By Sarah Watson
Doug Boothroy, the Neighborhood and Development Services coordinator of Iowa City, will retire from the position after more than 40 years of service.
Boothroy’s expertise in policy will be hard to replace, but colleagues say his mentoring and sense of humor will be missed just as much.
He started working for the city in 1975, where he started as an assistant planner. After serving in various planning positions, he became the director of Housing and Inspection Services in 1984.
In 2014, Boothroy became the city’s first Neighborhood and Development Services Coordinator after the merging of Housing/Inspection and Planning and Community Services Departments.
“He knows Iowa City history very well,” City Manager Geoff Fruin said, “We are going to miss that knowledge and advice he provides as we navigate future projects.”
In his time working for the city, Boothroy succeeded in advocating for and implementing Iowa’s first inclusionary affordable housing ordinance in 2016. He’s also proud of his accomplishments in universal design and integrating technology into the city government.
“I have truly enjoyed my years with the city, which is why it was a tough decision to leave,” he said, “I thought it was the right time to step down from the role, while I have the opportunity to do other things I want to do.”
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Aside from his list of accomplishments, Boothroy’s personable attitude will be difficult to replace.
“I’ll miss working with him,” Neighborhood Services coordinator Tracy Hightshoe said. “He has a ton of humor and a ton of institutional knowledge.”
“He knows how to put people at ease,” Development Services coordinator John Yapp said.
For senior building inspector Tim Hennes, Boothroy is more than just a colleague.
“Doug has been a mentor for me in my career for 22 years,” Hennes said, “He’s a mentor to his staff, and he’s always been an advocate for the citizens of Iowa City.”
Boothroy said one of the accomplishments he is proudest of is merging the Housing/Inspection and the Planning and Community Services. He said he is proud to leave behind the legacy of bringing people together from different departments to combine their skills and provide the best possible service to the community.
“I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done. It’s been a great opportunity and journey,” Boothroy said, “I thank all the employees and people I’ve worked with for this incredible journey and being able to share these moments and successes with them all.”
Boothroy said he looks forward to traveling with his wife and spending more time with his grandchildren, but he doesn’t have too many plans for his first year of retirement.
“I think I’ll sit back and reflect,” Boothroy said, “You need that opportunity just because you need to be able to explore new beginnings and new chapters while you can.”
The city invites the community to celebrate Boothroy’s retirement at an open house on Sept. 11 from 7:30 to 9 a.m., at Harvat Hall in the City Hall, 410 E. Washington St.
