43 thoughts on “Our money is burning a hole in the City Council’s pocket”

1. they can’t let Spain’s folly go…Speaking of which, how much money is that tax built Innovation center producing? Firefly cost us millions. One start up from there is going to build their product in Kansas City…then there is the museum debacle and, of course, the warehouse district is the primary goal in the strategic plan. We can’t afford this kid.

2. Additonally, why is there absolutely no coverage to the daily, yes, daily fights going on after school at PHS? Cops are being redirected to control the madness, one can see them flying through town on their way to this hot mess. Guessing more gang violence is bad for the city’s image?

3. Exactly how does a vote of no confidence start? Can we really afford to have these clowns (fiscal conservatives excluded) running this city for another day, let alone a couple more years?

   Short of anarchy, I don’t see a solution to the problem.

   As to PHS, perhaps all those in favor of removing armed officers from the campuses would like to volunteer to help out? I am sure the kids causing the problems will listen to you. Oh, wait. No consequences to my actions? Screw you. I will do what I want.

   Not sure this is what Phil Collins was thinking, C.J., but since I listen to Phil any chance I get, no problem with the stretch.

4. These fools need to be recalled at the least better to run them out of town on a rail oh wait they had all the rails pulled out for half baked trail idea. The school problem has been going for years along with all the other street issues and folks just called me paranoid/CRAZY. Now you ALL get to see the world with the glasses OFF. SCARY ain’t it it will not get better until the folks in power realize you can’t keep babying the thugs and expect them to behave. The riot at glen oak is a perfect example of not useing the tool correctly the pepper ball is suppose to fired into the chest area of the perp so that the cloud goes into there face NOT at there legs and the ground. You pops a few in the chest fight OVER the police are to afraid to either use the force needed or are told to by the higher ups not to.
   Now the same problem is happening in the schools by ADMIN they have NO clue the kind of animals they have inside there buildings and are so afraid of them it will cost someone there life before they act and stop the BS. Metal detectors at ALL doors break the rules GO TO JAIL no seventy seven chances to get it right.

5. I’d like to know the city manager’s opinion of this. Why did this have to be brought for a vote? Because the right people lobbied for it?

   Good to see that a City with a crime and school district problem knows where to focus. I’m sure families will be lining up to move here because of a hotel and museum.

   What a joke.

6. And the fix is on. Wtf is a closed door session needed for? To make a deal no one will admit to. An absolute joke. Just watch, a small reduction in developer fee, project cost and bonding – and Mr.Matthews buys pere on a short sale at 1/2 of his original purchase price. Very slick…
   And c.j. – come one. We know you are outraged too, but you titles, graphics and song choice(?) Makes this blog look like “The Onion” rather than an intelligent dialogue. Grow up. This is the reason you didn’t get enough votes for city council to be considered a formidable candidate.

7. ptowntrainwreck — Thanks for the input.

8. I think some owe Chuck Weaver an apology. Apparently he isn’t the elite big business stooge many painted him out to be……..

9. This latest move is a huge disappointment. Some real leadership was needed on this issue and we got business as usual. Kudos to Weaver, Akeson and Sandburg for stepping up and doing the right thing. Double thumbs-down to the rest of the Council for letting this travesty continue.

10. Wow, absolutely no accountability in this COP. The local taxpayer will continue to be abused for local special interests gain, and the council people and Mayor are in on it all. Disgusting.

    Get out of the COP and D150 if you can…

11. CJ – I for one appreciate a little humor of the situation. At this point in the game it has become a huge joke for the very few people who care and pay attention to this sort of thing. The City’s of _X_Y_Z_ rely on the huge amount of people that don’t say a word and just go with their decisions.

    Another example is Tazewell County purchasing the Pekin Times building and adjoining building in downtown Pekin at the tune of $267k plus demo and construction cost to make a parking lot. While I’m sure no one here visits Pekin, I’m sure most could probably say there is no need for more parking in an otherwise empty downtown.

    Taxpayer dollars being thrown to the wind yet again for a perceived problem versus an actual problem. It doesn’t come close to the dollar amount Peoria is chucking at the hotel but just demonstrating that there is something wrong with the leaders on both sides of the river.

12. I cannot pass this sarcasm up, so bear with me:

    “Coming soon to a theatre near you! Just in time for Halloween!
    It’s ‘Frankenstein LIVES on Main Street’ Thought to be dead & buried,
    the classic monster is revived in hopes of bringing life and prosperity
    instead of fear & death to the local village!”

    Ok, sarcasm aside, here are my fears.

    1. The new developer agreement will be more than $102 million dollars because construction costs have gone up since 2008.
    2. The new developer agreement will call for MORE city bonds even if
    the developer will lower his fee by $1 million dollars.
    3. Even though the project will cost more, another new hotel design
    will be unveiled reducing the quality of the newer hotel or reduction
    in rooms. Courtyard by Marriott is already the lowest hotel chain in the Marriott family, if I am correct.
    4. The new developer agreement will specify February 29, 2012 as due date
    for demolition to begin, but if not, he can come back for continued extensions. Again.

    As I have said before, I do hope this hotel project does finally have
    a viable life breathed into it, and is successful. Like many others,
    I am tired of waiting for the wrecking ball to show up on Main Street.

13. In regards to Tazewell County wanting to purchase, demolish the Pekin Times building for a parking lot:

    Apparently, some folks here have never had to serve jury duty in Pekin, (I have twice) or had to conduct business in downtown Pekin during trials and having to park near the riverfront to get a parking spot.

    But I haven’t seen anything about where the Times will move to, or
    if they have even found a new site.

14. Dennis, I think you are right on with some of those points. I would add, though, that Courtyard is Marriott’s “business hotel” and is not low on the food chain. The new Courtyards are very nice. I think the concept of 2 different kinds of Marriotts—different price points—is a good one. Marriott is doing this in other places also…..

15. East Peoria paid for the Bass Pro building to a tune of 45 million; I wonder with all the traffic they are experiencing since their opening, if they are regretting it? Of course not, because EP does what is necessary to grow their city without being bashed for doing so.

16. @pagtem. EP has become a big box purgatory, built on shifting sands and way too many incentives. It is way too early to declare victory with Bass Pro. While it was nowhere near as publicized as the Marriott debacle, there was considerable citizen resistance to using tax dollars for Bass Pro. Peoria needs to do better and can do so by sending Mathews and his ill-fated scheme back to EP.

17. ptowntrainwreck — I liked the musical reference. It seems to work for Rich Miller on occasion and last I checked his blog was about as credible as any around (see: every legislator and official reads it.) So lighten up. Keep the occasional music selections coming, C.J. There is nothing wrong with ’em.

18. Other than Sandburg the people who voted ‘no’ only did it to save face with consitutents. They are just as gung ho for this thing to move forward as the people who were brave enough to vote ‘yes’.

19. Remember come election time but hey , we as a people forget as to elections that was proven in the last election. You get what you voted (or not voted) for. Just vote. Beth lost by 11 votes the first go around. What could have happened if she got 12 votes? Think about it the next election and vote.

20. Did Becker get this kind of assistance(from the city) when building the Twin Towers block?

21. Many of us were forced off the sinking ship (Peoria), Six years after the fact, I am certain that there are many like me who feel fortunate and have a great deal of sympathy for those of you who who were left to go down with the ship.

    I don’t know exactly when the tipping point began, but at some point Peoria lost one too many of it’s productive, law abiding citizens that no longer felt that their person, property or children were as protected or well treated as they would be only a few miles away.

    Any of you commenting here, can you honestly say that things have gotten anything but significantly worse in Peoria over the last six years as compared to any of the surrounding communities? Further, what evidence can you find to support a notion that conditions in the City of Peoria will improve relative to those in other cities over the next six years.

    Most of you can and if you have to, are more able to start over if you decide that you have to, and will do so if you are not caught between your city government’s corruption and incompetence.

22. Becker got so much assistance building the Twin Towers that the FEDS were investigating him for years after. His bank was also part of that with one high ranking officer of that bank going to prison.

    Folks, we are getting that damn hotel come hell or high water. I thank Sandberg and Weaver for voting NO and I thank Akeson for also voting NO this time around. I have to wonder what the rest of the council has on Gulley and why he didn’t vote no. It is in his District. Ah, but that is Christmas Gulley for ya.

23. So Anon, it isn’t enough that Weaver and Akeson voted no, you have read their minds and their no votes are somehow tainted? That is impressive.

24. Is this how low the bar is set, D150?

    We should be praising a business owner council member because he voted no on a deal that’s bad for taxpayers?

25. Yes, if a council member votes the way you think he should vote. You sure shouldn’t claim to be able to read his mind and say “I liked the vote, but it was unpure”. Give me a freakin break.

    It was a courageous vote by Weaver, he went against the town’s business people and sided with the 2 renegades on the council. ^^shrugs^^

    I just don’t see why he should be criticized by the Marriott’s opponents for voting with them. Shrugs again.

26. “I liked the vote, but it was unpure”.

    As I look up the blog comments, I notice that this is your quote. Confusing stuff this hotel business, it’s got you going in circles.

27. Oh, I forgot to ^^^^^^^ shrug.

28. I believe the EP donated 20-30 million to the Embassy and I’m sure they don’t regret it since it’s pulling all the business from the Civic Center and Peoria Hotels. People in Peoria just like to complain no matter what.

29. Sorry, anon, don’t try to shift the focus on your original quote. You sound like you have a personal grudge against Weaver.

    Kudos to Chuck Weaver on his vote.

30. Fear not. The coney dog investment is going to pay HUGE dividends for us taxpayers.

31. pagetm: I respect your mindset if you can support it with napkin math or moral principles. 1) 2.2 mil per year for 30 years to repay the bonds, but hotels often do not have a longivity of 30 years or likihood of staying in business. Especially with a “courtyard” I have doubts, there is not much room to downgrade in stature 15 years down the road. 2) East Peoria created districts of complimentary businesses with their recent projects. At the end of the day we are only adding 200 rooms of capacity and a cat walk. Sorry to break it to everyone but there already are three hotels downtown. (four points, mark twain, pere marq) and a couple on the other side of the river 3) Peoria has a poor track record with these investments, and already faces negative cash flow from issued bonds — why exacerbate the finances? 4) We have three years of discouraging evidence that the project will be more failure than success, and as a taxpayer you can’t ignore that it seems the city council has hotel envy of the embassy hotel across the river. With exception it seems to the newbie council people the others are uber committed to “having one in their town”.

32. pagetm: East Peoria does not have the cime issues in Peoria, which are largely ignored, their roads are not in the mess that ours are in, and they have more cops than firemen, well because you tend to have more crimes than fires. The put on hold some capital projects when things really got tough, then implemented them back into the budget as things got better. Peoria has no plan for infacstructure repair, outside of the ware house district. They have no strategic plan for crime. They are having to use federal grant money to maintain officers at the current reduced and inadequate levels because the tax dollars we pay for basic services goes to fund pet projects. Sidewalks in need of repair are ignored in favor of repairing sidewalks that will bring in votes for the next election. Plans in Peoria are developed, consultants paid, “faux” public involvement, then tossed by the wayside in favor of whatever the council darn well pleases. These are facts that concern the citizens of Peoira. We pay for it, we have the right to see results with out tax dollars for the things we need, not what benefits re-elections.

33. Dennis you said you hope the project is finished and is successful..With the cities backing( with our money )how can we be assured,that backing, does not skew the way business is allocated to the other hotels..Is the bureau going to hedge where the rooms nights go? What guarantee is there against un-fair business practices..If one of the other downtown hotels fail because of the business the City backed Marriott gets, how is that a win to loose more rooms than the Marriott produced..Bob Marx has publicly bashed the other hotels in favor of this deal..If I were management in the other properties, my confidence levels in working with this city would be very low..

34. Peoria’s next folks:
    http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/28/8019973-9-american-cities-going-broke

35. and there you have it, just as predicted:
    ” And the fix is on. Wtf is a closed door session needed for? To make a deal no one will admit to. An absolute joke. Just watch, a small reduction in developer fee, project cost and bonding – and Mr.Matthews buys pere on a short sale at 1/2 of his original purchase price. Very slick… ”

    http://www.pjstar.com/free/x493113213/Council-developer-announce-new-hotel-agreement

36. I suspect the $7 mil loan from the city will be used to pay the development fee. Looks like this project is going to happen—at least in some scaled back sort of way….

37. The new redevelopment agreement along with other Hotel docs are up on the City of Peoria website.

38. Write or call your Council rep, or go to the meeting. Tell them to vote this down.

39. I will have the entire Press Conference will be available on YouTube later today. I will update later here with a link

40. Thanks Dennis

41. Here are the links to yesterday’s Press Conference on this agreement. (in 2 parts because of YouTube length limitations)

    Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wps99Z2IdE

    Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGrj9Mu9DyE

    Between the link to the Agreement on the City’s Website, and viewing the video, folks can make their own judgement on whether they think this should be approved by the City Council on Tuesday.
    I suggest whether you are for or against this project, call your councilman and/or show up at Tuesday’s meeting. I’m sure they will allow public comments before voting on it.

42. Dennis,

    Thank you very much. Matthews did not look happy at any point through the press conference.

43. That is his happy face…
    He’s laughing allllll the way to the bank. City makes a loan out of pension fund for 7 mm to developer (believe me, his developer fee is exactly that, he will reduce construction costs along the way to pocket that money) and not have to make on payment for 2 years. Sweet deal for him. Oh, and city is smart about putting pension money at risk…didn’t they do a smart deal with Firefly??

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