[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6487842,"mediaKeyId","5529224-228a5f36765a005b7e86537e666f2330","parentId",5529224,"title","Mayor outlines government forms and seeks council consensus to begin city administrator search","audioSeconds",4088,"startMs",1245000,"endMs",5333000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5529224-228a5f36765a005b7e86537e666f2330&start=1245&end=5333","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5529224-228a5f36765a005b7e86537e666f2330/thumbnail_1245000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6487842/Cedar-Falls/Black-Hawk-County/Iowa/Mayor-outlines-government-forms-and-seeks-council-consensus-to-begin-city-administrator-search","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6487842-221dd5ab38aabf97b5351145322a611f/orig.mp4?Expires=1774808662&Signature=lbe3OxCsy2~zkdxvP9GA-lP0oYRHM8AFUMp7gFNICAme5FTEHKNojYuJbXarbum9hzHnjgXPZ22Hd5BYAZZ6dYeaf5NvIbiR-g3DI8~tCEp8QLpVqel4SHehNmw6jWcBzNJvvx5U1HPD6GOcsWNI7xkJdnh2AElQgyXTfBKnbCbf7vpGo8ZRBOiBJxdnY12nhzrYEwroMD3ZH8hCHnZe-JQkEW~kHHMigZu712Rdnhx0oJsP9hVvmCPq~ztbk66G7l2mpJjT1WKl2B0u3OAqn2msqUFec-zlYsH11C63ij7LnF2gQk9KBwdtSEDto0eIQN~B6NRffvM3Zn8PAn0ytg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Cedar Falls","date","2025-08-05T00:02:40.883Z","article","Mayor Danny Loddick told the Cedar Falls committee of the whole on Aug. 4 that he wants the council to clarify the city’s ordinances and begin a hiring process for a new chief administrative officer while preserving a later, broader charter-review process for larger structural questions.

Loddick presented the distinctions among mayor–council (the city’s current form), council–manager (at-large or ward versions) and Home Rule charter options, and recommended three near-term steps: amend the code to clarify delegation of executive duties to the city administrator, begin a full executive search for a new city administrator and, after that hire is settled, convene a charter review commission to study more substantive structural changes such as mayoral pay and term length.

“I do not think we necessarily need to change our form of government, but it is good practice to review our city charter regularly,” Loddick said. He asked the council for consensus to direct staff to begin work on ordinance clarifications and to start preparatory work for a more intensive recruiting process for the administrator role.

Council discussion split along several lines. Several councilors said they opposed making the mayor a voting member of the council, arguing that the current separation — a nonvoting mayor who sets agendas and a council responsible for votes — provides an independent check on executive influence. Councilor comments emphasized that ordinance language could clarify roles without changing the form of government.

Public commenters urged different approaches. Gabe Grodhouse, a resident who identified himself during public comment, said he wanted an explicit timeline and a public recommendation to reduce the mayor’s salary, calling the current compensation “too much.” Josh Wilson, a petition organizer in the audience, said the petitioners want a public vote on a form-change referendum and asked that citizens be allowed to decide at the ballot box. James McCullough urged caution on shifting to a council–manager ward form, citing concerns about redistricting and the experience of other cities.

Loddick and staff said the city typically takes roughly six months to complete an executive search and that preparatory work could start immediately — developing qualifications, hiring a recruitment firm and drafting job materials — with interviews and final selection likely to come after the November election to avoid confusion during campaign season. Loddick said some preparatory hiring work would still be useful to conduct now and that the council would return to formal votes on items such as hiring a recruitment firm, ordinance changes or establishing a charter-review commission.

Residents and councilors also questioned relative salaries and organizational comparisons cited in Loddick’s slide deck. Loddick acknowledged salary comparisons can be difficult to make ‘‘apples to apples’’ because cities structure senior staff differently; he suggested a charter review process would be the appropriate mechanism to consider mayoral pay, council compensation, term lengths and whether to require regular charter review every 10 years.

At the end of the meeting Loddick asked for consensus to move forward with the three-step plan; no formal recorded vote was taken. He told the council he would proceed unless a majority objected and scheduled the regular city council meeting to follow the committee session.

No ordinance changes or hires were approved at the Aug. 4 meeting; Loddick said any specific contracts, hiring firm engagements or ordinance amendments would be returned to council for formal action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Cedar Falls Committee of the Whole: August 4, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Mayor Danny Loddick told the Cedar Falls committee of the whole on Aug. 4 that he wants the council to clarify the city’s ordinances and begin a hiring process for a new chief administrative officer while preserving a later, broader charter-review process for larger structural questions.","taxTitle","Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County, Iowa","taxId",51799,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6487848,"Preservation commission finds hundreds of potentially historic properties in Overman Park area",449,303000,752000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5529224-228a5f36765a005b7e86537e666f2330&start=303&end=752","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5529224-228a5f36765a005b7e86537e666f2330/thumbnail_303000.jpg","/articles/6487848/Cedar-Falls/Black-Hawk-County/Iowa/Preservation-commission-finds-hundreds-of-potentially-historic-properties-in-Overman-Park-area","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6487848-6445df38305c8f31dd54a0d6b8eb9302/orig.mp4?Expires=1774808662&Signature=YwGjnn4Y~FiyFBhodP~wa03jrntbBl1Cc2MHziRKMiJgI5wUNMMJtdQ0VWJZtFCUFAvCywA3UMosfd-vRNqLfZhhCv3IhUO~oKyK6JaG1WxU~j4xapcAwuO2RROHt7Fd8QTJ8XPVLIhq-9VjFZqGBb9VzTDCrwopqqEF7FTF4QDcwHlPmDQZRdYS1bBdcG0d3JcK3V6f08SUnhy0xaGfIb8b9SyGNSIWBKGTnHiwP8z-HN75-LjAgeHD4Tt42e86xQzaAA9gx8n6rgy4KAC8XwMb0zWJgpJMKM~1wKeq8ALXAveXk0lx0TgoM~ik-5Zzk4rY2WEgoZdGkpiLJla-Rw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Cedar Falls Historic Preservation Commission reported that a reconnaissance survey of neighborhoods around Overman Park identified 467 properties in the study area, including 283 the commission found potentially significant for the National Register of Historic Places.

“Our goal was to identify properties eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and identify any potential historic districts,” said Sally Claystemmer, chair of the Cedar Falls Historic Preservation Commission, during the committee of the whole meeting on Aug. 4. The commission conducted a reconnaissance-level survey from the street, documenting architectural materials and styles and photographing properties from public rights of way.

The reconnaissance-level work — a preliminary, exterior-only survey intended to cover a larger area than an intensive survey — found 184 properties that did not appear eligible individually or as part of a district, Claystemmer said. Three properties appear individually eligible for the National Register outside any district, and an additional 13 properties were identified as individually eligible or potentially so for inclusion within proposed districts.

Urbana Preservation and Planning analyzed the collected data and recommended dividing the surveyed area into two potential historic districts: an Overman Park Historic District and a Lawn City Historic District. The Overman Park candidate area (roughly First Street to Eighth Street, Clay to Main) contains 236 properties, of which the commission listed 126 as potential contributors and 110 as noncontributors; Lawn City (roughly Eighth to Twelfth, Main to Walnut) contains 221 properties, with 147 potential contributors and 74 noncontributors, Claystemmer said.

The commission said the reconnaissance survey flagged 27 Lawn City properties and several other houses that may be individually eligible but would require additional, intensive-level documentation to confirm. Claystemmer said intensive-level work would include more detailed archival research and interior documentation when necessary.

Owners of properties flagged as individually eligible may pursue individual National Register nominations, Claystemmer said. The commission would assist owners who wish to proceed and would work with the State Historic Preservation Office for formal review. She said the commission would also consider applying for another Certified Local Government (CLG) grant to fund intensive survey work and nominations.

Claystemmer said results of the reconnaissance survey have been added to the city’s GIS so residents can view parcel-level findings, build dates and the survey descriptions online. The commission also discussed adjusting the project boundary eastward to Olive Street to include additional architecturally similar properties and possibly expanding the Overman Park district to wrap into previously surveyed downtown areas.

Commissioners and council members asked how district listing would affect property owners. Claystemmer said the primary regulatory effect comes only when owners apply for state or federal historic-preservation tax credits; she described those credits as previously available to single-family homeowners but changed recently at the state level to limit eligibility to income-producing properties. Claystemmer said historically credits had covered roughly 20–25% of qualified work but cautioned the commission did not have current statewide rates at hand. She added that listing on the National Register itself would not prevent owners from making changes if they were not pursuing tax credits.

Next steps outlined by the commission include pursuing CLG grant funding for intensive-level surveys, conducting additional documentation of properties flagged for further study and building owner support for district nominations (Claystemmer noted district nominations typically require owner support from at least 50% of properties in a proposed district). The commission did not present any formal motions or votes during the meeting.

The commission thanked volunteers and a UNI intern who contributed more than 200 volunteer hours on the reconnaissance survey, which took place primarily in October. The commission said more-detailed maps and property lists are available through the city’s historic preservation web pages.","A reconnaissance survey of Cedar Falls’ Overman Park and Lawn City areas identified hundreds of properties that may qualify for the National Register of Historic Places; commissioners outlined next steps including intensive-level surveys, owner outreach and possible nomination work through the State Historic Preservation Office.","actionData","errors"]

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Mayor outlines government forms and seeks council consensus to begin city administrator search

Preservation commission finds hundreds of potentially historic properties in Overman Park area