North Liberty mayor dies of heart attack

NORTH LIBERTY - Tom Salm, who served as North Liberty's mayor since 2007, died Sunday following a heart attack.

Mayor Pro Tem Gerry Kuhl described Salm as a guy who he could fish with and as an excellent leader.

'He was a happy person,” Kuhl said. 'He had the city on a course of progress. He was open to ideas. There's not hardly a better man around than Tom.”

Voters re-elected Salm, 61, in November with 82 percent of the vote, according to online election records from the Johnson County Auditor.

'Tom was a mentor and a friend,” North Liberty City Administrator Ryan Heiar said in a statement. 'His leadership will be missed. Our thoughts are with his family.”

Salm became North Liberty's mayor in April 2007 when he was appointed by the City Council to fill the vacated role until a November election. He was then elected mayor that fall, and re-elected in 2009 and 2013.

Coralville Mayor John Lundell said Salm was a good friend. Their cities share a border and many of the same issues, particularly rapid growth in recent years. He and Salm also served together on the board that oversaw Johnson County's joint emergency communications center.

Lundell said Salm typically was honest in his opinion but in a respectful way, often with humor thrown in.

'He was a great guy,” Lundell said. 'To lose someone so suddenly like this was just a shocker.”

North Liberty has been one of the fastest-growing cities in Iowa. It had an estimated 14,485 residents in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's 170 percent higher than in 2000.

Salm, who lived in North Liberty for nearly 40 years, played a major role in helping the community handle such rapid growth. He served on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission and then its City Council before being elected mayor.

He was a project manager at engineering firm Terracon.

Salm's term was set to expire at the end of 2018.

'He wasn't afraid of making tough decisions and expected others to do the same,” Kuhl said. 'We thank him for his service as a mayor, councilor and planning and zoning commissioner. Our community is better today because of his contributions.”

North Liberty officials in a news release said Kuhl, who was re-elected in November, will serve as mayor until the City Council decides how to fill the position. Possible options include short-term appointment or special election.