Peoria approves Civic Center record $8 million budget, advances Northwoods Mall tax-increment financing district

Did you see this? [Music] Oh, thank you. I want to follow up with you. Good evening everyone. It is 6:01 p.m. on Tuesday, September 23rd 2025. I hear the voice of a sweet little baby. That's music to my ears because I became a grandmother again, uh, a great-g grandandmother again three weeks ago. and Councilman Rianbot became a grandfather for the first time about a week or two ago. Grandparenting is funner than parenting, I assure you.

I'd like to call the meeting of the Peoria City Council to order. I'd also like to welcome everyone here in our city council, historic city council chambers, as well as our listening audience watching on cable uh channel 22 and on YouTube. Madame clerk, the council mics are open. Please call the role. Mayor Ali, present. Council member Allen, present. Council member Carmona, here. Council member Seir, here. Council member Gordon Young, present. Council member Jackson here.

Council member Kelly here. Council member Oiler here. Council member Rianbach here. Council member Vespa here. We have a quorum present. Madame Mayor, thank you. A notice was received by council member Valpula of the city council in accordance with rules established in ordinance number 16,142.

Council member Valpula would be deemed authorized to attend the meeting electronically unless a motion objecting to council member Velpoola Valpula's electronic attendance is made seconded and approved by twothirds of the members of the city council physically present at the meeting.

If no such motion is made and seconded, then the request by council member Velpula to attend electronically shall be deemed approved by the city council and the presiding officer shall declare council member Valpula present. Hearing no objection. Uh madame clerk, council member Valpula. Council member Valpula, can we check our connection? He's in the process of reconnecting. Okay. I believe. Can you try again now? Go ahead and try again. Yes. Okay. Council member Valpula. Okay. Uh hello.

Council member Velpula. Are you here? Yes. Great. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Everyone, please join me and stand for a moment of silent prayer or silent reflection followed by the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Madam clerk, we are at proclamations. We have three proclamations tonight.

The first acknowledges Hispanic Hispanic Heritage Month. Whereas the city of Peoria recognizes Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring the histories, cultures, and contributions to our community members and their ancestors who came from Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. And whereas the city of Peoria is committed to building a welcoming and neighborly community, embracing diversity, and fostering equity for every community member.

And whereas more than 6% of the city of Peoria's population identified as Hispanic or Latin American in the 2020 census and Hispanics make up the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. And whereas Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15th, coinciding with the anniversary of the 1821 independence declarations in five Latin American countries, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

While Mexico, Chile, and Bise celebrate their independence days on September 16th, September 18th, and September 21, respectively. And whereas the city of Peoria celebrates the cultural heritages of our community members and the diversity they bring to the lives of our neighbors and neighborhood. Hispanics have impacted the culture of the United States, Illinois, and Peoria in areas of business government innovation art education, and entrepreneurship.

Now therefore, I, Reed Ali, mayor of the city of Peoria, do hereby acknowledge September 15th through October 15th as Hispanic Heritage Month in Peoria, Illinois. Our next proclamation recognizes hashtagg girls day and we have Marie Morris, the founder of hashg girls day and my friend Carol Mner, the CEO of the center for prevention of abuse. Ladies, can you come forward?

Whereas sexual assault and domestic violence cause major economic, emotional, physical, and psychological impacts among children, adults, and families. Whereas one in three women and one in four men have been the victim of domestic violence. and one in six women and one in 33 men will be the victim of sexual assault in their lifetime. And whereas every 15 seconds in the US, five people are physically assaulted by intimate partners.

Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crimes. And women are 70% more likely to be killed by their partner in the first two weeks after leaving than at any other time during the relationship. And whereas the center of prevention of abuse provides free and confidential services to survivors in central Illinois, including shelter for individuals and families fleeing violence or abuse, therapy services, and educational programs and trainings.

And whereas girls day honors the resilience of survivors, shares information about available resources, and helps others understand how to provide unconditional and nonjudgmental support. Now therefore, I, Reed Ali, mayor of the city of Peoria, do hereby commend the collective efforts to honor and support survivors with girls day in Peoria Illinois. [Applause] Good evening, Mayor Ali, all city council members, and the city staff. It's always an honor to come before you in this chamber.

And on behalf of the Center for Prevention of Abuse, I'd like to extend our sincere appreciation not only to you, but to Marie Morris and the organizers of Girls Day for selecting our organization as the beneficiary of this meaningful event. Maria and her committee's dedication and vision are instrumental in CFPA's work to foster a safer, more peaceful, and more resilient community for all.

We're also deeply grateful to you, Marili, and the city of Peoria for issuing the official proclamation recognizing October 4th as Girls Day. This recognition is not only symbolic, it is a powerful affirmation of the strength of survivors, the importance of prevention, and the value of community awareness. It's a true honor to stand in solidarity this evening, united in hope, purpose, and celebration of CFPA's five decades of work to help all people live free from violence and abuse.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to building a community where everyone can thrive in safety and in dignity. Thank you. Thank you, Carol. Thank you. Thank you, Marie. Our [Applause] last proclamation uh recognizes National Latino Physician Day and we have Dr. Ela Vazquez Melendez and Omar Garcia Martinez, a medical student here with us.

Whereas the city of Peoria takes great pride in recognizing the significant contributions made by Latino physicians to our community's health care and well-being. And whereas Latino physicians have played an instrumental role in addressing health care disparities, mentoring future health care professionals, and advancing medical research and education, contributing immensely to the betterment of our city.

And whereas the city of Peoria encourages diversity in health care settings in the hope that one day the physician workforce reflects the community it serves providing culturally competent care for all. And whereas National Latino Physician Day observed on October 1st is a day designated to honor and celebrate the accomplishments and dedication of Latino physicians in the field of medicine.

Now therefore, I, Reed Ali, mayor of the city of Peoria, Illinois, do hereby acknowledge October 1, 2025 as National Latino Physician Day in Peoria. [Applause] Good evening, Mayor Ali, members of the city council, and community members. On behalf of Latino physicians, medical students, and future healthcare providers, I want to sincerely thank the city of Peoria for recognizing National Latino Physician Day. This proclamation is more than just words.

It's a reminder of both the incredible contributions of Latino physicians make every day and the ongoing need for greater representation in medicine. While Latinos make up nearly 9 19% of the US population, only about 6% of physicians identify as Latino. This gap matters because representation in healthcare improves trust, communication, and ultimately health outcomes to our communities.

As someone from Molen and now a third-year medical student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria, I chose this campus because of the strength and warmth of the Peoria community. It is a spirit of of the community that continues to inspire me and that makes tonight especially meaningful. I also want to acknowledge the Latino physicians and medical students here in Poria who serve with compassion, excellence, and resilience.

Your work not only heals patients but also inspires the next generation of diverse physicians. Thank you, Mayor Ali, and the city of Peoria for your leadership in celebrating this day, for your support, and for standing with us in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare. It is an honor to accept this proclamation with Dr. Vasquez Melendez, and to continue working toward a healthier, more equitable future.

And as I look ahead, I hope that by lifting up moments like this, we can inspire and attract more students from diverse backgrounds to choose Peoria, just as I did, and to continue building a healthcare workforce that reflects the communities we serve. Thank you very much. Thank you. You're an inspiration. Thank you. Madame clerk, we are at the approval of the minutes. Council member Rianbot. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I move to approve the minutes of the joint city council and town board meeting held September 9th, 2025 as printed. Seconded by council member Kelly. Any questions or comments? Please cast your ballots. Oh, yeah. Council member Velpula. I. Motion passes unanimously. Madame clerk. We're at public hearings. 25-255 is a public hearing regarding the proposed Glenn Hollow Business District. And we need a motion to open the public hearing. Can I get a motion?

Moved by Council Member Allen, seconded by Council Member Gordon Young. Any questions or comments? Please cast your ballots. Council member Velpula. I motion passes unanimously. Good. Is it uh council Hayes or Mr. Manager, one of you want to speak to this? Um this Madame Clerk or Madame Mayor, this is a public hearing. So this is an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the proposed business district uh near Glenn Hollow Shopping Center. Okay.

Is there anyone that would like to uh speak to the public hearing regarding the proposed Glenn Hallow Business District? Yes, please come forward. Give us your name, please. any affiliation that you want to share? Good evening. My name is Eric Kutcherson. I live at 4110 North Hawthorne in Poria. And I filled out a card here, but I don't know if you need that or not. It's okay. Um I a couple of things I wanted to say. One, I I'm not much of an online shopper at all. I prefer to shop local.

I enjoy that. I like the chance to do that. So, I'm all about whatever we can do to promote local retail. I think that's a good idea. But an additional 1% tax at Glen Hollow, I don't think is a good idea for doing that. Um, when I go to Glenn Hollow, I go to Lowe's or Target. Those are the places that I go to. And, um, if there's an additional 1% tax at Glen Hollow, I probably will go to East Poria to go low to Lowe's and Target. Um, that's most likely what I will do.

The other thing I thought about was if this even passes, how am I going to know it? Because to tell you the truth, I don't really scrutinize my sales receipt when I get home to see how what the tax is by percent. I did that this afternoon and um it's 9% in Puria. I looked up online. It's 8 and a half% in East Puria. So, if this actually passes, how am I going to know when it passes if I don't happen to catch it on the news?

Well, I'm going to have to scrutinize my sales receipt, I guess, and figure that out. My suggestion is if this does pass, we make it really clear to the public like when they check out at the and they look at their receipt, it will say Glen Hollow tax on the bottom and you'll know exactly what you're paying. So that's my suggestion. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else that would like to speak to the public hearing regarding the proposed Glenn Hollow Business District?

Yes, please come forward. Give us your name and any affiliation you'd like to share. Good evening. My name is Rick Blanco and I live at 1011 West Moss. Uh I agree with Mr. Hutchinson. I feel that we need transparency in understanding where um additional taxes are coming from and that clarity uh is required.

I don't uh I don't feel it a situation in which perhaps all of the residents will benefit especially as the gentleman mentioned I would prefer to shop in East Poria in that case and the last thing I want to do is have businesses leave Poria by supporting other communities other very close neighboring communities so this is really just a call to action and a request that everyone give this due diligence and consideration moving forward. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Is there anyone else?

Is there anyone else that would like to speak to the public hearing regarding the proposed Glen Hollow Business District? That was my third call. So, I'm going to ask uh for a motion to close the public hearing. Moved by uh Council Member Allen, seconded by Council Member Gordon Young. Please cast your ballots. Council member Valpula. Yes. Motion passes uni unanimously. Thank you, Madame Clerk. We are at the consent agenda.

25-256 is a communication from the city manager and director of public works with a request for the following. A approve an agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation for the city's participation in D4 Bridgewashing 2026 in Poria and various counties. and B, approve a funding resolution for the city's cost participation in the D4 bridge washing 2026 in the amount of $46,000 plus contingencies.

25-257 is a communication with request for the following regarding the Northmore Road and University Street intersection reconstruction project. A approve a joint funding agreement for federally funded construction with the Illinois Department of Transportation to request 80% STU federal funding in an amount not to exceed 3,920,000. B. Approve a resolution authorizing the city's estimated minimum local agency funding match in the amount of $2,95,000 subject to I do approval.

and C approve a state mo state motor fuel tax resolution in the amount of $2,240,000 for construction costs. 25-258 is a communication with a request to concur with recommendation from the planning and zoning commission and staff to approve a resolution approving the preliminary subdivision plat of Hosienda Muriel Murilo subdivision with waiverss for the property located at 9810 North Garden Lane 25-259 is a communication with request for the following A.

Adopt an ordinance authorizing the establishment of tax increment financing interested parties registries and adoption of registration rules for such registries for the proposed Adams Liberty Tax Increment Financing District. And B, adopt an ordinance to establish a date for a public hearing for the proposed Adams Liberty Tax Increment Financing District. In item B, there is a handout on your desk of a revised ordinance with an updated public hearing date and updated TIFF timeline.

25-260 is a communication with request for the following. A adopt an ordinance authorizing the establishment of a tax increment financing interested parties registries and adopt adoption of registration rules for such registries for the proposed Northwood Small Tax Increment Financing District. and B, adopt an ordinance to establish a date for a public hearing for the proposed Northwoods Mall Tax Increment Financing District.

And on your desk, there is a handout with a revised ordinance with an updated public hearing date and updated TIFF timeline. 25-261 is a communication with requ request to concur with the recommendation from the planning and zoning commission and staff to adopt excuse me to adopt an ordinance approving a special use in a class 01 arterial office district for multifamily apartment apartments for the property located at 7211 North Knoxville Avenue, excuse me.

25-262 is a communication with a request to concur with a recommendation from the planning and zoning commission and staff to adopt an ordinance reszoning property from a class R4 single family residential district to a class CN neighborhood commercial district and a P1 parking district and approving a special use in a class CN neighborhood commercial district for auto repair for the properties located at 1039 West Lincoln Avenue and 1034 1036 and 1038 West Howit Street, Poria, Illinois.

25-263 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 1803 West Main Street, Poria, Illinois.

25-264 is a communication with request concur with recommendation from the planning and zoning commission and staff to adopt an ordinance approving a special use and a class R3 single family residential district for a short-term rental for the property located at 2935 North North Village Drive, Poria, Illinois. Madame Clerk, you want Let's have Deputy um I'm sorry, Assistant Clerk Cole finish that out for you. Thank you. Here. Come on.

25-265 is a communication from the city manager with a 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 R3 single family residential district for a short short-term rental for the property located at 4607 North Edgebrook Drive, Poria, Illinois.

25-266 is a request to an adopt an ordinance amending chapter 3 article 2 section 3-52 of the code of the city of Peoria to revise the class K2 catering liquor license requirements 25-267 is a request to adopt an ordinance I'm sorry 25-267A is a request to adopt an ordinance amending chapter 3, article 2, section 3-52 of the code of the city of Peoria to revise the class I liquor license and B is to adopt an ordinance amending chapter 3 article 2 section 3-53 of the code of the city of Peoria to revise the subclass 7 liquor license requirements.

Item C, to adopt an ordinance amending chapter 3, article 2, section 3-53 of the code of the city of Peoria to add a new subclass 10A liquor license and D to approve the site application for a class I golf course liquor license with on-site consumption and retail sale of alcohol for Gopher Entertainment LLC doing business as Fairways at GLC at 781 15 North Radner Road contingent upon the issuance of a certificate of occupancy with the recommendation from the liquor commission to approve.

25-268 is a request to approve the site application for a class H temporary outdoor liquor license for an event held by Poria County for its bicesentennial celebration on the county courthouse grounds at 324 Main Street and on Main Street between Jefferson Avenue and Adam Street and Adam Street between Main Street and Hamilton Boulevard on October 4th 2025.

25-269 is a request to approve the site application for a class C packaged goods liquor license with the retail sale of alcohol for UFS Savings Center Incorporated doing business as UFS Outlet Center at 8901 North Knoxville contingent upon the issuance of a certificate of occupancy with a recommendation from the liquor commission to approve and then 25-270 Z is a request to approve the site application for a class B restaurant 50% food liquor license with on-site consumption and the retail sale of alcohol for Analytical Brewing LLC doing business as Analytical Brewing at 831 Southwest Adam Street contingent upon the issuance of a certificate of occupancy with a recommendation from the liquor commission to approve.

And that's our consent agenda. Thank you, madam clerks. Are there any items to remove from consent? Council member Allen. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Uh, can you please uh remove item 25-260, please? Council member Jackson. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, item number 25-262. Thank you. Council member Seir. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Move to approve the balance of the consent agenda. Seconded by Council Member Allen. Any questions or comments, please cast your ballots. Council member Velpula.

I. Motion passes unanimously. Madame clerk, 25-260 is a request to a adopt an ordinance authorizing the establishment of tax increment financing interested parties registries and adoption of registration rules for such registries for the proposed Northwoods Mall Tax Increment Financing District. and B to adopt an ordinance to establish a date for a public hearing for the proposed Northwood Small Tax Increment Financing District. And we'll need separate votes for both, please. Okay.

Thank you, Council Member Allen. Uh thank you, Madame Mayor, and apologies ahead of time. I'm a little congested, so I won't be for you all along, but uh this is a uh exciting opportunity. I know we're at the genesis of this conversation of uh looking at a potential incentive tool that we can have in our economic toolkit uh not only to stabilize that current shopping area but also to grow it and make it even more of a destination than it already is. Um Mr.

manager, if you could just provide some context of why does this potential tool make sense and maybe provide some tiff 101 uh background for those who are listening who aren't familiar with this economic tool, please. Uh thank you, Councilman. So, um when we establish a tiff district, um the investment that's made by property owners inside the tiff district generally will increase the value of those properties.

And what a tiff does is that it freezes the the current tax rates that are paid to the taxing bodies at the level at the base EAV level, the assessed value level at that point in time. And it stays that way for 23 years.

All the incremental property tax growth that comes from new investment in the tiff district um is potentially utilized either by the public body for infrastructure improvements that are made in the tiff district or by redevelopers that use it for land acquisition, renovation of existing buildings, um site improvements, uh financing costs, all of those go into potential redevelopment expenses.

So, we looked at the area around Northwoods Mall knowing that this is an area uh that is concentrated commercial development inside the city and commercial zoning inside the city. Uh and then looked at it and said there's some opportunities for redevelopment within this area.

Uh even at the mall for example uh if you look at what uh many other communities are doing in uh throughout the country where you have large parking spaces that are set up as part of of old u shopping malls they're turning into apartments and other uh commercial entities are are building out and infill development occurs inside those those larger scale areas.

So, you know, we looked at this as an opportunity to um to create a a tiff district in this area to help to redevelop uh this part of the city. Uh it's it's the heart of our retail center and this would be an opportunity to grow that. Um and so that's the reason why we're doing this. And as the councilman said, um tonight we're just establishing the date for the public hearing and the registry.

And the registry just means that if you're interested in following along uh in the progress uh and discussion about the tiff district, you can sign on to the registry and then you'll get the information that'll come forward uh any communication and correspondence that goes out. Very helpful. Uh thank you, Mr. Manager. I I appreciate that context. Uh I believe that uh this is a conversation definitely worth having. Look forward to the public hearing.

Uh the public hearing is uh will be set uh for November 18th. So plenty of time for uh constituents and stakeholders to weigh in on this. But I believe between this conversation, the conversation about the business development district, potentially happen at Glenn Hollow, this demonstrates our vision for wanting this to again uh not only be a current shopping destination, but again for it to grow uh for future growth and sustainability.

So without further ado, I would like to move to approve item A, please. You move for item A. Yes, ma'am. Seconded by council member Gordon Young. Any other discussion on item A. Please cast your ballots. Council member Valpula. I. Motion passes unanimously. Council member Allen. I move to approve item B, please. Item B, seconded by Council Member Gordon Young. Any additional discussion? Please cast your ballots. Council member Valpula. I. Motion passes unanimously. Madam clerk.

Item 25-262 is a request to adopt an ordinance reszoning property from a class R4 single family residential district to a class CN neighborhood commercial district and P1 parking district and approving a special use in a class CN neighborhood commercial district for auto repair for the properties located at 1039 West Lincoln Avenue and 1034 1036 and 1038 West Howet Street, Poria, Illinois. Council member Jackson. Thank you, Madame Mayor.

I would just like to, if I could, move to defer uh this item. I have uh just only had an opportunity to talk with Mr. Ransbury on the phone and uh there is additional due diligence. I would like to finish uh before uh moving any further on this. So, I would like a deferral for one month, please. One month. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Seconded by council member Kelly. Any additional discussion? Motion is to defer for one month. Please cast your ballots. Council member Velpula. I. Motion passes unanimously.

Madam clerk, We're at regular business. 25-271 is a request to approve the Poria Civic Center 2025 annual report and 2026 annual budget. And you have a handout uh with the presentation slides and annual report on your desk. Mr. Manager. Uh thank you, Madam Mayor. This is our annual opportunity to hear from uh the Civic Center Authority and the Civic Center. And with us, we have the general manager of the uh Puria Civic Center, Rick Edgar. Uh and I will turn the floor over to Mr. Edgar.

All right. I'll be as succinct as I can to cover a very phenomenal year. But before I start, um it is my absolute honor to present this report to this council. Um Mayor Ali, I want to thank you for your leadership. over this past year, we've had opportunities to to talk and learn and grow, and we're be able to be part of this together, and I appreciate that.

Also, this would not be possible without the support of this council, um, the Poria Civic Center Authority or my fantastic staff there at the Poria Civic Center. So, we'll just get right into it. If the clicker works, the clicker is not working. Is it? There we go. All right. So, uh, this is the first naming rights deal that the venue has had in its for 40 plus year history. Prior home Prairie Home Alliance Theater.

Um, this is our marquee that was installed this year and debuted during the Wicked Run. It is the most photographed part of our building by far since its in introduction. And we wouldn't have done it without the support of Steve Jackson, Tory Weller, and Ivon Greer Batten. Um, I'm not the smartest guy in the room, so I just want to let you know I live my life in parables and catchphrases and anagrams. So, deal with that because what's going to be really cool.

But this year, our anagram that we give to the staff is rave. The R and rave is for the recap. We have broken multiple records this venue, and it's not, it's worth noting. Uh, our adjusted gross income is over $8 million for the first time in the venue history. Concession sales were over 4.2 million. Ticket sales were 15.9 million. We also sell set house records in comedy, modern rock, theater, concerts, and youth sporting. And we'll talk a little bit more about that.

Uh the adjusted gross income just to kind of dial it down is the amount of money we make after we pay our expenses on the night of show. From 2011 to 2018, it was pretty steady of about 5.2 million. We've set it seen a steady increase in the last three years. We finally broke 7 million the previous two years and 8 million this year. Uh food for thought. We rebranded our concessions this year and we saw some instantaneous results.

The highest sales we've ever had at 4.2 million and we took our three worst stands that were the underperformers, turned them into graband goes and in those three stands alone we increased sales by over $311,000 in those three points of sale. Um some little fun facts that we have up there is how many pretzels and popcorn. I do want to point out the 3.5 million ounces of soda and water that was consumed this year.

One of the things that we are very passionate about is being community leaders and giving back to the community. This year alone, our nonprofits through our concessions program, we work with them. Over $200,000 was returned back into the community through those groups. And there's just a small amount of the groups that have worked with us over the past year. We also need to watch how we spend our money and how we maintain it for sustainability.

We actually, despite being one of the busiest years on record, we used the second lowest amount of kilowatts by management. Some of the investments we made, had we maintained our normal average this year, it would have cost the venue over $231,000. So to Will Kenny and our operations team, they did a fantastic job there. And in gas alone, we cut those costs by over 40%. We also had multiple capital improvements.

Um, and I just kind of wanted to have a little fun while we're doing this as we're pointing back to those uh things that were consumed. We also used over 3.2 million feet of toilet paper this year and 1.7 million 8 million feet of paper towels. We sold over 200,000 tickets online this year. That is an astounding number for a market this size. I have the pleasure of working in Legends Global. You may have known the Mosaic Global. We recently changed our name.

We rank out of 88 markets in the country number 12 in the company. We are the only one of two markets out of the top 50 who made that list. It just goes to show how much our staff has outk their coverage and really done a dramatic impact in the sales that we have in this market. taxes. We are not tax exempt. We pay taxes through uh admissions, food and beverage, and merchandise. We have held steady to over a million dollars a year. Previously, we were as low as about a half million.

So, we're giving back to the community directly. I would like to make one note in uh 25 because we're doing so well, we have to pay our taxes in advance. So, those 25 sales do not include Wicked, which we did $2.7 million in sales. So, those will go on to next year's tax roll. March 25 was the best month the venue has ever had by over 20%. The really cool thing about this we had 162,000 visitors but it was done through those smaller events. Traditionally arena concerts is the revenue generator.

We did not have a single we did not have a single arena concert in the month of March. Uh what we did have was a massive wrestling tournament which set concession records and we also had that huge list of events over that course of the month. We had 56 event days over a 30-day period. Our best weekend in the venue history was two months later in um May. Uh we had Shine Down set a house record for active rock show on Friday.

And then our friend Nate Bgatsi, not only did he break the house record for comedy at three, that wasn't good enough. He broke that record again at 7 o'clock. Over 18,000 people purchased tickets, most of them from out of town spending money here in Poria. But I also want to point out, we can't just focus on the arena when we have a big event. At the same time when this was going on, we still had Dogman the musical and the theater as well as two graduations.

Most of you, because it's fresh in our mind, is wicked. It was phenomenal. 2.7 million in ticket sales. Just under 28,000 people attended this event. What I thought was really cool is sustaining growth. Usually when you have a tent pole Broadway blockbuster, you lose season subscribers. As of right now, we made this report. 92% renewal rate. They want to see lay miz. They want to see those great shows this year. We're building the audience.

And we have a staging the future program that I'm going to talk a little bit more about where we purchased tickets for underserved populations through our partner with American Theater Guild. 540 kids were able to come see the show at over $100 a ticket that would normally not have that opportunity. But not everything sets a record. We have lots of cool things that we do uh with Brooks and Dun that staging the future program.

Through the proceeds of that very successful concert, by the way, it was the number two country concert only behind Reba McIntyre, we were able to donate $5,000 to Staging the Future on behalf of the band as a thank you. Um, I really love the Neil Degrasse Tyson story in the theater. He is one of our top earners. He joined a list with Steve Martin and Martin Short, Harry Kik Jr., John Melanchamp, Jerry Seinfeld, and Neil Degrass Tyson. He is an astrophysicist.

Why is he on the list with these performers? Because there is an audience out there if you go and find them. And they spent a lot of money and it was a great show. Uh Pentatonix has become a bi-annual event for us. We sold that out. And we also had Poria 150 graduations for the first time, the three graduations, and it was a huge success for not only us, but also for Poria 150. By the way, they signed up during the event for next year.

Just wanted to give you kind of we do a lot of things and if you see up here we have everything from Angel Ball which was with with Earth, Wind and Fire, Chicago concert, Joe Kcoy. We do so many events a year that we just wanted to kind of give you a little splash of other things that we do. We have four major tenants in our venue. Um wanted to kind of point out with the Poria Riverman for the last three years they've done over a million dollars in ticket sales.

They did this the first time they have done that. when they came back, they have never done this since they left the uh ACL. Um Bradley is up 35% in revenue and attendance is up 19%. Our ballet, and I thought this one was really cool, they're up in attendance and revenue over 30%. And the Poria Symphony has increased their activity, our building from four to six concerts a year. The Beat Budget Award was an award that was pre presented in May by Legends Global. It is across the country.

This is a national award. We are at the top of the list of all of the 400 venues in the company. I just wanted to point out the other ones there just you can see the the category and the class that we're in with. The Everbank Stadium is the Jackson Jacksonville Jaguar Stadium and the Greek Theater is an iconic theater in LA. Uh it's up there with Red Rocks as one of the two most famous theaters in the country and the Poria Civic Center is not on the list but at the top.

The A in RA and RA and rave is for a line. We have to know about revenues, engagement, and community. So, I asked our staff, where do our guests come from? Where are they coming from? We found out through our ticket sales that over 65% of those guests are coming from outside of not only Peoria, but Poria County. That means they're traveling more than 50 miles to come to our events. When they do that, they tend to stay in hotels and shop at our stores and go to our restaurants.

We also support the Vet Tix program. These are for veterans. These are free tickets that we purchase and donate to that organization. We donated over 1300 tickets to those groups this past year. We also kind of wanted where are our tenants? The ones that are seemed local based.

And going from left to right on this, what we found which was kind of interesting was the Poria Riverman actually sold more tickets in the metro area outside of Peoria and the Tazwell counties and the surrounding counties then beyond 50 miles and then it was local Peoria. Conversely, Bradley seems to fall in line with our most of our concerts. They do draw people from outside of the area coming in, especially on weekends.

The alumni seem to come in, but we then sell more tickets in Poria, then it goes to Poria County. And then with PSO, almost half of their tickets are here local in Poria County, and it's about split evenly with outside of the metro area and 50 miles away. Broadway, if you'll notice, it's almost identical with our hard tickets. So 67%. And I just kind of mentioned that because we're going to talk about Wicked here in a second and the economic impact it had.

But I would be remiss to not point out the staging the future program. We just talked about it's $100 a ticket for Broadway shows. 1,600 tickets were donated to the community this year for underserved population, children and families. The V and Rave is for vision. What are we seeing next? What are things that we can do in the community? These two installations were done about two months ago. their local artist um to display their work on our walls.

It is just a really nice warm welcoming feeling instead of just brick. We do a lot of things. Our sensory room, this is where if things get a little crazy for kids typically, it's a quiet place for parents to go and just relax. It's something that we've been doing as a company of Legends Global. And we put this room in our in our place today. And we actually saw it being used even at the uh Jurassic Quest we just had with dinosaurs. Kids just 50 foot dinosaur. No thanks. Come on in.

uh red sneakers program. This is a really cool This allows us to have uh Epipens on site with uh our nurses and our staff to be able to do this. Uh wanted to thank uh Lindsay Spangler. Not only did she start this program here, but we just became aware that she's now the national representative for this program. So, it started in Pory and has become a national entity. Small business opportunities. Uh we love this story about our friends at Katrina's. We It's one of our lunch spots.

we needed support at our wrestling tournament. We asked them if they'd like to come down and serve some food and got all the health, you know, all the health code stuff taken care of. They sold over 400 burritos in just under two hours. And if you've been to that shop, that's probably more than they do in a week. So, needless to say, we love them, they love us, and we're going to keep working with them. Um, but I want to point out that we're a job creator. not only around the area off of us.

This past year, we figured out we paid more than 281,000 labor hours to our staff. There's a lot of words up here, but I wanted you to have a time to read this at a different, but it just was wonderful. This is one of the Girl Scout troops that got to come see Wicked. But if you'll notice the words magical, fairy tale, excitement, couldn't believe it could be that good. These are things here local in the community where you would normally have to go to Broadway to see.

Even more than that, uh, we got a response from a local restaurant. We said local, they're 15 miles away from here. Thanks for having us over capacity for two weeks of Wicked. So, they're feeling that impact. 15 miles away every night. It was not solicited. They just sent us this really nice note. But we started noticing a pattern of people using words, "Your staff is friendly. I had joy." It was a wonderful experience.

These are positive things that this community needs to have more of and we're happy to be a part of that and we all like to meet stars. It's kind of a cool thing. Uh Nate Pagati was with our folks from CXT. Uh we actually provided him a little coffee bar in the back. Thought it would be great. He enjoyed it so much that he gave a amazing tip to our folks. I won't embarrass him with how much. And took a picture with our folks from CXT. This is something they can put up in their business.

The most popular community in the world was at their establishment. Um, and Chvy Chase likes to do go dining. Not only was he here at gyms, but he also went to One World and Saffron and probably a couple other places. So, there was a Chvy sighting. It was kind of like, where do you find the uh elf at Christmas this past year? So, finally, what's our expectations moving forward? You know, what do we see on the horizon?

I think one thing that we do need to talk about, we are still a business and this is the year where we're making massive community investments. uh the ice plant. It is a multi-million dollar project cost, but also we're having to shut down the arena from 100 to 120 days. So, it's not only the cost of the project, but it's lost revenue from this past year to make this project happen.

Um, so we're happy about that because we think it'll have a better effect long term because we've already seen benefits from the scoreboard and the ribbon boards that we put in. The other thing that our board was very passionate about is our tenant deals. While we know costs are going up across the board, they made multi-year deals where those deals were relatively flat. That allows them to get back on their feet.

Now, it does create some compression for the building, but it's part of our investment back to help these people, these uh partners of ours do well. We're going to keep doing the NPO program. That's direct. That's cash in pocket for NPOS to survive. CXT, one of the things is we helped them put a coffee shop in our place. We worked with them side by side and now we see them investing in other parts of the community. They just took over the uh old Starbucks near campus.

I think being with us was one of those things that showed them build their brand and now we have a legitimate multi- uh venued uh coffee distributor here in town. Uh the arcade, that's the name for the glassy area that you see when you look outside city hall. It is under revision uh under a renovation, excuse me. If we put it back the way it is, it's right at $30 million that we do not have. So, we're right in the middle of the design phase right now.

And again, this is another investment that we need to make, but we'll also cause a shutdown of that part of the venue at some point in 26. Um, and then staging the future. This is the third time we've talked about that's how much we love this program. We're going to continue buying tickets for underserved populations this year. So, we had obstacles. So, how are we going to succeed? And I think this is a really interesting slide.

If there's one thing to say, we were told we were uninsurable if we did not replace our roof last year. And even though we made all of these investments, we got insurable, but our rates still went up 12 a.5%. What I would share with you, in my industry, our friends are telling us they went up 25 to 35% this past year. um concerts in uh public gatherings, the rates keep going up on the insurance carriers because there's few of them in the game. Salaries, our cost overall went up 10%.

We actually reduced our hours by 14%. So even though we're downplay or we're taking down our hours that we're using and getting leaner, the price still goes up. Um every one of our expense line items went up on an average of 12 and a half%. wages, benefits, repairs and maintenance, insurance, utilities, operational expenses. We're doing everything we can to minimize those, but they're realities that we're having to deal with. The economy is uncertain this year in our industry.

What we are seeing is either we have a grand slam with like Wicked and Lean Morgan or shows that are really struggling. What that has done is fewer tours are out this fall. They're waiting to see if things get better. I think all of us have been like, "Will you buy a ticket for a show next April? or you going to wait and see how things go? That's what we're seeing. And in utilities, our operations team did such a phenomenal job and I want to reiterate, we reduced electric by uh 15%.

And then gas by 43% and our cost still went up by three and a half. So even though we're taking it down in double digits, our rates still keep going up overall. But the good news is we got some stability because we've built this structure with our teams, with the board. Um, Prairie Home Alliance has been a wonderful partner. Not only they want their name on the building, they buy tickets. And I'm gonna embarrass Steve Jackson.

I think he bought 150 additional tickets to Wicked alone for family and friends because he was so proud of the marquee. These are the kind of partners we want who have a buy into what we're doing. Our CO sponsorship, this doesn't happen in real life, but it did. They came to us, they had one year left on their deal. They go, "Your business has grown 10% a year every year over the last three years. we want to tear up your deal, extend you five years, and give you a 23% raise.

That happened because they want us to be successful. Um, we have to work with our leadership citywide, discover Poria, the city, mayor's office. We're out recruiting events with multi-year deals. Three wonderful examples is the IKWF wrestling tournament, Power Play volleyball, and the music educators. All of them are under five-year new deals that start this coming year. Promoter relationships. We are nothing without our promoters.

Hot Wheels, Live Nation, Feld, Outback, and about 30 other promoters. They come to Peoria. A lot of times we get a first phone call. I wish I could tell you what we're going to talk about, but on Monday, what Listen, we have two major arena announcements that we are just giddy about to tell you. They're A-listers. It's going to be amazing. These are gifts that have come to us for 26 that we're hoping will really get the building excitement back. um American Theater Guild.

It is the only nonprofit Broadway presenter in the country. And somebody why'd you go with a nonprofit instead of someone just wants to make money staging the future? They want to give back to the communities. They're not in for profit. We are a little bit, you have to admit, but doing these great shows. So after Wicked, we are now actively looking for that next tent pole show two and three and four years because that's how far out Broadway is. And that success is going to open those doors.

Uh, and then finally, my company, Legends Global. I think opening doors is a big one. I can pick up my phone anytime and call three or four venues and find out, is that show selling? Is that show working? Or this guy won't return my phone calls, and I usually have a friend that can get that call. It's helped us be very successful, as you've seen by our numbers. Just a little smattering of things that are coming up. At the top left, the thorn, uh, that's tomorrow night and the next night.

If you'd like to buy tickets, that's a good one. Um, but we do everything from Broadway to concerts, whether it be country, rock, uh, you know, comedy. It's just been a joy to all the different things that we're able to bring. So, I asked the staff, as I mentioned, I work in catchphrases and parables like, what do we want to be next year? And I said, well, Ruth Chris says perfection. Well, that's going to set us up for failure. We're human.

We're not going to be perfect, but you know what we can do? We can connect. We can tell a story. we can get your attention and we can have that moment and that is totally achievable. So I want to end this with a little personal story but also show you what we have there in that picture. It's the Poria Civic Center Authority. It's the mayor's office. It's Legends Global. It's the Prairie Home Alliance. All of those people need to be part of this for us to succeed.

And that marquee is very personal to me. In 1981, as a 13-year-old, this is what I was listening to. I thought this was the coolest place you could ever go to. It doesn't exist. If you'll notice that marquee, it's pretty darn close. And seeing it being photographed over and over again, we thought wicked. Lean Morgan, my security guy, and then this is the end of my story.

He comes up to me, he goes, "Hey, can we move the security lines because people are standing and taking their picture and it's kind of slowing things up." And I said, "Of all the requests you've ever asked, this is an absolute no. Go back and do your job. We're going to have people taking pictures all the time." So, with that, uh, thank you for listening and I hope you enjoyed hearing this as much as I enjoyed presenting. Thank you, Mr. Igger. You know, that was a an amazing presentation.

I love the ending story. It was very personal. Um, this is quite impressive the numbers. I mean, you're really putting Peoria on the map and you're doing some amazing things. I see both Southerntherland out there, too. And I know you have a great team. Yeah, Madam Mayor, if I may, I think you have a whole box of my staff. That's how dedicated they are. They're giving up their night to come to a council meeting. Can you hold your hands up? Leadership. Thank you. Thank you all. Mr.

Simonus, I I see you out there, Rick Simonus there as well, the chairman. Um, yes. And we have our uh liaison to the civic center. Council member uh Rianbach is our our council liaison. Council member Rianbach. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Thank you, Mr. Edgar, for an amazing um report. And I think I think we can all just give you another incredible round of applause for what you and the team have accomplished this year.

So, thank you for the leadership that you provide and thank you for recognizing the staff that's here because I wanted to make sure that my colleagues understand that as much of a rock star as you are, Rick, that those are the people that make you who you are. Right. And and we recognize that and I recognize that as a leazison every month at the authority meetings. Just a couple numbers that I want to pull out of this incredible um report. The adjusted gross income crossing the $8 million mark.

That that's a milestone that 10 years ago would never have been dreamt of. And to see that having grown consistently since co I think I think that's a very important thing. I I I love the best month ever um slide as well with 56 event days. Now when I was going to school March I had 31 days. So to have 56 event days and 31 days again speaks to the incredible staff that that transitions the the facility into the different um the the the events that they have.

And then the final comment I'll make is where the guests come from. You know we talk a lot about is is the civic center worth it? Should the city have done that? you know, Dick Carver and that that council 45 years ago, they get I don't think they get second guessed too much when you see numbers like this. And to think that 65.9% of the visitors to that civic center come from outside the area, not the Tri County area, but beyond that.

that just proves what a magnet it is and the significance this has not only for downtown Peoria but the the community at large. So I I'm just thrilled to be able to represent council on the authority board and look forward to seeing what 2026 will be and as um Mr. Edgar noted it's going to be a different year having the arena shut down for the ice plant. Yeah. which is going to be make make the Riverman game experience even greater. But but just keep that in mind.

Um that $8 million might be a little bit different next year at this time. So um thank you very much and thank you Madame Mayor. And you asked for another round of applause. I agree. [Applause] If there's no more uh comments. Oh, we got one here. Council member Seir. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you very much, Mr. Edgar, for being here and all the work you've done over the last many years.

Um, my first comment has to do would I ask to ask a couple numbers your question about some num numbers, but I want to thank you for getting involved today with the Scottish, right? It kind of breaks my heart to see them go on sale and you were able to save a couple shows, I believe. So, thank you very much for for doing that and I'm looking forward the next year or so with our amphitheater. I mean, we need some help.

I mean, we're not in the business of booking shows like you are, and you're doing a very great, exceptional jobs. I'm looking forward to hopefully you'll be able to participate with the park district and and hopefully help us uh be very successful on the river front. Also, uh just want a couple question in your budget. I don't know how well verse you are in your budget, but under Hesid, we're showing just a negative number this year.

Why would that number be negative compared to last three years? Yeah. And I'm going to try to take a very nuanced conversation and simplify it as much as I can for the time sake for everyone. Um we have several um issues for or challenges next year. One of them is um we have had our capital budget funded through grants for the last years. We are now using the HR money to fund capital and our capital budget is approximately 1.4 million.

So that's 1.4 million we're taking away from the operating budget and pushing to capital. The other thing is is our closure. Our board, we had a discussion that we did not want to take our hardworking staff and furlow and lay off during the construction. And our payroll is about 300,000 a month. So there's about 1.2 million in payroll over that closure time that we're going to fund without having the arena open. The other one is we have no Wicked.

Wicked is a massive success that comes every couple years. And if you'll notice in that chart, 2019 Lion King, this year you get a pretty big bump. We don't have that bump. And even though we have a fantastic series for Broadway, we're about 10 shows short because we don't have that blockbuster. So those type things had an overall impact on a negative number, which would normally be a positive. Okay. Thank you for the explanation.

Last uh comment is about the update renovation in the civic center. I have to be honest with you, the last many months when every time I go to a hockey game, basketball game, uh, and and the hallways over there, I mean, the bathroom, I mean, the place just looked unbelievable. I mean, such a great great improvement. The shows are unbelievable to go, like I said, Bradley game, a hockey game, or any of the shows I've been to. Just it's a it's an exceptional experience at the Civic Center.

So, thank you very much. Can you give us an update since know $20 million coming from this body? Can you give us an update how the renovations are going? What I've mentioned is are the things that we see, but I know there's so much more and the investment that we don't see. How's it going? Oh, absolutely. The first things we took care of were the required things. Um, my terminology, the unsexy stuff, boilers, chillers, roof, things that you just take for granted.

It was incredibly embarrassing when you couldn't have an event in the arena when it rained or snow without water coming through the roof and literally we had to block off seats. We don't have to do that anymore. So that gives us an advantage. One of the other ones back of house investments that you don't see. One of the knocks was is our dressing rooms were abysmal to beyond abysmal. We renovated those and now we have a real star dressing room.

And the first time Live Nation's uh main booker came into town, he's like, "Oh, that's not so bad." And we kind of took that as a thing like, "Yeah, Pory, we're not so bad." And now we're building on that. So all of those things back a house. And I know my my buddy back here, Eric, who's our tech guy, he still wants more. Um because when we originally came in 2019 with our list of needs, not wants, it was 47 million. Between the state and this body, we've got about 45, which is fantastic.

But that 47 million grew to over 60. So there's still a significant list that we need to attack attack over the next few years. Thank you very much, sir. Thank you, Madam Mayor. You're welcome. I'm going to go back to Council Member Rianbach and uh ask you for a motion to approve the presentation and the annual budget. I'm happy to do that, Madame Mayor. So moved. Item 25-271. Seconded by council member Oiler. Any other questions or comments. Please cast your ballots. Council member Valpula. I.

Motion passes unanimously. In the words of my mentor, Dr. Romeo B. Garrett, keep on keeping on. Thank you. Thank you for your time this evening. Hope to see you at a show. Madame Clerk, 25-272 is a communication from the city manager and finance director controller with a request to receive and file the 2026 2027 bianual budget. And on your desk, there should be a copy of the the budget. Mr. Manager. Uh thank you, Madame Mayor. Uh it's that time of year again.

So we've got the budget here for you um to look at. I just want to uh give you a very quick highlight this evening and then we'll uh jump into the budget in great deal uh great detail uh next week when we have our special budget meeting. Um this is a bianual budget. So, it's a two-year budget um that invests in 2026 and invests $298.1 million including $128.1 million in the general fund uh into the six strategic priorities of our strategic plan.

Infrastructure, community safety, business growth, downtown development, embracing equity, and improving our quality of life. Um, we have $136.3 million in reserves proposed at the end of 2026, uh, including $56.7 million in the general fund. Um, we have sufficient resources to make our debt service payments for next year and weather any future economic downturn.

This budget fully funds public safety pensions and prepares the city for the next phase of our combined sewer projects, the two largest fiscal challenges the city faces. Uh the $48.9 million community investment plan focuses on our greatest needs. Uh streets and roads, $17.1 million, storm water and sewers, 14.9 million, vehicles, technology, and cyber security, 10.4 million, facilities, 7.8 million. Uh this budget uh ties our departmental goals to the city's strategic plans.

Uh, it funds the neighborhood miniig grants, housing repairs, affordable housing, uh, and the demolition of vacant structures. It leverages and continues to leverage state grants to fight crime and respond to mental health and behavioral health issues in the community. It expands our fire training, our recruitment, and continues the accreditation program.

Uh, we have continued emphasis on maintaining what we own with our existing infrastructure, and our continued investment in the growth of small businesses throughout our community. So, now I just want to kind of give you a quick walkthrough um before we we ask you to just receive and file this because we'll really get into great detail.

But if you turn to the to the uh second page in the book, uh there should be the table of contents and I'm just going to point out a couple of things as you go through this. Uh the introduction and overview of our financial structure is on the first um pages up to page 32. So from the very beginning just to page 32 that gives you kind of the background of how our our f our financial system is structured. The budget overview starts on page 33.

The budget transmitt uh is on page 34 with a strategic plan overview on page 37. Um we talk about 2025 and our estimate for where we're going to end 2025. On page 46, we have the budget and brief, which is really where we get into kind of the budget for revenues, expenses, our capital equipment. On uh page 49, um we talk about staffing page, our staffing changes on page 58, our fund balances and the change in fund balances over the two years on page 60.

Uh and then future considerations are our, you know, the finance director and and my outlook are what we think are some of the issues you need to be thinking about in the future on page 61. And then our funding sources uh begin on page 66. The fund summaries where we analyze each individual fund that we have begins on page 84. We have summaries by department beginning on page 197 in the book. And then we have our debt service schedules on page 232.

And then we wrap up the budget with the capital improvement plan that begins on page 239 in the budget book as well. So the timeline that we have is that the budget's been placed on file with the county clerk. Uh thank you, Madam Clerk. Um we have the uh beginning next week, we'll come back to you with the special meeting where we'll walk through in great detail what's in the budget, but we'll also provide you with the estimate of the property tax levy.

So that'll be coming to council uh next Tuesday evening. Uh that so that's a special budget meeting that we'll have uh on October 7th. We'll have a budget hearing where we'll have our our annual budget hearing for the public to weigh in on the budget. Um that again is another special city budget meeting that we'll have on that night. Then on our regular council meeting of October 14th, we'll have our truth and taxation hearing as well as the continued budget discussions.

uh during that regular city council meeting. On October 21st, we'll have another special budget meeting. And then on October 28th, we hope to finalize all of the budget discussions at our second regular council meeting in October, so that we can adopt the budget at a special meeting on October 4th. So, Mr. Manager, just going back to September 23rd, which is today, November, uh, where the proposed budget is placed on file in the city clerk's office for public viewing. It's also online.

Yes, we're we have the budget online. It's it's a a book that it's also a digital version of it, so we'll have it so the public can review it. So, someone if they want to see it online, do they go online to the website of the clerk's office or or is there another area they can go to? They can go to the the finance department's budget web page. If you just type in budget in the city's web page, it'll come up and that's where it'll be. Okay. Very good. And I I corporation council corrected me.

I said October 4th to approve the budget. It's November 4th is what we're November 4th. That's the plan. All right. Any questions for the manager? Council member Kelly. Uh, no questions, Madame Mayor. I move to receive and file. Okay. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Council Member Jackson. Any other comments? Council member Seir. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Can we just ask for maybe it's not I don't even call it report back, but uh every year I ask for the same thing uh on the CIP program.

Can we break it down next week when we start conversation into um council the five council? Uh, you mean a a report by council district? Correct. Yes, we can. Can we do that, please? Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Okay. You're welcome. We've got a little homework to do, everybody. Good reading for the weekend and the evening. Um, no more comments. Please cast your ballots. Council member Valpula. I motion passes unanimously.

Madame clerk, 25-273 is a communication from the city manager and corporation council with request for the following. A adopt an ordinance approving the purchase of real estate at 1601 Northmore Road, Poria, Illinois, including parcel identification numbers 14-17-100-011, 14-17-100-12, 14-17-100-013, and 14-17-100-014 at the sheriff's auction on June 24th.

4, 2025 for a purchase price determined in the discret in the discretion of the city manager within the funds allocated in the fiscal year 2026 state of Illinois budget line item appropriation for the city's land bank. And item B is to adopt an ordinance amending the city of Poria 2024 2025 bianual budget relating to the general fund for the purchase of 1601 Northmore Road as well as due diligence costs in the additional amount of $875,000.

And item B requires twothirds vote of council members voting no less than six votes. And we need separate motions on each please. Okay. Thank you. Uh Mr. Manager or Corporation Council. Thank you, your honor. Welcome. I want to point out first of all, we need to fix a error in the date. The sheriff's um auction is actually tomorrow, September 24th, and we'll make we'll note those changes on the ordinance, and I want to make that change today.

As the council knows from our briefings, um the council's prior approval of a purchase agreement, um which oddly enough was on June 24th, um uh contemplated that the Expo Gardens uh board would meet and approve uh a purchase and sale agreement consistent with the letter of intent that we executed with that board. In fact, they have not met um to consider that matter. Uh because of that, the bank proceeded with foreclosure proceedings, received a summary judgement um in in August.

We have now interveneed successfully in the case and established our lean position. The city's lean in the for storm water fees um and uh on a couple of the parcels totaling 457,000 is now perfected. We have a priority just behind the bank. And so tomorrow's auction uh the bank will appear. They intend to articulate a bid less than their total amount of debt due but slightly more than what they had that we had agreed to in June because of their additional interim costs.

The city will have the opportunity then to bid. If there's no other biders, we anticipate being able to resolve the matter um short of the bank's indebtedness. if there's another bidder there, we can bid uh the bank's indebtedness and our entire lean without having to put forth the funds in our lean. So, we feel confident that we'll be in a strong position to acquire the property at the sheriff's sale.

We've asked for the council to give the city manager the discretion to determine the amount of the bid with the knowledge that uh we'll be able to bid our paper if it if we uh are forced to bid up to the bank's full indebtedness of about 1.4 4 million.

Um we will um uh if we're successful at that um sale so that the city council knows uh there's a formal process in the courts to confirm the sale and 30 days after that confirmation hearing which is presently scheduled for October 1st, the city will have possession of the uh premises. um if there's any lease holds on the property, we'll have to deal with those tenants and we think those will be minimal, but there may be some uh issues there.

Uh we can uh brief the council more in depth on those outcomes after the auction tomorrow. Um so we're asking for the council to consider the ordinance allowing for us to execute on that method of purchase, which is different than what the council previously approved. And then the other item before the council is the necessary budget amendment meant to give us authority to bid up to the amount of funds that were appropriated by the state to our land bank. Thank you, your honor. You're welcome.

Are there any questions for uh council Hayes? Councilman Seir. Thank you, Madame Mayor. I found it I find it so difficult anymore to really try to find what the truth is. You know, everybody's put their own spin on story and depending how they feel about this deal. So, it's very hard for me to find really what the truth is. But one thing is for sure in my mind is this question for Mr. Mayor. Do we have the money in our bank account yet from the state? We do not. We do not.

So until we do have this money, I just can't support us spending some money until the money is there. So my store has not changed from the get-go. So thank you, Madam Mayor. You're welcome. Council member Carmona. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh yeah, I have to echo those sentiments. I want to remind this whole body that when this was first brought to us, um it actually was not a popular um decision to to purchase the land because we were going to have to use our own funds.

When this um grant miraculously came to our door, then that's when it gained some traction. Uh and because uh as my colleague Dennis Seir said, we don't have the funds now and I'm not confident that we're going to have them any time in the future because three months have already passed and um you know, it just still hasn't worked out the way we thought it was. So I can't support it um anymore or uh as well, Madame Mayor. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Carmona.

And I just want to u reassure the public that we do have a grant allocated from the state through the department of commerce and economic opportunity for uh $2 million for our land bank and it can be used to purchase property and I have actually spoken spoken with the um chief of that agency who has assured us that this is an appropriate use of the funding and that we will receive this funding. Um, Council Member Allen. Uh, thank you, Madam Mayor.

Uh, at this time, I'd like to move to approve item A please. Item A. Yes, ma'am. Seconded by Council Member Gordon Young. Any other questions on item A. Please cast your ballots. Council member Valpula. I. Motion passes with two nays. Seir and Carmona. Council member Allen. I'd like to move to approve item B. Please. Seconded by Council Member Gordon Young. Any questions, comments on item B. Please cast your ballots. Councilman Valpula. I. Motion passes with two nays. Sir and Carmona.

Thank you, Madame Clerk. The last item 25-274. And I want to note that there was an error on the number on the original agenda. So, it is 25-274 is a communication from the city manager and corporation council with a request to receive and file a report back on off- premise advertising billboards. Corporation Council Hayes. Thank you, your honor. Um Ma Perkins uh is here uh to finish the report back.

Council will recall that we had previously provided uh an exhibit which was hundreds of pages of information about current billboards and we have an update to complete the items that were requested uh by Councilman Oiler. And so Ma will take us through that material. Thank you. Good evening, madame mayor, council. Thank you for giving me the floor tonight to present on off- premise signs. I'm working on a larger project with planning and zoning regarding the sign ordinance.

So, this was a perfect fit to specifically look at a niche uh which is off- premise signs and it um puts into context the larger project we're working on. Councilman Oilers's uh second request uh was regarding the physical condition of billboards um and how other municipalities regulate billboards, including annual inspection and registration.

There's a lot of paperwork in front of you uh including the previous report back that was completed by staff which included location and ownership with regulations. I tried to make it a little bit more readable. Um, so I added subcategories of size, height, spacing, location, technology and illumination, materials and construction, inspections and landscaping. With all of this information, I did also try to make a chart for you. It's still a lot of information.

I understand it was a lot for me to process as well. Um, and Leah's staff is amazing and knows this information like like the back of their hands. Um, but for me, I apply the law uh as part of my my role for the city. So, when looking at this, I did rely on them heavily to understand and interpret it. The current cap of off- premise signs is at 83. So based on all of the information we compiled, we do have a few recommendations which we would implement with the larger sign project.

The first part is regarding the inventory with that cap at 83. Um there are two additional signs that were not included in the original inventory in 2019. The first is located at Northeast Jefferson and the second is on also on Jefferson. Um, one of the signs could be considered abandoned per our code and the other one um was requested to be included in the cap. We did send notice originally to the property owner at the time.

the daughter of the property owner who inherited the land requested that the city include it in the cap. Part of staff's recommendation is to include that sign in the cap, but not the abandoned one. So, I apologize in advance. Uh, math is not my strong suit. Um, but the cap should be set at 81 instead of 82 if council considers all of staff's recommendations, including removing the three city-owned billboards.

So, on to the next point of staff's recommendation would be including the um terminating the three city own uh billboards or off-remise signs. There are three leases that the city controls with Adams Art Outdoors. um to keep the cap and also to promote uh good faith with the community, the city staff is proposing that the city terminate those leases and reduce the cap. Lastly, based on my review, I do think that uh an inspection and permit fee would be warranted.

A lot of municipalities do have an annual permit fee for off-remise signs. Um, with some municipalities or communities having an additional fee for electronic signs to rationalize an additional permit. Uh, we I asked Kyle to provide me numbers of the positions for the city employees that would be doing the inspections, estimating about 2 hours of work uh a year per sign. Um, there is a rational justification to impose a fee for $100 per sign.

And this wouldn't include electronic billboards as we don't have a city inspector currently that is an electrician. So if there was an additional inspection component for an electronic billboard um that would have to be verified by an independent electrician. The goal of this report back is to provide information to council, but also to provide the city or to make the city more aesthetically pleasing.

Um to um encourage property owners to maintain their signs uh with this with the annual inspections. Um we do feel that if the signs are being maintained that there could be a self-report report. Um we've done that in other areas and with that with the self um self annual inspection there would be no permit fee. Any questions? Thank you. Council M. Council member Oiler. Thank you Madam Chairwoman. Uh first question.

When would you expect this larger proposal that you're working on to come before the council? Uh, director Dulan is working on that with Leah to have a public component to um involve the public on their input. I don't have a set date at this time. Um, if direct if Leah or Director Dulan do um they could provide it, but if not um it's in the works. Just some kind of a ballpark idea. I mean, is this six months down the road? Is it next month? The review is complete by staff.

Um I I I can't speak on to the exact date. Um I would have to defer to director Dulan or Leah. Good evening. Um so we have been working internally with a consultant to review our sign regulations just to to identify what maybe is not in alignment with with regulations and where we can make some adjustments. Um, at this point, we're still kind of finalizing some of those issues.

The next steps will be to bring that to a a a public viewing and and ask for input from the public for proposed changes just like with text amendments as that would be. So, we haven't identified an exact timeline for that. Um, we want to make sure we do it thoroughly, completely. Um, so we're just making sure we're ready after the public input. Then we'll bring all of that to you for consideration. So I apologize I don't have a set timeline.

I'm hoping sooner than later, but we just want to make sure we're thorough and have everything ready for that that public process. Okay. Does that make sense? Yeah. Okay. Uh question about the arrangement that we have with the billboard company with our leases. Say that we were to want to keep them or keep one of them and put it out for a bid. I'm just curious what the process looks like of taking it down, bidding it, somebody else putting it up. You know, what are the steps?

You know, what does what what does a person have to go through to do that? So, one, all three of the city's owned sites for those signs are legal non-conforming. Meaning that if any of those signs change, like um if you wanted to change the pylon signs to a to a monument sign, we wouldn't be able to do it because it's legal non-conforming. If the if the sign was damaged beyond repair, it couldn't be replaced.

And so many of the signs in our community are in that setting because the council over time has become more and more restrictive. These signs have been up there through a couple different evolutions of restrictive changes in our sign code and our thoroughfare uh designations. So there are very few places today where you could put up in the city of Peoria a new um pylon billboard sign.

Um, and most uh I think 80% of our sign locations throughout the city are legal non-conforming, meaning if they were destroyed, they couldn't be put back in place. Um, our leases right now with um all of them are with Adams. Adams is asking us to take major reductions in the leases. Um, and so they're they're squeezing the revenue side. They don't want to renew the leases again.

Um, and if they're going to reduce the revenues in the way that they're looking for, like one of them is a $10,000 annual lease with a CPI adjustment, they want to go to 6,000 with no CPI adjustment, similar reductions to the other sign. And so that's why staff felt, well, maybe it's time to just say for these three signs that the city's basically gotten kind of by accident, maybe it's time to get out of those. And so that's the background of our of the city's side of that.

Um, and so if if those signs were going to change, it would be a matter of whether they're properly zoned anymore for whatever change it would be. Um, so the the industry right now can change its existing signs to electronic through a permit process, but any other change, physical change in the sign, um, creates this tension that they would need a waiver, which we have not granted to date on any of these restrictions for sign locations. And so it may be a difficult uh process to change the sign.

So uh the leases basically say if we end the lease with Adams there to remove those signs within a period of time. And so once the signs removed, a new one couldn't go in because it's not a properly zoned spot for it. And so that's that's where um there's some issues about the whole environment with signs about if the lease isn't going to be renewed, you're kind of stuck with that with that provider.

And so um I'm probably the genesis of the idea to get let's just get rid of them because if we're going to have less economic benefit, maybe it's time to just recognize this isn't a conforming spot for that use anymore. This of course is not my decision. It's the council's decision. So that's why we've identified it as a staff recommendation.

So as it structured currently, an owner that has one is pretty much committed to having to stick with the person that they have the lease with because they won't be able to do any changes to the sign that they have. And if the lease expires, that company's obligated to take it down, right? So, if the company removes the sign, now it's gone. So, you don't benefit by the legal non-conforming status, which would allow you to keep it up.

Once it's removed, that goes away and you're just stuck with the underlying zoning, which doesn't accommodate sign in many of the sign locations. Now, some of the sign locations are, you know, legal and conforming. Uh, but that but the vast majority now are legal non-conforming. A large portion of those are legal non-conforming because they're so close to other signs. Again, our sign regulations have gotten more restrictive. So, we've increased our setbacks and things like that.

And so, those are things that um our ZBA takes up on waiver requests and on um if somebody wanted to modify zoning of a parcel, we might get that waiver request here by council, but council won't see all the waiver requests because they go through the ZBA. And if somebody's not happy with that outcome, the remedies in the circuit court. So we don't see an awful lot of those here. Uh unless it's part of another zoning package.

So there isn't a very clear path to having a more attractive sign on the property considering one of the concerns is the condition of the ones that we have. Other than just making repairs, you can't do anything to make it better looking. So, one one thing that we've been asked to look at uh by, if I may, Councilman Carmona, is a proposal from industry about, hey, let's make these uh pylon billboards uh a u a monument sign. So, a sign that's 8 ft from the ground up.

And many of them are electronic. And you see them, you know, in a lot of commercial settings. uh a lot of commercial settings are getting to the the those signs. Those certainly have some aesthetic values that compete with pylon signs and many people say favorably. Um and so that would be a process we can look at if directed. Um and um I asked Councilman Carmona to let us get this report done before we took up the invitation to look at that.

I'll just share with you preliminarily that some of the places where a pylon sign works because it's up in the air won't work on the ground. Um, and there's a real issue about um distraction with electronic signs that we're concerned about in a commercial setting where we do authorize electronic signs, but we always have to be cautious about setbacks and um conflict with traffic. Um, and IDOT has some regulations in that regard, too.

So, if we're looking at that to maybe incentivize the improvement of the aesthetic by moving from pylon signs in the air to to to um uh monument signs on the ground, um those are things we can look at um as part of a future evolution of our sign regulations related to off- premises advertising and we'd probably inculcate some of the idea of our onremise signs in that.

And um we had a staff had a great conversation with Councilman Carmon about this uh a week and a half ago and uh we'd look forward to that conversation, but that would pose some challenges for staff as I've mentioned. Okay. Thank you, Council Member Rigbach. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Corporation Council, if I may continue that train of thought for a minute, I just want to make sure that I've got this right.

If hypothetically these three signs that the city owned would be conforming, what is our obligation to renew the lease? As I think my colleague just indicated, the understanding is you can go with anybody you want, but the minute they make changes, it becomes a nonconforming. And so they that it's to no avail, right? So our current however many percent or with with the one um sign shop, they've they've got a monopoly, if you will.

Maybe that's not the right legal word to use, but they they've got everybody um tied up because if they make any changes to that structure, then the sign has to go down. Yeah, there there'd be um there' be there are some it's a restrictive environment, no doubt. um to the point of our what is our obligation. These leases have auto renewal clauses, so they'll they'll continue. But the conversation between between us and Adams is Adams doesn't is saying they want to get a new deal.

Well, that new deal isn't as good as the deal we've got. So, we're better with the auto renewal, and that's where we're at. At some point they may call the issue and say, "Okay, we're not renewing." Then then we might a lot of owners would be worried about that revenue or income opportunity. The the city didn't get into these leases directly. We got into these by accident. We had to acquire these properties for different reasons over time and stuff.

So, uh, for us, we're not as we're not dependent on the revenue issue. And I think that the council's articulated that these aesthetic issues are important. They've said you can't put a sign like that there, but we have that sign there because we're grandfathered in. Maybe it's time to live up to our restrictive ordinances at some point. But in the meantime, if they're willing to continue the auto renewal, there's no reason for the city to motivate change.

we'd be asking for the council to consider a new lease if it was improved terms, but because they're not improved terms, we're not we're not really eager to put that in front of the council and suggest that's the way to go. So, that's why our recommendation would be u that maybe it's time to terminate these leases.

To take that a step further, I think when Councilman Oiler and I had met with uh a property owner, they felt handcuffed that they they had no choice but to renew with the previous and now we understand why. Um it's a little convoluted to say the least. Um, but I think the city has has made it clear going back to the previous signed ordinance that billboards in the city are not a desired um factor. So, wow. I'm just I'm sorry if I'm stuttering here, but this is just really a lot.

Next question though would be who would pay the annual inspection fee? the the property owner or the sign company. We would require the sign companies to pay those annual fees. I think that would be the way I would like to see it as well. And I think $100 is is pretty insignificant for a company. So I would, you know, as this evolves, I would want to look at a higher rate than that, right? And um I know it's early in the game.

Entities showing good conduct, I think Ma mentioned it, showing good conduct over time would be able to self inspect and not pay the fee. And so, um if if they're not taxing staff with work, we wouldn't charge them. So, there's a way to make it business as business friendly as possible to have a permit fee uh to show that if you show good conduct over your portfolio, you would you would be able to self inspect and and not pay a fee. Yeah. All right.

Um I think there's also something called council inspect. Um, as I've been driving around town since this came up, I I should have a pad of paper to or recorded on my phone every billboard I see that is dilapidated and in disrepair. So, thank you, Corporation Council. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Welcome. Uh, Council Member Oiler, would you like to make the motion? Move to receive and file. Seconded by Council Member Kelly, any other questions or comments. Please cast your ballots.

Council member Velpula. I. Motion carries uh unanimously. Uh thank you uh Assistant Director Allison and Council Ma. That's a lot of work. We appreciate it. No problem. Here you sir. Welcome. Madame clerk, we are at un unfinished business. We have none. None. Then we are at new business. Uh new business. I just want to uh start by taking a moment to thank everyone who attended last week's Illinois Municipal League annual conference in Chicago.

I thought it was a great opportunity for us to uh not only attend the workshops and and listen and learn but also contribute. Uh Councilman Allen was a moderator for one panel and a participant in another panel. Uh, I thought that was a great opportunity to showcase Peoria and also I mean to network with other council members and and leaders from across the the na the I was going to say the nation but across the state.

So we had six members of our council actually attend which was higher than any other number since I've been on council attend that conference. We also had our city manager there. We had our our city treasurer there. we had our city clerk there. So, I I thought Peoria had some really good representation and just want to encourage you to continue to uh participate. Thank you, Council Member Jackson. Thank you, Madame Mayor.

And um I am just appreciative of the opportunity to have been able to participate in the IML. You know, one of the big takeaways I got uh was the opportunity to learn what other communities were doing and you know, as we sought to get information from experts, some of which were from around the country, uh you know, I think the consensus was that this was information we would all uh be able to bring back to our communities.

and um you know if we're able to implement some of these ideas it not only enhances each municipality but I think collectively it makes us as a a state much stronger. So thank you uh for the opportunity. Uh the other item I have is a report back request for um community development director Dulan. Uh can you come up sir? Um might take a uh a little bit of time to compile some of the uh information. I I would like to uh do some research and it basically deals with quality of life issues.

If we could, sir, I'd like to get a report back on the number of apartments in Peoria with units of 50 or more uh names of those property management companies. Um and um number of police calls made to those facilities uh higher numbers uh and the purpose. And um thirdly, sir, if we could uh get information with regards to code enforcement um violations um within the last uh two to five years or so.

Um, I've just got a lot of um, questions coming from uh, different areas in and around the district and I'd like to uh, be able to take a look take have an opportunity to delve into some of that data and uh, see where um, there might be opportunities for um, maybe some some changes. Uh, we could try to put that together. I don't know the exact number, so I'm not sure how long. I know it's going to take a little time, sir.

So, we'll look and see what we can do, and we'll shoot everyone an email about how long we'll think it takes. So, thank you. Yep. Thank you, Madam Mayor. You're welcome, Council Member Rigbot. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Welcome. I'm sure um everybody's heard by now, and we've been talking about this off and on, that the Salvation Army actually broke ground on their new um men's shelter last week while we were at IML. Unfortunately, thank you, Director Dulan, for representing us well at that.

And I just I just want to recognize the continued effort of um the Salvation Army to address these issues. And this one in particular has been one that has our attention at many levels. So, it's always good to see the ball moving forward. Um second of all, Director Powers, I see you in the room. I was going to I've talked to him about this off and on, but I just want to publicly ask for an update from IDOT on the Knoxville reconstruction project. That's something that's been on the books.

The state's appropriated money for that. And um we they established a CAG, a citizens advisory group, which hasn't met now for probably 18 months, if not two years. And we have a new second district councilman since that last KAG meeting also. So I think perhaps if you could um tell Idat we'd like a meeting Councilman Carmel and I hadn't talked to him about this but um that's that's a is a big project that divides our two districts.

So I think the two of us and um city staff should sit down with ID do and see exactly where we are on this. So, do you want the status that we received or do you just want me to take that and request? I I I want a meeting with ID do. Okay. All right. Because I do have the current status as well, but All right. We'll set up the meeting councelor. Thank you, Council Member Jackson. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, yes. And one other uh point I I just wanted to make mention.

Director Powers, uh if you could step back to the podium, uh since our last meeting, uh we have been fortunate to see major uh road construction taking place on MacArthur. Uh and for the benefit of the folks, the general public who may not be aware, could you just uh let them know the nature of that work, sir? because I'm there are a lot of people who did not attend some of those meetings and are probably wondering what is going on.

It is there's it is yeah it's a full it's a reconstruction is what is going on. Uh it's a reconstruction is what's going on on MacArthur. So it's a heavy project. It's u actually I wasn't prepared to brief you. I'd tell you where we were in the status of it but um that's is what is happening on MacArthur. It's a major construction project be going on throughout this coming year, I believe. Um, I'll get a full report back for you next meeting. So, you would have it.

I was not prepared to brief the project. Well, I and I apologize. You know, it it's happened since uh uh I I think I don't I'm trying to remember if it was uh after our last council meeting, but it it's a major thoroughare. And I, you know, I just uh know people are probably wondering what's going on.

And I I'm sorry I don't mean to put you on and I don't expect anything uh thorough, sir, but just for the benefit of the drivers and the public and the folks who come from, you know, who would travel from up the hill going down through East Peoria, it's a it's a heavily traveled road. It will get you a current status on it doesn't it brief is fine. Thank you very much. But thanks to ID do uh we finally are seeing a long- aaited project take shape. Thank you, Madame Mayor.

Thank you, Director Powers. You bet. Madame Clerk, we are at citizens opportunity to address the city council and we have not received any cards. So then we are at executive session. Okay.

I would like to invite a motion to adjurnn and to convene in close session immediately following the adjournment of the city council meeting pursuant to the open meetings act 5 CS122C11 to discuss pending litigation or probable or imminent litigation and pursuant to the open meetings act 5c 122C 21 for approval by the body of close session minutes. Um, moved by Council Member Allen, seconded by Council Member Seir. Please cast your ballots. Councilman Velpula. Hi. Thank you for your service.

Thank you.