Gleason: Aldermen setting new path for Davenport

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Call it a fresh start.

New leadership in Davenport is setting a new path forward.

The city has a new mayor and five new aldermen. Tim Gleason is the new city administrator. His contract started this month.

TV6’s Matt Christensen sat down with Gleason in an exclusive interview to find out where Davenport is headed.

What are some priorities for the city?

“I think asphalt and concrete projects are going to be the No. 1 priority for this council going forward. That’s just not a good enough answer to the residents that, OK, we live in the Midwest. It has to be a priority.”

Where can Davenport develop next?

“I am confident that our efforts, building the West Side, you hear the mayor talk about this, and making sure that the infrastructure is in place to develop our second industrial park.”

What about the Amazon data center and the Fair Oaks bacon facility? Those were huge projects that haven’t come to fruition.

“I don’t know the answers. And we get questions as well. You’ve got a lot of private players that are in conversation. We do a check-in every now and then, I think as we should, as the municipality, but we’re not involved in a lot of those conversations.”

The city has spent about $24 million developing the riverfront in a project called Main Street Landing. When will it be finished?

“I think this community has accomplished that. We’re near completion of the Main Street Landing. That’s exciting. We have a lot of opportunities at the riverfront, and I can’t wait for that ribbon-cutting late August, late summer, early fall of this year.”

Is the city still dealing with the 2023 building collapse?

“We have over 100 plaintiffs that have filed lawsuits. A lot of those overlap, and those play out in court. There are many times that we would love to fill in the blanks because there’s misinformation out there. But, it’s in the court system right now. That day will come where the rest of the story is going to be able to be told. But that’s, you know, a couple, three years out by the time this plays out, probably.”

The Legislature is considering bills that could limit the amount of property taxes cities can collect. How could Davenport be affected?

“You have a governor’s version that’s been presented. You’ve got a Senate version and a House version. So all of us municipalities, especially the larger ones that are full-service, our eyes are on this. Our legislative or lobbying efforts -- the elected officials, making sure that their voices are heard with the local representatives, but more so in Des Moines.”

Gleason said aldermen recently met at a retreat and plan to set an action plan in April.