Taking Back Peoria.....One vote at a time.

Actually, we need 7,050 of them. Votes that is. According to City Attorney Randall Ray speaking in the article appearing on November 18th in the Journal Star, that's what it will take to force the city council to place a referendum on the ballot to decide if cumulative voting should stay in force, or if we citizens have the right to choose to elect the people who represent us directly. One person, one vote.

I personally think some pretty shady politics are in play when the city council wants to maintain the status quo. They are perfectly aware that no change will be the equivalent of allowing voter apathy to grow. In the Journal Star editorial on November 18th, the estimated current voter turnout is about 20% per election. If that continues, then we can be assured that the City Council will continue to operate as it does now: doing what the minority of citizens think is correct rather than responding to the needs of the community.

According to the minutes of the Peoria City Council meeting this Tuesday last, several Peorians spoke in favor of the 10 and 8 district plans. They even spoke as representatives of various Neighborhood associations, saying their neighborhoods felt there was a need to a change. Whether they favored the 8 member council with 2 at-large positions or the 10 member council with no at-large members, they agreed that cumulative voting should be abandoned for what it is, an utter and dismal failure.

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Petition to the City Council of Peoria on behalf of the citizens of Peoria

We, the undersigned citizens and voters of Peoria, formally request that the following referendum be placed on the ballot for the upcoming election in March of 2012:

Shall the citizens and voters of the City of Peoria have the option to consider dividing our city council districts into 10 council districts, each with their own councilperson and no at-large councilpersons, thus eliminating cumulative voting as it currently exists while keeping a City Manager form of government?

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There you go, the head of a petition to copy to as many signature lines as you need, and as many copies as you need to make. In the heading of each line, you will need to put a place for Printed Name, Address, Phone Number, and Signature. If enough signatures and petitions are presented to the council, they have no choice but to act in favor of the petition.

Here is an opportunity for the citizens of Peoria to act responsibly and let the city council know not only are we dissatisfied with their current decision, but we are dissatisfied as well with their lack of responsibility in managing the city of Peoria.

I want to acknowledge the help and advice of Mr. Don Cummings in preparing the wording of the petition, as well as the indirect consultation of Randall Ray and Chuck Weaver.

Back to the Council Chambers

Live blogging is not my thing, so I apologize to the readers who have to wait for me to compose my thoughts. I like to take notes and think about what was actually said before writing about it, which is why I blog instead of report.

I got in to the chambers tonight just as they were finishing the Pledge of Allegiance, then took a seat toward the rear of the chamber. All the old faces were there, including John Sharp and Billy Dennis, and surprisingly no Gary Sandberg. Hmmm. At first I thought he might be slouched back in his chair, but when I realized we had gone at least 15 minutes and he hadn't voiced an opinion, I knew he was absent.

So this session was devoted to the budget decisions surrounding the new and improved Marriott project. Mayor Ardis opened the meeting by letting the City Manager Urich present a summary of the current financials. On it's face, the plan looks sound, and it looks like Urich did a great job of carefully planning the finances to allow the city to get a square deal. According to one of his statements, the developer, Matthews, has deferred his fee until the property starts to see a profit. He has also, according to Urich, promised to guarantee the city's investment personally. So does this mean the developer will create an escrow account for $29 million dollars? Hmmm. Would love to see it, wouldn't you?

Anyway, there were a few interesting points made. Part of the plan involves using funds from the Southtown TIF transferred to the Downtown TIF at some point in the project, which Barbara Van Auken was quick to question until the City Manager assured her it was legal. At the end of the summary, Mayor Ardis opened the floor for public comment.

Mr. Matthews, the developer, came up the podium and praised the board for their wisdom and fortitude and support of the project, and pledged his devotion to creating a perfect addition to the city. Next, a Mr. J. Baumgartner from Caterpillar came up to praise the council for their decision to Build the Block and to create a hotel where their international guests would feel they could have a 4 star experience. [guess they are tired of sending their global visitors across the river as well]. I had to throw my two cents in and reminded them that, even if they build the hotel, they need to make sure there are reasons for people to stay in it. I urged them to hold SMG accountable for the lack of events being staged in our Civic Center, for the loss of events that used to bring the revenue and the visitors to Peoria. Finally, Bob Marx of the Peoria Convention and Visitor Bureau got up and gave more praise to the council concerning their pursuit of this project.

On to Item #1 of the agenda, the "Approval of the Design Concepts for the Amended and Restated Redevelopment Agreement by and among the City of Peoria and EM Properties, Ltd. and Pere Marquette Hotel, LLC, and Pere Marquette TIF, Inc." Ryan Spain opened the discussion by questioning the choice of materials being used by the contractors especially on the first floor, the floor adjacent to pedestrian traffic. Now, he was using phrases like how pedestrians would interact with the materials, but the gist of it was his concern about damage and graffiti, and frankly, that is a legitimate concern. Many of the Man Made materials used in cheap construction today are unattractive, to say the least, but some other concerns exist as well. Beth Akeson also voiced her concerns with a show and tell of Brick versus artificial brick, or limestone versus Styrofoam coated with a sprayed on dry concrete material. Her legitimate concern was that the materials used would not stand up to the weather and wear of time. Councilman Gully remarked that while he would prefer Brick and Limestone over lesser materials, the cost of such a project would well exceed the budgeted amounts. Mayor Ardis asked for further comments, and hearing none, called for a vote. The motion passed with Weaver and Akeson voting no.

Item #2 was the ordinance approving the overall project. This means the rehabilitation of the Pere Marquette to a full service Marriott hotel, the construction of a Marriott Courtyard, the construction of a parking deck, and the construction of an elevated connector to the Peoria Civic Center. Councilperson Akeson voiced her concerns that the proposed cost of the projects did not seem sufficient to cover all these items, particularly since the cost of the 466 space parking deck and the cost of the elevated (all weather) connector to the Civic Center would exceed the $6.34 million dollars allotted for them. She cited an unnamed source who advised her the elevated connector would cost between $8,000.00 and $10,000.00 a foot to build. She also restated her concern about the city's ability to govern the way in which the construction was done, and that there was no real scrutiny of the plans, the methods, or even the qualifications of the contractors doing the work. There were some additional comments, Gulley going off topic about the $7 million dollar portion of the loan, Riggenbach praising Urich for getting a higher rate of return on the reinvestment of the city's Post Employment Benefits Obligation Funds (currently drawing 0.6%, under the reinvestment of these funds in the project, they would draw 7%....hey, you don't have to be a banker to see that one, Tim), and Irving taking Urich to task to cover all the bases for the council and the chamber in detail. I have to commend Dan Irving for doing that, although it was certainly a dog and pony show for the constituency, he let all of us know that Urich has his ducks in a row. Mayor Ardis once again called for the vote, and once again it passed with Weaver and Akeson voting no.

Items 3, 4, and 5 (a&b) passed in the same way with very little comment.

So now we come to the blog portion of this little post. I have to say that I am still a bit leery of the whole idea. Yes, it would be nice to have a 4 star facility in Peoria to accommodate Caterpillar's "Global Visitors", and yes, such a facility could be an asset to drawing convention business to the area. But what is going to attract them to Peoria in the first place? The Civic Center has been a losing proposition for many years, and the recent additions to the facility aren't helping to pay for it. We have this great venue for sports events, theater events, and exceptional facilities for expos and lifestyle shows, but we lack the events to fill it. Year after year, we lose business to the cities who acted to get their business rolling, and may I remind you there is no Marriott in Bloomington. Granted there are scores of loyal Bradley Basketball fans, Riverman Fans, and some die hard Peoria Opera and Symphony fans who will attend events in the theater and the arena, but they just aren't enough to justify the expense. Spectacor Management Corporation was hired by the city to fill that facility with events to create revenue and they aren't doing their job, Worse still, we are losing events and sports to Bloomington that ought to be here. Perhaps the city should be in the business of creating revenue, instead of building empires.

Reflections on the Race Case that wasn't...and the aftermath...

At times I have been corrected on my occasional rantings by other bloggers, so it comes as no surprise to anyone that I have decided to publish my own comments on the events as I see them, or rather, as I have seen and thought about them.

Last week, Paul Wilkinson, in my opinion, seriously damaged his credibility by filing what can only be deemed a false report of black youths "terrorizing" the neighborhood at West Thrush and Sheridan. From all reports, his claim was so exaggerated that it bears little resemblance to the facts reported by the other neighbors. The sad fact of the matter is that C. J. Summers, usually a very careful journalist, was sucked into his fantasy (nightmare?) and repeated the story, which was then rocketed across the nation in the infamous Drudge Report. While the reporting was untrue and unsubstantiated, it did accomplish several things.

First, it brought a plethora of attention to an otherwise local blog that now stands to make substantial funds from advertising dollars, should C. J. choose to pursue it (and in this economy, who wouldn't?). Second, it took everyone's attention off of several national issues, such as Medicare, the Economy, and some of President Obama's more lucid statements (as well as a few not so lucid statements). Last, it set race relations back a few months...or years.

Opinion writing is just that. Opinions. When I write this blog about council meetings or other events, I try to be accurate about what has gone on before I start spouting my personal opinion. I believe that to be responsible. If I misquote or miss a fact, I say so and apologize, so as not to unfairly criticize or be just downright rude.

But I have never crossed the "Sky is falling" line. Chicken Little will never be my sole source for any information I present here.

Too bad others don't feel the same way.

A Peoria Inauguration

Well, not quite as auspicious as all that, perhaps, but for the 200 or so people who crowded into the council chambers to bid adieu to outbound members Montelongo and Jacobs, to congratulate the returning incumbents, Turner, Spain, and Sandberg, and to welcome the newest members, Weaver and Akeson, it must have felt like the podium was smack dab in the middle of D.C. From the moment I walked in, you could tell the air was charged with anticipation. Several occasional visitors to the council chambers we present for the ceremony, and while I will invariably forget to mention someone, I will mention "Mitch" Mitchell, president of the East Bluff United Neighborhood Association, Don Cummings, a resident of the East Bluff and prominent member of American Legion Post #2, as well as many friends and family of the newly elected council members. I sat with several of the East Bluff ladies, and noticed our old friend Savino Sierra was there as well.
The council convened and the business was handled in quick order. City Counsel Ray verified that all incoming council members were eligible to be seated, and this was verified by the City Treasurer. The consent agenda was quickly passed, and Savino was given the opportunity to speak, and did so eloquently and briefly, congratulating the winners, and making a special comment about how happy he was to see Councilman Jacobs recovering.
There was no executive session, and Mayor Ardis quickly moved on to the presentation of thanks and praises to the outgoing members, Montelongo and Jacobs. Montelongo received his parting gift from the council without remarks, and since Jacobs was unable to get to the podium, his son George Jr. accepted his gift for him. Upon the conclusion of Mayor Ardis' remarks concerning Councilman Jacobs' service, he received a standing ovation, the first of several to come.
Next, after a proclamation by Mayor Ardis for both Montelongo and Jacobs, Montelongo gave a speech, a humble and gracious speech, extolling the honor of service and his pleasure to serve the community. Standing ovation again.
Next the 6th grade son of Jacobs, Jake, read a speech prepared by his father, and you could see the pride and humility in Jacobs' eyes as the young boy eloquently and passionately delivered his father's words. Standing ovation.
Next the members of the council, in turn, beginning with W. Eric Turner and working clockwise around the horseshoe, gave their words of thanks to both Montelongo and Jacobs, with the exception of Barbara Van Auken, who declined to speak for fear of becoming too emotional. After all had spoken, Mayor Ardis tendered his comments with passion for the service of these fine individuals. Having closed his comments, the meeting was adjourned.
While the room was reorganized, several people exited the chamber to tender their personal thanks to both Montelongo and Jacobs. I stepped out for a moment and greeted Chuck Weaver and several others, asked John Sharp how his shorthand was going (he also was armed with pad and pen for the event...there are a few of us old timers around), and headed back in to get my seat for the ceremonies.
Mary Haynes, the longest incumbent City Clerk in Peoria, presided over the swearing in. Her words were kind, soft, and enthralling. She spoke with sober tones to the At Large Council Members who were about to be sworn in, telling them that while they had been elected, the seats did not belong to them. They belong to the citizens of Peoria, and they are there to serve those people, and not themselves. The new Council Members were sworn in individually, in alphabetical order, and then seated around the horseshoe. Mayor Ardis convened the council, and asked that all stand while Pastor Cal from the Northwoods Church delivered an invocation. A special session convened and each member of the council was given the opportunity to welcome the returning members and the new officials to the horseshoe. At the close of those remarks, both Beth Akeson and Chuck Weaver gave short prepared speeches thanking the many people who helped them win their seats. Pastor Cal closed with a benediction and the meeting was adjourned.
In the hallway, treats and punch were served, people milled about and congratulated the council members. Smiles and handshakes all around. And people went off to their respective parties or homes.
Just another night in Peoria. But maybe a new beginning. I hope so, I know we could use one.

District 150 BOE Candidates

My work schedule being what it is, I have not been able to attend the various forums for the candidates, relying instead on media coverage and the opinions posted on the various blogs for information. My thanks to C. J., Dennis, Emerge, Vonster, Eye in the Sky, and many others for their concise and credible reporting. Also thank you to John Sharp of the Journal Star for his unbiased views. In an age when journalism tends to follow the crowd of mudslingers and hype, John's reporting has been exceptionally well balanced and fair to all the candidates.

Just had the opportunity to view the video coverage of the District 150 BOE candidates, and I have to say that hearing their responses to the questions did not change my opinions of the candidates from before. In District #2, the clear choice is Wolfmeyer. God love Mike Mitchell, I know his heart is in the right place and he wants to make a difference, but I just don't see him being able to turn the District around or get them on track.

In District #3, the choice is not as clear. Rick Cloyd and Janice Deissler are both viable candidates with their own qualities. Rick is an Administrator and an advocate for empowering children through programs like ELITE and CHOICES (both of which I am also an advocate for), but he has no formal background in education. Janice is a skilled and well-established member of the education community in Peoria, having taught many years in the district, and has some administration experience as well. Both are passionate about the children, and passionate about District 150. Since I have to pick one, I guess my question that never got asked (at least not by me) is why the four candidates for District #3 are all write-in candidates, is a little moot at this point. But I would still like to hear the answer. If any of you care to respond, please add it to the comments section below.

I will be reviewing the video of the City Council candidates later this evening when it is posted.

East Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. - A Not For Profit Agency?

About ten years ago, my wife looked into a low-interest loan from the EBNHS, Inc. We applied and received a loan for $20,000.00 at 2% in order to do upgrades to our home, a new roof, new siding, replacement windows, and the rebuilding of the garage.
At the February meeting of the EBNHS, Inc. I asked the board members how many loans they had made in the last two years. Their answer? None.

So I started to dig around a bit. Seems the EBNHS, Inc. has changed their focus from their original intent. In the Articles of Incorporation dated March 5, 1986, the purpose of the EBNHS, Inc. was "To combat community deterioration and to secure decent, safe, and sanitary housing, community facilities and other related facilities, services, and conditions economic, social or otherwise, conducive to the progress and general welfare of the community by facilitating the rehabilitation of and the improvement to the East Bluff Areas of the City of Peoria:

(1) By the dissemination of information to the neighborhood concerning housing and community projects;

(2) By encouraging the participation of residents and businesses of the neighborhood in the formulation and implementation of improvement plans;

(3) By promoting the cooperation and coordination of such residents and businesses with public agencies, private agencies, private industries and such other entities as are available to aid in the purposes of the organization; and

(4) By assisting in the implementation of the improvement plans."

According to the By Laws of the Current EBNHS, Inc. approved on September 24, 2009, the purpose of the organization is now:

"to renew pride, restore confidence, promote reinvestment, and revitalize the EBNHS neighborhoods through the efforts of local residents acting in concert with financial institutions, corporate enterprise and the business community, foundations, and local government. These services may be extended to areas beyond the EBNHS' service area at the Board's discretion."

Now wait a minute! The funds that the EBNHS receives from the City of Peoria are collected from the East Bluff through a special services tax. So who are they to decide to send the money out of the area? After all, then intent of that money is, according to the original purposes, to serve the East Bluff. In fact, in the city ordinance that created the Special Service Area (Ordinance No. 11,939 dated April 18th, 1989 and signed by then Mayor James Maloof), the clear intention of these funds is to continue the work of the EBNHS, as follows:

I) providing low interest loans (1/2% to 9%) through the administration of a $300,000 dollar revolving loan fund

II) neighborhood paint-up program which provided paint for 215 homes in the East Bluff

III) neighborhood landscaping efforts

IV) encouragement of home ownership through one half million dollars in low interest mortgages secured through IHDA

V) extended code enforcement efforts through an advocacy role with the existing city code enforcement efforts

VI) neighborhood planning, through liaison with city departments and committees.

Seems the EBNHS has gone far afield of the concept held by the original framers. According to their 2011 Budget proposal, they will spend a total of $88,195.00, of which $43,191.00 will be spent on salaries and a 12% fringe benefits package. This means that 48% of their budget will be spent on salaries.

Is this upsetting? The original Articles of Incorporation show how far afield this organization has gone. They state:

"The Corporation [EBNHS] is irrevocably dedicated to and operated exclusively for non-profit purposes; and no part of the income or assets of the Corporation shall be distributed to nor inure to the benefit of its Members, Directors, Officers, or any other individual, except that the Corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in this article; such purposes shall include the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).

Now I understand that by laws can be changed due to circumstance, like having 13 directors and only half of them required to be residents of the East Bluff. I can even understand having a part time director and secretary, and a loan officer, and paying them some reasonable compensation for their time, as long as they are not in the categories listed above. But what I fail to understand is how this board has decided that becoming landlords for rental properties or paying out 48% of their annual budget falls within the realm of their powers or the intentions of the original framers of this organization.

Since this Special Service Area tax is for the purposes already contained in the EVGC TIF proposal, why should we continue to fund an organization with taxpayer money when additional funds will be collected by the TIF to do the exact same work? Especially an organization that for the last two years, and possibly more, has not accomplished its stated goals.

The TIF and the City

John Sharp has written an excellent piece in the Journal Star about the upcoming East Valley Growth Cell TIF that will soon be enacted for the East Bluff and Near North Side. While his article is balanced and tries to include both sides of the argument, there is an interesting side note to the entire affair.

Now the TIF funds are at the mercy and discretion of the City Council, once it is enacted. So, since the consensus appears to agree that it will go through despite objections of residents like myself, the question really becomes WHO do I want holding the checkbook? Despite the protestations of Timothy Riggenbach, who has publicly stated he will fight the disbursement of EVGC TIF funds to the MidTown Plaza TIF, the funds generated by the TIF (Taxpayer Dollars) can be maneuvered by the City Council to other TIF areas. And while the last meeting of the TIF Advisory Committee was a show designed to give the illusion of community involvement, the charter of that Advisory Committee clearly states that they are strictly that, an advisory committee, who's information, recommendations, and findings can be disregarded in part or entirely. There is not regulation or law that prevents the City Council from doing whatever they want to do, in spite of the desires or objections of the homeowners.

Personally, I think the incumbents have lost sight of their purpose and their calling. They are not there to be Empire Builders or Dictators, but Servants of the People. We are the ones who should be telling them what we want done, how we want it done, and what we think should be the direction of our city.

Gary Sandberg, C.J. Summers, and Beth Akeson appear to have this message in their platforms. The other candidates...well, not too sure. Still checking and I will be listening very carefully on Wednesday, March 16th when we have them on the Dais at the Peoria Theater starting at 6 p.m. Will you?