Charles City Council reviews 2024 progress and considers 2025 goals

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Council worked late into the night on Wednesday, Jan. 8, buckling down for a three-hour goal-setting workshop.

Meeting with Elizabeth Hansen of Midwest Municipal Consulting, the council took a comprehensive look at what the city achieved in 2024, what is still being worked on, and what its new goals should be for 2025.

Reviewing the ongoing projects and initiatives of 2024, the city reached its goal of completing a five-year capital improvement plan, completed several enhancements for the city’s trail system, and developed a plan for riverfront repairs. The city also developed new tax abatement programs and initiatives to encourage new housing development.

Ongoing projects include working to identify blighted property in the community, updating City Hall’s software to allow for online payments and permitting, working on several initiatives to address the housing supply, and, most recently, beginning the renovation of City Hall.

The council also removed its “Broadband Initiative” as a goal to be completed. While the city continues to support the expansion of fiber internet in Charles City as opportunities arise, such as facilitating a fiber line to the wastewater treatment plant, the council agreed that a comprehensive project was no longer a viable goal.

In a similar vein, much of the discussion of the evening centered on whether or not any particular topic should be considered a goal with a tangible result to be achieved, paring down items that are open-ended or simply part of the city’s ongoing policy.

As an example, “Continued funding of Charles City Area Development and Main Street Charles City” was removed from the list of management goals as funding those organizations is part of the city’s regular business.

“I think we’ll always support these kind of needs,” said City Administrator Steve Diers.

Likewise, items like sanitary sewer lining projects and tree replacements are expected to be continually ongoing endeavors in the long term.

“We’re going to be planting trees forever,” said Diers.

From the Main Street Paving Project to overhauling the employee handbook, to the NIACC Career Center expansion and hiring a new fire chief, the council reviewed the progress made on every level of the city over the last year.

It also examined issues and concerns to be aware of in the coming year.

Most prominently, the council expressed frustration with state legislators as unfunded mandates and restrictions on revenue collection put cities in difficult financial situations.

The ability to fund an ambulance service, the closing of two large employers, and the eventual need to replace the Main Street Bridge are also among the challenges the city expects to face in the future.

After reviewing the completed and ongoing goals of last year, the council began the process of identifying and prioritizing new goals for this year, with ideas including the repurposing of the Pure Prairie facility and hiring a dedicated communications person to mitigate social media misinformation.

The council also discussed ways to increase the available pool of community members willing to serve on the city’s various boards and commissions.

While the meeting included a substantial list of new goals, it was noted that between the numerous projects already in progress and the disruption of City Hall operations over the next year due to the renovations, 2025 may not be the best year for putting a lot of new initiatives onto the city’s plate.