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Home My Public Portal About2024 01-January From the City of RIVERDALE, Iowa www.riverdaleia.org | 110 Manor Drive | (563) 355-2511 | deputyclerk@riverdaleia.org | January 2024 1– New Years Day, City Hall Closed No RFD Training No trash pick up (pick up Jan 2) 2– Trash & Recycle/Christmas tree pickup 8– Christmas tree pickup RFD Training, 6:30p 9– Council Meeting, 7p 11– Council Workshop #1, 7p-9p 15– MLK Jr Day, City Hall Closed RFD Training, 6:30p 16– Council Workshop #2, 7p-9p 22– RFD Training, 6:30p 23– Sewer Utilities-Review Committee Meeting, 5p Budget Workshop, 6p Council Meeting, 7p 28– Mayor’s Town Hall, 12p-2p 29– RFD Training, 6:30p **All Events at City Hall unless otherwise mentioned Happy New Year, Riverdale! The new year is also the start of your new City Council’s tenure! Front row, L-R: Stephanie Harvey, Anthony Heddlesten, Beth Halsey Back row, L-R: Steven R Townsend, Paul DCamp, Vincent Jurgena Operation Station: A Message from Riverdale’s Public Works Department As winter weather makes its temporary home in our area, please assist the plows by doing the following:  Park in your driveway during snowfall. Please avoid parking on the street until the plows have made their way through your area.  Place your garbage and recycling bins at the end of your driveway instead of in the street on pick up days.  Do not move snow into the street when clearing your driveway. Any snow placed in the street needs to be immediately cleared away. Reference the following ordinances for more information: 69.10 Snow Removal and 135.12 Dumping of Snow Thank you! Are you a PVHS student in need of service hours? We are looking for student to help us with our monthly newsletter! Duties would include:  Folding and stuffing the newsletter  Labeling, stamping, and sealing the envelope If interested, please email: deputyclerk@riverdaleia.org Mayor’s Monthly Question: We have 6 “quick links” on our website: Documents, Ordinances, Fire Department, Living Here, Calendar, and Stay in Touch. Are there any other parts of our website that you wish had a quick link? Do you have any input to make our website more user friendly or easier to navigate? Email your responses to: mayor@riverdaleia.org Special thank you to Justin Galbraith for his service to Riverdale in 2023! Christina Saldanha This month’s “Get to Know Your Neighbor” will soon be celebrating their second year in Riverdale! Christina Saldanha, and her family, live in the Fenno neighborhood. She has been such a friendly, engaged member of the community, and I am excited to introduce their family to those who may not have met them yet! Please enjoy a little Question & Answer with Christina Saldanha. Would you like to share anything about your family? I have been married to my husband for 14 years. We have been blessed with two energetic kids. My husband works in real estate on both the Iowa and Illinois sides of the river for Coldwell Banker and Howes & Jefferies Realtors. He also helps to manage the family farm operation. We have a 10 year old Yorkie who thinks she is on security duty at all times. We added to our family this year by adopting a puppy who is desperate to be best friends with her Yorkie sister. Her older sister is definitely not amused. Do you have any hobbies? We do enjoy RVing when we have the chance. Our hobbies have largely given way to rushing kids to sport practices, games, and other extracurricular activities. Where did you live before Riverdale? We most recently had been living in Coal Valley, IL, but lived in Hawaii for over a decade before that. I am originally from the Quad City area. We thought it would be a good idea to return so my husband could continue his college education and I could be closer to family. How did you decide on moving to Riverdale? We had been looking at the possibility of moving to the Bettendorf area for a few years but weren’t excited about the idea of being in the middle of such a busy area. When I stumbled upon Riverdale, we knew we could be both conveniently located and separated from the congestion of Bettendorf and Davenport. We are happy to have met several people who have lived in and loved the Riverdale area for decades! What is your favorite thing about Riverdale? My husband and I both love the small town feel of Riverdale while also being close to the bustling energy of Bettendorf and Davenport. We are appreciative that Riverdale finds ways to keep the community informed and connected by newsletters and fun events. Do you have a favorite Riverdale event? My kids truly enjoyed both the Ice Cream Social and the Easter Egg Hunt. They were thrilled with the fantastic assortment of things to do, as well as getting a delicious scoop of ice cream at the social. They loved the ballon maker’s fun jokes and the Riverdale Fire Department’s high pressure shower. I took both of them home soaking wet and happy. The Easter Egg Hunt was also such a fun time for the kids. We appreciated the time it took to fill and hide the eggs, along with the other activities that were included. Are there any hidden gems in the area that you would like to bring attention to? I have recently discovered Ultimate Chocolates in Cumberland Square (across from the Family Museum). They have great local and freshly made items such as: caramel apples, chocolate dipped pretzels, chocolate covered strawberries, assorted chocolates and truffles, and soft serve ice cream. My kids always beg to stop in any time we are nearby. Be sure to say “hello” if you see the Saldanha Family out and about! Thank you for being in the newsletter, Christina! Thank you to those who were able to attend Winter Celebration! The Mayor’s Corner – January 2024 – Happy New Year! • 1/15 – 9a-12p, 1p-5p – Mayor’s Oﬃce Hours at City Hall (call/email City Hall to schedule an appointment since City Hall is closed for the holiday) • 1/15 – 12p-1p – Lunch with the Mayor, Duck Creek Pancake House (call/email City Hall to RSVP) • 1/15 – Caucus Night in Iowa! • 1/28 – 12p-2p – Mayor’s Monthly Town Hall at City Hall (meeting ends when everyone has questions answered, after 2 hours, or after 15 minutes without attendees) Join us to set community goals in January! 2024 kicks oﬀ a new term for me and 3 council members (Steve, Beth, Stephanie). We are star�ng by hos�ng some goal se�ng sessions. We strongly encourage your par�cipa�on! Mee�ngs will be held from 7p-9p on January 11th and 16th. What’s in a Town Hall Mee�ng? Our town hall agendas typically include: • Intro & Ending Ques�on & Answer Sessions • A discussion on last month’s mayor ques�on answers • A review of last month’s key votes at council • Updates from staﬀ on any cri�cal items they want shared • A monthly topic (January will be budget discussion) Have something to celebrate? Did you know you can request a mayoral proclama�on to celebrate great accomplishments? We’ve celebrated milestone birthdays, state championships, Eagle Scout awards, business anniversaries, and other special days related to residents, businesses, and organiza�ons in our community. Email me at mayor@riverdaleia.org to request yours today! December Top 10 List: 1. Celebra�ng Doug Litrel’s 16 years of service 2. Inaugura�on at the beginning of mee�ng 3. Accepted new concrete at City Hall/RFD & new Woods Estates Trails 4. Issued ﬁnal payment on that concrete work 5. Completed end of year fund transfers (appropria�ng 0.675 tax & TIF taxes) 6. Set budget mee�ng dates 7. Discussed emergency repairs to Bellingham 8. Discussed P&Z recommenda�ons on setbacks 9. Presenta�on on mental health services from Eagle View Behavioral Health 10. Finalized ﬂoodplain & golf cart ordinances Speaking of celebra�ng: In November & December we honored several people who have contributed greatly to our community. • Our Waste Commission director, Kathy Morris, re�red a�er 30+ years of service • Our County Emergency Manager, Dave Donovan, re�red a�er 30+ years of service • Riley Kramer was honored for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout (and was featured on CSPAN by Rep. Miller-Meeks!) • Not oﬃcially proclaimed, but greatly appreciated, Dan Miers, our regional sewerage plant manager also re�red in December a�er decades of service! • The Spartan Shield & The Valenian at PVHS won statewide awards! Mayor’s Monthly Ques�on! Each month, one resident who ﬁlls out our monthly question will be entered to win brunch with the mayor at Duck Creek Pancake House! Please return this section of the newsletter to City Hall or submit the online form to have an entry and let your voice be heard! We have 6 quick links on our website: “Documents”, “Ordinances”, “Fire Department”, “Living Here”, “Calendar”, and “Stay in Touch.” What are three other parts of our website you use frequently that you wish were quick clicks like these? htps://forms.gle/TceifGzKqUnN6s1U9 Use the URL above, or scan QR code, to answer the mayor’s ques�on. Wondering how you can give back to your community? I’m always looking for residents to serve on our boards and commissions! Please reach out to mayor@riverdaleia.org if you’re interested! Another Year to be Proud of! Happy January, Riverdale! We’ve just wrapped up another tremendous year here in our wonderful City and I’d like to take a few moments to share some of the highlights with you and make sure everyone truly appreciates all the hard work your City staﬀ, elected oﬃcials, and volunteers have been up to here in 2023. Ordinances: (all reviewable on our website!) • Golf carts are now allowed across town for those with valid driver’s licenses within your neighborhood (state law prevents you from depar�ng your neighborhood due to the unique layout of our community being connected by US-67 and the MRT – both of which are prohibited for golf cart use). • Aligned several exis�ng ordinances with federal or state laws that changed since last year (liquor licenses, tobacco permits, ﬂoodplains, etc). • Provided cost of living raises for elected oﬃcials. Resolu�ons: (all reviewable on our website!) • Established the new John Welch Park (2023-085) • Through a variety of resolu�ons, we replaced the parking lots and entrances to City Hall, Riverdale Fire Department, and added two new access paths to Wood’s Estates. (2023-014, 033, 034, 040, 043, 049, 050, 054, 055, 066, 076, 082, 087, 105, 106, 107, 110, 111, 122, 123) • Con�nued our ﬁnal phase of sewer repairs to comply with federal inﬂow and inﬁltra�on rules including issuing a loan for this phase. (2023-002, 044, 061, 065, 076, 088, 089) • We had the same team for a full year, increased hours for the deputy clerk, phased out the city administrator posi�on, realigned all posi�ons slightly, brought on a summer hire, purchased some new equipment, approved some remodeling, and added so�ware to make city hall more eﬃcient. (2023-006, 009, 010, 012, 029, 037, 047, 048, 051, 053, 063, 069, 070, 072, 073, 074, 080, 084, 092, 096, 103, 104, 112, 114) • We worked with Canadian Paciﬁc Kansas City, or CPKC, on how we could best move forward with the rail merger including a study on quiet zones (2023-021, 032, 086) • Established budget & goals & applied for grants for the coming FY (2023-001, 003, 016, 018, 020, 022, 024, 025, 028, 035, 036, 042, 052, 075, 079, 081, 097, 098, 101, 102, 108, 109, 115, 116, 124, 125) • Did a variety of appointments to boards, commissions, council, etc. (2023-004, 005, 007, 008, 013, 015, 019, 023, 030, 031, 038, 039, 056, 057, 059, 059, 060, 071, 078, 090, 091) • Hosted the ﬁrst volunteer apprecia�on dinner and awarded a volunteer of the year award & a life�me achievement award. Gov Reynolds also awarded our volunteer with an award! (2023-011, 026, 113) • A few assorted other items (2023-017, 041, 045, 067, 068, 077, 099, 100) Proclama�ons: (all reviewable on our website!) • Celebrated Eagle Scouts Emma Hupp & Riley Kramer • Celebrated state champion PV students & teams (Meyrer, Girls Wrestling, McDermot, Kaﬀenberger, Boys Wrestling, PV Pla�num, Girls Basketball, PVHS Choirs, Girls Track & Field, Spartan Shield, The Valenian) • Celebrated re�rements of people who worked on behalf of but not for Riverdale (Kathy Morris, Dave Donovan) • Honored former Riverdale ﬁreﬁghter Ky Dutlinger who passed away this year • Celebrated Skip the Plas�c Campaign, Fire Preven�on Week Commenda�ons: (all reviewable on our website!) • Residents and businesses who supported our response to a top 5 ﬂood in history received a special commenda�on for their eﬀorts. My sincerest thanks to all involved in all the fantas�c work we accomplished this year. These are the big highlights that elicited a vote or a celebra�on, but know that every day a lot goes on to keep the City running that doesn’t receive the same fanfare but deserves great recogni�on as well. Looking forward to another great year of tremendous accomplishments!! - Mayor Heddlesten