Outgoing Clear Lake City Councilmen bid farewell

CLEAR LAKE — Last night was the final meeting for two Clear Lake City Council members. Mike Callanan and Gary Hugi decided not to run for re-election this year after both had served multiple terms on the council. Both gave farewell remarks at the end of last night’s meeting.

Hugi says he enjoys seeing people who are proud of their community. “The pride our residents take in saying ‘I’m from Clear Lake Iowa’, friendliness offered by our people to ourselves but also to the people visiting our community. We can easily see this fact when events that draw people from all over or watching our local volunteers in action for success.”

Hugi says the quality of life established in Clear Lake has set the city up for success.  “We as residents enjoy a quality of life that only a community of our size has to offer. I’m sure a prospect such as McKesson asked themselves ‘is this the community we are going to transfer our employees to live here? Is this a community we want our employees to raise a family in? Is this school system on a stable course? Does local government conduct themselves in a professional manner? Do we as a business want to be involved in the community?’ The obvious answer to all that I’ve pointed out is a yes.”

Callanan says he has been fortunate the last 16 years being able to experience Clear Lake’s city government as he termed as an insider. “I’ve had the pleasure to serve with 11 different councilmen, six of whom were former students. Each brought some valuable insights to the council. Although we didn’t always agree on everything, meetings and discussions were conducted with decorum and respect. The net result has been to help deliver tremendous progress on many fronts to the citizens of Clear Lake.”

Callanan says one of the things he’s most proud of during his tenure on the council was the city’s commitment to updating infrastructure.  “Because this is going to last the citizens of Clear Lake for decades. We’ve got a beautiful new fire station out there. I’d be surprised if that thing isn’t around for another 90 years. We did it right. We’ve got a lot of new streets. We’ve got a couple of new water towers. We’ve got a new upgrade on the water treatment plant. We’ve got miles of sewers and miles and miles of sidewalks. I’m really proud of all these things.”

Callanan earlier on Monday was also recognized for his years of service with a proclamation of appreciation from the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors, where his son Casey is the board chairman.