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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Davenport City Council Meeting - May 28, 2026

City Council — Thursday, May 28, 2026

BodyDavenport, Iowa

SessionCity Council

DateThursday, May 28, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:14:06

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

And welcome to tonight's city council meeting for Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

0:05

I call this meeting to order.

0:07

We will have a moment of silence.

0:09

I just did want to say that tomorrow is the three-year anniversary of the building collapse at 324 Main Street.

0:15

So I think it's very appropriate for this moment of silence to remember all those that were impacted, in particular those that were injured in their families, uh those that lost their lives in their families.

0:25

So with that, a moment of silence.

0:35

Thank you.

0:36

Alderman Rickdown will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:38

Please rise.

0:56

All right.

0:57

Brian, would you call the roll, please?

1:00

Pardon?

1:00

Here.

1:01

Fasca.

1:02

Here.

1:02

Following President Leanan.

1:04

Brother.

1:04

Rip here.

1:05

Newton here.

1:06

Bloom here.

1:07

Feed on Job Jen.

1:09

Here.

1:10

And Burklebert.

1:11

Here.

1:11

Nine present your honor.

1:12

Thank you, Brian.

1:13

And good evening.

1:13

Welcome to tonight's City Council meeting.

1:15

Those of you that are with us in the audience or watching at home or on a mobile device, we welcome you to this meeting.

1:21

We value your comments and opinions.

1:23

Please remember that when you address the council, you are sharing your thoughts with fellow Davenport residents and viewers throughout the region.

1:29

City Council meetings are live streamed and recorded for later viewing on our YouTube channel, the City of Davenport's YouTube channel.

1:37

Again, we appreciate your engagement in city government and ask that your participation reflects our shared goals of making Davenport an even better place for everyone who works here, lives here, recreates here, whatever brings them to Davenport.

1:49

Thank you for being part of our meeting tonight.

1:51

Before we begin, just again a few reminders, anything that makes a noise, a cell phone or uh iPad or anything, please put those into silent mode.

1:59

Uh there will be an opportunity to address the city council during the public with business portion of the meeting later this evening.

2:05

When speaking, just come to the podium, wait to be recognized by the mayor and address the council as a whole and not to any one individual, and you'll have five minutes to do that if you want to use all of those that time.

2:17

Thank you.

2:18

Well, an older person move approval of the city council meeting minutes for May 13, 2026.

2:23

So moved.

2:24

Second.

2:24

All in favor say aye.

2:26

Aye.

2:26

Opposed, same sign.

2:28

Minutes are approved.

2:29

Is there an update from the city administrator?

2:31

Thank you, Mayor and Council to the community.

2:34

Tonight is our CFO update.

2:38

We have actually entered uh the fourth quarter of our current fiscal year.

2:42

Uh CFO Boschurlach is going to approach the uh podium and uh provide that update.

2:49

And actually uh should do me a favor.

2:53

Uh there's been some uh you know, I don't know what kind of cover you know coverage uh there's been, but there's been some uh reporting about our bond sales that we have done this multiple times and um not pushing back on that, but just uh when it comes to telling a story, I'm extra sensitive about it being accurate, uh how we use uh taxpayer dollars.

3:19

Uh it's it's any correct information.

3:22

So maybe uh we're doing fun fact Friday uh two days early.

3:26

So if you would please.

3:28

Excellent.

3:29

Um so when it comes to the bond um sale question, we issue bonds once a year, right?

3:35

And what is the purpose of the issuance of our bonds?

3:38

The purpose of issuing bonds is to um fund our capital improvement program, right?

3:44

And we approve our capital improvement program once a year with the operating budget.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural███████████████████████23%

Public Safety███████████████████19%

Fiscal Sustainability████████████12%

Public Engagement██████████10%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████9%

Community Engagement██████6%

Budget Equity Analysis██████6%

Environmental Protection█████5%

Affordable Housing███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Davenport City Council Meeting - May 28, 2026

Note: The transcript records the meeting as occurring on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, but the provided timestamp indicates May 28, 2026. This summary uses the given date per instructions.

The Davenport City Council met on May 28, 2026, at 1:44 PM. The meeting began with a moment of silence for the three-year anniversary of the 324 Main Street building collapse (May 28, 2023). The council approved minutes from May 13, 2026, received a CFO update on bond sales and fiscal year 2026 finances, adopted three proclamations, recognized Davenport U graduates, and debated a downtown services agreement. The meeting concluded with public comments and a unanimous vote to enter executive session for litigation strategy.

Consent Calendar

Approval of city council meeting minutes for May 13, 2026 (unanimous approval).
Approval of the Committee of the Whole report for May 20, 2026 (unanimous).
Consent agenda items were approved as a group after removing two QC Pride parade items (street closure and noise variance) that were postponed indefinitely at the request of the petitioner.

Public Comments & Testimony

Dale Gilmore (6th Ward) spoke against the downtown services agreement with the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), arguing the costs were too high and suggesting the city split the work into five separate bids. He later thanked the council for amending the contract to one year.
Cheryl Shagna (3rd Ward) raised safety concerns about a car event (Quad Cities Night Meet) scheduled for the Harrison parking garage on May 28. She noted the event includes a two-stroke contest with flames, alcohol, and spectators, and questioned whether the garage can handle vibrations and weight. She urged the council to be aware of liability.
William Pampern (citizen) criticized the city’s handling of a structurally deficient building at 4th and Pine Street, arguing that barricades and condemnation tags were removed, posing a danger to nearby residents and construction workers. He connected this to the 324 Main Street collapse.
Joyce Miller (3rd Ward) corroborated Pampern’s remarks, noting recent chain-link fencing and a “road closed” sign at the site.
Andy Rodriguez (5th Ward, Davenport U graduate) thanked the city for the Davenport U program, stating it helped him understand local government.
Kyle Carter (5th Ward, Executive Director of DDP) invited council to the DDP annual meeting on June 24.

Discussion Items

CFO Update (Finance Report as of April 30, 2026): CFO Boschurlach presented a detailed financial update. Major revenues (property taxes, local option sales tax, road use tax, hotel/motel tax) are outperforming conservative budgets by about $13.5 million year-to-date. General fund revenues are at 96.58% of budget versus an 83% benchmark. Enterprise funds (sewer, water pollution control, solid waste, transit, airport, golf) are performing well, while the River Center and River’s Edge funds are underperforming but staff are working on new revenue sources. The bond sale process was also explained: it is a year-long cycle starting in June with a public hearing, leading to a competitive sale in April and closing in May.
Proclamations:
- Building Our Communities Week (May 29 – June 5): Recognized John Deere and Habitat for Humanity partnership. Katie Schroeder (John Deere) and Tom King (Habitat for Humanity) accepted.
- National Mississippi River Day (June 2): Accepted by Reagan Baker (Clean River Advisory Council).
- National Gun Violence Awareness Day (June 5): Accepted by Connie Gowan (Moms Demand Action).
Davenport U Citizens Academy: Ten graduates from the 10th cohort were recognized. The city administrator encouraged graduates to serve on boards and recruit future participants.
Downtown Services Agreement with DDP: The proposed three-year agreement (up to $282,000/year) covered garbage removal, parking ramp cleaning, pocket park maintenance, skybridge cleaning, and curb line snow removal. Public comment criticized the cost and lack of competitive bidding. Council debate included:
- Director Gleason stated the DDP is a 28E-like partnership and staff had not previously put it out to bid. The actual costs have been below the maximum (e.g., $199,000 in the prior year).
- Alderman Burkholder moved to amend the contract to one year and instruct staff to issue an RFQ for future bids. The amendment passed 6-3 (Vasquez, Rip, Newton, Leinen, Jobgen, Burkholder in favor; Grip, Holloway, Blunk opposed).
- The amended resolution then passed unanimously (9-0).
Item REZ 26-04 (Pickett Properties rezoning): The petitioner withdrew the request. The council voted unanimously to delete the item from the agenda.

Key Outcomes

Minutes approved (May 13, 2026).
Committee of the Whole report approved (May 20, 2026).
Three proclamations adopted (Building Our Communities Week, National Mississippi River Day, National Gun Violence Awareness Day).
Davenport U graduates recognized; certificates presented.
REZ 26-04 deleted from agenda by unanimous roll call.
Downtown services agreement approved as amended to one year (with direction to issue an RFQ for future bids). Vote: 9-0 on the amended resolution.
Consent agenda approved (after removing two QC Pride items, which were postponed indefinitely).
Executive session entered to discuss litigation strategy (Iowa Code § 21.51C) by unanimous roll call. The council did not return to open session.

Meeting Transcript

And welcome to tonight's city council meeting for Wednesday, May 27, 2026. I call this meeting to order. We will have a moment of silence. I just did want to say that tomorrow is the three-year anniversary of the building collapse at 324 Main Street. So I think it's very appropriate for this moment of silence to remember all those that were impacted, in particular those that were injured in their families, uh those that lost their lives in their families. So with that, a moment of silence. Thank you. Alderman Rickdown will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Please rise. All right. Brian, would you call the roll, please? Pardon? Here. Fasca. Here. Following President Leanan. Brother. Rip here. Newton here. Bloom here. Feed on Job Jen. Here. And Burklebert. Here. Nine present your honor. Thank you, Brian. And good evening. Welcome to tonight's City Council meeting. Those of you that are with us in the audience or watching at home or on a mobile device, we welcome you to this meeting. We value your comments and opinions. Please remember that when you address the council, you are sharing your thoughts with fellow Davenport residents and viewers throughout the region. City Council meetings are live streamed and recorded for later viewing on our YouTube channel, the City of Davenport's YouTube channel. Again, we appreciate your engagement in city government and ask that your participation reflects our shared goals of making Davenport an even better place for everyone who works here, lives here, recreates here, whatever brings them to Davenport. Thank you for being part of our meeting tonight. Before we begin, just again a few reminders, anything that makes a noise, a cell phone or uh iPad or anything, please put those into silent mode. Uh there will be an opportunity to address the city council during the public with business portion of the meeting later this evening. When speaking, just come to the podium, wait to be recognized by the mayor and address the council as a whole and not to any one individual, and you'll have five minutes to do that if you want to use all of those that time. Thank you. Well, an older person move approval of the city council meeting minutes for May 13, 2026. So moved. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. Minutes are approved. Is there an update from the city administrator? Thank you, Mayor and Council to the community. Tonight is our CFO update. We have actually entered uh the fourth quarter of our current fiscal year. Uh CFO Boschurlach is going to approach the uh podium and uh provide that update.

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