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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2024 02-February From the City of RIVERDALE, Iowa www.riverdaleia.org | 110 Manor Drive | (563) 355-2511 | deputyclerk@riverdaleia.org | February 2024 5 – RFD Training, 7p 10 – Riverdale Independence Day 12 – RFD Training, 7p 13 – Council Meeting, 7p 14 – Valentines Day 19 – Presidents Day, City Hall Closed Mayor office hours, see pg 3 Lunch with Mayor, see pg 3 RFD Training, 7p 25– Mayor’s Town Hall, 3p 26 – RFD Training, 7p 27 – Council Budget Workshop, 6p Council Meeting, 7p 29 – Leap Year *All events at City Hall unless stated otherwise Have an idea for the newsletter? We are all ears! Send your ideas to deputyclerk@riverdaleia.org. Has your trash or recycling bin ever been missed on collection day? Do you know what to do? Republic Services is usually in Riverdale by 7a, but they do sometimes run the route in late afternoon. If your bins have not been emptied by the end of the scheduled pickup day please let us know! We will take care of the rest! You can: • Email us at deputyclerk@riverdaleia.org • Call 563-355-2511 to report Be sure to include your address in your email/message, and leave your bin(s) out for pickup. Due to the new concrete at City Hall, the parking lot and sidewalk are not being salted this year. We are using sand on the sidewalks for traction but please be mindful that it may still be slippery through the colder temperatures. If you need assistance, please park and call the office at 563-355-2511. Also, if you are dropping off a payment or communication to City Hall, please feel free to utilize the drop box on Manor Drive. This black box is located next to the parking lot entrance. This is not an outgoing mailbox for the Post Office. This is actually for City Staff to receive mail and payments. You are always welcome to stop in at City Hall, but for those times you just want to drop and run– this drop box is the perfect solution! Interested in joining the Riverdale Fire Department? Stop in at any of their training sessions and let them know you are interested! They meet every Monday at 7p. Trainings are located at City Hall/Riverdale Fire Department. Special shout out: We heard through the grapevine (ok, Facebook) that a citizen volunteered their time cleaning out the storm drains. Thank you, Dennis Glew! Riverdale is a great place to live because of the people who live here! From your City Hall staff Quad City Strongman Are you looking for a gym to call home? Are you tired of long drives into neighboring cities to workout? Did you know there is a gym located right here in Riverdale? That’s right– Quad City Strongman has been located at 4427 State Street since 2016! They are a full service gym with cardio equipment, free weights, a wide range of strength training implements, and a wresting/MMA room. QC Strongman is also the home gym for the Scott County Masters Special Olympics Power Lifting team, who started training there in 2022. I recently emailed with Joe Hesse, owner of QC Strongman. He gave me a lot of information that I would love to pass on to you! Quad City Strongman was originally established in 2012 as a 501c3 non-profit. The focus was on at-risk youth and PTSD veterans. They work with groups such as: Arrowhead Ranch, Youth Service Bureau, and the Special Olympics. They offer annual scholarships as well as support multiple local organizations. They have also done many charity events for local animal shelters and rescues. Joe Hesse, with the help of associates T.J. Carr and Alex Longlett, moved into their physical location on February 1, 2016. QC Strongman likes the community feeling of Riverdale the most! “We have had the privilege of participating in some of the recent community events, and it has been a lot of fun to meet the residents.”-Joe Hesse, owner. QC Strongman is open 24 hours per day/ 7 days per week for members, and by appointment for visitors. The basic membership cost starts at $50 per month. They offer discounts for students, couples, family plans, and have a weekend access plan as well. The gym also has multiple people that offer personal training. QC Strongman will try and match individuals with trainers based on their interests. In addition to the gym, 4427 State Street is home to Whole Health Chiropractic. Dr Jacob Myers specializes in sport and athlete related treatments, as well as offering general chiropractic care. You can find more information by visiting their Facebook Page. Give QC Strongman a call to set up your visitor appointment today! They can be reached at 563-424-1967 or on Face- book under “Quad City Strongman.” You can also find more information by visiting their website: qcstrongman.org or scanning the QR code below. qcstrongman.org Thank you, Joe, for being in the newsletter. This community is happy to have you here! The Mayor’s Corner February 2024 – Happy 71st VoB Day! • 2/10 – 71st Annual Victory over Bettendorf Day • 2/19 – 1000-1200, 1300-1800 – Mayor’s Office Hours at City Hall - call/email City Hall to schedule an appointment since City Hall is closed for the holiday – or book online: https://calendly.com/heddlesten/ • 2/19 – 1200-1300 – Lunch with the Mayor, Duck Creek Pan- cake House (call/email City Hall to RSVP) • 2/25 – 1500-1700 – Mayor’s Monthly Town Hall at City Hall (meeting ends when everyone has questions answered, after 2 hours, or after 15 minutes without attendees) • Need a separate time? Book an appointment here: https://calendly.com/heddlesten/ Victory over Bettendorf Day?! Our community has TWO birthdays (sort of), the official incorporation date of 12/27/1950 which we will celebrate next year for our 75th anniversary AND 2/10/1953 – the date that the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in our favor in a law- suit filed by Bettendorf to prevent us from becoming a community. What Does the Mayor Do? My month typically includes: • Setting the agenda for and running council meetings (staff does all the hard work making packets) • Answering questions received from our online submission system • Attending regional meetings like the sewer commission, waste commission, emergency management commission, E911 board, county conference board, riverfront council, etc. • Meeting with other community stakeholders & in- terested parties • Hosting town halls & office hours Have something to celebrate? Did you know you can request a mayoral proclamation 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 organizations in our community. Email me at mayor@riverdaleia.org to request yours today! January Top 10 List: • Held three council workshops to help build our new team • Held our 2nd annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner • Began the process to approve a new City Seal • Moved Greg Lehman from ZBA to P&Z and reappointed Teri Stickler & Heather Wren • Added Zackary Kohlmeyer to ZBA and reappointed Mike Bawden • Reappointed our Volunteer Fire Department and City Officials to various positions • Reviewed LMI survey data & initial community recom- mendations • Issued a new 3-year contract for snow removal services • Received annual reports from P&Z, ZBA, Sewer Utilities Review Committee • We survived the largest weekly snowfall in recorded history for the Quad Cities – although we’re still thaw- ing out in a few places! Do you Live in the Fenno Hill or Havens Acres Neighborhoods? If so, you are currently unrepresented on our utility review commission. This is the group that makes recommendations to council on what our utility rates should be and reviews how council is spending existing funds. We currently have two openings on this board ready to be filled immediately! Please contact the mayor if you’re interested in joining. It is likely a 2 hour commitment 3-4 times per year. Current members include 3 from Woods Estates, 1 from Pleasant Hills, 1 from Arconic, 1 from PVHS, 1 from SCC, and 1 council member (also Pleasant Hills) For those in Havens Acres & Woods Estates – get your thinking caps on for next year as you are currently not represented on the planning & zoning commission. The current board has 3 from Pleasant Hills, 1 from Fenno, and 1 not in any designated neighbor- hood. If possible, I will strive to nominate someone from each neighbor- hood to each of our boards when applications allow. Mayor’s Monthly Question! 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! Mayor Heddlesten will be attending the Iowa League of Cities Legislative Day on March 6th to meet with our Senator and Representative. Are there any critical items you'd like shared that will benefit our City? 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! A significant contributor to the community serving on boards representing our City to the region, serving as an elected official, volunteering at events, and doing all that mostly out of sync with the rest of his day to day activities. A top 50 person for years of service in the entire history of Riverdale. Doug has served with Mayors Grindle, Franklin, Paddock, Bawden, and Heddlesten. He has served with council members Franklin, Halsey (both), Channon, Hupp, Paddock, Seaberg, Krell, DCamp, Heddlesten, Adams, Jurgena, and Galbraith. Sometimes adorned in a goatee of majestic purple and gold for his Minnesota Vikings, sometimes repre- senting our community at the Quad City Riverfront Council, sometimes just being a councilman. His jovial laugh is noticed from down the hall as soon as he enters a room, and he always is looking for ways to make our community better. He is a proud U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and is always looking for a way to get us a goat to mow the lawn and get the family farm up and running again. His family, and he, have been members of the community for most of their time and most of our community’s existence. Our senior statesman the past few years as all of us new- bies got acquainted to the council and to the City, he has been able to share stories of all that has come before in the past two decades. While he decided not to run again this term and also retired fr om his “day job” that often held us to a succinct time frame for our meetings, I hope that he will have a tremendous time focusing on grandparenting, the Vikings, and whatever exciting things he and Susan have planned going forward, but we would like to say a very formal thank you one last time for all your years of service to our community as you decide what ’s next. Our second recipient of Riverdale’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Mr. Douglas Littrel, honoring his 16 years of various activities in service to our community. 79/379 = AMAZING VOLUNTEERS!! (and about 21%) For those who haven’t seen all the photos of all the wonderful, amazing people who make our community shine on Facebook, I hope you’ll take a minute to look this week. 79 different people were honored in January at our 2 nd Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner including 25 Pleasant Valley High School Students, members of our boards and commissions, city staff & elected officia ls, and some very dedicated residents and neighbors. The two biggest thank yous provided were to our Volunteer of the Year, Teri Stickler, and Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Doug Littrel. Our Volunteer of the Year is always there for our community in times of need. She always has a thoughtful idea, a way to engage the community, a photo for the calendar or Face- book page, and she shows up. Teri is here to celebrate with us when we have great things happen like naming our first new park in over 30 years and throws out great ideas for the name, she is there to talk through the less exciting issues from the mundane of legal re- quirements of city proceedings to providing insights on how we can face challenging issues with both an outlook on our future and an understanding of our past. She always has a kind word or an idea to share when you walk past her on the street or when she walks past you, a thank you for those serving the community which comes from an understanding of the challenges we all face in elected positions based on her previous service. When we kicked off our new council year a couple weeks back, much like most other meetings I attend, Teri was there, and started us off as the only member of the public who attended with a few minutes of great advice, wisdom, and hopes for a bright future. Last year, when we were trying to figure out trail alignments for Riley’s eagle scout project, Teri collected an exorbitant amount of hedge apples and laid out a possible trail through the woods, carefully considering important trees and plants to save, neighbors thoughts about where people would be walking in proximity to their otherwise secluded homes, what a hiker might want to see or experience during such a hike. Teri is a person who will n ever offer up a problem without a possible solution or two and some great advice along with it. As a great example of being neigh borly, when Art Rose passed away, and Art Jr. didn’t want Sasha to feel inconvenienced, she adopted her neighbor’s dog to make sure that Sasha could have many more happy years with her animal friends and neighbors. Yet another example of her efforts to bri ng positive change to our community – a post with Kaia having just cleaned out around the fire hydrants (important for public safety as well as canine convenience). Whether taking a stroll through our community or a scroll through our Facebook page, you wil l see Teri’s positive messaging and actions wherever you go in Riverdale.