The recently unveiled Bettendorf comprehensive plan painted a rosy future image of the city's riverfront highlighting possible locations for high-rise condominiums on city land adjacent to Leach Park.
However, just weeks later, the city council is considering a decidedly different development opportunity for the old lime pile property: a road salt storage dome.
Funds to build a "temporary" road salt storage dome are contained in the new city Comprehensive Improvement Plan (CIP) under review by the city council. 
The city paid $800,000 for the so-called "lime pile property" in the 1990's, then spent another $700,000 in tax money to dispose of the huge mountain of welding (acetylene) residue (lime).
Rather than removing the old buildings adjacent to the lime pile back then, the city filled the dilapidated buildings with surplus road salt and recycling carts. A decade later, the old buildings remain a warehouse for road salt and recycling bins.
City Administrator Decker Ploehn and Public Works Director Brian Schmidt want to build the riverfront salt storage dome on the riverfront property to save time and mileage for snowplows working in the southern part of town. The switch from future condos sites toasted at the Premiering Bettendorf event one week to targeting the same location for road salt storage may have been a bit jarring for city hall observers and planners, but the salt dome idea failed to illicit even a single public comment from aldermen at its CIP discussion.
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What did become clear during the CIP presentation was that aldermen have heard from residents about the bulging city debt, which now exceeds $132 million.
Rather than continue to issue $10 million ever year in new general obligation bonds for various capital projects, there now appears to be a council majority which favors lowering the annual bond issuance amount to $8 million a year.
The lower annual debt issuance is aimed at bringing the current debt margin, now at 84 percent of the legal limit, back down to around 50 percent 10 years hence. That projection, however, is dependent on city property values appreciating at 3 percent each and every year over the next 10 years, and switching future sewer system debt from general obligation to revenue bond funding, a move that will likely mean higher interest expenses on those sewer improvements.
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The bulk of spending in the 2015-15 Capital Improvement Plan is once again weighted toward street improvements, including nearly $1.3 million for Forest Grove Road paving (with a bike lane and recreational trail), $350,000 for the Hopewell Avenue extension to Criswell Ave., and more than $1.3 million for rebuilding sections of 18th Street and Spruce Hills Drive.
Downtown land acquisition, which was allotted $1.8 million last year, is to receive another $700,000. The city purchased five small houses along Grant Street last year and is in the process of tearing down the buildings to create a so-called Townsquare greenspace between State and Grant Streets and 20th and 21st Streets. The area is now used as the city bus transfer site and parking for an adjacent bar.
Other properties targeted for acquisition by the city are the vacant gas station just west of city hall, and the Paddlewheel Restaurant and Twin Bridges Motor Lodge, also located in the block just west of city hall. The city also has budgeted money to expand the downtown fire station, also part of city hall, to accommodate larger fire trucks and enable the city to resume manning the downtown station.
CLICK HERE to download a copy of the new Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) discussed Dec. 15 by the city council.
