Monthly Archives: June 2008

Peoria Journal Star

Note to Journal Star: That would be the East Bluff

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From today’s paper:

West Bluff man faces child pornography charge

PEORIA — A West Bluff man appeared in U.S. District Court on Thursday accused of having several hundred child porn photos as well as talking to minors on the Internet.

Jeffrey S. Ellington, 40, of 1500 N. Knoxville Ave., Apt. 11 stands charged with distribution of child pornography, a charge that could send him to prison for up to 20 years.

Knoxville Ave. is the dividing line between the west and east bluffs in Peoria. The way street numbering works here, even-numbered addresses are on the north and east side of streets, odd-numbered addresses are on the west and south side of streets. So “1500 N. Knoxville” would be on the east side of Knoxville, putting it in the East Bluff — not the West Bluff.

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Public Library

Library quiz

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Q: How many members of the council currently sitting around the horseshoe endorsed the library’s plan and urged voters to support the $35 million referendum in April 2007, and who are they?

Click on “Read the rest of this entry” below to see the answer. (If you’re reading an RSS feed or the permalink for this post, don’t cheat by reading ahead — see how many you can name without looking.)

Continue reading Library quiz →

City Council, City of Peoria

Council preview 6/10/08

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Next Tuesday the City Council will meet. The agenda is online here. Notable items of discussion:

  • There’s a request to give Enterprise Zone status to all of Metro Centre, Sheridan Village, and Evergreen Square shopping centers. Big plans are in the works for all three, and the city wants to provide incentives. Metro Centre’s plans are fleshed out the most in the request — they’re planning to spend one- to three-million dollars on renovations and a mixed-use retail/residential development that will overlook the Lakeview nature preserve.

  • The Kellar Branch rail/trail feasibility study comes up for approval. This is specifically a request to hire T. Y. Lin International, an engineering firm, for a flat rate of $20,000 to give an independent analysis as to how much it would cost to build a trail next to the Kellar Branch rail line. Peoria Heights would pay $5,000 toward the cost, and the City of Peoria would pick up the remaining $15,000.

  • The request for a liquor license for Elliott’s strip club comes up for a vote again. It had been deferred while the City and club owners worked with a mediator. I have no idea if they reached a resolution or if this item will be deferred again.

Also of note, I believe this will be Jonathan Ahl’s last time covering the Peoria City Council and hosting “Outside the Horseshoe.” I hope he’s planning to have a “goodbye” episode that will feature his favorite interviews and clips over the past several years. I also hope he leaves the longest pause ever between “WCBU” and “Peoria” when he signs off.

General News

Randy Oliver up for Surprise city manager job

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Look out, Ed Boik — Randy Oliver is following you.

Ed Boik used to work in the Planning and Growth department, but recently moved to Peoria, Arizona. Now, word comes that former City Manager Randy Oliver is likely to become the new city manager in nearby Surprise, Arizona. The city council there selected him unanimously from a pool of 109 applicants, which had been whittled to five finalists. A contract could come up for a vote before the month is out.

Not everyone is happy about how the choice was handled. The article mentions several people who were unhappy with the lack of transparency on the part of the Surprise city council in making their selection.

Here are some interesting quotes:

“You’ll find I’m an upfront person,” Oliver said. “As I told the council, we may or may not agree. There are times that people don’t agree, and the key is you can do that professionally. As evidenced by my career and history, I run a very clean administration. I don’t put up with anything that’s not.”

Oliver said he left [Peoria, IL] when it became clear the job was no longer “the best fit” and city leaders had transitioned to focusing only on basic services.

“They didn’t think the city should be involved in certain things outside of police and fire,” Oliver said.

Nonetheless, Oliver provided Surprise leaders with a letter of recommendation from Peoria’s mayor.

Interesting. This is new information — he left because he perceived the city was focusing only on basic services? And therefore he didn’t see his services as “the best fit”? I guess that means he was in favor of more “progressive” spending behind the scenes. I can see how that would cause some friction, especially around budget time.

Oliver had been a finalist for city manager in Durham, North Carolina, but that job was ultimately offered to Pensacola, Fla., city manager Tom Bonfield.

Good luck to Randy in getting the gig in sunny Arizona. Maybe he and Ed can get together for supper sometime and talk about the good old days in Peoria.

City of Peoria, Peoria Public Library, Peoria Public Schools

City, D150, and Library Board to consider Expo/Richwoods site

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The Times-Observer is reporting that officials from the City, District 150, and the Peoria Public Library will be meeting today at 4:30 p.m. to discuss possibly building a new library on D150 property by Richwoods High School and Expo Gardens. There’s a catch:

Ardis said that closing the Lakeview Branch and building the new North Peoria library branch on, or near Expo Gardens, would trim $8 to $10 million off the proposed $35 million cost of the entire library plan.

Let’s see, how was that referendum question worded again? Here it is:

“Shall bonds in the amount of $35,000,000 be issued for Library purposes of the City of Peoria, In Peoria County, Illinois, of acquiring, constructing and installing a new library building and additions to existing facilities (including site acquisition, library materials and technology) and related fixtures, furnishings, improvements, facilities and costs, bearing interest at the rate of not to exceed 7%? Paid for by a property tax increase approximately 16 cents per $100 of the equalized assessed valuation.”

That referendum was based on the Library’s master plan, which included expanding Lakeview and building a new branch in far north Peoria. Having the city step in now and suggest closing Lakeview and building a new library across the street from the fourth district is kind of a bait and switch, isn’t it? Expo Gardens is not much farther north than Lakeview, compared to how far north the City has grown.

I can see why Gary Sandberg feels like he wasted his time over the past year.

City of Peoria, Heart of Peoria Plan, New Urbanism

The new LDC: Do whatever the heck you want

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I’m not quite sure why we even have a Land Development Code or a Form Based Code. We spent a lot of time meeting with citizens and stakeholders to come up with the vision of what we want to see. We spent a lot of money codifying that vision. But all of that work was for naught if we’re not going to enforce it.

Once again, someone has blatantly violated the Land Development Code (this time in the Sheridan Triangle Form District). And once again, the city has rolled over and played dead.

The new owner of the old Dairy Queen at Sheridan and Loucks put vinyl siding on his building, even though the Form Based Code for that area explicitly disallows vinyl siding. Then, after the fact, he asked for an administrative deviation from the Planning and Growth department. He got it, natch.

Message received by the development community: “Ignore the code. Do whatever the heck you want. Yeah, it would be best if you asked beforehand so we can rubber-stamp your variance in advance. But if that’s too much trouble, hey, just do whatever and ask for forgiveness later. We’re flexible.”

Peoria Public Schools

Citizens protest shorter school day

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Last night, over 60 parents, teachers, and other concerned individuals protested the District 150 Board of Education’s decision last month to cut the school day by 45 minutes in 12 primary schools. The picture to the right is courtesy of Diane Vespa who helped organize the demonstration and took plenty of photos.

The issue was not on the school board’s agenda, but Superintendent Ken Hinton did say that he is meeting with several interested groups and will report back to the board. He was vague on exactly when he would be reporting back, but it could be as soon as the next school board meeting on June 16. It doesn’t appear the issue will be on the agenda for reconsideration at that meeting, however. Hinton went on to say that he would not be “pressured, threatened, or intimidated,” but would only do what he feels is best for the children. I’d like to know how restoring 45 minutes of learning time to the primary school day could not be in the best interests of the children.

In addition to the demonstration, opponents of the 45-minute cut in learning time are going door-to-door with petitions to show the school board there is broad public support for the board to reverse their decision. Those petitions will be presented at the next school board meeting.

Also at last night’s meeting, Don Jackson announced that the local chapter of the NAACP opposes the cut in learning time.

City of Peoria, Peoria Public Library

Ray admits suggesting Elliott’s site for library

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Wow — I just received this press release today from the City:

As reported in Friday’s Journal Star, I recently suggested a possible site to the Director of the Library. That suggested site is not a possible site at this time. In presenting my suggestion, I said that maybe the library would gain three votes. I should not have said this. I certainly had no knowledge that any three Councilpersons’ votes would have been swayed by selection of this site. I never intended to create the impression that I knew how any Councilperson would vote. There was no backroom deal being cut.

I regret this error and hope that this error does not detract from the on-going library discussion.

Randy Ray
Corporation Counsel

As you may recall, Gary Sandberg stated in his letter of resignation as library liaison that City Attorney Randy Ray had suggested that three votes would change from “no” to “yes” if the library board would pick Elliott’s strip club as the location for the new library and use their power of eminent domain to take the property. Library board president Mike McKenzie, library director Ed Szynaka, and councilman Jim Montelongo all attested to the truth of this deal being proposed.

Ray admits that he proposed the deal, but now says that he didn’t actually know of three specific council members who would have changed their votes when he made that statement. Evidently he was speculating that if the Elliott’s site were chosen, three council members would be so happy to get rid of Elliott’s (which has been mired in controversy ever since they applied for the adult use license) that they would vote for the $35 million in bonds.

Sorry, I’m not buying it. Read this account from the Journal Star again:

Library Board President Mike McKenzie said Ray asked library director Ed Szynaka to stop by his office May 16. During that meeting, Ray floated the idea about Elliott’s, eminent domain and how the idea would change the minds of three councilmen who intended to vote against the $35 million proposal, McKenzie added….

Szynaka, who would not comment for this story, repeated Ray’s idea at the board’s building committee meeting on May 19, a meeting that Sandberg attended as the council liaison. It was quickly rejected.

“I never heard about it again,” McKenzie said. “First off, the site’s too small for a library. Second, it’s not for sale and third, there’s an active business there. We do have eminent domain capabilities but we didn’t think that it was a reasonable proposal.”

McKenzie said even if three councilmen changed their minds and supported the library project on the Elliott’s site, current supporters might oppose the idea, nullifying the effect of the site change.

Now think about this scenario. Ray asked Szynaka to stop by his office. Ray suggested the Elliott’s site as a possible location for the library. Why this site? For what reason would he be suggesting it and why should the board consider it? It wasn’t chosen based on any objective criteria. Ray wasn’t in on the building committee meetings where site selection was discussed. It certainly couldn’t have been based on parcel size or price. No, Ray gave one reason for suggesting it and one reason only: they could pick up three council votes for the $35 million bond issuance if they chose that site. Then Szynaka presented Ray’s proposal at the next building committee meeting. The proposal was considered, objections were raised, and the committee decided to reject the proposal.

Now Ray is saying that he had “no knowledge that any three Councilpersons’ votes would have been swayed by selection of this site”? That undercuts the whole purpose of his pitching the idea to the board in the first place. If he didn’t really know anyone would change their vote based on that site selection, what was the reason for suggesting it? Because “maybe the library would gain three votes”? Why three? Who did he have in mind? And why is the city attorney trying to influence the site location with the library board by making false claims of council support for his idea?

Ray’s press release raises more questions than it answers. It actually makes the issue more serious. I mean, if you or I were to suggest to Szynaka that maybe he should consider such and such a site, that’s one thing. But for the city attorney to suggest that the choice of a site may be the deciding factor in how the council vote comes out based on his insider knowledge… that’s a serious attempt to influence the outcome of the process — and under false pretenses if what he’s now saying is true.

Methinks Ray has jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

Peoria Public Schools

District 150 demonstration tonight

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If you believe that the primary school day at District 150 should not be cut by 45 minutes, if you believe that the benefits of a common prep period for teachers and integrated curriculum can be implemented without cutting the school day, if you believe there are better ways to balance the school budget than by cutting the learning time of the most vulnerable of the district’s students, then I urge you to come down to the District 150 Administration Office tonight at 5:00 p.m. to join like-minded parents, teachers, and residents in demonstrating your support for rescinding the 45-minute cut in the school day.

The Board of Education suspects that it’s just a small group (a “vocal minority”) that wants the board to reverse their decision. Help us show them that there is broad public support for restoring the learning time they voted to cut last month.

The demonstration starts at 5:00 and goes until 6:30 p.m., which is when the school board meeting begins. I hope you’ll join us.

Uncategorized

Your gluttony can help starving children

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I was at Ruby Tuesday the other day, and as I’m perusing the dessert menu, I come across this statement:

???????? ????? ????????When You Buy Our Gourmet Cookies You Help Us Feed Hungry Children and Families.

That’s right. Ruby Tuesday is offering to donate 10% of the price of those cookies to America’s Second Harvest.

Only in America would someone think of this angle to sell dessert. It’s brilliant, in a calculating cynical sort of way.

There was a time when organizations would show pictures of starving third-world children on TV and in magazines and ask affluent Americans to exercise a small modicum of self-sacrifice by sending $20 a month to help feed them. They’d actually assign you a child and your donation would directly help that boy or girl. You could even write letters to each other while the child was going through school; you could keep tabs on his or her progress. The act of charity and the relationship you fostered would be the blessing.

In contrast, buying cookies at Ruby Tuesday is an exercise in instant gratification. Rather than a long-term commitment to a relationship, you can just buy a dozen delicious cookies, indulge your appetite, and yet still feel a sense of self-satisfaction that somehow, through your transaction to buy yourself food you don’t need, you’ve helped feed one of your less-fortunate fellow citizens.

This has the added bonus of turning the tables of guilt when it comes to dessert. Often, the people who buy dessert feel guilty because of the large portion size, going off their diet, or a host of other reasons, whereas the people who pass on dessert feel virtuous and are perceived (if only to themselves) as paragons of self-control.

Thanks to Ruby Tuesday, it’s the dessert eaters who are the virtuous ones. Their over-indulgence is no longer a vice; it’s an act of mercy that will help poor, starving families. In contrast, non-dessert-eaters are cheap, cold-hearted, and decidedly uncharitable. It’s clear they don’t care about starving families in America since they won’t so much as buy a cookie to help them.

Of course, the real hero here is Ruby Tuesday. This little promotion makes them look like a saintly corporation, putting people before profits and giving back to the community. Plus, they get to keep the other 90% of the proceeds from their increased cookie/charity sales. It’s a win-win!