To the City Council, City Manager, and Director of Public Works:
On behalf of the Beloit League of Women Voters, I would like to thank City Council President Clinton Anderson for meeting with League members on March 17 to solicit ideas for the city’s use of ARPA funds. We look forward to participating in the public hearings the city plans to hold to solicit residents’ recommendations.
This evening, however, I’d also like to speak on behalf of the League to the city’s plans to stabilize Turtle Creek’s eroding bank near the entrance to the Greenway just off Milwaukee Road. The Turtle Creek Greenway provides many benefits to the city’s residents and supports the city’s sustainability goals.
The Beloit League, however, encourages the city to not approve a contract to stabilize the creek bank unless it is doing so in conjunction with a larger project that will decrease flooding using nature-based methods to the south of the Greenway entrance.
In fact, an opportunity to do just this has arisen: the property between Milwaukee Road and Colley Road opposite the Greenway’s entrance is available for purchase. We encourage the city to acquire this property and return it to a more natural state that will allow Turtle Creek to meander. The property would then act as a sponge absorbing stormwater when significant rain events occur. This is far preferable than continuing to channel the creek between this property and the adjacent railbed as is currently the case. As the city government is well aware, stormwater is a significant threat to Beloit and its infrastructure. Precipitation has increased in recent years in our area, and is expected to continue to do so.
Beyond assisting with stormwater management, expanding the Greenway to Colley Road is consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan regarding natural corridors, protecting water quality and groundwater, supporting wildlife, and attending to the mental and physical health of residents through access to natural areas for recreation and relaxation. Expansion of the Greenway would also support the continued beautification of the city and improve the experience of all who enter the city via Milwaukee Road. Whether a forest or mesic prairie replaces the current usage, upkeep would be minimal. Further, as the Comprehensive Plan explicitly warns against new building construction in the floodplain, expansion of the Greenway makes good sense. ARPA funding could provide the necessary support.
The League sees this as one step in increasing the City of Beloit’s resilience in the face of climate change and increasingly frequent extreme rain events. We continue to encourage the city to take a comprehensive approach to sustainability, and to enlist both experts and city residents in this work. These suggestions are consistent with the Beloit League’s position on natural resources as well as with state and national League positions on the environment and climate change.
We hope the city council will take advantage of this opportunity.
On behalf of the Beloit League of Women Voters and its Sustainability Committee,
Susan Adams, President
March 21, 2022