City to use portion of public housing sale to kick start juvenile enter

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    DAVENPORT, Iowa (Quad-City Times ) — Davenport city officials intend to use a portion of proceeds from the pending $6.35 million sale of a downtown public housing property to get a long-talked about Juvenile Assessment Center off the ground.

Davenport aldermen met Tuesday for a work session to discuss recommendations from a council task force on how the city should use the proceeds from the sale of The Heritage, a city-owned building that offers Section 8 rental-assistance.

The three-member working group of aldermen recommend the city use $1 million in proceeds from the pending sale as seed money to launch a community-based component of the Juvenile Assessment Center to provide early intervention screening, assessment and services for youth and families to identify and address factors contributing to concerning behavior that, if unchecked, could lead to criminal activity.

The $1 million is contingent upon commitments from other city partners, but signals Davenport’s commitment to the JAC to kick start the effort, said Mayor Mike Matson.

City officials said the one-time funding from the sale of The Heritage offers the best chance to move the concept from conversation to reality.

“We know we can’t solve this problem ourselves,” Alderman Rick Dunn, Ward 1, who serves on the task force, added. “It’s going to take (Scott County), Bettendorf, the whole region and many partners to solve this issue. We can’t do this alone. We’ve got to get everybody together, but somebody has to be the first one in.”

The goal is to create a one-stop-shop where police can take juvenile offenders for needs assessments, and where youth and families seeking help can access and navigate an array of local services available under one roof.

“Ideally, law enforcement would be able to put youthful offenders and their families in contact with staff clinicians, and intervention can begin even before court hearings begin,” according to a city memo.

Actually creating a center and incorporating law enforcement, however, will take longer to launch, said Sarah Ott, city of Davenport chief strategy officer.

In the meantime, the $1 million in proceeds from The Heritage sale would provide three years worth of funding to line up a lead agency to tackle service referrals, according to Davenport city officials. Officials estimate an $350,000 annual startup cost for the community-based portion of the JAC.

Ott said city staff has been working with the United Way of the Quad Cities to issue a request for proposal to find a service provider that would identify needed resources and connect referrals to assistance.

“Hopefully, with this seed funding and with other partners coming to the table, we can bring this to fruition here within the next few months,” Ott said.

Overall, officials estimate it will cost $1 million annually to run and operate a Juvenile Assessment Center.

Matson said he has spoken with and anticipates commitments from Scott County and the city of Bettendorf.

Recommendations for utilizing the remaining proceeds of The Heritage sale include using $4.5 million to facilitate the acquisition, rehabilitation and redevelopment of vacant and abandoned properties within the city’s older, impoverished neighborhoods, primarily south of Locust Street, to spark reinvestment and provide more affordable housing.

The goal of the proposed multi-pronged approach is to support reoccupation of abandoned homes rather than demolition, attract new residents, increase owner occupancy and increase overall valuations and tax-base, said Alderwoman and task force member Marion Meginnis, Ward 3.

Another $500,000 would be used for new assistance programs for small-businesses development in the city’s older commercial corridors, such as Rockingham Road and West Locust Street.

The goal of the assistance program would be designed to support start-up businesses and the expansion of existing businesses that “enhance shopping and employment opportunities” in the city’s older commercial areas

“A majority of these dollars are going back into these neighborhoods where people live challenged lives,” Meginnis said. “We really tried to look at where we thought the needs were … areas where poverty is evident and where affordable housing is and is needed, and we know we need to stabilize these areas. … We’ll see what the council says.”

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