Four years ago, when Steve Gast ran for his first term as mayor of Maxwell, it was because nobody else wanted the job.
“Nobody had turned in papers, so I went out and got signatures,” he said. “I thought it was wrong that nobody wanted to get signatures and become mayor.”
So, he got the signatures, got elected and has made it successfully through two, two-year terms. He ran unopposed this past November and was elected to his third term, which just started.
The 69-year-old Gast is a retired technology and planning professional. His most recent job was with the Iowa Department of Transportation, where he was director of technology until his retirement in 2010. Prior to that job, he was GIS manager with Polk County and before that, director of planning for Polk County. He had served in a number of positions during his career, mostly planning jobs in Polk County and the Des Moines metropolitan area, he said.
Gast is a native of the Eldora/Steamboat Rock area. “I’m probably related to every person in Steamboat Rock,” he commented. He graduated from Eldora High School and then went into the Air Force for four years during Viet Nam. He didn’t serve in Viet Nam, he said, but the Viet Nam-era veteran was instead stationed in Japan, Korea and the Pacific Islands during the war.
When he returned, he headed to college at Central in Pella, where he majored in mathematics and geography, “which was as close to planning as they came in those days.” It was in college where he met his wife, Joelyn, whom he is still married to today. “She was younger than me,” he said, but she had seniority in school. She was a senior when he was a freshman. “I had the pleasure of going to school as an older student, which really worked out well for me.” Gast confides that right out of high school, he isn’t sure he’d have had the maturity to do as well in college as he did four years later, following his time of military service.
The Gasts were living in Des Moines in their early married years, and when visiting Steve’s parents back home, they often drove through Maxwell, which they thought looked like a nice little community. “So when we had school-aged kids, we moved to Maxwell,” he said. That was back in 1984.
All four of the Gast children graduated from Collins-Maxwell High School. Two of their daughters still live close by, one in the rural Maxwell area and one in Elkhart, and all four of their grandchildren live close by too, which means some of the Gasts’ free time is spent going to grandchildren’s school and sports activities.
About his job as mayor, Gast said it wasn’t unknown to him, since he had served on the City Council back in the ’90s.
“What I think is important (in governing a small community) is making sure you have as much transparency as possible… making sure the finances are done correctly,” he said. “If you have your financial house in order, that makes it easier if a developer does come to town, to encourage them to come here.”
Gast said there was a housing developer working with the city back in the ’90s, and they have another developer looking at a small 20-lot development right now. “In order for him to be successful, the city has to have certain things in place and authorizations (in place) to foster development.”
The city has been working recently on updating its urban renewal plan and its urban revitalization plan, which are required for the city to offer tax increment financing (TIF) and tax abatement. Capital improvements is another area of focus.
“It’s really a lot of little things you need to do (in city government) to be sure you’re well-organized,” Gast said, and he acknowledges that his background in planning can be helpful to him as mayor, along with his background in technology. Being involved in computers and technology work, he said, “I know when we can make some things easier and what to avoid.”
Maxwell has a lot of great things going for it, Gast said. He feels the community members are supportive of each other. He notes that the summer Old Settlers celebration is still going well and is organized and put on by citizens. He’s excited about businesses that are expanding or doing well. “PALS added more food options and a game room, even ice cream for the summertime,” he said. And he mentioned the implement store recently changed ownership. “That somebody decided to buy it and continue running it is great.”
When it comes to the challenges that Maxwell faces, Gast said the town needs more development and re-development in order to maintain its position and income. A lot of funding is dispersed among towns based on their percentage of population, he explained. “So if we stay the same, the percent of revenue declines (due to a growth in many metro areas).” He said the challenge of growth for Maxwell is that the community “grows appropriately… It doesn’t mean we do every idea, because our resources are limited.” Gast believes it’s about finding the right opportunities.
Serving the community with him, Gast said, is an excellent council and a solid city staff. The council members as of this month are Susie Livesay, Nicole Hudson and Doug Miller, along with newcomers Charles Robertson and Alex Golly. “Alex, Charles and Nicole are younger; Doug is older like myself; and Susie is just the right age,” he said with a smile. But in all seriousness, he said, the council has a good split of different ages and of men and women. “Everybody on the council has deep roots in the community. They are known,” he said.
Staff members include City Clerk Deb Hayes, who has been with the city almost 10 years; Dee Gibbs, assistant city clerk; Tony Ness, public works supervisor; Doug Wierson, assistant public works employee; Crystal Clair, head librarian and library assistant, Anna Baldwin.
If he was to describe the town of Maxwell, Gast said, it’s a pleasant, quiet, residential community that is centrally located to a number of bigger towns that people work in. Obviously, he believes it’s a great place to raise a family, because he moved there with his.
When he’s not busy with following grandkids’ activities, Gast said he loves to stay busy doing volunteer work, especially for the American Legion and VFW, and with the Old Settlers committee.
He believes as mayor, his number-one job for the town is to provide support and be a good listener. When people have a problem, you listen and help them if you can, or explain to them why you can’t help them, he said. And he’ll keep doing just that for the next two years. Then, when he’s 71, Gast said he most likely won’t run again. “I want to have everything organized and in place to hand over to another person, who can then do as they see fit.”