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Thoughts on the Water Buyout

I have to admit that I’m cynical regarding the city’s ongoing quest to purchase the water company.  I know I shouldn’t be.  I should think the best of people.  And, in all honesty, I’m pretty trusting of the present council so far, as they seem to be more basic-services oriented. 
 
But the buyout is a 34-year deal.  I doubt any of these guys are going to be on the council 34 years from now, except maybe Sandberg.  And here’s what I’m afraid will happen:  any money the city makes as a result of the buyout will be used for “progressive” projects, like further remodeling of the civic center, building a history museum, expanding the zoo, etc., etc., etc., instead of improving our outdated infrastructure.  Then, when pipes break and the infrastructure needs to be updated, there won’t be any money left for that, so they’ll slap a special assessment on the adjacent property owners to fix up the city pipes, kinda like they do with sidewalks now. 
 
I also fear that whenever sales tax revenue is down or there is some budget shortfall, the city will raise water rates instead of taxes to plug the hole.  I mentioned this when commenting on Bill’s blog recently, but a good example of this was the so-called “garbage fee” that was passed not long ago.  Isn’t it ironic that they collect that “fee” on our water bills?  I think that’s a pretty good indication of what the city will do to our water bills if they own the water works. 
 
So, that being said, I would be willing to consider the water buyout if the city took steps to alleviate these concerns.  For instance, they could add conditions to their motion to purchase the water works.  One of the conditions would be to put a set amount of money toward infrastructure improvements that can only be used for that purpose — not repurposed for some “quality of life” project like building a trail through the middle of town (before you tell me they didn’t spend any money on that, I’ll remind you that they spent $175,000 to finish the spur from the west to make the trail conversion possible — same difference).  Of course, promises like that can easily be undone by future councils, so to really make it stick, they should require that the money can only be repurposed by a 3/4 vote of the council. 
 
There should also be some sort of oversight/safeguards regarding rate increases.  Perhaps they could appoint a water rate panel that has three citizens, two council people, and a representative of the company that would be managing the water works for the city.  Any rate increases would have to be approved by this panel, and their decisions would be binding. 
 
Maybe these suggestions are unworkable.  So be it.  But the city needs to come up with something to alleviate the fears of Peoria residents that council control of the water company will mean high water bills and nominal improvements in infrastructure.  If they made a good-faith effort to address these concerns, I think more Peorians would be in favor of the buyout.

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Note to Steve Tartar: Try 103.5

In Steve Tartar’s column in this morning’s Journal Star, he lists all the radio stations and formats, just in case you’re new in town, I guess.  He mentions his pet peeve with “103.3 WGLT” is, “Reception not great in Peoria.” 
 
Steve, try tuning into 103.5 (the actual Peoria frequency) and you’ll notice that it comes in great.

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Clark overtaken by Marathon

The Clark gas station at the corner of Knoxville and Forrest Hill is changing to a Marathon gas station, finally. They had a banner advertising the change last fall, but today — roughly a year later — they are finally changing the paint and signage.

Maybe their luck will change with the new moniker. You may remember that this is the station that gets robbed on a regular basis, although thankfully no one has been seriously injured there.

Unfortunately, the one thing that won’t change is the price of gas. High prices, high prices. Wherefore art there high prices? A gas station by any other name will gouge just as bitterly.

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Truant and Consequences

There was a lot of discussion at last night’s city council meeting about the intergovernmental agreement District 150 wants to enter into with the city regarding truancy.  The big argument centered around the fines that would be imposed for multiple violations.  Starting with the second time a child is delivered to a “truancy assessment center,” apparently the parents are fined $50, with each subsequent violation increasing the fine another $50. 
 
The argument is that there are higher truancy rates among the lower socio-economic population, and they are the least able to afford hefty fines.  As one council person put it, some families would have to choose between paying the fine or putting food on the table.  An alternative to the fine — community service for a couple hours on a Saturday — was also scoffed at.  Single parents who are working two or three jobs could lose one of those jobs if they have to take time off to perform community service, one council person argued. 
 
Other council members essentially asked, “you got any better ideas?”  While truancy apparently is more prevalent statistically among the “lower class,” it still exists across all socio-economic classes.  Are we going to fine the upper class families, but not the lower class?  That sets up two sets of laws and is inherently unfair.  Should we dump the whole idea because hypothetically some families might not be able to pay the fines?  And, bottom line, is truancy a violation of the law or isn’t it?  If it is, then there should be no question about the fines.  We don’t have different fines for different people when it comes to any other violation — parking, speeding, loitering, etc.  Why should this one be any different?  The school board went out of their way to try to avoid fines (first time is a warning, subsequent violations can be satisfied with community service).  If not this policy, then what?  What is the alternative? 
 
No one had an alternative, so it passed by a wide majority.  I believe that was the right decision.  It’s not anyone’s goal to fine poor families.  The goal is to get kids to stay in school.  We can’t make two sets of laws.  Nor can we put in a policy that has no consequences or it will be meaningless.  Kudos to the city and school district for working together!  May they continue to find ways to collaborate and improve our school system.

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Heights not alone in Ben Franklin loss

Peoria Heights isn’t the only city to lose a Ben Franklin store this year.  Folks in Adel, Iowa, will be losing their store in December, and residents of Derry, New Hampshire, just lost their store in April.  Their stories are almost identical to the Ben Franklin here in town — mom and pop owners who want to retire and can’t sell the place, or increased competition from big box stores eating into profits.  The Heights store had both pressures.
 
One former Ben Franklin store owner has had a big impact on the chain’s demise:  Sam Walton.  He got his start in business by opening a Ben Franklin Store in Newport, Arkansas in 1945.  By 1962, Walton had abandoned Ben Franklin and opened his first “Wal-Mart Discount City.”  Gaylon Spinney, owner of the Derry Ben Franklin store, blamed his store’s closure on the “escalating cost of business, along with a sagging customer base and increased competition from big-box stores, as making it impossible to stay profitable.  ‘With major stores like Wal-Mart, HomeGoods and Staples moving in, our piece of the pie is just that much smaller.'”
 
According to the Derry (NH) article, “Ben Franklin Retail Stores Inc. was once an international chain with more than 300 craft stores and 530 variety stores, [but] the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1996. Since 1997, the stores have been licensed and independently owned.”  Some of those stores have managed to stay profitable even with the big box stores’ encroachment, but it’s a labor of love on the part of the stores’ owners.
 
Chick and Betty Schwarzkopf own the Adel (IA) Ben Franklin store.  “A business like Ben Franklin’s isn’t the kind of thing you can run as a hands-off investment, [Chick] Schwarzkopf says.  ‘This type of business is very labor-intensive.’  It would be a good venture for a husband and wife team, he says, but not so good for somebody trying to make a profit by hiring a manager because the money isn’t there.  Just like on a family farm, ‘you have to be involved, ‘he says. ‘You have to be part of the payroll.'”
 
I’m sure Marie and Jerry Hoerr, owners of the Peoria Heights Ben Franklin, would agree.  They’ve poured themselves into the little variety store, and no one begrudges them their much-deserved retirement.  Still, it’s too bad that some enterprising young couple couldn’t take over the store and keep it going for another generation.  But I suppose that’s just wishful thinking in today’s retail climate.  It’s funny that Schwarzkopf would liken his small variety store to the family farm — another enterprise that’s disappearing, unfortunately.
According to this website, which looks to be a little out of date, there are 211 Ben Franklin variety stores in the United States, including 11 in Illinois.  After September 30, there will be just 10, and it looks like the nearest one to Peoria will be either in Decatur (unable to confirm whether this one is still open) or Gilman (definitely open), which is on US-24 (just off I-57) between Champaign and Kankakee.  Too far to drive just to pick up some penny candy, but if you’re passing that way anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to stop in and enjoy a little nostalgia.

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District 150 to crack down on truancy

On the city council agenda for Tuesday night is an intergovernmental agreement to help District 150 fight truancy. Here is some background from the “Request for Council Action”:

District 150 is in the process of organizing a major effort to curtail truancy in the District. They are give positive reinforcement to school attendance and impress upon the parents and students thaer e trying to importance of school attendance.

The attached Intergovernmental Agreement designates all City Police Officers as Truant Officers empowered to question, pick up and deliver to the Truancy Assessment Center any student enrolled in grades 1 through 12 of the School District who is absent without valid cause. The Intergovernmental Agreement also makes clear the School Security Force is authorized to write City Ordinance Tickets for daytime curfew and truancy violations.

So, my question is, is this a passive responsibility (if the police happen to run into a child absent from school without cause, he can pick him up) or an active one (police will be sent out looking for truants)? That probably ought to be clarified. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see the city and school district working together. Ardis made better cooperation between the city and district one of his goals during his election campaign, and it’s good to see some movement on that front. I don’t know if Ardis was directly involved in this idea or not, though.

This is a much better strategy to cut down on truancy than letting the kids get out of final exams if they show up to school every day. Why reward children for doing what they’re supposed to be doing in the first place? Attendance is and should be an expectation, not extra credit.

The Journal Star had an article on this, too, a few days ago.

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VOP to become BAS

A sign out in front of the former Vonachen’s Old Place (VOP) says they are now hiring wait staff for “Bud’s Aged Steaks.” This appears to be the new restaurant name. I talked to a former employee recently who told me they are making the restaurant more upscale and will be serving dinner only.

I’ll withhold judgement on “Bud’s” until I see the completed transformation and have eaten there once. But I already miss VOP’s omelettes, lunches, and casual dining atmosphere. It was a great place to take visitors to Peoria for lunch because of its unique decor and delicious food. It was a great place to take the family after church or out for dinner because the kids just loved sitting in the train car or watching the model train that ran above the kitchen entrance. And, it was even a fun place to go for a quiet, romantic evening because you could eat in of those little booths on the train car and have some privacy.

But, I guess they weren’t making any money with that setup, so we’ll see how well Bud’s does with its updated decor and brand new wait staff.

Now, if they want to be really progressive, they’ll get rid of that silly rail car and turn it into a walking trail. (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)

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Ben Franklin Store is closing

I read in the paper today that the Ben Franklin store in Peoria Heights is closing. The owners want to retire and travel. The old store front will be turned into a restaurant when it closes on September 30.

I’m disappointed. Ben Franklin carried a lot of hard-to-find items, and the warm, “general store” atmosphere was a welcome contrast to huge, sterile box stores. I loved going birthday and Christmas shopping for my kids there. And they had a good selection of office supplies; prices on them were cheap without having to buy in bulk. I wish someone could have bought the store and kept it going.

They will be missed, but at least we get a chance to say good-bye and shop there one more time. They didn’t just close down unannounced like Hunt’s Restaurant did.

It’s always sad to see a landmark fade away.

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Cardinals leaving KMOX bad news for Peoria fans

The Cardinals have decided to leave KMOX’s 50,000 watt signal that can be heard in 40 states because they weren’t getting enough money (spare me) and have bought puny KTRS-AM in St. Louis that often can’t even be heard in East St. Louis. To help Illinois listeners, they will also be broadcasting on WSMI, an FM station in Litchfield.

However, neither of these stations can be heard in Peoria.

And that’s bad news for Cardinals fans, because when WMBD doesn’t broadcast Cardinals games, we’ll now have no way of listening to the game. WMBD has decided the past couple of years not to preempt Rush Limbaugh for Cardinals day games, forcing fans to listen to KMOX instead. Starting in 2006, that will no longer be an option.

This is a really stupid move on the part of the Cardinals. Many people become fans of a particular team because of TV and radio range — for instance, people all over the country become Cubs fans or Braves fans because of superstations WGN and TBS, respectively. And many people have become Cardinals fans throughout the nation because of the wide reach of KMOX. A smaller-wattage station means a smaller audience any way you look at it. The idea that people are going to run out and sign up for internet streaming of the games or purchase a satellite radio system is unlikely, even for already committed fans.

Locally, the owners of WMBD and WIRL should reconsider their preemption policy. My suggestion: go for the win-win; put the Cardinals’ day games on WIRL so they don’t conflict with Rush, but local fans can still hear them. And if there’s a Cubs game on at the same time, preempt the Cubs — we can still hear them crystal clear from Chicago’s WGN-AM.

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I’m here, but do it yourself

You know how Kroger and other stores have those “U-Scan” lanes?  The ones where the stores sucker you into doing the cashiers’ work but don’t give you any discount for the overhead (wages, benefits) they’re saving?  I hate those.
 
But there’s something I hate worse:  places that have cashiers standing right in front of you, but still expect you to perform the transaction yourself.
 
I ran into this today at Best Buy.  I’m buying a DVD and walk up to the cashier.  She scans the item and tells me the total.  I try to hand her my credit card.  She points to a small card reader off to the left and deadpans, “just swipe it there.”  Uh, okay.  So I swipe it, and it says to enter my PIN.  I say, “I don’t want to enter my PIN — I want it to be a credit transaction.”  She answers, exasperated with my one and only question of the transaction, “Just hit ‘cancel.'”  Oh, well, that’s intuitive.  Why didn’t I think of that?  Fine.  I hit cancel, sign my name in the little box, and put my card away.  At which point she says, “Can I see your card?” 
 
There’s a short, befuddled pause as my mind screams, “What??!!”
 
“That’s what I tried to do in the first place and you didn’t want it,” I actually told her with a smile to thinly veil my contempt.  As she takes my card and enters the last four digits into the computer for some undisclosed reason, she mutters something about not knowing it was going to be a credit transaction.  She was clearly aware that debit cards can be used as credit cards since she knew the “cancel” routine, yet she apparently still assumed that I was going to use the debit function.  I thought to myself, “You know what happens when you assume,” as she printed out a foot-and-a-half-long receipt for my solitary item.
 
So, what exactly is this chick getting paid for?  Putting my DVD in a bag?  Training customers to do her job?  Developing an attitude?  Too bad I wasn’t paying cash.  Perhaps a cash drawer would have shot open toward me from under the counter and I would have been instructed to make my own change.  That would have been entertaining.