Tag Archives: City of Peoria

City Council, City of Peoria, Comcast, Television

City to temporarily extend Comcast franchise agreement … again

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Comcast’s 20-year cable franchise agreement with the City of Peoria expired in April 2006. Since then, that franchise agreement has been extended temporarily numerous times while the City and Comcast have been negotiating a new agreement. Tuesday, the council will consider a request to extend it once again — this time until November 30, 2010. The reason is so we can see what kind of agreement Comcast makes with other communities in Illinois (Rockford, Champaign, and Urbana). City staff believes this will somehow be advantageous to Peoria.

Meanwhile, Comcast has jettisoned oversight and execution of public access (technically known as “PEG”) programming, off-loading it to the City, which has in turn outsourced it to a third-party organization. Comcast has also closed their local customer service center. And Comcast can, at any time, get a franchise agreement from the State of Illinois, thanks to legislation pushed through by AT&T.

Comcast, thanks to the complicity of the State, has the City over a barrel. So, all these extensions appear to be only delaying the inevitable: a franchise agreement on Comcast’s terms. It’s hard to see what good these temporary extensions are doing.

City of Peoria, General News

Fresh Market plans to open August 25

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The new Fresh Market grocery store in Westlake Shopping Center recently told the City’s Liquor Commission that they intent to open August 25. The store will be 23,000 square feet, with 500 to 800 feet (approx. 2-4%) dedicated to liquor sales. There will be no requirement that they hire an off-duty police officer to act as a security guard from 2:30 to closing, like the liquor commission and City Council requires for south side grocery stores. Surprisingly, this question did come up at the commission meeting: “Liquor Investigator Jordan stated [the security guard was required on the south side] because of neighborhood group requests and there had been no such requests with this [Fresh Market] application.”

City Council, City of Peoria, Elections

City to comply with HB3785

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You may recall that the State passed HB3785, which says political signs can be displayed on residential property at any time. The law takes effect January 1, 2011, but the City of Peoria will be bringing it sign ordinance into compliance this coming Tuesday. The text amendment leaves intact size restrictions for all political signs, as well as the requirement they be removed from public property and commercial property within seven days after an election. Residential properties are excepted from the post-election removal requirement.

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Police

We want to celebrate you! That will be $19,500, please.

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The International Association of Chiefs of Police wants to showcase the Peoria Police Department’s “best practices and leadership in law enforcement” at its annual conference to be held in Orlando (Fla.) this year. They want to produce a five-minute video that will highlight Peoria’s Armadillo and ELITE programs and show it to an audience of “up to 15,000 police chiefs from around the world.” Peoria would be one of only ten to fifteen communities showcased.

There’s just one catch: It will cost us $19,500.

Yes, it turns out that they want to showcase us, but they want us to “offset the costs of the production and other expenses.” City staff is requesting that we pay it out of Federal Asset Forfeiture funds, which according to staff will have “no impact upon either the City’s operational or capital budget.”

How can this be? Do we have a fund that can only be used for video showcases? Can this money not be used to offset other expenses in the City’s budget? Are these funds not fungible?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice website, “The Attorney General is authorized to use the Assets Forfeiture Fund to pay any necessary expenses associated with forfeiture operations such as property seizure, detention, management, forfeiture, and disposal. The Fund may also be used to finance certain general investigative expenses. These authorized uses are enumerated in 28 U.S.C. §524(c).” Looking through the list of approved expenses, a couple things cross my mind: (a) there seem to be a lot of useful, crime-fighting expenses that could be paid with these funds, and (b) I don’t see where “showcase video” is an approved expenditure, although I’m sure it falls under “training” or some miscellaneous category.

I’m all for celebrating our successes, but we are looking at a $10+ million budget deficit and potentially more officer layoffs at a time when we’re on a record pace for murders. Perhaps this request is . . . ill-timed. While I grant that it’s a relatively small amount, the accumulation of “little” expenses can (and do) make a big contribution to the deficit.

City of Peoria, Crime, Peoria Police

Another murder, but immediate arrests

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The Peoria Police Department issued the following press release last night:

RELEASED BY: Lieutenant Vincent C. Wieland – Criminal Investigations Division 673-4521
DATE: July 17, 2010
SUBJECT: Homicide & Arrests –– 10-17329

At 0958 hours, on Sunday July 18, 2010, the Peoria Police Department responded to 1215 N. Frink on a reported shooting. Upon arrival officers found three gunshot victims (43 YO male, 28 YO male, and a 40 YO female). All three were immediately transported to OSF Medical Center.

As officers responded, witnesses described to dispatch the suspect vehicle and its direction of travel. This information was broadcasted to responding officers and officers observed the vehicle travelling down Main St. hill at a high rate of speed. A vehicle pursuit ensued and the suspect vehicle then turned from Main St onto Perry and continued on Perry until the driver lost control and crashed at Lincoln Middle School. At that time two suspects bailed from the car and were shortly thereafter apprehended. A handgun was recovered.

Both suspects, Skyler Jordan (24 YOA) and Taurean C Gregory (24 YOA) were brought to the Peoria Police Department where they were interviewed by detectives. Jordan was arrested for First Degree Murder, 2 counts Attempted Murder, Unlawful Use of Weapons, Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm, and Criminal Defacement of a Firearm. Gregory was arrested for First Degree Murder and two counts of Attempted Murder.

The 43 YO shooting victim died in surgery and the other two shooting victims sustained non-life threatening injuries. A crime scene was located in the 1200 Blk. N Frink and police are continuing to attempt to locate witnesses.

This case remains under investigation and the Peoria Police Department urges anyone possessing any knowledge of this incident to contact the Peoria Police Department at 673-4521 or Crime Stoppers at 673-9000.

City of Peoria, State of Illinois, Streets

Orange Prairie Road extension: State-funded sprawl

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On Thursday night (7/15), the City of Peoria hosted an open house for the Orange Prairie Road Extension project. They distributed a handout which you can see by clicking here (PDF).

The first question to ask is: Why are we building a new road in the middle of a cornfield on the northwest end of town? The handout states that the “primary purpose of this project is to facilitate … development along the Orange Prairie Road corridor….” In other words, they want to incentivize the conversion of more farmland to primarily residential subdivisions, plus a little commercial development.

The next question is: How can Peoria afford this given our current budget woes? The answer is that it’s being funded by the State of Illinois to the tune of $17.5 million. Once the road is complete, the plan is to move the Route 91 designation from its current alignment to the new road. The old Route 91 would become the responsibility of the City. Thus, even though the state is picking up the capital outlay of building a new road, the City picks up the ongoing maintenance expense of the old road. We’re not getting a new road for free.

The conventional wisdom is that Peoria will come out ahead because the land will be developed, which will lead to property and sales tax increases. But the City hasn’t done a cost-benefit analysis to substantiate that belief. The City’s future use plan calls for this area to be primarily residential. Modern residential development means low-density development. That is, houses are pretty far away from each other, connected by meandering streets that all terminate in cul-de-sacs. This increases the costs of maintaining the streets while not raising enough in property taxes to cover the costs of increased services. And land that is developed by non-profit organizations will mean no additional property taxes to the City.

This extension has been touted as sustainable in at least one local magazine. An article in InterBusiness Issues said:

When complete and operational, [the Orange Prairie Roadway extension project] will encourage and support further development in the Greater Grand Prairie area, but in a carefully and thoughtfully planned manner. And, it may serve as a model for how such suburban and exurban developments can be greener and more sustainable. Using the State of Illinois’s new I-LAST (Livable and Sustainable Transportation) rating system, Orange Prairie designers are currently considering such items as protected bicycle and pedestrian pathways along the route, sustainable stormwater detention and wetland creation, introduction of street trees and landscape buffer zones, and energy-efficient street lighting. In addition, efforts will be made to maximize the use of local and recycled materials while minimizing the earthmoving operations in the entire project area.

It will provide a bike lane and sidewalk, which is good. So you can now purchase your Trek road bike online to save gas. Given the low density of development, the area will be unable to sustain public transportation. But these and any other critical issues get little or no discussion in City Council meetings, especially when the State is waving $17.5 million under their noses. We’ll just build it and pay the consequences later.

City Council, City of Peoria

Liveblogging the City Council Meeting 7/13/2010

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Welcome to Council Chambers at Peoria City Hall. Everyone appears to be in attendance except, of course, George Jacob. Councilman Sandberg arrived late. Councilman Turner appears to have someone job-shadowing him tonight. WCBU news director Tanya Koonce appears to have someone job-shadowing her as well. I’ll be updating this post throughout the evening, so refresh your browser frequently.

Here’s the agenda:

Continue reading Liveblogging the City Council Meeting 7/13/2010 →

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Disposal Company

Landscape waste pickup may change to pay-as-you-go

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The City estimates it could save $1 million by passing the costs of landscape waste pickup to users. Under the proposal that heads to the Council next Tuesday night, landscape waste pickup the first two weeks of March and the month of November would still be “free.” But the rest of the year, those wishing to dispose of landscape waste would need to purchase a sticker (“tag”) for each bag of waste they want picked up. Alternatively, they could rent a special landscape waste cart that would include pickup as part of the rental fee.

City Council, City of Peoria, East Bluff, Economic Development, OSF St. Francis, Peoria Mayor, Peoria Public Schools, TIF

The East Village Growth Cell is born

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The City of Peoria is taking steps toward establishing another growth cell and tax increment financing (TIF) district. There’s even a website devoted to it. The website is very informative; it includes a map, a frequently-asked-questions (FAQ) page, and a timeline.

Here’s a brief overview of what’s happening: The City has been using a “growth cell strategy” to expand and develop the north and west fringes of the City. They now want to “apply the City’s Growth Cell Strategy to the heart of the City; taking advantage of existing infrastructure and building upon existing public and private investment.” So, they’ve carved out the following area to redevelop:

As you can see, they’re calling this the “East Village Growth Cell.” Already, there is “increase[d] interest in redevelopment,” they say, as a result of the new Glen Oak School and Neighborhood Impact Zone, but “additional public guidance and intervention are needed to further spur growth within the area,” according to the website. So, they want to get this area designated as a “Redevelopment Project Area” and classified as a “blighted area” or “conservation area” so they can create a new TIF. The growth cell and TIF would be coterminous.

That’s it in a nutshell; there’s more information at www.EastVillagePeoria.com.

Of particular interest in this whole process, though, is OSF’s involvement. They’re putting up the money for the study, the website explains: “As one of the larger investors within the East Village, OSF has agreed to advance the cost for the Consultant that will be reimbursed to OSF out of first proceeds if, and only if, Council approves a redevelopment project.” And the Catholic Diocese (specifically Patricia Gibson, Chancellor/Diocesan Attorney) issued the following press release today:

On behalf of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, I would like to express my overwhelming support for the proposed East Village Growth Cell. This creative and progressive initiative will advance the quality of life of individuals living in the study area and make essential improvements to our most historic and traditional neighborhoods.

Our most precious resources are the families who live throughout the City of Peoria. It’s particularly important that we engage these families throughout the process and demonstrate the City’s commitment to provide resources to reinvest and revitalize the heart of our community. This study area can be the stepping stones to a new beginning for the neighborhoods located within the East Village Growth Cell.

“The proposed study area will be a tremendous blessing to the Peoria community,” says Patricia Gibson, Chancellor/Diocesan Attorney. “The Catholic Diocese has made major investments within the proposed study area including the ongoing restoration of Spalding Institute and a new Pastoral Center. Additionally, St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Bernard’s Parish are uniquely located within the proposed boundaries. We believe that this neighborhood will continue to grow and flourish, and we are confident that an investment of this magnitude will open the door to future development.”

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has lead the way in providing the highest quality of health care for our city. They continue to show their commitment to the community with the expansion of their campus. We trust that the continued involvement of OSF will greatly enhance future development.

And the City of Peoria also issued a press release that quotes several community leaders; here’s part of it:

A new strategy will ensure that these projects are completed in a consistent manner, thereby becoming a catalyst for future investment.

On July 13, 2010, Members of the Peoria City Council will be asked to approve a request for proposals to conduct a study in the East Village Growth Cell. The study will determine if the area is eligible for redevelopment. A residential TIF has the potential to create opportunities for major improvements in the study area. This initiative marks the first time that the City of Peoria has done a study that includes housing.

“This could be a unique project in that it incorporates opportunities for residential re-development in the heart of one of our older neighborhoods. I believe the council will be anxious to see the study move forward and have an opportunity to discuss the findings.  Perhaps it will generate a model we can use in other more mature areas of our city,” says Mayor Jim Ardis.

Development in the proposed East Village Growth Cell will compliment the ventures currently undertaken in the area, including investments by OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and District 150 in the surrounding neighborhood. The study will also provide the opportunity to develop businesses within the Growth Cell.

The East Village Growth Cell presents an opportunity for a major collaboration between Peoria School District 150, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, and the City of Peoria.

Dr. Grenita Lathan, Superintendent of Peoria Public Schools said, “We look forward to partnering with the City and OSF on this potential growth opportunity for Glen Oak School and the surrounding neighborhoods.”

“OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is pleased to support the East Village redevelopment project. We believe the stabilization of the neighborhood and the increase in home ownership will have a positive impact on the area,” says Sue Wozniak, Chief Operating Officer, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.

The study area has the potential to provide for future growth, improvements to the surrounding neighborhoods, and redevelopment of affordable housing.

So, let’s see, the Mayor, the D150 Superintendent, the OSF COO . . . . I do believe this is a highly coordinated effort. All these press releases, the website, a surprise public meeting with residents, and the City Council agenda came out on the same day at the same time. Sounds like yet another deal that has been brokered behind closed doors and rolled out to the public with great fanfare, ala the Wonderful Development.

I hate to be cynical, but this just looks like a typical “done deal” with public input solicited after the fact for window dressing. It bothers me that there’s been so much apparent coordination by public officials out of the public’s eye. The public doesn’t have much time to look into this project before the City votes on pursuing it. That’s generally how the Council likes it.

City of Peoria, CityLink, Village of Peoria Heights

City and Village still failing to communicate

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Not long ago, the City of Peoria was presuming to speak for itself and the Village of Peoria Heights regarding the Kellar Branch rail-to-trail conversion. They apparently haven’t learned anything since then.

In June, the City approved a (supposedly) three-way agreement with Peoria Heights and Junction Ventures that would allow the City and Village to own an old CityLink trolley and Junction Ventures to operate it. Guess what happened? The City found out subsequently that the Village wasn’t interested. Here’s the pertinent portion of the minutes from the Peoria Heights Village Board:

Representatives from CityLink explained the request to enter into an agreement to lease a trolley, which would be used for Shuttle Service from Junction City to Peoria Heights, and possibly downtown Peoria and the riverfront. The City of Peoria would like to lease the trolley and would like the Village to participate as well, although this is not a requirement of CityLink. CityLink is donating the trolley at no cost for the actual vehicle. Mayor Allen stated that both the City and Village would own the trolley. One business owner in attendance questioned if this is in the best interests of the businesses, and Mayor Allen stated that this creates greater exposure and additional opportunities. Trustee Carter said she was at a Chamber of Commerce meeting when the other party approached the Chamber for participation, and the Village wasn’t invited to participate as a formal party at that point, yet now it appears that the Village is supposed to own the trolley but have no further responsibility. [emphasis added] Trustee Carter asked to have another meeting with all parties involved. Mayor Allen stated that after the Chamber meeting the City offered the trolley via CityLink. Trustee Pendleton would like to discuss further at a different meeting as there are lots of questions regarding insurance, liability exposure, etc. Trustee Carter moved to table the issue and Trustee Pendleton seconded the motion. The motion to table was approved by a vote of 5-1, with Trustee Goett voting no.

So now, if approved at next Tuesday’s council meeting, the City is going to own the trolley (just what the City needs, eh?) and it won’t travel through the Heights. That’s a shame, actually, as Junction City has a lot in common with the shops in Peoria Heights, and it would have been a good partnership. I can’t help but wonder if the deal would have gone through had there been better communication among the parties.