Moline, Milan asked to cough up money for further archaeological study

In yet another of the constant stream of cases where developers expect municipalities to pay most of the costs involved with building for-profit projects, the developers of "Bluffs at Case Creek", a housing and commmercial development to be built in both Moline and Milan in an area off of Knoxville Road are asking for, and will likely receive, over $12,000 each from both Moline and Milan to cover the costs of a second stage archaeological study at the site.
Indian artifacts were found in the initial study, and state law mandates further investigation.
The cost of the second stage study, which will be done by the University of Iowa, ironically enough, is expected to cost over $36,000 which the developer wants to split three ways between themselves and the cities involved.

Milan has already agreed to provide the sewer service to the project, while Moline will provide water service.

Any readers want to pony up some cash for a developement? We can get the city to buy the land, pay for any environmental clean up or remediation and archaological studies, pay for the huge costs of building roads, sewer, and water service, exempt us from taxes for decades, pay for the costs to promote, publicize, and attract purchasers, and even cough up closing costs for buyers!

Bottom line? We'll only have to pay for a fraction of the costs of the development, and then sit back and collect all the profits tax-free for years!!!

C'mon, let's not be the last one's on our block to get in on this gravy train!

In another related story, Milan's Village administrator Steve Seiver met with Sen. Mike Jacobs and Rep. Pat Verschoore Monday to discuss issues with the project. Seiver is concerned with the costs associated with preserving priceless historical artifacts and apparently wants Jacobs and Verschoore to intervene in the matter.

Mr. Seiver met with the legislators, he said, because each time a study is completed, more work is requested. "As we do each one of these, the rules keep changing a little bit," he said.

Milan is to provide sewer service for the development, and has a permit pending with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Both legislators agreed to set up a meeting soon with Milan, Moline and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency to discuss the project.

So, we have our public servents called in to try to limit or eliminate the effort to preserve these artifacts. Evidently, perserving history is a bit too pricey for the developer, Milan, and Moline's tastes, and they want these politicians to do something about it. We'll have to see what actions, if any, they take.

See? Even if we hit a snag like this with our project, we can call on politicians to intervene and fix it so we don't have to follow the law. That way we can be further assured that our costs are next to nothing and our profits are guaranteed.