Our revenues for this fiscal year (May 1 to the present) are lower than the previous year's revenues (for the same period) - off by roughly 7%. That's really quite good compared to other municipalities. I've read about a number of cities where their revenues are down from 10-40%. All in all, we're holding up very well. Our biggest problem is something completely beyond our control - that Illinois workers are just not able to earn as much, obviously due to the high unemployment. Our portion of the state income tax payments has decreased markedly; down by almost 25%. Hopefully, this situation will turn around (for a whole bunch of reasons) much sooner than later.
That being said, the coming fiscal year (May 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011) will be a somewhat tighter time. We will still be doing additional curb and sidewalk work - we plan on budgeting around $75,000.00 for that. Lower Prospect Road, from the RR tracks to Lake, will be milled and overlaid, but that will be finished with stimulus money left over from the previous year. I don't see any other major projects coming down the pike for the coming year, unless a second round of stimulus money is put out, which would give us additional options.
The past several months have been pretty busy, actually. Upper Prospect Road was done; we put around $100,000.00 into curbs and sidewalks; a bucket truck was purchased; extensive work was done on Cox Avenue, due to a culvert being near collapse; a parking lot was purchased on Duryea; we had a new salt bin built, one that is about two times larger than the old one, which was falling apart; amongst the normal day to day activities.
This coming fiscal year will be under the microscope, as the economy really hasn't done any true rebounding at all (I think everyone knows that). We are still quite sound financially - about $1.5 million in the black, in the general fund, and I'd like to see us get to around $1.6-1.7 million by the end of the fiscal year (April 30).
We hope to have positive news about the Kellar Branch Trail being given the green light soon; and that will open the door for our beginning the plans for a trailhead building in the Heights. We have a $390,000.00 grant that will go toward the construction of it; we will need to match it with an additional 30% in order to receive the grant; so we're looking at a building that could be around $550,000.00 plus in total. It should serve as a community building, as well. We have begun the process of the vision for this building, and I think it will be the "magnet" for the folks on the trail that we need it to be.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Ambulance Service Ordinance
This past Tuesday, the Board of Trustees passed an ordinance that requires any outside ambulance service to contact our own service, should they receive a direct call (not 9-1-1) to come to the Heights. The reason? We need to know what situation one of our citizens may be in. Is it a cardiac, or just a sprained ankle? Is it stroke related, or a minor cut to the head? In virtually ever circumstance, the Peoria Heights ambulance is going to be closer (sometimes a LOT closer) than any outside emergency service.
It would appear that passage of this ordinance would be a slam dunk. For those of you who might not know, Peoria Heights now has an Advanced Life Support (ALS) crew that is available around the clock. In other words, we offer virtually anything that any outside agency could offer regarding emergency treatment. So, for the safety of our residents, we NEED to know what emergency situation might arise within our corporate limits. Yet, somehow, the proposed ordinance became a sticking point for two of our trustees - Andrea Pendleton and R. Scott Owen. Trustee Owen had spoken with a representative of AMT (Advanced Medical Transport), and had reportedly been told that AMT might do away with the mutual aid agreement we have with them, should the ordinance be passed.
Trustee Pendleton stated that she felt the ordinance would take away the "choice" one has to have call whichever ambulance service one wishes to call.
This is not the case. The person can still call AMT if he/she wants to, it's just that AMT will need to call us to tell us the situation, if it is a direct call to AMT. (A 9-1-1 call comes directly to the Heights).
This ordinance was already passed by municipalities like Washington; East Peoria; Pekin, etc. some time ago. We're not creating a new concept here. And yet, somehow, it now was making a big hoo-hah, particularly to the two dissenting trustees.
In the end, the ordinance passed 4-2, with Trustees Pendleton and Owen voting against.
Maybe I'm mistaken, but it seems to me that the vast majority of the residents of Peoria Heights want to have HEIGHTS services. We now have a top-notch ambulance service, and yet there are those who seem to want to throw roadblocks into its path. I'm at a loss to fully understand the reasons why. Trustee Pendleton has consistently voted against everything having to do with the full-time paid ambulance service. She has stated that the Village will not be able to afford it in the long term. There is nothing so far to back up that theory.
I appreciate the positive and forward thinking of those trustees and residents who have embraced the ALS full-time service. We have dedicated, top of the line emergency personnel; a service we can be infinitely proud of.
And, we should be.
It would appear that passage of this ordinance would be a slam dunk. For those of you who might not know, Peoria Heights now has an Advanced Life Support (ALS) crew that is available around the clock. In other words, we offer virtually anything that any outside agency could offer regarding emergency treatment. So, for the safety of our residents, we NEED to know what emergency situation might arise within our corporate limits. Yet, somehow, the proposed ordinance became a sticking point for two of our trustees - Andrea Pendleton and R. Scott Owen. Trustee Owen had spoken with a representative of AMT (Advanced Medical Transport), and had reportedly been told that AMT might do away with the mutual aid agreement we have with them, should the ordinance be passed.
Trustee Pendleton stated that she felt the ordinance would take away the "choice" one has to have call whichever ambulance service one wishes to call.
This is not the case. The person can still call AMT if he/she wants to, it's just that AMT will need to call us to tell us the situation, if it is a direct call to AMT. (A 9-1-1 call comes directly to the Heights).
This ordinance was already passed by municipalities like Washington; East Peoria; Pekin, etc. some time ago. We're not creating a new concept here. And yet, somehow, it now was making a big hoo-hah, particularly to the two dissenting trustees.
In the end, the ordinance passed 4-2, with Trustees Pendleton and Owen voting against.
Maybe I'm mistaken, but it seems to me that the vast majority of the residents of Peoria Heights want to have HEIGHTS services. We now have a top-notch ambulance service, and yet there are those who seem to want to throw roadblocks into its path. I'm at a loss to fully understand the reasons why. Trustee Pendleton has consistently voted against everything having to do with the full-time paid ambulance service. She has stated that the Village will not be able to afford it in the long term. There is nothing so far to back up that theory.
I appreciate the positive and forward thinking of those trustees and residents who have embraced the ALS full-time service. We have dedicated, top of the line emergency personnel; a service we can be infinitely proud of.
And, we should be.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Peoples Party Hierarchy Still At It
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.
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.
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.
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