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Commission seeks clearer estimates for office relocation and votes to request fair‑housing budget rollover
Summary
Commissioners asked staff to obtain a line‑item breakdown and design concept for a proposed office relocation after staff identified renovation estimates approaching $2 million; the body also voted to request rolling over remaining fair‑housing funds to hire temporary staff after hiring delays.
At its Nov. 18 meeting, the Davenport City Commission directed staff to ask the vendor for a clearer design concept and a line‑item breakdown of renovation costs after staff presented a nearly $2 million estimate for an office‑relocation property.
Director Lacy told the commission the document she received “is kind of like an overview or like a summary of costs, not necessarily a breakdown of what those costs are,” and said she was unclear what was being included. Lacy said the vendor’s estimate appeared to break costs into four separate projects with an estimated 11‑month timeline and included items staff had not requested, such as a $300,000 truck‑bay remodel and insurance line items attached to multiple subprojects.
Staff and several commissioners questioned whether the vendor was using the commission’s baseline requirements in its search. One commissioner asked, “Have we defined what our requirements are in terms of physical layout, space, number of offices, rooms, etc.?” Director Lacy said she believed the specifications had been sent in August but agreed to resend the requirements and to request a specific layout and a clearer, itemized estimate.
Lacy described four options previously identified by staff for meeting space needs: ground‑level accessibility improvements to Fire Station 3 for $1,250,000; a full renovation and accessibility improvements at Fire Station 3 for $1,800,000; remodeling the commission's existing office space for $280,000 (with a potential rebid); or leasing private office space at a fixed annual lease rate. Commissioners expressed concern that leasing could be vulnerable to future budget cuts.
On budgetary matters, Lacy told the commission she discovered carryover activity on Oct. 30 and that approximately $35,000 had been carried over into the fair‑housing fund in a transfer recorded in staff notes as taking place Oct. 30, 2025. Lacy said the apparent transfer and prior administrative delays prevented the commission from filling a full‑time investigator position on schedule, creating backlog and a need for temporary staff. The commission voted to submit a request to finance asking that the remaining funds be rolled over to allow hiring of temporary or part‑time staff to address the backlog. During the roll call, commissioners recorded as voting yes included Mike Guster, Frank Holly, Glenn Peterson, Etheline Boyd and Jeff Transo.
Lacy also announced upcoming investigator training over the next two to three weeks and an open‑meetings/open‑records training offered by Iowa State University (registration fee $50).
Next steps: staff will resend the August specifications to the vendor, request a detailed scope and cost breakdown and proposed layout or visual design concept, and submit a formal rollover request to the finance department for review.
