Lots of folks will have their hands out seeking city cash at the next council meeting

I’m going over the agenda for the next Peoria City Council meeting

At first glance, it seems like there might be several “big stories” here. The first would be a presentation from Caterpillar and Lakeview Museum on the Museum Square, followed by a request from the city manager to approve an amendment to the existing development agreement. A copy of the document is available here (Adobe Acrobat format) and includes the following:

* A new site plan that includes an underground public parking garage in addition to additional parking spaces along Liberty, Water and Main Streets . I don’t believe this is a new development.

* The City’s financial obligation with regard to parking is to apply its Federal HPP appropriations to the construction of the parking garage and additional parking spaces. Again, I think this also was discussed previously.

* The size of the museum has been reduced from 110,000 square feet to 95,000 square feet. I’m not sure if this has been previous discussed at a meeting.

* TIF reimbursement is no longer capped at $500,000. This is new, I believe. Previously, the city administration was standing firm on the idea that it wasn’t going to pay more.

* At the end of 20 years, the parking garage will be transferred to the Museum as part of its lease, but the public parking requirement of at least 175 spaces will continue to apply. The 175 spaces would include public spaces in the parking garage and the additional parking spaces.

* Paragraph 14 of the Amendment reads, “Redevelopers agree they will not seek additional financial assistance from the City with respect to the development and construction of the Project .” The Administration would have preferred for this sentence to end with the word “City” and eliminate the phrase “with respect to the development and construction of the Project. I’m confused. If the agreement drops the $500,000 cap, isn’t the city’s commitment sort of open-ended?

Also, the the YWCA of Peoria is asking for $343,896 from the city’s Home Investment Partnership Fund for the “Glen-Mor” transitional housing project. This is actually a continuation of the “GlenPerry” project, and includes construction of six additional units. The Y would have to provide matching funds. Information on the request is here in Adobe Acrobat format.

And O’Brien Steel wants $32,643 from the city’s sidewalk replacement program to help defray the cost of repairing 716 linear feet of deteriorating sidewalk and curbs in front of it’s plant, located at 1800 N.E. Adams Street. This item is on the consent agenda, but there may be some squawking because of the assumption that the sidewalk participation program was designed to help homeowners, not businesses. Details are here in Adobe Acrobat format.

Museum Saquare,Caterpillar,Lakeview Museum,O’Brien Steel,YWCA,Glen-More,GlenPerry,homeless,Old Town North