Rock Island City Council Can Do Better at Milan Bottoms

The Friends of Milan Bottoms (FMB) are a group of local individuals and organizations who are against locating a truck stop and cannabis dispensary on a specific 10-acre site adjacent to vital wetlands. We are not against Puffing and Pumping. However, locating those businesses there will cause extreme noise and lighting that will destroy the largest Bald Eagle winter night roosting area in the Lower 48 States and jeopardize the long-term health of our area’s only real touch of wilderness, as well as pose a potential drastic risk for oil/gas contamination over the decades.

Specifics: The City of Rock Island owns more than 500 acres in southwest Rock Island that are part of a 3,500-acre wetland system running from the mouth the Rock River down to Andalusia. Rock Island's City Council recently established a Business Development District (BDD) to create a 10-acre site for a cannabis dispensary and truck stop. This site butts up to the 500-acre wetland. It is across from Bally's Casino on Illinois 92. In July, the Council is poised to vote to expand the current Casino TIF to include the 500-plus-acre wetland and the BDD. This will allow the TIF/City to pour up to $6 million to the developer and owner of the new facilities.

We applaud the Council for looking for creative, legitimate ways to increase its funding to better serve the City’s needs. However, this location for a truckstop and cannabis dispensary involves risks that are too great and rewards that are too small.

Risks: Oil and diesel that drips from vehicles and pumps that overflow will create a chronic and accumulating problem. In addition, there is the potential catastrophic disaster of oil/diesel tanks leaking into the wetland. The City’s answer number one is an undefined stormwater retention pond which works for limited storms, but ponds can and do overflow. For example, on Jun 24, the Iowa DNR reported a petroleum release from a truck stop’s retention pond in Avoca, Iowa. The release was at first contained, but then overflowed into a nearby river when the rain increased. Underground tanks can also leak as they age, or are impacted by flooding.

When asked about these risks, the City’s number-two response is, “When the land title transfers, so does the liability. It’s the new owners’ problem.” This is true to some extent. However, a leak at the top of Milan Bottoms can quickly become catastrophic and ruin the health of the land and water, including contamination of the Mississippi River. The City should require an enormous bond from the new owners to cover this probable event.

Reward: What reward?

We have heard that $2 million will become available to the City annually from these businesses, mostly from cannabis sales taxes of 3 percent. Only annual ginormous cannabis sales will generate that amount of tax. This is unlikely with five other dispensaries in the Illinois QC area currently. The competition is not going away. The estimates of $2 million annually are mainly smoke and hot air.

Please note: (1) National truck lines often do not allow their truckers to utilize truck stops with cannabis shops and they test drivers constantly. Do not look for national truck lines to use this location; and (2) Gas is much cheaper several miles away in Iowa. Why stop here?

While there are clear, solid rewards for the developer and owner, up to $6 million, potential rewards for the City are risky and relatively measly.

The City Council needs to answer these questions.

(1) Why is the City committing up to $6 million to jump-start two businesses that have no ability to expand, and provide limited benefit to the taxpayer?

(2) Why is the City spending $2.5 million of surplus from the initial TIF to build infrastructure for this project? The infrastructure will be of no use to any other business or resident and the funds could be used for other things.

(3) Will the City help bankroll the Stern Beverage planned relocation to the former Campbell Sports Complex? This area is within the TIF.

Again, FMB is not against Puffing and Pumping. FMB encourages the establishments to be built at a place other than on an extremely vulnerable and valuable wetland where it will destroy an incredibly important Eagle winter night roosting site and jeopardize forever the health of our area's only touch of wilderness. Surely the City can find other creative enterprises that will bring more people, jobs, and opportunity.

We encourage you to tell the Rock Island City Council no. Better yet, Hell No to passing the Parkway/I-280 TIF District Redevelopment Plan. Tell your council member this before the meeting, and then attend the council meetings on July 14 and 28 at 5:30 p.m. and send them back to the drawing board. They can do better for the City and its future.

Curtis Lundy is a retired banker, pre-school teacher, and Nahant Marsh board member. The above words are a representation of the Friends of Milan Bottoms, not just his own.

For an opposing take on the subject,  visit "Milan Bottoms Development in Rock Island Makes Good Sense."