Daily Archives: May 12, 2006

City Council, City of Peoria

Franken’genda

The agenda for Tuesday night’s City Council meeting has enough business on it to keep the council there until the wee hours of the morning — Thursday morning.  Okay, I’m exaggerating.  But it’s a really, really long agenda.  Of note:

  • The city is providing a little over $3,000 to various neighborhood associations to help with the cost of producing neighborhood newsletters.  The money comes from a HUD grant.
  • The new facade-improvement programs along Prospect (3rd district) and Sheridan (2nd district) roads are getting their first requests for grant funds.  A new “working art studio” on Prospect called “Tittamus-Tottamus” (I don’t make this stuff up, folks) is getting $10,000 and Craig’s Upholstery on Sheridan is getting $14,350.  The funds are for things like replacing glass/glazing, washing/sanding/painting the building exterior, landscaping/fencing, replacing doors/awnings, etc.
  • The Heart of Peoria (HOP) Commission wants to expand the borders of the HOP to include more of the Center and East Bluffs.  All the affected neighborhood associations were in favor of being added to the HOP area.
  • The City wants to change the way parking tickets are enforced, adopting what’s called an “administrative adjudication system” similar to the way Normal, Chicago, Champaign, and other cities handle them.  Basically, it would mean unpaid parking tickets are sent to a collection agency instead of through the court system.
  • Bar Louie and Famous Dave’s are switching places, and Bar Louie wants to be able to stay open until 2:00 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.  Just to make things confusing, Bar Louie is currently located in Famous Dave’s old location across the street from the Shoppes.  So, Famous Dave’s is moving back to its original location and Bar Louie is moving into Famous Dave’s current spot in the Shoppes.  Clear as mud?
  • As you probably know, the city has set up “institutional districts” in certain areas, most notably Bradley University.  Institutions like Bradley can do whatever they want within their institutional district, but they’re not allowed to stray outside of it, the idea being that adjacent neighborhoods want some form of predictability and stability — i.e., they don’t want to be worried about the institution taking over their neighborhood.  Of course, that’s exactly what’s worrying the Arbor District as Bradley keeps buying houses in that neighborhood in an attempt to expand westward.  What Bradley is going to ask at some point is for their institutional boundary to be changed, and when that happens the council will have to vote on it.  An item on the agenda tonight would require a 2/3 supermajority for such an expansion to pass.  Expect lots of discussion (or a deferral) on this one.
  • The Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Knoxville wants to build a youth center and parking lot addition, but it encroaches into the adjacent neighborhood.  Staff recommends allowing the parking lot, but not the youth building.
  • Finally, the council will resume arguing about a parking agreement with AmerenCILCO that was deferred from an earlier meeting.

Whew!  And that’s just the “highlights.” If you go to the meeting, bring a pillow.

City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Pioneer’s offer to buy Kellar Branch and help build trail next to it still stands

19 Comments

After reading the details of Pioneer Railcorp’s offer to purchase the Kellar Branch rail line from the city and help the Park District construct a trail next to it, one has to wonder why in the world the city wouldn’t jump at the opportunity. There’s no reasonable explanation for this offer to be rejected.

The offer, detailed in a letter to the city council dated September 24, 2004, can be read in its entirety by clicking here. I’d just like to bullet out a summary of applicable parts of the offer here. Pioneer is offering to:

  • Purchase the Kellar Branch and western spur from the City of Peoria for $565,000, or accept a long-term lease on the lines;
  • Grant the Park District a 999-year lease on a portion of the right-of-way for the use of a trail;
  • Donate up to $100,000 in in-kind services (railcar usage, train service, equipment use, flagging and other labor services) to the Park District to assist in the construction of said trail;
  • Work with the Park District to provide for joint use of the right-of-way, including the joint use of existing bridges;
  • Provide the labor, materials and equipment to construct a trestle for the trail to traverse the section behind Versailles Garden where the track elevation has caused the Park District the most concern;
  • Upgrade the Kellar Branch track to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) “Class I” standards;
  • Aggressively seek new business in Pioneer Park and Growth Cell Two;
  • Develop a “dinner train” as a tourist attraction for the city (similar to a successful dinner train Pioneer runs on their Gettysburg & Northern Railroad);
  • Develop, in cooperation with the city, tourist/commuter service from downtown;
  • Pursue the establishment of a “railroad academy” in partnership with Illinois Central College and/or other appropriate partners, to train students in train operation and maintenance, using Pioneer’s equipment and facilities; and
  • Give the city right of first refusal to repurchase the line if another entity wants to buy it from Pioneer.

According to Pioneer Railcorp, this offer still stands. Look at those items above again. The city gets $565,000. The rail line gets upgraded to Class I standards at no expense to the city. The trail is built beside the rail line, so the Rock Island and Pimiteoui Trails will be connected. And Pioneer will agressively seek new business along the line, which could bring in more higher-paying manufacturing jobs to Peoria.

Why isn’t the City taking this offer?