It wasn't lost on Pleasant Valley School Superintendent Jim Spelhaug that the comfortable chair and well-appointed LeClaire City Council Chambers were paid for primarily by school district taxpayers.

And, it wasn't lost on LeClaire Mayor Robert Scannell that Spelhaug and one other school district official were the only taxpayers at the council meeting to question the city's continued use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to pay for a growing array of municipal amenities.

Spelhaug's appearance before the council Monday (10/7) was to strenuously object to the continued use of a "layered" TIF by the city, a practice which has helped the city build a new library, city hall and sewage treatment system improvements.

Thanks to the TIF established nearly 20 years ago, the city has been able to funnel property taxes levied by the school district and Scott County into city coffers for use as rebates to developers or to pay for city capital improvements.

As we're now three months into the city of Bettendorf's 2013-14 fiscal year, it's time to turn our attention to what city leaders – the mayor, council and city administrator – plan to work toward over the remaining nine months.

Here is the "top priorty" list which emerged from several meetings in March/April or thereabouts (the public wasn't invited to participate and the press didn't attend):

• Labor negotiations and contracts (direction)
• Comprehensive plan and strategy for economic development
• Community center/recreation and aquatic center
• WOW Project
• City events and festivals

When workers in Iowa City damaged a sanitary sewer pumping station in July, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) distributed a news release state-wide detailing the resulting 30,000-gallon sewage spill into a local creek and posted details about the incident on its web site.

When the city of Bettendorf pumped an estimated 5 million gallons of raw sewage – diluted with another 3.3 million gallons of rainwater – into the Mississippi River March 10, the IDNR did not notify the media or anyone else about the discharge despite the amount of untreated sewage being exponentially larger than the Iowa City spill.

So why does the IDNR make a public announcement about a 30,000-gallon sewage spill in one community and not provide the same information about a discharge nearly 200 times as large?

The primary reason, according to IDNR officials, is the Bettendorf discharge was diluted with rainwater – which had seeped into sewer lines – likely keeping the level of pollutants below the maximum allowed by the city's discharge permit.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acted properly in requiring stricter air pollution controls on several of North Dakota's largest coal-fired power plants, according to a ruling issued Monday (9/23) by the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

The case involved the EPA's implementation of a federal plan to reduce power plant emissions which create haze at national parks, specifically the Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, ND, and the Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge near Kenmare, ND.

"Although the state was free to employ its own visibility model and to consider visibility improvement in its reasonable progress determinations, it was not free to do so in a manner that was inconsistent with the CAA (Clean Air Act)," the court said. "Because the goal of section 169A (of the act) is to attain natural visibility conditions in mandatory Class I Federal areas, and EPA has demonstrated that the visibility model used by the state would serve instead to maintain current degraded conditions, we cannot say that EPA acted in a manner that was arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion by disapproving the state’s reasonable progress determination based upon its cumulative source visibility modeling."

Only one of three Bettendorf City Council seats will be contested in the upcoming November 5 municipal election.

Three candidates have filed to replace Alderman At-large Tim Stecker, who is not seeking another term on the council.

Those filing to replace Stecker are: Kurt Whalen, of 2733 Heather Lane; Gary Mohr, of 4755 School House Road; and Chad Miller of 4340 Tanglewood Road.

Second Ward Alderman Scott Naumann and Fourth Ward Alderman Greg Adamson filed for re-election and are unopposed.

The deadline for filing was Sept. 19.

The Isle of Capri, Inc.'s newest casino at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Pennsylvania has laid off 70 employees because of slower than expected business at the $60-million facility which opened July 1, according to the Pittsburg Post-Gazette.

The resort casino had 450 employees, and the Post-Gazette article quoted Isle of Capri spokesperson Jill Alexander that the facility recently reduced its workforce by 15 percent.

The Isle also blamed the current admission rules for lower than expected business at the casino. To be allowed inside the casino, gamblers must be a customer of the resort as an overnight guest, user of resort restaurants, spa or golf courses, or buy a $10 resort gift card. It costs $45 for an annual resort membership.

Bettendorf's 53rd Avenue – once planned as a 4-lane divided east-west roadway connecting the city's growing northern residential areas – will end in the middle of a cornfield when the city's planning and zoning commission gives its expected approval Wednesday (9/18) to a new housing subdivision in its path.

The subdivision effectively will block extension of 53rd Avenue to Criswell Avenue to the east, and would eliminate an alternative transportation plan proposed in 2003 which would have connected 53rd Avenue with a new north-south street linking to Crow Creek Road on the south and Hopewell Avenue on the north.

The subdivision rezoning, preliminary and final plat for Unity Corporation/Republic Electric Company is part of a deal negotiated by City Administrator Decker Ploehn and approved by the city council last month. That agreement calls for the city to pay the estimated $200,000 cost to build a street connecting 53rd Avenue, where it now ends near Joshua Street, with another new subdivision – Century Heights 20th Addition – north of 53rd Avenue.

Genesis Health Systems wants to build a two-story, 46,500-square-foot medical office building north of 53rd Avenue and west of 18th Street, Bettendorf.

The health systems has submitted a final plat and a site plan for a new addition to Genesis at Crow Valley, located between 53rd and 56th Avenues and west of 18th Street. The area already is home to two existing medical offices and surgery centers, ORA Orthopedics, at the corner of 53rd Ave. and 18th St., and Gastroenterology Associates, P.C., 2222 53rd Ave.

The plat will be reviewed by the Bettendorf Planning and Zoning Commission at its meeting Wednesday (9/18).The plans would then go before the city council for review and approval.

Editor's Note: Consideration of the special use permit for the Clubhouse Indoor Golf and Lounge was deferred at the Board of Adjustment's Sept. 12 meeting. No date was set for consideration of the permit, and no reasons were given at the meeting for the deferral.

More than a year ago, the Clubhouse Indoor Golf and Lounge at 18th St. and 53rd Ave. ran into a storm of protest from neighbors when it sought a special use permit for an outdoor patio and the request was voted down by the Bettendorf Board of Adjustment.

The indoor golf and lounge will return to the city board Thursday (9/12) with a similar request in hopes that moving the patio from the rear to the front of the building will satisfy the board and neighbors.

Commercial developments on the southeast corner of 18th St. and 53rd Ave. have a long and often heated relationship with neighborhood residents who dislike the noise, lights and traffic from businesses in the area. The commercial property abuts residential property – the result of the city rezoning property initially zoned office transitional for residential development than 20 years ago.

Retired city attorney Greg Jager has been re-hired by the city of Bettendorf as a consultant to help negotiate a new contract with city workers.

The no-bid professional services contract – apparently discussed at an executive council session Aug. 20 and then approved after an executive city council session Sept. 3 – calls for payment of $10,000 to Jager for consulting services.

The council went into closed session Aug. 20 stating it was exempt from the open meetings law because the council was to discuss "union negotiating strategies." After reconvening in open session, the council approved a motion "to have staff proceed as outlined in the executive session relative to our negotiating strategies."