Davenport City Commission members voted to recommend redlined management and lease agreements between Davenport City (owner) and the Lindsay Park Yacht Club (manager of Lindsay Park Marina) to the City Council, approving several amendments on a voice vote with no recorded opposition.

The recommendation sends updated terms to council that (as discussed and redlined at the special meeting) would: allow the yacht club a 5% annual increase in slip rates without returning to the commission; set a management-fee escalation tied to a 2% annual increase (with staff and the club discussing whether it starts in 2027); set the lease rent to rise 2% annually beginning in 2026; require the manager to provide an annual operating income, expense and maintenance report to the commission; require commission authorization for owner-funded projects or expenses above a $15,000 threshold; and change bank-account language to give the manager authorized access to a city-owned, FDIC/NCUA-insured account rather than making the club the account owner.

Why it matters: the agreements govern operations at Lindsay Park Marina, a city-owned marina for which the yacht club performs day-to-day management. The redlines are intended to create clearer financial separation between the club and the marina, standardize management compensation, clarify who approves large capital projects, and set reporting requirements so the commission can track marina finances and operations.

Discussion and background

Commission staff opened the meeting with a redline version of the management and lease agreements and explained the primary edits. Club leaders and several yacht club board members described efforts to separate club and marina finances and to produce regular reports. The yacht club’s Commodore said the club currently provides much of the day-to-day management as unpaid volunteer labor and that a transparent, fixed management fee would make operations more sustainable.

“We do this volunteer board. I do payroll. I do contracts with you guys,” the Commodore said, describing unpaid work the club performs to supervise docking, order fuel and manage projects.

The commission and club reviewed recent financial figures offered by the club: the current lease payment to the city is $7,000 annually; the club said it pays roughly $47,000 in property taxes; and it provided three years of profit-and-loss statements showing management fees of roughly $40,000 in 2022, $55,000 in 2023 and $20,000 in 2024 plus a separate marina fee listed as $42,018. Club representatives said those historical numbers reflected a mix of blended charges and inconsistent apportionment between the club and marina.

Club leaders proposed a fixed management fee (the redline initially used $45,000) and asked for an annual escalation tied either to the consumer price index or a flat 2% starting in the years discussed in the meeting. One commissioner said a 2% increase annually would be easier for both budgeting and parity between the management fee and the lease rent.

Reporting, accounting and controls

The commission asked for clearer reporting cadence. The redline sets the manager’s reporting requirement in section 3(d) to an annual presentation of operation income, expenses and maintenance at the commission meeting (the parties discussed scheduling that presentation in January or February to align with the club’s fiscal year closing). The club said it can provide monthly or quarterly reports if the commission prefers, and that it currently provides statements to its own board monthly.

On accounting separation, the club said it now uses a bookkeeper and a third-party accountant (identified in the meeting as Citrix) and is willing to provide the commission with ledger access or statements. Club representatives said a full third-party audit can be costly for a small nonprofit and estimated an independent audit could be around $5,000; they asked the commission whether a review or similar documentation would suffice for transparency.

Bank accounts and payroll

The parties debated account ownership and payroll controls. Club leaders said there appear to be two separate EIN numbers for club and marina accounts and that the marina’s account is city-owned; they asked the commission to clarify whether the city would allow the marina to pay payroll items directly without creating city-employee status. Staff and the club discussed language edits to say the owner will maintain an insured account and grant the manager authorized access rather than listing the manager as account owner.

Infrastructure and termination

The redline includes a clause under owner duties requiring the owner to discuss proposed significant infrastructure changes affecting adjacent or overlapping property with the manager and to consider manager concerns in good faith, while preserving owner discretion to approve work. The parties also discussed a termination clause amendment: if the city terminates the management agreement while active third-party contracts (for example, dock repair loans or construction contracts) remain in place, the redline clarifies whether the city would assume liability for designated active contracts. Commission staff said projects or expenses above $15,000 would need prior commission authorization; the club would be permitted to approve expenses under that threshold without additional commission approval.

The vote and next steps

Commissioner Kelly moved to recommend the redlined management and lease agreements to the City Council as amended; the commission approved the recommendation on a voice vote, with the motion recorded as carried and no opposition or abstention recorded in the meeting transcript. Staff said a resolution reflecting the commission’s recommendation will be prepared and the item will be placed on the City Council agenda for final action.

The commission also requested the manager provide the annual operations report at a February commission meeting to allow the club and its accountants time to close fiscal-year books and prepare statements.

What was not decided

The special meeting produced a recommendation to send the agreements to council; the council will take final action. The transcript does not record a numerical roll-call vote or a named tally. The commission and club did not finalize whether the management-fee escalation will be CPI-linked or a flat 2% in all years beyond those specifically cited in the redlines, nor did they record a final dollar amount for a fixed management fee beyond the redline placeholders discussed.