October 20, 2026 Committee of the Whole and City Council Meeting

The City of Bettendorf Committee of the Whole and City Council meeting on October 20, 2026, addressed final FY2026 fund transfers and bid packages E–K for the new police station. The city engineer presented a current project budget targeting a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) of about $24.6 million, within the $27 million referendum funding. Subcontract bids totaled approximately $21.165 million against a budget of just over $21.2 million, with costs varying by trade. Council members discussed concerns about the general-trades package, which received only one bid and was estimated to be about $250,000 above budget; staff cited limited bidder availability and market conditions. Rebidding could delay work by six to eight weeks, and staff said the package process had followed applicable requirements. The council approved keeping the item on consent, allowing Estes Construction to proceed with issuing subcontracts; a final GMP amendment is expected at a subsequent meeting.

Council also approved the final FY2026 transfers, totaling about $7.4 million—roughly $1 million less than budgeted, largely because some capital-project transfers were not yet needed and are expected in the coming year. The discussion included transfers supporting capital projects, vehicle replacement, the police department’s drone-as-first-responder program, and the public works annex fire-suppression system. The full consent agenda was later approved unanimously. The meeting also noted ongoing work with the contractor and insurers on claims related to Central Avenue resurfacing; no new procurement decision on that project was identified.