Editor’s note: This post has been written and submitted by Frederick E. Smith, a resident of the East Bluff who attended the meeting on Monday, February 7.
There was a diverse crowd at the Glen Oak Community Center last night for the Monthly meeting of the EVGC TIF Advisory board, however the invited quorum of the City Council did not appear. Bobby Gray from the City Planning office, Randall Ray (City Attorney), Tim Riggenbach (3rd District City Councilman), and most importantly, the guest speaker, Steve Combs(sp) from the Enos Park TIF District, who added a definite flair to an otherwise bland and predictable PowerPoint presentation were in attendance to “educate” the audience on what a TIF is and how it works.
Mr. Combs was there at the behest of the EVGC Advisory Committee (the chairman of that committee, Richard “Mitch” Mitchell, sat in the audience instead of actually participating in the presentation.) and brought some new information as the the actual workings of the Enos Park TIF. It seems they (the original neighborhood folks who voted in favor of the TIF) did not have specifics down as to how the TIF funds would be used or which city entities would have access to them, and they are currently in an “adversarial” position with their City Council in Springfield. But Mr. Combs had many positive things to add about the possibilities surrounding a residential TIF and what can be done to turn a neighborhood around. Mr. Combs advice to us: “Hold their feet (the City Council) to the fire!”
Members of the audience of approximately 40 residents had the opportunity to ask specific questions, including how we could ensure the funds collected from a TIF (according to the Teska Report, up to $95,000,000.00 over the 23 year life of the TIF) would remain in the East Valley area and not be diverted to other projects around the city. Since the language of the proposal on page 17 states “The City may utilize net incremental property taxes received from the Project Area to pay eligible Redevelopment Project Costs, or obligations issue(sic) to pay such costs, in other contiguous redevelopment project areas, or those obligations issued to pay those costs, in other contiguous project areas, or those separated only by a public right-of-way, and vice versa,” one of the main concerns was that the funds could be diverted to pay for things like the Midtown Plaza TIF. While Councilman Riggenbach firmly stated that, as the 3rd District Councilman, he would fight to prevent any EVGC TIF funds from going to Midtown, City Attorney Randall Ray pointed out that, since the TIF proposal falls under state and federal law as to how it will be administered, that the funds could, by law, be diverted to other projects. He was also quick to point out that this codicil allows for funds to be placed into the EVGC TIF from other areas to “jump start” the TIF, making funds (that will have to be repaid) available before they are actually in place. The fact that the city council will be able to “shuffle” funds from one TIF to another is apparently a sticking point for some residents, judging from the reaction of the audience.
The meeting continued until 8 pm, when Councilman Riggenbach finally closed the meeting after several attempts to do so. The next meeting of the EVGC TIF Advisory Board will be on March 1st at 6 p.m. in the Glen Oak Community Center. East Bluff Homeowners are encouraged to attend.
It seems that Mr. Smith may not recognize some of the Council members. The meeting was also attended by Councilmen Ryan Spain and Clyde Gully. Also in attendance from the City of Peoria was Ross Black. We also had Ms. Lynn Scott Pearson and Ms. Rachael Parker both are board members of Peoria County. Mrs. Debbie Wolfmeyer, District 150 School Board President and a resident of the East Bluff was also in attendence. Mr. Jim Stowell, who is also running for a Council seat, was also in attendence.
I agree that I sat in the audience in order to learn more about how a TIF would be benificial to the East Bluff. I know and admit that I do not have all of the answers, but I am willing to learn from every person available. This program was designed as a basic informational presentation. Mr Combs was brought in to give us insight as to how his community is working with the TIF and show us some of the benifits they have made.
At many of the meetings, we have heard from residence that they do not understand a TIF. I have heard from one person that with the TIF, the City is going to completely redo his house and he will not have to do a thing. Others have said that this just means our tax’s are going up. Others have asked just what the City will give them for free. Most people who do not understand something, are frightened by it and jump to conclusions that are incorrect. Others will want to learn and make sure that they know what they are talking about. The verbage of the TIF Proposal has not been set in stone yet. THAT is one of the reasons that we have been having the advisory commission meetings, to get ideas started.
We will be having another meeting in the near future and the person presenting will be from the Decatur TIF area. We are already working out the details as to where/when. I would like to have everyone from the East Bluff area be in attendence. We will announce the time and date of this meeting very soon.
The meeting Tuesday evening and the one coming up are not the monthly meeting of the Advisory Committee. They are special meetings to educate the attendees. The monthly meeting for the Advisory Committee is held the first tuesday of the month. We did not have the meeting for February because of SNOW and the conditions of the roads. For safty reasons, the meeting was canceled.
Richard H. Mitchell
Chairperson
EVGC TIF Advisory Committee
Mitch, you are correct in stating that I do not know every member of the City Council by sight, but since you mentioned this, what I stated was that the invited quorum of the City Council did not attend. I think I can safely stand by that comment. Thank you for filling in the list of other officials who did attend.
If you read the response to your other comments in the opinion post about the EVGC TIF, they should also fill in as my response to your comments above.
Two more things. 1) I was asked by C.J. Summers to submit this brief reporting of the activities of the Monday meeting. You will note in this piece I refrained from anything more than observation and reporting, and tried to leave opinions out of the story. 2) The people who live in an area are the “residents”. The building they occupy is a “residence”. I don’t believe you heard from any buildings at the meeting, but you did hear from quite a few people, and will continue to do so. I do agree with you that this blog might be the very tool we need to spur public participation, but remember to be careful what you ask for, may get it.
Just reread your comments and wonder if we were at the same meeting. I don’t recall any of the residents in that crowd asking about what a TIF was.
“At many of the meetings, we have heard from residence(sic) that they do not understand a TIF. I have heard from one person that with the TIF, the City is going to completely redo his house and he will not have to do a thing. Others have said that this just means our tax’s(sic) are going up. Others have asked just what the City will give them for free. Most people who do not understand something, are frightened by it and jump to conclusions that are incorrect. Others will want to learn and make sure that they know what they are talking about. The verbage(sic) of the TIF Proposal has not been set in stone yet. THAT is one of the reasons that we have been having the advisory commission meetings, to get ideas started.”
Okay, Mitch, I was at the meeting and absolutely no one there indicated that they did not know what a TIF was, or how it worked, especially after the very excellent presentation (“TIF 101”) by Councilman Riggenbach and Bobby Gray, and the young lady whose name I have misplaced. Nor did anyone ask for free money, to have their house redone, or “what’s in it for me?”. The concerns expressed primarily dealt with the ability of the City Council to redistribute funds and use them for projects that did not directly affect the neighborhood / TIF area. A few people expressed concern that OSF might unfairly receive the majority of funds to further its agenda of growth and expansion at our expense, which seems a fair concern given that OSF is a private business, not a public concern, and that the TIF area was drawn up to include the Near North Side with the East Bluff. If the plan is to revitalize the East Bluff, why not a dedicated program that does not include OSF as a part of the plan? Seems to me that, based on the information given at the meeting, a TIF that encompasses the East Bluff properties has the same potential for success as one that also includes the Near North Side and OSF.
As stated in the article, Corporation Counsel Randall Ray confirmed the ability, under Illinois law, of the City Council to redistribute TIF funds to other projects, with stipulations. Councilman Riggenbach did state that he would fight to make sure the TIF funds were not used to pay off Midtown, but he is only one vote out of eleven. While I do not doubt his veracity, the track record of the City Council in their decision making so far does not always favor the residents of an area.