There were definitely a lot more lights on this weekend in the MidAmerican building than usual for a Saturday and Sunday night. All in all, I'd say Davenport and the Quad Cities as a whole have weathered this ice storm fairly well.Abolition of committee meeting back on agenda -QCTimes
The way this is described in the article, I don't see how anyone could oppose it. The changes allow any one Alderman to move an item from the consent to the discussion agenda. I think we all know which Alderman that would generally be. Anyone who says that this diminishes public comment only means that it diminishes public TELEVISED comment. If you're really saying things to the council for the good of the city, and not for your 15 minutes on TV, why would it matter if its televised? There will still be 2 chances for televised comments on each item anyway, plus more if additional readings are required. How many time do you need to be able to repeat the same things?
I was over in Illinois doing some errands, and I decided to take a spin through East Moline. I was hoping that some non-publicized progress had been made in The Quarter. Unfortunately, nothing seems to have changed since I last visited, about 2 years ago. I've said before that I feel Dubuque's new Port of Dubuque is too isolated from their downtown, but the Quarter takes that to new heights. Its basically tucked between a Deere plant and the river. Here's what was said about it back in 1999:
In addition to new housing construction, the city is looking toward the riverfront for the future. The Quarter -- a 90-acre site featuring shops, restaurants, condominiums, boat docks, sports and interpretive centers, and a working lighthouse -- will give the East Moline its first access to the river in more than 142 years.
At this point it has... a lighthouse/interpretive center, and a few condos. Any of you EMers know anything about current plans for the area, or have they just given up?
Driving through East Moline I decided that it and Bettendorf are opposites. Bettendorf has plenty of success but very little character or soul, and East Moline has plenty of character and soul, but very little success. Driving past dozens and dozens of blighted industrial sites doesn't go well with my usual "Quad Cities are great" outlook. I guess that just means there's plenty of room for improvement in East Moline.
20 comments:
QCI - Do you mean that part of the committee meetings would not be televised? I didn't see that.
Rather you believe it or not, the intention of some on our city council is to limit public input.
Do people really still use webtv?
It probably takes this page an hour to load.
I'm not sure if the public and Aldermen will be able to interact. Currently at the regular council meetings they aren't allowed to respond to anything people say in public comment. I know that Alderman are able to respond to things at the committee meetings, and I'm unsure of whether this will be possible at the CoW meeting.
Ian or someone? Will people be able to ask a question and get an answer at Committee of the Whole?
As I undestand the proposal an Alderman can ask the Chair for permission to interact with the Public.
Keith
So the answer is yes, no, or maybe. It depends on who the Chair is, who the Alderman is, what the question is and who the member of the public is who is asking.
That sounds very fair and unbiased. *snort*
It really is a question of whether the people are there to improve Davenport or grandstand on TV. Sometimes I wonder.
The solution to this problem is not to let it get passed.
The idea for the new proposal is to have a dialogue exchange between aldermen/public on all listed agenda items.
The council would not be able to respond to items brought forward during the open comment segment of the meeting (which is the case now).
Pages 8-14 of the following PDF offer background, click here:
https://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com/egov/docs/672051172609995.pdf
Ian
https://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com
/egov/docs/672051172609995.pdf
I had trouble pasting, otherwise go to the city website:
- click council packet in left nav. area
- click blue council pakcet link in center
- click finance packet
- go to pgs. 8-14 in PDF
Ian
The way I see it is that we have too many people from out of town expressing their views to the council. We need to cut those folks out all together. All city residents have the right to voice their opinion no matter what it is about. That right is in the constitution, remember? As long as it is for the betterment of our city.
The constitution doesn't say we have a right to free televised speech though. There's always public access if these people need to see themselves on TV. Our council meetings shouldn't be a laughingstock of other communities.
QCI, what is your opinion on the issue of eminent domain? There has been a long drawn out situation going on over in Bettendorf that you can read about in tomorrow's QC Times and covered on TV6 news. One gentleman in particular is getting the run around from the city of Bettendorf. Is this another issue of our rights being taken away? Just wonder what you and your readers think about this topic.
Dirty White Boy
Maybe I'll throw up a discussion post about it in the next few days.
I generally think property should only be taken for public projects, with a few exceptions. The whole private projects saying "we're going to build something better than your house, so we win" thing is scary to me.
If Bettendorf is anything like Davenport that guy won't have a chance with the eminent domain. QCI - as far as the public grandstanding - there maybe a couple of people who love to speak on every issue - but it only takes one time for someone to add light to a subject that has been overlooked. It is not just the public that loves TV time - there is at least one alderman that address the viewing public at every meeting. I am sure as election time gets closer there will be more people and current elected officials looking for the viewing audience.
For sure! Just check out how Barney has been playing to the cameras lately.
Lisa
Yes the eminent domain issue will be interesting to follow. Not sure who will represent Bettendorf as their lawyer Jaeger went out of town yesterday. I have always liked Ploehn and think he is fair and does a good job but I will definitely be following this issue closely.
Barney is toast, he told me that he will not run for the sixth ward again with health and family reason noted. It is time for him to step down anyway because his popularity has dropped.
Do you mean Barnhill or Brooke? Barney isn't the 6th ward Alderman.
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