I had some time this evening to take in one more council meeting. Frankly, it wasn’t worth it. Most items were deferred, although there were a couple of interesting nuggets. This will be my last council meeting between now and Christmas. My Tuesdays (and most other days, too) are booked solid after tonight. I couldn’t live-blog the meeting tonight because internet service at City Hall (provided by Comcast) was inoperable. Comcastic, right? Nevertheless, using Windows Notepad, I “liveblogged” the council meeting offline. Here’s what happened:
Attendance is sparse in the audience, which is not surprising, considering (a) it’s two days before Thanksgiving and (b) there’s a Bradley basketball game tonight at the same time as the meeting. The mayor isn’t here, so George Jacob is filling in as mayor pro tem. Fourth district councilman Bill Spears is also absent.
For being a holiday week, the agenda is quite full. There are several proclamations. Of note, they commended AMVETS Post 64 for renovating their landmark building and creating a beautiful ballroom they’ve christened “Freedom Hall.” Congratulations to them.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
(09-500) PUBLIC HEARING Regarding Proposed Annexation of 9900 N. ALLEN ROAD (Temporary Address). (Continued from the October 27, 2009, Council Meeting)
First up, an annexation. This happens to be a small enclave that is completely surrounded by the city, so I don’t expect to hear any opposition. The public hearing is open. The clerk announced that it’s “highly likely” the matter will be deferred until February 2010. As expected, no one spoke during the hearing. The hearing will likely by February 9.
(09-501) Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Recommendation from the Planning Commission to Adopt the Following:
A. RESOLUTION Approving the ANNEXATION AGREEMENT for Property Generally Located NORTHEAST of the ROCK ISLAND TRAIL (Parcel ID No. 09-31-251-004) EAST of ALLEN ROAD, SOUTH of BROMPTON COURT and Parcel ID No. 09-31-208-031, and WEST of Parcel ID No. 09-31-226-027; the Property Proposed for Annexation is Parcel ID No. 09-31-251-006, with a TEMPORARY ADDRESS of 9900 N. ALLEN ROAD, Located within One and One-Half Miles of the City of Peoria;
B. ORDINANCE ANNEXING TERRITORY Contiguous to the City of Peoria – 9900 N. ALLEN ROAD (Temporary Address).
Irving moves to defer item to 2/9/2010 meeting; seconded by Turner; passes unanimously.
(09-502) Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Recommendation to Adopt an ORDINANCE Rezoning Property Located in the 9900 BLOCK of ALLEN ROAD Upon Annexation from Class R3 (Single Family Residential) District to a Class R6 (Multi-Family Residential) District.
09-502
Irving moves to defer item to 2/9/2010 meeting; seconded by Sandberg; passes unanimously.
(09-503) Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Recommendation to Adopt an ORDINANCE Approving the MULTI-FAMILY PLAN for Property Generally Located NORTHEAST of the ROCK ISLAND TRAIL (Parcel ID No. 09-31-251-004), EAST of ALLEN ROAD, SOUTH of BROMPTON COURT and Parcel ID No. 09-31-208-013, and WEST of Parcel ID No. 09-31-226-027, with the Property Identified as Parcel ID No. 09-31-251-006, with a TEMPORARY ADDRESS of 9900 N. ALLEN ROAD, with Conditions.
09-503
No surprise here: Irving moves to defer item to 2/9/2010 meeting; seconded by Turner; passes unanimously.
REGULAR BUSINESS
ITEM NO. 1 CONSIDERATION OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS BY OMNIBUS VOTE, for the City of Peoria, with Recommendations as Outlined:
A. NOTICE of LAWSUIT Filed on Behalf of ANDREA TURNQUIST Against the City of Peoria and Clayton Glasper Regarding a Claim that her Rights were Violated during an Alleged Unreasonable Search and Seizure, with Request to Receive for Information and Refer to Legal Department.
B. Communication from the City Manager and Director of Public Works Recommending Acceptance of the LOW BID of HEIN CONSTRUCTION CO.,INC. and Award a CONTRACT Utilizing CDBG-R/ARRA FUNDS, in the Amount of $157,109.00, for the GLEN OAK IMPACT ZONE – ADA RAMPS (Sidewalks).? (Refer to Item No. 09-101)
C. Communication from the City Manager and Assistant Director of Planning and Growth Management Requesting Approval of the ALLOCATION of CDBG FUNDS for VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECTS, as Outlined.
D. Communication from the City Manager and Director of Public Works Requesting to Receive and File Information Reported Regarding EMERGENCY STORM SEWER and ROADWAY REPAIRS on WEST NEBRASKA AVENUE at WOODRUFF BOULEVARD Under a TIME AND MATERIALS CONTRACT with WIEGAND & STORRER, INC., for an Amount Not to Exceed $37,000.00..
E. Communication from the City Manager with Request to SET A DATE for a SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING to Discuss the FY 2010 CITY OF PEORIA BUDGET, to Include the Budget Hearing, on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009, at 6:15 P.M. at CITY HALL, ROOM 400, 419 FULTON STREET, PEORIA, ILLINOIS.
F. Communication from the City Manager and Finance Director/Comptroller Requesting Adoption of RESOLUTION PLACING the PRELIMINARY 2010 CITY OF PEORIA BUDGET on File in the OFFICE of the CITY CLERK and SETTING the PUBLIC HEARING for the 2010 BUDGET on DECEMBER 1, 2009, at 6:15 P.M.
G. Communication from the City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Approve of a RESOLUTION RELEASING the MINUTES of EXECUTIVE SESSIONS as Outlined.
H. Communication from the City Manager and Director of Public Works Requesting Adoption of an ORDINANCE to VACATE the ALLEY RUNNING from MacARTHUR HIGHWAY to SARATOGA STREET Between HURLBURT STREET and SMITH STREET.
I. Communication from the City Manager and Finance Director/Comptroller Requesting Adoption of an ORDINANCE Amending the CITY OF PEORIA BUDGET for Fiscal Year 2009 Relating to the Use of Central Business (Downtown) TIF Funds, in the Amount of $109,612.00, for Payment of Judgment to Jefferson Street, LLC. Based on the Failure of the City’s Contractor to Compact Soil.
J. Communication from the City Manager Regarding the PEORIA PARK DISTRCT THIRD QUARTER 2009 REPORT of ACTIVITIES for the RIVERFRONT and GATEWAY, with Request to Receive and File.
Item 1 is consent agenda. There are 10 items. Items removed: C (Van Auken). Remaining items moved by Sandberg to approve; seconded by Riggenbach. Passes unanimously.
Item C. Van Auken is member of Boys and Girls Clubs, so she can’t vote on that issue. Moves to divide the question; seconded by Spain. Passes unanimously. Sandberg moves to approve Boys and Girls Club portion; Gulley seconds; Van Auken abstains; passes unanimously. Van Auken moves to approve pocket park greenways and community gardens; seconded by Spain; passes unanimously. Spain moves to approve RiverWest lighting project; seconded by Gulley; passes unanimously. No discussion.
ITEM NO. 2 Communication from the City Manager and Finance Director/Comptroller Requesting Approval of an INTRA-CITY LOAN from the CITY’S OTHER POST EMPLOYMENT BENEFIT FUND to Pay the REMAINING ILLINOIS MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT FUND (IMRF) EARLY RETIREMENT INCENTIVE to be REPAID to the CITY’S OTHER POST EMPLOYMENT BENEFIT FUND Over Four (4) Years at an Interest Rate of 2.00%, with the Final Payment to be Made January 1, 2014.
Item 2 is intra-city loan. Nothing special. Van Auken moves to approve; seconded by Gulley. No discussion. Passes unanimously.
ITEM NO. 3 Communication from the City Manager and Finance Director/Comptroller Requesting Adoption of an ORDINANCE Providing for the Issuance of Not to Exceed $2,750,000.00 GENERAL OBLIGATION REFUNDING BONDS, SERIES 2010a, of the City of Peoria, Authorizing the Execution of an Escrow Agreement and a Bond Order and Providing for the Levy and Collection of a Direct Annual Tax for the Payment of the Principal of and Interest on Said Bonds.
Item 3 moved to approve by Van Auken; seconded by Riggenbach. Discussion: Sandberg asks if the intention is to take the savings and pay off our debt sooner or spend the “savings” on some other project? He will support paying off debt, but not spending the savings on some other project. Answer from Scroggins: “Will not shorten the debt time period.” Passes 8-1 (Sandberg).
ITEM NO. 4 Communication from the City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Adoption of an ORDINANCE Amending CHAPTERS 18 and 27 of the Code of the City of Peoria Pertaining to BUSINESS LICENSES Regarding a Licensing Requirement for all Payers of Restaurant, Hotel, Amusement and Motor Fuel Taxes. (Refer to Item No. 09-277)
Item 4 is an ordinance establishing business licenses. Turner moves to defer to 12/8/09; seconded by Gulley. Sandberg requests a report back from staff on success of bond for liquor licenses. Gulley would like to see a cash option instead of bonds when the item comes back on the eighth. Turner says it was his suggestion to do the business license thing, but he didn’t request the bonding portion and isn’t sure why it was added. Jacob suggests moving this until a later date given the number of requests for reports back and the fact that 12/8 will be a budget meeting. Motion amended to first council meeting in Jan. 2010. Passes unanimously.
ITEM NO. 5 Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Recommendation to Adopt ONE of the Following:
A. Recommendation from the Zoning Commission to Adopt ORDINANCE “A” Amending Ordinance No. 13,674, a PREVIOUS SPECIAL USE in a Class R4 (Single Family Residential) District for a BUILDING ADDITION for Property Located at 3101 N.E. MADISON AVENUE, with Waivers and Conditions; OR
B. Recommendation from the Staff to ORDINANCE “B” Amending Ordinance No. 13,674, in a Class R4 (Single Family Residential) District for a BUILDING ADDITION for Property Located at 3101 N.E. MADISON AVENUE, with Waivers and Conditions.
Well, will the council jettison the Land Development Code yet again? I’m betting they will. Option A (Zoning Commission recommendation) ignores the LDC; Option B (staff recommendation) follows it. Riggenbach moves to approve Option B! Seconded by Van Auken. Riggenbach says he spoke with petitioner and he’s in agreement with staff to comply with LDC. Motion passes unanimously. AND I AM SHOCKED! The council made the right decision on this one. That’s a refreshing change.
[MORE] UNFINISHED BUSINESS
(09-453-A) Communication from the City Manager and Police Chief Requesting Approval of a THREE-YEAR CONTRACT with HARRIS S. UNIFORMS (Sam Harris) for the ANNUAL PURCHASE of UNIFORMS for COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, CIVILIAN PERSONNEL, and PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS for a Total Amount of $253,000.00.
MOTION ON THE FLOOR: To Deny.
(09-453-B) Communication from the City Manager and Police Chief Requesting Approval for a ONE YEAR SOLE SOURCE EXTENSION of the CONTRACT with S. HARRIS UNIFORMS for the POLICE UNIFORM CONTACT, in the Amount of $85,000.00. (Extends Item No. 05-616)
09-453-A and 09-453-B Van Auken moves to defer items A and B to 12/15/09; seconded by ???. Van Auken made deferral request at Police Dept’s request. Motion passes unanimously.
(09-551) REQUEST for a REPORT BACK at the JANUARY 12, 2010, REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING from DIRECTOR OF INSPECTIONS JOHN KUNSKI Regarding LANDLORD REGISTRATION ACTIVITIES Since Registration Began.
MOTION ON THE FLOOR: To request a report back from Director of Inspections John Kunski regarding Landlord Registration activities since registration began to be brought to Council at the first meeting in January 2010.
Here’s what’s going on, as it was explained to me by Chris Setti, assistant to the City Manager (I’m paraphrasing, of course): Once upon a time, city staff spent hours and hours fulfilling report-back requests from council members. Often, these requests were of interest to only one council member, and so the feeling was that the amount of work it took to create the report was disproportionate to the interest shown by the council. So a new rule was developed: if a report back was requested that would take a lot of staff time, the council would take a vote on it to make sure a majority of the council wanted the information. So, at the last council meeting, they wanted a report back from Director Kunski, and they decided to make a motion and vote on it. Uh-uh-uh! Not so fast, cowboy. Under the Open Meetings Act, you can’t take action that wasn’t on the publicly-distributed agenda. So, they couldn’t vote on the request for a report back until this meeting, where (as you can see) it appears on the agenda. Whew! I can see why staff likes this — it sets up a disincentive for the council to request reports. On the other hand, though, it also delays business unnecessarily.
Anyway, Irving moved to approve the report back request; seconded by Spain. Passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
No new business.
PRESENTATION
ITEM NO. 1 Communication from the City Manager Regarding DOCUMENTATION from ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Regarding the THIRD QUARTER 2009 PERFORMANCE INITIATIVES Under Scope of Work for the CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT Between the City of Peoria and the Economic Development Council, with PRESENTATION, with Request to Receive and File.
Presentation by EDC — 3rd quarter performance. Spain abstains from discussion due to EDC being a part of HP, Spain’s employer. Blah blah blah. Basically, the city pays money to the EDC to market Peoria and increase economic development. Naturally, their report says that they’re doing a bang-up job and everything is hunky-dory. Improved media’s view of Peoria — we’re not “rust belt”; rather, “it’s better here.” I’m glad that we have a positive media image. I didn’t hear how many jobs that brought to the area. Maybe I missed it. Jim McConoughey regrets he was unable to attend tonight. Time is now 7:15. Van Auken moves to receive and file; seconded by Turner. Jacob says this is a long-term strategic effort, and essentially that it’s worth the money. Motion passes unanimously.
CITIZEN REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL
No requests from citizens to address the council tonight.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Van Auken moves to go into executive session under 2c2, 2c11 and 2c21. Seconded by Montelongo. Passes unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT
Spain moves, BVA seconds to adjourn. Motion passes unanimously. Time: 7:18 p.m. Th-th-that’s all, folks.
All in all, not much happened at this meeting. A lot of stuff was deferred. After the meeting, however, there were quite a few media questions of City Manager Scott Moore. Moore stated that the Police Benevolent union had taken another vote last night (Monday), reaffirming their decision to reject any wage concessions. So it looks like those police officer layoffs are going to happen, unless the city manager is able to persuade the council to restore some of them as he tried to do a few weeks ago.
How that will affect public safety is a mystery. Published reports have stated that the police department will have to completely reorganize as a result of these layoffs. But when will that reorganization be planned? And will it be made public before the council votes on the final budget? Reporters after the meeting tried to get this information numerous times, but the questions were never directly or satisfactorily answered. So, it’s quite possible the budget will be approved before the council knows exactly what impact it’s going to have on public safety.
“Are the people north of forest hill just more easily frightened then all of us that brave the vast south of forest hill frontier? Do we that live south of forest hill just have a special intestinal fortitude that dosnt exist north of the forest hill line? Or are your fellow peorians that live south of the line just inferior and we will settle for our scarry neighborhoods over here?”
C.
Jon the orginal statement implied that those living north of forest hill are scared to go south of forest hill. That statement implies that neighborhoods south of forest hill are inferior to those north of forest hill. Living north of the line isnt elitest but stating that
“That area that Peoria High is in is just scary to most people north of Forest Hill.”
I mean I dont know how else to take that other then elitest.
>> BUT I do have the utmost respect for Sharon and would welcome working for her.
gawd, that’s exactly what Manual doesn’t need. someone supporting someone who doesn’t have a clue.
does no one find it strange that someone with NO experience in managing a high school is handed the keys to the most troubled school in the region? or that the administrative staff has NO experience in managing a high school? or that teacher, after teacher, after teacher, after teacher, after teacher, after teacher are simply laying their keys on the desk and walking away?
?FTW WHY is this acceptable to anyone? that is unless you live north of Forrest Hill. Dem folk gots nuthing ta worry ’bout.
Ed, I agree about the “No experience in managing a high school,” and “that teacher….laying their keys on the desk.” However, I am extremely offended by “Dem folk gots nuthing ta worry ’bout.” I don’t know whom you are imitating but it isn’t Sharon Kherat.
I have had the opportunity to work with Sharon before. SHe is very driven and very demanding, that is true. I appreciate what she is trying to do, even with all of the naysayers. It’s hard to turn a failing school around when your hands are tied behind you and you are blindfolded.
I find that I teach outside the box and she thinks that way as well, so we work together very well. Now, as has been stated before, TJ and I have a tenuous relationship, at best. Not sure how to accept this.
Please don’t tell me who I should or should not respect. Every one is different.
sharon, i think ed was referencing the conversation going on immediately above regarding the ‘folks north of forrest’ hill being “scared” of the folks south of forrest hill.
but really, “you’re extremely offended” by it, even though you don’t understand it’s context? how does that work? if read in context of the conversation, ed is writing that it’s acceptable because the problems are occurring to the poor black folk south of forrest hill, ergo, no one north of forrest hill really has to worry about what goes on at Manual.
and bam, don’t get yer undies in a bunch either. sharon kherat hasn’t done anything to prove that she’s unqualified. nowhere did ed write anything about you respecting her, just that having another follower just adds to the number at the bottom of the gorge.
this blog is always good for a few laughs. these were mine today.
Dangling: It is possible that I didn’t understand–I was reacting to what he was saying “in context. Since Ed was obviously referring to the leadership at Manual having not been prepared to manage a high school, etc., I assumed the last line was also a reference to Manual’s principal. I just react negatively to jokes or comments written in dialect in what appeared to be a way of making fun of the leader about whom he had just written. If I misunderstood, I apologize. I reread the conversation again–I believe you are right that Ed is saying what I often say–that few that live north of Forrest Hill care what happens at Manual. So I do owe Ed an apology–I overreacted to the use of dialect–a bit of a reflex reaction. Dangling, thanks for forcing me to reread Ed’s comment.