Hazelwood Prepares to Say Good Bye to City Manager

The man who has run the day-to-day operations of the City of Hazelwood and helped steer the city through the good and bad times is stepping down from his post this month.

Hazelwood City Manager Ed Carlstrom will retire, effective July 26.

His career has spanned four decades, including 34 years in the City of Hazelwood, which makes him the longest tenured city manager in the state of Missouri.

The Hazelwood City Council honored Carlstrom during its July 3 City Council meeting and had the Fourth of July celebration named for him this year, the Edwin G. Carlstrom Fireworks Show.  

“It’s been a pleasant experience,” he said following the meeting. “Most don’t stay as long as I did.”  

During his more than three decade career with the city, a number of changes have occurred including the a multi-year Capital Improvement Plan, which included building a new City Hall/Police Complex, new Civic Center, Fire Station and maintenance facility, annexations and the development of St. Louis Outlet Mall, formerly St. Louis Mills Mall.

Challenges such as those are what kept Carlstrom tied to the city, he said, along with the fact that he had great councilors to work for throughout the years.

Among his 30-year career though, Carlstrom said one his most difficult times as a city manager and for the city itself was the closure of the Ford plant in the 1990s. He said it was a large responsibility to have thousands of jobs lost and needing to find a way to provide greater employment opportunities not just for North County but for the St. Louis region.  

With Carlstrom stepping down at the end of the month, the task turns to the City Council to hire the city’s next leader. The Council approved an agreement during its June 19 meeting for technical assistance in the search, but Mayor Matt Robinson said he knows the two things that are important qualities for the next city manager.

“We’re looking for someone who can work well with the city employees as Ed has and responds to residents,” he said.  

The one quality and thing he’ll miss the most about Carlstrom was simply put -- his friendship.

“I worked with him for 20 years,” Mayor Robinson said. “I don’t know what it’ll be like without him.”

Carlstrom said that when he retires, he has a number of activities that he would like to put his energy toward, such as his children, grandchildren, music and his two farms. He’s also thought of the possibility of picking up music again.

He said that he would continue to live in the area following his retirement, too.

“This will be a big change for the city,” Robinson said.