Category Archives: Kellar Branch

2013 Election, City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch, Peoria Park District

New council candidate chooses puzzling platform

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Dan Adler (1409 W Kingsway Dr.), a 31-year-old Caterpillar engineer has announced he’s going to run for the 5th District City Council seat next spring, according to the Journal Star. His campaign will focus on “economic growth, regional competitiveness and civic participation,” according to a press release. That’s all well and good. But then the story takes a turn toward the bizarre:

Adler said one development issue he wants to focus on is completion of the Kellar Branch Trail.

He said he thinks it’s important for public officials to raise the required capital needed to complete an underpass beneath Knoxville Avenue to get trail users across the busy street.

“There was a lot of excitement last year when it opened to the public,” Adler said. “But we haven’t locked down the capital funding for the big under and overpass. There is so much energy over that trail for Peoria to be more open and active and walkable, and we’re pushing that off.”

First of all, the Kellar Branch trail is the Peoria Park District’s responsibility to fund, construct, and maintain–not the City’s. Perhaps Mr. Adler should consider running for the park board if his interests lie in increasing funding for our parks system.

Secondly, the Peoria Park District announced five months ago that “the Knoxville underpass has been funded” and design is underway. In fact, they’re close to starting construction on it now. Mr. Adler is apparently unaware of these developments. (Or else he subscribes to Rep. Leitch’s funding-things-that-are-already-funded school of thought.)

If Mr. Adler is concerned about making Peoria more “open and active and walkable,” I would suggest he do some research on “complete streets.” Implementing this kind of design for Peoria’s infrastructure would make Peoria more accessible for all users of the public right-of-way. And it’s something that’s actually in the City’s jurisdiction, not the Park District’s.сондажи

Kellar Branch, Peoria Park District

Exploring the new Kellar Trail (UPDATED)

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My dad and I rode our bikes from Alta to downtown on as much of the vaunted new Kellar trail as we could find. Getting from Alta to Pioneer Parkway was easy enough. Then we followed the blacktop sidewalk/trail to Sommer street, and rode down to Candletree. There we got a little confused, as there’s a green sign that says “Bike Route” with an arrow pointing to the right. However, the Kellar trail actually continues to the left.

Once we got that figured out, we were able to ride down to the intersection of Knoxville and Northmoor. There, we were unable to figure out where the trail went, so we followed the old rail corridor as best we could up to and across Knoxville where we found another paved portion of the trail — this one with a broken yellow line down the center. That took us as far as Glen Avenue, where the trail ended, never to be found again.

From there, we followed the old rail corridor to Prospect in Peoria Heights. After that, the corridor was choked with weeds (which is surprising since Peoria Heights made such a big stink about the condition of the corridor when the rail line was there), so we had to ride on streets parallel to the “trail.” Looking at the description of the Kellar trail that appeared in the Journal Star last November, it doesn’t look like any progress has been made since then. That’s also surprising, since I thought the Park District had sufficient grants to cover this rail-to-trail conversion — grants they were afraid of losing if they didn’t get used right away. Why is so much of the trail unfinished?

There were some other people on the trail between Alta and Peoria Heights. I counted 13. Given the hype of how popular this trail is supposed to be, and given the pavement markings creating lanes for traffic, I expected to see more people. I also expected to see more signs of commerce, since this trail is supposed to be an economic catalyst. It didn’t look like any of the people we passed had been shopping. I didn’t see any new commercial developments along the trail, either — no apartments or condos or McDonald’s.

As I encountered large and small gaps in the trail, I couldn’t help but wonder whatever happened to all those green signs demanding, “Build the Trail … NOW!” The project is incomplete, and there appears to be little or no progress, but we’re no longer hearing any angry demands to complete the project from the Friends of the Rock Island Trail or the other supporters. Perhaps the wanton destruction of a working rail line was success enough for them.

UPDATE: Mike Friberg, bike trail project manager for the Park District, explained the status of the project:

Just to let you know, the trail section from Northmoor to Candletree is actually still under the final phases of construction (the punchlist). We’re currently working with IDOT – our funding source- on the design for the trail section from Glen Ave. south to Springdale Cemetery. We’re still working on the temporary connection crossing Knoxville – that will go through Junction City and cross Knoxville at the Northmoor light. I fully agree that things are confusing right now, but give us a bit of time and we’ll get it worked out -the asphalt has barely cooled!

For current information (ok, yes, I need to update it more frequently!) you can look on the Park District’s main website and follow the links to the bike trail web page. I’m not sure on CJ’s restrictions on advertising here, so I’ll let you find the link on your own. [Here’s the link –C.J.] I also have a FAQ discussing some of the questions you raise above.

If anyone has any questions on the trail that the FAQ doesn’t address, or you just want to send fan mail, please feel free to contact me – my contact information is at the bottom of the bike trail page. Thanks!

My thanks to Mike for the additional information. Here is Mike’s contact info:

Mike Friberg
1314 N. Park Road
Peoria, IL 61604

(309) 686-3386
mfriberg@peoriaparks.org

City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Journal Star hypes Kellar Trail; ignores hidden costs

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The Journal Star reports:

A group of 30 or so dedicated proponents of Kellar Trail gathered on a dreary Sunday afternoon at West Marietta Avenue and North Prospect Road and ventured onto the rail-less trail, marking the first time an organized group has walked it since the rails-to-trails conversion was finished…. Smiles abounded as cameras clicked and flashed, capturing the excitement of the moment that many of them had been working toward for more than a decade.

What’s missing from this report? The cost.

The cost of this conversion is not disclosed; my guess is the Journal Star didn’t bother to ask. We know the cost of acquisition was $1,250,969, and the estimated cost of conversion as of 2006 was about $6.5 million. That money is expended by the Peoria Park District.

But perhaps the most significant number is the value of the Kellar branch right-of-way: $2,872,500 was its appraised value. The City gave this nearly $3 million right-of-way to the Park District for $1 to make this trail possible. Combine that with the $10 million Sears Block that the City gave to the County to make the proposed museum possible, and we now have nearly $13 million in assets the City has generously donated to two non-essential projects.

That generosity comes with a price. Instead of selling these assets and having the money to use for basic services such as firefighters or police officers, the City Council is instead poised to impose up to a $0.035 per-therm tax on natural gas in order to raise $5,565,500 in revenue. That means that, for all practical purposes, any new utility tax the City imposes will really be a tax to pay for a trail and a museum.

You won’t hear the budget trade-offs characterized in those terms in the press or on the council floor. The new tax will be portrayed as paying for basic services, of course: “It will help us keep firehouses open and police on the streets!” But it’s all a shell game. It could just as accurately be said that the tax is to cover the cost of giving away assets to the County and Park District.

Kellar Branch

So-called nature enthusiasts to celebrate removal of rail line

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From my in-box:

First Organized Hike on former Kellar Branch line on Nov. 21

The Pimiteoui Trail Association at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 21 will join other hiking and nature enthusiasts in the first organized hike on the former Kellar Branch rail line as it is being converted into a recreational trail.

The event will begin on the trail at Prospect Road near the former Cohen Warehouse, and will end at the Junction City shopping center, a distance of about three miles, then return to Peoria Heights, to celebrate at TNT Sports Bar and Grill, 4319 North Prospect Road, Peoria Heights (309/ 688-6000).

Members of the Peoria Heights Village Board are expected to be present, and drawings of the trailhead to be constructed at Marietta and Columbus near Prospect will be available.

The public is invited to this free activity, which is scheduled to take place rain or shine.

Those not up to the entire round trip can park at the Peoria Heights Library, 816 E. Glen, and walk the blacktop section from Glen to Knoxville, a distance of about two miles, then back.

Dogs are welcome, but the section of the trail from Prospect to Glen is gravel instead of blacktop, and thus unsuitable for strollers or bicycles. The trail is being converted into a hard surface, as weather and financing allow, in sections.

I find this so funny. The national Sierra Club says that “freight trucks are only 4% of the vehicles on the road, but spew more than 21% of all global warming pollution from transportation,” and that “we must begin to shift freight to rail.” Meanwhile, local “nature enthusiasts” are celebrating their successful efforts to completely eliminate a rail line to Pioneer Industrial Park. Not only have they ensured that we can’t shift freight to rail, they actually caused freight to shift from rail to truck. Lumber that used to be delivered via rail now has to be moved by semi to Pioneer Park. It seems that only in Peoria do we have “nature enthusiasts” who actively fight for more inefficient and polluting forms of freight transportation.

Even more exciting is the plan for their next step backwards — getting people to make extra car trips by driving to a trailhead to walk or bike instead of just walking or biking from home.

Psst! Hey trail fans! Mother Nature just called. She said to tell you, “Stop trying to help.”

General News, Kellar Branch

Looking for a used locomotive?

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The creditors of Central Illinois Railroad‘s parent company are selling theirs.

Central Illinois Railroad just got $150,000 in taxpayer dollars in May — their price to allow the Kellar Branch rail-to-trail conversion go forward.

UPDATE: The front office of CIRY states that they’re still going to be providing shortline service in Peoria to O’Brien Steel, but were unable to answer any further legal questions. According to published reports, the company only has eight locomotives, and they all appear to be up for sale based on the above notice. So, how exactly they’ll be able to continue providing service is unclear.

Kellar Branch

Pittman resigns from RTA over silence on KBCC deal

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Recreational Trail Advocates (RTA)/Friends of the Rock Island Trail Vice President David Pittman has resigned, according to an e-mail released by Merle Widmer on his blog, Peoria Watch. Why? Because the group tacitly endorsed the $140,000 payment to the cunning Kellar Branch Corridor Corporation (KBCC):

I feel that our group silence worked well for KBCC, allowing them to get $140,000 with NO PUBLIC scrutiny or audit or previous public agreement. Even though I asked our group leadership to raise these concerns in public, the email exchanges of the past weeks made it clear that I am a minority of one; don’t ask, don’t rock the boat, and speak publicly only to praise the KBCC for its success. I am alone in my dismay and I cannot reconcile continuing in this group without violating my internal sense of right and wrong. As an officer of RTA /Friends of the RI Trail I felt obligated to keep silent, per the majority will of the leadership. Now, with the deed done, I can step away….

We as taxpayers and activists were not allowed to see how the KBCC justifies $140,000 for their expenses. Why not $120,000, or $180,000? No one knows. KBCC gave the cities a bill for services rendered. But our elected representatives never signed a contract, never made a deal. I believe this is very wrong…. I have chosen to keep silent for the sake of my friends and out of respect for their long, long struggle to make the Kellar into a trail. But I am ethically challenged beyond my limits and will step away from the tainted odor.

You can read the whole e-mail at Merle’s site. Pittman and I have been on opposite sides of the Kellar Branch issue since the beginning. We even debated it once at a meeting of the Neighborhood Alliance. But on the issue of the Kellar Branch Corridor Corporation, we’re in agreement. I have the same deep concerns about the lack of public oversight and the improper obligation of public funds without any kind of contract beforehand.

While I publicly stated my concerns on my blog, in e-mails to the Council, and on the public record before the Council’s vote (not without criticism, I might add), my concerns were easily dismissed because I’ve “long opposed the rails-to-trail conversion,” as the Journal Star put it. I tried to explain in my remarks that I was not complaining about the project in this case, but the process, but I’m sure the distinction was dismissed as tactical — an eleventh-hour effort to derail the project once again.

But had Mr. Pittman spoken up, too, he might have been able to make a difference. Pittman has long been and continues to be a huge advocate of the trail project. If he had raised questions about the KBCC, I think he could have affected the outcome. Perhaps the process would have ended up being more transparent. Speaking up would have been risky — in essence the effort to buy out the rail carriers and shippers was pitted against the pursuit of good public policy.

It’s interesting that only Pittman felt any pangs of conscience among the members of the RTA on this issue. Nevertheless, he submitted to the group and kept silent, allowing the deceitful process to prevail. It’s a surprising irony that a group who once decried inappropriate legal maneuverings from Pioneer Railcorp became willing participants in legal chicanery themselves.

Pittman’s resignation is really more of a confession. I think he fears he may have been wrong to put his principles of loyalty ahead of his principles of transparency and proper public procedure. I have no standing or desire to judge his decision. But I have no qualms about judging the rest of the organization for selling their integrity for a trail. Pittman did the right thing by resigning in protest, however belatedly.

City of Peoria, Kellar Branch, Museum Block, Peoria County, Peoria Mayor, Peoria Park District, Taxes

PJS Editorial pretends City asset giveaways have nothing to do with budget crisis

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A couple of responses to today’s Journal Star editorial. First, there’s this:

Even Mayor Jim Ardis, who never saw a tax increase he didn’t greet with contempt, seems to have come to the realization that City Hall probably can’t cut its way out of this.

That’s not exactly accurate. Mayor Ardis happily voted to increase sales taxes by 1% within the Hospitality Improvement Zone downtown.

And then, there’s this:

As a result [of the need to make more cuts to city services or raise taxes to balance the budget], a fair number of locals are venting, understandably, though some of them paint either-or scenarios that do not exist. Indeed, the choice is not a recreational trail vs. police officers, or a museum vs. firefighters. The vast majority of the funding for those quality-of-life projects comes out of dedicated revenue streams controlled by other local governments – the park district and county, respectively, with the help of grants. Those dollars couldn’t be used to put more badges on the streets even if the council wanted to. Like them or hate them, those projects — one of them initiated by a successful citizen referendum — are not what created this operating deficit.

First of all, this framing of the argument is obviously a “straw man.” I know of no “locals” who have made the assertions they are countering. Clearly “either-or scenarios” as painted here do not exist. But to imply that these projects have absolutely no relation to the City’s fiscal crisis is also false.

Yes, construction of the rail-to-trail project is funded by the Park District, but it’s only made possible by the City of Peoria giving away a $3 million asset to the Park District for one dollar. The City just threw away $3 million (or at least $750,000, the last bona fide offer to purchase the rail line) while at the same time they need to cut $800,000 from this year’s budget. Why didn’t they put the land up for sale to the highest bidder? Putting this land into the hands of a rail carrier and working with them to woo new manufacturing business to Pioneer Industrial Park would have resulted in raising the tax base in Peoria through new business and new jobs.

Then there’s the Sears block, which has lain dormant for over a decade now because the City won’t enforce deadlines on redevelopment agreements. This is prime real estate that could be parceled off and sold, which would provide a couple of things: income from the initial sale, and on-going revenue from sales and property taxes by the businesses who locate there. Instead, the City is sitting on the land indefinitely, until they can finally give it away for nothing to be used by a non-profit organization that will be a perpetual drain on the county taxpayers.

In addition to the lost opportunity to generate revenue with these assets, taxpayers now have to pay for their development and maintenance in perpetuity. That means we have to pay higher taxes to support these drains on the economy. And that exacerbates the City’s budget woes. Since taxes are high because of increases by other local governments (to which the City directly contributed, as shown above), it puts pressure on the City not to add to the tax burden. And that means the City continues to try to balance its budget by cutting — police, fire, public works, etc.

The Journal Star is simply trying to rationalize its support for non-essential pet projects by using straw-man arguments to dismiss valid criticism.

See also Billy Dennis’s post in response to today’s PJS editorial.

City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Liveblogging the City Council 5/11/2010

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Here we go again! It’s Tuesday night in beautiful downtown Peoria in historic Peoria City Hall, Council Chambers. All the council members and the Mayor are present except for Montelongo, and they will be disposing of the following agenda. Be sure to refresh this post often as I’ll be updating it throughout the evening.

The business portion of the meeting starts at 6:41, after 25 minutes of proclamations.

Continue reading Liveblogging the City Council 5/11/2010 →

Kellar Branch, Peoria Journal Star

Journal Star shamelessly defends secrecy in government

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The Journal Star Editorial Board had this to say about the recondite Kellar Branch Corridor Corporation, created by Tom Leiter:

Leiter’s group was never formally hired by anybody. But it’s not as if he acted without the knowledge of the governments involved, whose elected representatives had by majority vote publicly endorsed this rail-to-trail conversion, and who could have asked him to stop at any time over the last couple of years. Some feel he gave the impression that this effort was being done pro bono; he says he did volunteer his personal time, as did others, and that his organization is merely recovering its expenses, which includes work done by his law firm and by outside counsel. The risk of borrowing the money for the escrow account is his group’s, not local taxpayers. Leiter got the job done here when all other efforts at breaking the gridlock had failed.

The whole editorial is one long ends-justifies-the-means argument, with this paragraph being the apex. According to the brain trust at 1 News Plaza, there’s nothing wrong with having a third-party organization do the public’s business in private — so private that not even our elected representatives knew what was going on. It’s okay to have that organization then come to the public body and ask for reimbursement of $1.25 million in expenses after the fact, when the line is abandoned, the railroad companies paid off, and it’s too late for the elected representatives to say “no” without putting the whole plan into legal limbo. Basically it’s okay to have third parties obligating taxpayers to the best deal they can secretly haggle.

…as long as the newspaper agrees with the end result, of course. It’s not hard to imagine how much ink would be spit onto the editorial page in outrage had this kind of chicanery been done for a project with which the newspaper disagreed. I guess when the newspaper is opposed, it’s corruption. But when the newspaper agrees, it’s just “the way the sausage is made.” Ho-hum. It’s just the way politics works. Nothing to see here; move along!

The fact is, this is bad public policy. Even trail supporters see it. As much as they want the trail, they aren’t in favor of obligating taxpayers to an underhanded payoff to get it. The public’s business should be done in public. Sure, there are times when councils have to go into closed session — but it’s still the elected public representatives who are deliberating in those instances, and any final action to expend money still has to be done in open session. What we have here is a deal that was done not by elected representatives entirely in secret, with the final price tag revealed at the end of a process that is past the point of no return.

The Journal Star has sunk to a new low in defending this kind of deceitful tactic. It doesn’t matter if they’re for the trail or against it, this process is wrong and should not be condoned. They’re a newspaper, for crying out loud. The fourth estate is defending secrecy in government! Journal Star Editorial Board, have you no shame?

City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch, Peoria Park District, Village of Peoria Heights

Taxpayers to be soaked $1,250,969 for non-essential trail — and that’s just the beginning

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I’ve been saying it ever since the sphynxlike Kellar Branch Corridor Corporation first appeared that its clandestine efforts were going to cost the taxpayers lots of money. Now we know just how much: $1,250,969.

That’s the amount of money in taxpayer dollars the Peoria Park District is going to pony up to buy out the leasehold interests of two rail companies on the Kellar Branch rail line: Pioneer Railcorp and Central Illinois Railroad. Doing so will free up the middle portion of the line to be converted into a recreational trail.

But that’s the beginning. After they buy out the leasehold interests, they still have to actually build the trail, which will cost untold millions itself. In 2006, the estimated cost of conversion was just under $6.5 million.

But there are other costs. The City of Peoria actually owns the Kellar Branch. So in order for this plan to go through, the City has to give the Kellar Branch (technically, the easement) to the Park District. The appraised value of the Kellar Branch is $2,872,500. So how much is the City planning to ask for this valuable asset? $1. That’s right, $1. And the City doesn’t even get the salvage rights for the rails.

Perfect timing. Right on the heels of a City Council retreat where we learned the City is facing a $10-11 million budget deficit and is in dire need of a new revenue source, our illustrious City Council will likely approve a request next Tuesday to squander a nearly $3 million asset. Pioneer Railcorp at one time offered the city $750,000 for the line, but the City turned them down. No, they were holding out for the Park District’s winning bid of $1.

Anyone who thought that the Kellar Branch Corridor Corporation was buying out the rail carriers’ leasehold interests out of charity was naive. Included in that $1.25 million is $140,800 for the Corporation’s “expenses.” No list of expenses is given. I suspect it includes a little reward from the Park District for finally acquiring what they’ve coveted for so long.

For those of you keeping score, let’s see what our new grand total is for tax dollars wasted on non-essentials/poor investments:

“Wonderful Development” (Downtown Hotel) $37,000,000
Peoria Riverfront Museum $34,700,000
Firefly Energy Loan Guarantee $6,000,000
Civic Center Expansion $55,000,000
Kellar Branch acquisition $1,250,969
Kellar Branch conversion $6,441,738
Total $140,392,707

It’s like they say, pretty soon you’re talking real money. But we can’t afford to fix sidewalks or resurface streets, or fully staff our police and fire departments. Yes, I know I’m conflating expenses from several municipal organizations (City, County, Park District), but the fact is that all that tax money comes from the same source: our pockets. The Park District raising its property tax levy puts pressure on the City not to raise its levy. It’s all related.

Perhaps we could take those toll booths we’re removing from Riverfront Village and install them at the entrances to the Kellar Branch trail. Given the number of users predicted by the Journal Star, we should be able to solve our entire budget deficit by charging a modest toll.