Tag Archives: Build the Block

About those “Build the Block” banners on light poles…

Some have been wondering why the “Build the Block” campaign is able to put banners on the light poles around the city and who pays to put them up and take them down. I asked Interim City Manager Henry Holling about that issue and received this response:

Good day Mr. Summers. Thanks for your inquiry on City banners and the current display of “Build the Block”. The current banner display was paid for by Lakeview Museum, a principal partner in “Build the Block” and includes labor by City sign crews to post and remove; the sponsoring organization pays for all materials, design and artwork. City banner policy is that only requests from community-based non-profit, non-partisan, non-discriminatory, community-service organizations will be considered on a first come/first served basis. There is typically a wait of 90 to 120 days to get in the present queue. “Build the Block” was kicked off last June as the tagline for the huge Caterpillar Visitor Center/Museum $135 million project. Among others, the City of Peoria is a partner in the project as mentioned in the Mayor’s State of the City address. “Build the Block” was initiated way before the approval by the County Board of a referendum April 7, 2009. In fact, “Build the Block” banners were posted downtown last June, 2008 as part of the educational and communication initiative tied to the event of a massive positive development at the riverfront. Appreciate your interest in this spectacular project for Peoria.
Henry

What’s going on here? you ask. Well, it’s a combination of legal requirements and clever marketing.

You see, Lakeview and the rest of the Museum Collaboration Group cannot advocate for or against a political issue or candidate because they’re a not-for-profit organization. But they can do anything else, such as educate the public on their museum plans and solicit private donations and public subsidies. The “Build the Block” banners fall under that category. They’re put up by Lakeview, the not-for-profit organization, and they say nothing about the referendum.

All the signs and mailings that say explicitly to “vote yes” on the public facilities sales tax referendum are produced by a legally separate organization called “Friends of Build the Block.” This is a political advocacy group. If you look at the small print on these signs and postcards, you’ll see it says “Paid for by Friends of Build the Block.”

Here’s where the clever marketing comes in. Both organizations use the same graphic elements in their materials. They both use the “Build the Block” logo, the same fonts, the same kind of layout and design. So in the minds of residents and voters, the legal division between the two groups is transparent — that is, the average voter sees no difference between them. It all looks like one organization.

So, when Joe Citizen sees a banner hanging on a city light pole, his mind associates “Build the Block” with the “vote yes” literature he’s received in the mail. Ta-dah! All of the museum group’s advertising is effective in advocating for the referendum even though some of it doesn’t explicitly say so. To get a festive attribute get a banner for thanksgiving and enjoy the coming holiday.

Parade used for a little museum promotion

The Museum Collaboration Group doesn’t miss a single opportunity to advertise. Here they are at the 121st annual Santa Claus Parade with a banner and some little foam blocks for the kiddies.

I’m surprised the blocks didn’t have “Vote Yes!” preprinted on the other side, in anticipation of the sales tax referendum that’s due to hit our ballots in April. Perhaps they decided that would be too presumptuous, since the county board hasn’t approved the ballot question yet.

Who’s afraid of the big bad economy? Not the museum!

From the Journal Star:

With little debate, the Illinois Senate today voted 51-4 to send Gov. Rod Blagojevich a proposal to let Peoria County ask voters to OK a special sales tax to help pay for the Peoria riverfront museum.

The legislation, Senate Bill 1290, passed earlier in the House of Representatives. With Blagojevich’s signature, it would become law, and the question could be put to voters in the February or April municipal elections.

Not mentioned in the article is the fact that the bill allows increases in 1/4% increments, and could be used toward any “public facility” (e.g., Belwood Nursing Home), not just the museum. The way it will likely read on the ballot is:

To pay for public facility purposes, shall Peoria County be authorized to impose an increase on its share of local sales taxes by .25% (.0025) for a period not to exceed (insert number of years)?

This would mean that a consumer would pay an additional 25¢ ($0.25) in sales tax for every $100 of tangible personal property bought at retail. If imposed, the additional tax would cease being collected at the end of (insert number of years), if not terminated earlier by a vote of the county board.”

A quarter of a percent increase doesn’t sound like a whole lot, does it? But consider that, if this referendum were to pass, you would be paying .25% more on things that already are highly taxed — like restaurant food (which would go from 10% to 10.25% in the city). Is that going to make Peoria more or less competitive than East Peoria, right across the river? How many people do you think will come to see the museum in Peoria, then go have lunch in East Peoria?

And what about the economy? Is this the time to be increasing taxes when there’s plenty of unemployed people? What is the city’s solution on how to decrease the unemployment rate?
Consider these other items in the news as of late:

  • “[T]he effects of the economic crisis are being felt beyond Wall Street as charities locally and nationwide report increases in basic needs and decreases in donations to provide those. Some of the people who used to be donors are now asking for donations…. Nearly 90 percent of Catholic Charities nationwide report more families seeking help, with senior citizens, the middle class and the working poor among those hit hardest by the downturn…. The Salvation Army already has seen between 15 percent and 20 percent more need than last year in its first week of assistance applications received for the holidays…. The Friendship House scaled back the number of families this year allowed into their Adopt-A-Family program to ensure they could fulfill the need.”
  • “Fiscal restraint was the guiding principle in crafting next year’s [Peoria] county budget, which represents a 6 percent overall decrease over last year’s budget. In what is being described as a ‘maintenance budget’ with no new taxes or fees and no spending cuts, preliminary figures show spending requests at nearly $122 million while the county expects to bring in about $119 million in revenues. The approximately $3 million deficit – mostly in the capital fund – will be covered by reserve funds that sit at nearly $74 million, said Erik Bush, Peoria County’s chief financial officer….. The county expects to collect $25.5 million from taxpayers, about $1 million more than what was collected in 2007. Although the tax rate will drop 1 cent to 81 cents per $100 assessed valuation, property values are projected to increase 5.4 percent, so homeowners actually will pay more taxes to the county. The owner of a $120,000 home, whose value increases the projected 5.4 percent will pay $341.50 in taxes to the county, or $13.50 more than last year.”
  • “In total, the city’s staff whittled a $2.2 million budget deficit down to $117,771, an amount that some council members praised. ‘We asked an unbelievable task of our staff,’ Mayor Jim Ardis said. ‘Without cutting any positions or having any tax increase.’ …Finance Director Jim Scroggins said the biggest savings comes from the city’s health care costs, reflected in a substantial difference between the 12 percent budgeted increase for 2008 and the actual increase in health-related costs of only 4 percent…. In addition, the city plans to scale back on parking deck repairs ($300,000), repairs to some of its buildings ($200,000), delay repairs to police headquarters ($25,000), and reduce the neighborhood signs program ($68,662).”
  • “Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills has hit a record $4 billion, and Comptroller Dan Hynes said Thursday the situation is ‘potentially catastrophic’ if allowed to continue…. Earlier this week, Blagojevich’s office said state revenues will fall $800 million short of projections because of the recession. The Senate Democrats’ top budget person, Sen. Donne Trotter of Chicago, said borrowing money right now may not be a good idea because of interest costs. He said the state should tap into its ‘rainy day’ fund first. Hynes said money in the rainy day fund was used in July. Trotter’s Republican counterpart, Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont, also didn’t think much of borrowing money. ‘That’s exactly what’s gotten us into this problem,’ Radogno said. ‘Continuing borrowing is not a good idea. They’re going to have to look at making cuts. The wiggle room is gone.'”

It’s time to use all that advertising money to come up with another plan — one that doesn’t involve raising taxes.


Museum Block, before it was turned into a temporary parking lot

More museum plans to be unveiled Tuesday

From a press release:

Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 1:00 p.m.
Peoria High School Gymnasium
1615 N. North St.

The Peoria Riverfront Museum will announce plans for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Peak Performance Center. Join us as we share the unique experiences this exhibit area will offer visitors.

Speakers include:
Mariah Hart, Peoria High School
Jim Richerson, Lakeview Museum of Arts & Sciences
Marty Hickman, Illinois High School Association
Chuck Buescher, Bradley University
Brent Lonteen, Peoria Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

Also, have you seen the TV ads for “Build the Block”? I just saw one for the first time last night. I wonder how much this latest fundraising campaign is costing them. Between the full-page ads in the paper and television advertising, it can’t be cheap.

Museum unveils planned river displays

From a press releases:

Peoria Riverfront Museum’s Illinois River Encounter to Share Living and Working River

Peoria – Some 15,500 years ago, a huge surge of glacial meltwater swept across Illinois. The result: the Illinois River and its broad floodplain—and a complex eco-system of which humans have long been a part. And that’s just the beginning of the fascinating story visitors to the Peoria Riverfront Museum will experience at The Illinois River Encounter.

At a media event on Oct. 15, Lakeview Museum President and CEO Jim Richerson shared the components of the museum’s Liberty Street Wing and specific plans for The Illinois River Encounter, a major gallery in that wing. “Without the Illinois River, Peoria would not be Peoria,” he said. “It was the river that first drew native people to this area 12,000 years ago. And it is the river that continues to offer commercial and recreational opportunities today.”

Doug Blodgett, director of the Illinois River portion of the Nature Conservancy, has been working extensively with museum designers and shared details of what The Illinois River Encounter will offer. “The gallery will feature parallel, interactive exhibits,” he explained. One side, known as The Living River, will focus on the river’s natural history and habitats. The other side, The Working River, will highlight the changing human relationship to the river over the years.

“Moving through the gallery will evoke the feeling of a trip along the river—through both time and space,” he added, noting:

  • The first section in The Working River will place visitors in the northern reaches of the river, with exhibits on the Illinois & Michigan Canal and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal—the beginning of human attempts to control the river.
  • In the middle of the experience, both The Living River and The Working River will focus on Peoria, including its early history as a fishing town, the role of the river in its industrial development and the ongoing work to address the sedimentation problem in the Peoria Lakes.
  • The final exhibits will focus on the river today, with emphasis on the shipping industry and the work being done to restore the river’s health.

The Living River

In The Living River, visitors will experience a simulation of the rushing meltwaters that formed the Illinois and view photos and samples of geological features caused by the torrent. A recreation of an archaeological dig in the river’s floodplain will include artifacts from various periods, including the Peoria Falcon, a 500-year-old embossed copper plate portraying a bird of prey. “This artifact, likely part of a Native American warrior’s ceremonial headdress, was found in Peoria in 1859, not far from the site of The Block today,” Blodgett said.

A timeline of fishing on the river will offer interactive experiences and artifacts, including footage of jumping carp, mounted specimens of native and invasive fish species and tools from the river’s once-thriving fish and mussel industries. “Beginning in 1891, mussels were harvested to manufacture shell buttons,” Blodgett explained. “When the Illinois River reached its maximum shell production in 1909, there were more than 2,600 boats and 15 button factories along the river.”

The Working River

“The Working River will focus on how we have changed the Illinois River over the centuries, connecting it to Lake Michigan and developing it as a channel for transportation and commerce,” said Steve Jaeger, executive director of the Heart of Illinois Regional Port District. Interactive opportunities will allow visitors to experience what it’s like to pilot a barge, control the flooding of the river in a simulation of downtown Peoria, affect the flow of the river through locks and dams and observe the impact of levees on the river channel and floodplain use.

A look at the future will include information on the efforts of conservation groups to restore the river’s natural ecology, including a display showing the progress and goals of the Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon floodplain restoration project, one of the largest restoration projects in the country.
In addition, The Illinois River Encounter will feature an adjacent River Science Lab. The lab will feature hands-on activities, including a boat interactive where kids can float different types of boats to see which create less turbulence and therefore contribute less to erosion and sedimentation problems.

The multifaceted Peoria Riverfront Museum will join the Caterpillar Experience as key components of a planned downtown center for the arts, education and entertainment known as The Block.

And here are pictures of what these displays look like (click on thumbnails for larger images):