Wieland, Trunnell vy to be 'at large and in charge' on C.F. council

Oct. 28--Last of three articles on Cedar Falls City Council races.

CEDAR FALLS -- The job of an at-large City Council member "is to represent all the citizens of Cedar Falls, and that is not currently being done," Tyler Trunnell said.

The man he's challenging for that at-large council seat, three-term incumbent Dave Wieland, begs to differ.

"I have had a number of citizens who value my leadership skills and the decision process I use in representing Cedar Falls. Because of their encouragement, I have again accepted the challenge," Wieland said.

Trunnell, 35, an insurance agent, and Wieland, 74, a retired John Deere mechanical engineer, will face off in the Nov. 3 city election.

Wieland says he can help the city face a number of challenges. "The next four years are going to strain our city budget due to the large expenditures we are going to have to make," he said. Those items include downtown flood levee work, reconstruction of West First Street through most of the city and construction of an interchange at Viking Road and Iowa Highway 58.

Trunnell said there are other unmet needs. "Updating infrastructure, economic revitalization and a serious look at the staffing levels of our emergency services are my top three," he said. "We have to find a financially responsible way of updating our infrastructure. We can't let the roads get to the point that University (Avenue) is currently.

"We also need to find a way to stimulate the College Square mall area," Trunnell said. "Our city is large enough to support both the College Square Mall area as well as the new Viking Road area."

Public safety staffing is inadequate and should be the last area cut, Trunnell said.

Wieland had a different view. "Fire and police staffing is currently at a similar level to other similarly sized Iowa cities. But by the use of alternative staffing such as the paid on call, public safety officers, fire volunteers and police reserves, Cedar Falls actually has more trained police and firefighters than most similarly sized Iowa cities," he said.

Trunnell said a city reorganization implemented last year was successful -- except for the resurrection of a Public Safety Department.

"I don't feel that the cuts to the fire department achieve this," he said. "The house fire on Oct. 12 (on Seerley Boulevard) is a great example of this. With only six firefighters able to respond and (public safety officers) not arriving for 30 minutes, this was a total failure of the system we as citizens expect to protect us. "

However, Wieland said, "The council was approached by the police union to create a public safety officer position, which was greatly appreciated because the union proposal will enhance police and fire staffing in the long term at a lower cost to the taxpayer."

Wieland feels the council made the right decision on reconstructing University Avenue with several roundabout intersections.

"I realize there are adversarial views to the majority position taken by the council," Wieland said, which he respects. "Those who oppose this vote might claim there were lower-cost options or that the council did not listen to its citizens. However, my position on this issue was developed over seven years of study. I believe we chose the lowest-cost and safest road design for University Avenue."

He noted the city is working adjacent property owners to mitigate potential negative impacts.

Trunnell's issue with the University decision is the process. "This issue is less about roundabouts and more about communication and representing the people," he said. "The perception is that the current council already had their minds made up and wouldn't listen to its citizens' requests to reconsider. I know that you can't take a poll regarding every council vote, but I think in situations like this it makes sense to take a poll to ensure the will of the people is done," especially when a federal grant to fund a major portion of the project is not yet guaranteed.

The city should proceed with business development incentives "on a case by case basis," Trunnell said. "We need to make sure we are doing the numbers for each situation before we make a decision. We have to analyze it from a cost-to-benefit standpoint," He suggested fiscal responsibility also is an incentive. " I don't think it will have a good effect on the city if we drive business and jobs out of the city in an effort to increase tax revenue."

Development incentives such as tax abatements and tax increment financing are necessary and productive tools, Wieland said.

"The war to attract new businesses to Cedar Falls never ends," he said. The city uses those tools "very conservatively," seldom granting abatements longer than five years. Wieland said outstanding industrial park TIF obligations could be paid off in a little more than a year.

"At the same time there is currently $1 million being released annually from the industrial park TIF district to the city, schools and county to pay for operations expenses," Wieland said. "Over the last approximately 20 years, our southern industrial park is yielding an estimated 20 percent internal rate of return. All it took was a little patience for the TIF funds to build."

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