In order of importance:
1. Kraft to lay off 8,000- The article states that no one is saying whether Davenport's 1500 employees will be affected. I believe that if our former Oscar Mayer plant was to close, it would be a bigger blow to Davenport than even the BRAC result.
2. Hamerlinck's Un-Againster Activities Comission gets questioned by aldermen. - Unsurprisingly, Alderwoman Howard stated her opposition to Hamerlinck's idea, but surprisingly, Alderman Meyer seemed opposed to the committee having such a short time period before the budget is due. In what could be my favorite thing he has ever said, Meyer stated, “I don’t want this to be a witch hunt at public works.” I believe the commission is a good idea, but it shouldn't be hand picked by one alderman.
3. City tells county to go ahead and knock-em down - The so-called County Houses on 5th Street won't be with us much longer. While this is a sad end for them, there weren't many reasonable alternatives. The city could have tried to stop the county from tearing them down, but we couldn't force them to give someone hundreds of thousands of dollars to help fix them up, as the proposed project requested. Big-time shame on the county for years of demolition by neglect. Shame on the city of Davenport for not getting on their case about it all along. The article says 2 aldermen were voted against allowing demolition, but doesn't say which ones.
3½ Where are Alderman VanFossen's test results?
3 comments:
True, the 5th St. houses are eyesores at this point, but the county bears the responsibility for the condition. The city staff also bears some responsibility because they should have been holding the county just as responsible for the upkeep of those houses as any negligent homeowner.
The alternative to tearing these down was not just Mr. Ryan's proposal. The county should have put out a reasonable RFP asking for the value of the homes. $150,000 was unreasonable and allowed the county to gain exactly what they wanted. They appeared to be trying to work on a solution but were still be able to continue with their parking lot or juvenile detention center. Another solution could have left the county holding these properties and forced to make repairs to keep them from deteriorating. After all, they chose to buy them. They could have been used as office space by the county just as easily as by Mr. Ryan.
But, the city's reaction to the 5th street houses is much more important than just the piece-meal destruction of our history. The city council had the opportunity yesterday to say they would not support government entities acting as bullies and pushing their agenda regardless of the public input. Sadly they let that opportunity slip by and set the precedent for their remaining two years. Citizens now know their input is not wanted or taken into consideration. Even city appointed boards who are selected based on their expertise in particular areas are not going to be listened to.
please tell who are the two.
I am guessing Frink and Meyer????
Yes, Frink and Meyer
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