Waukee Mayor Discusses His Vision for City's Future

Bill Peard has served as mayor of Waukee for six years. He’s seeking reelection on Nov. 8 because, plain and simple, “There is still a lot to be done,” he says. Waukee Patch sat down with Mayor Peard last week to talk about the appeal of Waukee, it’s phenomenal growth and why he chose to take on a leadership role to help make it happen.

Waukee Patch: What made you want to be the mayor of Waukee?

Bill Peard: I grew up in a family that was heavily involved in our community. I was raised that you can either bellyache or crab about the situation or get involved. I decided to get involved. Waukee is a pretty cool community. It still has those small-town values. We have a great school district, low crime, we still have neighbors who know each other and care about each other.  We’re a strong Christian community and we are the fastest growing city in the state of Iowa. We have a lot of challenges but many more opportunities and a bright, bright future so it’s an honor to be a leader in Waukee.

Waukee Patch: What makes you a good leader?

Peard: Leadership styles come in all shapes and sizes. What makes me a good leader is that I don’t necessarily pull people along or force people to come with me. I’m kind of at the back of the pack trying to push people forward, to empower them, to make them better leaders and get them more involved in their community. Then, I kind of lead from the back.

Waukee Patch: What do you consider your biggest accomplishment in office?

Peard: I think helping to establish the Waukee Economic Development Corporation.  That’s our private partner in economic development. I was also one of the founders of the Waukee Leadership Institute where the basic premise is that we raise homegrown leaders and have that pipeline. Whether it’s at the council level or mayor, or volunteer position, it can be what you make of it.

Waukee Patch: What have you not yet accomplished as mayor of Waukee?

Peard: I’d like to see the Triangle design plan implemented and off the ground with a good start. The Alice’s Road Corridor and Interchange project is huge commercially so Waukee can get a good commercial tax and alleviate some of our residential tax burden. We’re pushing that really hard and working on that as fast and as hard as we can.

Waukee Patch: Say you meet someone who is considering a move to Waukee. How would you sell the city?

Peard: I am proud of our school district. It’s happened through careful planning and a lot of visionaries. Community still means a lot to people here, there’s great community spirit. Our value system is high. It’s everything everybody looks for all rolled into one.

Waukee Patch: Where would you like to see the city of Waukee in the next year? The next five years?

Peard: We have done a lot of planning on the Alice’s Road project, the downtown design plan, Copeland Sports complex…I would like to see those things that we’ve worked on a lot farther down the road. I’d like to reduce property taxes through commercial development, get more business in town. I think that city has done a great job. We haven’t raised taxes in 12 years. Phenomenal growth without raising taxes? That’s pretty amazing.

Waukee Patch: What would you like people to know about Waukee’s city government?

Peard: We’re all about communication. We have an unbelievable website. It’s a huge storehouse of information. I would also encourage people, if they have questions frustrations or comments, make sure to contact us. You have asked us to guide the ship and if you think we can improve a bit, let us know. We’re not perfect, but we try our very best.