No half measures

In an age of hyper-commodification – where personal information online is harvested by algorithms, political parties view voters as mere data points for targeted messaging and AI analyzes workplace performance as if people were computers – it is refreshing to meet someone who frames human endeavor in terms of more intangible factors. In fact, these elements may sound at odds with the prevailing economic mood music of the 21st century.

Step up, Brenna Fall, Director of Public Works for the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a civic leader who steadfastly refuses to restrict her definition of success solely to monetary values.

---

“The City of Cedar Rapids has consistently been one of Anderson Bogert’s top clients for the past 25-plus years. Working together, we’ve been able to improve the City’s infrastructure; paving the way towards economic development and quality of life improvements for everyone to enjoy.” – Bryan Janssen, Principal, Anderson Bogert

---

Advertisement

“Obviously we don’t want projects to go over budget. And while that is a metric that can be measured, it’s not always the most important metric,” Fall says.

“Yes, being efficient is critical, but when somebody asks me, ‘Was that project successful, or was that team successful?’ I instantly think about things like the aesthetic quality of our finished product: Are we proud of the way it looks and works? And the level of cooperation between contractors, residents and businesses – when cooperation is high, everybody feels good about it afterward.

“It’s those kinds of things that make working for local government more fulfilling. It’s not always about coming in under budget or ahead of schedule, because we’re not profit-sharing here. We look for different ways to feel success.”

Seeds of success

While not native to the ‘City of Five Seasons’ – an epithet alluding to a mythical extra season that allows residents more time to enjoy life – Fall was raised in a suburb north of Cedar Rapids. After high school, she graduated from Iowa State University before spending 14 years living in Central Iowa with her husband, starting a family and working for a consulting engineering firm.

When her local government destiny came calling, she relocated to Cedar Rapids and spent seven years in the Public Works department, across four different roles. After a stint as Assistant Director, she took control of the tiller in July 2024.

“There are really two things that are markedly different between working for a consulting engineering firm and working for the City,” Fall says. “One is that you get to focus all your time on one community. And the other thing is there’s no shortage of work; there’s always something that needs to be done. We often say, ‘The work finds us, we don’t have to find the work.’”

Overseeing just under 200 employees, Fall is now charged with developing and implementing capital improvement and maintenance programs and – just as importantly, considering Iowa’s history – coordinating teams and responses during emergencies.

In June 2008, after an unseasonably wet spring, the municipality was ravaged by a flood of record proportions, which submerged 1,300 city blocks, causing an estimated US$6 billion in damages to homes and businesses of the 137,000 residents. The catastrophic event is sometimes dubbed ‘Iowa’s Katrina.’

Navigating challenges

The city is historically prone to flooding due to its adjacency to the Cedar River. Therefore, to counter any repeats of that disaster, work was approved in 2015 for an ambitious US$1.1 billion Flood Control System, a plan that includes permanent flood walls, levees, removable barriers and stormwater system upgrades.

“It’s transformational,” Fall says. “It’s about 35 percent built, and we have been taking our time with the design. Our mayor likes to say, ‘It’s hiding in plain sight.’

“And it is very aesthetically pleasing; our focus is not to wall off the city while still protecting it. The United States Army Corps of Engineers is one of our largest partners on the project, and we’re doing things they haven’t seen before.”

---

“We value our long-term working relationship with the City of Cedar Rapids. It’s rewarding to be part of accomplishing the City’s vision for public infrastructure and quality-of-life improvements. Our solid partnership reflects clear communication and understanding of the City’s expectations, so they can count on us to deliver high-quality projects.” – Rich Voelker, Transportation Business Unit Leader, Snyder & Associates

---

Advertisement

While not as grandiose in scale as the Flood Control System, other local projects are currently resonating with the Cedar Rapids community on an emotional, day-to-day level, such as the Paving for Progress initiative, a program designed to address street reconstruction and rehabilitation – first voted and approved on in 2013, to take effect in 2014, and funded by an additional one percent local sales tax. A second vote in 2021 extended the tax until 2029. Fall remarks that these urban updates have brought a renewed sense of vibrancy to the streets and the neighborhoods they run through.

Engaging with the public

Then there are the interactive public-facing maps and comprehensive website, providing instant access to information about construction projects and traffic impacts. Along with an open house day every fall and an annual summer farmers’ market, it is all part of a wider play to improve transparency and engagement with the community.

“When we go to fix a street, we can survey it, we can look at all of the maps, but we don’t usually live there,” Fall says.

“The people that live there are the experts of that street. They know if there are certain accommodations needed during construction or if a certain area of the sidewalk never drains. There are lots of little things that, if we listen, we can really make our finished projects more successful.”

Fall may well put undying faith in non-monetary metrics, but as some of these initiatives highlight, she is certainly no Luddite. The Paving for Progress program, for instance, is firmly data-driven, while the Cedar Rapids’ team manages a flourishing website – its greatest tool, according to Fall – plus social media accounts when the situation allows.

“Keeping the information current and up to date is a pretty tall task, given the amount of staff we have,” Fall admits. “But we retain employees by trying to make sure that people are fulfilled in their work.

“I don’t think it would be surprising to anyone that the pace of salary in a government position doesn’t always keep pace with that of the private sector. And so the feeling of accomplishment when you’re providing good service to the public is especially important.”

Private partnerships

Her conspicuous devotion to public service aside, Fall’s work invariably overlaps with the private sector, in unions with the likes of engineering firm Anderson Bogert; multidisciplinary civil engineers, planners and designers Snyder & Associates; and excavation experts Pirc-Tobin. Being a low-bid state means Cedar Rapids is limited in how it procures services, but it is a situation Fall has no problems making her peace with.

“We have seen on several occasions that our private partnerships are critical when it comes to the city responding to natural disasters,” she says. “In 2020, we had a ‘derecho,’ a land hurricane, basically, and it impacted every street, every resident and every business. But we were able to call our vendors, and they assisted us immediately. It’s that type of help that makes those relationships so important.”

---

“Cities work best when people work well together. Our infrastructure depends on it. That’s why we value our relationship with Cedar Rapids Public Works. Their commitment to collaboration uplifts the City of Cedar Rapids to keep citizens, businesses and our community moving forward.” – Craig Tobin, President, Pirc-Tobin Construction

---

Advertisement

Even so, most dialogues with Fall eventually circle back to notions of civic pride and community spirit. It is in this space that she seems to feel most comfortable and most passionate – even during times when public service can feel like a labor of love.

“When we do our job well, most people don’t notice,” she says. “And it’s not that it’s not appreciated, but there’s definitely a sense that when things go right nobody notices, and if things go wrong everybody in the world notices. But I believe one of my jobs as Director is to make sure our employees know the work they do is appreciated. Overall, when you stop and think about the change Cedar Rapids has experienced, it’s pretty amazing.”

Sounds like success by any metric.