[In the months leading up to the at-large City Council election, I’ll be occasionally pulling out some pertinent data on Gale Thetford and posting it under the headline “The Thetford Files,†lest we forget why she was voted off the council.]
From the October 22, 2002 City Council Proceedings:
AGREEMENT with the PEORIA PARK DISTRICT to Allow the CITY’S RIGHT-OF-WAY to be Converted by the Peoria Park District to a RECREATIONAL HIKING/BIKING TRAIL Subject to Conditions as Outlined.
Council Member Thetford moved to approve the Agreement with the Peoria Park District to allow the City’s Right-of-way to be converted by the Peoria Park District to a Recreational Hiking/Biking Trail subject to conditions as outlined; seconded by Council Member Morris.
Approved by roll call vote.
Yeas: Ardis, Gulley, Morris, Nichting, Spears, Teplitz, Thetford, Turner, Mayor Ransburg – 9;
Nays: Sandberg – 1
Okay, admittedly almost everyone voted for this and it wasn’t really one of the reasons she lost reelection; nevertheless, I think it’s worth mentioning that it was Thetford who made the motion, which makes her officially the leader of this ill-conceived effort to abandon the Kellar Branch. The city is still paying lawyers to fight for their “right” to squander a half-million-dollar asset by practically giving it away to the Park District to destroy.
C. J.,
It probably has little to do with the reason Thetford lost the last election but I think this is a good place to start because it’s an example of the screwed-up agenda of past councils.
It may not have had a lot to do with the last election, but it may have something to do with this one. 99.9% of the electorate don’t give a rat’s a** about this trail and are sick and tired of hearing about it. They are not likely to vote for anyone who is going to keep pushing it.
The Mouse — I agree that many people could care less about the trail… however, where did you come up with 99.9% number? Were you using a crystal ball? Just asking….
OK Karrie, 99.99% was a bit of an exaggeration, but it is a fact that most trails attract less than 1% of the population as users, in any given year. Of those, perhaps a third are registered voters. So, a better number is probably about 99.6% of the electorate.
If the city council would open up their eyes and see that the rails and trails thing can be converted to economic development for the area and put money in the coffers, instead of taking them out if they convert the rail to trail, we would all benefit. But they are so sick of hearing about it that they won’t even entertain a serious look at it. We invited the mayor to one of our monthly meetings and not only did he not attend he sent a note, after we asked why he didn’t show, up saying he didn’t have time. So he doesn’t have time to look into new economic development in this city. . . hmmm