05
Apr
2005
Please read the "Letters" section of this week's Reader on page 6, which has an epistle in heavy support of the Isle of Capri's proposed 10-story hotel and five-story parking ramp for Rhythm City Casino along Davenport's number-one downtown waterfront. The author is longtime community leader Don Decker, formerly president of Rejuvenate Davenport and former treasurer of the Riverboat Development Authority (RDA). Mr. Decker, no doubt, has been a broad supporter of development in Davenport, but it would seem that on this occasion, he drank from the proverbial Kool-Aid and would have the community drink from it, too.
Mr. Decker calls the proposed hotel "classy," which undoubtedly is yet to be seen and is of course a matter of taste. If the purple parrot atop the Bettendorf Isle of Capri hotel is any indication of Mr. Decker's definition of "classy," then Davenport is in trouble. A five-story parking garage and 10-story building right on our waterfront, with simulated limestone and some glass, might be called a massive inappropriate wall by others. Mr. Decker goes on to claim that the expansion would replace the "hokey" gaming that is now there. That's odd; at the ribbon-cutting for the new Rhythm City Casino and porte-cochere, "hokey" didn't seem to be part of the description for this great new investment in our community. Where were the criticisms then? Where was the hue and cry about our sprawling waterfront parking during the River Renaissance referendum? What has changed between then and now? If the casino operation is so hokey now, what ensures that those responsible won't make an even larger facility even hokier?
And like many of the hotel/casino proponents, this letter paints anyone questioning the proposal with the broad brush of "anti-development." This is a perfect example of avoiding the specific issues surrounding what's really at stake. Objecting to this one proposal and preferring more than one option at a time does not automatically equate to an anti-development position. Some would call it thoughtful, long range planning that ensures Davenport does not forsake its number-one asset for generations to come. And there are few, regardless of their position, who would characterize the deep concerns over the IOC's proposal as "crazy."
Mr. Decker would have one believe that there is no other choice but to go along with the IOC proposal. Nothing could be further from the truth. The financial benefits of an expanded casino operation to the citizens of Davenport will be realized no matter where such a hotel/casino is built in Davenport. There are plenty of choices. However, nothing to date is compelling IOC to consider them.
Hopefully this is about to change.
The City of Davenport has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) entitled "Public Facilitation, Urban Design, & Economic Feasibility Workshop & Report." The firm that gets the nod from the city will be charged with conducting a series of two-hour workshops on April 27 and 28, with a final report to be delivered by May 13, 2005.
The expected scope of work and deliverables, according to the RFP, is to explore, refine, and seek consensus on urban-design alternatives within the study area defined as north of the river, south of River Drive, west of Lock & Dam 15, and east of Harrison Street - essentially 15.2 acres, of which the riverboat casino has long-term leases for 7.8 acres on city-owned land.
The purpose of this initiative is to inform participating stakeholders about the legal, economic, and land-use challenges and opportunities within this area. The document outlines that issues relating to active versus passive, public versus commercial, and horizontal versus vertical use of the "downtown" riverfront are to be explored in a series of informed discussions. It goes on to state that "impacts on the quality of community life, urban design, downtown /riverfront experience, and urban economics are to be summarized by the facilitation/design team in a balanced, impartial manner."
Wow. Sounds great, doesn't it? Where was this process about our waterfront and urban experience for the last two years that IOC has been working behind the scenes on its expansion? It looks like those of us who have clamored for a more public planning process will get their chance. Kathy Wine of River Action initiated this by going to City Administrator Craig Malin and the River Vision Steering Committee with the concept of hiring an outside firm to facilitate such a process.
According to Malin, the funding agents of this process to date include River Action, the City of Davenport, and the Riverboat Development Authority. Depending on how much each group contributes and how much the proposals cost, the city can move forward without council approval if the city's contribution is under $10,000. As of press time, the Isle of Capri and DavenportOne (both of which also contributed to the drafting of the RFP) have not committed to any funding levels.
The document calls for a committee to be "designated as a project manager for the client (the city) and will serve as the principal contact with the consultant." Because the city, the RDA, and River Action are (at this point) contributing the money, they will be the ones who decide who will be hired for such a public process and who will be reviewing draft reports of the consultant's results.
Pay close attention to this process and this committee makeup, as the community cannot afford to have another episode of the "fox designing the hen house," as was attempted during the River Vision study report last year in which the decision to plant the controversial red square as a placeholder for the new hotel was foisted upon the final Hargreaves report - months after the community voiced publicly that it wanted to see the casinos on both Rock Island's and Davenport's waterfronts move elsewhere, freeing up our number-one assets.
April 27 and 28 will be put up or shut up time for the community. This is where we the people come in. This is our big chance to show up, think out loud, evaluate what options for waterfront development have worked in other communities - a chance to be creative and imaginative, and to dream. While this opportunity might appear, to some critics, to merely be a "tummy rub" for the public prior to the casino plowing ahead anyway, these public meetings have the potential to be full-blown collective forums to assert the community's wishes, visions, and aspirations for the future of Davenport's key riverfront property and downtown skyline.
Mr. Decker calls the proposed hotel "classy," which undoubtedly is yet to be seen and is of course a matter of taste. If the purple parrot atop the Bettendorf Isle of Capri hotel is any indication of Mr. Decker's definition of "classy," then Davenport is in trouble. A five-story parking garage and 10-story building right on our waterfront, with simulated limestone and some glass, might be called a massive inappropriate wall by others. Mr. Decker goes on to claim that the expansion would replace the "hokey" gaming that is now there. That's odd; at the ribbon-cutting for the new Rhythm City Casino and porte-cochere, "hokey" didn't seem to be part of the description for this great new investment in our community. Where were the criticisms then? Where was the hue and cry about our sprawling waterfront parking during the River Renaissance referendum? What has changed between then and now? If the casino operation is so hokey now, what ensures that those responsible won't make an even larger facility even hokier?
And like many of the hotel/casino proponents, this letter paints anyone questioning the proposal with the broad brush of "anti-development." This is a perfect example of avoiding the specific issues surrounding what's really at stake. Objecting to this one proposal and preferring more than one option at a time does not automatically equate to an anti-development position. Some would call it thoughtful, long range planning that ensures Davenport does not forsake its number-one asset for generations to come. And there are few, regardless of their position, who would characterize the deep concerns over the IOC's proposal as "crazy."
Mr. Decker would have one believe that there is no other choice but to go along with the IOC proposal. Nothing could be further from the truth. The financial benefits of an expanded casino operation to the citizens of Davenport will be realized no matter where such a hotel/casino is built in Davenport. There are plenty of choices. However, nothing to date is compelling IOC to consider them.
Hopefully this is about to change.
The City of Davenport has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) entitled "Public Facilitation, Urban Design, & Economic Feasibility Workshop & Report." The firm that gets the nod from the city will be charged with conducting a series of two-hour workshops on April 27 and 28, with a final report to be delivered by May 13, 2005.
The expected scope of work and deliverables, according to the RFP, is to explore, refine, and seek consensus on urban-design alternatives within the study area defined as north of the river, south of River Drive, west of Lock & Dam 15, and east of Harrison Street - essentially 15.2 acres, of which the riverboat casino has long-term leases for 7.8 acres on city-owned land.
The purpose of this initiative is to inform participating stakeholders about the legal, economic, and land-use challenges and opportunities within this area. The document outlines that issues relating to active versus passive, public versus commercial, and horizontal versus vertical use of the "downtown" riverfront are to be explored in a series of informed discussions. It goes on to state that "impacts on the quality of community life, urban design, downtown /riverfront experience, and urban economics are to be summarized by the facilitation/design team in a balanced, impartial manner."
Wow. Sounds great, doesn't it? Where was this process about our waterfront and urban experience for the last two years that IOC has been working behind the scenes on its expansion? It looks like those of us who have clamored for a more public planning process will get their chance. Kathy Wine of River Action initiated this by going to City Administrator Craig Malin and the River Vision Steering Committee with the concept of hiring an outside firm to facilitate such a process.
According to Malin, the funding agents of this process to date include River Action, the City of Davenport, and the Riverboat Development Authority. Depending on how much each group contributes and how much the proposals cost, the city can move forward without council approval if the city's contribution is under $10,000. As of press time, the Isle of Capri and DavenportOne (both of which also contributed to the drafting of the RFP) have not committed to any funding levels.
The document calls for a committee to be "designated as a project manager for the client (the city) and will serve as the principal contact with the consultant." Because the city, the RDA, and River Action are (at this point) contributing the money, they will be the ones who decide who will be hired for such a public process and who will be reviewing draft reports of the consultant's results.
Pay close attention to this process and this committee makeup, as the community cannot afford to have another episode of the "fox designing the hen house," as was attempted during the River Vision study report last year in which the decision to plant the controversial red square as a placeholder for the new hotel was foisted upon the final Hargreaves report - months after the community voiced publicly that it wanted to see the casinos on both Rock Island's and Davenport's waterfronts move elsewhere, freeing up our number-one assets.
April 27 and 28 will be put up or shut up time for the community. This is where we the people come in. This is our big chance to show up, think out loud, evaluate what options for waterfront development have worked in other communities - a chance to be creative and imaginative, and to dream. While this opportunity might appear, to some critics, to merely be a "tummy rub" for the public prior to the casino plowing ahead anyway, these public meetings have the potential to be full-blown collective forums to assert the community's wishes, visions, and aspirations for the future of Davenport's key riverfront property and downtown skyline.
