Kellar Branch

Pioneer to STB: Stop Kellar Branch closure

I mentioned in my last post that Pioneer Industrial Railway (PIRY) also sent a petition to the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Here’s a copy of their filing (large PDF file). It’s a “petition for stay pending reconsideration or appeal.” It’s been filed not by the company attorney, but Washington, D.C., attorneys Baker & Miller, PLLC, who specialize in transportation matters, including proceedings before the Surface Transportation Board.

They present a compelling case. From reading their petition on behalf of PIRY, you can tell they’ve really done their homework. They’ve gone back and looked at every one of the cases the STB cited as precedent for their decision and, of course, drawn different conclusions than the STB.

Their strongest argument is the letter from Carver Lumber that “refutes the main factual premise which led the board to authorize discontinuance”; namely, that “[t]he shippers served by CIRY . . . do not object, and will continue to be served from the north or from the south . . . .” We now know that’s not true.

In fact, Carver isn’t being served at all. Carver Lumber’s letter makes clear that since the City’s carrier, CIRY, took over last year, not one shipment has been made to Carver Lumber. The one time it was attempted, it was with inadequate equipment, resulting in a runaway train (through several grade crossings at 30 mph, threatening public safety) and a derailment.

The filing also claims that a proper environmental impact study was not completed, and that Pioneer was unjustly refused the opportunity to purchase the Kellar Branch from the city. I think there’s a good chance the STB will grant the stay and hear the appeal for the sole reason of Carver Lumber’s concerns.

All this leaves me with several questions. Why is the city making it so difficult for Carver Lumber to do business? Do they not care about small, locally-owned Peoria businesses? What does this action say to potential businesses who might consider locating in Peoria? What does it say to potential businesses who might consider locating in or near Pioneer Park? What does sacrificing Carver Lumber’s business for the sake of the Park District’s trail extension say about the city’s priorities? And where are the Peoria Journal Star reporters on this story? Isn’t it news that the City of Peoria is directly responsible for over $25,000 in additional transportation costs for one of its local businesses? Isn’t that outrageous enough to warrant an editorial, or at least a front-page story in the local section? I sure think so.

This whole project has been outrageous from the beginning, and the City Council should put a stop to it. The filing by Pioneer concludes:

There is a way by which CIRY can be relieved of its operating obligation, the City compensated for the use of its tracks, the environmental impacts adequately studied, and service to shippers maintained. That way is by granting the stay, reconsidering the Board’s decision, and then allowing PIRY to file an OFA [“offer of financial assistance,” i.e., allowing Pioneer to purchase the Kellar Branch from the city]. Granting the stay provides an opportunity for the Board to reconsider its decisions in light of the new evidence submitted by Carver, and correct its decision. The public as [a] whole will benefit.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Kellar Branch

Broken promises resurrect Kellar Branch saga

Carver Lumber was promised some things by the city. The city promised that Carver would continue to receive rail service via the Kellar Branch until the new western spur could be completed. The city promised it wouldn’t stop service on the Kellar Branch until service via that western spur was in place and operating smoothly. And the city promised Carver that it would receive comparable shipping rates via the west.

The city broke its promises.

Now Carver Lumber has petitioned the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to overturn their ruling and force the city to reinstate service on the Kellar Branch. Pioneer Railcorp is also filing a motion to stay the STB’s ruling pending appeal in light of this new development.

You can read Carver Lumber’s grievances here. The STB ruling makes it possible for the city to start dismantling the Kellar Branch any time after January 22, 2006. However, the promised western spur is not yet complete, and the corners being cut in its construction will add to Carver’s shipping costs.

To make matters worse, they have received no shipments via the Kellar Branch since September, resulting in over $25,000 in additional shipping costs to truck the lumber from the rail yard to Pioneer Park. Why? Because the company the city hired to work the line, Central Illinois Railway (a subsidiary of DOT Rail in Granville, Ill.), is unable to haul the rail cars up the Kellar line. You may remember the last time they tried — and the whole load slid backwards down the hill and derailed.

Furthermore, even once the western spur is completed, the city has been unable to pursuade Union Pacific (the only line the western spur will access) to allow CIRY to use their tracks to make deliveries to Carver Lumber. Without trackage rights, they may be left without service entirely. That’s the trouble when you don’t have neutral access — the kind of neutral access they have via the Kellar Branch.

And why is all this nonsense going on? Because the Park District wants to remove a working rail line to put in a hiking trail. They’ve already driven potential business away from Pioneer Park because of this ceaseless quest to remove competitive rail service. Now it’s almost as if they’re trying to run Carver Lumber out of there as well.

The city could make things a whole lot easier on everyone if they would just kill this ill-conceived trail project and sell the rail line to Pioneer Railcorp. Then the Park District could use their grants to build a trail along a different route to connect the Rock Island with the Pimiteoui — a route that wouldn’t hurt Peoria businesses.

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Fun with numbers

Here’s something interesting.

The City of Peoria recently voted to annex 715 acres of land — the largest annexation since Peoria added Richwoods Township to the city. Developers are planning to create new subdivisions on this property that will eventually add a total of 1,408 dwelling units. As of June 2004, it was reported that there are 41,300 households in the city. Adding 1,408 more is an increase of 3.4%.

The 2006 budget calls for the city to spend $56,029,955 on police, fire, and public works combined. If we assume that those costs will need to increase by the same percentage as the number of dwelling units/households, we can times that figure by 3.4%. The result? $1,905,018.47. We can call it $1.9 million for easy reference.

Will this new addition to the city pay for itself? According to the city’s study, the new dwelling units will have a market value of $450 million (that would be an average of $319,600 per dwelling unit, incidentally), and this would result in an increase in tax revenue of — are you ready for this? — $1.9 million.

So, theoretically, it will break even from a city-services perspective. That means it will not give the city any net gain. It also won’t help us put a truck back into service at Fire Station 11. And it won’t do District 150 any good, but will infuse Dunlap School District 323 with lots of property tax money.

When will the city learn that we cannot annex ourselves into prosperity? We’ve tried. Over and over. And over. It doesn’t work.

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District 150 pay hikes troubling

I’ve been reading about the controversy over possible pay raises for Peoria Public School District 150 administrators Dr. Fischer and Dr. Hannah. Bill Dennis — who originally broke the story two days before it was picked up by the Journal Star — has another post on it today, and I added my comments to it.

You may remember that this all started when the district booted out Kay Royster. They hired Chuck Fabish out of retirement to be interim superintendent. He quit at the end of 2004. Everyone wanted Deputy Superintendent Ken Hinton to have the top job, but he wasn’t qualified; i.e., he didn’t have state certification. So the school board appointed Dr. Fischer and Dr. Hannah as co-interim-superintendents who were legally the top dogs, but the deputy superintendent (Hinton) actually took care of the day-to-day duties of the district business. Meanwhile, Hinton attended Western Illinois University to get his superintendent certification. In July 2005, he was certified and made permanent superintendent of District 150.

Now, what’s the fate of the co-interim superintendents, Drs. Fischer and Hannah? Well, I found this tidbit in the official District 150 minutes (available online here):

“REPORT FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT — Mr. Hinton expressed that he would like to thank Dr. Fischer and Dr. Hannah for stepping forward and that he was pleased to recommend that they be named Associate Superintendents. Ms. Butler stated that she appreciated all the reports they have prepared and that their primary interest is the students. Mrs. Ross stated that she supports the recommendation, but would like job descriptions before they change titles. Mr. Hinton reported that the administrators would have more job responsibilities and their job descriptions are being prepared.” (7/1/2005)


It seems clear from this information that the position of “Associate Superintendent” never existed prior to July 2005 and was created specifically for Drs. Fischer and Hannah. That sort of thing has always been looked down upon at every private company I’ve worked for. You don’t create a position for a particular person. That aside, I could not find anywhere in the subsequent minutes any mention of the job description being completed.

Why does this matter? Because, whatever the job description and additional responsibilities they are supposed to have, it supposedly is worth a salary increase of 28% more than what they were making as co-interim-superintendents. For a school district strapped for funds, planning to close schools, and maintaining a wage freeze for other administrators, this does not look good to the public. It also doesn’t look good that it took a Freedom of Information Act request from a private citizen to bring the situation to light. If these raises are defensible, why the secrecy?

At least one person has speculated that they could be trying to boost their pensions. As you may know, under the Teachers’ Retirement System of Illinois, pensions are 75% percent of a member’s final average salary (“the average salary for the highest 4 consecutive years within the last 10 years of creditable service,” according to P.A. 91-0927). That means that Drs. Fischer and Hannah, who according to the Journal Star’s report made more than $92,200 as principals when they entered administration in the fall of 2004, could (if they qualify for full pensions — I don’t know this for sure, but I would guess they will) receive an annual pension of at least $97,500 (75% of $130,000) if this pay raise goes through and they retire after four years.

The school board has yet to vote on the pay hikes. If they plan to vote in favor of the hikes, it would be in their best interests to reveal and defend the new job descriptions and accompanying pay increases. Otherwise there will be speculation, rumor, and general public distrust for the school district that it can’t afford in addition to all its other problems.

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Thoughts about Junction City

My only experiences with Junction City have been with two businesses:  Vonachen’s Old Place and Häagen-Dazs.  Both are gone now, so I no longer visit that shopping center.  Now that the strip mall is getting new owners, I wonder if they will bring in any shops that would attract middle-class families, or if they will continue the trend of only upscale, non-kid-friendly shops.  My opinion is that there are already plenty of upscale strip malls in Peoria.  A hobby store would be nice, as would an affordable kids’ clothing store (Healthtex, Oshkosh).  How about a root beer stand, ice cream place, or family restaurant (not a diner, but a VOP-style place)?   
 
I also agree with Bill Dennis that the repulsive chain-link fence between the Grandview Hotel and the Town Hall building has to go.  However, I don’t know that it’s the city’s responsibility to help the Grandview succeed, as Bill suggests.  But it certainly shouldn’t inhibit its success.  I haven’t commented much on the whole Grandview controversy because Bill and Polly have been more than thorough in covering every possible detail.  🙂  All I can say is, if Chase has really bought the place, he should be given a chance to make good on his plans to turn the place around (one could argue he’s already started doing that).

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Journal Star rates going up

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I got a letter from the Journal Star yesterday informing me that their rates are going up a little over 5% starting next month.  According to the letter, this is so that they can give their paperboys and girls a raise.  I’ll have to call my paperboy and ask him how much of a raise he’s getting.  I’d also like to know if it’s enough to inspire him to get my paper all the way up on my porch instead of in the shrubs down by the sidewalk. 
 
One other question I often ask myself.  Why am I paying over $200/year for a publication that puts all its content on the internet for free?  For the birth announcements?  The truncated obituaries?  The coupons that get mailed to me anyway?  What exactly is the value added?

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That’s soooo romantic!

According to the Peoria City Council’s agenda for this coming Tuesday, item number 4 is as follows:
Communication from the City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Adoption of an ORDINANCE Proposing the ESTABLISHMENT of GROWTH CELL 1-A SPECIAL SERVICE AREA, Proposing the ISSUANCE of BONDS, in an Amount Not to Exceed $6 Million, for the Purpose of Paying the Cost of Providing Special Services in and for Such Area, and SETTING a PUBLIC HEARING for FEBRUARY 14, 2006, at 6:15 P.M.
Yep, you read that right — a public hearing on February 14, St. Valentine’s Day!  So, guys, if you really want to show your special someone a good time, take her out to a nice early dinner at some greasy spoon so you can get the “early bird” special, then head on over to City Hall and voice your concerns over how to pay for the establishment of growth cell 1-A.  To top off the evening, you could use the “Citizens’ Request to Address the Council” time to pop the question like they do at sporting events sometimes.  It will be a touching and memorable evening — one to tell the grandkids.

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Hello Museum Square

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the new website on Museum Square (hat tip to the Journal Star’s midday update for the link):

http://www.peoriamuseumsquare.com/

Macromedia Flash is required to view the site. There’s general info on the front page, plus two more pages with artists’ renderings — one of the “Central Illinois Regional Museum” and one of the “Caterpillar Visitor Center.”

Initial observations:

It’s very pretty, isn’t it? It looks unique, and I especially like the picture where the whole structure glows at night on the riverfront.

However, it’s not what one would call “urban.” And it definitely isn’t consistent with the surrounding architecture. Clearly, the whole idea of New Urbanism and the Heart of Peoria Plan were thrown out the glass arcade when this was designed. Here’s the “crown jewel” spot in Peoria and there’s no hint of the plan the council voted to follow “in principle.” Oh, I take that back — they did put the parking (which is not needed) underground. Here’s my suggestion: if the council is not going to actually follow the advice of the high-priced consultants they hire, please just save us the money and stop hiring them.

My other concern is the name: “Central Illinois Regional Museum.” I thought we were going to have a Peoria History Museum. Isn’t that how this project was sold? In fact, wasn’t the whole block going to be a Peoria History Museum? Why can’t we call it that? Who decided to change it? Are we changing the content of the museum to include the history of other communities? Are those communities contributing any money toward the construction of this “regional” museum? Which other communities are encompassed by “Central Illinois”? Galesburg? Bloomington? Lincoln? Decatur? Putnam County? What precisely is the vision for this museum?

I can’t help but notice there are no pictures of the inside of the Central Illinois Regional Museum, but there are numerous pictures of the inside of the Caterpillar Visitor Center (and it looks like there’s a lot of very interesting, interactive content). I suppose that says something about where the architects are spending most of their time at this point. Not surprising, since Cat is fronting a hefty amount of the money for Museum Square.

Well, I’m sorry I’m not more excited about it. But frankly, if I’m a tourist, I’m not going to be drawn to the “Central Illinois Regional Museum” anymore than I would go to the “Central Montana Regional Museum” or the “Central Iowa Amalgamated Museum.” Furthermore, I wouldn’t look for the “Central Illinois Regional Museum” in Peoria. I’d look for it in a more central location, like Bloomington — right next to the Central Illinois Regional Airport.

I wonder whatever happened to Peorians’ civic pride. Perhaps we should rewrite “Peoria Pride,” our official city song. All together now: “Oh I’m proud to live in Central Illinois . . . .”

UPDATE: I found artists’ renderings of the inside of the Central Illinois Regional Museum on the Journal Star’s Special Sections website. Why they’re not included in the peoriamuseumsquare.com site, I don’t know.

City of Peoria

Time to redistrict again?

I was thinking about all the annexation that’s been happening on the north and north-western fringes of Peoria and it got me thinking, might it be time to redraw the council district boundaries again? Here’s the most recent map I can find:

If you click on the map, it will display a larger version from the City of Peoria website. Is the fifth district starting to look disproportionately large to anyone else? And this map doesn’t include the extra square-mile-plus that was just added. To the naked eye, it looks as if the fifth district is larger than the second and fourth districts combined.

As far as I can determine, the last time redistricting occured was in October of 2001. What’s the trigger for doing it again?

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A tale of two paths

There’s an interesting story in the Neighbors section of the Journal Star today. Apparently there’s a walking path in the East Bluff that runs between Frye and Thrush. Usually when the Journal Star writes about walking paths, it’s always a positive thing. Walking paths add quality-of-life to the city, they say. They make it more liveable and more attractive to young urban professionals who might want to work at Renaissance Park (f.k.a. the Med-Tech District). We need more, more, more walking paths in the city!

Yet this story isn’t positive at all. The city and park district aren’t praising this walking path. In fact, they want to close it down! I read with incredulity:

Over the years however, as the community has been taken over by gangs and people in the drug trade, the walkway has become a haven for those seeking to evade police or to easily carry out their clandestine activities.

Huh. Imagine a walkway being used by gangs and drug dealers for nefarious activities. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but at the same time the city is removing this short, troubled path from the East Bluff, isn’t the park district working to build a long walking path that will connect Taft Homes with the near north side and eventually meet up with the Rock Island Trail? Does anyone think that maybe, just maybe, there might be a similarity between these two trails, particularly where they traverse a community that’s been “taken over by gangs and people in the drug trade”? Is anyone connecting the dots here?

I’m just asking.