The Platteville Common Council approved the final plat for an addition to the city’s Golden Heights Estates subdivision on the city’s southwest side Feb. 24.

The final plat is based on a 3½-year-old Plan Commission recommendation, which itself came two years after a storm water culvert was installed underneath Reddy Drive without an easement for the culvert.

The council’s 5–0 vote — Alds. Ken Kilian and Eileen Nickels were absent — approved the plat with a requirement of a notation that fill was placed on some of the lots, and an easement for the culvert.

The issue of the fill proved the most controversial element of the issue.

At-large Ald. Mike Denn repeated past comments of District 4 Ald. Ken Kilian — who was absent from the meeting — that some of the lots have tree stumps cut level at the ground.

Developer Paris Reddy denied that that was the case.

Reddy said it was “in a way insulting for someone to say there are stumps under the snow. Really? If the snow can be removed now, anybody wants to come and see it … you show me where under the snow the stumps might be and I’ll dig it up.

“If we drag this on and we find these rumors, these innuendos are not substantiated, I have a cost.”

At-large Ald. Dick Bonin said the fill notation was a “frivolous farce, because that’s regular fill dirt.” Bonin said there had been rumors of “tires, and lumber, and stumps, and that is inaccurate.”