DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Davenport plant is trying to re purpose several acres of riverfront property.
Nestle Purina wants to build a parking lot along river drive near the company's plant in Davenport and would sit next to Veteran’s Memorial Park.
Nestle Purina wants to build the lot to fit 360 of its trucks.
The company says it also hopes the lot will reduce traffic off Rockingham Road... where the Nestle Purina plant is.
Some city leaders worry about what that means for the future of the riverfront and say a truck lot doesn't fit with the river front vision.
“The long range plan after many public hearings is to develop a park and we have the best river front on the upper Mississippi River,” says Levee Improvement member, Bill Ashton.
The company wants to lease the old Davenport dump site from the city for 50 years and build the lot.
“So there is no cost to the city but they would pay the city an amount for the lease,” says Davenport Mayor, Frank Klipsch.
That amount would be only a dollar a year. In return for the low rate, the company says it will make aesthetic improvements to the lot so trucks can't be seen from the river front.
If the city backs out of the 50 year agreement early, it would have to pay a fee.
“It basically was one sided and favored Nestle Purina,” added Ashton.
“We`ve got a long time, 100 year company who wants to continue commitment here in Davenport but at the same time we have a commission who wants to protect the longtime goals of the river front and it`s about finding a balance,” added Mayor Klipsch.
Now, both parties will head back to the drawing board and try to find common ground.
“I can see where you can build parts of Veteran’s Memorial Park and Nestle Purina can contribute towards that and we can agree for them to park some trucks there,” added Ashton.
The site is unusable right now because it's on an old dump, so the only options are to build a park or parking lot. The city's goal is to work with the company to compromise between building the parking lot while still having room for a park
If both parties reach a compromise, the plan will go to city council for review.