Monthly Archives: April 2006

City Council, City of Peoria

City zoning commission okays grandfather status for unpaved lots

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The city council on Tuesday will also be considering a recommendation from the zoning commission that provides some relief to businesses in the older areas of town that have unpaved (rock or gravel) parking lots or loading areas.  Right now, if someone complains about such lots, the city can require that the business pave their lot within a year of receiving notice.  Under new rules proposed by the zoning commission, they would not have to pave their lot or loading area unless there is a change of use or expansion of the business.

The new rules apply only to businesses whose gravel lots were created prior to 1972.  The city established rules requiring lots to be paved that year, so any business that established a gravel lot after 1972 did so illegally and would still be subject to the old rules (requiring pavement within a year).

This is a good example of the city showing some flexibility in their zoning to take into consideration the concerns of long-time businesses in the older parts of town.  This sounds like a good compromise by the zoning commission.

City Council, City of Peoria, Traffic

Knoxville and Prospect intersection to be upgraded

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Just in case you feel like there’s not enough road construction in your life, IDOT and the city are planning to upgrade the intersection of Knoxville and Prospect roads in Peoria, according to the city council agenda for Tuesday night.  It looks to be rather extensive — they want to change the intersection so that people turning north onto Knoxville from Prospect can have better visibility of traffic coming from the south.  New (“modernized”) traffic signals will be installed, of course.

City Council, City of Peoria, East Bluff, Peoria Public Schools

File this under “I” for “Irony”

On Monday, May 1, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., there will be a special meeting of the Peoria Public School Board at Woodruff High School to get input from the public regarding the district’s plans to abandon — and possibly raze to make way for public housing — the current Glen Oak School building, erected in 1889.

May 1 also kicks off “Historic Preservation Month.” A typical proclamation for this month reads as follows:

WHEREAS, historic preservation is an effective tool for managing growth, revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering local pride and maintaining community character while enhancing livability; and

WHEREAS, historic preservation is relevant for communities across the nation, both urban and rural, and for Americans of all ages, all walks of life and all ethnic backgrounds; and

WHEREAS, it is important to celebrate the role of history in our lives and the contributions made by dedicated individuals in helping to preserve the tangible aspects of the heritage that has shaped us as a people; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, (governor of your state, mayor of your city), do proclaim May 2006, as National Preservation Month, and call upon the people of (your state or city) to join their fellow citizens across the United States in recognizing and participating in this special observance.

I’m not sure what the wording will be for Peoria, but a proclamation for Historic Preservation Month is planned for the Peoria City Council meeting Tuesday night.

Peoria County, Peoria Disposal Company

PDC concessions not likely to change outcome

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Peoria Disposal Company is trying to woo Peoria County Board members into voting for their landfill expansion by making some concessions. Briefly, these concessions include (according to the Journal Star):

  • agree not to expand over trench C-1 (oldest part of landfill)
  • reduce the expansion area’s life to 12 years (down from 15)
  • shift landfill operations to 275 feet from the eastern boundary
  • agree to pay a yearly flat fee of $281,250 into a perpetual care fund
  • allow County Board committee veto power over any new waste streams
  • guarantee the Sankoty aquifer will not be polluted
  • place earlier proposed conditions in a host agreement enforceable in circuit court

PDC’s attorney told the Journal Star “the concessions should meet all the concerns expressed by board members, the county’s staff and even opposition groups.” I think it meets some of the concerns expressed by those various people, but definitely not all.

In early April, the board voted down three of the nine criteria for approval of the expansion. PDC’s concessions may change some votes on two of those three criteria, but they don’t change anything regarding criterion number one: whether this expansion is needed to accommodate area waste. PDC still only needs this expansion so they can continue to receive waste from out of state. If the board didn’t feel that was needed three weeks ago, they’re not going to feel it’s needed next week.

If just one of the nine criteria isn’t met (in the judgement of the county board members), they have to vote against the expansion request.

Bill Dennis, a hazardous waste proponent, casts a cynical eye on the county board, saying, “If the county board rejects this now, it just provides proof they rejected the permit contrary to the evidence and were prejudiced against it from the start.” Of course, in reality there is evidence for both sides in this battle. A board member’s disagreement with Bill’s interpretion of the evidence does not prove anything except that two rational people can look at the same evidence and come to different conclusions.

Peoria Public Schools, State Legislation

Senator speaks with forked tongue

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I was thinking about Sen. Shadid’s recent actions regarding the Public School situation, and it sounds to me like he’s speaking out of both sides of his mouth.

He’s asking the governor to delay signing SB 2477 — legislation that would allow the Peoria School District to request the Peoria Public Building Commission (PBC) build schools for Peoria — until the school board gets public input on where a new school should be built. A recent Journal Star article reported that Shadid was “dissatisfied with the way District 150 went about identifying the school site. He said the process was secretive and didn’t include public input.”

However, SB 2477 removes public input from the process of financing new schools. Right now, the school board would have to get authority to issue bonds for school construction via referendum. This would be a binding referendum — one where voters decide whether or not the school may take on more debt. Under SB 2477, the school board doesn’t have to ask the public for permission; they can just go to the PBC and have them issue bonds for school construction.

Sen. Shadid sponsored SB 2477 and says he still supports the legislation. Why? He told the Journal Star:

“It’s very difficult in Peoria to get a referendum passed for District 150. I think nobody will argue that,” Shadid said. “The need is there desperately, but let’s do this the right way.”

So it appears “the right way,” according to Sen. Shadid, is to let the school board make all the binding decisions (siting, financing), but only let the public have advisory input. If he were really concerned about public input, why would he sponsor legislation in the first place that takes away the public’s right to make funding decisions, the ultimate power over the district’s long-term plans?

City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Surface Transportation Board rules in Carver Lumber’s favor

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The Surface Transportation Board (STB) ruled today that the city can’t tear up the Kellar Branch for at least another 90 days so Carver Lumber has time to evaluate the service they receive from Central Illinois Railway (CIRY) over the spur connecting to the Union Pacific (UP) line to the west. This is exactly what Carver Lumber requested — time to evaluate whether this service would be adequate before the Kellar Branch is irreversibly turned into a hiking/biking trail. I’m sure it was sweet vindication for Carver to read the STB’s statement: “Carver Lumber’s request for time to evaluate the service options that the shipper may now have is reasonable in the circumstances presented here.”

During the 90 days between now and July 24, CIRY has to prove its service over the western spur will be adequate and comparable to service Carver used to receive from Pioneer Industrial Rail (PIRY) over the Kellar Branch, and both CIRY and Carver have to report their findings to the STB so it can make a final ruling. Also, PIRY will have an extra 20 days (until August 14) to respond to CIRY and Carver’s filings.

Expect an editorial sometime in the next week to decry the loss of grant money for the Kellar Branch rail-to-trail conversion. Boo hoo hoo.

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Police

Ordinance against loud motorcycles should be enforced

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I disagree with Bill Dennis on whether the noise ordinance should pass the council tonight (I think it should pass), but I agree with one thing he said: “an overly loud motorcycle wakes people up in the middle of the night just like a ‘boom-car’ does.”

When Police Chief Settingsgaard spoke at the Uplands Residential Association meeting, several people brought up the fact that loud motorcycles were much more of a nuisance in our neighborhood than boom cars. In fact, we meet in a basement in the center of a church with thick walls, and during the meeting we could clearly hear a loud motorcycle go by, but at no point did we hear any boom cars.

What the chief told us was that (1) there’s already an ordinance against loud pipes on motorcycles, but that (2) it is not enforced. Why isn’t it enforced? The police have not received any complaints about it. Councilwoman Van Auken, who was also at the meeting, said she’s never received a complaint from a constituent on loud motorcycles either.

The chief likened this issue to the jaywalking situation in town not long ago. Jaywalking laws are not usually enforced either, and no one generally complains about it. When someone did complain and the police enforced jaywalking laws one day, Peorians got all in a tizzy about it. So now you’ll have to forgive him for being a bit gun-shy about enforcing the loud motorcycle ordinance.

However, if you really want to see that ordinance enforced, call the police and complain. Loudly. If the police know that this is an issue that bothers Peorians (not just one, but many), they will respond. Their number is 673-4521.

Peoria Public Schools

Glen Oak relocation temporarily delayed

Peoria Public School Superintendent Ken Hinton announced last night the district will stop pursuing the Glen Oak Park school siting process until they receive public input, according to the Journal Star today.  They will have a public forum to discuss the site and the siting process at Woodruff High School on Monday, May 1, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

That’s a step in the right direction.  It’s easy to be cynical about such a move, but I would advise against it.  The neighbors should take the school board at its word that it’s willing to listen and seriously consider public concerns about this course of action.  They should come to the meeting prepared to give a well-reasoned defense of their position and, preferably, offer alternative solutions.  Those in favor of the Glen Oak Park site should also turn out, if there are any of those out there.

Finally, when it comes to deliberating afterwards, the school board should look for ways to address the neighbors’ concerns and come up with a reasonable compromise.  If there’s no modification at all of their original plans as a result of this meeting, the citizens are going to feel that it was a sham forum.

Peoria Public Schools

District 150 School Board to meet tonight

The Peoria Public School Board of Education will meet tonight to discuss this agenda. I’ve reprinted it below for your perusal (click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below). I’d just like to comment on two items.

First, under item #9, they say they want to “engage the firm LZT / Perkins + Will to work . . . on the programming phase of the new school construction.” The programming phase is where they write up a “program statement” which explains exactly what they want to get out of the new building: what spaces are needed (classrooms, lunchroom, auditorium, lab, etc.), each space’s size and purpose, how the spaces relate to each other, etc. This is used to help them come up with cost estimates and conceptual designs.

My question is, why do they need two architectural firms to do this, and how were they chosen? They list “LZT / Perkins + Will” as if it’s one business. But LZT & Associates is a separate company (based in Peoria) from Perkins + Will, based out of Chicago. Are they saying they’re going to choose one of these two based on who will provide the service at a lower cost? If they’re planning to engage them both, what unique deliverables are expected of each firm? LZT has designed expansions for Columbia and Von Steuben Middle Schools, and is currently working on the Civic Center exhibit hall expansion. Perkins + Will doesn’t appear to have ever done anything in Peoria, if their website is any indication.

Secondly, I’m fascinated that they are poised to renew their contract with Aramark (item #10), the food service vendor that provides food so horrible that Oliver Twist would rather have gone hungry than ask for more of it. Is nutrition an area where we really want to take the lowest bid? Does quality count for anything in this process?

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