​The Observer Reports were written by volunteer observers of the Greater Peoria League of Women Voters.  The reports are presented here as a public service.  They are in no way “official” but are intended solely as an informal means of enabling citizens to monitor the meetings of local government bodies.  Every effort has been made to make these reports accurate; however, like all materials of this nature, they are subject to human error.

The regular third Wednesday of each month Peoria City County Landfill Committee meeting began at 3 p.m. at Peoria City Hall Room 404 with Chairman Steve Morris presiding and member Zach Oyler absent.
During the Foth Engineering report, committee member Rick Fox asked for more information regarding one of the special waste products approved for disposal. Mr. Fox referred to several comments on the Material Data Safety Sheet regarding toxicity of manganese sulfate monohydrate. The substance was accepted at the landfill because it was not a RCRA hazardous waste. The Foth review will turn down substances that could be a risk and they can also bring items of concern to the committee.
The gate audit check showed all procedures in place and being followed.  Due to the cold weather only one load of landfill leachate was reported for the previous month. Waste tonnage receipts were up for January 2020 which have helped landfill revenues and 13,168.18 tons were recorded compared to January 2019 which was 12,199.75 tons. Waste Management staff could not be present for the meeting and had sent notification to the Chairman.

Bob Manning, Vice Chair, chaired the meeting which started at 4:00pm.  Chair, Linda Daley, was present by phone.

• Mr. Matusak introduced his new idea for the Memorial Day Celebration.  He wanted the Board to consider a Luminaria Event at Twilight on the Sunday before Memorial Day.  A number of smaller activities were discussed as possible enhancements for the evening.  The Board was very enthusiastic about the event and asked Mr. Matusak to move forward with his plans and keep them informed. 

 

• Goal Setting Meeting – Chair Linda Daley called the Special Goal Setting meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. in the Springdale Cemetery meeting room in the Volunteer and Maintenance Building on Monday, January 27, 2020.  A quorum was present.  The Goal Setting Meeting was facilitated by Mr. Patrick Urich ending at 5:30 p.m.  Mr. Urich will put together a summary of the meeting.  A second Goal Setting Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 12, 2020 from 3 – 5 p.m. 

Executive Director Tom Bride gave an update on the primary election in March: 540 ballots have been mailed with 70 already returned, including the first one which came from Singapore!  He announced 150 early voters, but several more showed up during the board meeting.  He expects 20% of voters to vote by mail.
Director Bride would like to look into finding the best replacement for the current voting system.  The one in use now was purchased in 2005 and first used in March of 2006.  He is concerned that the vendor will stop supporting the current machines.  Machines would not be replaced until summer of 2021 so as not to interfere with this year's election cycle.  He is already holding discussions with the County and plans on sending out Requests for Information this summer so there would be plenty of time to make a decision.  Planning is difficult because the state could change to more vote by mail.  There is already discussion in the Legislature, and things can change very quickly.
Irene Pritzker, Observer
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​Recent HUD inspections of PHA properties included improved scores and ratings achieved with upward trends identified to meet HUD policies.  Director Newman and board recognized efforts of all staff in this achievement.

• Hired Program Integrity Specialist, Mr. Hudson.  This role is key to monitoring compliance to HUD policies
• Jackie Newman, Director, gave an update on Taft Redevelopment.  Preliminary proposal to HUD approved; next step to submit full application to HUD by March22, 2020.
  • PHA will be asking for official support of Peoria City Council at February 11 meeting.
• Minutes of January 6, 2020 board meeting approved, as well as December 12, 2019 closed session minutes.  Agenda available on site.  Board packet made available to this observer. There were no community comments
• Next Board of Commissioners meeting March 2, at 4:30 PM at 100 S Richard Pryor Place, Peoria.  

Connie Romanus, Observer

The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM by Trustee Petty and recessed to go into a Public Hearing concerning the intent of the Board to issue $5 million General Obligation Park Bonds for capital improvements. There were no replies for calls for written and oral testimony. At 6:10 PM, the hearing was closed and the regular meeting resumed with President Johnson presiding.
Staff member Mike Friberg provided a report on the emergency repairs made on Grandview Drive following a landslide on July 7, 2019. NE Finch Co. did the work. A combination of graphs, photos, and video offered information about the rebuilding of an area of pipe and of manhole number two. The landslide was caused by groundwater, a problem not anticipated in the original construction. A groundwater drainage system to prevent this problem from occurring in the future will need to be added to the site in the future, adding significant additional cost to the project.
An amendment to the Sexual Harassment Policy was approved to comply with a new State law. The amendment adds Trustees to the policy, requiring reporting and an independent review of allegations of sexual harassment by an elected official against another elected official.
A request for a membership price increase by Peoria Zoological Society was approved. The increase will be effective April 1, 2020.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 PM. The next scheduled PPD Board meeting is February 12, 2020.
Farrell Davies, Observer

​Executive Director Cahill reported that staff are working on developing a policy that will address cannabis use and that the policy will come before the Board by the end of 2019.

Nine Americorps volunteers who are providing park restoration and facility restoration services through November 7 introduced themselves to the Board.

Jason Hawk from Hawk-Attolo, LLC was present for the vote on Power Purchase Agreements for Solar for four PPD facilities. Executive Director Cahill thanked Trustees Harant and Snowden for meeting with her and Mr. Hawk the previous day to cover final questions regarding the agreements. A separate vote was held for each Facility Agreement for Solar. The following four facility agreements were approved unanimously: River Plex Recreation Center, Noble Center, Lakeview Recreation Center, and Owens Recreation Center.

​Oct 22 meeting (Ruckregal absent) Public Hearing regarding the 2020-21 Biennial Budget had two people speak: Downtown Development Board requested funding in the budget as had been done previous years; Peoria Area Assoc of Realtors requested there be no increase in property taxes – the city should find additional sources of revenue.

• Councilman Kelly pulled the items on the communication from the Fireman’s and Police Pension Funds reports to ask about the discrepancies between the actuaries and insurance using different mortality tables which affects amount required to meet the state’s ramp. Discussion was about closed and open systems.
• First Reading of ordinance amendment on Registration of Residential Property and Inspection of Dwellings included discussion about: non-owner-occupied registration at closing of property; lowering the fee; self-inspection form.
• Much budget discussion since City Manager Urich had answers to the 15 items that the council asked him to research at the previous meeting. Some of those items: Capital plan by District; new firestation; using TIF money for Downtown Development Council; pci report which is a street/sidewalk assessment now done every 3 years to help rank road condition and is used to determine which road projects are done first – rather than doing it based on complaints; confidence level in revenue projections in the budget (use conservative numbers); garbage fee is going up so much to pay for previous years when the city did not charge enough to cover contracted costs; “have a Cadillac garbage program” according to Urich; recycling market materials is mostly gone and material is being sent to landfills; recycling glass 

​Chairman Steve Morris began the October 16th meeting reporting follow-up to the citizen comment at the September meeting regarding concern about run-off water affecting an adjacent citizen’s property. Mr. Morris thanked County Highway Engineer Amy McLaren for her prompt action in seeing that the blocked highway culvert causing the problem was cleaned. He said that this culvert is on the County list for replacement and was silted in.
The Foth Company landfill engineering report covered several special waste approvals, which included:

• some off-spec products and two other wastes that had prior committee approvals.
• The Illinois EPA is reviewing the Landfill Committee’s request to increase tonnage on several pre-approval waste items. The Agency reply is expected back in 90 to 120 days.
• Committee member Rick Fox asked if the Foth information on special wastes could provide more detail than the term ‘contaminated soil’ and asked that the cause of contamination be provided. 

Authority meeting was convened by Vice-Chair Bob Manning at 4:00 p.m.

• Savanna Update: An update was presented by Mike Rucker regarding two Funds that his family has funded to provide Maintenance and Marketing for the Project.  It was noted that the funds for the Maintenance Fund are designated for purposes such as annual plants, mulch and other such uses to maintain the appearance of the area.  The funds, ($10,000 with an addition of $2,000 per year), are held by the Community Foundation with a goal of creating a self-sustaining return in perpetuity.  The Marketing Fund is also managed by the Community Foundation and is used for purposes identified by Springdale Cemetery Administration. The Marketing Fund has a Caterpillar Match option.  All funds are paid out through the Community Foundation.
• Jon Hodel, a representative of Cloudpoint, gave an update of their work with the Cemetery staff and improvements to the system.  Mr. Hodel stated that the project was coming to a conclusion and would transition to a maintenance phase. ​