Local: While I was away …

Due to my devotion to the Peoria Blogosphere, I had to miss Tuesday’s meeting of the Peoria City Council. Alas, instead is sitting in the Council Chambers listing to politicicians debate sidewalk policy, I was forced to sit in a bar and socialize with bunch of interesting people and C.J. Summers for several hours, and enjoy a delicious meal at the same time. I suffer so much for you people.

Anyway, here are the minutes from that meeting. Let it take the place of any liveblogging I would have done otherwise.

OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS:

: OF THE CITY OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS :

A Special Meeting of the City Council of Peoria, Illinois, was held on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, at 5:45 P.M., City Hall, Room 400 Council Chambers, 419 Fulton Street, Peoria, Illinois, with proper notice having been given for the purpose of discussing the City of Peoria Preliminary Operating Budget for 2008, the Preliminary 2008 Capital Budget and 2008-2012 Capital Improvement Program and related issues, with Mayor Jim Ardis presiding.

ROLL CALL

Roll call showed the following Council Members physically present: Gulley, Jacob, Manning, Montelongo (arrived at 7:00 P.M.), Sandberg, Spain, Spears, Turner, Van Auken, Mayor Ardis – 10; Absent: Nichting – 1.

Others present at the Special Meeting were: City Manager Randy Oliver, Assistant City Manager Craig Whitehead, Senior Staff Attorney Cliff Mitchell, Communications Officer Alma Brown, Finance Director/Comptroller Jim Scroggins, Budget Coordinator Jan Little, Director of Public Works Dave Barber, Senior City Engineer Jane Gerdes, Public Works Program & Budget Administrator Julie Dewey, Operations & Maintenance Engineer Steve Myers, Director of Planning and Growth Management Pat Landes, Assistant Director of Planning and Growth Management Ross Black, Senior Urban Planner Jim Martin, Director of Inspections John Kunski, Director of Information Services Cathy Roger, Information Systems Operations Manager Mike King, Development Specialist Susan Schlupp, Director of Peoria Animal Welfare Shelter Lauren Malmberg, Management Analyst Rhonda Larsen, Director of Human Resources Patrick Parsons, Patient Advocate/Human Resources Coordinator Janet Tomlins, Risk Manager Ed Hopkins, Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard, Police Captain Phil Korem, Police Captain Lisa Snow, Police Management Analyst Aloysia George, Fire Chief Kent Tomblin, Assistant Fire Chief Curt Simpson, Police Lieutenant Phil Benne, ECC Manager Dave Tuttle, City Clerk Mary Haynes, Chief Deputy City Clerk Beth Ball, members of the media, and interested citizens.

INVOCATION & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mayor Ardis requested a moment of silent prayer or silent reflection, and then he led the Pledge of Allegiance.

ANNOUNCEMENT Regarding PUBLIC HEARING at MARK BILLS SCHOOL

Mayor Ardis announced that the Traffic Commission will be holding a Public Hearing regarding the installation of a gate on Sedley Avenue between Mooring Way and Verner Drive, which is currently closed to construction traffic, on Tuesday, November 6, 2007, at 6:30 P.M. at Mark Bills School, 6001 N. Frostwood Parkway, in the cafeteria. He said for those who were not able to attend the Public Hearing, they could make written comments before the date of the meeting to trafficeng@ci.peoria.il.us or call 494-8802 between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

(07-569) DISCUSSION Regarding the City of Peoria Preliminary Operating Budget for 2008, the Preliminary 2008 Capital Budget and 2008-2012 Capital Improvement Program and Related Issues.

Mayor Ardis said, in discussion at the last Budget Meeting, the Council came to the realization there was a fixed amount of funds in the Capital Budget and they acknowledged that if funding

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was needed for one project, then funding would have to be taken from another project. He encouraged the Council to provide direction to the City Manager.

City Manager Randy Oliver distributed a copy of a replacement page for the 2007 Active CIP Projects Financial Summary dated September 30, 2007, showing a change regarding Districts for the Northmoor Road/Allen Road to Knoxville project to all members of the Council. He said new CIP sheets were provided on October 23, 2007. He also stated Council Member Turner requested two additional sidewalk projects, and that information was included. He said a policy question that would need to be addressed by the City Council regarded District #150 sidewalk priorities. He explained that District #150 wanted to focus on sidewalks for their properties, and the Council may want to focus on the properties that lead to the school properties.

City Manager Oliver gave an overview of information that was provided in the October 23, 2007, information that was distributed. He referred to the five-year budgeting forecast and he said, as a focus on the year 2009 and out, the economy at various points in time could impact those numbers. He added this needed to be reviewed carefully because in looking at the Operating Budget, the expense side had been brought down, but expenses and revenues should grow at the same rate, or ideally the revenues should grow faster than expenses. He said the City was not at that point yet, and the City needed some time to prepare for that. He requested direction from the Council regarding which projects they would like to place additional financial emphasis on, and which projects should be delayed.

Mayor Ardis also stated a ranking sheet for capital projects had been distributed to the Council and he requested that Council Members set their priorities so these would be in place for the Legislative Breakfast with State Representatives and State Senators that would be held at 8:00 A.M. on Wednesday, October 31, 2007.

Council Member Turner expressed concern regarding the sidewalk issue on Antoinette and Wiswall Streets near Manual High School. He said it would take $13,000 for engineering and $87,000 for the project. He stated there was approximately $338,000 in unallocated CDBG monies that was available. He said $160,000 was needed of the unallocated CDBG monies to move forward with this project. He expressed concern that the Police Department planned to begin ticketing students in the Spring for walking in the streets. He said this sidewalk project needed to be under construction or planned to address any neighborhood problems.

Council Member Van Auken said she talked with City Manager Randy Oliver and Director of Public Works Dave Barber regarding bringing forward a sidewalk policy and then formulating a sidewalk strategy. She said the current policy was not clearly understood and it did not seem there was a strategy. She said Director Barber suggested a new strategy, after seeing it operated effectively in other communities, to take a neighborhood school and base sidewalk installation strategy on radiating out from the schools as sidewalk upgrade projects or when installing sidewalks, with the understanding that those schools were often neighborhood centers. She said this made sense to her. She said Director Barber planned to offer some ideas regarding current policy consolidations, where it would fit, prior to deciding some of the sidewalk issues. She questioned if special assessments would still be an option for sidewalks or would 100% block grant money be used for sidewalks. She said when a similar issue had been discussed for street lights, it was determined that special assessments would be used, but block grant money would be used to offset the qualified property owners’ share of the street light costs. She further questioned how Council Member Turner planned to proceed.

Council Member Turner clarified his request to use strictly block grant money. He said the citizens in the proposed area were unable to pay the additional required funding.

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Council Member Van Auken expressed concern that there were other areas of the City that had no sidewalks and she suggested that 100% be paid in those areas also. She said a special assessment could be offset by block grant money and would be inexpensive to residents over a ten-year period. She said there needed to be a consistent policy throughout the City.

Mayor Ardis said he was reluctant to take a vote designating money to a certain project based on how the Police Chief might respond to a certain situation in the Spring. He said the situation may not even be an issue in the Spring.

In response to a question by Council Member Sandberg regarding outsourcing, Director Barber confirmed that engineering for sidewalks would be conducted in-house and he explained how the costs were figured for the smaller and larger projects.

In discussion with Council Member Sandberg regarding his concern that he felt there were more costs for engineering than actual sidewalk construction, Director Barber explained the billing process for engineering services for projects.

Council Member Sandberg said there needed to be efficient programs to produce sidewalks at the lowest cost to get the most sidewalks completed with funds that were allocated. He expressed concern regarding the cost of engineering and he challenged Staff to review alternatives for constructing sidewalks.

Council Member Gulley said there were some areas in the southern portion of Peoria that already had engineering services completed for sidewalks. He further stated engineering services would be needed for Wiswall between Star and Krause Streets. He said Wiswall Street fed Harrison Homes School, Trewyn Middle School, Manual High School, and Tyng School. He said there needed to be a plan and strategy.

Mayor Ardis expressed concern that there would not be enough time prior to the Budget adoption to formulate a plan and strategy. He suggested placing sidewalk money in a fund and it would be there to be spent after a Policy Session could be held to determine a plan and strategy. He said a determination would need to be made whether or not $160,000 of available CDBG money would be used for Council Member Turner’s project.

Council Member Sandberg said engineering costs should be taken out of the Operational Budget and should not be funded out of the capital side of the budget. He expressed concern regarding the current practice. He added, if the most cost efficient manner of pouring concrete for sidewalks was to use in-house City Staff, then they should be used.

Council Member Turner moved to take $160,000 of unallocated CDBG funds to place sidewalks on one side of Antoinette and Wiswall Street; seconded by Council Member Gulley.

City Manager Randy Oliver advised that the number needed to be $200,000 according to the CIP sheet.

Council Member Turner restated his motion to take $200,000 of unallocated CDBG funds to place sidewalks on one side of Antoinette and Wiswall Street; seconded by Council Member Gulley.

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Council Member Van Auken also questioned if sidewalks would be constructed throughout the City in block grant eligible areas at 100% funding.

Mayor Ardis said the City had a policy and 100% funding was not in that policy.

Council Member Manning expressed concern that sidewalk programs seemed to change periodically. He said the programs should not change and he would like this Council to affirm and clarify what the sidewalk programs were so everyone would understand which projects fell into which category, and they could be funded accordingly. He also questioned the amount of unallocated CDBG money that was available. He said he would like to know the available amounts of monies and a list of targeted projects.

Following a brief discussion, Council Member Spears moved for a substitute motion to budget a set amount of $200,000 in CDBG funds for more sidewalks and determine a policy and how the funding should be spent at a later date; seconded by Council Member Spain.

In discussion with Council Member Turner, Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard said his Department would continue to enforce the City’s Ordinances throughout the City as needed. He said special operations, like the one at Manual High and Woodruff High School, would be conducted when most needed. He said planned school assemblies would take place to educate the students and letters would be sent to parents and, if the problems continued, then the Police Department would go back to special enforcements in those areas.

In discussion with Council Member Van Auken, City Manager Oliver stated there was $338,888 in CDBG funds available and as projects were closed out, the amount could change slightly. He noted that HUD had specific rules and the City could not spend more than a specific amount on public-type projects. He said it also needed to be clear that $200,000 in CDBG funds for sidewalks could only be used in CDBG eligible areas.

Substitute motion to budget a set amount of $200,000 of CDBG funds for more sidewalks and determine a policy and how the funding should be spent at a later date was approved by roll call vote.

Yeas: Gulley, Jacob, Manning, Sandberg, Spain, Spears, Turner,

Van Auken, Mayor Ardis – 9;

Nays: None.

Discussion was held regarding funding for the Prospect Road project and the Flora-Ellis project.

In discussion with Council Member Jacob regarding funding for street projects, Mayor Ardis stated the topic of funding and priorities would be discussed at the Legislative Breakfast with State Legislators on Wednesday morning.

Council Member Manning referred to the sheet that was distributed regarding 2007 Active CIP Projects Financial Summary and he requested when some of these projects would be closed out so the funds could be moved to other projects.

Further discussion was held regarding other project costs including TIF funds and drainage programs.

Council Member Montelongo arrived at the meeting at 7:00 P.M.

Council Member Van Auken spoke in support of moving funding forward to address one of the Form District areas in the next year. She said she felt it needed to brought forward in the next year.

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Council Member Van Auken spoke in support of funding one Form District project and to take no longer than three years to complete the project. She said the numbers, which could be high, could be split over a three-year period.

Discussion was held regarding City Hall renovation, drainage projects, and the Warehouse District Owner-Occupancy Program.

Council Member Manning said the amount in HOME funds was a fluid number and he would like to have more information. He said he felt a discussion should be held in the context of our Neighborhood Enterprise Zone discussions. He added it was his understanding this was targeted for just one area.

Assistant Director of Planning and Growth Management Ross Black explained how HOME funds could be used.

Council Member Manning expressed concern regarding the policy and he moved to place HOME funds into a fund until after a Policy discussion could be held and determine how the funds would be spent at a later time; seconded by Council member Van Auken.

Approved by roll call vote.

Yeas: Gulley, Jacob, Manning, Montelongo, Sandberg, Spain, Spears, Turner,

Van Auken, Mayor Ardis – 10;

Nays: None.

In discussion with Council Member Sandberg regarding the renovation of City Hall and the new hot water heat and chilled water system that would be installed and his concern regarding energy efficiency, Operations and Maintenance Engineer Steve Myers discussed the project and indicated there would be an analysis of energy cost differential as part of the evaluation.

Council Member Spears discussed the landfill budget and he requested a breakdown of the costs.

City Manager Randy Oliver provided a recap of requests from the City Council. He said Council Member Manning had requested anticipated close out dates on the CIP projects on the yellow sheet. He said Council Member Van Auken requested copies of the Storm Water Master Plan to be distributed, and Council Member Spears requested a breakdown of landfill costs. He said these items would be addressed in the next City Manager’s Issues Updates.

City Manager Oliver said the a Policy Session would be held regarding sidewalks on Tuesday, January 15, 2008, and a Policy Session on the use of HOME funds would be held on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, if there were no objections from the Council.

Mayor Ardis urged Council Members to review the Operating Budget, which would be discussed on November 6, 2007, and have their questions addressed in the next week prior to that meeting.

Council Member Gulley referred to the garbage tax as it related to funding the P.O.P. Team and he questioned how the funding was transferred to the Saturation Patrol. He said there was litter funding that he questioned also.

Mayor Ardis thanked City Staff members for attending the meeting to address questions from the Council.

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Clerk’s Note: The following day on October 31, 2007, at the Legislative Breakfast, it was learned that the Council set the following Road Projects as priorities: Extension of Pioneer Parkway; Upgrade of S. W. Washington Street; Sheridan-Loucks Triangle; Upgrade Prospect Road Corridor; Upgrade Northmoor Road; Upgrade Dr. Martin Luther King Drive; Allen Road Intersection with Alta Lane; Upgrade Alta Lane; Extension of Orange Prairie Road; Upgrade W. Main Street; Holly Hedges/Deveraux; and Richwoods Boulevard.

ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING a PROGRAM called OPERATION ARMORALL

Mayor Ardis announced a press release regarding a meeting that would be held at Riverside Community Church, located at 207 N. E. Monroe in Peoria, on Friday, November 2, 2007, at 2:30 P.M., regarding an opportunity to initiate a program called Operation Armorall, which was a 40-day City-wide effort to combat crime through prayer throughout the City. He urged citizens to attend and participate.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

It was determined that an Executive Session was not needed.

ADJOURNMENT

Council Member Van Auken moved to adjourn the Special City Council Meeting; seconded by Council Member Manning.

Approved by viva voce vote.

The City Council Meeting adjourned at 8:15 P. M.

Tags: Peoria City Council