunity to serve for more than a year as an interim fire chief beginning in 1995.
Labor negotiations with firefighters and the city did not go well leaving the solution of an agreed-upon replacement, Nantell, to lead the troops. In his role, and to Nantell's delight, firefighters wanted him to suit up and visit fires. The first occurred at 3 a.m. Nantell dressed nicely under his fire gear a decision he questioned recently. Seeing the fires firsthand allowed Nantell to better understand concerns.
In the late '90s and early 2000, Nantell realized, at the urging of former San Mateo city manager Arne Croce, that he may be ready to lead a city. When Burlingame became available, he jumped at the chance. Ironically, Nantell and his wife had called Burlingame home until six months prior to being named city manager.
The summer prior to taking the Burlingame position, Nantell attended the Harvard JFK School of Local Government. In November 2000, Nantell began in his current role.
Jim is a workaholic, an effective communicator and a people lover a great combination for a city manager. He spends every waking minute trying to figure out ways to make Burlingame serve its citizens better. We are very lucky to have him,? Councilwoman Terry Nagel said.
Keighran added, Nantell's respect for others adds a lot to his success. I think everyone respects him,? she said. You could disagree with him but there is still a likability factor.?
For Nantell, working in Burlingame meant a switch to a city which did not need to constantly make budget cuts. That quickly changed after Sept. 11. Just last week, the city approved $2.3 million in budget cuts and revenue enhancements. Thankfully, Nantell has experience in such instances. He is thankful to be working with a group of leaders who allow him to do things like put money away for invisible needs like water and drainage.
For a while now, Nantell has said he would work at least another three to five years. His statement remains in place. But if it were true this time, he has a number of goals for the future including finding a way to fund storm drains, increasing hotel tax to create more income for the city and to at least have a plan for a new community center in place.
One of the biggest mysteries around Nantell's office often comes with a cheesy twist, Wisconsin cheese of course. Although Nantell has been around the Bay Area long enough to recognized the 49ers as his hometown team, a stranger continues to anonymously drop off treats for Nantell with a Green Bay Packer twist fake cheese coasters shaped for the state of Wisconsin, a football themed Kleenex box and, of course, a cheese head hat are among the gifts.
Nantell takes the gifts with a smile, but continues to wonder about the identity of the secretive gift-giver.
– Written by Fiona