DAVENPORT, Iowa — A proposed hotel project is on hold again as Davenport City Council fights. It's the third meeting they've debated incentives for the project on River Drive and Third Street.
In the last meeting of the year, city council fell into accusations and infighting. It started with printouts of text messages between Alderman Kyle Gripp and Pete Stopulus, the developer who wants to build a hotel on the east side of downtown.
Those texts included coordinating meetings between Stopulus and city staff and setting up a meeting at a local coffee shop. Gripp said nothing improper happened, and he was only acting in his role as chair of the Economic Development Committee while helping Stopulus work with city staff to find the right incentive program.
That resulted in the man who distributed the texts being removed from the meeting after an outburst. Alderwoman Jazmin Newton challenged his removal but wasn't able to get enough support from the rest of the council.
Later, Newton spoke about her first year on the council.
"I haven't always received the same treatment or consideration that is provided to others," Newton said. "I have perceived that rules are not equally administered across the board. For example, I have been instructed on numerous occasions that elected officials cannot direct staff. Yet time and time again I have seen instances where some of my colleagues receive the privilege of doing so."
She said other aldermen have accused her of improperly abstaining from the first vote on hotel incentives. City Attorney Samuel Huff defended her abstention, recommending the hotel agreement be postponed to give council time to work out their conflicts.
"We have a tremendous volume of work ahead of us in 2025, and we need all members of City Council and staff to respect everyone, especially the roles of City Council," Huff said.
In discussion about the project, new amendments on flood protection were brought forward.
"The city and the developer recognize that the city does not and will not provide any flood protection for private property," Alderman Rick Dunn said in reading a proposed amendment.
The council voted to postpone their decision until the first Committee of the Whole meeting on Jan. 8.
That leaves the developer waiting on that decision. He said he wants to start building in the spring, but if those incentives don't come through, he'll have to reconsider his position in the project.
"We're in a holding pattern until January it appears," Stopulus said. "As long as there's some good discussion that happens over the next 30 days, we hope we can get to a favorable outcome for everybody, including the city."
Newton also abstained from the vote to postpone the agreement. She said that was based on accusations of impropriety from other council members and her attorney's advice.