Coralville mayor phasing into retirement from University of Iowa

About one month ago, Coralville Mayor John Lundell reduced his hours working at the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center by half.

At the end of the year, Lundell, who was elected as mayor in 2013 after 10 years on the Coralville City Council, will retire completely, with hopes of focusing more on his family, hobbies and duties as mayor.

'I realized that I completely underestimated the amount of additional time being mayor requires in comparison to being a city councilor,” Lundell said. 'Being on the city council certainly takes time ... but it ramps up quite a bit as mayor.”

Lundell, 59, said being mayor involves not only the traditional events like ribbon cuttings, ceremonies and meetings with state agencies, but also his plan to spend additional time with area residents, business owners and developers.

'One of my goals, that I made when I took over the office as mayor, was to go around and just schedule meetings with the major employers,” Lundell said. 'I just think it's important that they understand that the city appreciates them doing business in our city and serving our residents and providing jobs.”

Former Coralville mayor Jim Fausett, who served as mayor for 18 years, can attest to just how much time it takes to be an active mayor.

'It takes a lot more time as mayor than it ever did as a council member,” he said. 'I think John has realized that as well.”

Fausett himself was elected mayor - after 18 years on the council - in 1996, and the next year he retired from the UI.

In 2013, when Fausett was reaching the conclusion that he would not run for another term, he asked Lundell if he would run for mayor. Fausett said it was important to have a qualified and involved mayor.

'I thought it was really important that he did make time and he put the position as mayor right up front and not slighted,” Fausett said. 'I can't say how pleased I am of the job that John is doing.”

Saturday marked Lundell's 23rd anniversary with the UI Injury Prevention Research Center. For nearly 20 of those years, Lundell has served as deputy director.

Lundell said he didn't initially plan to retire this year, but with his role as mayor keeping him busy and a desire to get back into projects at home, which have been on hold for the last several months, the UI's option to phase into retirement provided the perfect opportunity.

'After 23 years I developed a lot of strong friendships in the field and this will give me a chance to phase out of that and finish some of the projects I'm working on,” he said.

Coralville's mayor seat will be up for vote this November. The mayor serves in two-year terms. Lundell hasn't yet officially declared his candidacy.