The Rock Island City Council is denying, for a second time, a request for a local business to operate a junkyard on two properties.
At Monday night’s city council meeting, the Council heard a first-reading on a special use permit request from Del’s Metal Company to operate a junkyard at 1600 Mill St. and 1700 1st St. Robert Duckels represents Del’s Metal Company and made his case before the council.
“I believe we're actually actively resolving issues that currently exist under the current status quo that we're under because the city no longer allows us to cut partially on the other lot,” Duckels said. “We absolutely understand the health and safety of the community, and I believe we've demonstrated that and perhaps gone above and beyond what others have done in similar situations.”
Duckels said the company retained the consulting firm Mustardi Platt to test whether large metal particles are traveling outside the facility, a concern shared by neighboring businesses. Mustardi Platt also conducted a test to see if the torch cutting Del's does on site is impacting air quality.
Michael Valentino from Mustardi Platt noted that large metal particles come off the cutting process.However, because of their size, they should not travel more than 50 feet.
“We did particle size analysis and chemical composition of the particulate,” Valentino told the Council. He said the particles picked up in the air samples around the vicinity of the property show a decreased amount of metal compared to the particulate level they found around the area where Del's cuts metal with a blow torch.
The second test involved modeling software called AirScreen, which Valentino says is EPA-approved. The test determines whether the particulates are impacting air quality around the site. He said the modeling software takes concentrations from the point where the torch was and maps it out using terrain elevations. The results showed the maximum ground-level concentration of air particulates would be 69 meters away from the torch area, which is essentially the fence line.
He noted tests used models showing stable atmospheric conditions and low wind speeds. He claims the pollutants will decrease in concentration as they travel further downwind.
Duckels said the owners of Del’s Metal Company will set up windsocks to monitor wind direction, and on windy days, the facility will limit metal cutting to three hours. A few council members spoke up about how the city could enforce such a regulation.
First Ward Alderman Glen Evans, who represents the area where Del’s Metal Company is located, said he has received multiple complaints from residents against the company.
“I've read back and forth on this. I don't see us, especially me, being able to approve this at this point because I'm not confident in what you guys bring to the table,” Ald. Evans said. “And I apologize if I have to say that to you, but based on my residents' and my ward's complaints, we're just not there yet.”
Fifth Ward Alderman Dylan Parker also chimed in, stating that regardless of the environmental concerns, the permit request does not align with the city’s multiple strategic plans for that area.
“Our zoning code says that if a special use permit is to be offered, it has to meet all of the standards. Staff and our commission have said this proposed use fails a number of standards,” Ald. Parker said.
Business owners and employees near the properties, including Tom Unley of Unley Marine; Robert Kaufman, an employee at Jackson Auto Body and Custom Paint; and Rick Jackson, owner and operator of Jackson Auto Body, spoke against the permit, saying the operation's pollution affects their businesses.
The council unanimously denied the special use permit request.
This was the second special use permit request after the council denied it in late 2024. Since 2020, the company has allegedly violated the city’s zoning ordinance by storing scrap metal outside and cutting metal on properties not zoned for that use. Del’s Metal Company first opened in the 1980s at 1605 1st Street, which is zoned for operating a junkyard.
A new nightlife venue is one step closer to opening in Rock Island.
In other business, Council approved a development agreement with Elevate Hospitality Group, LLC. to rehabilitate the former Cabana's Campus on 4th Avenue in the Broadway neighborhood to create a new entertainment venue.
Co-owner Chad Rose Allen said the venue, called The Rose Entertainment Complex, will host weddings, private celebrations, corporate and community events, live entertainment, and special programming.
“When the property is not reserved for private events, it will operate as Club Torch at the Rose as an elevated and inclusive nightlife and entertainment venue,” Rose Allen said. “Our objectives for the project are straightforward: Rehabilitate an underutilized property, create jobs, increase economic activity, attract visitors, generate additional tax revenue, support surrounding businesses, and create another destination that brings people into Rock Island.”
Chad bought the home with his husband Joseph Rose Allen. They will run the business with Drew Wofford.
Rock Island Downtown Alliance Executive Director Jack Cullen is among the project's supporters.
“And I can share that other neighbors, property owners, business owners around this, around this property are excited about seeing this property come back to life and seeing this vision for this, for this campus,” Cullen said.
The entire project will cost over $430,000, with the developer estimating over $121,000 in renovation costs. The city approved $100,000 in tax increment financing to support the project; that money will come out of the Downtown TIF District.
The proposal passed unanimously and will come back for a second and final reading at the council’s next meeting.
Downtown Liquor Control District ordinance
The council also approved an amended version of a proposed ordinance to prohibit specific alcohol sales in the city’s downtown and surrounding parcels that are within 1,000 feet of the Downtown Special Service Area.
Alderman Parker said the ordinance will only impact convenience stores and will not apply to breweries and restaurants. Specifically, the ordinance prohibits the sale of single-serving containers such as tall boys and small bottles of liquor.
“You can't sell one of them. You can't sell 3 of them. You can't sell 6 of them until 5 p.m.,” Ald. Parker said. “I heard what you said in our meeting about how maybe we can find a way so that you can still sell a 12-pack to a guy getting off work at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Seems reasonable. Our issues downtown that we're trying to address — the daytime drinking, public nuisances, littering — is coming from the tall boys and the small bottles of liquor.”
The first reading of the ordinance passed unanimously.
The council will consider the second and final reading at its next meeting.
Public comment on city’s contract with Flock Safety
During public comment, resident James Blue spoke in favor of ending the city’s contract with Flock Safety, which operates automatic license plate readers (ALPR) nationwide.
“There's a lot of discrimination against the LGBT community in a lot of neighboring states. And as we see those people leaving that place to come to Illinois to seek sanctuary, to seek reproductive health care, I think it's important that the city not be a node in surveilling and tracking those people with flock cameras,” Blue said. “People's rights are being violated. They're being tracked across state lines and charged with crimes that they did not commit in a state they were not in. And I think it's a bad idea if we invest public land, labor, or resources in being a part of that project.”
David Stoner is another Quad Cities citizen who spoke against using these surveillance cameras. Stoner manages the advocacy website Get the Flock Out Quad Cities. He shared a petition with the council that had 1,708 signatures, including 152 from Rock Island residents.
“They're asking you to end the city's contract with Flock Safety and not replace it with another surveillance vendor,” Stoner said. “ You can't have public trust in a system nobody can see, run by a company that has controversy after controversy.”
Stoner mentioned the Henry County Sheriff’s Office which ended its contract with Flock Safety at the end of August. The sheriff’s office stated the eight ALPR cameras were helpful to the department but public trust takes priority.
Stoner sent questions to the council including: How many outside agencies searched them [cameras] last month, how many searches did they run, and how many came from your own police? He will follow up with the council at their next meeting on September 28th.
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