Planning for the future

“So far, so good,” said Jessica Garcia of her new role as Denison city manager.

Garcia, who gave up her position on the Denison City Council and as the director of the Denison Campus of Western Iowa Tech Community College to take the city manager job in September, said she has gained a better appreciation of the roles played by the other employees at city hall.

“On (the city) council, we rely on the city clerk, the city manager to give us the information to make informed decisions,” Garcia said. “Now, being on the other side of that coin has definitely been a learning experience.”

As an example, she noted that City Clerk Jodie Flaherty has to prepare a variety of reports that have to be approved by the city council and filed by December 1.

“We always saw those reports, but now seeing on the back end what it takes to get those reports done; all the documentation, all the process-following, all the things that go into each and every one of those reports, definitely gives you respect for what people do in the roles that they serve,” she said.

Garcia has been able to lean on the other city employees as she learns the ropes of her new job.

“Everybody has been great,” she said. “At city hall, and at the city in general, we have a wonderful group of people. There’s going to be a transition time when they’re going to learn my expectations, and I’ll be learning what they need from me in order to do their jobs. But they have been more than welcoming, more than helpful in my transition into this role.”

She said she appreciates that the city council approved for Flaherty and Denison Fire Chief Cory Snowgren to assist her with cleaning up projects that needed to be wrapped up or were just getting started when she took over the city manager position.

“That has been a blessing – having those two there with their experience and their knowledge has been great,” Garcia said. “I’m very thankful for that.”

Her time as a council member helped her better understand what the current members of the council expect from her as city manager.

“Knowing what they need, what to bring to city council meetings and making sure things are fully prepared before bringing them, I think helps with efficiency,” she said.

Starting her new job with already-established relationships with the members of the city council has also helped ease Garcia into her new role.

“We had all of that time to get to know each other and develop respect for each other,” Garcia said. “We understand where each other stands in what we’re looking for in the future of Denison and the goals of what we want to see happening has been very helpful in this transition.”

Garcia said her adjustment period felt a little bit like jumping onto a treadmill that was already running at high speed.

“I feel like it started at speed eight when I walked into city hall because there was so much happening,” she said. “I think as I get my bearings and I’m able to learn and prioritize where my role falls in each of the projects and each of the things we’re doing with the city, I think I’ll definitely be able to be more efficient and pick up speed on things that need to be taken care of.”

Moving the proposed wellness center forward, enacting a plan for street and sidewalk repair, and ramping up code enforcement are areas she plans to push, Garcia said.

Helping grow the community in other ways will also be a priority.

“We’ve been having some conversations with developers – either the housing or the business side – to try to find a way to enhance housing and entice businesses to come to Denison,” she said. “We also recently completed the application to be a RAGBRAI host town, so hopefully we’ll be able to bring that here in the summer of ‘24.”

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She pointed out that every city department is currently working on a project, and part of her job will be to make sure those efforts remain organized and continue to move forward.

“And we have to plan for what’s next,” she said. “One thing that has come about in this position over the last month and a half that I’ve been there is realizing that we need to be, obviously, taking care of the day-to-day operations, but we need to be really looking forward to the next five to ten years to see what that looks like for the City of Denison.”

Another priority is reworking Washington Park and developing a plan for all the city’s parks.

“We need kind of a master plan of everything we have going on across the city,” Garcia said.

The master plan could include a new look at the city’s capital improvement plan.

“A lot of things we could maybe take care of in an annual budget cycle with planning and preventative maintenance and building inspections and things like that,” she said. “We really need to revamp that capital improvement plan to include things that are anywhere from five to 10 years out so we can plan with the taxpayer money and hopefully be able to sit in a position where we’re not increasing taxes, where we’re able to be more efficient with the moneys that we do have coming in.”

She has concerns that the Iowa Legislature will enact new rollbacks that will make tax levy funds unpredictable, which will make budgeting difficult.

“We’re just trying to plan as far out as we can and make sure that our budgets are meeting the needs,” she said.

Garcia said she is still glad that she took the job as city manager.

“There have been a couple times when I thought, ‘Oh, what did I do? What did I get myself into?’” she said.

Her interactions with others at city hall, and community members, helped ease those fears, she said.

“Living in Denison my whole life, one thing I’ve honestly always admired about this community is that when we need something, we come together, whether it’s through volunteers or people stepping up,” Garcia said. “That is one thing to be boastful about with small-town living – but also I think our community is one of the best when it comes to working together.”

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