The Journal Star had a story today about the problems Kingston Mines is having coming up with $400,000 to treat their water so it meets IEPA standards. Suppose Peoria were to buy the water works from Illinois American Water. In addition to the huge debt load from buying the water works, would Peoria be able to afford IEPA compliance in the long-term?
Kingston Mines has radium contamination. What if Peoria develops copper or lead contamination, and the only way to fix it is by replacing the infrastructure? Can Peoria afford to fix that on top of the cost of purchasing the water company? Peoria is an old city with a lot of old pipes. I hope councilman Manning has figured in those kinds of contingencies when this issue comes up the next time.
WMBD Radio reports that the airport authority board has approved Ken Spirito as director of the Greater Peoria Regional Airport, succeeding Solomon Balraj, who left last fall. Before coming to Peoria, he was the Assistant Executive Director of the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Mississippi.
Even though WMBD is reporting this today, the date on the press release from the airport’s website is 3/8/06. So I guess this is old news. Here’s some more biographical information on Mr. Spirito:
Originally from Long Island, New York, Mr. Spirito has worked at several airports in the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast. In previous positions, he was responsible for working with legislators and developing aeronautical and non-aeronautical business. Mr. Spirito has managed over $250 million in capital improvements at Gulfport-Biloxi and was recently named one of the top 10 business leaders in South Mississippi. Mr. Spirito is an Accredited Airport Executive (A.A.E.) and is an active member of the American Association of Airport Executives.
He has a wife and two kids, and will be starting at $135,000 a year. Welcome to Peoria, Ken.
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