Davenport council approves amended River Watch Place development agreement; one abstention over appearance of conflict

The Davenport City Council voted 6-3 with one abstention on Jan. 15 to approve a revised development agreement for the River Watch Place project at 227 MacLeaire after the council adopted amendments offered by Alderman Dunn.

The amended resolution, described on the agenda as “approving revised development agreement with 227 MacLeaire for the River Watch Place project and authorizing a city administrator designate to execute necessary documents,” was moved, amended and approved during the meeting. Alderman Dunn moved the amendments and Alderman Gripp seconded them; after the amendments passed the full agreement was moved and seconded and carried by the same numerical margin.

The vote followed a brief procedural exchange with city counsel about timing. City counsel Mr. Hupp advised the council that taking the vote before resolving a separate request related to potential conflicts could be interpreted as an acquiescence that the council did not intend to disqualify a member. "If we vote on this and if Miss McGinnis chooses to vote, we have not yet done anything with her request. So... that would appear... an acquiescence that you do not wish as a council to disqualify her," Hupp said during the meeting.

Alderman Newton recorded an abstention and explained the reason on the record: "Abstention. Reason therefore, due to allegations brought forth by members of this council at public meetings and call into question propriety. I cannot vote... in light of section 2 of our code of conduct until such is cleared," he said.

A roll call taken after the amendments recorded six yeses, three noes and one abstention; the full motion as amended later passed by the same margin. The roll-call statements in the transcript list the following recorded votes during the final vote: Reinartz: yes; Newton: abstention; Gripp: yes; Arden: yes; Burkholder: no; Kelly: no; McGinnis: yes; (an entry recorded as) Tiedad/Tidan: no; Lynch: yes; Jovent/Jovjan: yes. The clerk announced the final tally as "6 yeses, 3 nos, and 1 abstention."

Councilors did not take additional actions on the pending request regarding appearances of conflicts during the same item; counsel had recommended tabling if the council intended to resolve the ethics question first. The transcript does not record any subsequent resolution of that separate request during this meeting.

The resolution text on the agenda identifies the developer and authorizes the city administrator to execute necessary documents; the transcript does not record additional financial details, specific amended provisions, or implementation deadlines beyond the council's authorization to execute documents.

The item generated public and council attention because a prior public discussion and council member statements had prompted a request related to section 2 of the council's code of conduct about appearance of conflicts. That request was discussed separately earlier in the meeting by Alderman McGinnis, who described her prior professional work on historic tax credit projects and said she did not believe a conflict existed under Iowa law but had sought to clear the matter. The council proceeded to vote on the development agreement after adopting the amendments.

The council meeting minutes and the finalized amended development agreement will be the official record of the specific contractual changes and any deadlines for execution; those details were not read into the transcript during the roll call and are recorded on the agenda packet.

Votes at a glance (River Watch Place): - Motion: Approve revised development agreement with 227 MacLeaire for the River Watch Place project and authorize city administrator to execute necessary documents (as amended). - Mover (amendments): Alderman Dunn. Second (amendments): Alderman Gripp. - Final vote (as recorded): 6 yes, 3 no, 1 abstention (Alderman Newton abstained). Outcome: approved.