At-large councilman Eric Turner moved to extend 4 a.m. liquor licenses for a one-year trial period to only two businesses — Club Apollo and Club Excalibur — rather than an area of downtown as was proposed by other council members and the police department. Second district councilwoman Barbara Van Auken moved to divide the question — that is, to vote on each location separately.

Extending a 4 a.m. license to the Club Apollo location passed with 9 ayes, 1 nay (Sandberg), and 1 abstention (Jacob). The Club Excalibur location, however, failed with only 2 ayes (Gulley, Turner), 8 nays, and 1 abstention (Jacob).

One interesting point: City attorney Randy Ray mentioned that extending the 4 a.m. license to a satellite location is only legal because it’s a temporary one-year trial. If the council decides that this works, they will have to create a district to make it permanent.

City Council, City of Peoria | 7 Comments »

On another 10-1 vote tonight, the City Council approved funding ArtsPartners from collected Restaurant tax receipts capped at $75,000 per year for the next four years (until 2011). At-large councilman Ryan Spain sang the praises of ArtsPartners, even mirroring the language of ArtsPartners Executive Director Suzette Boulais’ prepared speech. Third district councilman Bob Manning was more circumspect in his comments, praising not so much ArtsPartners, but the process of questioning and publicly vetting this item instead of simply rubber-stamping it.

The only “no” vote was Gary Sandberg who said he was voting against it because of the source of the funds (”R” portion of the HRA taxes). Those funds were supposed to go toward paying off the debt on the Civic Center, he said, and now we’re using those funds for other things. He believes that that city is breaking its word by redirecting those funds.

Arts Partners, City Council, City of Peoria | 1 Comment »

The City of Peoria will pursue possibly selling or leasing the Gateway Building. The City Council voted 10-1 to issue a request for proposals to that end. According to the council communication, city staff will now:

…solicit proposals and once received will assemble a committee consisting of representatives from the Legal, Economic Development, Public Works and City Manager’s Office who will then review the RFPs and evaluate on the following criteria:

1. Proposals that do not require public contribution or incentives (15%)
2. Price for the property (20%)
3. Proposers ability to agree to the continued use of public restrooms (15%)
4. Proposals that continue the public access to the Riverfront (15%)
5. Proposals that generate pedestrian traffic on the Riverfront (15%)
6. Highest and Best Use (20%)

Although at-large councilman Eric Turner vehemently opposed the idea of selling the Gateway building during his interview on WCBU’s Outside the Horseshoe program, during the council meeting he weakly countered that “not everything government does is intended to make a profit; some of it is quality-of-life,” yet simultaneously said he would support the motion.

First district councilman Clyde Gulley was the lone “no” vote. He thought the council should decide on a price before sending out an RFP. Leaving it vague, he believed, could potentially waste a lot of time on the part of city staff and those making proposals.

City Council, City of Peoria | 1 Comment »

The total average time a household had a TV set tuned during the 2006-2007 television year was 8 hours and 14 minutes per day.

Television | 10 Comments »

I’ll be watching the council meeting tonight and will put up a post during or after that. Until then, feel free to comment on whatever strikes your fancy.

Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

The Times of London is reporting that there will be no parking at the 2012 Olympic Games in that city:

The team organising the London Olympics in 2012 is adopting the most aggressive anticar policy ever applied to a major event in an attempt to deliver a permanent shift in people’s travel habits.

The eight million spectators will be banned from travelling by car and forced to take public transport, walk or cycle. Only a small number of disabled people will be allowed to park anywhere near the car exclusion zones planned for the main venues in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Cardiff, and Weymouth and Portland in Dorset.

This isn’t London’s first foray into changing commuters’ behavior. In 2003, they instituted what they call a “congestion charge” of £8 ($16.38) per day for driving downtown. It worked. According to the Times, “London is the only major city in the world that has had a decline in car use and an increase in bus and rail travel.”

Ironically, the fittest people at the Olympics — the athletes — will be able to drive in ahead of time.

General News | 6 Comments »