I spoke with a friend of mine the other day, and he advised that he had been talking to a gentleman (who is not in the political "game") at a Heights public establishment... and that the gentleman told him, "You know, they bought that new police building for THREE times more than it's worth."
Well, they're still flailing away. Who is "they"? Why, the Peoples Party hierarchy, of course. The small gang that doesn't want ANYTHING positive happening in Peoria Heights while Uncle Earl is away from the "controls." I hate to rain on their parade again, but here goes...
The building that was purchased for the Police Department was APPRAISED at $500,000.00 by our appraiser. It was APPRAISED at $510,000.00 by the appraiser chosen by the former owner of the building. It was PURCHASED for $495,000.00; with terms of payment over 5 years, without any interest (yes, Earl... it is STILL without interest). So, the building was purchased for LESS than its appraised value.
Now, the County assessor had the building assessed at $260,000.00 or something like that. But, that's the County assessor, and it probably had not been substantially changed since the mid 80s. There's a laundry list about 26 miles long as to the problems that the assessor runs into with properties in Peoria County... so, I don't know if it was a Richwoods Township assessor who had it at that figure, or if it was a county official who came up with it, but we have no control over it. An assessment is an assessment... an appraisal is an appraisal. Ask a bank lending official which one they need before they make a property loan... and, here's a hint... it's NOT the assessed value.
This is how the People Party hierarchy operates, of course. Weaving in and out, dropping "nuggets" of their "half-truths, innuendos, and outright lies" for the population to hear... hoping that pieces of their tomfoolery will stick somewhere. It's a year and half till the next local election. I'm sure this is just the beginning.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Possible Parking Lot Purchase
The Board of Trustees is considering the purchase of a small parking lot that is along Duryea Avenue, on the west side of Prospect. It's right next to Serenity Day Spa. The lot holds 21 vehicles, one of which is for the handicapped.
Now, with all of the concerns through the years (and, I do mean the YEARS) about the lack of parking in downtown Peoria Heights, you would think this might be a no-brainer to vote in favor of, wouldn't you? Well, I believe that the majority of the Board feels that way, but there is always one who seems to have issues with everything that is attempted to be done around here, you know.
There are a couple of issues that need to be addressed, however. The appraisal obtained by the owner of the parking lot came back at $150,000.00. That sounds like a lot, but I'll get to that shortly. We had an appraisal done by an appraiser of our choosing, and he came back with a figure of roughly $67,500.00. Obviously, a huge difference of opinions regarding the value of that parking lot.
Unfortunately, I feel that the appraisal we obtained is seriously flawed. I tried to impress upon this appraiser that a parking lot in Peoria Heights, with our history of lack of parking, and the growth we've seen over the past several years along Prospect, makes the parking lot a good deal more valuable than a parking lot of the same dimensions, say, right off of upper Main Street in Peoria. My explanation(s) to him made no difference, however. He is pretty much set in his ways, and used a square footage valuation of $7.00/SF. This doesn't quite add up, however.
The appraiser of ours used four comparables (similar type properties to compare to the one being appraised), and came up with four EMPTY lots... not even parking lots already completed! One of the comparables he used was the lot where Heights Flowers used to be, and where the new Larry Herman building now stands. At the time of its sale, it was pea-gravelled and quite a ways off of where one would like to have a parking lot for Prospect... and yet THAT lot sold for $11.20/SF! Here we have a parking lot, already asphalted, already striped, and much much closer to where we need to have a lot at, and our appraiser valued it at $4.20/SF LESS.
It makes no sense. But, let's face the facts. It's pretty much impossible to FIND a comparable parking lot to this one, as no parking lot (that I'm aware of) in Peoria Heights has been up for sale in the relatively recent past. Because of all of these issues, I believe that the only true way to assess the value of the parking lot is how much it would cost to CREATE one in the Heights. I'll let your imaginations run with this one... purchase TWO houses in the Village (near Prospect of course); tear them down; haul the debris away; grade out the land; lay down asphalt; get it striped... start adding it up, and $150,000.00 starts to sound relatively good.
On top of that, the owner of the lot is willing to sell the lot to the Village for $30,000.00 a year, over 5 years (obviously), without ANY interest charged. What this parking lot would do is allow shoppers to use it during the day, without fear of being towed away, and the same for the Heights patrons during the night.
Now... just in case anyone is thinking "Don't you use MY tax money for no doggoned parking lot! They should provide their OWN parking!", I have a couple of facts for you.
Fact #1: For fiscal year 2007-2008 (our last one fully audited at this time), the amount of money that the Village received from property taxes came to $137,261.00. That's right. And, this is out of a budget with $3,136,309.00 in revenue. In short, just over 4% of the money that we receive to do EVERYTHING in the Village comes from property taxes. How many people know that fact? The $137,261.00 won't even pay for the salt we use in the winter, along with running and maintenance of the snowplows.
Fact #2: For the same fiscal year 2007-2008, the amount of money that the Village received from sales tax revenue came to $1,302,275.00! THAT figure is an astounding 42% of our revenues received.
Fact #3: This is a long standing problem, the lack of parking in the Heights. Whether it is 100% real, or the perception is the majority, it doesn't belie the fact that folks have problems finding reasonably close parking, when downtown is busy. And, we're wanting it to get busier.
So, as you can read, it is not only necessary, but absolutely imperative that our business district remains solid and, in fact, can possibly grow in sales. We HAVE to have that sales tax revenue to keep providing the services we provide. A parking lot will invite people who are a bit fearful of parallel parking on the street; and also will ADD to the PUBLIC parking spots available.
That doesn't mean we should become one big shopping mall here. I continue in my belief that the Village will only be as strong as its neighborhoods; and the most important thing for our business district(s) to be solvent is that the neighborhoods around them are safe, and to improve wherever possible. That is why we have invested in the infrastructure of the NEIGHBORHOODS at a much, much higher percentage than the previous administration did. Like I've said before: Peoria Heights requires a balancing act of sorts, as there are so many things here that have to have our attention.
This parking lot is small. It won't have a huge impact; but it is a start. Every community I travel through in Illinois, almost without fail, those that are around the size of the Heights, have public parking lots... even when their downtown areas are merely shadows of ours. It's time we catch up with the times, and take the first step towards solidifying the future of our downtown area...
Let's get some more public parking.
Now, with all of the concerns through the years (and, I do mean the YEARS) about the lack of parking in downtown Peoria Heights, you would think this might be a no-brainer to vote in favor of, wouldn't you? Well, I believe that the majority of the Board feels that way, but there is always one who seems to have issues with everything that is attempted to be done around here, you know.
There are a couple of issues that need to be addressed, however. The appraisal obtained by the owner of the parking lot came back at $150,000.00. That sounds like a lot, but I'll get to that shortly. We had an appraisal done by an appraiser of our choosing, and he came back with a figure of roughly $67,500.00. Obviously, a huge difference of opinions regarding the value of that parking lot.
Unfortunately, I feel that the appraisal we obtained is seriously flawed. I tried to impress upon this appraiser that a parking lot in Peoria Heights, with our history of lack of parking, and the growth we've seen over the past several years along Prospect, makes the parking lot a good deal more valuable than a parking lot of the same dimensions, say, right off of upper Main Street in Peoria. My explanation(s) to him made no difference, however. He is pretty much set in his ways, and used a square footage valuation of $7.00/SF. This doesn't quite add up, however.
The appraiser of ours used four comparables (similar type properties to compare to the one being appraised), and came up with four EMPTY lots... not even parking lots already completed! One of the comparables he used was the lot where Heights Flowers used to be, and where the new Larry Herman building now stands. At the time of its sale, it was pea-gravelled and quite a ways off of where one would like to have a parking lot for Prospect... and yet THAT lot sold for $11.20/SF! Here we have a parking lot, already asphalted, already striped, and much much closer to where we need to have a lot at, and our appraiser valued it at $4.20/SF LESS.
It makes no sense. But, let's face the facts. It's pretty much impossible to FIND a comparable parking lot to this one, as no parking lot (that I'm aware of) in Peoria Heights has been up for sale in the relatively recent past. Because of all of these issues, I believe that the only true way to assess the value of the parking lot is how much it would cost to CREATE one in the Heights. I'll let your imaginations run with this one... purchase TWO houses in the Village (near Prospect of course); tear them down; haul the debris away; grade out the land; lay down asphalt; get it striped... start adding it up, and $150,000.00 starts to sound relatively good.
On top of that, the owner of the lot is willing to sell the lot to the Village for $30,000.00 a year, over 5 years (obviously), without ANY interest charged. What this parking lot would do is allow shoppers to use it during the day, without fear of being towed away, and the same for the Heights patrons during the night.
Now... just in case anyone is thinking "Don't you use MY tax money for no doggoned parking lot! They should provide their OWN parking!", I have a couple of facts for you.
Fact #1: For fiscal year 2007-2008 (our last one fully audited at this time), the amount of money that the Village received from property taxes came to $137,261.00. That's right. And, this is out of a budget with $3,136,309.00 in revenue. In short, just over 4% of the money that we receive to do EVERYTHING in the Village comes from property taxes. How many people know that fact? The $137,261.00 won't even pay for the salt we use in the winter, along with running and maintenance of the snowplows.
Fact #2: For the same fiscal year 2007-2008, the amount of money that the Village received from sales tax revenue came to $1,302,275.00! THAT figure is an astounding 42% of our revenues received.
Fact #3: This is a long standing problem, the lack of parking in the Heights. Whether it is 100% real, or the perception is the majority, it doesn't belie the fact that folks have problems finding reasonably close parking, when downtown is busy. And, we're wanting it to get busier.
So, as you can read, it is not only necessary, but absolutely imperative that our business district remains solid and, in fact, can possibly grow in sales. We HAVE to have that sales tax revenue to keep providing the services we provide. A parking lot will invite people who are a bit fearful of parallel parking on the street; and also will ADD to the PUBLIC parking spots available.
That doesn't mean we should become one big shopping mall here. I continue in my belief that the Village will only be as strong as its neighborhoods; and the most important thing for our business district(s) to be solvent is that the neighborhoods around them are safe, and to improve wherever possible. That is why we have invested in the infrastructure of the NEIGHBORHOODS at a much, much higher percentage than the previous administration did. Like I've said before: Peoria Heights requires a balancing act of sorts, as there are so many things here that have to have our attention.
This parking lot is small. It won't have a huge impact; but it is a start. Every community I travel through in Illinois, almost without fail, those that are around the size of the Heights, have public parking lots... even when their downtown areas are merely shadows of ours. It's time we catch up with the times, and take the first step towards solidifying the future of our downtown area...
Let's get some more public parking.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Town Hall Meeting - October 22 - 6:30 pm
I've had several "Town Hall" meetings since 2005, where we get together and discuss what's going on in Peoria Heights; what folks want to see happen; etc. etc. The first couple I had, the turn-out was really good... the last few, it's been pretty sparse. I don't know if this is due to people just being too busy, or not really upset about anything... not sure. But, it's always good to engage in dialogue, and as anyone who knows me already knows, it's really hard to shut me up when I get going. But, I'm also a reasonably good listener, plus I'm going to throw together a couple pots of coffee, and likely some cookies, too.
The Town Hall meeting will be on Thursday October 22 at 6:30 pm. It should run an hour or so. If you can make it, please do so. I like stealing good ideas from our residents!
The Town Hall meeting will be on Thursday October 22 at 6:30 pm. It should run an hour or so. If you can make it, please do so. I like stealing good ideas from our residents!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Village Clean-Up Day
We will be meeting at 8:00 a.m. this coming Saturday (the 10th), at Village Hall, to coordinate a (hopefully, weather permitting) 2 hour neighborhood clean-up. For those of us old enough to remember the 60s, it can be verified that the litter problem today is almost a shadow of what it was back then. But, after all of the awareness through the media, word of mouth, etc. over the past several decades, it's surprising that litter is STILL a problem.
But, it is.
We'll mostly be hitting the main drags in the Heights, keeping to sidewalks wherever possible. There will be refreshments at Village Hall, so if you're going to come out to help, please give me a call at 686-2385 to let me know, so that we can have enough for everyone. Bags and gloves will be provided. Hopefully, with more awareness through the coming years, we can eradicate the littering issues (hear that, Forest Park Drive drivers?).
Special thanks go out to Village Clerk Shauna Musselman for all of her hard work in getting this good deed up and running.
But, it is.
We'll mostly be hitting the main drags in the Heights, keeping to sidewalks wherever possible. There will be refreshments at Village Hall, so if you're going to come out to help, please give me a call at 686-2385 to let me know, so that we can have enough for everyone. Bags and gloves will be provided. Hopefully, with more awareness through the coming years, we can eradicate the littering issues (hear that, Forest Park Drive drivers?).
Special thanks go out to Village Clerk Shauna Musselman for all of her hard work in getting this good deed up and running.
Monday, September 28, 2009
A Playground on Columbus...
A number of months ago, the Village Board voted in favor of purchasing a parcel of land along Columbus, bounded by Marietta and Moneta, so that this could be turned into a playground area. The fact that it is right across the street from where Kelly Avenue School used to be (along with its substantial play area) seemed to me to be fitting. One of the concepts we wanted to invite in our neighborhood impact study, was to try and offer playground and park equipment within safe walking distance of everyone who lives in the Heights.
This is really a rather tall order, as it is virtually impossible to find substantial open land in the Village. So, when this parcel of land became available, it was truly a blessing. A few weeks ago, we had the purchase of the playground equipment on the agenda. The problem was that three of our trustees were unable to make the meeting (for very important reasons). At the meeting, there were three trustees present (Trustees Owen, Pendleton, and Carter) and myself. We were able to just make the quorom with the four of us present. When the playground equipment purchase and installation came up, it was voted down, 2-1. Trustees Owen and Pendleton voted against the purchase; Trustee Carter voted in favor of the same. I threw a vote in there, too, that I was really not allowed to do. So, I thought that I had forced a tie (which really made no difference, as a tie is a defeat, as well). I further found out that I was wrong as to being able to vote to force a tie. So, in the end, the motion was defeated 2-1. Do I think it would have been approved if the other three Trustees had been able to attend the meeting? Without a doubt. But, that's the way the monkey bars sag sometimes.
Does this mean that we can never put a playground there? Luckily, it doesn't mean that. We will have to bring a NEW concept regarding the playground equipment purchase; we just cannot re-introduce the one that was defeated. So, we will be looking for Board approval in the near future for a revised concept for the same idea... a public playground at the corner of Columbus/Marietta/Moneta. The loss of the playground at Kelly Avenue School has left a void for this opportunity in that section of the Heights. We hope that it will be approved when it comes around again; and that we can bring a couple more further south in the Village in the not too distant future.
This is really a rather tall order, as it is virtually impossible to find substantial open land in the Village. So, when this parcel of land became available, it was truly a blessing. A few weeks ago, we had the purchase of the playground equipment on the agenda. The problem was that three of our trustees were unable to make the meeting (for very important reasons). At the meeting, there were three trustees present (Trustees Owen, Pendleton, and Carter) and myself. We were able to just make the quorom with the four of us present. When the playground equipment purchase and installation came up, it was voted down, 2-1. Trustees Owen and Pendleton voted against the purchase; Trustee Carter voted in favor of the same. I threw a vote in there, too, that I was really not allowed to do. So, I thought that I had forced a tie (which really made no difference, as a tie is a defeat, as well). I further found out that I was wrong as to being able to vote to force a tie. So, in the end, the motion was defeated 2-1. Do I think it would have been approved if the other three Trustees had been able to attend the meeting? Without a doubt. But, that's the way the monkey bars sag sometimes.
Does this mean that we can never put a playground there? Luckily, it doesn't mean that. We will have to bring a NEW concept regarding the playground equipment purchase; we just cannot re-introduce the one that was defeated. So, we will be looking for Board approval in the near future for a revised concept for the same idea... a public playground at the corner of Columbus/Marietta/Moneta. The loss of the playground at Kelly Avenue School has left a void for this opportunity in that section of the Heights. We hope that it will be approved when it comes around again; and that we can bring a couple more further south in the Village in the not too distant future.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Many, Many Thanks to Rep. Jehan Gordon
Rep. Jehan Gordon announced last night at our Board of Trustees meeting, that the Village would be receiving $635,000.00 for the Prospect Road work, through the State Capital Improvements fund. In other words, it will be paid for, virtually 100% with the grant. This amount of money, obviously, is huge. It will give us a head start on more projects for next fiscal year, including doing the lower part of Prospect Road, along with (hopefully) several drainage issues we have throughout the Heights.
We really cannot thank Rep. Gordon enough. She has been attentive and concerned with our needs, and we've all been very pleased with her "service" for us. Particularly in these difficult economic times, we truly appreciate all of the help and guidance she has given to the Heights. We're doing pretty well economically, but as I've discussed before, the costs of maintaining our infrastructure will continue to exceed our ability to raise revenues. That's the nature of the beast. So, we can either turn a blind eye to our infrastructure needs (not acceptable), or do all that we can to attempt to increase our revenues in the coming years.
The grant could not have come at a better time. It's been around 20 years since Prospect Road has been milled and overlaid... it's time.
Again, THANK YOU, REP. GORDON!
We really cannot thank Rep. Gordon enough. She has been attentive and concerned with our needs, and we've all been very pleased with her "service" for us. Particularly in these difficult economic times, we truly appreciate all of the help and guidance she has given to the Heights. We're doing pretty well economically, but as I've discussed before, the costs of maintaining our infrastructure will continue to exceed our ability to raise revenues. That's the nature of the beast. So, we can either turn a blind eye to our infrastructure needs (not acceptable), or do all that we can to attempt to increase our revenues in the coming years.
The grant could not have come at a better time. It's been around 20 years since Prospect Road has been milled and overlaid... it's time.
Again, THANK YOU, REP. GORDON!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Waiting on Poison Pen
It's now Friday, nearly two full days since I invited Poison Pen to come visit me, and I've yet to have a reply. I'm thinking some cold cuts, maybe even the pulled beef, from Alwan's, for lunch. Right here. I'd even set aside a few hours (or more)... as much time as Poison Pen needs. Still waiting.
Now, don't anyone out there PRETEND as though you are Poison Pen, just to get a free sandwich or two. I have my ways of verifying if the person is the REAL Poison Pen or not. I won't give away my secrets, but it has to do with karaoke and asphalt.
Now, don't anyone out there PRETEND as though you are Poison Pen, just to get a free sandwich or two. I have my ways of verifying if the person is the REAL Poison Pen or not. I won't give away my secrets, but it has to do with karaoke and asphalt.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Journal Star Mish-Mash
I don't usually read the comments that are posted on-line whenever a story is in the Journal Star about the Heights. The fact that they're able to post anonymously, and that most everyone who bothers to post is usually negative in scope, sort of skewers the whole process, in my opinion. This story regarding Trustee Owen has taken on legs of its own, however, in allowing a stalwart Earl Carter supporter to fling all kinds of accusations around about what a jerk I am. That's fine, everyone's entitled to their opinions, but this one is almost too good to pass up... here it is, in its entirety, from someone called "Poison Pen"...
"Longing....1966, maybe 1967 measures were taken to prevent PH form being surrounded...we both know the particulars. It was a great move on the part of the participants...genius in fact. And, as far as calling for a vote to cease being a separate community, to my knowledge there has never been, nor or there any citizens now who want to see that happen...ever.
Longing...let me explain my concerns...It begins with a disgruntled citizen, who approached the mayor, demanding that the mayor have PH public works tear down a building in his neighborhood.. The mayor explained to the citizen he couldn't just tear the building down, there were legal channels that had to be exhausted before they could demolish the building. The citizen told the mayor, and I'm paraphrasing, 'you're the mayor, you can do anything you want'. The mayor insisted that wasn't the way it was done, reiterating that he couldn't do what the citizen wanted until the court gave him the legal right. The citizen became angry and told the mayor, and, again, I'm paraphrasing, 'if you can't, I'll show you I can and will'. Ultimately, the court gave PH the right to demolish the building and it was torn down, but the citizen was so enraged with the mayor for refusal to do his bidding that he decided to run for mayor himself (which is everybody's right, I have no problem with system). My problem is with the citizen expecting the mayor to supercede the legal process to meet his demands and in his belief that his demand should be the first and obviously the only consideration for the mayor. Wait...it gets better.
At some point, the very same mayor appointed the citizen's BFF to the position of Fire Chief. The new Chief had his own ideas of how the fire dept should be run, but the mayor was concerned about the costs of implementing the Chief's ideas of the perfect fire dept and ambulance service. The mayor checked with Sharon Kennedy at Advanced Medical Transport and learned the Village could sign a contract with AMT, that would cost the taxpayers nothing. When the Fire Chief learned that he could lose half of his recently acquired domain if the mayor was successful in negotiating with AMT, he called his BFF, and the race was on.
My point?
We now have a mayor, duly elected in two elections, no dispute (the people had their say), who only considered running for mayor because the former mayor refused to thumb his nose at the legal procedures required to assure the Village wasn't sued.
A mayor who has no control of his temper, who throws hissy screaming fits when people don't do what he expects or orders them to do.
A mayor who thinks purchasing a whole new fleet of official vehicles, even an official car for his BFF, the fire chief, is an example of his superior administration skills. Did Chief Bill Bair have a big, new, shiny car provided by the village Longing?
A mayor who thinks it's his divine right to spend Village money on any pet project he chooses and who isn't above violating the rules of order to cast the tieing vote to keep his project from being defeated by the people we elected to determine how our money is be spent.
A mayor who believes his intellect to be sounder, superior to everyone else and therefore doesn't have to explain his reasoning or actions except to say. 'it's the right thing to do'.
My last question is...the right thing to do for who?...the people of PH or the volunteers and paramedics of the fire and ambulance service.
Call me stupid Longing, but these actions and tactics are alarming when you compare the actions and tactics of his predecessors.
I guess Monkey has decided to keep his mouth shut until he gets his act together...wonder how long that will take? Of course, learning not to go off half-****ed comes harder for some of us than others. "
I read this, and I keep thinking that the writer is describing Earl Carter. But, nope... it's me, and my "horrible" temper, blah blah blah. My first notion is to just ignore it, but I'm going to point out a couple of things.
The house in question was on my block. It was empty for about ten years. It had a hole in its roof for about seven years. Raccoons, vermin, and vagrants were hanging out inside of it. Mr. Carter drove by this house several times a day (as he lives on the same street I do), and did nothing. We (over 20 neighbors) took two petitions to the Village to ask to have the house torn down or fixed up, but nothing was ever done about it.
Yes, I finally had enough. I went to Village Hall, asked for petitions to run for mayor, was told they never have that sort of thing at Village Hall (later I was told at the County Courthouse that this was WAY out of the ordinary); and within two weeks after that, MAGICALLY the house was torn down. Was it done by the Village? Nope. It was brokered by Mr. Carter to be done by a private excavator. That excavator then placed a lien on the property for his charges. Good deal. The house was FINALLY torn down. Why did it take so long, and why did it happen so suddenly after Mr. Carter knew I was running for mayor? Simple. He wanted it removed as a campaign issue... no photos to be taken of the dilapidated house. Whatever... at least it was gone.
Mr. Carter never talked to me about the house before it was torn down. I never said to him that he could do anything because he was mayor. Hardly... we really didn't communicate with each other. You're getting quite a story there, Poison Pen... and I'll give anyone reading one guess as to who Poison Pen has been talking to.
And, don't tell me that "legally" it takes even 5 years to have a house like this addressed. We've had to do it to a few houses since I've been in office, and it takes about 6 months from beginning to end. To quote the Village Administrator at the time, tearing down the house "was not a priority with the mayor."
Earl Carter appointed the present Fire Chief based on the recommendations from the Fire Department. Mr. Carter WANTED to be able to appoint a chief of HIS choice, but even he knew that it was best to go with the Department choice, if at all possible.
Mr. Carter had plenty of time to check out the set-up AMT could present, and he chose not to pursue signing up with AMT. Don't make it sound like he was about to do so. Nothing of that sort was ever talked about at any meeting where minutes were taken.
I chose to run for mayor without consulting with any member of the Fire Department, Ambulance Service, anyone connected with the Village. I ran for one reason and one reason only... because I felt I could do better than Earl Carter. The "falling apart" house was just one of the examples of what I didn't approve of. Add the proposed Streetscape, the changes at Tower Park, the park in the flood plain, and the poor relations with the Village employees to that list.
The Fire Chief does not have a personal vehicle paid for by the Village. The EMT Leader utilizes a vehicle that is an EMT car. It is clearly marked as one. Sometimes members of the Fire Department use the same vehicle to pick up supplies, deliver items, etc. It is used for Village safety business. Again, period. The EMT leader will sometimes take the vehicle home. He lives about a half dozen blocks from Village Hall, and is on 24 hour call. They keep a full supply of safety items in the trunk of the vehicle.
I don't feel I have a "divine right" to do anything. The trustees vote to approve or turn down. It's not my baby. There are some items I have pushed for. Others I have not. I can vote to break a tie or force a tie. I believe I've forced a tie a couple of times; broken a tie maybe about a half dozen times. I rarely vote. (Special Note: I have since verified that I CANNOT vote to force a tie. I did it once, not more than that, and I was in error when I did so. I have since publicly stated the same. Don't ask me what I read to make me think that I could do that sort of vote. Obviously, whatever it was, I was way wrong in my interpretation!)
Now, Poison Pen, I understand that you don't like what's going on in the Heights now. That's fine, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. But, at least get the facts straight. That's all I ask. This is the same sort of "half truths, innuendos, and outright lies" that the Peoples Party and its periodicals have thrown about for years now. I don't expect Poison Pen to view things any differently, but here is an open invitation to Poison Pen...
Call me at 686-2385, and let's arrange a meeting. Bring as many questions as you want. Bring a friend if you want to. We'll take as long as you like. I've nothing to hide, it's all out in the open, we're audited every year.
I'll even spring for some sandwiches if you'd like.
"Longing....1966, maybe 1967 measures were taken to prevent PH form being surrounded...we both know the particulars. It was a great move on the part of the participants...genius in fact. And, as far as calling for a vote to cease being a separate community, to my knowledge there has never been, nor or there any citizens now who want to see that happen...ever.
Longing...let me explain my concerns...It begins with a disgruntled citizen, who approached the mayor, demanding that the mayor have PH public works tear down a building in his neighborhood.. The mayor explained to the citizen he couldn't just tear the building down, there were legal channels that had to be exhausted before they could demolish the building. The citizen told the mayor, and I'm paraphrasing, 'you're the mayor, you can do anything you want'. The mayor insisted that wasn't the way it was done, reiterating that he couldn't do what the citizen wanted until the court gave him the legal right. The citizen became angry and told the mayor, and, again, I'm paraphrasing, 'if you can't, I'll show you I can and will'. Ultimately, the court gave PH the right to demolish the building and it was torn down, but the citizen was so enraged with the mayor for refusal to do his bidding that he decided to run for mayor himself (which is everybody's right, I have no problem with system). My problem is with the citizen expecting the mayor to supercede the legal process to meet his demands and in his belief that his demand should be the first and obviously the only consideration for the mayor. Wait...it gets better.
At some point, the very same mayor appointed the citizen's BFF to the position of Fire Chief. The new Chief had his own ideas of how the fire dept should be run, but the mayor was concerned about the costs of implementing the Chief's ideas of the perfect fire dept and ambulance service. The mayor checked with Sharon Kennedy at Advanced Medical Transport and learned the Village could sign a contract with AMT, that would cost the taxpayers nothing. When the Fire Chief learned that he could lose half of his recently acquired domain if the mayor was successful in negotiating with AMT, he called his BFF, and the race was on.
My point?
We now have a mayor, duly elected in two elections, no dispute (the people had their say), who only considered running for mayor because the former mayor refused to thumb his nose at the legal procedures required to assure the Village wasn't sued.
A mayor who has no control of his temper, who throws hissy screaming fits when people don't do what he expects or orders them to do.
A mayor who thinks purchasing a whole new fleet of official vehicles, even an official car for his BFF, the fire chief, is an example of his superior administration skills. Did Chief Bill Bair have a big, new, shiny car provided by the village Longing?
A mayor who thinks it's his divine right to spend Village money on any pet project he chooses and who isn't above violating the rules of order to cast the tieing vote to keep his project from being defeated by the people we elected to determine how our money is be spent.
A mayor who believes his intellect to be sounder, superior to everyone else and therefore doesn't have to explain his reasoning or actions except to say. 'it's the right thing to do'.
My last question is...the right thing to do for who?...the people of PH or the volunteers and paramedics of the fire and ambulance service.
Call me stupid Longing, but these actions and tactics are alarming when you compare the actions and tactics of his predecessors.
I guess Monkey has decided to keep his mouth shut until he gets his act together...wonder how long that will take? Of course, learning not to go off half-****ed comes harder for some of us than others. "
I read this, and I keep thinking that the writer is describing Earl Carter. But, nope... it's me, and my "horrible" temper, blah blah blah. My first notion is to just ignore it, but I'm going to point out a couple of things.
The house in question was on my block. It was empty for about ten years. It had a hole in its roof for about seven years. Raccoons, vermin, and vagrants were hanging out inside of it. Mr. Carter drove by this house several times a day (as he lives on the same street I do), and did nothing. We (over 20 neighbors) took two petitions to the Village to ask to have the house torn down or fixed up, but nothing was ever done about it.
Yes, I finally had enough. I went to Village Hall, asked for petitions to run for mayor, was told they never have that sort of thing at Village Hall (later I was told at the County Courthouse that this was WAY out of the ordinary); and within two weeks after that, MAGICALLY the house was torn down. Was it done by the Village? Nope. It was brokered by Mr. Carter to be done by a private excavator. That excavator then placed a lien on the property for his charges. Good deal. The house was FINALLY torn down. Why did it take so long, and why did it happen so suddenly after Mr. Carter knew I was running for mayor? Simple. He wanted it removed as a campaign issue... no photos to be taken of the dilapidated house. Whatever... at least it was gone.
Mr. Carter never talked to me about the house before it was torn down. I never said to him that he could do anything because he was mayor. Hardly... we really didn't communicate with each other. You're getting quite a story there, Poison Pen... and I'll give anyone reading one guess as to who Poison Pen has been talking to.
And, don't tell me that "legally" it takes even 5 years to have a house like this addressed. We've had to do it to a few houses since I've been in office, and it takes about 6 months from beginning to end. To quote the Village Administrator at the time, tearing down the house "was not a priority with the mayor."
Earl Carter appointed the present Fire Chief based on the recommendations from the Fire Department. Mr. Carter WANTED to be able to appoint a chief of HIS choice, but even he knew that it was best to go with the Department choice, if at all possible.
Mr. Carter had plenty of time to check out the set-up AMT could present, and he chose not to pursue signing up with AMT. Don't make it sound like he was about to do so. Nothing of that sort was ever talked about at any meeting where minutes were taken.
I chose to run for mayor without consulting with any member of the Fire Department, Ambulance Service, anyone connected with the Village. I ran for one reason and one reason only... because I felt I could do better than Earl Carter. The "falling apart" house was just one of the examples of what I didn't approve of. Add the proposed Streetscape, the changes at Tower Park, the park in the flood plain, and the poor relations with the Village employees to that list.
The Fire Chief does not have a personal vehicle paid for by the Village. The EMT Leader utilizes a vehicle that is an EMT car. It is clearly marked as one. Sometimes members of the Fire Department use the same vehicle to pick up supplies, deliver items, etc. It is used for Village safety business. Again, period. The EMT leader will sometimes take the vehicle home. He lives about a half dozen blocks from Village Hall, and is on 24 hour call. They keep a full supply of safety items in the trunk of the vehicle.
I don't feel I have a "divine right" to do anything. The trustees vote to approve or turn down. It's not my baby. There are some items I have pushed for. Others I have not. I can vote to break a tie or force a tie. I believe I've forced a tie a couple of times; broken a tie maybe about a half dozen times. I rarely vote. (Special Note: I have since verified that I CANNOT vote to force a tie. I did it once, not more than that, and I was in error when I did so. I have since publicly stated the same. Don't ask me what I read to make me think that I could do that sort of vote. Obviously, whatever it was, I was way wrong in my interpretation!)
Now, Poison Pen, I understand that you don't like what's going on in the Heights now. That's fine, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. But, at least get the facts straight. That's all I ask. This is the same sort of "half truths, innuendos, and outright lies" that the Peoples Party and its periodicals have thrown about for years now. I don't expect Poison Pen to view things any differently, but here is an open invitation to Poison Pen...
Call me at 686-2385, and let's arrange a meeting. Bring as many questions as you want. Bring a friend if you want to. We'll take as long as you like. I've nothing to hide, it's all out in the open, we're audited every year.
I'll even spring for some sandwiches if you'd like.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Diagonal Parking on Prospect?
A certain Heights business owner has consistently thrown out the need to return diagonal parking along Prospect, likely from Kelly Avenue on north... that this would help "solve the parking issues" in the Village, and possibly slow traffic down. When I say "return," I mean that diagonal parking was on Prospect (from what I've been told) up until the late 50s to early, early 60s.
Would this concept work again? Maybe... if it was 1961.
I do have to admit it would probably slow traffic down... to a complete standstill, mostly due to accidents.
Do you know what the average traffic count for this area of Prospect is? About THIRTEEN THOUSAND a day. It's an extremely busy road. Have you ever tried backing out of a diagonal parking spot at the Peoria post offices, on a reasonably busy day? Invariably, a van or a truck will park on one side or both sides of your vehicle... and you have to inch out... slowly, slowly... and hope to High Heaven that the traffic behind you is going slow, and that the drivers are watching for you, and... and...
And, that's at the POST OFFICE parking lot.
Well, try doing that with the traffic that goes along Prospect each and every day. The odds for collisions would increase dramatically. On top of that, if you have diagonal parking along Prospect, you will now have to condense the four lanes to two lanes of travel, as the road is not wide enough to do it any other way, if diagonal parking was brought back. So, the traffic (remember, THIRTEEN THOUSAND vehicles per day), that normally travels in the north or southbound TWO lanes would now be traveling in ONE north or southbound lane. The traffic along Prospect that someone would be trying to back into, for all intent and purpose, would now be DOUBLED in numbers.
You're going to need a lot more than just good luck to back out safely. You're going to need a helicopter to lift you out of your spot.
Not to mention the havoc that would be caused with two lanes of travel, when a semi-truck stops to deliver goods to a business... that's right, traffic will STOP behind that truck till it moves. Because there is no longer any other lane to go into. The semi-trucks cannot negotiate the turns on the side streets, let alone the alleys behind the businesses, to try and deliver BEHIND the stores. They simply have to deliver at the front.
What does this all sound like to you? It sounds like a total and complete MESS to me. And, a dangerous one at that.
There are those who wish that things could be like they were in 1961... when Peoria Heights was pretty much the northern-most destination along Prospect. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'd be surprised if the traffic count exceeded 1,000 cars a day back then. Well, since it is unlikely that we will ever see 1961 traffic count numbers again... it would be nice if those who expound on these "solutions" (i.e. diagonal parking on Prospect), would spend some time doing a very simple thing.
That would be: checking the calendar, in order to be reminded what year it is.
Would this concept work again? Maybe... if it was 1961.
I do have to admit it would probably slow traffic down... to a complete standstill, mostly due to accidents.
Do you know what the average traffic count for this area of Prospect is? About THIRTEEN THOUSAND a day. It's an extremely busy road. Have you ever tried backing out of a diagonal parking spot at the Peoria post offices, on a reasonably busy day? Invariably, a van or a truck will park on one side or both sides of your vehicle... and you have to inch out... slowly, slowly... and hope to High Heaven that the traffic behind you is going slow, and that the drivers are watching for you, and... and...
And, that's at the POST OFFICE parking lot.
Well, try doing that with the traffic that goes along Prospect each and every day. The odds for collisions would increase dramatically. On top of that, if you have diagonal parking along Prospect, you will now have to condense the four lanes to two lanes of travel, as the road is not wide enough to do it any other way, if diagonal parking was brought back. So, the traffic (remember, THIRTEEN THOUSAND vehicles per day), that normally travels in the north or southbound TWO lanes would now be traveling in ONE north or southbound lane. The traffic along Prospect that someone would be trying to back into, for all intent and purpose, would now be DOUBLED in numbers.
You're going to need a lot more than just good luck to back out safely. You're going to need a helicopter to lift you out of your spot.
Not to mention the havoc that would be caused with two lanes of travel, when a semi-truck stops to deliver goods to a business... that's right, traffic will STOP behind that truck till it moves. Because there is no longer any other lane to go into. The semi-trucks cannot negotiate the turns on the side streets, let alone the alleys behind the businesses, to try and deliver BEHIND the stores. They simply have to deliver at the front.
What does this all sound like to you? It sounds like a total and complete MESS to me. And, a dangerous one at that.
There are those who wish that things could be like they were in 1961... when Peoria Heights was pretty much the northern-most destination along Prospect. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'd be surprised if the traffic count exceeded 1,000 cars a day back then. Well, since it is unlikely that we will ever see 1961 traffic count numbers again... it would be nice if those who expound on these "solutions" (i.e. diagonal parking on Prospect), would spend some time doing a very simple thing.
That would be: checking the calendar, in order to be reminded what year it is.
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Costs of Maintaining Prospect Road
One of our trustees received a somewhat scathing e-mail from a disgruntled Heights citizen; angry about the cost of the mill and overlay for the upper 2/3 of Prospect Road, from the railroad tracks north to Kingman. The citizen accused the trustee of not being "fiscally responsible" and "caving in" to the "pressure" from me.
First, the plan to mill and overlay this area has been under consideration for several months. Why? Because it really needs to be done. It's been anywhere from 15-20 years since the last mill and overlay in this area, and it shows. There are costs to maintaining the road in the condition it's in, just to keep it safe to drive and walk across. It's time that the mill and overlay is done.
The costs to do so rose considerably due to the stimulus plan, and that was unforeseen when the original plans and costs were drawn up by our engineers. Why did the stimulus plan cause costs to rise so much? Because the companies who can do this sort of work are BUSY. Big time busy. And, when they're busy, their costs go up. They don't NEED to have the job. Simple economics; that's the way it is.
Now, one might ask, couldn't the Board wait for the costs to go down? We considered that. Wait till next year... maybe the year after... muddle through with the repairs until we can get the costs down. Problem is, the stimulus money will be trickling all over the U.S. for at least the next couple of years. On top of that, costs will rise just because over the same time period. We could not be certain that the costs would go down; and there was a likelihood that they would go up.
We also have received just under $85,000.00 from the stimulus plan for the mill and overlay, for this year. If we did not do the work this year, that money would be lost. After careful consideration, we arrived at the conclusion that even though we didn't like the way the costs had gone up (somewhat artificially), the facts are the facts: Prospect Road needs the repairs.
The disgruntled citizen also heaped anger towards the trustee for the "fiscally irresponsible" use of "our tax money." Is the mill and overlay of Prospect Road a LUXURY item? Something we can do without? It's the main artery of Peoria Heights. It takes a lot of road beating. Should we just spread gravel over it or something? The infrastructure of Peoria Heights needs attention... that's what we have worked hard at doing, and the work cannot be done for free, obviously. Moreover, do you know how much money the Village gets from property taxes? About $150,000.00. That's right. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Out of a THREE MILLION DOLLAR budget. The vast majority of the money we need to do ALL of the work we do comes from sales tax and state income tax. Without the businesses making money in the Heights, we would have to shut down.
There's a laundry list of things that I wish would have been done 5-10 years ago, but they weren't. Prospect Road maintenance is one of them. The previous administration wanted to take care of Prospect with Streetscape. That would have cost $5-6 million, in 2005 dollars. I wonder what the disgruntled citizen would have had to say about that... or, maybe that would have been okay to him/her. Regardless, here we are, and it falls upon us to address the issues: that's why we've spent nearly $450,000.00 over the past four years for the curb and sidewalk program; why the flooding at Columbus and Moneta was FINALLY addressed and corrected; why Monroe Avenue was milled and overlaid just last year; why the beginning of putting in storm sewers and curbs along Boulevard was done; the list goes on.
It could be the disgruntled citizen thinks the Heights is just a bank, and the savings can only be used for what he/she deems to be important, and to heck with the rest; or maybe there are other issues, possibly political, involved; or maybe he/she is simply sincere on feeling any work on Prospect is wrong, unless it is done for the amount he/she feels is acceptable; or possibly he/she doesn't understand the economics involved when a huge project like the stimulus plan comes into being. I don't know.
But, the work needs to be done.
First, the plan to mill and overlay this area has been under consideration for several months. Why? Because it really needs to be done. It's been anywhere from 15-20 years since the last mill and overlay in this area, and it shows. There are costs to maintaining the road in the condition it's in, just to keep it safe to drive and walk across. It's time that the mill and overlay is done.
The costs to do so rose considerably due to the stimulus plan, and that was unforeseen when the original plans and costs were drawn up by our engineers. Why did the stimulus plan cause costs to rise so much? Because the companies who can do this sort of work are BUSY. Big time busy. And, when they're busy, their costs go up. They don't NEED to have the job. Simple economics; that's the way it is.
Now, one might ask, couldn't the Board wait for the costs to go down? We considered that. Wait till next year... maybe the year after... muddle through with the repairs until we can get the costs down. Problem is, the stimulus money will be trickling all over the U.S. for at least the next couple of years. On top of that, costs will rise just because over the same time period. We could not be certain that the costs would go down; and there was a likelihood that they would go up.
We also have received just under $85,000.00 from the stimulus plan for the mill and overlay, for this year. If we did not do the work this year, that money would be lost. After careful consideration, we arrived at the conclusion that even though we didn't like the way the costs had gone up (somewhat artificially), the facts are the facts: Prospect Road needs the repairs.
The disgruntled citizen also heaped anger towards the trustee for the "fiscally irresponsible" use of "our tax money." Is the mill and overlay of Prospect Road a LUXURY item? Something we can do without? It's the main artery of Peoria Heights. It takes a lot of road beating. Should we just spread gravel over it or something? The infrastructure of Peoria Heights needs attention... that's what we have worked hard at doing, and the work cannot be done for free, obviously. Moreover, do you know how much money the Village gets from property taxes? About $150,000.00. That's right. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Out of a THREE MILLION DOLLAR budget. The vast majority of the money we need to do ALL of the work we do comes from sales tax and state income tax. Without the businesses making money in the Heights, we would have to shut down.
There's a laundry list of things that I wish would have been done 5-10 years ago, but they weren't. Prospect Road maintenance is one of them. The previous administration wanted to take care of Prospect with Streetscape. That would have cost $5-6 million, in 2005 dollars. I wonder what the disgruntled citizen would have had to say about that... or, maybe that would have been okay to him/her. Regardless, here we are, and it falls upon us to address the issues: that's why we've spent nearly $450,000.00 over the past four years for the curb and sidewalk program; why the flooding at Columbus and Moneta was FINALLY addressed and corrected; why Monroe Avenue was milled and overlaid just last year; why the beginning of putting in storm sewers and curbs along Boulevard was done; the list goes on.
It could be the disgruntled citizen thinks the Heights is just a bank, and the savings can only be used for what he/she deems to be important, and to heck with the rest; or maybe there are other issues, possibly political, involved; or maybe he/she is simply sincere on feeling any work on Prospect is wrong, unless it is done for the amount he/she feels is acceptable; or possibly he/she doesn't understand the economics involved when a huge project like the stimulus plan comes into being. I don't know.
But, the work needs to be done.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Peoria Heights Night at O'Brien Field
When?
July 22 at O'Brien Field. Peoria Chiefs vs. Lansing Lugnuts.
Gates open at 6:00 pm.
FREE tickets are available at Village Hall, for kids ages 13 and below ONLY. Parent or guardian needs to come with the kids to Village Hall, ask for Administrator Matt Fick, and you will get up to 2 free tickets for the kids, so long as you provide ID showing you're a resident of the Heights.
150 FREE tickets are available ONLY, so get to Village Hall early.
150 discount tickets are also available, at $5.00 a ticket (regularly $9.00 each) to Heights residents and Village employees. At Village Hall, as well.
When those 300 are gone, they're gone... but don't let that stop you from attending! We need as many Peoria Heights residents and friends in the crowd as possible, to help make it a very memorable night! I'm trying to get my wife, Kathleen, out to the ballpark... don't know how much luck I'll have.
If you have any questions, give me a call at 686-2385.
July 22 at O'Brien Field. Peoria Chiefs vs. Lansing Lugnuts.
Gates open at 6:00 pm.
FREE tickets are available at Village Hall, for kids ages 13 and below ONLY. Parent or guardian needs to come with the kids to Village Hall, ask for Administrator Matt Fick, and you will get up to 2 free tickets for the kids, so long as you provide ID showing you're a resident of the Heights.
150 FREE tickets are available ONLY, so get to Village Hall early.
150 discount tickets are also available, at $5.00 a ticket (regularly $9.00 each) to Heights residents and Village employees. At Village Hall, as well.
When those 300 are gone, they're gone... but don't let that stop you from attending! We need as many Peoria Heights residents and friends in the crowd as possible, to help make it a very memorable night! I'm trying to get my wife, Kathleen, out to the ballpark... don't know how much luck I'll have.
If you have any questions, give me a call at 686-2385.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Peoria Heights Full-Time EMT Unit
For many years, Peoria Heights was able to survive, sometimes thrive, with an all-volunteer ambulance service. Particularly during the 1960s and 70s, when Pabst was going great-guns around the clock, there were plenty of volunteers available during the first shift (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Over time, that working landscape has changed dramatically, and with it, the strength of the "round the clock" volunteer service.
There's no point to going over what was happening over the past several years with the volunteer service. For the most part, it was working, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to get volunteers, especially for that first shift, because that's when most of the working folks today work. We had several calls for emergency people that could not be responded to, because no volunteers were available. AMT (American Medical Transport) would pick up the load, IF they were in the area, and IF they had nothing else to respond to in their own territory (not Peoria Heights). Oft times, we had to rely on volunteers from West Peoria or Dunlap. In short, it was becoming problematic.
We decided that we had to address the problem, and we did. We began having a round-the-clock paid staff, Basic Life Support, who could respond at any time, and arrive to the emergency quickly. Under the leadership of Director Kenny Martin, and Fire Chief Norm Reichert, the service has received kudos and accolades from many in the medical community. Now, we are taking another step forward... by becoming an Advance Life Support service, with a paramedic available on every shift.
The decision to become an Advanced unit was approved by the Board of Trustees, in a 5-1 vote. Only Trustee Andrea Pendleton voted against the advanced service.
Why is it important for the Village to have its own ambulance service? Because it ties directly into our Fire Department service. If we do not have our own ambulance service, arriving at the scene of a fire, we very likely will be unable to provide any life-saving services by the fireperson attending. Waiting for AMT, or any other private service, to arrive might take a while. The lack of providing life-saving ambulance service could put our Fire Department in jeopardy sometime in the future, as the State of Illinois licenses Volunteer Fire Services. If we were no longer provided with that licensing, we would be forced to contract the City of Peoria for our fire service. The costs of doing so would be prohibitive. Fire fighting is not cheap.
Additionally, the cost of receiving emergency treatment from the Heights EMT service is roughly HALF the cost of receiving it from a private service. It's one more advantage to living in Peoria Heights.
There's no point to going over what was happening over the past several years with the volunteer service. For the most part, it was working, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to get volunteers, especially for that first shift, because that's when most of the working folks today work. We had several calls for emergency people that could not be responded to, because no volunteers were available. AMT (American Medical Transport) would pick up the load, IF they were in the area, and IF they had nothing else to respond to in their own territory (not Peoria Heights). Oft times, we had to rely on volunteers from West Peoria or Dunlap. In short, it was becoming problematic.
We decided that we had to address the problem, and we did. We began having a round-the-clock paid staff, Basic Life Support, who could respond at any time, and arrive to the emergency quickly. Under the leadership of Director Kenny Martin, and Fire Chief Norm Reichert, the service has received kudos and accolades from many in the medical community. Now, we are taking another step forward... by becoming an Advance Life Support service, with a paramedic available on every shift.
The decision to become an Advanced unit was approved by the Board of Trustees, in a 5-1 vote. Only Trustee Andrea Pendleton voted against the advanced service.
Why is it important for the Village to have its own ambulance service? Because it ties directly into our Fire Department service. If we do not have our own ambulance service, arriving at the scene of a fire, we very likely will be unable to provide any life-saving services by the fireperson attending. Waiting for AMT, or any other private service, to arrive might take a while. The lack of providing life-saving ambulance service could put our Fire Department in jeopardy sometime in the future, as the State of Illinois licenses Volunteer Fire Services. If we were no longer provided with that licensing, we would be forced to contract the City of Peoria for our fire service. The costs of doing so would be prohibitive. Fire fighting is not cheap.
Additionally, the cost of receiving emergency treatment from the Heights EMT service is roughly HALF the cost of receiving it from a private service. It's one more advantage to living in Peoria Heights.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Open House
If anyone out there has a question or questions about Peoria Heights, and what's going on (or should be going on) here, please ask away, and I'll do my best to give a full reply.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Friday, May 8, 2009
IDOT Nightmares
Anyone who has paid any attention to some of my sore points over the past few years will know that the conditions along Galena Road are probably #1. I've lived off of Galena Road since 1983, and my wife has lived the same since 1964. In other words, we know Galena Road.
Representatives from IDOT recently brought the plan for "upgrades" along Galena Road for us to view. Their main plan is to install a center turn lane along Galena Road, through Peoria Heights. On the surface, that sounds like a brilliant plan. A center turn lane makes for a wonderful "rear end" collision deterrent... and Lord knows we've had far too many of those through the years.
That being said, there's more to the "basket case" that is Galena Road, than just the rear end accidents. Additionally, the lay of the land (river, railroad tracks, bluffs) along Galena Road makes it very very difficult to even consider widening it for a center turn lane. Honestly, I thought that the study regarding the center turn lane would show that it really could not be done properly. Then, IDOT might move ahead with lowering the speed limit, and allowing for traffic signal lights to be installed... silly me.
The number one problem along Galena Road, as anyone who is familiar with the situation can easily attest to, is the SPEED of the passing vehicles along the road. But, instead of addressing this number one problem, IDOT has appeared to have come up with a plan that will only make it worse.
This new plan does NOT include the lowering of the speed limit; does NOT include any installation of traffic signal lights; but, with the installation of a center turn lane, almost certainly WILL include the opportunity for the vehicles to go even faster. And, I would wager to say that the rear end accidents we have along the road are directly tied to the excessive SPEED of the vehicles coming up from behind. Lower the speed limit, and I'll virtually guarantee that the rear end accident counts will be significantly lowered... even without a center turn lane.
To those of us who live and work on or near Galena Road, it would seem to be a no-brainer to have the speed limit lowered. Again, the operative word is "seem." Virtually all of the fatalities over the past generation along Galena Road (and there have been more than a few), I believe came as a result of vehicles pulling FROM a side street or business, into the path of a SPEEDING vehicle. Without addressing the speed issues, this plan from IDOT will not do what it should be doing.
Widening Galena Road also will have quite an effect on the houses and businesses on the west side of the road. Some will now have 10-20 ft. retaining walls; others will be losing about half of what is presently in front of their buildings. It's problematic. All for a center turn lane.
We were also asked to pay for the cost of the moving of the water mains. The cost? Likely $2-$3 million dollars! Well, we can't pay that. We don't have it. We do pretty well in revenues, but not well enough to cover that without causing distress in the other areas of the Heights we have to cover... you know, like public safety, street upgrades, silly things like that. In other words, we have to pay towards a project we really didn't ask for, and still have no say in regards to the speed, signal lights, etc. that we desperately NEED for not only safety, but also for any potential commercial upgrades along Galena Road.
The widening also does away with the shoulders on the road. So, without addressing the speeding issues, we now will be expecting those in a broken down vehicle, those delivering mail or packages, to PARK or move very slowly in a through lane, with vehicles approaching from behind at God knows what speed, and... Sounds very dangerous to me. This really might make the potential for rear end collisions even greater.
Before I became mayor, I always wondered why the heck nothing could be done about the problems on Galena Road... why the speed limit couldn't be lowered... why traffic signal lights couldn't be put in... and now I know why. It's a four letter word, and it's IDOT.
I don't like being a "wet blanket." I know that IDOT has put a lot of time, and a lot of tax money into where they are now regarding the plans for Galena Road. But, IDOT also needs to listen to those of us who will be directly impacted by not only their lack of addressing the issues so far, but how their future addressing might be detrimental. Again, however, the operative word is "listen."
IDOT is shooting for a late summer public meeting about this plan. Anyone who has concerns about what I've outlined, please give me a call at 688-6869, and we can discuss it. Maybe this is a plan that the residents will want... but I sort of doubt it. Galena Road, and our inability to get any relief from IDOT regarding its issues, has truly been my biggest headache so far... I hope and pray every day that there is no fatality, or major injury, from a car accident along Galena Road. Because, you see, I really do know about Galena Road. You have to live and/ or work in this area to truly understand it.
I'm pretty sure that no one from IDOT does.
Representatives from IDOT recently brought the plan for "upgrades" along Galena Road for us to view. Their main plan is to install a center turn lane along Galena Road, through Peoria Heights. On the surface, that sounds like a brilliant plan. A center turn lane makes for a wonderful "rear end" collision deterrent... and Lord knows we've had far too many of those through the years.
That being said, there's more to the "basket case" that is Galena Road, than just the rear end accidents. Additionally, the lay of the land (river, railroad tracks, bluffs) along Galena Road makes it very very difficult to even consider widening it for a center turn lane. Honestly, I thought that the study regarding the center turn lane would show that it really could not be done properly. Then, IDOT might move ahead with lowering the speed limit, and allowing for traffic signal lights to be installed... silly me.
The number one problem along Galena Road, as anyone who is familiar with the situation can easily attest to, is the SPEED of the passing vehicles along the road. But, instead of addressing this number one problem, IDOT has appeared to have come up with a plan that will only make it worse.
This new plan does NOT include the lowering of the speed limit; does NOT include any installation of traffic signal lights; but, with the installation of a center turn lane, almost certainly WILL include the opportunity for the vehicles to go even faster. And, I would wager to say that the rear end accidents we have along the road are directly tied to the excessive SPEED of the vehicles coming up from behind. Lower the speed limit, and I'll virtually guarantee that the rear end accident counts will be significantly lowered... even without a center turn lane.
To those of us who live and work on or near Galena Road, it would seem to be a no-brainer to have the speed limit lowered. Again, the operative word is "seem." Virtually all of the fatalities over the past generation along Galena Road (and there have been more than a few), I believe came as a result of vehicles pulling FROM a side street or business, into the path of a SPEEDING vehicle. Without addressing the speed issues, this plan from IDOT will not do what it should be doing.
Widening Galena Road also will have quite an effect on the houses and businesses on the west side of the road. Some will now have 10-20 ft. retaining walls; others will be losing about half of what is presently in front of their buildings. It's problematic. All for a center turn lane.
We were also asked to pay for the cost of the moving of the water mains. The cost? Likely $2-$3 million dollars! Well, we can't pay that. We don't have it. We do pretty well in revenues, but not well enough to cover that without causing distress in the other areas of the Heights we have to cover... you know, like public safety, street upgrades, silly things like that. In other words, we have to pay towards a project we really didn't ask for, and still have no say in regards to the speed, signal lights, etc. that we desperately NEED for not only safety, but also for any potential commercial upgrades along Galena Road.
The widening also does away with the shoulders on the road. So, without addressing the speeding issues, we now will be expecting those in a broken down vehicle, those delivering mail or packages, to PARK or move very slowly in a through lane, with vehicles approaching from behind at God knows what speed, and... Sounds very dangerous to me. This really might make the potential for rear end collisions even greater.
Before I became mayor, I always wondered why the heck nothing could be done about the problems on Galena Road... why the speed limit couldn't be lowered... why traffic signal lights couldn't be put in... and now I know why. It's a four letter word, and it's IDOT.
I don't like being a "wet blanket." I know that IDOT has put a lot of time, and a lot of tax money into where they are now regarding the plans for Galena Road. But, IDOT also needs to listen to those of us who will be directly impacted by not only their lack of addressing the issues so far, but how their future addressing might be detrimental. Again, however, the operative word is "listen."
IDOT is shooting for a late summer public meeting about this plan. Anyone who has concerns about what I've outlined, please give me a call at 688-6869, and we can discuss it. Maybe this is a plan that the residents will want... but I sort of doubt it. Galena Road, and our inability to get any relief from IDOT regarding its issues, has truly been my biggest headache so far... I hope and pray every day that there is no fatality, or major injury, from a car accident along Galena Road. Because, you see, I really do know about Galena Road. You have to live and/ or work in this area to truly understand it.
I'm pretty sure that no one from IDOT does.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Many Thanks for a Resounding Victory
I really can't put into words the appreciation I feel for everyone who helped us score such a resounding victory. Everyone who voted; put up one or more of our signs in their yards; came to the fund-raiser; gave out good vibes... you all know who you are, and everyone had a hand in the outstanding final outcome.
We now have to put our noses to the grindstone once again. The faith that the voters showed in us will make us work even harder towards maintaining and improving Peoria Heights. Once this economy turns around, I believe even more opportunities will open up for the Village, and we will be poised to take advantage of them.
Congratulations to Bob Hill, Sherryl Carter, and Scott Owen for winning their Trustee positions. Congratulation also to Shauna Musselman for winning a second term as our Clerk.
I'm going to maintain this blog, as I think it's a good way to pass information out about what's going on in Peoria Heights. I will try to post something new and interesting at least once a month, hopefully more often.
Thanks again to EVERYONE who was involved, in any way, with this campaign! You know who you all are, and your support will never be forgotten.
Thanks- Mark
We now have to put our noses to the grindstone once again. The faith that the voters showed in us will make us work even harder towards maintaining and improving Peoria Heights. Once this economy turns around, I believe even more opportunities will open up for the Village, and we will be poised to take advantage of them.
Congratulations to Bob Hill, Sherryl Carter, and Scott Owen for winning their Trustee positions. Congratulation also to Shauna Musselman for winning a second term as our Clerk.
I'm going to maintain this blog, as I think it's a good way to pass information out about what's going on in Peoria Heights. I will try to post something new and interesting at least once a month, hopefully more often.
Thanks again to EVERYONE who was involved, in any way, with this campaign! You know who you all are, and your support will never be forgotten.
Thanks- Mark
Monday, April 6, 2009
More Desperate Measures
I just received a phone call from a resident who had received a phone call from... well, let's just say it's someone I recently referenced... and she told them that "Mark Allen is going to raise taxes on you."
Uh, no. I'm going to say this again, just for her benefit:
We're $190,000.00 AHEAD in the General Fund, than we were in February 2005, when Mr. Carter was in. No one is raising Village taxes in the Heights. Certainly not me. Certainly not the Board of Trustees.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. It sure is sad when the desperation leads to plain old lying.
Uh, no. I'm going to say this again, just for her benefit:
We're $190,000.00 AHEAD in the General Fund, than we were in February 2005, when Mr. Carter was in. No one is raising Village taxes in the Heights. Certainly not me. Certainly not the Board of Trustees.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. It sure is sad when the desperation leads to plain old lying.
Happy Talk from Trustee Pendleton
I was able to hear the phone message sent out from Trustee Andrea Pendleton, and again, she should get into reading fairy tales at the library. 'Cause that's what her diatribe is.
Once more, throwing out "higher taxes," "spending the Village away," etc. etc. etc. Here is a clue for Mrs. Pendleton:
We're $190,000.00 AHEAD of where we were after February 2005. I know you don't like to hear that, but it's true. Believe me, if we survived you and Earl's spending on Tower Park ($780,000.00) and Poplar Lane Park (sorry that I'm bringing that up again) in the amount of $225,000.00, we can survive the increased spending we've made on drainage issues; curbs and sidewalks; full-time paid ambulance staff; you know, silly things like that.
I'm not sure if we could have survived the $5 million you wanted to spend on Streetscape, and I hope we don't find out.
More of the same from Mr. Carter and Mrs. Pendleton. Fear mongering; fact twisting; fact ignoring; same old same old.
Once more, throwing out "higher taxes," "spending the Village away," etc. etc. etc. Here is a clue for Mrs. Pendleton:
We're $190,000.00 AHEAD of where we were after February 2005. I know you don't like to hear that, but it's true. Believe me, if we survived you and Earl's spending on Tower Park ($780,000.00) and Poplar Lane Park (sorry that I'm bringing that up again) in the amount of $225,000.00, we can survive the increased spending we've made on drainage issues; curbs and sidewalks; full-time paid ambulance staff; you know, silly things like that.
I'm not sure if we could have survived the $5 million you wanted to spend on Streetscape, and I hope we don't find out.
More of the same from Mr. Carter and Mrs. Pendleton. Fear mongering; fact twisting; fact ignoring; same old same old.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Big Flier from the People's Party
Well, just when I think that Earl Carter has finally gotten enough sense to stick to the facts, he sends out this huge flier entitled "Mayor Mark Allen... the illusion of success." Geez. Okay, once more he reads what he WANTS to read, and ignores the facts. Here are the facts:
1. EVERY cent paid towards the new fire department ladder truck WAS PAID under our administration. Period. I never said that we ordered the ladder truck. Carter's administration did that. What I stated was that every cent towards it (over $350,000.00) has been paid since I got in office. Once more, let's review what I placed in our pamphlet, in the section "Over the Past 4 years:"
"$350K paid on new ladder truck."
That's all that was written regarding the ladder truck.
And, it's still a fact, Earl.
2. "Painting of the Observation Tower." Earl, it was done under our administration. I didn't say that I came up with the idea. It's routine maintenance, albeit expensive maintenance. But, again here is the fact: it was voted on, approved, and paid for under OUR administration. Again, a simple fact. It was painted in July and August, 2005... three months after you left office. And, it was paid for after the painting was completed. You still weren't in office.
That's a fact, Earl.
3. "Resurfacing of Forest Park Drive." Again, Earl, I'm not saying that I came up with that plan. Once more, it's maintenance... routine maintenance. You may find this hard to believe, but Forest Park Drive had actually been surfaced and resurfaced probably several times before even YOU took office as mayor. I know that's hard to believe, but I think it's true. This was not a novel concept, dreamed up just by you. However, once more, it was voted on, approved, and paid for under our administration. It was done over the summer of 2005, and you were still out of office then, Earl.
Special insert: Why does Earl Carter think he is so brilliant for "coming up" with routine maintenance projects? I'm pointing out what was spent over the past four years, and what it was spent on, as Earl keeps throwing out this "blowing money" thing. Have we blown money on the Observation Tower painting and Forest Park resurfacing?
If any of the above projects had been paid for under the Carter administration, they would not have shown up in our pamphlet. But, they weren't, and the citizens of Peoria Heights need to know what projects have been paid for over the last three years and eleven months, particularly when my opponent continues to beat that "they're spending too much" drum.
4. Please refer below to the posting on the new police station building. The cost of adding on to Village Hall was estimated at $170-220/SF. We bought the former Williams Brothers building for a bit under $100/SF. Apparently, Earl doesn't have a Radio Shack calculator like I have, because he still thinks that adding on to Village Hall would be cheaper. Why would it "make more sense" to add on to Village Hall for the Police Department when it would have cost so much more? More importantly, if that was the case, why wasn't it added on to, say, six or seven years ago under the Carter administration?
And, Earl, the financing is interest free. I don't know why you cannot understand that. Let me try and get it across one more time. The building was purchased for $495,000.00 over a 5 year plan, with NO interest to be charged. Will I need to repeat that again?
5. Earl and his Zip Code change.
That's great that you were the one in office when it came through. You said in the article you copied, that the Heights had been trying to get its own zip code for over 20 years, which would include a number of years under former Mayor Ray Picl. So, you were the lucky one in office when it finally came through. That's grand. Thanks for being here.
Did it ever occur to you, that in this instance regarding the zip code change, that you were taking credit for something that had been going on for 19 years before you, in your own words? You're sort of doing the horrible things you're accusing me of doing with regards to the painting of the Observation Tower; Forest Park Drive; and paying the money on the ladder truck. The difference here is that you did NOT pay any money to have the zip code changed under your watch; we DID pay for all of the above named projects under our administration... but, still, you puff yourself up and act as though you were the guy who got the zip code change done. Typical. Why didn't you thank former Mayor Picl for the 19 years that he had been pushing for the change? Again, typical.
That being said, the "economic impacts" of our own zip code are way overstated by you. I can get some numbers on that perhaps before the election. But, to think that the 61616 zip code is the main reason why we have record revenues is really narrow, and honestly, silly.
To see why, review the chart below showing how revenues were steadily going down under your leadership, Mr. Carter. If the zip code was the main component of our revenues going up, then why were they going down after the code was changed?
6. If you are the sole person responsible, Earl, for the record setting revenues we are having, why did the revenues continue going down the last few years of your administration? Once more, here are the facts:
Revenues:
2001-2002 $2,792,942.00
2002-2003 $2,717,354.00
2003-2004 $2,582,947.00
2004-2005 $2,480,660.00
Once again, it appears Mr. Carter doesn't have a Radio Shack calculator like I do, because it shows that revenues had dropped by $312,282.00 over the last 4 years of the Carter administration. Period. Facts. And, wonder of wonders, the new Walgreen's was already open, along with ALL of the other businesses that Mr. Carter "brought" in.
Give me a break, Earl.
You really love yourself, I know that. But, I have a "universal truth" for you to possibly contemplate.
Here it is:
Businesses did not locate in Peoria Heights, under your tenure, because of you.
I know that is a hard pill to swallow, but it's true. Here's what I'll tell you from our end: advertising the Heights has likely played a part in our increased revenues.
We broke revenues of $3,100,000.00 this past fiscal year. Compare that to the final four years of the Carter administration. Again, Mr. Carter doesn't like to deal with facts... because, in these instances, they show him to be grossly mistaken.
7. "Blowing Taxpayer's Money"
More factual mistakes from the People's Party hierarchy. Earl, if you had taken the time to read my blog, and also perused the minutes of the Board of Trustees Meetings, you'd find that the "40% wage increases" for the Department Heads is not even close to being true. Scroll down several postings, and read it for yourself. Why you keep running with this, I just don't understand. Oh, yes I do. You don't like the facts when they don't agree to your Fantasyland.
Four police cars were not purchased "immediately" when I took office. The following year, three squad cars were purchased because our fleet was falling apart. Why? Because under Mr. Carter's administration, money was needed for the $780,000.00 payout on Tower Park, and the $225,000.00 on the park in the flood plain (sorry, I know I had promised not to mention it again). Squad cars for police safety were apparently not considered to be a priority for Mr. Carter. Concrete in Tower Park was.
And, Earl, a budget IS a guide. You never followed a budget in your entire 8 years exactly. No municipality CAN follow a budget exactly. That's the way it is. But, somehow, in your Fantasyland, things were different under you. We have a budget. You say it's "illegal" for us to use a budget as a "guide"? If so, you broke the law during your years as mayor, too.
There doesn't seem much more I can add to this silliness.
Oh, and I thanked Trustee Pendleton for getting the lower population figures that allowed us to pay less for recycling. I appreciated that she did so. But, per usual, that's not good enough. I am evil because I didn't get the information before she did.
In fact, I never did "bristle" over the lower population figures that Trustee Pendleton had obtained from the County (who came up with the "bristle" description, anyhow?). What I DID "bristle" over was Trustee Pendleton's insistence on spending $400.00 more for a phone survey about the desires for a recycling program, when we already had hundreds of HAND-WRITTEN survey responses, heavily in favor of the program. We agreed to the unnecessary phone survey, which showed about 85% in FAVOR of a recycling program in the Heights.
8. American Tower Corporation
This is a good one. In his flier, Mr. Carter states that "the Village has already received $75,000.00" for the leases. And, guess what? Mr. Carter listed that $75,000.00 as a DONATION to the Tower Park changes. You know, the ones that cost us $780,000.00. Additionally, in order to do so, Mr. Carter agreed to accept $50,000.00 up front for the tower on Toledo for the first 10 years of the lease; and to accept $25,000.00 up front for the tower off of Gardner Lane, for the first 5 years of the lease.
The actual lease costs are $8,400.00 per year for the tower on Toledo. The lease payment is $7,500.00 per year for the tower off Gardner Lane. Again, using my Radio Shack calculator, that tells me that the lease payments over 10 years for the Toledo tower should have been $84,000.00, instead of the $50,000.00 that was accepted. The lease payments for the Gardner Lane tower should have been $38,500.00 for the first five years of that lease, instead of the $25,000.00 that was accepted.
Why did Mr. Carter insist on having the $75,000.00 up front, instead of taking the $122,500.00 that would have been paid out on the leases as originally conceived? Again, that $75,000.00 was listed as a donation for the Tower Park changes.
9. "A Dictator Operating on a Whim"
Well, I was waiting for the "libelous" nature to come forth from this circular. The statement that I was responsible for the "stealthy conversion of the old library into a methadone clinic" is it.
The old library building is privately owned. It was the decision of the owner of that building to lease it to the methadone clinic. I have no more control over what goes in there than I have as to what goes into any other privately owned building in the Heights. We had our Village Attorney check into whether or not we could keep this from happening, and we were advised that we would be opening the Village up to a possible multi-million dollar lawsuit if we tried to stop it. Mr. Carter knows that.
But, now that the printed statement is in my hands, I know that my attorney will be more than happy to run with this one.
10. "Keep on rockin' Pendleton"
An editorial from the Times-Observer regarding the "heroic" actions of Trustee Pendleton calling into question everything that is done under my watch. Here's a fact:
You do not have to have competitive bids for any project under $20,000.00.
The bid from Krumholz Brothers for an improvement along Prospect Road was $11,275.00, well under the bid threshold. Additionally, Krumholz had been the low bidder in a few other projects in the Village, and was certainly known for being very reasonable in their costs. Why Krumholz? Because they had done a couple other similar projects along Prospect Road; we were happy with their work product, and wanted it to be in line with the other projects.
Another interesting factoid: Krumholz Brothers did the landscaping at Poplar Lane Park. They were used by the Carter administration.
Why do you not have to get more than one bid for a project that is under $20,000.00? Because there is a cost factor in getting bids. You have to advertise in the newspaper to go out for bids. You have to pay your engineering firm to review all of the bids. And, because all of that is done, it extends the time space that the project can be done in. So, by throwing everything out for bid, it costs the taxpayers more money.
The bid was voted 5-1 in favor of acceptance of the bid by the Board of Trustees.
11. Boulevard Avenue is a Peoria street?
There is a "gentleman's agreement" regarding the maintenance of Boulevard Avenue, and it is to be done by Peoria. However, the curbing, storm sewer line, and sidewalk installed were strictly on the Peoria Heights side of Boulevard, and certainly could not be considered to be "routine maintenance." It benefitted only Peoria Heights businesses and one resident. This area was a basket case regarding drainage, and had been long neglected. The cost was split between Peoria Heights and Peoria. That's right: Peoria paid for half of it, even though it was strictly on the Peoria Heights side. It had very little to do with the actual street; the vast majority of the work was the curbing, storm sewer line, and the sidewalk put in.
This was a good thing, and we appreciate Peoria and Mayor Ardis' help in getting it done.
12. There was never a vote by the Board of Trustees to "keep" our old engineering firm. There was a vote to "table" the decision to turn them loose. After that vote was taken, it was determined that the engineering firm we had been using for years was an "at will" employee; one that we did not HAVE to use. It wasn't just me who had been having difficulties with the old firm. I don't want to get any more into that, because it serves no purpose. Let me just say that we are getting great service from the engineering firm we've been using over the past couple of years.
In the end, it should be noted that there never was that vote to "keep" our old engineering firm. Another half-truth from the fine folks in the People's Party hierarchy. No, make that an outright lie.
You know, this "sort-of newspaper" appears to me to be nothing but desperate grabs for "power" in Peoria Heights; willing to say anything, willing to print anything, "forget the facts, and full speed ahead." The two-page write-up about all of the great things that Mr. Carter did while in office is just fine. Nobody ever said that everything he did was wrong. He did some good things, particularly in his first four years of office. Similarly, I believe we have done a number of good things in our four years, but Mr. Carter would never admit to that.
No political office is owed to anyone. No one has a "divine right" to a political office. Competition should be expected. The problem comes with the "half-truths, innuendos, and outright lies" that the People's Party hierarchy employs to try and keep, or get back, that "power." The citizens of Peoria Heights deserve much more than that sort of political tomfoolery. We moved on four years ago... we need to keep moving forward.
I would appreciate your vote on Tuesday, and your votes for the Independent candidates for Trustee, who are:
Sherryl Carter (no relation, whatsoever, to Earl)
Robert (Bob) Hill
R. Scott Owen
Thanks- Mark
1. EVERY cent paid towards the new fire department ladder truck WAS PAID under our administration. Period. I never said that we ordered the ladder truck. Carter's administration did that. What I stated was that every cent towards it (over $350,000.00) has been paid since I got in office. Once more, let's review what I placed in our pamphlet, in the section "Over the Past 4 years:"
"$350K paid on new ladder truck."
That's all that was written regarding the ladder truck.
And, it's still a fact, Earl.
2. "Painting of the Observation Tower." Earl, it was done under our administration. I didn't say that I came up with the idea. It's routine maintenance, albeit expensive maintenance. But, again here is the fact: it was voted on, approved, and paid for under OUR administration. Again, a simple fact. It was painted in July and August, 2005... three months after you left office. And, it was paid for after the painting was completed. You still weren't in office.
That's a fact, Earl.
3. "Resurfacing of Forest Park Drive." Again, Earl, I'm not saying that I came up with that plan. Once more, it's maintenance... routine maintenance. You may find this hard to believe, but Forest Park Drive had actually been surfaced and resurfaced probably several times before even YOU took office as mayor. I know that's hard to believe, but I think it's true. This was not a novel concept, dreamed up just by you. However, once more, it was voted on, approved, and paid for under our administration. It was done over the summer of 2005, and you were still out of office then, Earl.
Special insert: Why does Earl Carter think he is so brilliant for "coming up" with routine maintenance projects? I'm pointing out what was spent over the past four years, and what it was spent on, as Earl keeps throwing out this "blowing money" thing. Have we blown money on the Observation Tower painting and Forest Park resurfacing?
If any of the above projects had been paid for under the Carter administration, they would not have shown up in our pamphlet. But, they weren't, and the citizens of Peoria Heights need to know what projects have been paid for over the last three years and eleven months, particularly when my opponent continues to beat that "they're spending too much" drum.
4. Please refer below to the posting on the new police station building. The cost of adding on to Village Hall was estimated at $170-220/SF. We bought the former Williams Brothers building for a bit under $100/SF. Apparently, Earl doesn't have a Radio Shack calculator like I have, because he still thinks that adding on to Village Hall would be cheaper. Why would it "make more sense" to add on to Village Hall for the Police Department when it would have cost so much more? More importantly, if that was the case, why wasn't it added on to, say, six or seven years ago under the Carter administration?
And, Earl, the financing is interest free. I don't know why you cannot understand that. Let me try and get it across one more time. The building was purchased for $495,000.00 over a 5 year plan, with NO interest to be charged. Will I need to repeat that again?
5. Earl and his Zip Code change.
That's great that you were the one in office when it came through. You said in the article you copied, that the Heights had been trying to get its own zip code for over 20 years, which would include a number of years under former Mayor Ray Picl. So, you were the lucky one in office when it finally came through. That's grand. Thanks for being here.
Did it ever occur to you, that in this instance regarding the zip code change, that you were taking credit for something that had been going on for 19 years before you, in your own words? You're sort of doing the horrible things you're accusing me of doing with regards to the painting of the Observation Tower; Forest Park Drive; and paying the money on the ladder truck. The difference here is that you did NOT pay any money to have the zip code changed under your watch; we DID pay for all of the above named projects under our administration... but, still, you puff yourself up and act as though you were the guy who got the zip code change done. Typical. Why didn't you thank former Mayor Picl for the 19 years that he had been pushing for the change? Again, typical.
That being said, the "economic impacts" of our own zip code are way overstated by you. I can get some numbers on that perhaps before the election. But, to think that the 61616 zip code is the main reason why we have record revenues is really narrow, and honestly, silly.
To see why, review the chart below showing how revenues were steadily going down under your leadership, Mr. Carter. If the zip code was the main component of our revenues going up, then why were they going down after the code was changed?
6. If you are the sole person responsible, Earl, for the record setting revenues we are having, why did the revenues continue going down the last few years of your administration? Once more, here are the facts:
Revenues:
2001-2002 $2,792,942.00
2002-2003 $2,717,354.00
2003-2004 $2,582,947.00
2004-2005 $2,480,660.00
Once again, it appears Mr. Carter doesn't have a Radio Shack calculator like I do, because it shows that revenues had dropped by $312,282.00 over the last 4 years of the Carter administration. Period. Facts. And, wonder of wonders, the new Walgreen's was already open, along with ALL of the other businesses that Mr. Carter "brought" in.
Give me a break, Earl.
You really love yourself, I know that. But, I have a "universal truth" for you to possibly contemplate.
Here it is:
Businesses did not locate in Peoria Heights, under your tenure, because of you.
I know that is a hard pill to swallow, but it's true. Here's what I'll tell you from our end: advertising the Heights has likely played a part in our increased revenues.
We broke revenues of $3,100,000.00 this past fiscal year. Compare that to the final four years of the Carter administration. Again, Mr. Carter doesn't like to deal with facts... because, in these instances, they show him to be grossly mistaken.
7. "Blowing Taxpayer's Money"
More factual mistakes from the People's Party hierarchy. Earl, if you had taken the time to read my blog, and also perused the minutes of the Board of Trustees Meetings, you'd find that the "40% wage increases" for the Department Heads is not even close to being true. Scroll down several postings, and read it for yourself. Why you keep running with this, I just don't understand. Oh, yes I do. You don't like the facts when they don't agree to your Fantasyland.
Four police cars were not purchased "immediately" when I took office. The following year, three squad cars were purchased because our fleet was falling apart. Why? Because under Mr. Carter's administration, money was needed for the $780,000.00 payout on Tower Park, and the $225,000.00 on the park in the flood plain (sorry, I know I had promised not to mention it again). Squad cars for police safety were apparently not considered to be a priority for Mr. Carter. Concrete in Tower Park was.
And, Earl, a budget IS a guide. You never followed a budget in your entire 8 years exactly. No municipality CAN follow a budget exactly. That's the way it is. But, somehow, in your Fantasyland, things were different under you. We have a budget. You say it's "illegal" for us to use a budget as a "guide"? If so, you broke the law during your years as mayor, too.
There doesn't seem much more I can add to this silliness.
Oh, and I thanked Trustee Pendleton for getting the lower population figures that allowed us to pay less for recycling. I appreciated that she did so. But, per usual, that's not good enough. I am evil because I didn't get the information before she did.
In fact, I never did "bristle" over the lower population figures that Trustee Pendleton had obtained from the County (who came up with the "bristle" description, anyhow?). What I DID "bristle" over was Trustee Pendleton's insistence on spending $400.00 more for a phone survey about the desires for a recycling program, when we already had hundreds of HAND-WRITTEN survey responses, heavily in favor of the program. We agreed to the unnecessary phone survey, which showed about 85% in FAVOR of a recycling program in the Heights.
8. American Tower Corporation
This is a good one. In his flier, Mr. Carter states that "the Village has already received $75,000.00" for the leases. And, guess what? Mr. Carter listed that $75,000.00 as a DONATION to the Tower Park changes. You know, the ones that cost us $780,000.00. Additionally, in order to do so, Mr. Carter agreed to accept $50,000.00 up front for the tower on Toledo for the first 10 years of the lease; and to accept $25,000.00 up front for the tower off of Gardner Lane, for the first 5 years of the lease.
The actual lease costs are $8,400.00 per year for the tower on Toledo. The lease payment is $7,500.00 per year for the tower off Gardner Lane. Again, using my Radio Shack calculator, that tells me that the lease payments over 10 years for the Toledo tower should have been $84,000.00, instead of the $50,000.00 that was accepted. The lease payments for the Gardner Lane tower should have been $38,500.00 for the first five years of that lease, instead of the $25,000.00 that was accepted.
Why did Mr. Carter insist on having the $75,000.00 up front, instead of taking the $122,500.00 that would have been paid out on the leases as originally conceived? Again, that $75,000.00 was listed as a donation for the Tower Park changes.
9. "A Dictator Operating on a Whim"
Well, I was waiting for the "libelous" nature to come forth from this circular. The statement that I was responsible for the "stealthy conversion of the old library into a methadone clinic" is it.
The old library building is privately owned. It was the decision of the owner of that building to lease it to the methadone clinic. I have no more control over what goes in there than I have as to what goes into any other privately owned building in the Heights. We had our Village Attorney check into whether or not we could keep this from happening, and we were advised that we would be opening the Village up to a possible multi-million dollar lawsuit if we tried to stop it. Mr. Carter knows that.
But, now that the printed statement is in my hands, I know that my attorney will be more than happy to run with this one.
10. "Keep on rockin' Pendleton"
An editorial from the Times-Observer regarding the "heroic" actions of Trustee Pendleton calling into question everything that is done under my watch. Here's a fact:
You do not have to have competitive bids for any project under $20,000.00.
The bid from Krumholz Brothers for an improvement along Prospect Road was $11,275.00, well under the bid threshold. Additionally, Krumholz had been the low bidder in a few other projects in the Village, and was certainly known for being very reasonable in their costs. Why Krumholz? Because they had done a couple other similar projects along Prospect Road; we were happy with their work product, and wanted it to be in line with the other projects.
Another interesting factoid: Krumholz Brothers did the landscaping at Poplar Lane Park. They were used by the Carter administration.
Why do you not have to get more than one bid for a project that is under $20,000.00? Because there is a cost factor in getting bids. You have to advertise in the newspaper to go out for bids. You have to pay your engineering firm to review all of the bids. And, because all of that is done, it extends the time space that the project can be done in. So, by throwing everything out for bid, it costs the taxpayers more money.
The bid was voted 5-1 in favor of acceptance of the bid by the Board of Trustees.
11. Boulevard Avenue is a Peoria street?
There is a "gentleman's agreement" regarding the maintenance of Boulevard Avenue, and it is to be done by Peoria. However, the curbing, storm sewer line, and sidewalk installed were strictly on the Peoria Heights side of Boulevard, and certainly could not be considered to be "routine maintenance." It benefitted only Peoria Heights businesses and one resident. This area was a basket case regarding drainage, and had been long neglected. The cost was split between Peoria Heights and Peoria. That's right: Peoria paid for half of it, even though it was strictly on the Peoria Heights side. It had very little to do with the actual street; the vast majority of the work was the curbing, storm sewer line, and the sidewalk put in.
This was a good thing, and we appreciate Peoria and Mayor Ardis' help in getting it done.
12. There was never a vote by the Board of Trustees to "keep" our old engineering firm. There was a vote to "table" the decision to turn them loose. After that vote was taken, it was determined that the engineering firm we had been using for years was an "at will" employee; one that we did not HAVE to use. It wasn't just me who had been having difficulties with the old firm. I don't want to get any more into that, because it serves no purpose. Let me just say that we are getting great service from the engineering firm we've been using over the past couple of years.
In the end, it should be noted that there never was that vote to "keep" our old engineering firm. Another half-truth from the fine folks in the People's Party hierarchy. No, make that an outright lie.
You know, this "sort-of newspaper" appears to me to be nothing but desperate grabs for "power" in Peoria Heights; willing to say anything, willing to print anything, "forget the facts, and full speed ahead." The two-page write-up about all of the great things that Mr. Carter did while in office is just fine. Nobody ever said that everything he did was wrong. He did some good things, particularly in his first four years of office. Similarly, I believe we have done a number of good things in our four years, but Mr. Carter would never admit to that.
No political office is owed to anyone. No one has a "divine right" to a political office. Competition should be expected. The problem comes with the "half-truths, innuendos, and outright lies" that the People's Party hierarchy employs to try and keep, or get back, that "power." The citizens of Peoria Heights deserve much more than that sort of political tomfoolery. We moved on four years ago... we need to keep moving forward.
I would appreciate your vote on Tuesday, and your votes for the Independent candidates for Trustee, who are:
Sherryl Carter (no relation, whatsoever, to Earl)
Robert (Bob) Hill
R. Scott Owen
Thanks- Mark
The People's Party "Barrage"
Well, I've heard several updates from folks regarding the People's Party fliers, propaganda, and what-not that is arriving in their mailboxes today. From what they've read to me, it's pretty much what I expected, and pretty much what I've already responded to numerous times throughout this blog. One report I had was that the Observation Tower cartoon has appeared again, with money flying all over and around it. It's not a bad drawing, and I'm sure it wasn't cheap for the People's Party, so it's good that they've "recycled" it. I also heard that there were allegations along the lines of "don't trust this administration, they're liars." That's a good one, if what I heard was correct.
All of the postings I've made are backed up with hard numbers, and actual facts. There's not much more I can do regarding that. The People's Party depends upon emotions; throwing around catch phrases like "budget," "TIF," "wasteful spending," etc. etc., hoping that some of it will stick. This coming from the mayoral candidate who advocated and spent $780,000.00 for the Tower Park changes, and was planning on dumping at least $5 million into Streetscape.
I was prepared to answer and respond to the Heights Examiner #2. For whatever reason(s), the People's Party hierarchy has chosen to fire out fliers instead. Economics? Maybe. To make it harder for me to respond? Possibly. No matter what questionable, emotional items their fliers give to you, I only ask that you take the time to read through my blog as much as possible. The facts are the facts. I know that the People's Party hierarchy doesn't like that; but, it is what it is.
If anything else really strange pops up, I will respond. However, I'm betting most all of their allegations have been answered earlier in the blog. I've certainly enjoyed putting the facts out for all of our citizens to read, understand, and hopefully use when making their choice on April 7. And, as always, if you have any questions, please call me at 688-6869. I thank you all again, and remember...
VOTE!
All of the postings I've made are backed up with hard numbers, and actual facts. There's not much more I can do regarding that. The People's Party depends upon emotions; throwing around catch phrases like "budget," "TIF," "wasteful spending," etc. etc., hoping that some of it will stick. This coming from the mayoral candidate who advocated and spent $780,000.00 for the Tower Park changes, and was planning on dumping at least $5 million into Streetscape.
I was prepared to answer and respond to the Heights Examiner #2. For whatever reason(s), the People's Party hierarchy has chosen to fire out fliers instead. Economics? Maybe. To make it harder for me to respond? Possibly. No matter what questionable, emotional items their fliers give to you, I only ask that you take the time to read through my blog as much as possible. The facts are the facts. I know that the People's Party hierarchy doesn't like that; but, it is what it is.
If anything else really strange pops up, I will respond. However, I'm betting most all of their allegations have been answered earlier in the blog. I've certainly enjoyed putting the facts out for all of our citizens to read, understand, and hopefully use when making their choice on April 7. And, as always, if you have any questions, please call me at 688-6869. I thank you all again, and remember...
VOTE!
Friday, April 3, 2009
A Few Quick Facts Regarding Budgets and Stuff
1. We are $190,000.00 AHEAD of where we were in the General Fund, in comparison to the February 2005 Treasurer's Report (see full posting below).
2. In fiscal year 2004-2005, the Carter administration was OVER its budget in 23% of the line items. We are over the budget line items in about 10%.
3. Over the past three fiscal years, we have not gone over the total budget, not even once. In fact, we have been well UNDER the total budget in each of those fiscal years.
Fiscal year 2005-2006, the total budgeted expenditures were $2,909,512.00.
$2,701,810.00 was spent; so we were $207,702.00 UNDER the budget.
Fiscal year 2006-2007, the total budgeted expenditures were $3,365,792.00.
$2,563,986.00 was spent; so we were $801,806.00 UNDER the budget.
Fiscal year 2007-2008, the total budgeted expenditures were $3,579,496.00.
$3,099,681.00 was spent; so we were $479,815.00 UNDER the budget.
The difference will likely be more narrow for 2008-2009, but we don't have those final numbers in yet.
The point of all of this is...? Well, just because it's budgeted doesn't mean it has to be spent. A budget is a GUIDE. The proof is when the Board of Trustees votes for something, and actual money is SPENT. And, this is the normal way of doing a budget, because if you make it too tight, it can be too constricting in a very fluid environment: namely, government.
We are $300,000.00 AHEAD of where we were supposed to be at this point in the "money on hand" department from last year's budget. Still, this upcoming fiscal year will be a very interesting year to manage, due to the economy and what effect it might have on our revenues. The upcoming budget is very expansive, but again is simply a guide. Many things have been BUDGETED for that likely will NOT have money spent on them, just the same as in the past. That is the nature of the beast called "The Budget."
2. In fiscal year 2004-2005, the Carter administration was OVER its budget in 23% of the line items. We are over the budget line items in about 10%.
3. Over the past three fiscal years, we have not gone over the total budget, not even once. In fact, we have been well UNDER the total budget in each of those fiscal years.
Fiscal year 2005-2006, the total budgeted expenditures were $2,909,512.00.
$2,701,810.00 was spent; so we were $207,702.00 UNDER the budget.
Fiscal year 2006-2007, the total budgeted expenditures were $3,365,792.00.
$2,563,986.00 was spent; so we were $801,806.00 UNDER the budget.
Fiscal year 2007-2008, the total budgeted expenditures were $3,579,496.00.
$3,099,681.00 was spent; so we were $479,815.00 UNDER the budget.
The difference will likely be more narrow for 2008-2009, but we don't have those final numbers in yet.
The point of all of this is...? Well, just because it's budgeted doesn't mean it has to be spent. A budget is a GUIDE. The proof is when the Board of Trustees votes for something, and actual money is SPENT. And, this is the normal way of doing a budget, because if you make it too tight, it can be too constricting in a very fluid environment: namely, government.
We are $300,000.00 AHEAD of where we were supposed to be at this point in the "money on hand" department from last year's budget. Still, this upcoming fiscal year will be a very interesting year to manage, due to the economy and what effect it might have on our revenues. The upcoming budget is very expansive, but again is simply a guide. Many things have been BUDGETED for that likely will NOT have money spent on them, just the same as in the past. That is the nature of the beast called "The Budget."
Thursday, April 2, 2009
MFT Account and Waterworks Account
In February 2005, the Treasurer's Report had the MFT (Motor Fuel Tax) account balance at $436,076.58.
The balance in the MFT account for February 2009 is $160,536.13.
Why the drop, you might ask? Mostly, it's from one very large project that was completed in early fall 2005. That was the re-surfacing and additional work on Forest Park Drive. That cost $395,000.00 out of the MFT fund. Additionally, around $100,000.00 was drawn out of MFT last summer for the re-surfacing and curb work along Monroe Avenue.
The MFT fund consists of fuel tax monies we receive from the state; local taxes paid by our two gas stations; and other similar tax monies received, based on fuel consumption. NO money can be drawn out of the MFT account for ANY project, unless it is OK'd by IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation). We normally receive at or near $200,000.00-$230,000.00 per year for our MFT fund.
We also pay for our seal-coat program through MFT; along with road salt, paint for striping; and other such programs; ALL street related. In other words, the MFT account is down because we did substantial infrastructure work over the past 4 years; along with the obvious increases in road salt needed the past two winters.
The February 2005 Treasurer's Report regarding the Waterworks account stood at $718,824.35. Our February 2009 report has the account balance at $609,007.92. Why the drop?
This is mostly from one major item that was done in the summer of 2005. The re-painting of the Observation Tower cost $300,000.00, but obviously was desperately needed. That was paid out of the Waterworks account. Other maintenance items for our water system (far too many to list) come from this account, and we have done a number of improvements for our water system over the past 4 years. This includes replacing 2,000 feet of water main; installing shut-off valves in strategic areas in order to try to avoid boil-orders in the future when a water main ruptures; and improvements at both of our waterworks buildings.
It really does us no good to watch the accounts grow. It's far better to use the money to take care of maintenance problems that require immediate repairs and replacements.
The balance in the MFT account for February 2009 is $160,536.13.
Why the drop, you might ask? Mostly, it's from one very large project that was completed in early fall 2005. That was the re-surfacing and additional work on Forest Park Drive. That cost $395,000.00 out of the MFT fund. Additionally, around $100,000.00 was drawn out of MFT last summer for the re-surfacing and curb work along Monroe Avenue.
The MFT fund consists of fuel tax monies we receive from the state; local taxes paid by our two gas stations; and other similar tax monies received, based on fuel consumption. NO money can be drawn out of the MFT account for ANY project, unless it is OK'd by IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation). We normally receive at or near $200,000.00-$230,000.00 per year for our MFT fund.
We also pay for our seal-coat program through MFT; along with road salt, paint for striping; and other such programs; ALL street related. In other words, the MFT account is down because we did substantial infrastructure work over the past 4 years; along with the obvious increases in road salt needed the past two winters.
The February 2005 Treasurer's Report regarding the Waterworks account stood at $718,824.35. Our February 2009 report has the account balance at $609,007.92. Why the drop?
This is mostly from one major item that was done in the summer of 2005. The re-painting of the Observation Tower cost $300,000.00, but obviously was desperately needed. That was paid out of the Waterworks account. Other maintenance items for our water system (far too many to list) come from this account, and we have done a number of improvements for our water system over the past 4 years. This includes replacing 2,000 feet of water main; installing shut-off valves in strategic areas in order to try to avoid boil-orders in the future when a water main ruptures; and improvements at both of our waterworks buildings.
It really does us no good to watch the accounts grow. It's far better to use the money to take care of maintenance problems that require immediate repairs and replacements.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Early Voting at PH Library April 1 & 2
You can "early vote" at the Peoria Heights Library on April 1 and 2, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Facts Regarding the New Police Station
I was advised by someone that Mr. Carter had recently alleged that the former Williams Brothers building (which was purchased to serve as the new police station) had been "way overpriced."
This is not the first time I've heard that allegation from the Peoples Party hierarchy.
I get the impression that Mr. Carter thinks it might still be 1981, when it comes to building "pricing." However, the facts are these:
The building was appraised at $510,000.00 by the appraiser we hired.
The building was purchased for $495,000.00. My Radio Shack calculator says that's $15,000.00 BELOW the appraised value.
The building is 5,000 SF. This comes out to just below $100/SF. This is certainly in line for the appraisal of such a property. The range we were given for new construction was $170-$220/SF. It sort of made fiscal sense to buy the Williams Brothers building, instead of adding on to Village Hall, don't you think?
We were given a 5 year, no interest loan for the purchase of the same by the building owner, Mr. Tom Williams, Sr.
Once more, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, but also once more, it's always nice to base your opinion on actual facts; not on what the building was worth in 1981.
This is not the first time I've heard that allegation from the Peoples Party hierarchy.
I get the impression that Mr. Carter thinks it might still be 1981, when it comes to building "pricing." However, the facts are these:
The building was appraised at $510,000.00 by the appraiser we hired.
The building was purchased for $495,000.00. My Radio Shack calculator says that's $15,000.00 BELOW the appraised value.
The building is 5,000 SF. This comes out to just below $100/SF. This is certainly in line for the appraisal of such a property. The range we were given for new construction was $170-$220/SF. It sort of made fiscal sense to buy the Williams Brothers building, instead of adding on to Village Hall, don't you think?
We were given a 5 year, no interest loan for the purchase of the same by the building owner, Mr. Tom Williams, Sr.
Once more, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, but also once more, it's always nice to base your opinion on actual facts; not on what the building was worth in 1981.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
From The Archives: Salary Increases for Department Heads
I understand that one of the "crack" reporters for the Peoria Heights Examiner (or something sort of like it) has been gathering information about the pay increases that the department heads received over the past 4 years, ready to spring a huge "exclusive" about it.
Well, sorry, "crack" reporter... it's already been in the paper (Journal Star and the Observer) about 20 times over the past 3 to 4 years. In fact, I referenced it in this blog, too. I'm going to throw it out there again, even though the gist of it has to do with one of the somewhat questionable articles in the collector's edition of the Examiner. Here it is :
"Bear in mind, what I am writing in response to each of these allegations is an absolute FACT; and can be verified by simply going by Village Hall and getting the information; or contact me and I will forward the info to you from the minutes; or any other verification to show that it is a FACT.
Even though these responses might be almost two years late, I hope that they will show how the Peoples Party periodicals were not only filled with "half-truths, innuendos, and outright lies" in 2007, but will more than likely be even more chock full of the same in 2009.
POLITICAL FICTION#1- The Peoria Heights Examiner (Peoples Party "newspaper") stated that shortly after I took office, certain department heads received "40% raises."
FACT: The department heads would have loved this one to be true. In actuality, the Police Chief and the Village Administrator received 10% raises. That's a bit lower than the 40% raises that the Examiner threw out there. Now, if the Examiner had stated that the department heads had received 40% raises over a THREE year period, it would have been closer to the truth. But, it did not state that.
And, the third year of that three year period had not even occurred yet. What did happen was that the department heads received 10% per year, over a three year period.Why? Because all of the statistics showed that the Peoria Heights department heads were not only near the bottom of salaries for the size of our community in Illinois, they were virtually AT the bottom.
Unacceptable. We'll go one step further however. Even if the Examiner had done it over a three year period, the raises would have been 33% OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD. STILL NOT 40%. Even with these raises, our department heads are in the bottom third of salaries for similar sized communities in Illinois. But, at least we're doing better there.
Someone at the Examiner needs a new calculator... AND a conscience."
* One more interesting fact: In fiscal year 2004-2005 (under Mr. Carter's leadership), the Board of Trustees approved salary increases for the Peoria Heights Police Officers that came out to be about a 30% increase. In one year. Why? Simple. Their research found that the officers were underpaid. So, the record increase was approved. Yet, somehow when a pay increase which is anything over the "norm" happens under my watch, it's a problem. Our research found that our department heads were very much underpaid. So, we changed that.
Each pay increase for all of the department heads was approved by the Board of Trustees, with 6-0 votes. The only 5-1 vote was the initial one regarding the original contract for Police Chief Dustin Sutton. Bear in mind, during each of these votes, there were THREE members of the Peoples Party on the Board.
Raising the pay for the police officers in 2004-2005 was the right thing to do. So was the raising of the pay for the department heads from 2005-2007.
Compare the actual facts to the likely "crack" Examiner reporting coming out soon. If it comes out as I expect it will, the motto of "Forget the facts, full speed ahead" will continue to be fully operational for the Peoples Party hierarchy.
Well, sorry, "crack" reporter... it's already been in the paper (Journal Star and the Observer) about 20 times over the past 3 to 4 years. In fact, I referenced it in this blog, too. I'm going to throw it out there again, even though the gist of it has to do with one of the somewhat questionable articles in the collector's edition of the Examiner. Here it is :
"Bear in mind, what I am writing in response to each of these allegations is an absolute FACT; and can be verified by simply going by Village Hall and getting the information; or contact me and I will forward the info to you from the minutes; or any other verification to show that it is a FACT.
Even though these responses might be almost two years late, I hope that they will show how the Peoples Party periodicals were not only filled with "half-truths, innuendos, and outright lies" in 2007, but will more than likely be even more chock full of the same in 2009.
POLITICAL FICTION#1- The Peoria Heights Examiner (Peoples Party "newspaper") stated that shortly after I took office, certain department heads received "40% raises."
FACT: The department heads would have loved this one to be true. In actuality, the Police Chief and the Village Administrator received 10% raises. That's a bit lower than the 40% raises that the Examiner threw out there. Now, if the Examiner had stated that the department heads had received 40% raises over a THREE year period, it would have been closer to the truth. But, it did not state that.
And, the third year of that three year period had not even occurred yet. What did happen was that the department heads received 10% per year, over a three year period.Why? Because all of the statistics showed that the Peoria Heights department heads were not only near the bottom of salaries for the size of our community in Illinois, they were virtually AT the bottom.
Unacceptable. We'll go one step further however. Even if the Examiner had done it over a three year period, the raises would have been 33% OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD. STILL NOT 40%. Even with these raises, our department heads are in the bottom third of salaries for similar sized communities in Illinois. But, at least we're doing better there.
Someone at the Examiner needs a new calculator... AND a conscience."
* One more interesting fact: In fiscal year 2004-2005 (under Mr. Carter's leadership), the Board of Trustees approved salary increases for the Peoria Heights Police Officers that came out to be about a 30% increase. In one year. Why? Simple. Their research found that the officers were underpaid. So, the record increase was approved. Yet, somehow when a pay increase which is anything over the "norm" happens under my watch, it's a problem. Our research found that our department heads were very much underpaid. So, we changed that.
Each pay increase for all of the department heads was approved by the Board of Trustees, with 6-0 votes. The only 5-1 vote was the initial one regarding the original contract for Police Chief Dustin Sutton. Bear in mind, during each of these votes, there were THREE members of the Peoples Party on the Board.
Raising the pay for the police officers in 2004-2005 was the right thing to do. So was the raising of the pay for the department heads from 2005-2007.
Compare the actual facts to the likely "crack" Examiner reporting coming out soon. If it comes out as I expect it will, the motto of "Forget the facts, full speed ahead" will continue to be fully operational for the Peoples Party hierarchy.
Meet the Candidates Night on Channel 22 ONE More Time
Due to popular demand (uh, sort of), Channel 22 will re-broadcast the Meet the Candidates Night one more time, tomorrow on Friday night, at 8:30 pm.
When it was shown this past Monday, Channel 22 signed out with approximately 20 minutes left in the show. So, one final encore presentation: Friday the 27th, at 8:30 pm.
When it was shown this past Monday, Channel 22 signed out with approximately 20 minutes left in the show. So, one final encore presentation: Friday the 27th, at 8:30 pm.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Apples to Apples: The General Fund
Each month, the Board of Trustees receives a "Treasurer's Report" from our Treasurer, Cliff Brumbaugh. The report shows where we are financially, month by month.
As I've discussed until I'm blue in the face, and everyone else is reasonably sick of hearing, my opponent has been beating the "They're Spending Too Much" drum for well over three years now. If you go back several postings, you'd find the actual facts that show that my opponent spent more, percentage wise, over his last four years in office, than we have in the past three.
Well, it's time for more "facts and figures." We'll compare the month of February 2005 (the last year my opponent was in office) to February 2009 (our latest Treasurer's Report). The general fund, by the way, is the "fund" that we pay for nearly everything that we do in the Village out of. So, the total for the general fund in February 2005 was:
$2,014,194.16
And now, the total for the general fund in February 2009 is:
$2,204,838.94
Using my Radio Shack calculator, that means that we are:
$190,644.78 AHEAD of where we were 4 Years Ago.
So, even after all of that "horrific" spending we've done over the past four years, we're ahead of where we were four years ago. Can that be right? Yes, it is. When my opponent, and his newspaper, or his circulars, and the Peoples Party hierarchy, do all that they can to try to convince you otherwise, let them know that you already have the facts. And, those facts show that we've accomplished a lot, and in a fiscally sound way, as well.
Now, in two other areas, the "Motor Fuel Account" and the "Waterworks Account" we are down from where we were four years ago. Why? Because some major projects were completed over the last four years, and those pay-outs came from those accounts. The projects were the resurfacing of Forest Park Drive, the painting of the Observation Tower, and the resurfacing of Monroe Avenue. I'll have that information for you in the next couple of days.
As I've discussed until I'm blue in the face, and everyone else is reasonably sick of hearing, my opponent has been beating the "They're Spending Too Much" drum for well over three years now. If you go back several postings, you'd find the actual facts that show that my opponent spent more, percentage wise, over his last four years in office, than we have in the past three.
Well, it's time for more "facts and figures." We'll compare the month of February 2005 (the last year my opponent was in office) to February 2009 (our latest Treasurer's Report). The general fund, by the way, is the "fund" that we pay for nearly everything that we do in the Village out of. So, the total for the general fund in February 2005 was:
$2,014,194.16
And now, the total for the general fund in February 2009 is:
$2,204,838.94
Using my Radio Shack calculator, that means that we are:
$190,644.78 AHEAD of where we were 4 Years Ago.
So, even after all of that "horrific" spending we've done over the past four years, we're ahead of where we were four years ago. Can that be right? Yes, it is. When my opponent, and his newspaper, or his circulars, and the Peoples Party hierarchy, do all that they can to try to convince you otherwise, let them know that you already have the facts. And, those facts show that we've accomplished a lot, and in a fiscally sound way, as well.
Now, in two other areas, the "Motor Fuel Account" and the "Waterworks Account" we are down from where we were four years ago. Why? Because some major projects were completed over the last four years, and those pay-outs came from those accounts. The projects were the resurfacing of Forest Park Drive, the painting of the Observation Tower, and the resurfacing of Monroe Avenue. I'll have that information for you in the next couple of days.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Meet the Candidates Night to be Shown on Channel 22
If you were unable to attend the "Meet the Candidates" program last night at Village Hall, it was videotaped. It will be shown on Friday (20th) at 8:30 pm; and on Monday (23rd) at 9:00 pm; on Channel 22.
Monday, March 16, 2009
It's Countdown Time...
Yes, it's a mere three weeks and a day until the election. So, in even shorter order, the Peoples Party publication, in one form or another, should be darkening your doorsteps. Will it be the second issue of the Heights Examiner? A series of mailings showing my head superimposed onto the body of a demon? Is it even possible that the Peoples Party hierarchy might actually discuss the FACTS, even if they disagree with how we got to them?
We shall see. The odds are that the Peoples Party hierarchy will likely not report the full facts; spin what they can into weird and convoluted accusations; and throw as much as possible at the wall, hoping that some will stick.
If this is the first time you've checked into my blog, I sincerely request of you to read each and every posting. I know, I know. My writing style might put one into a very deep slumber, BUT I honestly believe that it's best when one has the facts regarding a situation, before arriving at a conclusion.
I went door to door a bit today, and I spoke with one very nice gentleman, whose children I went to high school with. He told me he heard in certain circles that we're "blowing" money. I told him that the fact was that my predecessor had actually spent more, percentage wise, of the revenues the Village received over his last four years, than we have percentage wise over our past three. He did not know that. I'm hoping he signs onto my blog soon, and reads down several postings to where the facts are laid out. This whole Earl Carter-led accusation about money being thrown away is typical of his campaign style... "Forget the facts, and full speed ahead."
I'll have more regarding the general fund and motor fuel tax funds, comparing 4 years ago to now, in the next few days. Until then, keep an open mind, demand the actual facts, and read through the whole blog, pretty please.
If you need some No-Doz sent over, I'll see what I can do.
We shall see. The odds are that the Peoples Party hierarchy will likely not report the full facts; spin what they can into weird and convoluted accusations; and throw as much as possible at the wall, hoping that some will stick.
If this is the first time you've checked into my blog, I sincerely request of you to read each and every posting. I know, I know. My writing style might put one into a very deep slumber, BUT I honestly believe that it's best when one has the facts regarding a situation, before arriving at a conclusion.
I went door to door a bit today, and I spoke with one very nice gentleman, whose children I went to high school with. He told me he heard in certain circles that we're "blowing" money. I told him that the fact was that my predecessor had actually spent more, percentage wise, of the revenues the Village received over his last four years, than we have percentage wise over our past three. He did not know that. I'm hoping he signs onto my blog soon, and reads down several postings to where the facts are laid out. This whole Earl Carter-led accusation about money being thrown away is typical of his campaign style... "Forget the facts, and full speed ahead."
I'll have more regarding the general fund and motor fuel tax funds, comparing 4 years ago to now, in the next few days. Until then, keep an open mind, demand the actual facts, and read through the whole blog, pretty please.
If you need some No-Doz sent over, I'll see what I can do.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Many Thanks to All for The Fund-Raiser
We had a great turn-out for the Independent candidates fund-raiser on March 7. I think everyone had a really good time, as well. Thanks to the Robin Crowe Band and the Roundstone Buskers for providing such wonderful music. Also, special thanks to all who helped on every level, and also provided desserts. Bob Hill, Scott Owen, and Sherryl Carter all put in long hours from beginning to end... it was truly a good time.
If you want to have a sign in your front yard for any of the Independent candidates, please give me a call at 688-6869 and let me know your address. The election is fast approaching, and we want people to be aware of what really is at stake here.
If you want to have a sign in your front yard for any of the Independent candidates, please give me a call at 688-6869 and let me know your address. The election is fast approaching, and we want people to be aware of what really is at stake here.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Adventures With the IEPA
A few weeks ago, the Peoria Heights Fire Department was called in to take control of a very odd situation. A house in the Village had a water pipe break, and it had been spewing out water for a few days (at least). The water had saturated the ground outside of the house, causing a heating fuel tank, buried right behind the house, to begin to shift and break open.
There was still a lot of heating fuel in the tank, and the rupture caused the fuel to leak out. We were soon in the midst of a possible calamity to the ground and the water surrounding this area. Our Fire Chief Norm Reichert, and every other available emergency personnel in the Village not only took control of the situation, but soon had it completely under wraps.
With some help and guidance from people in Peoria, and from the Illinois EPA, our emergency personnel stopped what could have been a major problem from happening. Using good judgment and utilizing their emergency training and skills, several hours after the first sign of the fuel coming from the yard, the situation was under control.
Shortly after the incident, I received the following e-mail from the attending representative from the IEPA:
"Mayor Allen,
It is was a pleasure working with your fire department. If it were not for their actions taken on the night of Feb 12, the surface water nearby would have surely been impacted along with additional properties.
While I have been at this site multiple times, I keep checking for any impacts to the surface water, and find none. I continue to attribute this too the actions taken on the night of this event.
This is the latest update with some photos. I will not sent the additional photos as described in the email, as you can just drive by.
I have relayed my recommendations to my superiors, that the Peoria Heights FD and Public Works be recognized by the Illinois EPA.
If you have question regarding this incident, please do not hesitate to call.
Respectfully,
George Krebs
EPS 3
Illinois EPA
Office of Emergency Response"
Not much more needs to be added. Outstanding job by our VOLUNTEER Fire & Emergency Personnel.
There was still a lot of heating fuel in the tank, and the rupture caused the fuel to leak out. We were soon in the midst of a possible calamity to the ground and the water surrounding this area. Our Fire Chief Norm Reichert, and every other available emergency personnel in the Village not only took control of the situation, but soon had it completely under wraps.
With some help and guidance from people in Peoria, and from the Illinois EPA, our emergency personnel stopped what could have been a major problem from happening. Using good judgment and utilizing their emergency training and skills, several hours after the first sign of the fuel coming from the yard, the situation was under control.
Shortly after the incident, I received the following e-mail from the attending representative from the IEPA:
"Mayor Allen,
It is was a pleasure working with your fire department. If it were not for their actions taken on the night of Feb 12, the surface water nearby would have surely been impacted along with additional properties.
While I have been at this site multiple times, I keep checking for any impacts to the surface water, and find none. I continue to attribute this too the actions taken on the night of this event.
This is the latest update with some photos. I will not sent the additional photos as described in the email, as you can just drive by.
I have relayed my recommendations to my superiors, that the Peoria Heights FD and Public Works be recognized by the Illinois EPA.
If you have question regarding this incident, please do not hesitate to call.
Respectfully,
George Krebs
EPS 3
Illinois EPA
Office of Emergency Response"
Not much more needs to be added. Outstanding job by our VOLUNTEER Fire & Emergency Personnel.
Crime Continues to Go Down in the Village
Our latest crime statistics are in, and they show that our "total crime index" is down by 3.4%. The Peoria Heights Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Dustin Sutton, continues to excel in its realm of expertise. Every area of crime was down this past year in relation to 2007, except in aggravated assault, which went from 25 cases to 32; theft, which went from 128 cases to 135; and arson, which went from 1 case to 2.
In every other area of crime (criminal sexual assault, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft), our rates went down, and dramatically so.
Drug arrests went up by 23.3%. Bear in mind, most of these arrests come from people who don't even live in Peoria Heights, but they get arrested while in the Village. The police dog, Achilles, helped in another arrest just the other day, and that incident was in the paper this morning. Achilles has been paying big dividends already in our war on drugs.
All in all, a fine job by the police department.
In every other area of crime (criminal sexual assault, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft), our rates went down, and dramatically so.
Drug arrests went up by 23.3%. Bear in mind, most of these arrests come from people who don't even live in Peoria Heights, but they get arrested while in the Village. The police dog, Achilles, helped in another arrest just the other day, and that incident was in the paper this morning. Achilles has been paying big dividends already in our war on drugs.
All in all, a fine job by the police department.
Friday, March 13, 2009
I Promise...
I promise that this will be the last posting I put up regarding Poplar Lane Park. Why? Because even I am sick and tired of discussing it. And, if I'm tired of it, I can imagine how everyone else feels about discussing it any further.
Why was I against the park being put in? A few major reasons. Number one, it's in a flood plain. Additionally, the Illinois River continues to silt in at a relatively rapid pace, so no matter what the Army Corps of Engineers might tell us, if you fill in the bowl with more sand, it holds less water. The flooding is only going to get worse.
Second, it was a duplication of services. Bielfeldt Park is just across Galena Road from Poplar Lane, and it has all of the services that Poplar Lane Park offers, except for the basketball hoop. More importantly, it's not in a flood plain.
Third, it's at the end of a dead end street. With a lot of use, this would be disruptive for the few houses on Poplar Lane. As it turns out, it's not used all that often, so the neighbors have been just fine with it being there. But, that's not what a public park is put in for.
Fourth, the costs. Over $225,000.00 of Village money was put towards Poplar Lane Park. For all of the above reasons, it should never have been considered, but just imagine what else that $225,000.00 could have been used for.
Now, the park is flooded again. We just paid $1,000.00 to have the most recent flood debris cleaned up a couple of weeks ago... now we're back to square one once more.
At the "Peoria Heights of the Future" meeting we had several days ago, an audience member stated that she felt that the money spent on Poplar Lane Park was a waste. I had to respond that while I agreed with her, the park is here, we need to maintain it, and we hope people will use it. My opponent in the upcoming election began yammering at the lady after the meeting, saying how the park got rid of the trailer park that was there, the bad tavern that was there, etc. etc. As if those things could not have been gotten rid of WITHOUT the park as part of the equation. Wrong.
How about just leaving it alone? Clear out the trailers... clear out the ravaged tavern... but then LEAVE IT ALONE. IT FLOODS. The feds paid for the buy-outs of the properties, so that there would be no further flood insurance pay-outs in the future... there was no money paid for these properties on the part of Peoria Heights. Now, JUST LEAVE IT ALONE. We already pay taxes on Bielfeldt Park for its maintenance. But, since Poplar Lane floods (and OFTEN!), why not just leave it alone; let it flood; after all, it IS a flood plain.
Well, I've talked this issue to death. It's over with and done; we have the park, and that's all there is to it. But, once more, I think it's representative of the sometimes odd (and expensive) projects that Mr. Carter was fixated on. I believe that Streetscape would have been the next "project" in line, and would have made Poplar Lane Park look like sheer brilliance.
So, now I promise... I won't bring this up any more. I just want the river to go back down.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Fund-Raiser at VFW Hall on March 7
The Independent candidates of Peoria Heights will be having a joint fund-raiser on Saturday, March 7, from 1 pm to 7 pm. It will be at the VFW Hall on Lake Street, just a block or so east of Prospect in Peoria Heights.
The cost is $10.00 for adults, and $5.00 for children 12 years and younger. The price will include the lunch/dinner of pork chop sandwiches, brats, hot dogs, chips, chili, coffee, soda, and dessert. The VFW folks will have a cash bar running.
The Roundstone Buskers (formerly SullivanBurton) will be performing from 2:30 - 4:00; and Robin Crowe will perform from 5:00 - 6:30; so, we'll have some great music for the attendees, as well.
This is an extremely important election for Peoria Heights. We've made great strides over the past four years in bringing the government of the Village back to the citizens. To go back to how things were run under the previous administration, in my mind, would be a terrible blow to the Heights. However, that's why we have elections, right?
The fund-raiser, obviously, is open to anyone. There is no "independent party" in Peoria Heights; we are all running as independents and are simply pooling our resources to provide a decent fund-raiser. Any proceeds we make will be split four ways towards our individual campaign costs.
The Independent candidates are:
Mark B. Allen - Mayor
Robert (Bob) Hill - Trustee
Sherryl Carter - Trustee
R. Scott Owen - Trustee
PLEASE ALSO BRING TWO OR SO CANS OF FOOD PER PERSON/COUPLE/GROUP ATTENDING. THOSE CANS WILL BE SPLIT BETWEEN THE FOOD PANTRIES AT ST. THOMAS CHURCH AND PEORIA HEIGHTS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
FOODSTUFFS ARE RUNNING LOW AT BOTH PANTRIES. THEY NEED OUR HELP IN THESE TOUGH TIMES, SO YOUR CANS OF FOOD WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
If you have any questions, or wish to purchase advance tickets (which would be much appreciated!), please call me at 688-6869. Thanks!
The cost is $10.00 for adults, and $5.00 for children 12 years and younger. The price will include the lunch/dinner of pork chop sandwiches, brats, hot dogs, chips, chili, coffee, soda, and dessert. The VFW folks will have a cash bar running.
The Roundstone Buskers (formerly SullivanBurton) will be performing from 2:30 - 4:00; and Robin Crowe will perform from 5:00 - 6:30; so, we'll have some great music for the attendees, as well.
This is an extremely important election for Peoria Heights. We've made great strides over the past four years in bringing the government of the Village back to the citizens. To go back to how things were run under the previous administration, in my mind, would be a terrible blow to the Heights. However, that's why we have elections, right?
The fund-raiser, obviously, is open to anyone. There is no "independent party" in Peoria Heights; we are all running as independents and are simply pooling our resources to provide a decent fund-raiser. Any proceeds we make will be split four ways towards our individual campaign costs.
The Independent candidates are:
Mark B. Allen - Mayor
Robert (Bob) Hill - Trustee
Sherryl Carter - Trustee
R. Scott Owen - Trustee
PLEASE ALSO BRING TWO OR SO CANS OF FOOD PER PERSON/COUPLE/GROUP ATTENDING. THOSE CANS WILL BE SPLIT BETWEEN THE FOOD PANTRIES AT ST. THOMAS CHURCH AND PEORIA HEIGHTS CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
FOODSTUFFS ARE RUNNING LOW AT BOTH PANTRIES. THEY NEED OUR HELP IN THESE TOUGH TIMES, SO YOUR CANS OF FOOD WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
If you have any questions, or wish to purchase advance tickets (which would be much appreciated!), please call me at 688-6869. Thanks!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Business in the Village (Along the North End of Prospect)
On a number of levels, I believe that a solid argument could be made that Prospect Road has never been stronger, business-wise. We have two empty storefronts near the barber shop on Prospect, but these only happened recently. Sullivan's has been a solid addition to the Village, and Heritage Square is finally starting to fill up. June Restaurant recently had a write-up in the Chicago Tribune, and certainly has been drawing great crowds since they opened. Business has also been good at Emack and Bolio's Ice Cream Shop.
We have partnered with the Heights Chamber of Commerce to advertise the Village over the past few years. This had never been done before by the previous administration. The reasons for doing so are clear: the more people we bring in, the more tax dollars we generate. The more sales that our businesses make, the more likely they are to stay and flourish. Breaking $3 million in revenues this past fiscal year is a clear testament that our investments in the Village have paid off.
We continue to be on extremely solid ground financially in Peoria Heights; don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise. However, this coming fiscal year (2009-2010) will be a study in how the economic problems in the country might affect our revenues. We will continue to monitor our revenues month-by-month, so that we know how much we can safely invest in the Village. This is our "fair and clear direction" in Peoria Heights.
We have partnered with the Heights Chamber of Commerce to advertise the Village over the past few years. This had never been done before by the previous administration. The reasons for doing so are clear: the more people we bring in, the more tax dollars we generate. The more sales that our businesses make, the more likely they are to stay and flourish. Breaking $3 million in revenues this past fiscal year is a clear testament that our investments in the Village have paid off.
We continue to be on extremely solid ground financially in Peoria Heights; don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise. However, this coming fiscal year (2009-2010) will be a study in how the economic problems in the country might affect our revenues. We will continue to monitor our revenues month-by-month, so that we know how much we can safely invest in the Village. This is our "fair and clear direction" in Peoria Heights.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Status of the Heights TIF
The status of the Leisy-Pabst TIF project is pretty much stagnant at this point. As the national economy has been impacted, so has any interest in starting such a project. We are sending out RFPs (Request for Proposals) on a national basis over the coming weeks, in hopes that we might find the right developer at the right time, but clearly this is likely not the "right time" for most developers of any significance.
Obviously, this is a disappointment. I had hoped that we would have a plan in place by now, but I don't think many of us saw what was going to be happening to the stock market; banks; lenders; and on and on, over the past several months.
The TIF area still has a great deal to offer to a developer. And, the reason the TIF was put into place was because it really is our last area of development above the hill that won't significantly impact the neighborhoods in a potentially negative way. We still will be pushing for the Cohen's Building and surrounding land to include good commercial, residential, senior housing, and teen and senior centers. The beauty of the TIF is that for a developer to potentially tap into the TIF funding, he/she will have to have the plan agreed to by the Board of Trustees. That way, we WILL have some control as to what goes into there.
This is not a huge TIF area by any stretch, but it is still a potentially large investment on the part of the developer(s). Rest assured, we will continue in our attempts to bring in an acceptable and promising plan for the area. Be additionally rest assured that the TIF will NOT raise Village taxes at ANY time. Because the concept of a TIF is confusing, it is an easy mark for those wanting to mislead voters with false statements, etc. regarding the same. As always, if you have any questions regarding the Leisy-Pabst TIF, or TIFs in general, please call me at 686-2385.
Obviously, this is a disappointment. I had hoped that we would have a plan in place by now, but I don't think many of us saw what was going to be happening to the stock market; banks; lenders; and on and on, over the past several months.
The TIF area still has a great deal to offer to a developer. And, the reason the TIF was put into place was because it really is our last area of development above the hill that won't significantly impact the neighborhoods in a potentially negative way. We still will be pushing for the Cohen's Building and surrounding land to include good commercial, residential, senior housing, and teen and senior centers. The beauty of the TIF is that for a developer to potentially tap into the TIF funding, he/she will have to have the plan agreed to by the Board of Trustees. That way, we WILL have some control as to what goes into there.
This is not a huge TIF area by any stretch, but it is still a potentially large investment on the part of the developer(s). Rest assured, we will continue in our attempts to bring in an acceptable and promising plan for the area. Be additionally rest assured that the TIF will NOT raise Village taxes at ANY time. Because the concept of a TIF is confusing, it is an easy mark for those wanting to mislead voters with false statements, etc. regarding the same. As always, if you have any questions regarding the Leisy-Pabst TIF, or TIFs in general, please call me at 686-2385.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
More From the Archives
Some Surprising Numbers
My mayoral opponent has been beating the drum of "they're spending too much money" almost since the day he left office in May 2005. There was a reasonably well drawn cartoon in the Examiner, showing dollars flying out of the top of the Observation Tower, and lying around on the ground. To my opponent, I'm certain, that was meant to show that we were throwing money around like there was no tomorrow. To me, it showed that we were bringing more money in. Go figure.
Well, I have some important news for my opponent, his followers, and everyone else in the Village of Peoria Heights. When comparing how much was spent, to how much was generated in revenue (the only fair way to judge spending, what with inflation, etc.), my opponent oversaw more spending, percentage-wise, in his last 4 years than I have in the past 3.That's right. I'll say it again. "When comparing how much was spent, to how much was generated in revenue, my opponent oversaw more spending, percentage-wise, in his last 4 years than I have in the past 3." And, it's true.
I hate to burden you with numbers, but they're a necessary evil in this case. Figures don't lie (for the most part), and they certainly don't lie here.These numbers are gleaned from the budgets and the audits performed from fiscal year 2001-2002 to fiscal year 2007-2008 (the latest we have).From fiscal year 2001-2002 to fiscal year 2004-2005 (the last one under my opponent), the Village revenues totalled $10,573,803.00. The expenditures for the same period totalled $10,239,130.00. Again, this is over a 4 year period. The net result? 96.83% of the revenues received were spent.From fiscal year 2005-2006 (my first) to fiscal year 2007-2008 (the latest we have), our revenues have totalled $8,816,669.00. Our expenditures have totalled $8,466,338.00. Again, this is over a 3 year period, because we only have audits for these three years. The net result? We have spent 96% of the revenues generated.
Isn't that something? The guy who has been pounding the drum for nearly three years about how we are "spending the Village into the Stone Age" actually oversaw more pumping out of the dollars than I have. Now, let me clear something up. I don't think that a proper measurement of how good a mayor and a board of trustees are doing is how much they're putting "into the bank." We already have three fine banks in the Heights. We are here TO GET THINGS DONE. At the best price possible, but mostly TO GET THINGS DONE. And yet, somehow, my opponent feels that we've been spending too much on silly things like: curbs, sidewalks, police squad cars, fixing roads, alleviating drainage problems, marketing, brightening up Christmas... you know, silly things like that.
The point is this: I guess he wanted as much money put away as possible, because... just in case he might get back in, well you know, that Streetscape was going to cost at least $5 million dollars...But, in the end, here it is: he oversaw more spending. Period. I guess what we have to make clear is that there is a huge difference between he and I as to what we wanted (and want) those Village general funds to be spent ON.
My mayoral opponent has been beating the drum of "they're spending too much money" almost since the day he left office in May 2005. There was a reasonably well drawn cartoon in the Examiner, showing dollars flying out of the top of the Observation Tower, and lying around on the ground. To my opponent, I'm certain, that was meant to show that we were throwing money around like there was no tomorrow. To me, it showed that we were bringing more money in. Go figure.
Well, I have some important news for my opponent, his followers, and everyone else in the Village of Peoria Heights. When comparing how much was spent, to how much was generated in revenue (the only fair way to judge spending, what with inflation, etc.), my opponent oversaw more spending, percentage-wise, in his last 4 years than I have in the past 3.That's right. I'll say it again. "When comparing how much was spent, to how much was generated in revenue, my opponent oversaw more spending, percentage-wise, in his last 4 years than I have in the past 3." And, it's true.
I hate to burden you with numbers, but they're a necessary evil in this case. Figures don't lie (for the most part), and they certainly don't lie here.These numbers are gleaned from the budgets and the audits performed from fiscal year 2001-2002 to fiscal year 2007-2008 (the latest we have).From fiscal year 2001-2002 to fiscal year 2004-2005 (the last one under my opponent), the Village revenues totalled $10,573,803.00. The expenditures for the same period totalled $10,239,130.00. Again, this is over a 4 year period. The net result? 96.83% of the revenues received were spent.From fiscal year 2005-2006 (my first) to fiscal year 2007-2008 (the latest we have), our revenues have totalled $8,816,669.00. Our expenditures have totalled $8,466,338.00. Again, this is over a 3 year period, because we only have audits for these three years. The net result? We have spent 96% of the revenues generated.
Isn't that something? The guy who has been pounding the drum for nearly three years about how we are "spending the Village into the Stone Age" actually oversaw more pumping out of the dollars than I have. Now, let me clear something up. I don't think that a proper measurement of how good a mayor and a board of trustees are doing is how much they're putting "into the bank." We already have three fine banks in the Heights. We are here TO GET THINGS DONE. At the best price possible, but mostly TO GET THINGS DONE. And yet, somehow, my opponent feels that we've been spending too much on silly things like: curbs, sidewalks, police squad cars, fixing roads, alleviating drainage problems, marketing, brightening up Christmas... you know, silly things like that.
The point is this: I guess he wanted as much money put away as possible, because... just in case he might get back in, well you know, that Streetscape was going to cost at least $5 million dollars...But, in the end, here it is: he oversaw more spending. Period. I guess what we have to make clear is that there is a huge difference between he and I as to what we wanted (and want) those Village general funds to be spent ON.
Friday, February 13, 2009
... From the Archives Part II
Peoria Heights Examiner "Half-Truth #1"
At a Board of Trustees meeting, not long after I took office, Trustee Andrea Pendleton, out of the clear blue, asked to read a correspondence from a "citizen," and I told her that was fine. She then went on to read a complaint from this "citizen." She had not checked with me beforehand as to what the correspondence involved. I assumed it was just going to be an informational type correspondence. Remember... "assume nothing."
To quote the collectors edition of the Peoria Heights Examiner from the 2007 election:"After Trustee Andrea Pendleton read a postcard from a resident at a Village Board meeting complaining about dead trees in front of our new grade school and about weeds along a road near the school, Mayor Allen did not like hearing that. As a result this is a memo he sent out a few days later:"
It goes on to quote my memo, which reads as follows:"Proper Procedure For Introducing Correspondences At Trustee Meetings: 1. If there is a correspondence of any type you (Trustees) want introduced at a Trustee Meeting, it must be given to Administrator Horstmann first... NO exceptions. That correspondence will be reviewed by Admin. Horstmann and myself to see if it should be read at a meeting, or given to the proper authority to be further handled.
2. After review and acceptance, the correspondence will be given to Village Clerk Musselman to read, NO exceptions.
3. If a Trustee wishes to read the correspondence himself/herself at a meeting, please make that request when the correspondence is given to Admin. Horstmann for view along with myself. Authorization to do so will be given by myself.
4. If these procedures are not followed, and a correspondence is brought forth at a Trustee Meeting without previous authorization, I will immediately gavel the proceedings and have an Executive Session to further discuss the matter.Mark B. Allen, Mayor"
Couple problems here: One, a Trustee should NOT be reading a complaint at a meeting. The person making the complaint should appear in person to register that complaint. Just my opinion.
Second, and here's the important part: What the Examiner somehow failed to mention is that the complaint read by Trustee Andrea Pendleton was a FORGERY. That's right. Sort of an important tidbit of info to not pass along, don't you think? That's why I wrote the memo I did: the FORGED name was of a respected business owner in Peoria Heights. That respected business owner in Peoria Heights DID NOT WRITE THE COMPLAINT. It was FORGED, and Trustee Pendleton read it aloud, along with the FORGED name.
At the next Board of Trustees meeting, that respected business owner showed up, in tears, and asked WHY anyone would read such a complaint without FIRST checking to make certain it was real. It was left to me to apologize for the Village, for a FORGED complaint that I had nothing to do with the reading of, while Trustee Pendleton did not even say "sorry."
Now, do you think I might have had a good reason to write the memo? A Board of Trustees meeting is for Village business. We have a "Comments from the Audience" section, where people who want to air their grievances can certainly do so. I have no trouble or problem with those who dissent... just do it above board, without surprise at a public meeting, and try to do it with a REAL complaint, not a FORGED one.
Again, a "half truth." I submit this for a second time as it is a perfect example of how the Peoples Party Hierarchy likes to present its "cases." They leave out the stuff that might damage their arguments, and shoot from the hip with the rest. Everyone needs to keep this in mind, as the newest issue of the "Peoria Heights Examiner a/k/a Peoples Party Tomfoolery" or something close to it, will almost certainly be arriving in your mailbox soon.
I have no problem with folks disagreeing with what we've done so far; that's the American way. But, please try to get your facts correct first. In this case, they left out the reason why I wrote the memo : Trustee Pendleton read a forged complaint at a Board of Trustees meeting. That's certainly unacceptable, and the best way to avoid it happening in the future is to follow the procedures in the memo. Only the Peoples Party Hierarchy would have an issue with that.
At a Board of Trustees meeting, not long after I took office, Trustee Andrea Pendleton, out of the clear blue, asked to read a correspondence from a "citizen," and I told her that was fine. She then went on to read a complaint from this "citizen." She had not checked with me beforehand as to what the correspondence involved. I assumed it was just going to be an informational type correspondence. Remember... "assume nothing."
To quote the collectors edition of the Peoria Heights Examiner from the 2007 election:"After Trustee Andrea Pendleton read a postcard from a resident at a Village Board meeting complaining about dead trees in front of our new grade school and about weeds along a road near the school, Mayor Allen did not like hearing that. As a result this is a memo he sent out a few days later:"
It goes on to quote my memo, which reads as follows:"Proper Procedure For Introducing Correspondences At Trustee Meetings: 1. If there is a correspondence of any type you (Trustees) want introduced at a Trustee Meeting, it must be given to Administrator Horstmann first... NO exceptions. That correspondence will be reviewed by Admin. Horstmann and myself to see if it should be read at a meeting, or given to the proper authority to be further handled.
2. After review and acceptance, the correspondence will be given to Village Clerk Musselman to read, NO exceptions.
3. If a Trustee wishes to read the correspondence himself/herself at a meeting, please make that request when the correspondence is given to Admin. Horstmann for view along with myself. Authorization to do so will be given by myself.
4. If these procedures are not followed, and a correspondence is brought forth at a Trustee Meeting without previous authorization, I will immediately gavel the proceedings and have an Executive Session to further discuss the matter.Mark B. Allen, Mayor"
Couple problems here: One, a Trustee should NOT be reading a complaint at a meeting. The person making the complaint should appear in person to register that complaint. Just my opinion.
Second, and here's the important part: What the Examiner somehow failed to mention is that the complaint read by Trustee Andrea Pendleton was a FORGERY. That's right. Sort of an important tidbit of info to not pass along, don't you think? That's why I wrote the memo I did: the FORGED name was of a respected business owner in Peoria Heights. That respected business owner in Peoria Heights DID NOT WRITE THE COMPLAINT. It was FORGED, and Trustee Pendleton read it aloud, along with the FORGED name.
At the next Board of Trustees meeting, that respected business owner showed up, in tears, and asked WHY anyone would read such a complaint without FIRST checking to make certain it was real. It was left to me to apologize for the Village, for a FORGED complaint that I had nothing to do with the reading of, while Trustee Pendleton did not even say "sorry."
Now, do you think I might have had a good reason to write the memo? A Board of Trustees meeting is for Village business. We have a "Comments from the Audience" section, where people who want to air their grievances can certainly do so. I have no trouble or problem with those who dissent... just do it above board, without surprise at a public meeting, and try to do it with a REAL complaint, not a FORGED one.
Again, a "half truth." I submit this for a second time as it is a perfect example of how the Peoples Party Hierarchy likes to present its "cases." They leave out the stuff that might damage their arguments, and shoot from the hip with the rest. Everyone needs to keep this in mind, as the newest issue of the "Peoria Heights Examiner a/k/a Peoples Party Tomfoolery" or something close to it, will almost certainly be arriving in your mailbox soon.
I have no problem with folks disagreeing with what we've done so far; that's the American way. But, please try to get your facts correct first. In this case, they left out the reason why I wrote the memo : Trustee Pendleton read a forged complaint at a Board of Trustees meeting. That's certainly unacceptable, and the best way to avoid it happening in the future is to follow the procedures in the memo. Only the Peoples Party Hierarchy would have an issue with that.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Why Recycle? Here's Why...
We are near the 50% participation number since we began our curbside residential recycling service last October. I was expecting that we'd be at 50% after a year of the service being available, so I'm extremely happy with the numbers we have so far. Still, we need more folks to sign on. It is really easy to participate. If you are a Peoria Heights resident and have your normal garbage pick up as being curbside by G&O Disposal, you qualify. Give us a call at Village Hall, 686-2385, and we will give you all of the details for getting a tote delivered to you, free-of-charge, by Eagle Enterprises (our recycler).
No sorting of the items is necessary. Just rinse out the items, if they had foodstuffs in them. You don't even have to peel off the labels. It is so darned easy. Now, I've borrowed the following information about the energy saved by recycling. Not filling up the landfill is the easy one to understand, but when you begin to consider the energy savings from recycling, I'm hoping that you call us RIGHT AWAY.
"Recycling energy savings
By Green Living Tips Published 12/18/2007
If you visit a lot of environmental forums, no doubt you would have come across people claiming that recycling isn't all that effective - that it can take as much energy to recycle materials as it does to extract and produce them in the first place.
I don't claim to have any special knowledge or education, but here's some information I researched on the energy savings involved with various common materials from what I believe to be fairly good sources.
Energy savings - recycling metals
These figures also take into account the sorting and transportation of materials.Aluminium - 95%Copper - 85%Lead - 60%Steel - 62 - 74%Zinc - 60%
Data from the British Metal Recycling Association
Aside from the energy savings, the more metals that can be recycled, the less (or slower) destruction of the environment from mining. While the recycling process may produce toxic materials; mining certainly does.
Energy savings - recycling plastics
Post-consumer products may contain as many as 20 different types of plastic material; so one of the biggest challenges is sorting it all. However, according to Dr. Mike Biddle, President of MBA Polymers, recycling plastics uses only roughly 10 percent of the energy that it takes to make a pound of plastic from virgin materials.
Again, the savings aren't just in energy - plastics are still mostly made from petrochemicals; i.e. crude oil. Nearly 10 percent of U.S. oil consumption, which equates to approximately 2 million barrels a day - is used to make plastics. Recycling plastics also means saving oil - through the production process and base materials.
Energy savings - recycling glass
According to Waste Online, for every ton of recycled glass, 1.2 tons of raw materials are not required and after taking into account transport and processing needed to recycle glass, nearly 700 pounds of carbon dioxide is saved per ton of glass melted for the purposes of making bottles and jars.The Glass Packaging Institute states recycled glass uses only two-thirds the energy needed to manufacture glass from raw materials.
Recycled glass isn't just used for making more bottles - it can be turned into fiberglass (which is also used in house insulation), and as a component of bricks; requiring less energy to create the bricks and as the product is lighter, less energy is used in transport. Glass can be recycled indefinitely.
Energy savings - recycling paper
The Department of Energy states that a ton of paper made from recycled fibers conserves 7,000 gallons of water, up to 31 trees, 4,000 KWh of electricity and up to 60 pounds of air pollutants (not including carbon dioxide). Overall, recycling paper uses about 60% less energy than making paper from new materials.
In case you've heard that there is a glut of old newspapers around and therefore paper is now often shipped to landfill and burned; that used to be the case in some parts of the world, but through new techniques, products and widespread consumer acceptance, demand has caught up with supply.
The recycling trap
Here's a trap that many people fall into - because an item can be recycled, they might feel that extra consumption is no longer a bad thing. Recycling is the last of the 3R's i.e. Reduce, Reuse... lastly, Recycle.
Reduction of consumption means that less needs to be produced in the first place (and you'll save a stack of cash too). Reusing gives old products new life with little or no energy being used for repurposing, whereas recycling still does require substantial energy."
I invite ALL of our residents who qualify for the free of charge (and there are a lot of them), curbside recycling program to join up just as quickly as possible. It's a great program, and it's a service which will make the earth a better place for many, many years to come. My wife, Kathleen Allen, who is a teacher at PHHS, has taken to the recycling program, just like our sons have. It's a great program, you just need to get into the swing of it!
No sorting of the items is necessary. Just rinse out the items, if they had foodstuffs in them. You don't even have to peel off the labels. It is so darned easy. Now, I've borrowed the following information about the energy saved by recycling. Not filling up the landfill is the easy one to understand, but when you begin to consider the energy savings from recycling, I'm hoping that you call us RIGHT AWAY.
"Recycling energy savings
By Green Living Tips Published 12/18/2007
If you visit a lot of environmental forums, no doubt you would have come across people claiming that recycling isn't all that effective - that it can take as much energy to recycle materials as it does to extract and produce them in the first place.
I don't claim to have any special knowledge or education, but here's some information I researched on the energy savings involved with various common materials from what I believe to be fairly good sources.
Energy savings - recycling metals
These figures also take into account the sorting and transportation of materials.Aluminium - 95%Copper - 85%Lead - 60%Steel - 62 - 74%Zinc - 60%
Data from the British Metal Recycling Association
Aside from the energy savings, the more metals that can be recycled, the less (or slower) destruction of the environment from mining. While the recycling process may produce toxic materials; mining certainly does.
Energy savings - recycling plastics
Post-consumer products may contain as many as 20 different types of plastic material; so one of the biggest challenges is sorting it all. However, according to Dr. Mike Biddle, President of MBA Polymers, recycling plastics uses only roughly 10 percent of the energy that it takes to make a pound of plastic from virgin materials.
Again, the savings aren't just in energy - plastics are still mostly made from petrochemicals; i.e. crude oil. Nearly 10 percent of U.S. oil consumption, which equates to approximately 2 million barrels a day - is used to make plastics. Recycling plastics also means saving oil - through the production process and base materials.
Energy savings - recycling glass
According to Waste Online, for every ton of recycled glass, 1.2 tons of raw materials are not required and after taking into account transport and processing needed to recycle glass, nearly 700 pounds of carbon dioxide is saved per ton of glass melted for the purposes of making bottles and jars.The Glass Packaging Institute states recycled glass uses only two-thirds the energy needed to manufacture glass from raw materials.
Recycled glass isn't just used for making more bottles - it can be turned into fiberglass (which is also used in house insulation), and as a component of bricks; requiring less energy to create the bricks and as the product is lighter, less energy is used in transport. Glass can be recycled indefinitely.
Energy savings - recycling paper
The Department of Energy states that a ton of paper made from recycled fibers conserves 7,000 gallons of water, up to 31 trees, 4,000 KWh of electricity and up to 60 pounds of air pollutants (not including carbon dioxide). Overall, recycling paper uses about 60% less energy than making paper from new materials.
In case you've heard that there is a glut of old newspapers around and therefore paper is now often shipped to landfill and burned; that used to be the case in some parts of the world, but through new techniques, products and widespread consumer acceptance, demand has caught up with supply.
The recycling trap
Here's a trap that many people fall into - because an item can be recycled, they might feel that extra consumption is no longer a bad thing. Recycling is the last of the 3R's i.e. Reduce, Reuse... lastly, Recycle.
Reduction of consumption means that less needs to be produced in the first place (and you'll save a stack of cash too). Reusing gives old products new life with little or no energy being used for repurposing, whereas recycling still does require substantial energy."
I invite ALL of our residents who qualify for the free of charge (and there are a lot of them), curbside recycling program to join up just as quickly as possible. It's a great program, and it's a service which will make the earth a better place for many, many years to come. My wife, Kathleen Allen, who is a teacher at PHHS, has taken to the recycling program, just like our sons have. It's a great program, you just need to get into the swing of it!
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