Peoria approves $1.8M Tower on Adams acquisition despite concerns over structural assessment gaps

e e if everyone would take their seats we're going to get started with our meeting okay he's got call it okay and thank you sorry sounds like an echo sorry good evening everyone it's about 6 o' p.m on Tuesday September 24th 2024 I'd like to call the meeting of the Poria city council to order i' also like to welcome everyone who's here in our historic city council chambers as well as our listening audience at wcbu welcome also to our audience watching on cable channel 22 Madam Clark the council mics are open please call the rooll mayor Ali present council member Allen present council member sear here council member Gordon young present council member Graham here council member Jackson here council member Kelly here council member Oiler here council member riggenbach here council member vula present and Council member vaspa here we have a quarum present Madame mayor thank you madam clerk everyone please join me and stand for a moment of Silent prayer or silent reflection followed by the Pledge of Allegiance United States of America to the stands one nation God indivisible withy andice for all M cler we have two proclamations we have two proclamations the first recognizes heiser's garage and auto body and we have Mr Norm Heiser owner of heiser's garage and auto body and Mrs Barb Heiser owner of Heiser excuse me heiser's garage and auto body can you please come forth it's right down to the podium good evening good evening I'm going to read the proclamation and then I'm going to turn it over to you for comments Mr Heiser all right thank you okay whereas heiser's garage and auto body was founded in Peoria at 1728 North Sheridan Road by Ray and Helen Heiser in 1949 wow the shop began as a fuel station grew to a full machine shop serviced by three sons of the family Jean Russ and Norm Heiser and has been owned an oper to muscle care restoration it is now the only only Central Illinois AO body shop that specializes in rust repair and whereas Norm Heiser Prides his arities raising over $56,000 for St Jude Children's Research Hospital over the past 20 years now therefore I Rita Ali mayor of the city of Poria Illinois do hereby celebrate the 75th anniversary of heiser's garage and Auto Body in Poria Illinois thank you thank you if I could take just a few minutes of your time I'd like to give you a brief history I think you'll enjoy it I would like to take this opportunity to thank the mayor of the city mayor Ali and the city council members for giving me this Proclamation thank you for giving up your busy time I would also like to acknowledge the cooperation of the city of Poria the Poria Police Department for their protection whenever needed which allowed me to stay in business for 75 years there is a lot more to this story story about the beginning of our business then will allow me tonight but I just want to try and give some highlights of how the business was started and where I am today with heiser's garage and auto body back in the mid-30s dad and mom Ry and Helen began their marriage working like any other couple Along Came Jean 1937 then Russ was born in 1942 and myself in 1948 dad worked at caterpillar worked on cars at night in the backyard in a one-all garage at the corner of Ashley and Nebraska where we lived there until 1958 dad had only a third grade education mom finished the 10th grade for her education then in 1949 dad still working at caterpillar made a bet with some of his co-workers here is the original bet March the 8th 1949 it's dated so a bet was made dad wanted to go in business for himself that was the thing the bed included a box of Dutch Master cigars and a fifth of Dutch of excuse me and a fifth of Four Roses whiskey and dad would start his own business in the auto repair the BET was on and in September of 1949 heiser's garage and Machine Works was born dad won the BET all through the 50s 60s Dad Mom us three brothers shared all the work Ellen did the bookkeeping and paid the bills from working on cars trucks school buses whatever would fit through that overhead door we worked on it from major repairs to helping the neighborhood kids with their bicycles we did it to installing auto air conditioners engines Transmissions we did it to running the shell and then later The Zephyr gas station working from 8:00 a.m.

to 10: p.m. 6 days a week and on Sundays from 10: until 2:00 p.m.

we did it in the later 60s all three brothers left the shop Ray and Helen continued with outside help that was until dad died in 1971 at that time I was 23 years old ready to get married just graduated from ICC with a business degree and mom offered me the business I jumped on it in 1975 I graduated from Bradley with my Automotive degree and and also in 75 and 78 my older two brothers decided to quit their jobs one working at Chevy and the other one working at Ford quit their jobs and came back to the shop that lasted until they passed away including my first wife Linda between the years 1993 and 2 1 by that time I was going strong in the collision and auto body repair and refinishing which I started on my own back in the mid 80s I remarried in 1998 finished raising my two sons one daughter got them through school and they graduated all through college graduated from college they all have good jobs and they're out on their own with the help and support of my wife Barb my wife now for 26 years and my children we have continued to grow with the introduction of fax machines computers cell phones I've adjusted just ask them from 2013 to the present I've adjusted again to doing just rust repair and refinishing cars and trucks I am truly blessed with my wife and kids who have supported me all through these years I've always kept one thing in mind all through life when you take all the hits bangs and blocks that life hands you think of yourself as a prize fighter no matter how many times you get knocked down get back up that's right dust the gloves off take the standing eight count and get back at it always stay in the center of the Ring do the job to the best of your ability that's the way Ray and taught us I hope Mom Dad Jean and Russ are all smiling now of course we did it thank you Poria thank you thank you for sharing that beautiful story and and just great advice wonderful advice for anyone thank you Mr Heiser congratulations thank our next Proclamation recognizes hi start awareness and we have Miss Joyce Banks the Head Start director at Peoria citizens committee for Economic Opportunity known as PC CEO and our new president and CEO of uh PC CEO Mr Charles T white thank you for being here our Proclamation reads where as PC CEO birth to five Head Start the successful comprehensive family oriented program for birth to preschool children from families with lwi income has provided education nutrition parental involvement and Social Services to thousands of children and their families in Peoria County and whereas National Research indicates that each dollar spent on comprehensive full Serv service Early Childhood programs results in over $7 in reduced public expenses and whereas October has been designated as Head Start awareness month and this community's PC CEO birth to five Head Start program will join more than 8,000 Head Start centers across the country in celebrating the accomplishments of head now therefore I Reed Ali mayor of the city of peia Illinois do hereby proclaim the month of October oober 2024 as Head Start Awareness Month in Peoria Illinois Mr White uh I don't know how to to top Mr Heiser but I'll try first of all his uh his statements are correct um one of the things we did at head start is we do stand in the center of the ring those people's sitting behind me that's the reason why we getting this award right now this Proclamation those individuals and those that are not here is a reason why Head Start is what it is today you know so to the mayor to the council city of PE first and foremost we want to thank you all as a program and as an agency secondly Head Start is a program for pcceo it's a program that serves children birth to 5 years old we prepar children for kindergarten and Beyond also we work with their families which most people don't realize that we do we TR our program truly does giveing children a head start currently PC's Head Start Start program has graduated in OBGYN she's in uh New Orleans right now working we have a uh CNN ABC correspondent which I'm proud to say I went to high school with was a head start uh program uh student and right now we have a young lady that's working on her white cat to become a doctor from our program that's just letting you know that Head Start does work as the mayor has said October is Head Start awareness month as of October 1st our Head Start program will kickoff its pyramid program the social and emotional tool we are using for all headstar children and families our theme is we work better together every day our headstar children will recite these words we are responsible we are united and we are powerful our teachers will use these themes and words daily as acclimation and examples of how we Are Better Together which is a theme that we should use as our community we are responsible we clean up after ourselves we are united because we help each other we are powerful because we work together we exercise and we get stronger as a team the pure Community will see banners with these words throughout the city we want you to join us in saying and I'm asking everybody to say this with me right now repeat after me We Are Better Together We Are Better Together every day every day use these words responsible United and Powerful as you go on your journey each and every day the reason why we are so successful as a program because we work as a team no one is more powerful than that I was uh recently promoted as Madame mayor said to the CEO of PC CEO but I came from the Head Start program so when I say Head Start works not only does it work for the students and families it also works for employees is where it so on behalf of the program and the agency I want to say from the bottom of my heart heart in their hearts we truly are blessed and we thank you all for this Proclamation thank you [Applause] president okay again thank you President White I'm a big supporter of Head Start because I know what it can do for families and thank you to all the families that came out in support of the Proclamation tonight Madame clerk we are at the approval of the minutes council member rigbot thank you madam mayor I move to approve the minutes of The Joint City Council Town board meeting held on September 10th 2024 is printed thank you is there a second seconded by council member Kelly any questions or comments please cast your ballots everybody's works but mine oh okay it's me all right there we go Motion passes unanimously Madam clerk we are at public hearings 24-26 is a public hearing regarding the proposed annexation of 9910 North Orange Road in Dunlap Illinois and we need a motion to open the public hearing a motion to open Move by council member Allan seconded by council member Gordon young okay uh any comments or questions please cast your ballots is it the manager be happy to your honor okay so um the 9910 North orang Prairie Road is um subject of a annexation request there this there was also some zoning matters for this uh the use is going to be an a outdoor entertainment facility uh with a number of amenities that would complement the uh uses in the area because of the Louisville Slugger facility and many hotels in the area and so uh this matter was before the council a few years ago was approved the new item is a larger use uh some more amenity uh but a very similar use to the previously approved I think there's a um a number of attractions there and many golf um outdoor go golf uh uh go-karts and things like that right uh for um the amusement of individuals that might be in that area for the other tourism attractions um so this is the request for annexation and the zoning matters will be before the um uh they're on the agenda later in the uh in the evening tonight okay thank you thank you very much uh we have opened the public meeting hearing public hearing is there anyone present who would like to speak to item 24-26 a public hearing regarding the proposed annexation of 9910 North Orange Prairie Road in Dunlap again is there anyone present that would like to speak to the public hearing regarding the annexation proposed annexation of 9910 North Orange Prairie Road in Dunlap and last uh for the third time is there anyone present who would like to speak to the public hearing regarding the proposed annexation of 9910 North Orange Prairie Road in Dunlap I would ask uh for a motion to close the public hearing moved by council member Allan seconded by council member Gordon young please cash your ballots motion passes unanimously Madam cler 24- 269 is a public hearing regarding the proposed annexation of 6500 West Route 150 in Dunlap Illinois and we need a motion to open the public hearing okay can I get a motion to open the public hearing moved by council member velpula seconded by council member Kelly please cast your ballots motion passes unanimously Council Hayes Corporation Council Hayes would you like to speak to this or yes uh could we have the was there already the motion to open the public hearing yes this well okay thank you sorry so uh I was focusing on what I was going to say so I'm sorry I missed that no problem a little strange stage fright uh so as the council knows there's a development out on 150 that includes Haven on the farm uh that's an entertainment and wedding venue um there's additional property there adjacent uh held by Pringle Technologies um and there is not presently sanitary sewer to that site to bring the sanitary Su to that site we've uh struck an an agreement with Illinois Department of Transportation to Annex in the Illinois Department of tra transportation service facility on 150 that's immediately across 150 from The Haven on farms development uh the sanitary sewer will uh route along uh that property Edge to supply sanitary sewer to those um facilities as part part of this annexation agreement and in recognition of the um sanitary sewer easement being granted and the annexation into the property we've uh arranged for a waiver of the otherwise storm water fees that we'd be due from the Illinois Department of Transportation so they will Annex in provide that sanitary sewer easement free of charge which the city would otherwise have to pay for and an exchange there'll be a waiver of the S the storm water utility fees that would otherwise be opposed on that property idot doesn't intend to presently uh connect to the sanitary sewer but when or if they expand their facility they may do so and they'll make those arrangements directly with the greater peor Sanitary District I'd be happy to take any questions uh the council may have thank you thank you Council Hayes council member Kelly I thank thank you Madame mayor um I don't know precisely who to address this to but and perhaps in the paper packets there was information on these two public hearings uh on the iPads no and so it's um I know we're not deciding these at the moment but would be nice to have that info although I think it's down lower in the agenda thank you madam mayor you're welcome may I respond your honor pardon me may I respond yes so um we'd be happy to style the agenda I'm sure the clerk will accommodate with the same link that's in the agenda items later in the um later in the agenda so that the link will appear in two different places and I'll take you all the materials so that there isn't you don't have to go through the agenda and figure out which one it connects to so we could have the same uh agenda reference item appear in two places I think we can make those ARR that'll be helpful yes thank you okay okay is there anyone present that would like to speak to item 24- 269 the public hearing regarding the proposed annexation of 6500 West Route 150 in Dunlap Illinois is there anyone present that would like to speak to the public hearing regarding the proposed annexation of 6500 West Route 150 in dlap and last is there anyone that would like to speak to the public hearing regarding the proposed annexation of 6500 West Route 150 in Dunlap hearing none I would ask for a motion to close a public hearing moved by council member SAR seconded by council member Allan please cash your ballots motion passes unanimously thank you madam Clark we are at the consent agenda 24- 270 is a communication with from the city manager and director of public works with a request to approve the low bit of autobomb Company Inc and award a contract for the Glen Oak Avenue resurfacing project in the amount of $587,000 with an additional authorization of $58,700 for contingencies for a total contract Award of $645,000 24-27 is a communication with a request to approve a resolution regarding the approval of closed session minutes 24- 272 is a communication with request to concur with recommendation from the Planning and Zoning commission and staff to approve a resolution of approving the kigar Subdivision plat with waivers for the properties located at 9310 North Fry Road Poria Illinois 24- 273 is a communication with request to concur with recommendation from the Planning and Zoning commission and staff to adopt an ordinance approving a special use in a class R4 single family residential district for a short-term rental for the property located at 2530 West Sherman Avenue Avenue Poria Illinois 24- 274 is a communication with request to concur with a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning commission and staff to adopt an ordinance approving a special use in a class R4 single family residential district for a short-term rental for the property located at 2018 West catel Street Poria Illinois 24- 275 is an appointment by mayor Ali to the East Village growth cell with a request to concur of L joh nun 24- 276 is is an appointment by mayor Ali to the P Metropolitan Airport Authority with a request to concur of Michelle coner and that concludes our consent agenda thank you are there any items to remove from consent council member rbot no I'm sorry oh no okay I'm sorry can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda move by council member sear seconded by council member Gordon young any questions or comments please cash your ballots motion passes unanimously Madam clerk we are at regular business 24- 277 is a communication from the city manager and Corporation Council with a request for the following a adopt an ordinance authorizing the execution of a real estate sale and purchase agreement for the tower on Adam's properties and B adopt an ordinance amending the city of Poria 2024 2025 by annual budget relating to the general fund for the purchase of the tower on Adam's property as well as due diligent costs in the amount of $1,800,000 and Item B requires a two-thirds vote of council members voting no less than six votes Mr manager Corporation councel thank you Madame mayor um uh thank you this is um the request or this is uh the culmination of um several months of discussions that we've been having with cullin and properties over um what they call the tower on Adams uh block which is uh and includes the uh P what other people know is the commercial National Bank building the PNC Bank building the creef core club building and the corresponding parking deck um the the tower on Adams buildings are uh one 11 story property uh and one four-story property uh of about 250,000 Square ft of space um the long-standing tenants in those buildings include PNC Bank and Clifton Larsson Allen uh the uh accounting firm there's a 350 space parking deck and 94 surface parking spaces um and obviously it it's an old historic building it's been around for a very long time it was part of uh the contributing structures in our downtown uh historic downtown design ation that was created several years back um so consistent with the city's efforts uh in our strategic plan uh to focus on restoring current buildings and commercial spaces uh and to support the conversion of commercial space to mixed use uh we're coming forward to you this evening with a request to purchase these properties from Colin properties um you know as I mentioned we've been talking with them since uh May on this um but a sale would allow the city to pursue a developer uh that can assemble the requisite tax credits uh and holding periods that would be needed uh for the property um the short-term public ownership we anticipate this to be short-term public ownership affords the city the opportunity to vet the new owners and developers to ensure a consistent vision and that the financial capabilities are there to complete this development uh so our next steps as City staff obviously would be that we would undertake the due diligence period if Council approves this this evening we would have 30 days uh to do the due diligence and we would look to close uh around October 25th um and then we with that you know we would get an assessment report of the building and of the parking structures which then we would share with the developers so that they would understand and know what was going into the buildings um and then we would immediately work uh to develop um and issue a developer request for qualifications uh so that we can work through that process um I think from the the city's perspective Rick Joseph is here who is representing cullin and properties we you know want to publicly acknowledge cullin and properties um for their ability to acquire the properties and to uh work with us uh as we uh look to acquire it and then find a developer that's willing to to um move in the in the direction that that we think that it can go with uh the historic tax credits that would be necessary to develop it and then the requisite holding periods as well so um from that I think City staff would be happy to answer any questions the council may have Mr manager I recall a number of years ago when the city owned property I believe it was on Adam Street that the city was wanting to attract developers and they actually held an open house in the facility invited the public invited especially developers that they kind of targeted I would see this as that kind of opportunity to open up that PNC building which is an amazing amazing building especially on that first floor formerly Commercial National Bank building to allow people and developers to come in and just see the potential of what this facility might be I I we would certainly be open to to doing something like that and and making sure that we offered that um for uh the developers that would express interest I think that um you know I think that from uh the city's perspective um this is an important block and it's an important block that we ensure that we have the right developers come in um with the financial capabilities to make this work um we really don't have to look very far to see in in in the central business district we have some challenges with um under capitalized developers so I think that's something that we need to to certainly look at and and make sure that we're vetting uh to find the right developer to come in here and what is trending in downtowns all over the nation is a combination of residential and Commercial properties multi facilities do you see this building or any any of those buildings as having that potential absolutely okay all right thank you comments questions council member Oiler thank you madam chairwoman um I had high hopes of what the current owners were going to do in developing this structure and I'm disappointed that we're in a situation where we have to end up buying this complex and moving forward with it but I do think that it's a necessity that we do so uh with its proximity to the Civic Center and its location in the central business district it's a critical block for downtown the parking deck in itself is a huge piece of the operation of the Civic Center and having enough parking to satisfy the needs of what's an upcoming bre Bradley basketball season and upcoming Riverman hockey season going into concert venue season uh having that Deb continue to sit shut down through this season I think would be disastrous for downtown all it takes is a handful of people to start spreading the word that we can't find places to park and we're not going downtown to add another nail and what's been a very difficult um Revival and I don't say this in speaking on behalf of the Downtown Development Corporation but serving as a chairman currently I'm very sensitive to the needs of downtown and what direction we're going to go with creating a vision and breathing some new life into downtown and especially the central business district as we start to move on from the warehouse district and and tying the development together and so for those reasons I'll make the motion to approve item a is there a second seconded by council member graab uh council member Allan uh thank you madam mayor uh thank you to everyone who weighed in um I'm sure we all around the horse you received countless calls and and emails uh regarding this important matter on today's agenda um and it was a decision um that I truly had to evaluate and pros and cons because I know that um everyone has their opinion of what is local government uh role in matters of development or what local government role shouldn't be in matters of De development um but we have a very unique unque opportunity here um one of our uh core pillars of our strategic plan was Downtown Development um the city of Peoria this horu the community agreed that Downtown Development needed to be a strategic part of our future um and this is an opportunity to do so uh when you talk about a core building that Bridges the central business district as well as the warehouse District together um it has so much potential and I really think that it also demonstrates the seriousness that we are having towards our downtown and wanting to be in the driver seat of that to ensure that the right developer goes in there and to ensure that this building this beautiful building that you talked about earlier Madam May is used in the right way and I think multiuse uh is written all over it so um again I appreciate everyone weighing in on this this was not a decision that I personally make uh took lightly uh but I do think this is the right decision that we move forward and acquiring this and then working with our uh economic development team and various stakeholders to ensure we get the right developer in there to take our downtown to the next level thank you than you you're welcome council member Rach thank you madam mayor I too will be supporting the motion um and I want to thank councilman Oiler for his leadership on the DDC because if you go through the warehouse District you can see clearly the the impact that the DDC has had and the the powerful force they are in getting the right developers into Poria so Mr manager could you just give us just a little bit of flavor what role you think the DDC could potentially have in this project or this property I should say Well it similar to what we've done in the warehouse District the the Downtown Development Corporation has been a great partner in being able to um also vet developers and and and actually go out and and find developers that have come into the City and have done development deals here particularly in the warehouse District so um I fully anticipate that we have an opportunity to work with the DDC in that regard and um you know we could also um certainly have a conversation with them about the the management and oversight of the building as well but I think that's something that we can have at a later date but um definitely I think that they can play a role in helping us to find developers thank you and I I think it's important for for folks to understand that the the manager mentioned this in his opening remarks that this is not a long-term purchase for the city this is not a property we want to own and develop ourselves but we're being the the proverbial middleman here in connecting the right people with this P this property that as has been said is such a key for our downtown business district and and again I can't help but stress the the value that the DDC has played in the warehouse District thus far and this truly will be a link between those those two areas so I think this has a a lot of exciting um potential for for downtown and as somebody who Works caddy corner from that building I can tell you the folks in my building are excited to see what's going to be happening next and um I will definitely be supporting the motion thank you madam mayor thank you council member Jackson thank you Madame mayor uh just a couple of quick questions and I these are questions uh that have been part of emails that have been sent to me so I I just kind of want to pass them along uh to give those uh individuals an opportunity to hear from the city one of the concerns that uh I saw in an email was uh this uh residents some residents voiced concern about this not the city not taking a risk on a property similar to what happened with the hotel PE marquet could you address that uh for uh folks who Express concerns about that yeah the the you know the the P Marquette deal was um approved in 2008 um originally and then it was modified a couple of times up until about 2011 um the the city issued $ 32 million in bonds uh that were given to the developers as well as a $7 million loan uh as part of that deal um that the goal was to build a hotel that was connected to the Civic Center it did uh ultimately uh get completed uh it is a going concern today uh it is an important part of our downtown um but the developer did have financial problems and went into bankruptcy and lost the hotel and uh the city's uh subordinated loan was wiped out so the city did lose funds in that effort um but we've restructured our debt that we have on that that we issued and um the payments are being made um to cover the the debt um we have a new owner of the hotel today uh that isn't the bank that acquired it in in the banks and the the pension fund that acquired it in foreclosure um so this is a completely different deal though I you know we did not own the the pure Marquette we did not own the properties around the pure Marquette um but we were asked at that time to contribute uh significant amounts of money to develop this deal in this instance we're AC acquiring these properties um at a price that um uh I believe is very reasonable and very fair um that will afford US the opportunity to find a developer with the financial means to make this development successful so I think it's completely different deals okay thank you one last question you talked about uh the benefits of having the historic uh tax credits in a in a historic building that has a a wonderful character uh Mr manager do you foresee in any way that uh that could uh delay delay the process of getting a developer sooner rather than later no I think that I think developers that are that are accustomed to utilizing historic tax credits understand how this works um I mean it it's going to be a a a time a timec consuming it's going to be a lengthy process to do these developments if we um all we have to do is look at the development of the um uh the OSF Mission headquarters uh that was a 4-year project to get that project completed and it's going to take time with a building of this size and of of this complexity uh but if we find the right development team uh as they work through the the state historic preservation office and uh these are byright um tax credits that they're able to leverage they'll be able to leverage not only Federal historic tax credits but State historic tax credits because this is inside the River's Edge Redevelopment Zone uh so that provides in addition to the the 20% um Federal historic tax credits that's there for for qualified Redevelopment expenses but there's a 25% State historic tax credit uh that can be applied so that provides additional Equity into the project and I think it makes it attractive um the flip side is that they have to hold the property for that fiveyear period of time after that okay uh thank you uh Mr manager well I know having been a member of the DDC I've been impressed with uh their ability to uh find Developers for some of our real estate and downtown Poria so um I will be supporting this project thank you madam you're welcome thank you council member Kelly thank you Madame mayor uh I will start my remarks by saying that I'm going to move to table this item uh and it's important to understand around the Horseshoe that a tabling motion uh does not un unlike a deferral motion does not uh stop discussion on the main motion but I want to get this out as early as I can I think that in any standard purchase of a uh property like we're talking about there is due diligence on the front end that is uh required and typically supplied by the seller to show where all the warts are that they know about so that when somebody comes forward to buy they know what they are buying we don't have that except for the parking deck we don't have that we're buying site unseen we can all see the outside of the building and Madame mayor I worked in that building for three and a half years it was beautiful as you say is a favorite building of mine I don't like this structure very much I would like the tabling of this motion to continue until we have that due diligence in our hands and we know what it is that we're buying that's only prudent we are rushing and rushing in and rushing forward and giving the seller a half million doar for things that are said to be have have happened well let's see what the current owner has done with the properties that's worth a half a million dollars we're buying the properties we are not buying her employees time effort noodle all that stuff we're buying the property and if the seller has added a half a million dollars to the uh property since it was purchased fine if not I I think that perhaps there is not any particular reason why our taxpayers should provide half million doll for nothing um this really concerns me I want this project to go and I don't know that first of all getting our due diligence together having some delay that that will apparently cause before we make this decision I think that's prudent for our taxpayers for our citizens and it it the same thing I think will be able to happen post that is we will show it to developers developers can use the tax credits none of that will change what does change is that everybody knows what they're buying on the half million dollars I don't know how committed we are to that it it disturbs me greatly um uh if we end up having doing that well you know we'll end up doing it but uh I would ask the council to consider tabling this motion uh in favor of getting due diligence done on this building and Reporting back to us the buyers what it is we're buying is there a second thank you Madame mayor you're welcome is there a second to tabling the motion there's no second okay no but okay pardon me sorry okay council member sir thank you Madam mayor um in my U humble opinion I truly believe that this transaction really uh belong in the private sector not the public sector and I have a very simple rule I've been sitting this chair the last seven and a half years now if I cannot explain my vote to my family or my constituent I just cannot support it and this is the case although I agree with my colleague Mr orer what he said but I just cannot explain this transaction to my constituents I I just cannot support it so I'll be no for this okay thank you Madame mayor you're very welcome I do want to point out that uh City staff leadership city council excuse me city manager and the economic development team have worked with the cullin team since I think around May of this year uh doing some due diligence looking at the property um in my honest opinion I you know for the the purchase price the price that the current owner purchased it for I believe was a very very good deal um and so that's why I'm currently comfortable at the price that the city is offering to pay for the property I I do I don't believe that the city could have purchased that property at the price that it was purchased by the current owner I don't believe that for a minute council member grup um manager um how quickly can we get the uh parking deck repaired I think councilman Oiler hit on something very slient very important we have this huge uh economic engine Regional economic engine called the pur civic center right across the street from this building which the current owner would just put on for an auction fire sale if you will uh could be disastrous we we have precedent for stopping auctions that might be deleterious for the neighborhood in this case our Central business district downtown on a smaller scale in District Two this is in District Two as well when we served as the U Midwife if you will for a transaction uh which district 150 was nice enough to let us uh consummate not just selling off uh in an auction 839 West Moss Avenue which um was the old school my old grade school as a matter of fact and and allowing us to come up with a suitable Suitor if you will oh that's an alliteration a suitable Suitor and it took uh some months we had some misfires we had the monor school may be interested Etc but we ended up ensuring that that West Blu neighborhood was not damaged by a building that could be bought in a fire sale and um I do think that this price whether we like this or not I wish she had gone ahead and developed it herself but I do believe that it's below fair market value with what we're going to pay uh so the roko building if you will is I agree with the mayor she's right on this is a beautiful facility and um if I were a younger man and I had the resources I'd love to buy it but that parking deck is critical I've been told that we had events downtown um Easter Hills for example and other events coming up here Bradley Basketball um Riverman hockey games all the other great events that occur at that Civic Center and we're fixing up the street to make it more pedestrian friendly I think it's critical that we know how quickly we can get that deck fixed because we've had some experience with decks like right across the street in a twin towers so I gave you a frame now and you can put a beautiful picture in that frame thanks celan I you part of the the ask this evening is for us to get some money so that we can we can spend it with uh doing some due diligence and one of those elements is to do an assessment of what's needed to get the parking deck back and operational um once we know what is needed then I can come back to you and say Here's what the cost is to take to get that up and running that's certainly something that that I think is an important decision for the council to contemplate how quickly do we want to bring that on for all the reasons that you outlined the importance of of having that for civic center events and what's going on so um we're going to move with all DU speed if Council approves this this evening we'll have the funds to be able to to do that assessment and get back to you we have an assessment that was was done several years ago of the structure when we put the the parking deck into our our um an administrative hearing process for some of the violations that we saw in the building um we've done that with all the parking decks downtown and in fact uh we're kind of working our way through all of those decks um and that's something that that um we'll try and get back an answer to you as quickly as we can and you know I take a look at the uh Central Business District I know Denise um Jackson has as well in the warehouse district and we have Unleashed a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial um prowess if you will I'll look at some of our um entertainment owners the money that they're spending whether it's Jack's uh Jack Baris his um his project uh the money that's currently being spent by John H Hopkins to move the neon bison Tai Sebert with what he's doing to punch through to Main Street with a topnotch restaurant from saddle up we have got to be sure that we don't have a block that ends up being acquired by somebody who has no respect for the entrepreneurial energies or Investments that others have already made and um if the price were different um perhaps I would be a no vote as well but I think we're just going to be a midwife that's what I think we're going to be and I think it's going to be moved over to somebody who's going to see the value of this property we're beginning to see movement on uh Main Street with the Madison Building we're styed with the Riverview Plaza building AKA Chase hey we've got to get our downtown back into to a position where we're all proud of it when we go downtown with our friends and relatives and when we expect people to go to the Civic Center for great events they need place to park so while it's not an ideal situation and I Wish U col had developed it this is what we are left holding and so I think sometimes we make the best judgment under the circumstances and with the cards that were dealt um mayor Ali yes thank you thank you mhm council member velpula thank you Madame mayor um like everyone I also received several calls on this particular item and I I kind of um had this answer for a lot of questions that were asked but one question that was reiterated in all my conversations was um I just wanted to put it out as is why are we buying this building is there any particular reason and that is that that is answered here but uh is the city going to have the appetite to buy other buildings out there like the Hamilton so what kind of Precedence are we setting here well I think that um you know that the there are other buildings in downtown that certainly aren't as fully activated as this um but this is almost an entire city block when you add when you look at this there's a small Corner parcel that's on this block but um with everything um this is a significant uh 250,000 square feet is a big uh amount of of square footage so um this is a a block of significance it's the really kind of the the bridge between the central business district and the warehouse District um we have uh neighbors with amarind and their building across the street you have um OSF on call uh that has uh invested OSF has invested a significant amount of money into that facility um Illinois Mutual continues to invest and has been a long time downtown uh uh business U here right in this block so this is an important block uh strategically for the city and I think that that's one of the reasons why um and in this instance at at this price I think that this was uh worthy of us looking to acquire this for the short term and then find a the apprpriate developer to move in um and take the building over I have a a second followup question there are currently two tenants in that building and there is news around that PNC wants to downsize and there is uh another accounting firm so what is the status of those two tenants at this point you know I think uh they are still they have existing leases um PNC has expressed their interest in in uh looking at at making some some modifications um but I think that we'll continue to to work to to see what we can do to to keep them uh in the space um and then from there we'll um um we'll see what we can do to find the appropriate developer but I think in the short term it would be to keep them in the space thank you thank you m mayor you're welcome council member ranb thank you madam mayor all this talk about the parking deck has me a little nervous because for those of you that don't know tomorrow is the kickoff of the concert season at the P Civic Center and me and my son will be there to see Foreigner and lover boy so hopefully we got a parking spot somewhere but seriously um Mr manager in the in the council communication it actually references a fact that there will be continued due diligence I know there's been quite a bit of work already done um up to this point but can you just assure us I guess or assure those who have have concerns that um this isn't sight unseen you know that there has been um eyes on the building and discussions held and whatnot the the city staff has has been through the building uh both the economic development and Community Development team um we we've had our assessments that were done as part of the enforcement proceedings from the administrative hearing uh about the deck um we're asking you for a million 8 which is asking you for $50,000 more so that we can hire firms to do the appropriate due diligence work on the and an assessment of the parking deck that would be what is it going to take to get the parking deck up and operational and then also uh to provide some additional assessment of the building so that when we issue our developer solicitation they know what's in the building thank you I think and I I'm not the commercial real estate developer here but if you had told me three months ago that we had the opportunity to purchase this parcel for 1.8 million I'd say you're kidding me right the fact that somebody originally purchased it for Less doesn't diminish the value that we're getting today in my day job somebody calls me up and says hey somebody just bought Apple stock yesterday at X and I I went to buy it too and it's like well today the price is X plus 50 or whatever you know but that doesn't mean it's a bad deal so I think we're we're missing the point here by by finessing this too much I wasn't on the council when the original pure Marquette deal was was brought forward and voted on but I was there when some of the the changes were adapted to that and one thing we heard in those days was why doesn't the city put out an RFP why doesn't City look for other developers well we couldn't do that because we didn't own the property and I think that's something that will distinguish this um clearly from the perer market among 101 other things but um the fact that the city is going to own this will allow us to do the vetting of the developer and ensure to the best of our ability a level of confidence that wasn't there um perhaps with the p Marquette deal so those are truly apples and oranges and and again I think that there's a lot of good reasons to move forward with this as other colleagues have expressed and um hopefully like I say I'll get a parking spot tomorrow night for Foreigner thank you madam thank you councilman council member vesa uh thank you Madame mayor um so you know just to to what we've heard you the par Marquette deal was an unsecured loan okay if if they defaulted in payments to us we were out of luck um this we're actually purchasing something so we have something in hand um and yeah I mean I get a little indigestion over the price difference I mean I understand that from people um but it does depend where you buy something uh because you can you can buy or sell a car in a private or just put a sign on your car saying you know um give your phone number and and try to work something out on the street um but the price that's sold for is probably going to be different from what a dealership is going to to sell for um my understanding is like this was like a New York private Equity Firm or something that just wanted to offload it and so they didn't do any marketing with the property is is that consistent with your understanding that's very consistent with my understanding of what happened here yeah so yeah I mean it depends on how you sell you know a piece of personal property your real property um that that can ultimately result in a difference in price so ultimately that's not going to uh Sway in the I am a yes on this thank you Madame mayor you're you're very welcome council member Kelly uh thank you Madame mayor this may be sour grapes but uhu I guess it is sour grapes but um based on a lot of the logic flying around the Horseshoe we really ought to get serious about buying the savings Tower because that will guarantee that it comes through well we ought to buy the old IBM area because that'll make that successful we should have bought the param Marquette because that would have made that successful I'm really not sure that we're making a lot of sense uh no one can best me I don't think and my love for downtown and my my wish to make our downtown extremely vibrant again um the way we do it I think is very important and as councilman velpula said I hope we're not setting a precedent here we're not that smart we're not real estate people around here save one and we're entering into a significant uh piece of liability that if we're lucky we'll work but the current owner could do the same thing and hasn't but um so here we go I know I'm going to lose on this but and please excuse the sour grapes thank you Madame mayor you're welcome councilman Kelly I heard the word opportunity about five or six times just going around the Horseshoe and also from the the manager and there's another o word that I want to use and that's optimistic I'm pretty optimistic that we're going to make this work for Poria and for downtown Peoria and with that we have a motion on the floor to approve item a uh and we have a second so I'm going to ask everyone to please cash your ballots for item a motion passes with two Nays hel and Seer uh council member Oiler thank you madam chairwoman move to approve Item B uh can I get a second seconded by council member graab any other discussion please cast your ballots motion passes with two Nays Kelly and SE thank you very much Madam Clark 24- 278 is a communication from the city manager and finance director com controller with a request to receive and file the 2025 revised budget timeline Mr manager uh thank you Madame mayor I'm going to turn the floor over to our finance director uh director cratty uh thank you Mr manager it's that time of the year again we're going to be kicking off the budget process on October the 8th we'll be putting the budget on the table for for consideration um we anticipate having the full uh review of the budget on at the meeting on October the 15th um and then having meetings on the schedule every Tuesday until a tenative approval at the regular meeting on November the 12th um and with that I'm available if there's any questions on the timeline um but kind of this is uh it's the time of the year council member Kelly thank you Madame mayor I'm just glad we're not meeting on Halloween this year but yeah the uh schedule looks fine thank you my wife might have a problem with me doing it on Halloween this year thank you Madame mayor you're welcome uh you want to make a motion to receive and file yes thank you I do uh move to receive and file seconded by council member velpula any other discussion please cast your ballots motion passes unanimously thank you director CR um mam mlar 24- 279 is a communication from the city manager and chief of police with a request for the following approve the sole source purchase of Le web for agencies for leads only access through an agreement with Regis in the amount of $2,265 for startup costs this item requires a 2third vote of council members voting no less than six votes excuse me and Item B is to approve the soul Source purchase of ell web for agencies for leads only access through an agreement with Regis in the amount of $2,777 50 for monthly service costs in the amount of 33,333 per year and this item also requires a two-thirds vote of council members voting no less than six votes turn it over to the chief to walk through this item sorry I didn't notice the mayor was gone but good evening uh mayor councel city manager uh as of July 1st the department of innovation and Technology Ed the support for uh iwi the Illinois Wireless Information Network which caused us to be unable to access law enforcement data uh law enforcement automated data our lead system from our squad cars which means we couldn't run plates we can't run uh driver's license for cards Etc everything officers do on those fancy computers and their cars that everybody asked us about um so because of that we had to find a system until we get our new CAD RMS system that everybody is aware of that we're working through we have to have a system to connect us and this is something the state Statewide stop using iWin um so we're we have G with reges this is something we have to have you can imagine the amount of of radio traffic we would have if we're trying to run names plates voids bins Etc everything officers do in their cars due the radio system this is just to make sure we are connected between now and the time that we get our CAD RMS system up in very simple terms okay any questions for the Chief can I get a motion uh councilwoman Jackson thank you Madame mayor I would like to make a motion that item number 24 279 part A be approved okay item a seconded by council member Kelly any discussion council member grup no ma'am I just wanted to move for approval or to Second it so oh okay all right thank you please cast your ballot motion passes unanimously uh councilwoman Jackson thank you Madame mayor uh I'd like to make a motion that item number B be approved Item B seconded by council member grah any discussion please cash your ballots it's waiting for Jackson and rinbu motion passes unanimously thank you thank you oh okay stick around huh Chief yes ma'am Madam clerk 24- 280 is a communication from the city manager and chief of police with a request to approve an extension of the Soul Source contract with Dr E Anthony White for research partner Services through September 30th 2024 under the 2020 Bureau of Justice assistance strategies and policing Innovation Grant in an amount not to exceed $31,250 and an updated total amount of $8,250 over the life of the Grant and this item requires a 2third vote of council members voting no less than six votes and on your desk in yellow there is a handout with the updated communication okay Mr manager uh thank you madam mayor yes there's an updated communication on your pack um in yellow uh on your desk the dollar amount is different from what was in the the council communication of 81,50 it's actually $84,500 um so well we would just simply ask that as this item comes up that the dollar amount requested be amended to 84,500 and with that I'll turn it over to the police chief to explain the content in this item okay thank you Chief yes thank you um so in 2020 uh we received the grant prior to prior to me being here for $500,000 uh to deal with our data sharing initiative um we received that through our strategic policing through our SBI Grant and at that time we needed to have a Dr white or somebody to do the research part of this and to get this grant it was required this is just an extension of that we were in contract with him and then went out of contract and so while we were in contract his rate was uh it was a different rate $62 an hour and then after those three years the rate went up to $71 an hour and that is the difference and that is a change and that's what we're asking for okay thank you Chief council member riggenbach thank you madam mayor I move to approve item 24- 280 but amending the extension amount to $34,500 and updating the total dollar amount to $84,500 to reflect the corrected contract amounts yes is there a second seconded by council member velpula any discussion please can your ballots motion passes unanimously thank you Chief Madam Clark 24- 281 is a communication from the city manager and director of Community Development with a request to concur with the recommendation from the Planning and Zoning commission and staff for the following a approve a resolution approve an annexation agreement for property located at 9910 North Orange Prairie Road and North Illinois Route 91 and B adopt an ordinance annexing property located at North Illinois Route 91 C adopt an ordinance resoning property from a class R3 single family residential district to a class C1 General commercial District located at 9910 North Orange Prairie Road Lo and resoning property to a class C1 General commercial District located at North Illinois Route 91 and D adopt an ordinance approving a special use for outdoor recreation for property located at 9910 North Orange Prairie Road and North Illinois Route 91 Mr manager uh this this um it item is the uh as we had the annexation agreement on this item earlier uh so this would be the approvals necessary for the uh Amusement activity and the annexation agreement U that would be approved by Council for this item and I think that the district councilman may want to talk about this item right do we want him to go first or or Miss Allison um I think we'll defer to the council member at this point time okay council member Allan lucky me uh thank you madam mayor uh no thank you so much to assistant director Allison she has been working with me on this uh particular project before I dive into a little bit though uh Corporation Council Hayes can you just speak to the difference between the special uh hearing that we occurred in the beginning of our agenda and what we currently have in front of us right now with this item just for the listening audience just so they don't be confused we deal with an an annexation a little differently and attend to some public hearing uh formalities related to that uh driven by our long-standing practice and statutory requirements for other types of annexation so we do hold two different public hearings for annexation matters one the agreement is included in the issues considered by the zoning board because the zoning issues are connected to the annexation agreement and then this Council has an additional opportunity for the public to come forward on annexations at the hearing this evening the annexation is slightly different than the other items that are being approved and so we set that apart thank you now thank you for the the clarification there um assistant director Allison can you just provide any context to this particular uh matter and then I'll I'll add a some additional comments uh so this is um an annexation of about 4 and a half acres proposed to be added to an existing 9 acre parcel that's already in the city uh corporate limits the 13 total Acres would be uh proposed to be used as an outdoor recreation facility which is um including go-kart uh mini golf uh outdoor destination for activities such as those so um the other components of this include a rezoning if you so choose to Annex the we we need to Zone the property as um for commercial zoning and then the fourth component is actually the special use request for the outdoor recreation outdoor recreation in the C1 zoning District requires a special use approval specific to a site plan that you have within your packet of information I can answer any questions if you'd like so just for clarity we have uh we have three things happening we have uh yeah an an station um a resoning corre and then a special use permit all in one matter is that correct correct okay so I just wanted to put that out there because again I know it can be a little confusing so um but with this particular matter though um there has been some concerns brought forth to myself uh in the petitioner and so I would like to request a two-e deferral into our October uh 8th meeting uh in between now and then I'm going to convene the petitioner and some of the uh residents in the in the area and see if we can uh reach some compromise and see where we go on our Tuesday October 8th meeting so ID like to make a motion to defer for two weeks please thank you that's seconded by council member seir any other questions or comments okay this is a two-e deferral to our next council meeting please cast your ballots motion passes unanimously thank you director Allison Madam clerk 24- 282 is a communication from the city manager Corporation Council and finance director com controller with a request to adopt an ordinance to amend chapter 18 article 14 section 18- 631 existing tobacco retail licenses of the city's Municipal Code this is Corporation Council okay uh thank you your honor um as a council will recall we previously um separated our uh tobacco licenses into two separate classes so um the idea was that the more intense uh tobacco licenses relating to Standalone shops um would be something that we would look to restrict um and so we set a cap at the number of shops that we had um from a closure of a facility now um the class CL two uh cap is now in excess of the number of class two licenses that we have issued in order for this set of restricted devices uh to work give the council as much discretion as possible and where these Standalone tobacco type shops would be we need to reduce the cap now so there isn't a license available um the courts give a lot more difference to City councils making decisions on limits of items rather than picking and choosing between uh uh applicants whether to Grant a license or not and so this puts Council in the best place to advance that issue to allow these Standalone shops if that amenity is required for a particular neighborhood if it would be beneficial but to otherwise restrict these Standalone shops so that uh retail Merchants that are offering a broader array of public of uh products to the public are able to use the profitability of these items to sustain their businesses that offer more amenity to those neighborhoods so this is sort of continuing with that and you'll see us from time to time as these licenses fall away for whatever reason coming back and adjusting this cap just as a housekeeping matter there's plenty of room in the cap space for um uh sale of tobacco incidental to other elements of business so we don't need to adjust that cap at this time I'd be happy to take any questions you may have thank you your honor thank you any questions for Council Hayes council member Kelly uh thank you Madame mayor so uh Council Hayes I'm not I'm not sure I remember this occurring with our so is it is it the aim of the city to continue to reduce these license es until there are zero or you know or in other words as soon as somebody goes out of business there that license is is done I think that people could interpret it that way but that's not why it's being Advanced by staff and it's not consistent with how the matter was designed the reason that the cap is being reduced is not to say there won't be any additional Standalone tobacco retailers it's to give the council the maximum discretion of where those Outlets are going to be authorized and so in my view the council has not indicated there shall be no more it's just we want to be able to carefully consider where these single item Outlets will exist so they don't proliferate in a certain area or they don't tend to cannibalize other businesses that might need that profitable item in order to maintain uh and keep their doors open you know somebody should be able to go down to the neighborhood store and buy milk and bread but if the vape store damages the profitability of an outlet like that we lose those small merchants and so that's the theory behind it all I I understand that the this is an unpopular business but I didn't see in the council communication any recommendation or whatever to say and so now we think that a better location would be over here we're just saying we're going to get rid of it I don't know that the council said that now we can say that as you say but I I I don't know that this is kind of news to me that we're just going to keep going like this with a number of licenses and uh maybe finally wipe that whole business business out in you know in the city I I mean I'm sure there are plenty of people who wouldn't mind it being wiped out in the city but you you know there are plenty of patrons as well I mean we're just knocking this one down we're not finding a new a better location according to us of a tobacco shop right well there's no applicant before us this business was went out of business for other reasons and so that Gap in that arose the purpose of the ordinance is give the council the highest probability of telling an applicant no that wants to go in the wrong spot and not lose a challenge in court that's a single-minded purpose of this whole system and why we adjust it as we go but the council's free to Grant this use anywhere that an applicant brings forward uh an application and says this is a place I want it and if the council agrees you're free to to adjust the cap what would happen would be there'd be a item before you there'd be a recommendation for approval and it would be in an A and A B Grant the license and uh adjust the cap to allow that license to be issued and we don't do this with any other retailer any other type of retail right it is a creative solution to give the council maximum discretion yes sir um I I I don't know I I I don't like getting in there this deeply it sounds like the cap is going to get reduced but if we want to we can increase the cap and then we can decrease the cap and you know uh but likely in my opinion we'll probably never increase the cap I uh I don't I don't like this kind kind of ordinance I I I think once again I'll be alone and vote against it thank you thank you Madame mayor you're welcome councilman Kelly uh council member seir thank you Madame mayor move to adopt the ordinance as amended seconded by council member Oiler a continue discussion uh council member Gordon young I was going to move move to adopt but um I I would like to say I think a simple way to look at it for um council member Kelly is for example we don't want five Standalone stores within a two block radius um particularly in some of the most marginalized communities and often that happens and so I that's what comes to mind for me although there are some other areas in this city where it is uh quite prevalent so I agree okay thank you you're welcome council member gr yes uh rejoinder to uh my favorite councilman councilman Kelly councilman Kelly I've been an at llarge councilman for 12 years and moving in on 12 years as a district councilman you haven't lived until you have a district and you have a tobacco store where there's all kinds of Mischief going on and the difficulty with our Police Department proving and the resources that it takes proving that this Mischief is going on to the detriment of the neighborhood to our children and our entire city it is an enormous undertaking to regulate not only our liquor establishments but our tobacco establishments so this is a move in the right direction as Corporation Council has said we have flexibility on this um and uh you know I'm 100% enthusiastic about it but I wish you could be a district councilman and get those calls about those tobacco establishments especially the Standalone especially the Standalone uh I remember when I was a an at large the at large people just simply they're great and they understand stand but when when you are responsible for voting on everything plus a particular geography or territory and having granular understanding of where the pressure points are and what the people in neighborhoods are saying about the hanging around that's going on the reports that you get that something other than tobacco is being sold you develop a an appreciation for what staff is doing for us tonight an appreciation thank you you're welcome council member Kelly thank you madam mayor and councilman grab please excuse me for never having been a uh uh a district councilman uh I find your uh logic interesting um I do get around in this town and I think the other at large Council people get around in this town and to say about another council person that well you know you're just a little bit inferior um it kind of bothers me you and I have always gotten along even if we disagree we got we've gotten along very well and I'm happy about that I'm not happy about your recent remarks but thank you thank you Madame mayor you're welcome okay we have a motion and a second please cast your ballots motion passes with one nay Kelly Madam clerk 24- 283 is a communication from the city manager incorporation council with request to approve the site application for a class A Tavern liquor license with on-site consumption and retail sale of alcohol for tatboo LLC doing business as tatboo at 631 West Maine contingent upon the issuance of certificate of occupancy with a recommendation from The Liquor Commission to approve Mr manager Corporation councel so um one a North Main proprietor trying uh looking at opening a a Class A Tavern um there's been no request for any additional sub licenses so it will be a 1:00 a.

close at this time uh there's no request for an outdoor Garden I think that site had had not our garden permitted in the past but that's not part of the request at this time either okay uh I think councilman graab may have a motion at this point Thank You council member grup uh yes um I move to defer this for two weeks okay is there a second seconded by council member Allan two week deferral any other discussion please cast your ballots motion passes unanimously Madam clerk 24- 284 is a communication from the city manager in Corporation Council with a request to approve the side application for a class K Rental Hall liquor license with on-site consumption and retail sale of alcohol for nickel and dimes Incorporated doing business as tilted 10 at 2200 West War Memorial Drive Unit xba with a recommendation from The Liquor Commission to approve Council Hayes uh this is a liquor use in a amusement setting um which we have been um authorizing with a class K Rental Hall license uh just so council's aware we are looking at perhaps adjusting the way that we look at these types of amusements uh but we're Rec the um Liquor Commission has recommended approval and we're not prepared to move forward with those suggestions but at some point in the near future you may see uh an adjustment the ways we deal with these Amusement venues and bowling alleys and things like that thank youon you're welcome council member Allan uh thank you madam mayor uh to provide context this is going inside of Northwoods Mall the former round one location so we're very excited for tilted 10 to come uh we do have Kevin Jordan in the back representing till to 10 appreciate you uh coming um Madame mayor can I give uh Mr Jordan just privilege of the floor if you speak to uh your intentions and how your operations different uh from the previous occupant that was Round One S hello my name is Kevin Jordan I'm the senior VP of operations for Nichols and dimes Incorporated um we operate family entertainment centers throughout the US this is our 52nd year in business I started with Mr singer November is my 45th anniversary for working Mr for working for Mr Mr singer and what we do is family entertainment one thing that we saw with round one they open we're open till 2: a.m.

we won't be open till 2: a.m.

uh we'll be midnight on Friday and Saturday 10:00 on the other week nights we also bring in bumper cars we have much more of a family atmosphere so you'll see when we open we have two 18 home black light miniature golf courses that are being done where the pool tables and the dart boards were they're gone in the front of the bowling area there's now a bumper car Arena that has three flip cars as well as four spin cars the flip cars you actually strap in and gets uh spun vertical we've eliminated the Redemption store concept we go back to the traditional redemption center it's more uh one-on-one with the customers and you'll see the mix of equipment we don't have any of the Rhythm games we don't have any of the fighting games it's more family entertainment a lot of carnival games a lot of video games so you'll you'll see quite a difference uh thank you Mr Jordan for providing that context I just wanted to uh illustrate the difference between both models I know that there were some unfortunate incidents that happened at round one and I wish that never occurred but um you know here we are but definitely wish you all the best and look forward to you all opening up here in October and bringing my own family there so without further Ado I would like to move to approve this item ma' okay uh did you just make the motion okay seconded by councilwoman Gordon Gordon Booth Gordon young sorry about that um any other questions please cast your ballots motion passes unanimously M welcome to Peoria we welcome tilta 10 yes M clerk 24- 285 is a communication from the city manager and finance director comproller with a request to receive and file the month ended July 31 2024 un audited financial report Mr manager uh thank you Madame mayor I'd like to turn the floor over to our finance director director CR uh in your packet was the July report I'm happy to report that our revenues and expenditures while slightly off budget are on Pace to be at budget by year end um we'll get more into that over the coming months as we kind of look at the the budget but um kind of the initial review is is we will be kind of right on track with what we had laid out last year during the budget process um in terms of just a few of the other highlights um our sales tax numbers continue to remain strong they're up over the previous year as well as state income taxes um we are still continuing to see um some of the softness in personal property replacement tax that we reported to council was going to be the case over the last couple years um and will probably continue over the next coming years um the only item that's not in here that I just wanted to draw attention to council is with the August report you will see that the Civic Center has paid back the full amount of their Bridge Loan um the Civic Center is still obviously completing many of the projects associated with that Grant project but on the August report you will see um that there is no outstanding debt from the Civic Center um and with that I'm available for any questions any questions for director crat council member SI thank you Madame mayor uh director Kat thank you again for your time uh with the coffee with me yesterday today um I don't really have any questions tonight uh I feel like my colleague Mr Kelly tonight I'm just going to be a little sour um thank you for make for making the correction for the Civic Center I was going to mention that I think it's important especially for our constituent that are looking at our budget and these types of report that they're know 100% accurate so thank you for making that correction um I just want to point point out maybe just a few things if body cares I mean the grocery tax that you mentioned to me right next year we're talking about our deficit for the budget of $2 million it's actually going to be $4 million but that won't hit us until 2026 is that correct that's correct so that won't hit us next year um obligation for the pension is still going up every year we all know that uh but the uh the personal property replacement tax you always make a comment that report about how some of that goes towards the pension can you explain that just a little a little bit further because obviously uh when there's a discrepancy the uh general fund will take care of that correct yeah in terms of the funding for uh our Public Safety pensions we really have three funding mechanisms we have uh property taxes we have personal property repacement taxes and really any remaining amount gets transferred out of the general fund so what we see is is when we see the numbers coming down from personal property replacement tax it means more of the reserve dollars from the general fund have to go towards those pension obligations and so you know over the last couple years we peaked at around $28 million for personal property replacement tax last year was 20 and this year we estimate probably being around 12 a.

half million so that reduction um is just starting to put more pressure on the general fund for that portion of making Our obligation payments for for the pensions uh last question uh our staff has done a tremendous job with uh all kinds of money we've been getting uh grants from for from a lot of our different departments especially for police and fire uh the accounting is a little different though can you explain to us and our our constituent uh how does the accounting Works uh because these numbers are off obviously because well just explain it please yeah so really with Grant dollars you know we can have expenditures that are occurring during those time periods and we recognize the revenue once we receive it um so things like the American Rescue plan funds we received the funds back in 2021 and 202 22 but we don't recognize that Revenue um until the dollars are spent so really when you're looking at Grant dollars and I think we'll see it when we have discussions on the 25 budget is it's really Dollar in dollar out and so you when the grant dollars are not the same level our revenues will drop as well our expenditures thank you director thank you madam mayor I'm sorry I didn't hear you thank you I said okay you want to make a motion sure yeah move to accept the uh uh let me see here let me read the first page uh move to receive and file okay second it by uh councilwoman Gordon young council member gr uh if we could just put it in reverse for a minute uh director cratty on the uh repeal of the grocery tax at the Springfield state level uh what did you say uh to councilman sirar about that problem and when we might have to deal with that so the the grocery tax is repealed on the state level effective 1 one of of 26 um so that will be an issue that will come up during the budget process next year and that would put us behind to the tune of how many millions of dollars it would be a reduction to the general fund of about $4 million and manager have we expressed uh mayor Our concern about this with other municipalities about how wonderful it is that JB pritsker can say he's done this but guess what he've taken money away from our operation there's um the IML had their conference this last week in Chicago and uh at a city manager's Round Table we had a discussion about this item in particular and um a strong there were about 40 communities that were represented at that round table and the the large majority of them are going to wait until um 2025 to take up this matter before 2020 we have until October of 2025 to take this matter up um there have been some that have gone out and made the made the change already normal was one that just recently did um but others are are waiting until uh the fall of next year in the budget process to do that why the delay uh just the time and just looking at it saying it's probably more appropriate to take it up after next year I think is the sentiment that was coming from and they're concerned the same as we are about this loss of Revenue yes yes okay thank you welcome uh we have a motion in a second uh to receive and file please cast your ballots motion passes unanimously thank you director CR again Madam clerk 24- 286 is a communication from the city manager director of Community Development and Corporation Council with a request for the following a approve a resolution approving the intergovernmental agreement between the city of Poria and the Illinois Department of Transportation regarding cooperation on storm water management providing for the annexation of 6500 West Route 150 Poria Illinois and the abatement of storm water utility fees B adopt an ordinance annexing property located at 6500 West Route 150 and C adopt an ordinance resoning property to a class i1 industrial Business Park District for property located at 6500 West Route 150 and we need separate votes on each please thank you Corporation Council Hayes thank you and I'm grateful to have deputy director Allison here to catch me when i f these three items are intertwined I mentioned previously before the hearing that the ill Department of Transportation agreed to our request for an annexation agreement and a sanitary sewer easement to allow us to extend sanitary sewer to the Pringle and Haven on the farm sites um so that intergovernmental agreement um addresses the annexation of the property preserve certain uses that are uh beyond the present uses of the i1 zoning that we're going to be granted and develops the uh Matrix under which we'll be waving their um storm water utility fees rather than ask for compensation for the sanitary easement and the continuing maintenance easement uh the idop preferred to have a waiver of the sanitary or the storm water utility fees going forward um so um that all those three items work together to achieve those purposes um the additional items in the annexation agreement having to do with ID Do's operations um describe their present operations so we're not granting any new Authority but that Authority is a bit beyond what normally would be allowed in an i1 area so while we're granting it to ID do by doing it this way in the annexation agreement when Ida goes away a new user won't be able to implement those more intense uses and so there's there is residential growing into and around this area we think the natural path of development that will continue so I do want to make certain that they can preserve their present operations not have more intense operations and we wanted to make sure that we wouldn't have to do I3 zoning out there to accommodate those and that's why those mechanisms excuse me that's why those mechanisms are present in the annexation agreement i' be happy to take any questions you may have but again there's a couple different things going on but that's uh that's how we were able to achieve the sanitary sewer easment thank you sure is director Allison are you providing additional Insight I I'm just here to answer questions that was a great summary Corporation okay Council council member Allan uh thank you madam mayor uh thank you to assistant director Allison for the work and keeping me a breast on uh these updates is this is exciting for these three entities so without further Ado I'd like to make a motion to approve item a okay is there a second seconded by council member SE uh questions comments council member Kelly uh thank you Madame mayor I'd just like to compliment the staff this is really a good project and a nice tradeoff on U on the the fees Etc um this is this is going to encourage growth out um on the North side I guess of uh of war memorial Beyond Trigger Road and uh things are already happening there and a lot more looks like it's going to be happening so uh well done thank you thank you Madame mayor you're welcome we have Mo motion to approve item a please cash your ballots motion passes unanimously councilman Allan I'd like to make a motion to approve Item B please seconded by council member sear please cash your ballots motion passes unanimously council member Allan and I'd like to make a motion to approve item C please seconded by council member sear please cash your ballots motion passes you unanimously thank you mam Clark we are at unfinished business 24- 235 is a communication from the city manager and Corporation Council with a request to deny the addition of a subclass 1A 2 am.

closing hours Thursday Friday Saturday to an existing site approved for a class B restaurant 50% Food liquor license with on-site consumption and retail sale of alcohol for Henda El Mirador LLC doing business as Henda El Mirador at 5805 North humbold Avenue Suite 1 with a recommendation from The Liquor Commission to deny and um the P petitioner did submit to my office a request to withdraw the item and because of that this item was withdrawn and no action is needed by the council thank you 24- 264 is a communication from the city manager and assistant city manager with a request to adopt an ordinance approving the amendment to the Redevelopment agreement with Wagner Properties Inc to develop a commercial and residential mixed use development at 10001 Southwest Adam Street in the warehouse District Mr manager uh thank you I'm going actually turn it over to our Corporation Council to explain uh the legal reasons why we're doing this okay thank you uh Council may or may not recall but we adopted a Redevelopment agreement in January of this year our Redevelopment agreements generally restrict developers from transferring the property until the property's compl until the Project's completed that's to make certain that we're dealing with the entity that's can be responsible for the buildup because of the tax credit issues related to uh the rehabilitation project and some of the lending issues related to the new uh construction part of the project the lenders have asked that the fee simple ownership be shifted now and that calls on the city to acknowledge that the purpose of it is consistent with our thought of how this project would go forward it's just a corporate entity Wagner Inc that owned the whole Enterprise to start with has divided those properties we're recognizing that making certain that the that the lenders are comfortable with the status of the Redevelopment agreement and the property ownership and so this is consistent with the original concept of development just a detail of uh taking care of our restrictions so we're asking the council to approve uh the Redevelopment agreement Amendment so that we can allow the project to get uh funded and um and finance thank you thank you very much uh council member Jackson thank you Madame mayor I would uh just like to make a motion that item number 24 254 be approved and uh we're excited to finally see this project uh move forward is there a second second by council member Oiler any discussion or questions please cast your ballots motion passes unanimously thank you madam clerk if there is no further unfinished business we would be at new business is there any new business council member Seer thank you Madame mayor just a question for Mr Hayes or Mr manager uh is there's do we have any laws or ordinances for I'm I'm asking a question regarding liquor license now in the time of closing for specific area example tonight like Junction City can we issue liquor license that would have all the same closing time uh for all know bar business in in a special or specific area that is there's a law against that or I know we don't have an ordinance on the book right now is that a possibility so that we don't have all kinds of different closing times for the same area is that would that be a possibility of a discussion in the future oh we have Liberty to regulate as long as it's not arbitrary and capricious and I uh think that we would be able to Define an area and have a standard bar closing time we couldn't prohibit a retail entity from closing early but we could Grant a consistent privilege um either by way of ordinance or adopting a policy to that effect and sticking to it as we approved uh license by license uh most of these additional closing times are subclass licenses and there's a significant process involved in getting a subass license going through the Liquor Commission and then before the council for approval and so U that's one mechanism to do it or we could establish a Zone and Define it that way as you choose Thank you thank you Mr Hayes Mr maner and or Madame mayor can we possibly put that item on the agenda in the near future so maybe we can have a discussion how we can be more consistent for specific areas uh certainly I think we can let us do some research and and and come up with some suggested language and get back get that scheduled and put on the agenda thank you very much sir thank you madam mayor you're welcome council member Rach thank you Madame mayor just a couple quick things here first of all thank you to my colleagues for their support on the item earlier on the Glen o Avenue Mill and overlay project as you recall that's the front door of OSF and runs to the new Pro time um beam therapy section at the Cancer Center and with the investment OSF continues to make and The Cutting Edge that our medical community makes in puia this is a a much appreciated project and we um let those coming in from out of town which are many um see our best foot being put forward yes I also hope many of my colleagues were able to get to the Civic Center last week for their open house uh they the money from the grant that the state gave them a number of years ago and the bonding that we provided um last year has just reworked that place into a masterpiece and that's that's really no exaggeration and if you're excited about the concession stands your choices go Way Beyond the traditional popcorn and peanuts and they've actually branded a couple of the stands so we have the Slippery Pig which will will offer brisket and barbecue and that type of fair there's Cantina Rio with tacos and walking tacos as as my kids would love um and also we have some local brands that are going to be on display there too avanes has a has a booth set up um cxt has coffee there as well and then A New Concept they're working on called the grab and go um popcorn heaven and sweeted will have some of their candies and whatnot there as well so the Civic Center has never looked better and I'm really excited and hope everybody can get out there and get your Bradley and Riverman tickets now and finally I would just say the manager referenced IML the Illinois Municipal League conference that took place last week and I was able to attend that there was some very powerful sessions there Mr urick provided um some input on one on tiffs which included our commercial tiffs and there was also a section on residential tiffs and how those play so um some things that I'll be taking back to the East Village grow cell Tiff committee which meets next week but um one thing that spoke to me and I think I I'll bring forward as asking for more information down the road is the connection between domestic violence and criminal violence n communities and Rockford has put together a program that they have um a a a center for lack of a better word what we would call a wraparound Center where those who are affected by domestic violence can go to One location and get multiple Services rather than making people go to multiple locations and relive the worst day of their life to the intake worker at multiple places they provide and have representatives in one location and it's it's just really intriguing to me and and the numbers of criminal violence that takes place how many of those people were either victims or witnessed domestic violence I think is something that is an area that we would I would like to dig deeper in at least so so I would just encourage my colleagues again IML really provides a lot of great resources for us and um those are just a couple of the highlights for me personally thank thank you thank you councilman rean Bach and for your uh liaison representation on the Civic Center Authority board uh I'm going to follow good news with good news um I received a communication from Steve's zika who is the president of nfw natural fiber welding and he indicated that he wanted to share some exciting news that nfw has been named a finalist for the 2024 Earth shot prize let me say a little bit more about the prize it was started by Prince William inspired by President John F Kennedy's moonshot challenge the goal is to identify and scale the most innovative solutions to the world's greatest environmental challenges over the next de decade nfw was selected from a pool of nearly 2500 nominees across 139 countries in the build a waste-free world category so we're talking about our own theoria nfw company getting Global recognition and they're going to keep us uh tuned you know with updates on this uh recognition and uh hopefully win the final prize so we're excited about this uh recognition for our own nfw company any other new business okay Madam clerk we are at citizens opportunity to address the city council okay uh we have soel El ho good evening mayor uh Madam mayor council members uh many peans are disappointed you did not have a ceas fire resolution on the ballot today I received a call from my son he said Baba I noticed something interesting the Palestinian resistance Fighters often film their attacks on invading tanks and armored vehicles they then proceed to film the helicopters and soldiers evacuating the casualties but they never shoot at them he said I was wondering if they can film these soldiers shouldn't they be able to shoot them as well but they did not and I came to find out that they were just following the Islamic rules of War only target those who are fighting you and do not kill civilians or the injured do not destroy infrastructure hospitals schools residential buildings do not destroy crops trees or life stock rules that were established more than 1400 years ago you see the same approach being taken by the Lebanese resistance as they have only been targeting military installations now contrast that with what happened in Gaza as of today and just over this past year in a place with 2.3 million people that you can that they fit like between peon and and Dunlap just imagine that 47 7% of which are children 60% of residential buildings are damaged 80% of commercial buildings and facilities are damaged 65% of uh crop land area damaged only 17 of 36 hospitals partially functional 65% of frauds uh Network damaged 85% of school buildings damag in addition to churches Moses and many other things more than 41,000 people killed in Gaza in one estimate out of 34,000 of those who were confirmed identities of those 41,000 60% were not men of fighting age more than 95,000 people injured in Gaza alone they estimated the resistance forced to be 34,000 people strong at the start of the genocide they killed more people than that and the resistance still fighting strong they were mostly targeting and killing civilians one Massacre after the other one war crime after another even animals were not spared one lie after another with no accountability to anyone and the continued support of the very countries that claim to be the Guardians of the Protectors of freedom and human rights in the world and it's all so well documented they moved their genocidal operations to the West Bank and now they are moving their them to Lebanon we must say no not in our name we must send Washington a strong message that we are Furious that our tax money is being used in support of genocide we are Furious that our tax money is being used being used to support the indiscriminate killing of people in Palestine in Lebanon and in any other place in the world remember the pagers exploding in shops homes and other public places a week ago isn't that terrorism the terrorist extremist prime minister of the upper tight state is making Biden Biden and his administration look like fools we send our secretary of state to push for a deal and as soon as he leaves the occupied territories while announcing that a deal was close to be made and before he even landed in Egypt the Israeli PM outright contradicted him the pagers attack occurred just as the Biden Administration sent Amos hosin Washington's top Envoy task with averting a war between is is and hisbah to urge the Israeli government to calm the situation with Lebanon instead Israel responded by escalating the conflict they are treating us with utmost disdain while using our money to kill and destroy and using our political influence influence to avoid accountability and we are still giving those to them you have a choice either be true to the values of human dignity and freedom we should all aspire to or or be a politic politician for hire if you do not support the ceasefire you are either a true supporter of genocide or you are betting your moral values on the prospect of getting some more votes your choice ceas fire now and free Palestine and thank you for listening Darcy Katie good evening city council Madame mayor Dr Ali So within the last few weeks Pi for Palestine has had the privilege to have open and honest dialogue with many council members for which we are deeply grateful the most common theme within these conversations has been that council members are very hesitant to publicly support a ceasefire resolution at this time because they are afraid doing so could potentially jeopardize their campaigns for re ction I have heard the word afraid used innumerable times within these conversations with all but one council member of the six that currently support the ceasefire resolution and it is deeply concerning so I wanted to make a personal plea tonight and ask that each of you see beyond your fear and rather than being afraid of taking an agenda item to a vote which is quite common place here at city council please ask yourself what is it that you are truly afraid of in this circumstance I think explor exploring what your why is beyond this idea is critical because for those of you that have expressed this feeling I think it's vital for you to understand what it is you're ultimately giving your power to the fear of jeopardizing your reelection campaigns can only stem from what you must perceive as a lack of votes by publicly supporting a ceasefire resolution but on the contrary I truly believe you will gain far more votes than you could lose in this circumstance and I am certain of this as we watch yet another state fall to the terror led by prime minister Netanyahu first it was Palestine currently it is Lebanon and next it will be Syria as part of their greater Israel plan that has been publicly released Terror that not even citizens of Israel want at this time hence massive protests across Israel reaching up to 500,000 plus people against the Israeli government's refusal to agree to a ceasefire resolution support of a ceasefire resolution will only continue to grow globally nationally and locally as more states are attacked by Israel I think it's a sad day when the idea of publicly supporting a ceasefire resolution which has been the single most successful and effective tool at getting hostages back home to their families and stopping the Bloodshed of innocent Palestinian civilians is seen as something to be afraid of I believe it is time to let go of this un founded fear and instead focus on the healing I think it's a much more efficient and effective use of our time and energy it's my understanding that the final stage of healing is what happens when you use what happened to you to help others we for PE excuse me we Poria for Palestine are doing that work the community at large is doing that work even after losing friends family members and colleagues in this current genocide and I ask that each of you join us in uplifting our local community in its healing Journey excuse me taking a ceasefire resolution to a vote is part of this healing because to do so is a Step Beyond merely being heard it is also acknowledgement and ownership after the community's diligent and continued efforts to advocate for the ceasefire resolution to the benefit of the hostages and their families the entirety of the general Palestinian population living through a genocide and all people who wish to see an end to the Bloodshed we believe it is our right as your constituents to be fully acknowledged by taking the ceasefire resolution to a vote far less life-threatening issues have made their way onto the agenda since the beginning of this year when we started advocating for this cause they have heard their thoughts and ideas acknowledged by this Council and followed up by a vote on those said agenda items we ask why do we as your constituents not deserve equal treatment I'm sure this goes without saying but no one can force any of you to vote against or in support of a ceasefire resolution the choice is ultimately yours however we as a local community will continue to hold each of you to your greatness as members of this Council the standard of which is to uphold equal values of fairness and just treatment for all citizens of Poria so we ask that you collectively honor this commitment to this standard by taking the ceasefire resolution to a vote and fully acknowledging your constituents in the community who want the Bloodshed to end so the healing can begin thank you and ceasefire now thank you at this time I would like to invite a motion to adjourn and to convene and close session immediately following the adjournment of the city council meeting pursuant to the open meetings act 5 I LCS 1202 C11 to discuss pending and probable or imminent litigation and pursuant to the open meetings act 5 i l cs1 1202c 21 for approval by the body of closed session minutes and for the semiannual review of closed session minutes moved by councilman SAR seconded by council member Oiler uh please cast your ballots council member velpula there we go thank you for your service we're jour