Moline Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting: Surveys and 2026-2029 Strategic Plan - June 11, 2025

The Moline Committee-of-the-Whole met on June 11, 2025 (agenda packet dated June 10, 2025) for a 6:00 p.m. session that included an emailed public comment, a presentation by Polco on the National Community and Business Surveys, a 15-minute recess, and a 2026-2029 Strategic Plan work session. All council members were present; remote electronic attendance was not needed. The meeting reconvened at approximately 7:16 p.m. in the Committee-of-the-Whole conference room and adjourned without an executive session.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Jake Krueger, a resident of 39th Street, submitted an emailed public comment. He thanked the city for storm cleanup and communications after the recent severe weather and praised generational investments such as the Riverside Facility lap pool. He expressed concern that the pool lacks backstroke flags, saying that for a fitness swimmer and former swim coach this is like being given a workout bike without a seat and told to use it standing. He asked the city to add backstroke flags as a small, incremental improvement, and warned that without it some lap swimmers will go to facilities across the river, causing economic loss and added environmental impact from extra driving.

National Community and Business Survey Presentation

Grace Arneson of Polco presented the survey results and answered council questions.

• NCS methodology: 4,000 randomly selected households were invited from a USPS-based list; surveys began mailing around March 28 and closed May 23. The city received 517 responses, a 14% response rate and a 4.3% margin of error. Results were statistically weighted to match 2020 Census and 2023 American Community Survey adult demographics. A separate open-participation survey drew 125 responses but was kept apart from the scientific sample.
• Benchmarking: Moline was compared to the national NCS database of about 500 communities and to a custom benchmark of communities with population under 45,000 and median household income under $65,000. Of 123 community survey items, 4 were higher than the national benchmark, 111 similar, and 8 lower; against the custom benchmark, 9 were higher, 114 similar, and none lower.
• Key resident strengths: high quality of life, safety, inclusivity, and public transportation. About nine in ten residents felt safe in their neighborhoods and in downtown/commercial areas during the day; nearly nine in ten rated fire and EMS services excellent or good. Ratings for drinking water, attracting people from diverse backgrounds, bus/transit service, and ease of public transportation exceeded at least one benchmark.
• Areas of concern: appearance/cleanliness, Moline as a place to visit, and street cleaning were among the lower-rated items. Economy, safety, and inclusivity/engagement appeared in the gap analysis as high-importance areas where quality ratings were lower. Economy was rated excellent/good by 39% of residents, while about nine in ten said it is important to focus on over the next two years.
• Mobility: about eight in ten residents rated ease of travel by car positively; nearly seven in ten rated parking positively; ease of public transportation and traffic flow were each at 63%, with public transportation above both benchmarks. Walking and bicycling ratings were lower but still generally positive. About nine in ten rated ease of using the airport positively; Metrolink was rated highest for service quality and timeliness, with about six in ten feeling safe on the bus and just over half positive about routes, coverage, and trip planning.
• NBS methodology: approximately 2,000 businesses were mailed the National Business Survey between April 10 and May 22. There were 135 responses, a 7% response rate and an 8.5% margin of error. Twenty-five percent of respondents lived outside Moline; nine in ten were small businesses with about 9 to 49 employees; about one-third were woman-owned businesses.
• Business views: businesses rated parks/recreation, safety, natural environment, health/wellness opportunities, utility infrastructure, and education/culture/arts highly. They gave lower ratings to residents' connection/engagement and the overall economic health of Moline. Of 126 NBS items, 8 were higher than the national benchmark, 44 similar, and 74 lower.
• Business climate and workforce: about six in ten businesses rated Moline as a good place to do business; about three in ten rated the city's support of existing businesses or creation of new jobs highly; about two in ten rated attracting new business highly. About seven in ten praised access to higher education and trade schools; about six in ten rated education/training quality and affordability positively. Items below the national average included transportation options for workers, housing affordability for people who work in Moline, and cost of living.
• Council discussion: Alderperson Simeon asked whether business owners are typically more pessimistic than residents; Ms. Arneson said yes, that is common. Alderperson Schmidt questioned positive bus ratings from likely non-riders; Alderperson Timion noted only 15% of resident respondents had ridden the bus in the past year yet 79% rated it favorably, indicating strong public perception. Alderperson Murphy observed buses are highly visible throughout the city. Alderperson Messias asked for examples of cities moving survey measures over time; Ms. Arneson cited a community that improved fire-education ratings through outreach and offered to share case studies. Alderperson Castro called for helping businesses see the city's positive resident perspective; the Mayor pointed to economic development partnerships and a 39% increase in property valuations since 2021-22. Alderperson McNeil asked about higher education; Ms. Arneson clarified the NCS asks only about K-12 education. Council members also discussed the 8.5% NBS margin of error, possible future weighting by business type/size, and local research on career readiness.
• Passenger rail: a council member highlighted custom survey results showing 57% of residents were very likely to use restored passenger rail between Moline and Chicago, roughly 80% somewhat or very likely, 82% thought it would affect Moline positively, and 87% would use it for personal travel; business-travel use was about a 50-50 split with driving. The member called these significant numbers for state funding advocacy.

2026-2029 Strategic Plan Work Session

The Mayor facilitated a work session on the next strategic plan, defining the current mission, vision, values, and pillars and leading council group work.

• Existing framework: the current mission is for city government to act in a financially responsible manner while providing quality and efficient city services and creating a sustainable city. The current vision describes Moline as a municipal leader through effective, ethical, transparent governance and exceptional, fiscally responsible services. Existing values are collaboration, excellence, service and engagement, being welcoming and inclusive, innovation/adaptability/resiliency, and stewardship.
• Proposed fourth pillar: in addition to infrastructure, quality of place, and economy, the Mayor proposed adding housing. He cited a private developer planning 69 market-rate units near downtown and another 40 units on Fifth Avenue, noting this represents more than 25% of the housing gap being addressed with private investment.
• Goals versus objectives: goals are broad, long-term outcomes; objectives are specific projects and programs. The current plan contained 84 objectives. Staff will consolidate council goals, refine objectives, and produce a version 2.0 action plan with clearer accountability, reporting, and timelines.
• Council group work: council members split into Group A and Group B and drafted goals for infrastructure, housing, economy, and quality of place. Reported infrastructure goals included increasing safety in public spaces; modernizing utility infrastructure; improving roads, alleys, and sidewalks; pursuing environmentally resilient infrastructure; continuing a capital plan for sidewalks/street repair and promoting those improvements; and making Moline more walkable to improve transportation access and economic development.
• Housing goals included creating more housing opportunities through zoning and incentives, preserving existing housing stock, expanding housing for vulnerable residents and low-income households, addressing homelessness through partnerships and programming, stabilizing and improving census population trends, and reducing barriers to diverse housing types such as accessory dwelling units.
• Economy goals included building a comprehensive economic development toolbox for developers, supporting small business startups and reducing regulatory burden, implementing and reporting cost-saving procedures, continuing to support passenger rail, prioritizing riverfront redevelopment, improving the development environment, addressing public art funding perceptions, and increasing economic opportunity programs for residents.
• Quality-of-place goals included reimagining riverfront redevelopment, improving community engagement and program awareness, promoting cultural awareness and enrichment, supporting social infrastructure, beautifying neighborhoods, and expanding neighborhood groups and partnerships.
• Mission and vision discussion: council members discussed moving financial responsibility out of the mission statement, since it is a 'how' rather than the core purpose. Proposed revised mission language was 'to provide quality and efficient city services and create a sustainable city' or 'to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of our community.' Council indicated the vision would remain essentially unchanged.
• Funding context: in discussing strategic goals, some members noted the federal budget proposal does not include CDBG or HOME funds, an amount estimated at more than $800,000 that could affect many local programs. The group agreed to keep goals aspirational and scale objectives if necessary rather than lowering goals.

Key Outcomes

• Council received the Polco survey results as a point-in-time benchmark and report card for the current strategic planning cycle.
• Council voiced support for adding housing as a fourth strategic pillar during the work session.
• Council agreed to revise the mission statement and keep the vision essentially unchanged; staff will wordsmith and return a combined draft.
• Staff will compile the group goals into a unified strategic plan draft, present it to council by July 15, and bring back an action plan for adoption alongside a future budget with a target date of 'the 18th' before the holidays.
• The council recessed by voice vote for 15 minutes after the survey presentation and later adjourned without an executive session.