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This podcast is the one hour news conference held Tuesday May 30, 2023 around 11am inside the Davenport Police Department in downtown Davenport.
This is in the wake of the City belaying the demolition crews of the building known as The Davenport (formerly The Davenport Hotel) less than 48 hours after the Sunday afternoon partial collapse of the west side of 324 Main Street, which is a 1914 built building diagonally across the street from Davenport City Hall. Said building had as many as 50 residential tenants leasing apartments inside.
Due to the public pressure from displaced and concerned citizens amassing in a near mob like protests outside of City Hall early Tuesday morning, backing down the demolition crews.
The concerned citizens are crying foul due to the city claiming there was no one left inside the building early Monday, only to have a woman appear in a window Monday evening to be rescued.
Prior to this Tuesday news conference rumors were abound that two people who lived there were still missing and unaccounted for.
At this news conference, hosted by the mayor, police chief, fire chief, fire marshall, and city housing development director, the public learned that the city considered 3 people unaccounted for that may or may not have been living in the building during the collapse and that 2 additional people were unaccounted for that were likely at the bottom of the rubble pile.
A reporter asked, “How did we go from plans to demolish [The Davenport Hotel] this morning — how did we have a plan to demolish this morning, and now, there’s no timeline, and we’re saying, ‘Find the missing’ and ‘Two may be in here’? For those for whom that does not compute, and how was [Lisa Brooks’s presence amidst the rubble] missed to that degree?”
Mayor Mike Matson replied, “The plan to get in position to demolish was to happen today, to set the stage. Actually putting the physical demolishment to happen today? We’re continuing to evaluate.” Assistant Fire Chief Jim Morris added, “When we originally evaluated the scene, we didn’t have the indication, even from the state team and the K9 dogs, in there that would make us proceed. We were not looking at instantaneously pulling that building down. It’s going to come down on its own, which we do not want; but we also want to make sure it’s in a controlled manner. We were receiving new information. The fire department, [which] pulled Lisa Brooks out of that apartment last night — that right there was an indicator that we needed to go up there. That was a viable indicator that we needed to address this. That’s why we’re moving forward with evaluating and getting additional search teams in there, to be able to do that. We had no other — we used all of our tools, all of Iowa Task Force One’s tools and technology, to assess that, and that’s why we’re moving forward the way we are now.”
The question was then asked how the dogs missed Lisa Brooks. Mayor Matson confessed that he didn’t know: “We want to know. All I can tell you is I’m committed to finding out.”
When asked if Andrew Wold, the owner of The Davenport Hotel, was under criminal investigation for negligence, Mayor Matson said, “I know the owner. He was on site Sunday. I saw him.” Davenport Police Chief Jeff Bladel then took up Mayor Matson’s slack. “The city has been in contact with [Wold]. We are currently consulting with state agencies to figure out who’s going to take the lead in this investigation. At this time, we have not determined if a criminal offense has occurred in order to initiate a criminal investigation. Regardless of what happens, there will be an investigation.”
When asked how the residents of The Davenport Hotel were allowed to stay inside a structurally-unsound building — indeed, how the building initially passed inspection — if Larry Sandhaas, the structural engineer with Shive-Hattery, could see bricks falling off the top of the roof, Chief Bladel said, “There were initial issues with the building. A structural engineer’s report was provided to the city to outline the work that was done. It was determined that it was safe by the structural engineer, which was not hired by us; it was hired by [Wold]. They were able to provide that report in order for us to make the determination to continue to occupy the building.”
May 30, 2023: Protestors outside Davenport City Hall re stopping demolition of The Davenport Hotel at 324 Main Street
Another reporter observed, “It seems like [Davenport] is in a really tough position where it has to weigh the safety of first-responders against the possibility of somebody still being alive in the building. What factors do you use to make decisions in this case?” Mayor Matson appreciated the reporter’s “understanding” and cited Quanishia White-Berry’s crisis (both legs pinned down in an area of the building that was considered dangerous): “[The first-responders] want to do everything they can to be there, in every possible place. [White-Berry] was in a place where it was unbelievably dangerous to get out. Those folks didn’t care about that. Their focus was to go and do that, save the life. Surgeons from this community were in the building, exercising trauma surgery in the building, saving lives. So for me, and our respective team, understanding that the effort of the first-responders and other medical professionals to go and do everything they can, in the risk analysis for me and our respective leadership, knowing from our experts, from here and abroad. . . Can I allow it? I don’t know that — I still am struggling with that, right? But that’s what we’re doing. Through the great work of Chief Morris and the Mavis Team, who are willing to do this, and we are working through that to do this, and our want to do this, there is a continual evaluation and want to go in again. We are evaluating that. But — you’re right. That’s me. Someone has to be accountable.”
The follow-up question as to what the plan is if the building comes down unexpectedly, Mayor Matson spoke more about treating the site as the resting-spot of two people than the plans, which he said had been discussed and was “being worked through.” Todd McGreevy of the Reader asked, “The structural-engineer report that the owner provided to the city: How long ago was that provided? And what engineering firm provided that report?” Rich Oswald, City Development and Neighborhood Services Director, cited Select Structural Engineering out of Bettendorf, who submitted two interim reports in the last six months, one at the end of January, the other last week. “What the city asked, “ Oswald said, “was that in January, they would let us know the building is structurally sound or they would have to vacate it. They came back and said, ‘The building is structurally sound at that time,’ and they went with the belief that it was safe to have tenants there.” Oswald said the two reports would be made available, and that the first report was requested when the complaints of bricks falling off the building’s roof was made, “and our building official and building staff went in, and then they required the first report. The second report started when they had some more bricks falling, so we asked for another report.” Was the city satisfied with the second report? Per Oswald, the Chief Building Official was satisfied with the repairs and how they were done. McGreevy pushed on that point, asking about the building being declared sound six months ago and six months later requiring additional repairs. “In the original January report requested,” Oswald clarified, “for that repair work, which was brick-work, we deemed they said that the building was structurally sound for people to stay in. So that repair work was done under Permanent (?), it was signed off on; and just in May, we had a second incident which required a new structural unclear where the permits were pulled, and they were currently making those repairs at the time of the collapse.” Nice clarification. The building needed repairs, but it was safe enough for people to stay in. Until it wasn’t.
So, the question goes: Who failed the city? Mayor Matson answered, “We do everything we can to try to ensure safety. . . We will continue to do that and we will continue to understand what that is and continue to move forward with — whatever it is.” The reporter pressed him on the point; Mayor Matson offered more procedure. Apparently, no one’s to blame. Moving on.
Davenport Fire Chief Michael Carlsten said the Hotel’s demolition will not involve explosives in a heavily-populated downtown area; that it will involve a more controlled process, involving outside contractors to disassemble the building methodically, provided the building doesn’t fall down of its own accord beforehand. So, there’s really no timeline for getting contractors on site to safely take apart a partially-collapsed structure. Sandhaas said the most likely place where demolition, however the actual process, would start would be in the area of the debris — “which, unfortunately, is the area of concern with respect to victims. There’s concern about, if the building is close to an alley, close to adjacent buildings on the south side, the demolition contractor would have to take care not to damage any adjacent property. It’s condemned property, it’s hollowed ground, it’s. . .
A question about the city’s familiarity with complaints by residents against The Davenport was met by Oswald, who said Davenport’s rental-inspection program dealt with rental complaints being investigated by a rental inspector. If something was found in violation or in need of repair, the inspector would follow up on it until the building was in compliance. Absent complaints, inspectors would visit the property every two years.
Everything clear now?