Well, were nearing the end of the first year for me as a Council Rep. Wow! I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this, and I continue to be thankful for the opportunity. I continue to try and learn as much as I can about the inner workings of the City, how to work with other Council members, and how to keep a balance that both keeps me in check with constituents, and keeps me in check with Staff. It is a challenge at times, from honoring the tribe of the players on the Council and Staff, to honoring our citizenry with both their requests and opinions about the City should move forward. I feel fortunate to be able to step back and see both sides of situations. I may not always see everything at first, but I am glad I was given this ability. Ive said it numerous times this year nothing is black and white; there is a whole lot of gray. In all seriousness, I think it remains my lesson for the year. No matter what I think, there are fourteen other perspectives to consider. And they all matter. A couple things...although I havent always agreed with City Staff, one thing I do know is that they love to do their jobs, and they do them well. They havent come out and said it, but you can see it in the thoroughness of their work and the amount of information that is processed daily without mistakes. They are not perfect, but after watching them intensely for one year - they DO strive to make this City something great. They do it day in and day out. I am fortunate to work with these types of people - they make me strive to do better at my role in working with them. That said - my job is to question them. To make sure their tasks of running an efficient, open government that keeps taxes low - still fall in line with both my beliefs and yours. We continually are challenged about the openness of our City government, and the transparency of what is happening behind the scenes. I think it necessary, both for Staff and Council to have this challenge. At the same time, there has never been more access to information than there is now. Whether online, in printed form, on TV, by email, by phone - I am comfortable with how we work to get info to our Citizens. At the same time, there is an INCREDIBLE amount of info that needs to be processed every week in the running of a city. Each of us, as Council members, get a 200-400 page Council packet on Friday before the Council meeting, and are charged with going through it - line item by line item - to make sure that we agree with all the happenings that Staff has moved along. My task being to allow time to make my way through the packet - trying to see it through both my eyes - and yours. I will continue to get better at making sure I question things on camera - so those of you at home can better understand the decisions that are being made and the background behind them. Last night - we worked in Committee on the Levee improvements that are approaching next year. They are an expensive safeguard for one of our most important areas in Ward 1, Downtown Cedar Falls; but at the same time, by these actions we are building a wall that squashes another neighborhood of our City when it floods. (An obvious conundrum for a guy that lives on the low side of the levee, but needs to represent both sides of the river. I love the challenge.) Through buyouts and Staff foresight, the City has done a good job limiting damages when it floods, but this has also limited the opportunities for growth in northern Cedar Falls. I mentioned last night that I do understand the need for the levee work, but I hope that we do not forget the neighborhood on the other side. There are limitations to what can happen in northern Cedar Falls for flood improvements/safeguards, but that should not limit our quest to make each and every neighborhood in Cedar Falls functional and unique - no matter the cause or circumstances it faces. I, personally, am not satisfied with the there is nothing we can do in northern Cedar Falls mentality. There is always something that can be done. And we can always do better. We just need to gumption to make it a priority. In our Goal Setting sessions in November, a majority of the Council voted to support improvements in northern Cedar Falls (tied with 2 other projects for 2nd place in new initiatives). This is a great step and I am anxious to see how Staff moves this along in the coming year. I am proud that we have done this. There is background and history to this - it is not merely me fighting for MY neighborhood, it is fighting for a neighborhood in Ward 1 that has a unique history and just as much value as any other part of the City. I am not trying to minimize any other portion of Ward 1, because this is a great Ward to represent. But when money dominates the discussion in so many cases, it is easy to vote for the big revenue generating parts of the City to see improvements; and not so easy to vote for the neighborhood over there. These are tax paying residents/business owners just like anywhere else. Our Citizens are Our Business right? This should apply to residents and our commercial businesses in every neighborhood of this city. Props to my fellow Council Reps who saw the importance during Goal Setting. Thanks to each of you for your support throughout this year. I will continue to try to get more timely info out and to create a more open line of communication. I will start an email list in 2015, so please get me your email addresses if youd like to be a part of the conversation in that forum as well. University Ave and decriminalization of marijuana will dominate the conversations in January from what I see coming. Well kick the year off with some good topics. Council and Committee meeting videos are attached. Happy Holidays!! Council Meeting agenda.cedarfalls/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=334&doctype=AGENDA Committee Meeting agenda.cedarfalls/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=336&doctype=AGENDA
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 15:19:06 +0000
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