Monthly Archives: September 2007

City of Pekin, City of Peoria, Illinois American Water

How high’s the water (rate), Mama?

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Illinois American Water has petitioned the Illinois Commerce Commission to raise their rates in Peoria and Pekin by 20 and 26.7 percent, respectively.

Water company officials say the increases are necessary to cover rising operating costs and infrastructure improvements….

And now, let’s compare this with what Illinois American Water said two years ago according to an April 4, 2005, Journal Star article:

The current business plan of Illinois American Water does not call for a general rate case before 2009, and that means customers will not see the impact of a general rate increase before 2010. Barring an extraordinary event like Sept. 11, the average residential bill will still be $34.74 [average bill in 2005] in 2010.

It is also important to note that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that municipal water systems need to spend $18 billion in order to bring their existing systems up to government standards for water quality. Peorians don’t have this problem because the necessary and timely investments have been made in their water system by Illinois American Water.

So, in 2005, everything was hunky-dory: no rate increases until 2009/2010, infrastructure all up to date. That was when the city was on the brink of buying out the water company. Now, just two years later, and without “an extraordinary event like Sept. 11,” they’re back to the ICC again asking for a 20% rate increase to cover operating expenses and infrastructure improvements. What changed? Why did they have to accelerate their business plan by two years and ask for such a massive increase all of a sudden?

For a company that doesn’t want the city to buy back its water works, they couldn’t have picked a worse time to ask for a rate increase. If it goes through, it will likely take effect next year, just in time for the city to consider buying them out again. Only public pressure has stopped the buyout before; if the public feels like Illinois American Water is screwing them, nothing will get in the way of the city buying them out.

City of Peoria

Who is David Barber?

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David Barber will be taking over as Public Works Director when Steve Van Winkle retires October 1. According to WMBD Radio:

Barber has over 20 years experience as a Public Works Director in four communities in Illinois and Ohio including Downers Grove, Naperville and Evanston, Illinois and Bowling Green, Ohio. Barber’s first day in Peoria will be September 6th working closely with current Public Works Director Steve Van Winkle before he retires October first. Barber, who is 57, will be paid $116,000 a year.

As far as I can put together from searching the Internet, Barber worked in Naperville from 1996 to 2001. He was the Public Works Director there from 1996 to September 1999, at which time the city spun off a new Department of Traffic and Engineering to focus specifically on traffic issues (Chicago Tribune, 9/23/1999). Barber became the director of that new department and Naperville hired a new Public Works Director. On Jan. 31, 2001, Barber left the city of Naperville to take a job at Harza Engineering of Chicago (Chicago Tribune, 1/24/2001).

In January 2004, Barber went to work for Downers Grove as Public Works Director, and he worked there until June 5, 2007. According to DGreport.com, a local Downers Grove blog, Barber was asked to resign by the Village Manager:

Barber and Village Manager Cara Pavlicek reached the decision together, according to a Village Hall staffer. Barber, who has also been working as a continuing education instructor at the University of Wisconsin has decided to focus his interests in academia. He came to Downers Grove in January 2004 after more than 30 years experience in civil engineering and public works.

Some of the complaints during his short tenure included “residents of Oakwood Avenue challeng[ing] the department’s computations on the cost of repairing their brick street,” “complaints about the sidewalk matrix, the tool by which new sidewalks are prioritized for construction,” and “storm water drainage problems,” according to the site.

There’s no indication that Barber has any experience with the principles of New Urbanism. If that’s so, it’s a real disappointment. It will indicate that familiarity with and advocacy for those principles was not a high priority for the selection committee collectively, which included council members Van Auken, Jacob, and Turner. I’ve written to Van Auken and City Manager Oliver asking what experience Barber has with the principles of New Urbanism; I’ll update this post when I receive any information.

Given Barber’s age and recent job history, I will be surprised if he stays in Peoria more than five years, if that long.

City of Peoria

Peoria making good use of river

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The NiñaIt’s exciting to see Peoria utilizing its riverfront by bringing in floating museums. First they brought in the LST 325 that has been here the past several days (today’s the last day to take a tour), and now we find out that a replica of The Niña is coming on September 21. It goes without saying, but you have to have a river to bring in these exhibits, so you won’t see them coming to, say, Bloomington or Galesburg. We’ve got quite an asset in that river.

The Niña is actually a nickname; the formal name of Columbus’s ship was the Santa Clara. The ship was a caravel and reportedly Columbus’s favorite ship. According to Wikipedia:

On Columbus’ first expedition, the Niña carried 24 men, captained by Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. They left Palos de la Frontera on August 3, 1492, stopping at the Canary Islands on August 12, 1492, and continued westward. Landfall was made in the Bahamas at dawn on October 12, 1492. After running the Santa Maria aground, Columbus returned on the Niña in early 1493, arriving in Palos de la Frontera on March 15.

The replica that’s coming to Peoria was built “in Valenca, Brazil, using only adzes, axes, hand saws, and chisels, in addition to naturally-shaped timbers from the local forest,” according to the exhibit’s website. “In December 1991, the Niña left Brazil and sailed to Costa Rica on a 4000 mile unescorted maiden voyage to take part in the filming of 1492. Since then, the ship has visited over 300 ports in the U.S.”

The Niña will be on display in Peoria from September 21 to October 2.

Woodford County

Route 26 residents protest gravel pit

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Stop the Gravel Pit signI was taking a Sunday drive with my family up along the river yesterday, and we drove up Route 26 (we took it to the bridge in Lacon and came back down Route 29 on the west side of the river). All along Route 26 from Route 116 to Spring Bay were signs saying “Stop the Gravel Pit.”

Well, of course I had to find out what that was all about. There’s a website dedicated to the issue called stopthepit.info. Here’s their explanation:

The proposed site is bordered by Route 26, Spring Beach Road, Sunset Drive and the Illinois River, located 2 miles north of the Thornton’s gas station. This site directly borders numerous neighborhoods where heavy residential investment has occurred over the past 10 years, and this location is already burdened with truck and commercial traffic….

The proposed gravel pit would be operated by East Peoria Materials, LLC (Carrie Scharf Materials), on approximately 200 acres of agricultural land leased from the Dubois family. East Peoria Materials, LLC has applied for rezoning of the property by the Woodford County Zoning Board of Appeals and the Woodford County Board. The rezoning would change the property from Agricultural to Conservation use, and then grant an exception for use of the property to operate a gravel pit. This matter is under consideration by Woodford County, with public hearings scheduled in early September.

The residents are concerned about lower property values and decreased quality of life resulting from increased truck traffic traffic, noise, and dust along Route 26. They’re also concerned that this gravel pit could cause damage to well water and the Illinois River. One of their frequently asked questions is, “One of the land parcels adjoins the river. Can they put in a barge terminal?” Answer:

The adjacency to the river does indeed make a barge terminal possible. Should that develop, Peoria Lake would no longer be an attractive scenic Peoria feature. The fish and wildlife population would also be affected. Barge terminals do not attract waterfowl, and the Lake is a major stop on the flyway.

Peoria has a barge terminal down by Darst Street on the south end, and they can handle gravel. If the gravel pit is approved, one would think that if they utilized Peoria’s barge terminal, it would result in more trucks, dust, and noise along Route 26, whereas putting in a barge terminal at the gravel pit would reduce those problems. It makes me wonder why they’re opposed to the terminal. On the other hand, I suppose we really don’t want to see barge terminals all up and down the river either.

An unrelated gravel pit in the northwestern Chicago suburb of Cary, Illinois, prompted concerned citizens to put together this protest video I found on Google Video:

While it’s a different company in a different community, it is the same kind of operation that would result in the same kind of noise, dust, and proximity to residential land use. The residents south of Spring Bay haven’t made any videos yet, but they do have a plan to fight the gravel pit:

Our approach is to pursue denial of the rezoning, to ensure we do not suffer the negative consequences of a gravel pit installation adjacent to our properties and high traffic areas. We are organized into volunteer committees consisting of Executive, Communications, Real Estate Tax, Environmental, Gravel Pit, Fundraising and several other committees. To ensure the effectiveness of our efforts, we have also retained the firm of Hasselberg, Rock, Bell and Kuppler, LLP.

More power to them. If they’re anywhere near as effective as Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste, I think they have a good chance of succeeding.

City Council, City of Peoria, Museum Block

Museum hours: “9 or 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.”

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One of the criticisms of the museum having the entire Sears block is that the block will be dead after the museum closes each night at 5:00. By having a mix of residential and retail, the block could be hopping around the clock.

Whenever that objection is raised, the rebuttal has always been along the lines of, “how do you know the museum will close at five? No one has ever said what the hours of operation are going to be. You’re assuming facts not in evidence!”

Not anymore. Councilman Bob Manning asked Jim Richerson point-blank what the new museum hours will be, and he answered that they will be the same as the hours now: “9 or 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.” He did say that the large screen theater “may” be open “later.” And that the museum “could” have “extended hours.” Maybe. Could. To only one thing did he specifically commit: “9 or 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.” So those are the hours, for the record.

State Legislation, State of Illinois

Will there be “smokeasies” in Peoria when ban takes effect?

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Back in the days of Prohibition, there were still places to buy and drink alcohol: speakeasies. What’s going to happen when the smoking ban goes into effect in Illinois? I think we can expect to find the smoking equivalent of the old speakeasies popping up around town: “smokeasies.”

You can find smokeasies in other states where a smoking ban is in effect, such as Washington, Pennsylvania, and New York. You can count on finding them here, too. Well, not everyone will find them — just those who are smokers or no-snitch non-smokers who know where to look.

Sure, in the summer they won’t be necessary because smokers can use outdoor patios and beer gardens where smoking will still be allowed (at least for now). But when winter rolls around, and it’s too cold to stand outside, there will be places where the demonized smokers will be able to sit inside, in secret, and enjoy their cigarettes and beer together.

Then no doubt we’ll have to divert limited police resources from neighborhood patrols to try to root out this new class of “criminals.” Welcome to Illinois, the Land of Lincoln Nanny State.

City Council, City of Peoria

Satterfield to temporarily run Fleet Services Department

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The city’s Fleet Services Manager is retiring, and the city apparently has no succession plan to replace him. As I reported earlier, city staff took steps toward outsourcing the management position temporarily until a permanent replacement could be found.

That plan went over like a lead balloon with Fleet Services personnel. They wrote a letter to Mayor Ardis advocating “an alternative plan…in which Tom Satterfield [a current Fleet Services union employee] would be made a super crew chief in which there would be a percentage added to his base pay.” The letter didn’t sway the mayor, but it did sway 7 of the 11 council members last Tuesday night. They voted to hire Satterfield. In addition to Ardis, those voting against that solution were Jacob, Spain, and Turner.

The back story, of course, is that there is still an open question as to whether or not the whole department will be outsourced. No doubt the personnel in the Fleet Services department saw the “temporary” outsourcing of the manager position as a step toward that outcome, and that’s why they reacted so negatively to the idea. That, and the fact that Satterfield was essentially the second in command anyway — the one who usually filled in when the Fleet Manager was away.

In the end, I believe the council made the right decision. It will save the city money, and it’s only temporary. No need to outsource what we can do ourselves in-house for less money.

Uncategorized

The bike ride

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My dad and I rode our bikes from Toulon to Alta today on the Rock Island Trail, stopping at Coop’s Place in Princeville to eat lunch. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride. My dad and I have been taking bike rides together since I was old enough to ride. In fact, I must have been only eight or nine when we started going on long rides because my brother was still home and all three of us would go.

I still remember my dad and brother riding way ahead of me on their big three-speed bicycles while I, on my typical single-speed dirt bike, huffed and puffed and tried to keep up. If I started getting too far behind, they would stop at a corner and rest while I caught up, then start riding again as soon as I got there — so I got no break! My mother always told them they were mean to me. I lived through it somehow. 😉

After my brother left home and I got his old bike, my dad and I would take bike rides around Peoria and go by places that he remembered from his youth. We saw the house he grew up in at the corner of Ravine and New York. He would tell me how the streets over there used to be brick, and how he’d find pennies in the cracks between the bricks and take them down to the corner store and buy candy with them. He’d show me the alleys he took when he walked to school. We rode by White school where not only he and his sisters went, but his parents as well.

My favorite ride was when we rode all the way downtown and took a ride on the Julia Belle Swain, the paddle boat that used to be in Peoria before the Spirit of Peoria. Afterwards we ate lunch at Sears, as they used to have a little deli counter in the entrance off of Water Street.

On the way back home, we would often stop by my grandmother’s house for iced tea. Sometimes we’d stop by another relative’s or friend’s house instead, and it was always fun to tell about all the places we had ridden and catch up on things.

Now we don’t ride in town much anymore. We mostly ride on the trail. Today we toured the old CB&Q depot at Wyoming because it was open; that was cool. We still have fun talking about current events, and not so current events. Since we’re riding on an old abandoned rail line, my dad told me today about how he took the train from Peoria to New York and Washington, DC, when he was a boy with his dad and saw Danny Kaye and Señor Wences live at a theater in the nation’s capital.

We only go on a ride two or three times a year. I always look forward to it and make it a priority. My oldest daughter is starting to beg to go on bike rides with me now. Maybe we’ll carry on the tradition to a new generation.

But when she gets tired and falls behind, I’ll let her have a break before we take off riding again.