Cedar Rapids honors 5 outgoing City Council members

CEDAR RAPIDS - City officials paid tribute Tuesday to five outgoing members of the Cedar Rapids City Council before their final meeting.

When the council meets next on Jan. 2, only four of its nine members return. Voters this fall chose five new members, including Mayor-elect Brad Hart.

In his outgoing remarks, Mayor Ron Corbett - who didn't seek re-election as he's running for governor - toasted the city with a glass of water.

'Our best days are ahead,” he said.

It was the same toast Corbett made in his first Condition of the City address while the city was still deep in recovery from the 2008 flood.

Kris Gulick, Ralph Russell, Justin Shields and Pat Shey also are cycling off the council as their terms expire.

The change marks a major transition not only because of the number of members turning over, but it also leaves no members who were on board during the flood and none who were part of the first council after the city changed from a commission form of government to one with an elected council and an appointed manager.

City Manager Jeff Pomeranz credited Gulick, a certified public accountant first elected in 2005, for his detailed questions that spurred a deeper look and justification of city decisions.

Shields, a retired 40-year Quaker Oats worker first elected in 2005, devoted considerable time to his role, often remaining at City Hall well past 5 p.m. on a Friday when city staff had left, Pomeranz said.

Russell, who was elected in 2013, brought a strong professional background and reputation, having led Howard R. Green, a design engineering firm, as president and chief executive officer, he said.

Shey, a lawyer who was elected in 2009, provided excellent advice and thoughtful, levelheaded review of decisions before the city, Pomeranz said.

Dale Todd, Ashley Vanorny, Tyler Olson, Marty Hoeger and Hart take office next month.