Published: January 24, 2007 11:24 am            

Welcome to Clinton, Mr. Boden

Dear Gary W. Boden,

Welcome to Clinton. We’re sure you’re excited to be hired as the new city administrator and, although you don’t officially start work until Feb. 12, assume you’re anxious to hit the ground running.

A look at the Web site of your current employer, the Milwaukee office of Springsted Inc., gives us an idea about your background working for “one of the largest and most established independent financial advisory firms in the United States.”

You worked for a company that has for more than “50 years … been providing financial advisory services to cities, counties, school districts, higher education authorities, colleges and universities, housing and economic development authorities, non-profit organizations and other public entities.”

We’re sure you know, then, that Clinton is not in the world’s best financial condition. Oh, it could be worse — far worse. But it also could be better, and acknowledging room for improvement is the first step in the right direction.

It will be a challenge for you in your new job to balance the concerns of the pencil pushers with those who have big dreams for a new police station and library, a new Lyons fire station and improvements to the Chancy station. Then there’s the matter of finishing up the Vision Iowa projects and starting on the Great Places efforts. The Liberty Square redevelopment is in its toddler stage, and the 19th Avenue North extension is in its infancy.

Those are just a few things off the top. Your job as an administrator will entail so much more than helping see major projects through. There’s the day-to-day business of running a city for one thing, keeping all of the departments and employees working cohesively. There’s navigating through City Council meetings, which can have its own frustrations and rewards. And there’s still that unsettled matter of who, if anyone, should be held accountable for the sewer billing fiasco, but it seems getting a resolution to that drama may be a pipe dream at best.

There are many things to love about Clinton, which we’re sure you noticed on your visits here. Some people say the whole tour could start and end at the Mississippi River. While the river is impressive and our access and vistas are a point of pride, there is much more to Clinton than the river.

We have a couple of beautiful parks and many smaller, serviceable ones. We have a solid school system with newer elementary facilities that are worth crowing about. We have a vibrant arts community, both in the schools and in the adult world with things like RiverChor, the Clinton Symphony Orchestra, the River Arts Center and more.

We have some beautiful buildings here — public structures like the library and county courthouse and private ones like some of our churches and homes. Of course, none have the architectural significance of the Van Allen building, designed by Louis Sullivan. It’s one of the great architectural treasures of Iowa, and it’s ours.

We have good financial institutions, grocery stores, medical facilities and many other elements of a 21st century business community. We have a new movie theater, a good amount of restaurants and some pretty decent shopping. We don’t have a mall, but we have two downtown areas, the central and Lyons business districts. They don’t boom like they used to, of course, but the people who fight for them are as passionate as any you’ll find across the country.

Yes, in many regards, Clinton is a wonderful place. No one is forcing nearly 28,000 people to live here. But, of course, it could be even more wonderful. There’s room for a lot more than 28,000, and anything that would address that concern would be welcome.

Clinton is not without its problems, and we hope that your outside perspective will help us see some of them in a new light. Not only are you new to Clinton, but you have experience with many other municipalities, which should rob you of the “but we’ve never done it that way before” mentality.

Welcome to town, Mr. Boden. We hope Clinton quickly feels like home for you and your family. We love this town, warts and all, and we’re sure you will as well.

        

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