Batavia bridge talks stunted at meeting

Talk of a second bridge in Batavia has started again, but no one knows where it's going yet.

The Batavia City Council heard a staff proposal Monday night to create a citizens committee to weigh the pros and cons of potential bridge sites.

The council did not vote on that proposal and instead sent it to its community development committee.

Aldermen disagreed on if such a committee was necessary, and if it were, the topics it should be discussing.

Alderman Dave Brown said waiting for a citizens committee to complete a study would take too long.

"We should make a decision and move forward," he said. "Let's do what we were elected to do."

Having uncertainty about the issue has impeded downtown redevelopment, said Bill McGrath, city administrator. Developers interested in downtown want to know where another bridge might be before investing, he said.

"This is not a building issue, it's a planning issue," McGrath said.

Alderman Linnea Miller supported the idea of a citizens committee, noting it had worked well on other issues.

Alderman Alan Wolff pushed to get the project moved along quickly, trying to get the council to make a definitive statement Tuesday.

"This needs to be started now, not backtracked," he said.

Alderman Jim Volk disagreed, saying the committee should go back even further to focus on identifying a problem and a solution. Another bridge might not be a solution, he said.

"Unless we do it carefully and build up a logical argument, it'll blow up in our faces again," he said.

Community surveys have shown consistently that residents support a second bridge.

But when the issue was put to the test as a referendum question in 2000, it failed.

The community development committee meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at city hall.