Liveblogging: Peoria City Council
(New stuff added at the bottom: Keep refreshing)
Meeting looks to be short. Just now getting underway.
Kathleen Close being honored for being recipient of the Sam Walkton Award. Tommy Smith is joining her at the podium. Tommy is all smiles. Kathleen is giving hugs to Tommy. Mayor Ardis” This doesn’t come close to telling the story, which is a truly wonderful story.” True. Barbara Van Auken speaks about it. Oh, yeah. Now she embarrasses ME. Kathleen did all the work. And Tommy is a great. Kid. Tommy is speaking. Charming the crowd. Kathleen is speaking learned; “You can never overlook anybody.” She thanks all her coworkers. “In this case it doesn’t take a village, it takes a whole store. ”
The whole story of Kathleen and Tommy and all the great people at Wal-Mart who helped make Tommy’s life better can be found here.
One small correction on Mr. Ardis’ comments. Tommy is a 14-year employee at Wal-Mart. He’s not 14 years old.
The meeting agenda can be seen here.
Both motions regarding an anexation agenda were approved unanimously.
Consent agenda being read. Items requested to be removed: Jacob removed N,O,P. Spain abstains from O and R. Passed.
Jacob: Question about lead-based paint around Glen Oak School. Will this impact that, positive or negative. Ross Black: Positive impact. possibly more homes will get mitigation. This amendment will only increase concentration of efforts. Recomendation is to use this for rental properties. Jacob: What are we doing to market this program to rentors and lanlords? Ross: Applications at Health Department, sometimes after a child tests high for lead. Jacob wants city to be more proactive. Maybe get out in front before there is a health problem identified by tests.
Approved.
Jacob: He requests a four-week deferral to get more information. Sandberg: Would it be helpful to state the questions first? Ardis: It is OK to state them publicly, or anytime during the next money. Sandberg: Staff can contact me and I will gladly go over my concerns.
Passed animously.
Jacob: Question for Public works director Barber. If this a change in policy? Barber: Seperate MFT resolution, but we are moving overlay project becayse it’s more of a public works project than road maintenance project. No impact to budget.
Approved unaimously:
Ardis asked Director Craig Hullinger to explain. Hullinger: Grant request in advance of upcoming incentives. We have a better change of getting grant by applying two ways. Better chance of loaning money to local businesses. Can lend up to $150,000 to a local businesses. This could create a third way.
Barbara Van Auken thanks Hullinger for being proactive. Her mic keeps going out. BVA makes two motions. One for grant. one for increase in loan amounts.
Sandberg asks Hullinger: Who would match our increase. Answer: Same group.
Nichting asks Hullinger about risk. Hullinger. If we don’t get the grant, we don’t spend more. If we get the money out program gets bigger.
Item A basses.
Item B:
Jacob: Sticky situation is regional funds are used to move businesses from Peoria to outside Peoria. Hullinger: No discussions about these parameters. If they do give us this grant, your suggestion is well taken. It’s an interesting concept you’ve got. Jacob: It’s not in the best interest to taxpayers to use their funds that way. Jacob wants to make it part of the motion. This would be a friendly stipulation to the amendment. There was no objection.
Sandberg: Will all communities be asked to contribute $50,000. Vick Clark of the EDC says contribution from other communities will be on per capita basis. Sandberg; Are we entering into a contract tonight? Answer from Hullinger: Not really. Getting direction. We’re trying to act fast because they want to get in line for funds. Funds would be distributed from EDC. One job for every $10,000 you borrow. Will these regional funds be ALSO available for city of Peoria projects? Sandberg says Option B seems to be premature. No one knows the rules and relationships yet. Cant support it tonight. There are too many unanswered funds regarding funding, use of funds, amount of funds. Vicky Clark says they will come back with all this information. Agrees this is too early. EDC was being proactive. I can give you many examples of how “regional” usually ends up “city of Peoria,” in terms of funding. Ardis asks if there needs to be a vote tonight? Hullinger and Clark shake head heads no. Nichting asks this to be removed from table. Sandberg: They can come back at any time. City Attorney Randy Ray: This can come back as long as it’s on a future agenda. Sandberg: If it’s different, it’s a new item. They can bring it back as a new item. Item was never seconded. They voted to receive and file. Gulley abstains. Conflict with his business.
Mayor Ardis abstains, his employer does work with company mentioned in this motion.
Gulley: Why isn’t Harrison School or Southern Gateway on this list? Director Barber: No crystal ball, but money seems to be coming back through existing programs. Money is coming through IDOT and DOTs, health projects, revolving loan programs. We are trying to get the projects we know make good sense and get it on the list. Keeping list limited know would be eligible for revolving loan funds. There are a lot of other projects out there. We didn’t include the school projects that are on someone else’s list. This is inly a way to get us on the list should something happen. We really need to do these three separation projects at some times. Knocking money off the total cost makes sense.
Gulley: One of priorities as I’ve seen and heard is schools. In city of Peoria, we have two new schools looking to break ground. It seems that those are shovel ready. They are in neighborhoods that have sewers that need to be separated, too. Lets add those to the list so it positions us to get the funding. Barber: We are not seperating our entire system. Only at the ends of the sewer lines. He reiterated, the school district is appliying for funds too.
Gulley moved for approval.
Spain: Initial $150 billion that will come from existing agencies. We have to consider second round. Second piece is going to be open ended through earmarked spending. We need to be ready to get in the front of the line. He asked Barber what we can do in Washington to help get this second round funding. Barber: We need to keep our ears open and listen to out lobbyists in Washington. There is so much going on, we really don’t know. Make appropriate contacts through our mayor’s office. “We are keeping in contact.” “We have enough contacts out there. Congress needs to put together the plan.” “We have to wait a couple weeks and see what is adopted.
Sandberg: Who is meeting. I am not aware of any meetings I’ve missed. Says if there are meetings to determine out stimulus package, he was never informed. He questions what city is getting for approx. $42,000. Sandberg wonders about “optional services.” Barber says they are not paying or getting “optional services.” Sandberg: Says paperwork before council is concerned about billing. Says it breakdown of pay and hours comes down to about $220 hour for the work, for basically filling out applications. We’re already paid $3 million to this consultant. Barber says he didn’t bring some of the figures. Sandberg: “Each $42,000 brings us closer to $4 million, and I don’t know what we are getting.”
Nichting: Can we defer this to our next meeting. These stimulus packages are very fluid. Some of us have direct contact with Washington. Barber: We need to do a plan with the EPA to be ready. Waiting two more weeks means we get started two weeks later. That’s what these funds are for. Nichting says he is concerned about spending money without knowing what we’re spending it on. Jacob: Also concerned about lack of specifics about the cost. Motion to defer by Nichting, second by Jacob: 9-1, Gulley votes NO.
Unfurnished business:
Sandberg: Concerned about how council/management is seeking stimulus money. Seeing projects listed as priorities, when he had no input. Do we have internally of determining what out priorities are. It appears these projects are going up like fungus on the north sides of trees. He wants to know when these meetings are so he and others can go to meetings and make plea for their projects. I just want to know what the rules are.
Ardis: No conspiracy. What has happened is a list has been generated not only from Peoria but every other community. Once we understand what the rules are, we will ask the council to priority. Once that happens, Sandberg will have vote.
Sandberg: Brings up how council voted to cut library funding. Who generated the list? How do things like that happen? Whatever metrics was used to generate the list, all of us should have been involved in the discussion.
Ardis: From the city, staff generated the list. Came from list of stuff city already knew about, such as streets and repairs.
Sandberg: Was the Civic Center contacted? Did it include the other step children (besides the public works department). If meetings are being held, I want to know with who and how to you get an invitation. Are we invited the entire family. I’m not suggesting a conspiracy.
Ardis asked City Manager Holling to explain. It all started with a discussion on the council floor. In development of our business plans and our budget. We have always talked abou8t projected capital projects that lend themselves to federal funding, including this so-called stimulus plan. Some of these items were not included in the budget because there wasn’t enough. Also, council was invited to submit a list or priorities for future spending. This was six weeks ago. We want to be ready to be in line if some of these projects we already have identified do qualify for the stimulus package.
Spain: This is about projects that can create jobs within 90 days. Maybe is can include the library. The city should give strong consideration to employing a consultant or a lobbyist in Washington. This can return millions of dollars to Peoria.
Gulley: Legislative breakfast was one of the meetings. Was not secret. A Warehouse district meeting also had some discussion. Gulley says he bought up the subject, specifically regarding Southern Gateway. There will be future public meetings.
Sandberg; There are residential streets that are less than 15 years that are listed in the incentive package. This was not discussed at any legislative breakfast. Or perhaps items listed in the newspaper are incorrect.
Barber: These is nothing put together other than a list. Nothing is official. It is just a list of shovel ready projects. Just a wish list. All of it will have to come back to you for approval before we make any formal application. We tried to be as inclusive as we could. I apologize if we created any conclusion. There has been nothing clandestine or secretive going on.
Bill Spears: Will we get this coming through the states?
Barber: Will probably come through department of transportation. If we have to follow all the rules the states have, we are going to have trouble getting these projects together.
Jim Montelongo: Mob fighting at outdoor public events. He requests a report from police chief at first meeting in March to work with festival organizers to prevent or reduce these situations.
George Jacob: Questions about relationship qith Comcast, coming to us in February. Jacobs wants to know options. It seems that I’;m getting an inordinate amount of comments about that. Nichting: I want this to come to the floor. Wants a public hearing process. We have to address whether we renew their contract.
Sandberg: This council needs to know that in last 12 years, there’s been legal determination that we don’t have any control over. Council needs to be informed, along with the media. There used to be a lot more local control. We cannot over inflate out ability to do anything. There are so many purveyors of the same product that are not regulated.
Nichting: Public hearing process can be helpful.
Spears: There needs to be a place where people can complain to. He hears complaints about AMEREN Cilco, especially outages that they didn’t seem to happen years ago.
Meeting over. No discussion of Cubs Foods. No public speakers.
Off to Whiteys!
January 15th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Oh thanks for clearing that up about Tommy not being 14 years old. I was confused while listening on Tuesday night and knew Walmart can be shading but am relieved they dont have child labor! : )