Belvidere city council members argue over neighborhood alley improvement
Updated: Apr 16, 2018 11:00 PM CDT
BELVIDERE - "It's a safety issue being that there's going to be a paved alley with people driving 25 miles an hour, 8 feet from my house," said Belvidere resident Scott Cregreen. He worries about what will happen if the city improves an alley in his neighborhood.
The alley between East 8th and 9th Streets has been a topic of controversy recently. City council members have tried more than once over the last few years to approve paving it.
"Something like this to me is just pretty ludicrous, we don't have the money," said Belvidere Mayor Mike Chamberlain. "It's been discussed multiple times, I have a problem with the ethics of who brought it and who voted," he added.
Chamberlain vetoed the council's vote to pave the alley earlier this month. He says one alderman would personally benefit from the improvement. City council members could not get enough votes to override the veto.
"It passed with a super majority when we voted on it, it passed with a majority in 2012, moving forward I don't know what the next course of action will be," said Belvidere Alderman Marcia Freeman. Freeman lives near the alley and argues having it paved would have made it easier for homeowners to get to their backyards and help police and fire respond.
"My neighbors and the people I represent want their access back," said Freeman. "It's not that they are asking for an alley that doesn't exist, they're asking for their access back," she added. Chamberlain argues spending the 12,000 dollars for the project would take away from future investment in roads everyone in the city uses.
"We need to spend as much money as we can put in our budget every year in improving the streets that are used all day everyday," he said.
Above is from: http://www.mystateline.com/news/local-news/belvidere-city-council-members-argue-over-neighborhood-alley-improvement/1126612358
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