DDP crew at helm of keeping downtown neighborhood clean and safe

Quad Cities native Carlo Nicoletto has never seen downtown Davenport as beautiful as it is today. Given his day job, he deserves some of the credit.

Nicoletto works for the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), a division of the Quad Cities Chamber, as a member of the six-person operations and maintenance crew. Their John Deere Gator utility vehicles adorned with DDP's logo can be seen zipping up and down streets like 2nd and Brady and through alleyways reaching every nook and cranny of downtown's 60 square blocks.

"When I was a kid, you never saw flowers down here," Nicoletto said, describing – among his other numerous duties – the watering of 770 flower baskets, 150 flower pots and about 30 ground beds that now blanket the area.

Over the past decade, as new boutiques, coffeeshops and brewpubs opened and a host of old brick factories converted to apartments, downtown streets grew more crowded. Emptying trash cans and washing windows became more than the City of Davenport's streets crew could handle.

"My public works staff has 63 square miles to take care of," said Davenport Public Works Director Nicole Gleason, adding the DDP approached the City about a decade ago offering to help.

"It's been a great partnership," Gleason said. "They're downtown. They see the problems in real time. They can immediately react rather than call us and wait."

Kyle Carter, DDP Executive Director, said his organization and the City share the same commitment to a high level of service for downtown.

"We realized we could be better and more effective partners," Carter said. "That was a huge thing 10 years ago. Some said it could not happen. We did it with high-fives."

Cleaning efforts create ‘vibrant and attractive downtown’

Beginning early in the morning before downtown store owners flick on the "open" signs, the DDP team combs the streets picking up every discarded cigarette, candy wrapper and beer bottle, sweeping up any broken glass and emptying all 80 (soon to be 120) garbage cans.

"They're hitting all of the spots and getting them clean and tidy before workers pull into the parking lots," said their boss, DDP Operations Manager Tony Behncke. "They give it that welcoming and clean feeling, and they maintain that throughout the day."

No square inch gets overlooked, including the 10 acres of parking space in the multiple public garages. They have also added the Skybridge to the docket, where in addition to picking up litter, they are washing every window. All told, about 15 cubic yards of waste gets picked up each week by Nicoletto and his crew.

"It's definitely a full-time job," said Nicoletto, a retired artillery mechanic who worked 33 years at the Rock Island Arsenal. Sometimes, he puts on his mechanic hat to do maintenance on their equipment.

Their work does not go completely unnoticed. Dana Wilkinson, CEO and co-owner of Paragon Commercial Interiors at 210 Emerson Place, behind Barrel House, said a clean downtown draws visitors.

"It's important to have a vibrant and attractive downtown, and, in my opinion, flower baskets, planters, clean windows and picked-up trash are really important to keep downtown looking good and inviting," she said. "People feel safer when downtowns are clean and attractive. It encourages people to spend more time downtown because it feels nice."

Wilkinson opened her business 23 years ago at a time she describes when downtown was dotted with a lot of empty storefronts. Luring new business meant survival.

"Downtowns are the lifeblood of our communities," she said.

Doubling down on duties

As certain cleaning duties have transferred from the City to DDP, an agreement between the two groups has also led to an upgrade of the downtown's LED lighting from what it was before – a "patchwork quilt" of inconsistently maintained private and City-owned lights, Carter said.

"Since we solved all of those problems, infrastructure improvements have been significant," he said. "What you're seeing is an outcome of all of those things coming together after 10 years of work. It's been a highly successful public-private partnership."

Money for DDP's beautification efforts comes from the organization's budget, which is supported by downtown business and property owners, as well as some City funding.

DDP expects to boost its downtown cleaning efforts beginning July 1. "They'll do detail work that's never even been thought of before," Carter said. "The Skybridge and parking ramps will be done seven days a week. They've never had anywhere close to that level of attention."

The operations crew is preparing to double as ambassadors. "Equally important is their role as the face for downtown," Carter said. "They're experts in what's going on."

Behncke called the crew the "eyes and ears on the streets," where after identifying issues, if they cannot simply take care of it themselves, they will communicate it to those who can. "It could be a broken-down car that needs to be moved or a broken window. It could be anything. They're out there seeing that."

DDP is also coordinating with Humility of Mary Shelter. "Some of our guys are the first to interact with a homeless person," Carter said. "We want to open lines of communication with our good friends at Humility of Mary. We are trying to be much more aware of our community partners in the fields that could be helpful to our cause as well."

Alisha Espey, DDP Program Director, said the downtown is "everyone's neighborhood."

"We want people to come downtown and feel good about it,” she said. “Their experience is really important."