Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop takes us on a tour during construction at NexusPark for his last show. We talk about his tenure, retirement plans, and advice for future mayors.
On this week’s installment of Ask The Mayor, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop addresses these issues and more. Listen to his last show that aired on WFIU with Indiana Newsdesk anchor Joe Hren by clicking on the play button above, or read some of the questions and answers below. A portion of this segment airs 6:45 and 8:45 a.m. Wednesday on WFIU.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Hren: What plans do you have set for January 1?
Lienhoop: Well, you should ask my wife, I mean, ask Pam on what we're going to be doing. But seriously, we'll just number one retire. I had contemplated retirement eight years ago, and I kind of got talked into doing this and it's been a good run, I've enjoyed this, it's been very worthwhile. But we're going to retire this time make it stick.
I've got two grandchildren that my wife and I did not have eight years ago, so we're going to spend some time with them. They don't live here, they live down in Texas, so there's a little bit of coordination required to go see them and a little bit of commitment in terms of time, but we're going to do that. We enjoy just getting around the country, and maybe do something overseas or take a cruise. I mean, it's all to be determined, but we're just kind of excited about being relaxed.
Hren: What did you learn the most about Columbus residents from being mayor?
Lienhoop: I think a lot of it's got to do with how much they care. And, sort of realize that Columbus can at times be a really special place, kind of a neat place to raise your family, to just spend your time. I mean, we have a great set of amenities here locally, people tend to take care of the place. I oftentimes talk about the difference between owners and renters, not to disparage anybody who rents because, I've done that. But the point is, we want people who are invested here, who are going to build their lives here. And I've been able to see that firsthand in the last eight years, and it's kind of heartening to see people sort of adopt your town or to move here and feel like that this is where I belong, so yeah, it's been fun to work with.
Hren: What's your biggest piece of advice for mayor-elect Mary Ferdon?
Lienhoop: She's very capable. But just every now and then you're just gonna have to take a breath, and let it pass. That's one of the phrases that we've shared from time to time that this too shall pass. I mean, there are always going to be issues. We dealt with a fair amount of, I wouldn't call it unrest, but some kind of racial consternation back around the time of George Floyd. And shortly after that, concerns about insensitivity that some of our residents exhibited towards people of color. And while you can't let that stuff go without trying to address it, you do have to realize, that's not the way most people feel. And so we need to sort of let time take its course, on some of those issues. At the same point, this whole NexusPark thing has taken a long time to bring it together. So patience is often rewarded, particularly in politics and government.
Hren: You could say the same about the overpass dealing with the state or with federal unfunded mandates and so forth. What kind of help do you think the state could provide?
Lienhoop: Well, I think that the legislature could back up a little bit, and sort of reread the Home Rule statutes, that we are all adults down here and we do know how to manage our affairs. And so sometimes that notion doesn't carry forward real clearly from the legislature.
It's difficult to work with a variety of other governmental agencies, because everybody's got their own portion of the sandbox, so to speak. And, they've got to give their reports for whatever it is you want to do. We've got a great experience of that on the riverfront. I mean, just dealing with DNR, and IDEM and Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency, and probably a couple in there that I missed. And, trying to thread your way through all that is a challenge. So yeah, you have to have a lot of patience, you have to realize that this is all gonna work out. But it's just gonna take some time a little bit of work.
Hren: I did see that the testing came back from the water well so no PFAS. It seems like shutting down the one well worked?
Lienhoop: We still have a lot to learn in terms of where this stuff comes from, and why it's in some wells and not in others. I think it talks to the fact that we need to be diligent with respect to our testing, we have to have a testing regimen that is followed on a regular basis. At the same time, there's not a lot of places that you can take this water and test for this. I mean, the quantities that we're testing are so small, a trillion is like a second out of 100 years.
We've got a great team at Columbus City utilities, and they devised a process for us to try to eliminate the PFAS, get it down under the detection limits that have been given to us by DNR and EPA. And so yeah, put a little confidence in the folks we've hired to do this and give them the tools they need.
Hren: Is there anything else pressing and moving through the transition process?
Lienhoop: At the city, whenever there's a change in mayors, there's always some questions about some of the administrative positions. And I think in talking to Mary, it's going to be pretty much a seamless operation. We've got a new person coming on Eric Frey, who will be the executive director of administration, part of the role that Mary had previously. We've got some other people who will change their role slightly, but there's not going to be a big change in personnel.
Hren: Is Columbus changing?
Lienhoop: It's sort of been one of my little mantras that, it's all changing. So you just have to manage the change so it changes on a direction that you prefer. We have added 1000 people a year, on average, over the last 10 years, we now have over 50,000 people, so we're going to be a class two city. That will be a change, we've got a big development coming on out west of town called City View, which is another hospital related project.
We just hope that change happens at a pace that we can react to it. I think that's something that we can handle. The school corporation can respond to that, the hospital can respond to that, our police and fire can can manage that kind of an increase. Those communities that grow, and I've seen a few that grow 10 to 20% a year, it really stresses the institutions that are required to support the various services that a community offers. So we've not had to deal with that. I think that we're well positioned economically and we'll continue to be an attractive place for people to move to. And I like to say, I feel pretty good about that.
Hren: Thank you so much for doing this all these years. I know, mayors don't have to do this show. But we do really appreciate the time that you spent with us.
Lienhoop: You're welcome. It's hard to believe it's been eight years. I mean, it's gone by very quickly. I've joked that if I could get a one year extension on my contract, I might have done that. But four years was just a little bit more than Pam and I had available for this. But Joe, I've enjoyed it as well. Thanks for coming by.
