I’ve been saying it ever since the sphynxlike Kellar Branch Corridor Corporation first appeared that its clandestine efforts were going to cost the taxpayers lots of money. Now we know just how much: $1,250,969.
That’s the amount of money in taxpayer dollars the Peoria Park District is going to pony up to buy out the leasehold interests of two rail companies on the Kellar Branch rail line: Pioneer Railcorp and Central Illinois Railroad. Doing so will free up the middle portion of the line to be converted into a recreational trail.
But that’s the beginning. After they buy out the leasehold interests, they still have to actually build the trail, which will cost untold millions itself. In 2006, the estimated cost of conversion was just under $6.5 million.
But there are other costs. The City of Peoria actually owns the Kellar Branch. So in order for this plan to go through, the City has to give the Kellar Branch (technically, the easement) to the Park District. The appraised value of the Kellar Branch is $2,872,500. So how much is the City planning to ask for this valuable asset? $1. That’s right, $1. And the City doesn’t even get the salvage rights for the rails.
Perfect timing. Right on the heels of a City Council retreat where we learned the City is facing a $10-11 million budget deficit and is in dire need of a new revenue source, our illustrious City Council will likely approve a request next Tuesday to squander a nearly $3 million asset. Pioneer Railcorp at one time offered the city $750,000 for the line, but the City turned them down. No, they were holding out for the Park District’s winning bid of $1.
Anyone who thought that the Kellar Branch Corridor Corporation was buying out the rail carriers’ leasehold interests out of charity was naive. Included in that $1.25 million is $140,800 for the Corporation’s “expenses.” No list of expenses is given. I suspect it includes a little reward from the Park District for finally acquiring what they’ve coveted for so long.
For those of you keeping score, let’s see what our new grand total is for tax dollars wasted on non-essentials/poor investments:
| “Wonderful Development” (Downtown Hotel) | $37,000,000 |
| Peoria Riverfront Museum | $34,700,000 |
| Firefly Energy Loan Guarantee | $6,000,000 |
| Civic Center Expansion | $55,000,000 |
| Kellar Branch acquisition | $1,250,969 |
| Kellar Branch conversion | $6,441,738 |
| Total | $140,392,707 |
|---|
It’s like they say, pretty soon you’re talking real money. But we can’t afford to fix sidewalks or resurface streets, or fully staff our police and fire departments. Yes, I know I’m conflating expenses from several municipal organizations (City, County, Park District), but the fact is that all that tax money comes from the same source: our pockets. The Park District raising its property tax levy puts pressure on the City not to raise its levy. It’s all related.
Perhaps we could take those toll booths we’re removing from Riverfront Village and install them at the entrances to the Kellar Branch trail. Given the number of users predicted by the Journal Star, we should be able to solve our entire budget deficit by charging a modest toll.
What about the money for the Library upgrade? I see that as a waste also.
I don’t think investing in the library per se is a waste. I view libraries as a basic service.
What about Midtown Plaza? I would think that was a poor investment. What has that done for the neighborhood or the city coffers? The Gateway building also?
Let’s remember who exactly is soaking the taxpayers: Pioneer and Central Illinois Railroads. They get their payoff AND still maintain the rights to service the two customers on the line from the north and south. And how much rent did the City and Village collect from the railroads using the “valuable asset” over the past 20 years? Corporate greed strikes again.
The Civic Center expansion is the biggest insult to the city. Completely pointless to expand on a facility that is already underused.
Martin — Agreed. I think the Gateway is paid off now, though, isn’t it? I’m not sure what the remaining balance is on MidTown, but whatever it is, it should be added to the total.
Brett — No, Pioneer and Central Illinois Railroad are not soaking the taxpayers. They never asked for any taxpayer money. They only wanted to provide rail service and develop the line. It’s the City of Peoria, Village of Peoria Heights, and the Park District who want to squander this asset and are apparently willing to pay over a million dollars for the opportunity.
There is more to come! You are right; it is just the beginning. Transparency is not the hallmark of the current Council. However, when you hold the bad news too long , it later tends to burst free uncontrollably.
Oh, and Brett, let’s talk about greed, shall we? The Park District has over 9,000 acres of park land and recreational trails. Not content with that, they’ve been trying for the better part of two decades to grab a commercial rail line to convert into a linear park, which has resulted in depressing the potential market for rail-served manufacturing businesses to locate in Pioneer Park, and hurt the rail-served businesses that were already there. Meanwhile, they plead poverty for fixing up the stone wall in Glen Oak Park or maintaining other historic structures in their care.
Well CJ, I have to disagree. They are indeed asking for 1.25 million dollars of taxpayer money in order for them to vacate. They could have walked away from the middle portion of the Kellar at anytime after that northern linkup was put in place.
The difference is, the railroads are in it for the money. The park district is in it for the people of Peoria.
Sure, we can go round and round about rail service to Pioneer Parkway and its viability – but the fact is those railroads are willing to abandon the middle portion of the Kellar for a few bucks, laughing i’m sure and giving each other high fives, because not only do they get the payoff, but they get to keep providing service to Pioneer Parkway in the north and O’Brien in the south! They lose nothing in this deal!
So its not the railroads who are getting soaked here, they get everything they’ve always wanted. It’s the taxpayers getting soaked by greedy railroads.
I’m going to pass on the historic structure comment in order to stay on topic.
who is in this Keller Branch Corridor Corp, ostensibly a not-for-profit?
Brett wrote: because not only do they get the payoff, but they get to keep providing service to Pioneer Parkway in the north and O’Brien in the south! They lose nothing in this deal!
No, Brett, the end of the Kellar Branch is the end of rail service to Pioneer Park. Just ask Carver Lumber, which has already made other arrangements, rather than endure an extra $1,500 per carload (which its lumber buyer undoubtedly includes in the cost of its products) thanks to the unnecessary addition of another railroad (Union Pacific) in the routing.
It’s not impossible for Pioneer to attract new business to Pioneer Park (and win Carver Lumber back as a customer), but given the City’s attitude toward industry, it won’t likely happen for the forseeable future.
Remodeling the downtown library and it’s branches is fine. Building a new one way out on Allen Rd is a waste.
Sorry Emtronics but library services should be available throughout the City for those that use them. The closet branch to us is Lakeview and many times the shelves are pratically empty — all the books checked out. Then we would drive downtown and the place is practically empty — tons of books sitting on the shelves unread.
Frustrated,
How are the library services not available to you? Sure it’s a longer drive now but that was because of your choice to move farther out from the center of Peoria. I don’t disagree with your choice to move out that way but that doesn’t mean the city is required or should be building a Library near you.
Brett, you are off line with your comments about the two railroads walking away with money. As a matter of record Pioneer replaced all of the crossings on the Kellar when they took over at their own expense. The city is supposed to maintain them but Pioneer did it at their expense. Also the upkeep of the rail and attached ground was at their expense for many years. The city voted to put in the western connection at tax payer expense. Part was a grant and part was our city’s funds. Grants are simply taxpayer money. Now the Western connection is useless and all that money is wasted. The railroads put in many millions of dollars over the years and they are not even getting back a tenth of their costs. So they are not high fiving anything. They paid out and they lost and so we lost. Peoria is one of the very few cities in the country that is completely surrounded by railroads, giving us the opportunity to save millions on shipping and transportation of goods by rail to our area. But some people can’t seem to see it clearly enough to take advantage of that. I for one applaud the railroads, Pioneer and Central for sticking it out as long as they did on their dime. And I will say it again as I have said so many times before. We could have had both if the Park District wasn’t so greedy and the city so blind.
CJ I think you need to add the Midtown costs to your list as well as the Western connection rail costs, since that is no longer in use but we paid for it.
SD -How am I off line? They are walking away with taxpayer cash. It was in their contracts to maintain the Kellar – part of their operating expenses for providing service. Go out there, take a look and tell me how well they maintained that line. They spent a minimum amount, in line with the minimal use of the Kellar. They were also supposed to vacate, according to legal contract, back when the contract expired. They didn’t do that either.
We had three different railroads try to make a go of it on there. If they each had spent the amount of money marketing rail in Pioneer Park that they spent on legal manuevers during this whole debacle, perhaps things may have been different, however I don’t think so. Rail works most efficiently with high volume, high lead time. There’s simply not a lot of that type of industry in Pioneer Park. If that type of business locates there in the future, that western connection will be waiting for them.
That line has been a money loser for 20 years at least; so yeah, I think those railroad companies high fiving each other all the way to the bank.
They spent a minimum amount, in line with the minimal use of the Kellar.
The Kellar Branch is classified as “excepted track,” which means train speeds must not exceed 10mph and no passengers can be handled on the line. As long as the line can haul slow freight trains, minimal maintenance is all that is required.
They were also supposed to vacate, according to legal contract, back when the contract expired. They didn’t do that either.
Pioneer’s contract with the City of Peoria states:
“This agreement shall remain in full force and effect for a minimum period of twenty (20) years unless and until terminated for cause as set forth above or by mutual consent.”
Note “minimum of twenty (20) years” and that it can only be terminated by mutual consent.
The Cities’ attempt to force Pioneer off the Kellar Branch, initially sucessful, was based on a faulty interpretation of the contract.
Most likely ….. $140,392,707 x 2 (debt service) = $280,785,414!
Add into David Jordan’s equation the amount of money that Pioneer paid out to bring the tracks and crossings up to excepted track when they took it over. P&PU had done no maintenance on the line for a long time and left it in deplorable and unusable condition. So Pioneer has put out the money right up front and will never recover it. As for the Western Connection it is not going to be used because UP will not give the shipper a decent cost of shipping. UP is not in the business of shortline service and will charge whatever they feel like to break a 100 car train to take on or let off a few cars a week. Its not in their best interests. As you Brett mentioned in your piece its volume where UP is concerned. But the shortline railroads serve their purpose far more than you can imagine.
If you’re going to mention Firefly, you might want to note Globe Energy. Their lot facing Pioneer Parkway which used to hold a sign saying “Future home of Globe Energy” is for sale and I haven’t seen any cars in their parking lot for a long time.
This discussion has been very interesting. What CJ intended to be just another whinefest about the Keller Line has turned into a discussion about what is “essential” vs. “non-essential” government services. I’ll bet you didn’t expect the first comment to be about money spent on the library. Oh, “I view libraries as a basic service.” Well, some people don’t. I’ll bet most of the 100,000 or so people who live in Peoria have never set foot in any branch of the Peoria Public Library. But libraries are funded because many years ago the cultural elite knew that to be a civilized community, you just had to have a library. I remember someone, I think it was Merle, commenting that the new library would unfaily compete with Barnes & Noble. So what is an “essential” government service? A person in Peoria out of job and wondering if he’ll ever find another one would probably want the city to take a chance of a new hotel, a new museum, or new factory that makes batteries out of pixie dust. Others would say, if you don’t have a job, leave town; go somewhere else. I shouldn’t have to subsidize your employment. If it isn’t picking up my garbage or protecting my house from fire or crooks, it’s obviously “non-essential.” Really??
Dave — Thanks for the input.
C.J., I am confused by your longstanding issue with the Kellar Branch. My understanding is the $1.2M+ has been in esgrow targeted for the eventual reality that is a couple weeks away. As for the money it will take to build the trail properly, you have a better point. But, quality of life issues matter some, trails are a modern era health/fitness and green thing, so I feel it’s a better investment than others you have issues with. You think libraries fall under your acceptance of tax money well spent, I agree with that, too. The city services thing is something I have a problem with. My guess is no police or fire will be laid off in Peoria when push comes to shove. They will find a way. It’s just scare tactics for now. As far as public works goes, cities and towns with money in the bank have street problems. East Peoria has one of the area’s major issues with getting streets fixed and they have revenue sources Peoria doesn’t have( on a smaller level, I realize) and that’s even with some big economic news coming from across the river very soon. So, the street thing never adds up in any municipality. As for Peoria being overtaxed overall, well probably, but things won’t get any better if the city doesn’t make captital expenditures somewhere which produce tax revenues and propery value. If we do nothing, then we become Galesburg. It is a catch 22, but as they say PROgress is the opposite of CONgress.
Bob – If you haven’t noticed there is a whole bunch of us that are living out North! Also, this is something that is not a new phenomenon, as my neighborhood is 40 plus years old. So in my mind, I think finally a significant portion of the community is being recognized and served, and it is the portion of the City that most uses library services, so go figure. It makes no sense to me that taxpayer dollars support other libraries in the City that are greatly underutilized and yet other sections of the City go wanting.
My understanding is that the money C.J. has called “taxpayers being soaked” money is from the initial grants for the trail; in other words, the money is not coming directly out of the coffers of the park district, the city, or the Heights. It’s coming from the grants. Federal grants. Now, if you want to complain about federal grants paying for it, that’s fine. But, don’t infer as if ONLY local taxpayers are “getting soaked.”
Prego Man: “Federal grants. Now, if you want to complain about federal grants paying for it, that’s fine. But, don’t infer as if ONLY local taxpayers are “getting soaked.” ”
Because as EVERYONE knows, Peorians don’t pay federal taxes.
TellPeoria, did you take the time to read my comment? Did I say that Peorians don’t pay federal taxes? Try reading it again. I simply said, “But, don’t infer as if ONLY local taxpayers are “getting soaked.”’
Is there anything in that comment that says “Peorians don’t pay federal taxes”? Geez… jump to your very convenient conclusions, why don’t ya.
It’s pretty clear that what I said was that if you think the taxpayers are getting “soaked,” don’t infer that it’s ONLY local taxpayers who are paying for it. It’s a FEDERAL GRANT. Paid for by EVERYONE in the danged country, INCLUDING Peorians. Sheeeeesh.
Prego Man wrote: It’s pretty clear that what I said was that if you think the taxpayers are getting “soaked,” don’t infer that it’s ONLY local taxpayers who are paying for it. It’s a FEDERAL GRANT. Paid for by EVERYONE in the danged country, INCLUDING Peorians. Sheeeeesh.
And Peorians pay for federal grants going to other communities. It all adds up, Prego.
Springdaleguy.I have a feeling you are right,there is more to come.Sometimes little things come back and bite you.I agree transparency is something the city should adhere to always.There is also a huge lack of communication between city government dept’s.Honesty should be the policy,but some choose deception as the course of action.We should not be surprised about the $1 payment from the PPD, NARPO and the STB both said this is how it would play out years ago.The city told me 2 weeks ago the tracks were coming out the 3rd or 4th week of this month.The intention is to take All 100ft for a linear park.Maybe the garages can be turned into public bathrooms.Not LOL.
“The intention is to take All 100ft for a linear park” Why does this not surprise me? The Park District has always said they wanted all or nothing at all and they finally got it. I hope they choke on it. They may find out they have bitten off more than they can chew. They seem to have difficulty maintaining all of the property and artifacts that they already have now. Going to be interesting to see how well they maintain the trail in the next five years or so.
SD,when I said all 100ft for a Linear Park I meant the section between PJS south. I was told friday by the PD they own a 100ft easement along the tracks for a trail period,I should get over it.I asked how can they enforce the easement on one section and not all? I was directed to speak to their person who would go through the legal issues.I do not see this as over yet,but apparently the PD does.Sorry if you took it to mean All the trail for a Linear Park,but the PD does say they own All 100ft of easement.I quess we will find out what they plan to do with it as they deem fit to say.The ONE section everyone said was not to be part of this is being taken,the City and PD are going to do whatever they want where they want apparently.I however still say I own the land from the abandonment.The City and the PD clearly know my opinion.
It may add up, David, but no one’s giving me a choice to pay or not to pay for a park being put in up in Fargo or something. The bottom line is that it isn’t as though the costs of this trail is going to be borne ONLY by the Peoria Park District taxpayers; in fact, only a very very very small portion of it will be. The fact that we also have to pay for the park in Fargo, and on and on around the country, is beside the point. C.J.’s headline was inferring that it was only us that was paying for this. That’s all.
Wow. I am glad I moved to Tazewell County.
“C.J.’s headline was inferring that it was only us that was paying for this.”
Go take an English language class… and then get back to us… on the “inference”.
Here’s the headline: show us where the “inference” is.
Taxpayers to be soaked $1,250,969 for non-essential trail — and that’s just the beginning
The headline is just what is meant. “Taxpayers”, be it Peorians or nationwide. We are all paying for non-essentials when we can’t even afford the essentials, like decent roads, etc..
I chuckle a bit at the irony of some people opposing a rail-to-trail conversion in favor of essential services such as “decent roads”, implying that transportation is more vital than… transportation.
While it’s true that there will be a large recreation component to the corridor conversion, given the nature of the Kellar Branch, it can also be used for transportation as well. No one even brings up the fact that the line/trail intersects 3 CityLink routes (2-Monroe, 12-Heights [more than twice], 4-Knoxville) and skirts right by the 1-University near Pioneer Parkway.
The Kellar Branch also connects shopping districts along Pioneer Parkway, Junction City, and downtown Peoria Heights, and further down will link up with downtown Peoria (presumably via the Pimitoui Trail along the river).
If PPD coordinates with CityLink (hah), this could become a very viable intermodal corridor. Bikes can be taken onboard CityLink buses (buses are equipped with front racks); PPD and CityLink can install shelters, benches, and/or bike racks where the trail intersects with CityLink routes to encourage transfers.
I’d rather see the Kellar Branch stay a railroad to encourage industry, but considering that ship has sailed, it’d be nice to see more done to encourage the corridor’s use as a transportation corridor rather than purely recreational.
The idea of the trolley was exactly that idea, use it as a transportation corridor. And as I’ve said hundreds of times before we could have had both the rail and the trail.
I’d be interested in seeing what the headline would have been if “grant money” had built a new library.
Just be referring to it as “taxpayer money” instead of “grant money” infers that it’s coming out of only the area’s pockets. You can split hairs and massage peas as much as you want, Charlie, I’m used to that sort of reaction from C.J.’s followers.
Prego says, “referring to it as ‘taxpayer money’ instead of ‘grant money’ infers that it’s coming out of only the area’s pockets.”
First, the word should be “implies,” not “infers.” You’re inferring; I was allegedly implying. That’s what Charlie was trying to tell you, FWIW.
Second, about the grant: You’re right that the Council communication refers to the Park District as being the “holder of certain grants for the acquisition and building of a recreational trail,” and “A requirement of their grant was that the entire property be appraised.” This raises a couple of questions:
1. What grant? Is it the ITEP grant from IDOT or a new/different grant? On June 8, 2005, the Park District wrote to IDOT requesting funding changes from their ITEP grant, stating, “the monies originally set aside for ROW [right-of-way] acquisition will not be needed, thus we ask that they be removed from that line item….” Joe Crowe from IDOT responded on June 9 saying, “Currently, Easement Row acquisition is anticipated but all of these expenses will be the responsibility of the Park District.”
2. Are they taking grant money that could have been used for construction and using it for acquisition instead? If so, then it’s just an accounting trick. I don’t believe the project (including acquisition and construction) was ever fully funded by grants. So moving $1.25 million from construction to acquisition doesn’t change anything substantive — the overall cost to the taxpayer still went up by $1.25 million.
In other words, as far as I can tell, the local taxpayers are still getting soaked for this payoff.
A walking and bike trail is hardly a “transportation corridor”. It is a recreational trail… I heard the sales pitch: People will go shopping at Junction City and Peoria Heights BECAUSE of this trail… THAT is the reason for this boondoggle? So someone can sell bottled water along the trail?
The line between “transportation trail” and “recreational trail” can get awfully thin. In your own argument you state that you heard that the trail would encourage shopping at Junction City and Peoria Heights. Wouldn’t that be transportation then, if you’re going from one place to another? A straight-line trail in an urban area like this can be reasonably expected to carry more walkers and bikers using it for point-to-point transportation than, say, a circular loop trail in Glen Oak Park.
Transportation and recreation aren’t necessarily an either/or classification; there can be, and often is, some overlap. Grandview Drive comes to mind: some people do drive on Grandview for the, well, grand views, and not just because they want to get ot the top of the bluff. Do you consider Grandview Drive a transportation facility or a recreational facility? Or is it both? If it’s a transportation facility that also is used for recreational uses, does that mean the recreational component of Grandview Drive shouldn’t be considered? Inversely, if people use the Kellar Branch recreational trail for transportation, are they improperly using the facility and we shouldn’t consider walkers and bikers using the corridor for transportation at all?
A successful rail-trail can be used as both recreation and transportation; the mainline of the Illinois Prairie Path in the western suburbs of Chicago comes to mind. A lot of people don’t realize that yes, there are legitimate forms of urban transportation and commuting that don’t require getting in a car and driving. If Peoria wants to be a more “sustainable” community, the city should at least try to provide transportation options that are non-auto based. While I definitely don’t agree that the Kellar Branch deserved to be removed as a railroad to accomplish this, it’s still a viable option.
Readers may also want to check out the national “Complete Streets” initiative (www.completestreets.org) for more information on alternative modes of transportation. IDOT I believe also has legislation on the books for Complete Streets.