Recent Articles

You are here:

You are here

Home / Pages / Recent Articles

Hotel group seeks $1.675 million in tax rebates for redevelopment of Middle Road property

on Fri, 06/21/2013 - 00:38   by Editor

UPDATE 6/27: Developers of the new hotel and two commercial businesses are seeking Tax Increment Financing (TIF) rebates totaling $1.675 million over a 10-year period. Taxes on the property are now $82,530 per year and the new hotel and commercial businesses are expected to have "incremental" taxes of $148,720 a year. The property has a current assessed value of $2.35 million. The proposed development is projected to increase the assessed value to $9.25 million.

A North Liberty, Iowa hotel group and a local developer are seeking property tax rebates from the city, school district and county to redevelop the HomeRidge Inn & Suites property along Middle Road, Bettendorf, into a new Hilton Garden Inn and two additional commercial businesses.

Kinseth Hospitality Companies and First Equity Management L.C. have been negotiating with the city over Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for the project. Bettendorf School District and Scott County officials have been invited to a meeting with the city Friday, June 28 where the TIF request will be discussed.

Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. signs option to sell Davenport Rhythm City Casino for $51 million

on Wed, 06/19/2013 - 19:20   by Editor

Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. told shareholders today (6/19) it has signed an option agreement to sell its Davenport Rhythm City Casino for $51 million, subject to the new owner – Kehl Development-Scott County, LLC – obtaining "applicable gaming licenses and approvals and other customary closing conditions."

The Isle – owner of four Iowa casinos including the Bettendorf Isle of Capri Casino – reported in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that Kehl Development Corporation has until September 15 to exercise the option to buy the riverboat casino. The exercise period can be extended until October 15, or can be extended or terminated early by mutual agreement "upon occurrence of certain other circumstances."

Pleasant Valley school tax rate to exceed Bettendorf school levy for first time

on Wed, 06/12/2013 - 23:28   by Editor

For the first time, Pleasant Valley School District property owners will be paying a higher tax rate in the coming fiscal year than their Bettendorf school district counterparts.

The tax rate for Pleasant Valley homeowners will be $14.74 per $1,000 assessed valuation for fiscal 2013-14, up from $14.64 last year. Meanwhile, the Bettendorf School Board lowered the district's tax rate to $14.55 per $1,000 assessed valuation for the coming fiscal year, down from $15 last year.

Isle of Capri Casinos report loss of $47.6 million for fiscal 2013; 4th quarter revenues off 8 percent

on Sat, 06/08/2013 - 00:58   by Editor

The Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. – owner of four gambling casinos in Iowa – reported Thursday (6/6) it lost $47.6 million during the fiscal year ended April 28 as company executives blamed the poor results on bad economic conditions, higher payroll tax rates and delays in gamblers getting income tax refunds.

On a per share basis, the fiscal 2013 loss amounted to $1.21 per share, which was an improvement over fiscal 2012 when the company lost $3.35 per share after writing down the value of two casinos it sold during that period.

MidAmerican Energy perception study sized up community acceptance, opposition to nuke plant

on Wed, 06/05/2013 - 22:47   by Editor

Residents of Fremont County, Iowa, are pretty accepting of having a nuclear power plant in their backyard, so to speak. The folks in Woodbury County (Sioux City) not so much.

Those findings – buried between the transmission line and railroad access analysis of potential MidAmerican Energy nuclear power plant sites – are the result of a $44,000 public perception study sizing up how "accepting" residents of the six "finalist" communities would be to having a nuke plant built near them.

The survey conducted in November 2010 by Des Moines public relations firm Flynn Wright found the folks in Woodbury County would not be happy about the prospects of a nuclear plant nearby. And, on the opposite end of the spectrum, residents in the two "finalist" sites – Muscatine and Fremont counties – were found to be much more "accepting" of a nuclear plant being built nearby.

The survey details were among more than two dozen documents filed by the utility Tuesday (6/4) with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) when MidAmerican decided to pull the plug on its three-year, $15-million study. The state legislature gave MidAmerican permission to charge customers $15 million over three years to fund the feasibility study.

MidAmerican Energy ends nuke plant feasibility study early, puts nuclear energy option on hold

on Wed, 06/05/2013 - 01:22   by Editor

MidAmerican Energy abruptly ended its three-year nuclear power plant feasibility study Tuesday (6/4) – four months before a special surcharge on customers' electric bills was set to expire – saying it was premature "to pursue any additional site work on a future generation option, including a nuclear facility."

The utility said it plans to refund $8.8 million of the surcharge to Iowa customers and stop collecting the half-percent charge effective July 1, three months before the $15-million nuclear study fee was slated to expire.

Bettendorf recreation trail critic seeks tax exemption for land near new Crow Creek path

on Tue, 06/04/2013 - 02:57   by Editor

A Bettendorf resident who ran unsuccessfully for alderman on a platform opposing expansion of city recreation trails is seeking a property tax exemption for half of his 10-acre residential lot located next to a new section of the Crow Creek Recreation Trail.

Chad Miller, of 4340 Tangelwood Road, has asked the Scott County Board to designate the land as "forest cover," thus making the property tax exempt under a 1990 Iowa law.

Pages

Go to top