So the city council decides to not allow Shenanigan’s to close 2 lanes of traffic to have an outdoor party on NYE. Well, I was initially on the fence on this one, but the Times points out that there may have been some behind the scenes flaws and failures that have put a QC business in limbo and out some cash.
The initial issue came up in committee where Andy Lank, a member of the family that owns the Carriage Haus and Kilkenney’s (formerly Paddy’s and Dalton’s) made issue that they did not want their parking disrupted for this event. After all, those precious 6 or 8 spaces are prime real estate after happy hour. Indeed, they have the right to defend those spaces, as they do not disrupt the parking on the south side of 3rd St. when they have outdoor events in the summer.
The main reason for the denial of the lane closure seemed to be safety. There is argument that the bars on the north side of the street close a lane all the time during the summer, and I think that’s where one of the primary differences comes into play. Shenanigan’s wanted to close 2 lanes and leave open one lane of traffic. The north side bars close one and leave two open. In addition, Shenanigan’s wanted to put up a heated tent, leaving two more major differences. One, the ability to see traffic traveling down that one open lane, and two, the inability to see what is going on outside the tent. Shenanigan’s, rumor has it, is far worse when it comes to fights and activity requiring the police and ambulances, so completely covering the front view of that building probably isn’t a great idea. There is an additional issue of propane being used to heat the tent, and in the city council meeting, there were no answers as to how those tanks would be protected in the event of an accident. The summer closures on the north side of the street aren’t met with these issues. There is sight distance around the barricades, there isn’t propane outside and there are two lanes of traffic. In addition, there is not the potential for winter driving conditions.
Now to the reason this sounds a little fishy is the issue that the planning was three months out according to the owner and there were alleged conversations with aldermen that it would not be a problem. The Times doesn’t name the aldermen, but maybe Tory can fill us in on who they were if he knows. This is another example of the disorganized circus illusion that the council leaves, and it is somewhat embarrassing, at least I hope the council members see it that way. The sad thing is that Ambrose, Howard, Barnhill and VanFossen wouldn’t even reconsider the issue. The least you can do is have some discussion on the topic and find some sort of compromise. For once, at least Lynn wins a point with me, and Frink and Justin should get the nod of approval for trying to keep a downtown business from suffering losses. I don’t buy the comments on the Times website that there is a bias against Shenanigan’s and a favor toward the north side bars. There is a legitimate concern for safety here, I’m just not sure that there wasn’t the ability to compromise and close the whole street since there was such a mess in the planning process.
By the way, I wonder where Hamerlinck, Dumas and Meyer were? Probably out playing Blues Clues with each other…
Times Article: http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/12/29/news/local/doc4775d05081518138910367.txt
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Meyer supposedly is out of town, yet he has a new post on his blog dated 12-28-07, the day of notification for the meeting. For someone who professes honesty and integrity, I am surprised that he would not see his responsibilities as an alderman to the full end of his term.
Hammerlink’s absence; maybe he would be willing to explain. I believe Dumas has moved from Davenport to an outlying area.
As for the owner of Shenanigans assertion that he had been lead to understand the tent in the street would be ok by an alderman; I believe one of those voting against was the one who told him it would be ok. Maybe the alderman could clarify the conversation. The City Staff’s less than clear directions on the approval process did not help. And, the length of time it took for the request to work through the process is unreasonable. Did the Public Safety Committee receive the request and then sit on the request, failing to bring it before the council before the 11th hour?
Who is actively sitting on the Public Safety Committee at this time?
Craig - what is happening with the sex harassment thing?
Chairman Barnhill, Ambrose, Lynn and Van Fossen. Brooke was previously on the committee. I assume Justin took his place.
Dumas has bought a house in Le Claire. I can only hope he isn't still being paid for being an alderman. Seems as though he was absent at quite a few meetings anyway.
Rumor has it that Gluba is putting the “public with comment” back at the end of the council meetings and WILL NOT BE ON TV.
Dumas is (was) one of the worst alderman we have ever had in this city. He alos was supported majorly by Grubbs and GROW Davenprot (aka Citizens for a Better Davenport).
Cut Dumas a little slack. For sure, he was one of the least involved aldermen in recent memory, but he wasn't even one of the worst ont this council, much less one of the worst ever. He didn't display a lot of initiative or have forceful convictions, but that can be a good thing if your convictions mirror those of a Keith Meyer or Bill Lynn. Not saying his did, only that he could've been much worse.
Agreed, to pick the worst, one would have to revisit exactly what each alderman has accomplished during the last two years. I would gather that it would come down to either Lynn or Van Fossen. Maybe a tie.
Throw Meyer in and you have a threesome with Meyer at the top. Maybe throw in Hammerlink for good measure.
Lynn is just evil really, like his supporters, the QCRPA. They are all dirty boys. Ambrose, was bad too, but not as bad. Van F was just dumb. Dumas fat and lazy. Meyer was odd, but actually did stuff for people. Barnhill, well there ya go.Frink was good. He is a real politician. Hamertime was good, except a little bit of a drama queen. However, I still think that we need to get rid of Malin and this entire council wasted that opportunity.
I really am curious how the Shenanigan’s street closing got so far off track. I saw Alderman Frink’s comments on the news last night and have to agree that the city needs a comprehensive policy/ordinance for downtown street closings for events. Frink should get credit for the initiative to bring it up for reconsideration before the council at the special meeting. The bar owner deserved the reconsideration. The council voted, the issue was decided and Shenanigan’s owner accepted the decision.
The real question remains; why wasn’t the request dealt with earlier? Is this an issue with city staff, or, was the Public Safety Committee responsible for failing to bring the issue before the council earlier. Why didn’t the committee take the initiative to propose a comprehensive policy and work with the City Attorney to draft an ordinance or ordinance revision? How proactive was Chairman Barnhill in brining the issue before committee? Is it even fair to suggest that the problem was created in committee or to suggest that the Chairman was negligent?
If the whole process had been more transparent there wouldn’t be questions. Someone needs to stands up and explain how the wheels came off. Or did it? Is the bar owner’s representation of the events accurate?
Why so many questions and so few answers?
Happy New Year to all.
Outside Looking In
When I heard the suggestion that the entire street be closed with cement barriers to prevent any trouble, (with drunk driver + snow + crowds of people in the street + flammable heaters = trouble) I figured the whole thing was settled. Then the next news that comes out is that the deal's off entirely.
I suppose one of the problems with that plan is the fire engines getting east from the station. When other downtown events close 3rd, they sometimes block off a lane of 4th for the fire equipment to use going east. Between that and the Jersey Barriers, at some point it becomes a lot of work for a bar party.
Well, I'm sure this entire episode could/would have been avoided if any of the owners that are involved could count on their sitting alderman Keith Meyer to represent them. But sounds like Mr. Meyer is MIA. (again) He is probably raising hell in someone elses ward other than his own.
GOSH - aren't you mean. Meyer is in Mexico at a annual family reunion Christmas gathering. His family goes every year. I didn't hear you bitch when Dumass went on vacation AND wasn't didn't answer his phone. Or when Winborn went on vacation. People are mean in this town, they are fake too. You never know. That is the lesson. You can't trust people in this town. Fake and fake. It is too bad.No one is trustworthy or real. That is our problem.
Whether you liked Keith or not, you obviously didn't know him to think that he didn't respond to his ward. He did. In fact 43% thought he should be reelected. Oh and one last thing.....
Mean people suck!
I guess Meyer’s blog post of 12-28-07 was made on the way to the airport. That explains why he couldn’t attend the 12-29-07 special meeting.
It doesn’t really matter now. He is off the council and whatever he chooses to do with his time is his choice. Nothing mean about it, Keith has not been effective in representing his ward or the city of Davenport. 57% of the people who voted in the third ward told Keith to go.
I hope this new council is respectable. Gluba is doing fine.
What is of concern though is how some of those elected got elected. The regular people don't have a chance usually. There is big money in politics here and the Davenport One crowd controls that way. I want an improvement in crime, street, cleanliness, etc. I want all people included in the process, valued. I pray that can happen.
3:46 poster. The fact that the owner of Shananigan's stated that he has been working with the city & commitee, and members of council for 3 MONTHS should tell you how responsive Meyer WAS.
YOu obviously have never dealt with city staff before. City hall is a clusterf^#^* of mismanagement. 3 months is short.
Conundrum on Meyer’s blog
Why does he continue to title his blog “keithmeyer3rdward”? After all, he isn’t the 3rd ward alderman and the blog isn’t about the third ward. The blog seems to be about his fantasy that he is a writer and his obsession with Blues Clues.
The conundrum is why does he have a blog? What is a Blues Clue? Why doesn’t anyone ever post a comment? Why is Cruiser’s blog the Meyer surrogate blog?
I don't know, it adds some excitement with this boring forum. Let's face it, these blogs are BORING. I keep getting on just hoping for something good to discuss, but not much happening. I miss SOLO and SNARKY. They were fun. QCI and this dude are BORING lately.
I can never make "hide nor hair" out of anything on Meyer's "blog". It's just a bunch of gibberish.
I tried to Give Meyer’s book the benefit of a read. I struggled through a page and gave up. His character’s dialog goes nowhere, tells no story.
I am not going to bother looking at his blog anymore. It's a waste of time.
Sorry about the boring lately... You have a point. There just hasn't been anything going on with all the focus on the national politics and the changing of the guard. Now that the new year is underway, hopefully I will find something to write about.
I heard today that Gluba and the new council are goig to vote to make COW once per month and committees eliminated. Anyone else hear this?
4:40:
Read Frink's blog. There is a complete and factual explanation of the change.
I for one think the change was excellent. It gives the average working person an opportunity to attend the meetings. The afternoon meetings were difficult for working people with issues. It also made no sense to attend three meetings to say the same thing.
Good job!!! I am only looking for more good things to come out of this council.
Maybe we can finally move this city forward.
Now that we finally have Alderman Ambrose on line, do you think we might have an Ambrose blog? Probably not, I don't think he can take the heat.
Ray Ambrose is one of the most honest people at City Hall. The Fourth Ward is very lucky to have him.
Working your blogging skills, aren't you Ray?
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