District 4: Steven Rhodes

As a landlord with four flooded properties, I have had more involvement in the process of flood recovery than I would have preferred to experience. Any of my comments are tempered by my deep gratitude to my fellow taxpayers and neighbors who gave of their time and money that was provided by the local-option sales tax funds. I seek the opportunity to be a member of the City Council so that I may repay the generosity of my fellow residents by helping to form a more efficient and focused city government.

The flood of 2008 was a disaster of epic proportions and an event without a play book. I believe the recovery process has been quite slow for most of the areas not in the downtown. The city is building a new convention center and buying a bankrupt hotel while residential buyouts remain incomplete.

The current City Council appears to hedge all future bets on the passage of a LOST extension. I believe the council would be better developing a comprehensive plan that would address the reasonable anticipation of future flooding. That reasonable anticipation may include the building (or not) of flood walls.

In making the decision regarding the flood walls, we need to ask ourselves two questions:

1. What is the likelihood of Cedar Rapids experiencing a similar disaster in the future?

2. Does the cost of such protection outweigh the proposed benefit to all taxpayers?

When the Army Corps of Engineers study found that it was not cost effective to build a flood wall protecting property on both sides of the river, the current rhetoric regarding an east-side only option began. The opinion of experts is useless when it is either ignored or corrupted to reconcile “facts” to match what we would prefer the truth to be. True leadership considers the facts as they are and develops plans in which negative impact is reduced to an acceptable level, however imperfect.

The new City Council members will face many priority issues in the coming months. I believe that we should remain true to our family values and Iowa sensibilities. We are not Las Vegas, Niagara Falls or the Wisconsin Dells. These destination cities were built not on the back of the taxpayers, but largely by commercial enterprise of individuals and corporations.

As a council, we can best encourage similar investment in Cedar Rapids by making our quality of life exemplary to attract attention by such investors. We do this with great schools, low taxes, adequate streets and other infrastructure that is being neglected in the pursuit of being something we are not.

I am proud to call Cedar Rapids my home.

Steven Rhodes has been a resident of Cedar Rapids for nearly 50 years, more than 30 years on the west side. He is a self-employed businessman who works as a real estate appraiser and income tax preparer. His and his wife, Sharon, have raised four children who attended the Cedar Rapids public schools. Comments: rhodesappraisal@gmail.com