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Archaeologist tells Rock Island council features at Mile and Bottoms are likely modern fill; residents question city messaging and TIF changes
Summary
At the study session, archaeologist and Rock Island resident Addison Kimmel reported probes and LiDAR analysis indicate the contested surface features at the Mile and Bottoms development are modern fill, not pre-contact Native American burial mounds; residents pushed back on a city social-media post and asked for access to an amended right-of-entry and clarity on a TIF change and project labeling.
Addison Kimmel, who identified herself as the author of the archaeological report and a Rock Island resident, told the council that field probes, soil profiles and LiDAR imagery indicate the surface features near the proposed Mile and Bottoms development are disturbed, modern fill rather than pre-contact Native American burial mounds. Kimmel said ‘‘no human remains or artifacts of any kind were found during testing’’ and that the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) reviewing archaeologist approved the report.
Kimmel described testing of two features she labeled Surface Feature 1 and Surface Feature 2. For Surface Feature 1 she said probes found an organic topsoil-like horizon over sandy fill and an intermittent A horizon—soil characteristics she said are inconsistent with the homogeneous imported subsoil normally found in pre-contact mounds. She said Surface Feature 2 lies outside her initial survey area and appeared related to an access path to nearby water; it was not tested further. Kimmel added that, based on the construction plans she reviewed, a buffer of at least 100 feet exists between the features and the proposed parking lot and that, if the developer adheres to those plans, the features would not be disturbed.
Kimmel acknowledged the limitations of the commercial cultural-resource system and explained that tribal consultation is a government-to-government process that consultants cannot unilaterally conduct. She said her firm has no personal or financial relationship with the developer beyond being paid for the work and emphasized that the testing conforms to state-standard survey protocols.
Multiple residents then addressed the council. An unidentified resident (who said her husband is landowner Tim Presley) asked to see the amended right-to-entry agreement listed as agenda item 11 and pressed why a TIF amendment appeared to be moved from Milan to Rock Island and why a feature initially labeled on earlier maps as a truck stop or gas station now appears on later plans as "Casino West" or "Rock Island Casino." The resident said her husband has been locked out of an easement and asked how that easement was being handled.
Simone Showalter, a resident who said she had seen a City of Rock Island social-media post, asked whether the image in the post was from the development site and objected to the post’s claim that SHPO had conducted a survey. Showalter said Waspea Valley Archaeology actually performed the survey and asked the city to correct the post.
No formal council action on the Mile and Bottoms project or the right-to-entry item is recorded in the study-session transcript; multiple residents said they would return to speak during the later regular council meeting. The study session adjourned after public comment.
