Thanks to the pandemic, Davenport Mayor Mike Matson had to make a different kind of presentation for his first state of the city address. Instead of having lunch with some service clubs and making a power point presentation, he made a video highliting different parts of the city.
His main message is that he and city leaders are listening to residents - one example is a 50 per cent increase in the usual appropriation for improving streets and infrastructure.
"We heard that from everybody. In every survey we do and when we talk to people and when we have focus groups, it's infrastructure and streets and bridges and things like that. So we really put some effort there and I applaud the council and the city administration for making that happen."
City leaders also listened, he says, and hired a consultant to study Davenport's riverfront and flood response, and recommend improvements.
Matson says he and the city council have also emphasized public safety - buying expensive equipment to help police investigate gun crimes, and investing in more training for officers. In addition, work is beginning to build a new fire station in north Davenport.
The video is available at www.davenportiowa.com/SOC.
