17
May
2005
This Wednesday evening the Davenport City Council will be voting to establish three public hearings for Tuesday, May 31, all related to the financing, leasing, and development proposal by the Isle of Capri (IOC) for a 10-story hotel and five-story parking garage on Davenport's signature downtown riverfront. If project supporters have their way, the council will then vote to approve the project the very next day - June 1. Consider that even the smallest of development agreements that comes before the council takes a minimum of six weeks and could take months before approved or rejected, especially if there is the slightest bit of controversy involved.
But IOC's development agreement, one of the largest to ever occur in our downtown, with nothing but controversy surrounding it, is being put on the fast track for approval - just one day after the public is provided any opportunity to be heard. What possible justification could exist for a 15-day timeline to review and vote? Maybe the public sentiment against this riverfront robbery that was so prevalent at the Waterfront Workshops has the hotel supporters in overdrive to slam the door before the rest of the community knows what hit them?
Many times this community has been told one thing by casino operators, only to be left with something totally different. Remember the grandiose drawings of John Connelly that never came to fruition? Don't forget the promises of a revitalized Blackhawk Hotel by the IOC, which now wants to gift this depleted asset to the taxpayers, or the unfulfilled promise of a musically themed new brand for Rhythm City Casino. One would think that any new casino negotiations would be comprehensive and airtight. Instead, the process has been clandestine for nearly two years, the casino's own marketing and site drawings are deceptive and inaccurate, and now that a vote is being fast-tracked, the actual development agreement is incomplete and missing all the exhibits.
The City doesn't have the talent or the inclination to battle complex legal maneuvering and intense special-interest lobbying. And because of this, taxpayers are often left holding the weakest hand. Approving IOC's development agreement (the hotel/parking ramp proposal) as drafted would perhaps constitute one of the gravest breaches of public trust in Davenport's entire history.
The council is conducting a single workshop session to review the agreement, along with the financial matrix the council received last fall. The glitch here is that two finance matrices are floating around - one from IOC and one from city consultants HVS. Up until three weeks ago, city staff and IOC couldn't even agree on what revenues were coming from casino operations. So which matrix will be considered?
Over the past two days, at least half of the aldermen were contacted and asked two fundamental questions: What is the actual net gain in revenue to the city under the proposed agreement, and what is the difference between that and what the city currently receives? None of the alderman could answer these two basic questions. Regardless, several are actually considering voting yes, knowing they don't have a clue as to how it will actually benefit the city. Each admits to being in the dark about many aspects of the agreement and is hoping for clarification during this week's public work session on Thursday, May 19, at 6 p.m.
For the past six months, the council has been heavily focused on the newly established stormwater tax. It passed, even though there was a great deal of public opposition to it, and many felt badly betrayed by this council's support of it. But at least the alderman could speak with some knowledge of the issue. They were informed, and despite intense criticism, they were able to defend their positions. The exact opposite is true regarding the proposed casino expansion.
Can You Imagine?
The community has not yet been informed about the sheer size or contextual impact the casino's proposed structures will have on our downtown and Davenport's identity.
Not only will this casino utterly dominate the downtown riverfront, it would serve as one of the largest buildings in the entire downtown. It will dwarf the new Figge, whose views of the Mississippi upstream, including the Lock & Dam and historic Arsenal Bridge, will be completely blocked.
This holds true for the new skybridge, as well. All pedestrians will see looking east is the mammoth casino hotel staring back. Both gateways will lose signature views, as well. The sense of place that defines downtown Davenport will be replaced by a giant casino operation. Make no mistake; gambling will be our new civic identity, marginalizing the Figge Art Museum, the River Music Experience, and John O'Donnell by its size alone.
It is no wonder that IOC wants this location so much.
As for aesthetics, in the scheme of things, $43 million isn't going to buy much. The eight-foot-tall, two-block-wide earthen berm itself will cost a bundle, and flood-proofing another pile of money. Not much will be left over for the actual building itself, especially an 10-story one. (The parking ramp alone costs $6.1 million.)
Meanwhile, IOC is investing $118 million (nearly three times as much) in a brand-new hotel casino out on a highway in Waterloo, Iowa. It seems IOC doesn't need Waterloo's circle of amenities for this operation's success.
The lesson here is that casinos are profitable regardless of where they are built. Gamblers could care less about the river while pulling slots and playing cards, as evidenced by the windowless boats. The only benefit to putting this casino on the riverfront falls strictly to the casino's owners in terms of publicity. All who visit downtown would see it because they couldn't possibly miss it. You cant buy such strategic placement; it is invaluable, so to add insult to injury in this proposal, the city is giving IOC the land for free.
But here is the other horror: If this project is allowed to happen, once built, there is nothing to stop the casino from additional expansion in the future, until the entire riverfront is consumed by this beast. They cannot possibly be expected to quit growing their business, can they? The definition of a tier-one facility will only change in the future, and once these first 180 rooms are built, the city loses all leverage for future negotiations and control.
Approving this project will establish that it is the citizens' duty to use up natural resources and public financing to assist the IOC. We will be even further hooked on the gaming industry, like heroin or tobacco. You can bet all your tokens that this is IOC's long-range plan. Approving this proposal would only be the beginning - call it Phase One.
But IOC's development agreement, one of the largest to ever occur in our downtown, with nothing but controversy surrounding it, is being put on the fast track for approval - just one day after the public is provided any opportunity to be heard. What possible justification could exist for a 15-day timeline to review and vote? Maybe the public sentiment against this riverfront robbery that was so prevalent at the Waterfront Workshops has the hotel supporters in overdrive to slam the door before the rest of the community knows what hit them?
Many times this community has been told one thing by casino operators, only to be left with something totally different. Remember the grandiose drawings of John Connelly that never came to fruition? Don't forget the promises of a revitalized Blackhawk Hotel by the IOC, which now wants to gift this depleted asset to the taxpayers, or the unfulfilled promise of a musically themed new brand for Rhythm City Casino. One would think that any new casino negotiations would be comprehensive and airtight. Instead, the process has been clandestine for nearly two years, the casino's own marketing and site drawings are deceptive and inaccurate, and now that a vote is being fast-tracked, the actual development agreement is incomplete and missing all the exhibits.
The City doesn't have the talent or the inclination to battle complex legal maneuvering and intense special-interest lobbying. And because of this, taxpayers are often left holding the weakest hand. Approving IOC's development agreement (the hotel/parking ramp proposal) as drafted would perhaps constitute one of the gravest breaches of public trust in Davenport's entire history.
The council is conducting a single workshop session to review the agreement, along with the financial matrix the council received last fall. The glitch here is that two finance matrices are floating around - one from IOC and one from city consultants HVS. Up until three weeks ago, city staff and IOC couldn't even agree on what revenues were coming from casino operations. So which matrix will be considered?
Over the past two days, at least half of the aldermen were contacted and asked two fundamental questions: What is the actual net gain in revenue to the city under the proposed agreement, and what is the difference between that and what the city currently receives? None of the alderman could answer these two basic questions. Regardless, several are actually considering voting yes, knowing they don't have a clue as to how it will actually benefit the city. Each admits to being in the dark about many aspects of the agreement and is hoping for clarification during this week's public work session on Thursday, May 19, at 6 p.m.
For the past six months, the council has been heavily focused on the newly established stormwater tax. It passed, even though there was a great deal of public opposition to it, and many felt badly betrayed by this council's support of it. But at least the alderman could speak with some knowledge of the issue. They were informed, and despite intense criticism, they were able to defend their positions. The exact opposite is true regarding the proposed casino expansion.
Can You Imagine?
The community has not yet been informed about the sheer size or contextual impact the casino's proposed structures will have on our downtown and Davenport's identity.
Not only will this casino utterly dominate the downtown riverfront, it would serve as one of the largest buildings in the entire downtown. It will dwarf the new Figge, whose views of the Mississippi upstream, including the Lock & Dam and historic Arsenal Bridge, will be completely blocked.
This holds true for the new skybridge, as well. All pedestrians will see looking east is the mammoth casino hotel staring back. Both gateways will lose signature views, as well. The sense of place that defines downtown Davenport will be replaced by a giant casino operation. Make no mistake; gambling will be our new civic identity, marginalizing the Figge Art Museum, the River Music Experience, and John O'Donnell by its size alone.
It is no wonder that IOC wants this location so much.
As for aesthetics, in the scheme of things, $43 million isn't going to buy much. The eight-foot-tall, two-block-wide earthen berm itself will cost a bundle, and flood-proofing another pile of money. Not much will be left over for the actual building itself, especially an 10-story one. (The parking ramp alone costs $6.1 million.)
Meanwhile, IOC is investing $118 million (nearly three times as much) in a brand-new hotel casino out on a highway in Waterloo, Iowa. It seems IOC doesn't need Waterloo's circle of amenities for this operation's success.
The lesson here is that casinos are profitable regardless of where they are built. Gamblers could care less about the river while pulling slots and playing cards, as evidenced by the windowless boats. The only benefit to putting this casino on the riverfront falls strictly to the casino's owners in terms of publicity. All who visit downtown would see it because they couldn't possibly miss it. You cant buy such strategic placement; it is invaluable, so to add insult to injury in this proposal, the city is giving IOC the land for free.
But here is the other horror: If this project is allowed to happen, once built, there is nothing to stop the casino from additional expansion in the future, until the entire riverfront is consumed by this beast. They cannot possibly be expected to quit growing their business, can they? The definition of a tier-one facility will only change in the future, and once these first 180 rooms are built, the city loses all leverage for future negotiations and control.
Approving this project will establish that it is the citizens' duty to use up natural resources and public financing to assist the IOC. We will be even further hooked on the gaming industry, like heroin or tobacco. You can bet all your tokens that this is IOC's long-range plan. Approving this proposal would only be the beginning - call it Phase One.
