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Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rock Island proposes compromise for Milan Bottoms development
Mayor Mike Thoms held a news conference Friday about a controversial proposed development near the Milan Bottoms wetlands area. The city has created a task force to help maintain conservation for the site. Meanwhile, the city wants to expand an already-existing TIF – Tax Increment Financing – district to include more property where the dispensary and truck stop are proposed. 'The mayor was pretty explicit in saying that we're going to proceed with this development, but at the same time, also proceed with trying to create a permanent conservation easement on the wetland behind the site,' said Jon Duyvejonck, a member of the Sierra Club Eagle View Group. 'So we kind of agree to disagree. So there are still environmental steps to be taken to approve this project.' The Rock Island City Council will vote to approve the easement on Monday. One part of the compromise would be maintain a tree line between the development and the wetlands to help block some of the light and noise. 'We must strive to balance the city's need for economic development with the environment, environmental conservation, which I believe can be hand-in-hand,' said Thoms. 'The city is committed to economic development while protecting our natural resources.' Thoms also announced that a groundbreaking for the project is planned for next month. 'I think it's kind of premature to do that, but then again, a lot of the groundbreakings I've been a part of are just kind of a formal thing,' said Duyvejonck. Duyvejonck says some activists plan to attend Monday's city council meeting to discuss holding off on plans for the TIF to make time for more environmental surveys. What is a TIF district? A TIF is a tool municipalities can use to spur economic development in certain areas by designating them as eligible to use an increase in property tax revenue generated by new development within those areas to fund projects and improvements. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Quad Cities environmentalists push back on proposed development
Kelly McKay has spent more than 40 years researching and monitoring eagles. One of his favorite spots to watch eagles in the Quad Cities is the Milan Bottoms. 'It's by far and away the most important piece of bald eagle habitat in this region, certainly on the upper Mississippi River,' McKay said. 'Periodically you'll see them carrying sticks and carrying sticks to the nest.' The Milan Bottoms stretches 3,500 acres, and is full of trees and is a favorite spot for eagles who gather in the winter. A part of what makes the Milan Bottoms so attractive to eagles is the food — fish, which includes several types on the Illinois state list of endangered species — that can be found in the water. However, bald eagles might need to find a new place to gather if a proposed cannabis dispensary, retail space, and truck stop are built adjacent to the Milan Bottoms. 'Truck stops, you know, they are 24 hours a day, trucks coming and going, a lot of noise,' Kelly said. 'They're lit up like bright Christmas trees.' Kelly added that the noise and light would alter a bald eagle's night roost area, especially during the winter. '[Night roosts] have to be secluded from a lot of human activity and development. If the birds are constantly being disturbed and disrupted during the night, their agitation levels are rising, they are burning calories, and they're wasting calories,' Kelly said. Kelly and other local environmentalists argue the proposed development could create an economic problem for the area. 'We know Bald Eagle Days here in the Quad Cites brings in enormous numbers of people, and there's always large attendance,' Kelly said. 'Large attendance equals dollars and these are people from outside the Quad Cities coming into the Quad Cities.' In response, the city of Rock Island issued a statement: 'The 10 acres that are being developed are not wetlands and are not in the floodplain. The letter from the Sierra Club Eagle View Group raises some issues that are too early in the project to address.' Rock Island mayor Mike Thoms and city manager Todd Thompson plan to listen to the Sierra Club Eagle View Group's views as soon as they can schedule a said he welcomes the meeting. 'I don't think you have to sacrifice the most important site for bald eagles on the upper Mississippi River to put a truck stop at this specific location,' Kelly said. 'I think there are some alternatives, and that's what we would like to discuss with the city and the developer.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
