Altoona Election: Six candidates vie for three council seats
In Altoona, there are six candidates running for three seats on the city council in the Nov. 5 municipal election. They are: incumbents Kyle Mertz, 31, 1708 Pinewood Court S.W., and Michelle Sloan, 49, 1408 Fifth Ave. S.W.; and challengers Jeremy Boka, 37, 918 Eighth Ave. N.W.; Shane Isley, 29, 3203 Third Ave. S.W.; Keith White, 62, 206 Third St. S.W.; and Tim Sauer, 37, 1600 Fourth Ave. S.E.
Altoona residents also will be asked if they want the library board to be expanded from five to seven members. In addition, they will decide whether the city should enter into a loan agreement and issue bonds to pay for new amenities related to the Greater Altoona Community Service Campus.
Jeremy Boka — city council candidate
AGE: 37
PLACE OF BIRTH: Clinton
GREW UP: Muscatine
CURRENT HOME: Altoona
EDUCATION: Louisa-Muscatine High School (1995), class president; Kirkwood Community College (1998), A.A.S. in landscape management; Iowa State University (2000), bachelor’s degree in horticulture.
WORK HISTORY: I have worked in the landscape industry for over 20 years. I moved back to Iowa in 2003 where I began my career at Perficut Companies Inc. In my 11 seasons with Perficut, I have had many positions including residential landscape designer, commercial estimator, landscape manager, and my current position as business development manager.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT: I am a past graduate of the Altoona Leadership Program (now, known as the Eastern Polk County Leadership Program) where part of our class project included getting volunteers, businesses, and business people together to form Altoona Palooza. I have served as the co-chairman for that event every year. I also work with the Community Healing Garden at Mercy Cancer Center in Clive. I am a past graduate of the AGC of Iowa Leadership Academy, a member of the Altoona Chamber of Commerce, East and South Des Moines Chambers of Commerce, Building Owners and Managers Association and Associated General Contractors of Iowa.
FAMILY: I am the father of two young girls in the SEP school system, with a baby boy on the way.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Catholic.
FACEBOOK PAGE: Jeremy Boka for Altoona City Council
Top three issues
Encourage responsible spending and usage of TIF. Altoona has the largest amount of tax-based dollars locked in a TIF district than any other city in Polk County, accounting for nearly one-third of all tax-based revenues. It’s important that once the project debt is paid for, we get those properties off of TIF as soon as we can. It is critical that the community becomes more cognizant of how TIF money is spent, how it works, when it should be applied and what other financial avenues can be used instead of TIF.
Promote the community for growth and development. With the addition of Facebook across the street from Bass Pro, and Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse coming, now is the time to promote our entire community to other commercial businesses, services and restaurants. We are a financially stable community, with a great school system. Our citizens and businesses need to be engaged with other communities and business owners to draw these entities and services to our community. We have great amenities within the city, including the Campus and aquatic center, parks and bike trails, Altoona Palooza, and the lowest tax rate in the metro area.
Maintenance of public spaces and parks. With my business background and work history, I feel that I bring valuable input and budgeting experience into the work environment. With budgets always an issue, and public expectations at an all-time high, it is important that our community, our parks and our public spaces look great. This needs to be done with an aggressive budget that provides realistic results. With a growing community, these areas will increase in size, and require more money and man power. Establishing and maintaining a responsible budget for this will be important. Our recreational spaces, as well as the quality of life, is what will help our community stay strong, and remain a desirable place to live and raise a family.
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Shane Isley — city council candidate
AGE: 29
PLACE OF BIRTH: Des Moines
GREW UP: Indianola
CURRENT HOME: 3203 Third Ave. S.W., Altoona
EDUCATION: Indianola High School (2002); Grand View University (2006), bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration; Iowa State College of Business (2009), master’s in business administration.
WORK HISTORY: Bernau Capital Partners, director of real estate, present; Bernau Capital Partners, controller, 2011-2013; Centurion Stone of Iowa/MJ Distribution, controller, 2010-2011; Bevinco of Central Iowa, owner/senior auditor, 2007-2010; Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, financial consultant, 2006-2007.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT: Bergman Academy, accounting and budgeting, 2010-present; SCORE Des Moines, workshop chairman, present.
FAMILY: Wife, Cara; one daughter, 2.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Christian.
FACEBOOK PAGE: www.facebook.com/isleyforcouncil
Top three issues
Prairie Crossing. Central Iowa has seen a range of success from this type of development, from moderate, to significant delay, to complete failure. Altoona has already made a calculated risk to bring in Bass Pro Shops. To turn that risk into success, Altoona must ensure that the Prairie Crossing development holds as close to the site plan as possible. This means partnering with development groups that will attract the appropriate national, regional and local tenants to build this area correctly. This will also create an environment that will give our residents an area to be proud of as well as draw from the entire population of central Iowa, creating sales tax revenue that will ensure financial stability for Altoona for years to come.
Tax increment financing. It is no secret that Altoona has been aggressive in the approval of TIF projects in the past. Current council has done a great job with their use of TIF, keeping in mind that the primary goal of these funds are to improve the community in areas that otherwise would not be improved. With large portions of Altoona’s TIF projects coming to an end, we now have an opportunity to create a set of guidelines to be followed for TIF approval. It is essential to create a system with the idea that it will be used to keep our city on the right path many years after our council terms come to an end.
Attract and retain. Two of the most important questions that any member of a community must ask are “How do we keep our population here?” and “How do we attract new people to our community?” Altoona is one of a few surrounding metro communities that is in a unique growth position, having that ability to expand without the immediate fear of running out of land. What this means is that there are other communities that have the same goals and aspirations that we do. We must continue to make great efforts to maintain a level of community that exceeds in comparison to others. We do this by creating the funds that allow the city to produce and maintain the amenities and residential areas that rival any others in our state, region and country.
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Kyle Mertz — city council candidate
AGE: 31
PLACE OF BIRTH: Kansas City, Kan.
GREW UP: Johnston
CURRENT HOME: 1708 Pinewood Court S.W., Altoona
EDUCATION: Johnston High School (2000); Drake University (2004), bachelor’s degree in international business.
WORK HISTORY: Employee benefit adviser at Frank Berlin & Associates (2011-present); employee benefits representative at Sun Life Financial (2009-2011); account executive at Holmes Murphy & Associates (2005-2009).
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Serving first term on the Altoona City Council.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT: Current: Altoona’s representative on Metro Advisory Council and member of executive committee; Altoona’s representative on the Metropolitan Planning Organization and member of Transportation Priority Funding Sub-Committee; Bravo Greater Des Moines board of directors; First Tee of Greater Des Moines board of directors. Past: Board member at Wildwood Hills Ranch and Venbury Villas Homeowners Association. Volunteered with the Junior Olympics, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Junior Achievement of Central Iowa. Altoona Leadership Academy (2009), Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute (2009), Des Moines Business Record “40 Under Forty” class of 2010.
FAMILY: Wife Amanda and sons Palmer, 3, and Flynn, 5 months.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Lutheran.
WEBSITE: www.fbanda.com
Top three issues
Ensure Altoona is financially secure, continues to grow and is a safe place to live. As a council we have continued to effectively control our tax, water and sewer rates, while ensuring the necessary capital improvement projects get completed. We will continue to drive to be a development friendly city, attracting quality economic development opportunities. Chief Jody Matherly and our police department continue to be innovative by expanding our community policing efforts with initiatives such as a bicycle patrol unit, effectively connecting with the kids in our community.
Continue to attract quality development and invest in infrastructure. We have recently implemented an initiative to be a “development friendly city.” I want to use this model to ensure our community continues to grow with the right mix of commercial, residential and industrial opportunities, and supports expansion plans of our existing business community. Investing in both current and future infrastructure needs are critical. I will always support using local contractors, ensuring our projects are completed with our local, qualified people.
Become better communicators. The flow of information between community leaders, citizens, our school district and the surrounding communities is essential. I want to work to ensure all parties communicate more effectively, ensuring everyone the opportunity to understand the issues. In speaking with members of the school board and surrounding communities, this is something everyone can agree on, and will make a priority in the immediate short term.
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Tim Sauer — city council candidate
AGE: 37
PLACE OF BIRTH: Des Moines
GREW UP: Des Moines; Urbandale
CURRENT HOME: Altoona
EDUCATION: Grandview Park Baptist School (1996); Upper Iowa University (2004), bachelor’s degree.
WORK HISTORY: Financial industry for 15 years.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: I have voted in past elections, stayed abreast of current events and proceedings, and attended numerous city council meetings.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT: I have been involved with Habitat for Humanity, Amanda the Panda grief counseling service, youth soccer coach and various community events and activities with my family.
FAMILY: Married to wife Lisa for 14 years; son Noah, 7, and daughter Allison, 5.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Christian.
FACEBOOK: Tim-Sauer-for-Altoona-City-Council
Top three issues
Growth of our community. Attract and develop business relationships locally to meet our residents’ needs. As a member of the Altoona City Council I will spearhead that effort.
Equal tax abatements. Review our current tax abatement policy. Our focus should not only be on attracting new businesses to the community, but restructuring the system to reward long-standing commercial relationships as well.
Transparent city budget. Develop a moderate city budget that is clearly understandable and fiscally responsible. Paramount would be adequate funding for our police and fire departments and their preparedness for all contingencies.
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Michelle Sloan — city council candidate
AGE: 49
PLACE OF BIRTH: Cedar Rapids
GREW UP: Marion
CURRENT HOME: 1408 Fifth Ave. S.W., Altoona
EDUCATION: Graduated from UNI.
WORK HISTORY: Currently employed with Southeast Polk schools at Willowbrook Elementary, administrative assistant.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: City council member for past seven years.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT: Altoona Library Board. I have also been the treasurer for Central Iowa Rural Water Association.
FAMILY: Married to Scott Sloan since 1991. Two sons: Ben, 20, and Ike, 17.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Methodist.
Top three issues
Infrastructure is what our city is focusing on. We need to maintain our current city needs such as roads, bridges, water supply, sewers and telecommunication. We need to provide services essential to sustain and enhance living conditions in Altoona.
Bringing in development to our city. Both residential and commercial. We have the Bass Pro area that we look forward to having developed and used by our residents and travelers off of I-80.
I believe we as a council have been very conscious of our spending in Altoona. I will continue with that effort to be cognizant of where our spending is going.
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Keith White — city council candidate
AGE: 62
PLACE OF BIRTH: Dexter
GREW UP: Des Moines area
CURRENT HOME: Altoona
EDUCATION: Tech High.
WORK HISTORY: 14 years in public works, six years of management and many years of driving and maintenance.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Six years serving on the Altoona City Council.
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT: Six years with the Altoona Fire Department, 12 years with Altoona Balloonafest.
FAMILY: Wife, Dana; son, Joe; daughter, Melinda; daughter-in-law, Amanda; son-in-law, Brad; three grandchildren, Collin, Hailey and Mason.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Protestant.
FACEBOOK PAGE: www.facebook.com/keithwhiteforcouncil
Top three issues
Continued support for police and fire protection. The current council has done a good job making sure our police and fire departments have adequate resources, it is my intent to ensure this continues. Our citizens deserve a safe place to live and our police and fire departments need the best equipment to make this happen.
Encourage economic growth in the Prairie Crossing development. We need to work closely with the Altoona Chamber of Commerce and East Polk County regional development in order to stimulate new growth in the Prairie Crossing area. We need more businesses to invest in our community.
Maintain affordable tax rates for the citizens of Altoona. It is our job as community leaders to be fiscally responsible with our taxpayers’ dollars. We need to find that right balance between what the city really needs and what we have to charge the taxpayers. We have to be able to keep costs low without jeopardizing the needs of the city.