You would think the minute the Davenport City Council heard the word TIF (tax increment financing), their little ears would perk up and their brains would start quaking. When the recent news of the proposed TIF to subsidize Sentry Insurance's move to Davenport came to their attention, the City Council should have been on it like ducks on June bugs.
"Hello, everyone. It's your beloved national icon and TV best friend Oprah again! I'm back with another entertaining yet relevant show that the whole country will be talking about next week. As you know, the two major presidential candidates were my guests recently and all of us came off pretty lame.
The Davenport City Council last week tentatively approved a $3.7 million incentive package for Sentry Insurance to relocate from Moline, claiming that without the deal the company might have left the Quad Cities altogether.
Last week the Davenport City Council voted 7-3 in favor of an additional $3.5 million in funding for the proposed relocation of the Davenport Museum of Art into downtown. This brings the city's contribution to $6.
Four community meetings last week revealed a strong public sentiment: The City of Davenport should sell the property it owns at 53rd and Eastern but ensure that the new owners develop the land responsibly and create green space.
For nearly four months, a mayor's ad hoc committee made up of several members of the Davenport community (including myself), along with various aldermen and city staff, has struggled with what to do with 220 acres the City owns as part of the failed 53rd Street Mixed-Use Development project.

Whazzup

Bobby Knight addresses a joint session of Congress. "Ladies and gentlemen, I could say a lot of things right now. I could say, 'You won't have old Knight to kick around anymore.' I could say, 'Well, there's $500 in yoga lessons down the drain.
"Hello everyone. I'm Bob Costas, saying 'Welcome back to NBC, your Peacock Network for the 2000 Olympics and Third Rock from the Sun.' We're all very excited to be coming to you live right now from Sydney, Australia.
Public meetings are being held this week to get citizens' input on what to do with the 220 acres at the corner of 53rd and Eastern Avenue that the City of Davenport currently owns. The Ad Hoc Committee, appointed by Mayor Phil Yerington, has as its mission to study various land use scenarios and present its final recommendation to the City Council for an alternative use for the property?alternative to the Mixed-Use Development project that was initially presented in 1997. Thanks to the exhaustive efforts of CURV, citizens were able to challenge the financial feasibility of the City's project and eventually stopped a $25 million dollar bond issue from occurring (to fund the project) that would have crippled Davenport and left virtually no room for all the capital improvement projects being considered today. Davenport has yet to show CURV their gratitude for the remarkable rescue operation they successfully executed on behalf of this community. To add insult to injury, the current City Council completely abandoned CURV once they were elected.

The ad hoc committee has given a rudimentary evaluation of six distinct land use options for the public's consideration. Brief narratives will accompany each plan, along with a very broad comparative financial analysis to give citizens an overview upon which to comment and offer their suggestions, perspectives, and so forth. No decision has been made as to which land use option should be presented to the City Council. In fact, there is some debate within the committee on whether we should present all six scenarios to the Council and let them take it to the next level for refinement and more specific revenue/cost analysis to determine the best plan.

The ad hoc committee requested an appraisal of the 220 acres to help evaluate the options. There was disagreement within the committee over the values given for approximately three separate parcels within the property area?namely that the values were too low ($35,000 for the frontage property on 53rd Street; $17,000 for the majority of the remaining property; and $11,000 for the areas where the topography was deemed unsuitable for most types of development). The aggregate highest appraisal was $4.5 million for the entire parcel. I am betting at that price, buyers will fall all over each other lining up to purchase the land.

Of additional concern is how dramatically this low valuation impacts upon the different land use scenarios. At this valuation, the price averages at 47 cents per square foot, alarmingly low considering neighboring properties are selling between at $4-$6 per square foot unimproved. (The parcel of unimproved land where the new 53rd cinemas are located sold for $3-$4 per square foot several years ago.) That is but one example of many. The most recent sale of an improved lot at Waterford Place, according to the owner, was sold for $7.50 per square foot. If the rule of thumb for the cost of infrastructure improvements is $1-$1.50 per square foot, do the math. The net on the sale of the property would be $6 per square foot, even higher than in previous years. If we used those values, or even a value somewhere in the middle (so as to average various land values throughout the parcel), such as $2-$3 per square foot, the land value would calculate at $19,166,400-$28,749,600. That is a dramatic difference, and it changes the impact of each land use plan. Reality probably dictates that at those more competitive prices, all the land would not sell as quickly, so that would need to be accounted for. Still, it is a difference so significant that to ignore it would be thoroughly irresponsible.

With this information in mind, please attend the public meetings Thursday evening, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. There are two simultaneous meetings, at Hayes Elementary School and Central High School. Public input is needed and wholeheartedly welcomed.

On a final note, the information on this issue printed in the QC Times Tuesday, September 12, was inaccurate. The data was taken from the comparative financial analysis before all the figures were in place. It is unreliable data and should be disregarded.
All of the Quad Cities are facing a federal mandate to fully implement citywide stormwater management systems by 2007. Moline just approved a utility fee to cover the cost of its system, and that will be the path most likely taken by the other area municipalities because there is no room in current budgets for such a substantial expenditure.

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