Committee Responsibilities

In early 2021, the City of Rock Island’s City Council approved a contract with the Quad Cities Chamber to provide place management services and explore the creation of a downtown place management organization.

“Revitalizing our downtown area is a key component to economic growth opportunities for the city, which is why we’re excited to bring this public-private partnership forward,” said Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms. “Bringing people, new events, activities and vibrancy to downtown Rock Island also brings increased revenue, improved quality of life and greater value for existing assets. That’s why it’s so important for us to make this investment with a sole focus to oversee the implementation of our plan.”

Through this contract, the Chamber hired Jack Cullen as Director, Downtown Rock Island, whose responsibilities are to:

• Explore the creation of downtown place management organization
• Determine a sustainable funding model for a place management organization
• Represent and advocate for downtown property owners, businesses and residents
• Help the City prioritize TIF funds to deliver services in downtown Rock Island to enhance public spaces, encourage investment and improve quality of life
• Market the downtown as a great place to live, work and play through website and social media
• Draft articles and updates on downtown activities for newsletters and website as needed
• Establish and foster relationships with all stakeholders
• Conduct community outreach and consensus building regarding urban planning initiatives impacting the downtown
• Identify funding opportunities through the identification of public and private partners and grant opportunities

To make sure that a representative set of voices could provide guidance on the work, a Downtown Task Force appointed by Mayor Thoms in 2020 became a Steering Committee made up of property owners, City officials and other stakeholders. The Steering Committee meets monthly to discuss what a downtown placemaking organization should be responsible for, how the downtown should look and ways the downtown can be promoted. Their recommendations are communicated to the City Council by the Downtown Director, who helps advise on investments and improvements.