You can read a copy of Mayor Ardis’s “State of the City” address by downloading a PDF copy of it from the city’s website.
Daily Archives: January 30, 2008
What to think about Holling
I don’t know Henry Holling. All I know is what I read in the papers. And there’s a doozy of an article in the paper today.
It’s been previously reported that Holling is being considered for interim city manager after Randy Oliver leaves on February 15. It has also been reported that Holling was convicted of a DUI just recently — so recent, we find out today, that he hasn’t even been sentenced yet. That will happen this Friday. The city council has called a special meeting to possibly appoint him interim city manager this Thursday, Jan. 31.
On top of that, the paper says he’s given money to three council members’ campaigns: Eric Turner ($700), George Jacob ($750), and Bill Spears ($250). The Illinois City/County Management Association (ILCMA), as mentioned in a sidebar to the article, has a tenet against this in their ethics code. It reads:
Tenet 7. Refrain from all political activities which undermine public confidence in professional administrators. Refrain from participation in the election of the members of the employing legislative body.
What was not in the paper was any discussion of rumors regarding why he retired from Caterpillar when he did. Every journalist I’ve talked to has been unable to substantiate those rumors, which is why you don’t hear them on the radio or read them in the paper, and it’s why I don’t allow them on my blog.
So, what are we to make of all this?
First of all, I don’t think decisions can be made based on rumors. So in the same way rumors won’t be published, I don’t think rumors can be used as a basis for hiring or not hiring someone. I know that it happens sometimes, but that doesn’t make it right. It’s not good policy to make decisions on anything but verifiable facts.
Secondly, it is a fact that Holling contributed to some council members’ campaigns. But ask yourself honestly, do you really think that $250-$750 is enough to say to a council member, “you owe me”? Does anyone think that George Jacob is wowed by a contributor who gave him all of $750 of the $55,000+ in funds he had available for his campaign? I’m not buying the “payback” angle. If any of these council members are supporting Holling, it’s not because of his campaign contributions.
I also don’t think Holling is violating any ILCMA tenets. He gave this money long before anyone knew that Randy Oliver was leaving or that there would be a need for an interim city manager. I don’t think you can retroactively hold someone to an ethical standard like that.
Finally, there’s the DUI. That’s a matter of public record. He will likely have his license suspended on Friday. And it’s on this point that I have a problem with Holling being selected.
To be a good manager, you have to have respect. You need the respect of your employees and your bosses. A city manager — even an interim one — also needs the respect of the citizens he’s hired to serve and the outside agencies, both public and private, with which he needs to interact. Holling is not going to have that respect precisely because he’s currently under the cloud of this DUI. Since it’s an interim position, he has no time to (re)build respect before he’ll be replaced with a permanent city manager.
Furthermore, his mobility will be limited. City Attorney Randy Ray is quoted in the paper as saying that a drivers license is not required for this job position. But Randy Oliver was provided a car allowance of $500 per month per his contract. One would assume that means he needed to do no small amount of driving as part of his job. How will Holling get to and from work? The bus? How will he get around the city to do his job? Is the city going to assign him a driver?
Perhaps when one looks at Holling’s entire career, the DUI is just a single bad judgment, and we all make bad judgments at times. But the timing of this is most significant. How are the citizens of Peoria supposed to have any confidence in this choice, especially when a better candidate is waiting in the wings?
The city should reject Holling and instead appoint Economic Development Director Craig Hullinger as the interim city manager.
Zoning commissioners, council members skip LDC training
There was a big flap last November when the Zoning Commission (and subsequently the City Council) undercut the new Land Development Code (LDC) for the Heart of Peoria Plan area by approving a special use request from St. Ann’s Church against city staff’s recommendation. Staff had recommended that the architecture of the proposed building be modified to make it consistent with the intent of the LDC and, ultimately, compatible with the residential area surrounding it.
The whole situation betrayed a lack of understanding on the part of many commissioners and council members as to how the LDC works. There was confusion about exactly how to make decisions regarding zoning requests based on the code. So, as a direct result of that situation, the Planning and Growth Management Department, at the Mayor’s direction, put together a training session to help commissioners and council members gain a better understanding. They brought up Lee Einsweiler from Code Studio in Texas to give a refresher course and answer questions about recent controversial decisions. Lee was part of the team that wrote the LDC, and thus is an invaluable resource on how to use and interpret the code.
The training took place this past Saturday, January 26, from 8:30 a.m. until about 2:00 p.m. at the RiverWest Frank Campbell Community Center. The City Council and Zoning Commission were invited, along with the Planning Commission, Heart of Peoria Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, et. al. It was nice that it was opened up to everyone because it allows us all to get on the same page, is it were, regarding the code.
However, the main reason the meeting was set up was to educate the Zoning Commission and the City Council. So, who showed up from those two bodies? From the City Council: Mayor Ardis, Second District Council Member Barbara Van Auken, Third District Councilman Bob Manning, and At-Large Councilmen Gary Sandberg and Ryan Spain. From the Zoning Commission: Mike Wiesehan and Marjorie Klise. That’s it. Five out of 11 council members, and two out of seven zoning commissioners.
Who wasn’t there? From the City Council: First District Councilman Clyde Gulley (whose entire district is under the LDC), Fourth District Councilman Bill Spears, Fifth District Councilman Pat Nichting, and At-Large Councilmen Eric Turner, Jim Montelongo, and George Jacob. Jacob in particular has been asking a lot of questions lately about the LDC, especially regarding porches and accessory structures, but he regrettably couldn’t make it to the training where he could have gotten those questions answered (he was out of town for his son’s hockey game). From the Zoning Commission: Greg Hunziker (chairman), Rich Unes (who said during the St. Ann’s discussion, “I don’t think we have the authority to tell them how to build their building”), Curt Davis, Tim Shea, and Mark Misselhorn. Shea and Misselhorn were appointed to Zoning Dec. 17 — after the St. Ann’s situation. Misselhorn was out of town on Saturday, but he’s also on the Heart of Peoria Commission and is already well-versed in the LDC.
It’s bothersome to me that so many people missed this training session. It was important. It was necessary. It was brought in specifically for the Zoning Commission and City Council. And yet look at the attendance. If this were just a one-time deal, that would be one thing. But there are some zoning commissioners who haven’t attended any of the consultant-selection meetings, the subsequent charrettes, or the all-committee training sessions. If commissioners are not available and/or willing to educate themselves on new zoning regulations, why are they on the commission? How can they adequately fulfill their duties? If council members don’t understand the LDC and don’t take advantage of training opportunities, how can they make informed votes on the council floor?
I want to commend those council members and zoning commissioners who made this training a priority. Hopefully those who didn’t attend will defer to these more informed members when questions regarding the LDC come up in the future.