In a city growing as fast as Waukee, City Council candidates say they want to be sure it’s catching up while not losing what attracted people to it.
Five candidates are running for three at-large seats on the Waukee City Council on Nov. 4: Kala Anderson, Jon Eichhorn, Lori Lyon, incumbent Anna Bergman Pierce and Leigh White. The Waukee Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum for candidates Thursday, Oct. 23, at Waukee City Hall, moderated by Ryan Moon, government relations and public policy director at the Greater Des Moines Partnership.
Rapid growth and questions of how to afford the city services and infrastructure needed to keep up with it are not unique in the Des Moines metro — City Council candidates in Ankeny have talked about similar issues, for example.
But in addition to talking about how to balance competitive property taxes with meeting the city’s revenue needs, Waukee candidates also want to be sure the city is deliberative about its growth and preserves what the community already has.
Keeping a small town feel but with amenities for all
The results of a special census released in December 2024 showed that since 2020, Waukee had grown from the 23rd largest city in Iowa to the 16th, adding nearly 8,000 residents in four years to reach a population of 31,823 people.
White said she does not want Waukee to lose its “bedroom feel” and the city should grow at a steady pace, not too fast.
She and Eichhorn said the city should not forget about the businesses already in Waukee as it also seeks to attract new ones, and should support existing employers with the resources they may need to expand.
When it comes to neighborhoods, Bergman Pierce said in addition to new affordable housing, the city should also invest in older neighborhoods that are already affordable and encourage homeowners there to do things like make properties available for rent.
Candidates not only want Waukee to continue to have more quality of life amenities but they want offerings available for residents of all ages.
Anderson said she loves bike trails and would like to see Waukee have more mature trees, a public pool, more music venues and parks.
Fifty-five percent of Waukee voters in November 2024 supported a $33 million bond measure for a proposed aquatic center with 23,000-square-feet of amenities including pools, slides, a splash pad and a lazy river that would have been located at the intersection of Sixth Street and University Avenue. But the bond measure required 60% approval in order to pass, and it’s not something the city plans to bring up to voters again in the near future.
The city has continued to open new parks, with two more opening in the past week: Spring Crest Park at 1195 Spruce St., and Painted Wood West at 950 Indian Ridge Drive, according to a city news release.
Bergman Pierce said the city should look at areas within its existing boundaries or that could be annexed and think about creating conservation districts with trails or arboretums.
Eichorn said there could be more unique restaurants and a senior center.
Lyon envisioned the planned $400 million civic campus in Waukee as being something like Ankeny’s The District at Prairie Trail. Waukee’s civic campus would include a new City Hall and public library, townhomes, housing for seniors, commercial space, a lake and a full 18-hole Sugar Creek Golf Course, along with perhaps an indoor athletic facility, a boat house, community pavilion, fishing piers and a skate park.
“We have some really great stuff right now,” White said, adding that the city should look to use state and federal money for things like trail projects.
Phillip Sitter covers the suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. Find out more about him online in the Register’s staff directory.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Waukee City Council candidates want to preserve the city’s character as it quickly grows
Reporting by Phillip Sitter, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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