Craig’s Friday Countdown CIP Top 20
Staff has compiled 360 potential projects into a FY16 – 21 Capital Improvement Program wishlist. Council members have been asked to rank their top twenty projects as a starting point for budget discussions in January and February. The list is available here, for your review. I’m the hired help, so my vote doesn’t count. But if it did, my top twenty are:
20. That darn pothole I just hit - (technically, maintenance rather than a capital improvement).
19. Your favorite project ! (if not found below).
18. Airport Runway Extension – Connected cities succeed.
17. Bicycle access – See rationale for #18, and … healthier living through pedaling.
16. Smart Zoning Code – Welcoming investment and improving quality of life can coexist.
14/15. (tie) Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park – The residential / park plan for 5th and Brady is pretty terrific.
14/15. (tie) Miracle Ballfield – Expanding Davenport’s excellent youth baseball program to kids with disabilities.
13. River’s Edge Expansion – Blow out the west wall to add court space, and (even better) add a second story to house a sports oriented middle school. Davenport used to dominate high school sports in Iowa. A District of Distinction middle school, perched above athletic facilities open to school day use, could restore that dominance (and help keep some kids on the right track).
11/12. (tie) Modern Woodmen Park Minor Flood Protection Improvements – It all seems a miracle to those who show up for the games when the ballpark is an island, but there are some weak points we'd like to strengthen.
11/12. (tie) DavenportNOW – The most capable, professional services. The lowest tax rate for new investment. Let’s keep that up.
10. Police Body Cameras – The most professional department in the region, leading again.
9. 3rd & 4th Street Two Way Conversion – Moving on from 1970s traffic engineering.
8. Extension of 76th Street – With Elmore extending north to the casino, 76th Street moves into 1st place as the road extension most certain to increase taxbase and jobs.
7. Transload Facility – Connected cities succeed, again … this time with freight rail.
6. Utilize / Expand Fiber Network – Connected cities succeed (it’s a theme).
5. City Wide Reforestation – The single most cost effective expenditure to increase property values, improve quality of life and help the planet is … more trees.
4. Central Fire Station Renovation – The last major City building needing renovation. Proudly serving, and patiently waiting, for more than a century. Almost Cub like.
3. Bridge Maintenance Program – No brainer.
2. Phase 2, Veterans Memorial Park – Full hearter.
1. RiverVision Implementation – Bid ready construction documents in 2015 for expanding LeClaire Park eastward in 2016. No other expenditure will create as much value - economic, civic and social - for Davenport as reclaiming the foot of Main Street as our own.
