Good evening, and welcome to Council Chambers at Peoria City Hall. Once again, I’ll be liveblogging the meeting tonight. If you’re following live, please remember to refresh this post frequently as I’ll be updating it throughout the meeting. All council members and the Mayor are present tonight. A hyperlinked copy of the agenda is available here.

It’s 6:26 and the City Clerk is reading the consent agenda:

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 JANA GREEN Against the City of Peoria and the Peoria Civic Center Regarding an Alleged Injury from a Fall at 201 Southwest Jefferson Avenue on January 18, 2009, with Request to Receive for Information and Refer to the Legal Department.

B. Communication from the City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Approval of a DONATION of PROPERTY at 101 N. MacARTHUR HIGHWAY to the NAACP, PEORIA BRANCH, and Requesting Authorization for the City Manager to Execute the Necessary Documents.

C. Communication from the City Manager Requesting Approval to REIMBURSE PEORIA HOTEL ASSOCIATES (HOLIDAY INN CITY CENTER), in the Amount of $114,746.96, from their 1% HOTEL TAX COLLECTED Within the BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT for CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS to Their FACILITY.

D. Communication from the City Manager Requesting Approval to SELL a PORTION of 720 PARK STREET (Parcel ID No. 14-34-476-011), in the Amount of $9,700.00, and Requesting Authorization for the City Manager to Execute the Necessary Documents.

E. Communication from the City Manager Requesting Approval of an INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT Establishing FEDERAL REPRESENTATION RELATIONSHIPS Between the COUNTY OF PEORIA and the CITY OF PEORIA. {Ref: The Ferguson Group (TFG)}

F. Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management Requesting Approval of the Recommendation from the Administration to Amend the SPRING GROVE AGREEMENT with PCCEO COMMUNITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION for the COMPLETION of the TWO (2) REMAINING UNITS.

G. Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Recommendation from the Zoning Commission and Staff to Adopt an ORDINANCE Amending APPENDIX B of the Code of the City of Peoria Relating to the DEFINITION of GOODS, and to Adopt an ORDINANCE Amending APPENDIX C of the Code of the City of Peoria Relating to the DEFINITION of GOODS.

H. Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Recommendation from the Zoning Commission and Staff to Adopt an ORDINANCE Granting a SPECIAL USE, which Amends Ordinance No. 8,436, in a Class I3 (General Industrial) District for a RECYCLING and SCRAP METAL FACILITY and Including EXISTING CONDITIONS for the Properties Located at 2405, 2411, 2424, and 2510 W. CLARK STREET.

I. Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Request to Concur with the Recommendation from Staff to Adopt an ORDINANCE Approving the FINAL PLAN of HARRISON HOMES PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT PHASE 2B, a SPECIAL USE (Ordinance No. 16,425) for a PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT for Properties Generally Bounded by KRAUSE STREET on the North, GRISWOLD AVENUE on the East, MONTANA STREET on the South, and OREGON STREET on the West, Commonly Known as HARRISON HOMES and Include Addresses of 2516 W. KRAUSE AVENUE and 2503 – 2603 W. SEIBOLD STREET.

Items B, C, and E removed from consent. Councilman Jacob abstains on item C due to a “significant business relationship.” Councilman Spain moved, Montelongo seconded to pass remaining items; passes unanimously.

• Item B: Councilman Sandberg asks, Why are we donating property to a not-for-profit organization when we need revenue and real estate taxes? Is this the highest and best use for a property across from a 35-year-old redevelopment area? Councilman Gulley moves to approve, seconded by Councilman Turner. Gulley says this helping us rebuild the neighborhood, and hopefully later this year some commercial developments will come forward. Motion passes 10-1 (Sandberg).
• Item C: Sandberg not supporting. Gulley moves to approve, seconded by Council Member Van Auken. Motion passes 9-1 (Sandberg; Jacob abstained).
• Item E: Councilman Riggenbach speaks to how the Ferguson Group was selected since he was on the Peoria County Board at that time, and speaks in favor of the motion. He says this lobbyist is successful because they’ve brought tax-funded projects to the area. To politicians, spending as much of other people’s money as possible is a badge of honor. Riggenbach moves to approve, Spain seconds. Van Auken speaks in favor of lobbyists in general, and what a wonderful resource they are… at least the “good lobbyists.” Sandberg opposes the City of Peoria (as a corporation) paying half the lobbyist costs. Two-thirds of the county is the city, so the city taxpayers are already paying two-thirds of the lobbying agreement. If the City (corporately) pays half the cost, then the taxpayers themselves are paying over 80% of the cost. Mayor Ardis says that the first 14 months are free for the city, and if the city finds they’re not getting the value out of the arrangement, they can pull out of the agreement. Sandberg says there needs to be a real deadline so that, after 14 months, it would require another affirmative vote to continue the agreement; i.e., it couldn’t just continue for lack of action to pull out. Motion passes 10-1 (Sandberg).

ITEM NO. 2 Communication from the City Manager and Director of Public Works Requesting Approval for the PURCHASE of EIGHT (8) POLICE VEHICLES for ROUTINE FLEET REPLACEMENT, in the Amount of $152,406.00, from BILL JACOBS CHEVROLET in Joliet, Illinois; TWO (2) FORD CARGO VANS, in the Amount of $33,340.00, from LANDMARK in Springfield, Illinois; ONE (1) CHEVY TAHOE, in the Amount of $32,054.00, from MILES CHEVROLET, INC. through the State of Illinois Contract Bid Process Using Funds from Approved Community Investment Plan Totaling $217,800.00.

Van Auken moves to approve, seconded by Turner. Passes 10-1 (Irving). No discussion.

ITEM NO. 3 Communication from the City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Authorization to RETAIN the FIRM of HOWARD & HOWARD to Represent City Employees in the Police Department in Case of Baer-Burwell Vs. City of Peoria, et al.

Montelongo moves to approve, seconded by Spain. Passes 10-1 (Jacob). No discussion.

ITEM NO. 4 Communication from the City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Approval of a FIVE-YEAR, NON-EXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT with COMCAST OF ILLINOIS/INDIANA/OHIO, LLC, and to Authorize the City Manager to Execute the Franchise Agreement or, in the Alternative, to Authorize the Extension of the Current Franchise Agreement for Three (3) More Months so the Franchise Does Not Lapse. (Refer to Item No. 09-111)

Mayor Ardis turns the chair over to Mayor Pro Tem Turner, due to the mayor’s company doing contract work for Comcast. Van Auken moves to approve a three-month extension so the franchise doesn’t lapse. In other words, she doesn’t want to approve the permanent franchise agreement, but extend the current one so that negotiations on a permanent agreement can continue. She apparently still has concerns, but hasn’t expressed them yet. She wants to let Turner speak first. Turner’s biggest concern was over the 20-year term; he’s satisfied with the franchise agreement now that the term is only five years. Jacob would like to go with the three-month extension. Jacob seconds Van Auken’s motion. He would like the staff to provide a list of specific changes between the previous contract and this one.

Sandberg is concerned about section 10 (public access, aka PEG access). The agreement would put our public access channel in the hands of a third party who’s not located in Peoria county. He would like to explore other options for a public access channel operator. He is happy with the shorter term (5 years) and the agreement’s non-exclusivity. But he wants the public access operator fully vetted and other alternatives considered. He sees section 10 as fixing something that is not broken. City Attorney Randy Ray says the operator of the PEG channels is not named in the franchise agreement, but would have to be voted on separately within the next year.

Spain had a question about a public access program that had disappeared. Irving had a question about the customer service facility and whether it would include a local call center. Answer: no. Motion passes unanimously.

ITEM NO. 5 Communication from the City Manager and Director of Public Works Requesting Approval of an AGREEMENT with the ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION for the FUNDING of the CONSTRUCTION of ORANGE PRAIRIE ROAD from U.S. 150 to ALTA ROAD, in the Amount of $10 Million.

Item 5 withdrawn by City Manager.

ITEM NO. 6 Communication from the City Manager and Director of Public Works Requesting Approval of a STATE MFT RESOLUTION, in the Amount of $1,326,300.00, for 2010 GENERAL MAINTENANCE FUNDS, in the MFT ACCOUNTS as Listed in the Communication; and Requesting Approval of a PURCHASE of ROCK SALT and LIQUID CALCIUM CHLORIDE, in the Amount of $375,000.00 through the State of Illinois Joint Purchasing Procurement Services.

Montelongo moves to approve, Van Auken seconds. Motion passes unanimously. No discussion.

ITEM NO. 7 Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with a Request to CONCUR with EITHER the RECOMMENDATION from COUNCIL MEMBER DAN IRVING to ADOPT or to CONCUR with the RECOMMENDATION from the ZONING COMMISSION and STAFF to DENY an ORDINANCE Amending APPENDIX B of the Code of the City of Peoria Relating to ELECTRONIC MULTIPLE MESSAGE SIGNS.

Irving moves to table; seconded by Spain. Passes 10-1 (Sandberg). No discussion per Robert’s Rules. Irving told me before the meeting, though, that the reason is because the Zoning Commission has the sign ordinance on their work plan for next year. He also said he hadn’t read my blog yet, so I can’t take any credit for persuading him to table it.

Note: Later in the meeting, Ray said Robert’s Rules did allow the chair to ask the reason for tabling, so Irving explained as I pointed out above.

ITEM NO. 8 Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Request to Concur with the Recommendation from the Zoning Commission to Adopt an ORDINANCE Amending APPENDIX B of the Code of the City of Peoria Relating to SMALL WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEMS (SWECS) and an ORDINANCE Amending APPENDIX C of the Code of the City of Peoria Relating to SMALL WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEMS (SWECS).

Planning and Growth Director Pat Landes summarizes the information in the council communication on this issue. Van Auken moves to approve; seconded by Sandberg. There will be a separate vote for an ordinance amending appendix B and an ordinance amending appendix C. Spain and Jacob speak in favor of the motion. Van Auken would like the new library and some of the new schools to investigate taking advantage of this opportunity for alternative energy. Motion passes unanimously on both appendices. Note: Spain seconded the second motion (for Appendix C).

ITEM NO. 9 Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with a Request to Receive and File the 2009 PROGRESS REPORT for the GLEN OAK SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD IMPACT ZONE, as Required Semi-Annually by Ordinance No. 16,461.

Riggenbach moves to approve; seconded by Van Auken. Riggenbach sings the praises of former councilman Bob Manning and the neighborhood impact zone. He would like to see this replicated at the Harrison site. Motion passes unanimously.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

(09-618) Communication from the City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Recommendation from the Zoning Commission and Staff to DENY a Request for a SPECIAL USE in a Class R4 (Single Family Residential) District for a WIRELESS COMMUNICATION FACILITY for Property Commonly Known as COLUMBIA MIDDLE SCHOOL Located at 2612 N. BOOTZ AVENUE.

Van Auken moves to defer; Gulley seconds. Motion passes unanimously. No discussion.

NEW BUSINESS

• Riggenbach reports that the East Bluff NHS voted to do a complete audit of the ’07 and ’08 books, and there are efforts underway to address other concerns.
• Spears asks for a copy of a county ordinance regarding blacktop mixes. Yeah, that was unclear to me, too.
• Spain champions the census again. If you need help filling out the forms, citizens are invited to come to a “Be Counted” center located throughout the city for assistance. Forms are in two languages, English and Spanish. My take: Ugh. How hard is it to write your name and the number of people in your household, and other information about your household? Sheesh.
• Montelongo will be here at City Hall Feb. 4 at 7:30 a.m. if anyone wants to come by and say hello.

CITIZEN REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL

• Pat Lewis — Used to be the general manager of Springdale Cemetery (until April 2009). He’s now a volunteer, and he feels the city is not providing enough money to Springdale for maintenance.
• Savino Sierra — He speaks at every meeting, and this is no exception. Complains about the school district — something that the City can do nothing about. (I thought that the sign-up system was supposed to keep people on topic?) He’s also concerned about public safety and kids walking in the street and not using sidewalks. Also says the council has neglected the South Side.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

ADJOURNMENT

It’s 7:35 p.m., so the meeting was pretty short tonight. We are adjourned. Goodnight everyone!