​   The Council meeting opened with the Township of Peoria Annual Meeting. LWVGP representatives, led by Janet Roth, read a statement regarding League plans for a study to examine transparency and efficiency of Peoria Township operations over the coming year.
   In the regular meeting which followed, Councilors deferred a vote on approving a liquor license for Exposition Gardens to gather more information on the number of outdoor events, cut off times and comparison with other Class I licenses, such as Louisville Slugger Complex.
   Video gaming fees were discussed. Interim Corporation Counsel Chrissy Kaputska reviewed city code: video gaming terminal fees set at $500 per terminal, equally split between local business and terminal operators, as well as $1,000 fee for terminal operators per machine. The Illinois legislature changed Video Gaming Act in December 2021 to require all fees shared equally between local business and terminal operators. The city is required to amend the current fee system. Ms. Kaputska spoke to the inconsistencies in State legislation regarding home-rule language and impact on establishing flat registration fee of $500. Concerns for small business were expressed, as well as how other municipalities were handling this and if there were alternative fee structures.
   Councilors approved scheduled increase in City’s Sanitary Sewer Lateral Fee effective May 1, on a 7-3 vote; Councilors opposed were Denis Cyr, Zach Oyler and Sid Ruckriegel. City Manager Patrick Urich explained this increase is for properties serviced by the city-owned sewer system to fund repairs, maintenance and operations. Increase will be just over $.50 per quarter per property. This will allow the city to maintain the sewer system to meet standards in order to transfer jurisdiction to Greater Peoria Sanitary District. Council was reminded the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) funds were used for sewer improvement projects and the yearly Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) loan application and approval.
Note: agenda, video and minutes are available at  peoriail.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
Connie Romanus, Observer

​  The Peoria County Election Commission met on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, with Commissioner Burke absent.  In his report, Director Tom Bride stated that almost all of the new voting system has been delivered.  The printers had arrived, and the pollbooks were due in a few days.  Staff is working on various processes, such as how to handle provisional ballots.  Training will occur later this month, followed by a mock election with the judges.  Tentatively, there will be an open house for the press and possibly the public.  The Peoria office has been coordinating with DuPage County because they are the only other jurisdiction in Illinois using the same voting system.
  During the discussion on whether to continue using prepaid envelopes for Vote by Mail, it was decided that the current supply would be used for the upcoming primary and general election.
  New voting booths will not be available until July 1, due to a shortage of aluminum for the legs.  Staff is looking to borrow booths from St. Louis County and/or Indiana, since they will have completed their primaries.  Hopefully, the only cost will be for transportation.
  At the State level, objections are still being handled.  No voting bills were passed by the State Legislature this spring, but some may come up either in the veto session or next spring.  Things that had been discussed include vote centers and pre-paid postage for vote by mail.
Irene Pritzker, Observer

All Board members were present. Announcements included: upcoming SAT’s and PSAT’s and Summer School signups.
Student Showcase:
  Young Authors Competition Winners K-8 entries are shared through Peoria Public Schools social media channels.
  Middle School Boys Basketball City Champions AJ Guyton presented the Championship team Roosevelt Rough Riders recognized for winning city middle school championship.
“We try to get these boys into a state of mind outside what they see on the streets” and work to get them prepared for college.
Presentations by audience seven people spoke. Among topics: free Little League, support for schools promoting democracy, upset with mask mandates (2), upset with school name changes, support for Accelerated Reader program which has been discontinued and using Covid money on truancy solutions.
Superintendent Dr. Kherat’s update:

• Summer school for Grades K-8 June 13 - July 1. High school summer school June 6 to June 24.
• State of our Schools: May 4 at 7:30. Sheridan 4 Points
• 8 weeks left to go in school.
• Will follow up on Accelerated Reader program. Dr. Kherat is a supporter.
• June and July grades 5-12 will be receiving new desks and new chairs. Some are 50-60 years old.
• Big focus on flexible seating at the primary level, which is coming in the fall.

Consent Agenda
1.Donations to Peoria Schools to date
2.Payment of bills
3.Payment for travel
4.HR report
5.License agreement with Jolt Foundation
6.Field trip approval Harrison
7.Field trip approval Washington
8.Extend the fuel purchase with Hoerr Petroleum
9.Purchase of five used buses
10.Peoria High varsity cheerleaders overnight trip
11.National model UN Club conference
Consent agenda items 5 and 9 pulled:
  5. License agreement with Jolt Foundation for Harm Reduction with questions and details regarding: security for bringing the pilot to schools; professional medical office including Hep C finger stick, HIV swabbing, Narcan and Neloxone available. Will the school on-site program be open to anyone? Concerns about children being safe on site (clients must buzz in), loitering (hasn’t been an issue to date.) Hours will be 8-4 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Located across the street from the Health Department. Passed unanimously.
  9. Purchase of five used buses- paying a little less than half for the buses with reimbursements and they are gently used. Passed unanimously. They may have wi-fi.
Deliberation Agenda Expulsion agenda approved unanimously.
Board notes

• April is national autism awareness month and child abuse prevention month.
• May is mental health awareness month
• Middle school speech tournament at Glen Oak. Inspiring tournament.
• Committee meeting schedules announced.

To see the meeting, you can go to the Peoria Public Schools YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFNu3PTGzEyjDH6qV7FKSnA
Becky Doubleday, Observer

​Due to lack of quorum, the regular monthly meeting was not held. Next meeting of Board of Commissioners is scheduled for May 2, 2022. Meeting agenda available on website.
   It is noted that a Special Meeting regarding approval of the CEO employment contract was held on March 31.         Agendas are posted on website: https://www peoriahousing.org    
Connie Romanus, Observer  

​  Superintendent of Human Resources, Shaleese Pie, reported on the ongoing process to fill 230 full-time, part-time and seasonal positions. Staff have attended a good number of high schools and career fairs to recruit with more opportunities for recruitment in the future. PPD is using its website and various media sources, including Facebook, to promote its values and priorities. On the PPD website there is a listing of all job openings on an interactive interface with benefits and information on the hiring process.
  In other business, a question from Trustee Petty concerning selecting the bidder on several commodity purchases, using the diversity policy in place, lead to a discussion about the applicability on the provisions of the policy in this instance. It was decided that the DEI (Diversity Equality Inclusion) ad hoc committee would take up the clarification of this policy as it pertains to future bidding for both services and commodities.
  Trustee Bertschy was absent. All other trustees were present in person or via Facebook. The meeting was called to order at 6:10 and adjourned at 7:30.
MA, Observer

​Peoria City Council approved an intergovernmental agreement regarding tax collection duties with Peoria County Treasurer and Peoria Township Collector. Stephen Morris, city treasurer and township collector, explained that Peoria is the last County to have a township collect property taxes and recommended that city hall no longer collect these taxes, saving $40,000 annually. Beginning in May, property taxes will all be paid to Peoria County Treasurer (at the Peoria courthouse) or local participating banks. Nicole Bjerke is the County Treasurer. This impacts few people who had paid their real estate taxes in person at City Hall and will be able to pay in person at Peoria Courthouse (down the street.) Most taxpayers pay via their mortgage, at a bank, or by mail which already goes to the County Treasurer.   

• A presentation by Ray Lees was made on the Heart of Illinois Port District which was established in 2003 and covers six counties and 30 private terminals along the central Illinois waterways. He gave an overview of the economic benefit, especially for Tazewell and Peoria counties. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers started collecting statistical data for the Port District in 2021. The six counties of the Heart of Illinois Regional Port district have largest metrics of river commerce in the state outside of Chicago.
• Caesar Suarez, Economic Development Department, gave overview of Small Business R.I.S.E. Program that will provide funds in four areas: recovery support, income, start-up and harm identification to qualifying businesses.
• About $2.2 million in funding from Cares Act and American Rescue Plan will be available each year in 2022 and 2023. The city is using community navigators, Chamber of Commerce, minority business groups and media to market this program locally.
• Joe Dulin, Community Development Director, gave an overview of the Near Southside Housing Needs Assessment and Community Revitalization Plan. City met with Illinois Housing Authority and is looking at direction of future affordable housing. Funding is available through the American Rescue Plan and will do demolition work in 61605 area. The council commended Director Dulin for efforts to get community input on this project from neighborhood groups and surveys of residents.
• The councilors voted 8-3 to waive the city’s right of first refusal to purchase the Spirit of Peoria riverboat, with Beth Jensen, Zach Oyler and Charles Grayeb opposed. Several members expressed disappointment that more information was not available to Council regarding business operations and condition of the boat.
• City Manager Patrick Urich was asked to report back on liability pension obligations and how the city can be better positioned over the next 18 years to meet public service pension obligation.

Connie Romanus, Observer

​All Trustees attended either in person or virtually. The Investment Committee Meeting report- the $5-6million dollars will be laddered for needed times, but rates are still very low.
 
The Board of Trustees Meeting had one guest whose volunteer work for the St Vincent de Paul society at a local church led her to ask that the GPSD bills also be sent to renters. Currently only the owners receive the bill from GPSD. But utilities may be the renters’ responsibility. When a notice finally does come to the renter it is a notice of approaching water shutoff and may be hundreds of dollars overdue. GPSD is aware of this and is looking into solutions, but extremely low-income households may not have a computer or internet access for electronic bills. Staff pointed out that GPSD has a link on their website to Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) which is a  partial one-time solution.
·         The public hearing on the 2022-23 Budget will be on Tuesday April 18. Afterwards the trustees will vote on the budget. Fuel and chemical expenses are much higher now which is reflected in the budget.
·          Two employees were promoted from within to new positions and two interns are budgeted.
·       GPSD has applied for a FEMA BRIC grant to cover 70% of their Levee Improvements Project. The project involves changing the height and slope of the levee which surrounds the GPSD plant, relocation of the maintenance garage, Kickapoo Interceptor Control Structure, and Effluent Channel Control Structure.  This project is needed to meet the FEMA requirement for a 100-year flood event. Flooding has increased and on one occasion when the river reached 29 feet, employees had to take a boat to get to the plant.
·         There were no overflows in February in the GPSD system. There was one combined sewer discharge on February 16 with .73inches of rain in the city owned combined water/sewer system.
·         There were no sanitary sewer backups in February within the District-owned sanitary sewer collection system.
·         A six-year generator maintenance agreement was approved to maximize the service life of their emergency standby generators.
·         Trustees thanked staff for participation in an ongoing national sewage tracking project described in  a Saturday March 12 Peoria Journal Star article: Sewage might track down next COVID-19 outbreak (by Leslie Renken)  https://peoriajournalstar-il.newsmemory.com?selDate=20220312&goTo=A01&artid=3    
Cheryl Budzinski, Observer

​Springdale Cemetery Observer Report March 15, 2022
Chair Pam Johnson and 3 trustees were in person, two trustees participated by phone and one was absent.
General Manager Matuszak talked about the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) approved unanimously by the City Council, Park District and County Board after months of negotiation. The major changes from the original IGA (Sept 2002) are: the County will increase its contribution from $60,000/year to double that gradually starting at $102,000 annually to $120,000 annually in 8 years. The city averaged about $230,000 per year. The Park District continues at $40,000 annually. However, since the Savannah is important to the Park District, PPD will buy the Savannah for $1 and will maintain the Savannah – costing about $20,000 annually. (The Savannah is on the National Register of Historic Places. The new Scattering Garden is in the wooded part of the Savannah property.) Another change is the number of trustees each governmental unit appoints to the Springdale Cemetery Management Authority. Effective in September, the City will have 5 trustees, County will have 2 trustees, the Park District and Foundation will each have 1 trustee. The Foundation will have a $25,000 annual donation due to the cemetery.
Matuszak needs 6 committed volunteers to maintain Soldiers Hill every week. Some of the original volunteers are in their 90’s.
They are awaiting two awarded state grants and have a bequest to be settled soon. The grants will be used for infrastructure - roads are in “total disrepair” (6 miles of road with 2.5 miles being rated “fair to good” and 3.5 miles in “bad shape.”) The roads originally were built to a variety of standards (or none.) The concept for the road repair including the type of materials is under discussion.
Trash cans around the cemetery are being replaced by donated, painted used ones in good shape.
The Foundation will revamp their newsletter and website and will have a variety of activities in the cemetery.
The cemetery has $407,000 in their designated (restricted, endowment-type) fund.
CB, Observer

The Peoria County Board held its regular meeting March 10th with all present but Member Rosenbohm.
One Citizen’s Remark in support of the pending Springdale Cemetery agreement and preservation of the savannah under the pending care of the Peoria Park District.
The Consent agenda passed on a vote of 17-0 without discussion but two items were voted on separately to allow members to abstain due to possible conflicts of interest.  Among approved items were:

• Riverfront Museum bylaws revisions.
• Settlement of a circuit court case for a payment of $200,000.
• Settlement of a Worker’s Compensation case for an amount not to exceed $60,000.
• Peoria County and Bradley University agreement for maintaining the Pavement Management Program.
• Capital improvements on Blue Ridge Road, Todd School Road, and townships roads within Millbrook and Rosefield townships.

The regular agenda consisted of eight items and all were approved.  These include:

• Sale of Heddington Oaks to UnityPoint Health for use as a child and adolescent mental/behavioral health and substance abuse hub for prevention, treatment and recovery.  Dr. Keith Knepp, CEO, UnityPoint Health-Central Illinois, and Martha Herm, past UnityPlace board chair, made presentations encouraging the sale.  Several members expressed reservations about the low sale price and remaining bond payments but ultimately supported the unanimous vote since UnityPoint was a local buyer and the planned use was sorely needed. Dr. Knepp indicated that UnityPoint would invest a multi-million dollar sum to renovate the facility to accommodate the new use.
• Approval of a new Springdale Cemetery ten year intergovernmental agreement with unanimous votes by the county board, Peoria City Council and the Peoria Park District board.
• Special use requests for two potential Airbnb/VRBO properties in Chillicothe Township.
• Special use to permit the development of a solar energy generation facility in Princeville Township.
• Suspension of the Rules to permit extension of the Declaration of Emergency due to COVID-19 in the county.

Jim Runyon, Observer
Link to the meeting agenda and video are here:
Agenda
Video
​

  The trustees of the PPD board voted unanimously in favor of accepting the 2022 Springdale Cemetery Intergovernmental Agreement between the PPD, the City of Peoria, and the County of Peoria. Under the agreement the city will subdivide and sell the area of the savanna at Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum to the PPD for $1.00. This area will be put into permanent environmental stewardship at the Park District’s cost. The agreement is for ten years with the option to extend an additional ten years. The Peoria City Council approved the agreement prior to the PPD board meeting and the Peoria County Board will vote on it March 10, 2022.  
 In other business Jacob Kuban reported on the process the PPD has gone through to receive Level 1 accreditation from the Morton Arboretum’s Arbnet for the Donovan Park Arboretum. Signage is being developed to identify 25 tree species in high traffic areas of the park. A tree planting will be held Friday, April 29 in conjunction with Earth Day. All trustees were present in person/via Zoom. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 and adjourned at 6:45.
MA, Observer