$500,000 on way to IVCC for manufacturing training - LaSalle News Tribune - LaSalle, IL
Interesting story, we will train our residents, especially the young and can only hope they can find a job in the Illinois Valley.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Ottawa Fire Dept. moves up to paramedic level - LaSalle News Tribune - LaSalle, IL
Ottawa Fire Dept. moves up to paramedic level - LaSalle News Tribune - LaSalle, IL
Even if you don't read the article, be aware of what is taking place in surrounding cities as ultimately their actions have an impact on how we develop and grow or don't.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Peru Election Information
In Ward 1 there will be a four-year alderman seat up for election and a two-year term as well. This came about after new ward boundaries were drawn to equalize voters among the city’s four wards based on the 2010 Census. The new map placed Ward 1 Alderman Mike Radtke’s home in Ward 2, now served by aldermen Rodney Perez and Sherry Mayszak.
Based on a letter received this week from the Illinois Attorney General’s office, Radtke can no longer serve in Ward 1 because he must live in the ward he serves, according to the city code.
This week, Radtke was considering his options. He could serve his remaining two years as an at-large alderman, giving the council nine aldermen after the spring election.
So, there are five alderman seats up for election, one per ward plus the extra one in Ward 1.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Another Economic Development Expenditure
Motion to approve a 3 year agreement for $1,000 per month with Development Delivered for Economic Development website, ebook, eblasts, hosting, and maintenance
On the agenda for approval tomorrow night at the Council meeting.News report per News Trib states The city of Peru will launch a new economic development website to potentially connect with 13,000 developers around the country.
Alderman Dave Potthoff of the Accounts and Finance Committee told the council Wednesday that the committee heard a proposal from MCS Advertising and Bob Vickrey, director of community development. It would cost the city $1,000 a month to link off the city website to an economic development website that would tout the city’s economic development strengths, such as manufacturing and retail districts and zones with incentives such as tax increment financing.
On the agenda for approval tomorrow night at the Council meeting.News report per News Trib states The city of Peru will launch a new economic development website to potentially connect with 13,000 developers around the country.
Alderman Dave Potthoff of the Accounts and Finance Committee told the council Wednesday that the committee heard a proposal from MCS Advertising and Bob Vickrey, director of community development. It would cost the city $1,000 a month to link off the city website to an economic development website that would tout the city’s economic development strengths, such as manufacturing and retail districts and zones with incentives such as tax increment financing.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Pickleball Players Take Over the Meeting Residents Pushed Aside
I was unable to be at the Public Property Meeting last evening and it turns out to have been controlled by the pickle ball players without any prompts by the aldermen to be courteous to the residents of the 28th street park as it is you who are disrupting their neighborhood. A reminder that you don't live there and don't understand what it sounds like to the people next door to the pickle ball court would have been advisable and should have been given to them by the aldermen or the mayor who was in attendance. Ald. Mayszak who was told that it was all her fault.
It sounds like we have "bully residents" who think it is all right to go outside their immediate neighborhood into another and cause disruptions and it is OK with many of our elected officials. I will get a list of the attendees so that you will understand the connections.
The mayor wants no disruptive activity while he sits at city council meeting but it is perfectly ok at committee meetings which he attends also. The other aldermen who sat silently by were Ferrari, Lukosus, Ankiewicz, Waldorf, and Radtke. Recreation members were Jan Grabowski with husband Jim and Park Board President Bryan Hartman. I say again people in the First Ward have no representation at this time. Ald. Ankiewicz, the chairman of the Public Property Committee allowed this meeting to be taken over by the pickle ball players and he showed no Leadership either, this city has None.
It sounds like we have "bully residents" who think it is all right to go outside their immediate neighborhood into another and cause disruptions and it is OK with many of our elected officials. I will get a list of the attendees so that you will understand the connections.
The mayor wants no disruptive activity while he sits at city council meeting but it is perfectly ok at committee meetings which he attends also. The other aldermen who sat silently by were Ferrari, Lukosus, Ankiewicz, Waldorf, and Radtke. Recreation members were Jan Grabowski with husband Jim and Park Board President Bryan Hartman. I say again people in the First Ward have no representation at this time. Ald. Ankiewicz, the chairman of the Public Property Committee allowed this meeting to be taken over by the pickle ball players and he showed no Leadership either, this city has None.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Meetings This Evening
Public Property will meet at 6:30 PM at city hall, agenda is on website.
Peru City Council will meet at 7:30 PM, same place, agenda also posted.
Sorry I don't have time to put on the blog today.
Peru City Council will meet at 7:30 PM, same place, agenda also posted.
Sorry I don't have time to put on the blog today.
Monday, September 17, 2012
The Union Rat Has Arrived In Downtown Peru
I have been informed by a local business that the Union Rat has arrived in front of the old Amcore bank which was recently purchased by an out of town investor. A local non union individual is working on the bank. I guess it is creating quite a stir right along U.S. Route 6 through Peru. Excuse me I thought we had a free country!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Why hasn't this pole been repaired?
4:41 PM posted under Does Peru Have the Money to Repair This Playground?
I found the damage to the light pole on 4th and Peoria and it does look like it is something done some time back. The poster said one year at 4th and Peoria Street
New Public Comment Rules
This is the new protocol for commenting at city council meetings. If you are not comfortable with this and you have an issue that needs to be addressed, you might call the city clerk as he is usually up to date on city problems. Otherwise go directly to one of your 2 aldermen or if that is not good for you, call an alderman from outside your ward, the mayor or department that would be involved with your comment.
And if all else fails, post it here on the blog, and see if one of our readers can help you.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Does Peru Have the Money to Maintain its Playgrounds
It was pointed out to me that on one of the pieces of playground equipment a twig had been placed into the hole that formerly held a bolt. It will work very short term but I hope it does not break when a child is stepping on the platform above. The blue whirly equipment is coming apart at the bottom.
But you can see the the pickleball court formerly a tennis court is empty much of the time and it just had a fence cover placed over the top edge. Why it this court getting more attention that the broken playground equipment?
Darn it, who is taking care of our playground equipment?
Is It Time For A Separate Splash Pad Fund Drive
I find myself in disagreement with the members of the Peru Friends of the Pool as they believe that a splash pad should be a part of a swimming pool and not a separate entity at least before we have a pool complex. We all know the city has no funds to build a swimming pool which will cost millions of dollars. On the other hand, the cost of a splash pad depending upon its complexity will be much less. Some can be built for as little as 100 thousand and adding more toys will cost more but not the cost of a pool. This is something our children could enjoy and there should not be an admission fee, making it available to families as often as they wish to be there.
Is it time for those of us who would prefer a splash pad now and not have to wait, to establish a separate fund under the auspices of the city? I believe this is something we need to seriously think about. I do know there are people who would donate to this endeavor and not to a pool fund.
Your input is needed now.
Please ignore the advertising, I like this video for its diversity.
Friday, September 07, 2012
ParksMasterPlan.pdf (application/pdf Object)
ParksMasterPlan.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Since our Mayor likes to refer to larger cities each time he implements a new plan, perhaps he should consider something like this. I have sent this to several of the forward planning aldermen. I didn't read it in its entirety but enough to see that this city "gets it".
Since our Mayor likes to refer to larger cities each time he implements a new plan, perhaps he should consider something like this. I have sent this to several of the forward planning aldermen. I didn't read it in its entirety but enough to see that this city "gets it".
Allendale Community Park to get $25,000 splash pad despite objections over funding | MLive.com
Allendale Community Park to get $25,000 splash pad despite objections over funding | MLive.com
The Peru Twp has big bucks, how about some help with a splashpad for Peru?
The Peru Twp has big bucks, how about some help with a splashpad for Peru?
Thursday, September 06, 2012
Peru Mayoral Candidate Scott Harl
Peru Mayoral Candidate Scott Harl
How soon they forget what they promised
How soon they forget what they promised
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Mayor and Council Say Don't Question Our Decisions
Tonight was very much out of the ordinary. First,The council chamber seats were pretty well all taken with people interested in the intersection and that included 11 business managers from the Venture Drive area. Most definitely Mayor Harl was not happy to again be confronted by the same people over and over again and 6 of the aldermen stood with him in staying firm and not wishing to discuss the interesection. The standard reply is it will get better with time and my take on that is you're stuck with this because that is what we want, so go away and don't bother us again. The manager of DQ brought a petition signed by over 1000 people in a 4 day period that he wished to present to the Mayor and the Mayor was not interested and he went home with the petition he wanted to show the city.
Last week when that group was there, the Mayor had said they should come to the Public Works Meeting, the problem being the Public Works meeting had not been decided upon yet and with no further information given to them, the businesses decided to come to this meeting at which the Mayor told them that they had been told to come to the Public Works Meeting and not the council meeting. They tried to explain that they were not given any information about when the Public Works meeting would be.
Are you confused yet? The Mayor then told them he did not wish to discuss this anymore and he even threatened to have one of the business owners ejected from the meeting with a police escort if he continued to try and talk.
Alderman Perez made a motion to open the intersection and seconded by Alderman Mayszak but were voted down by the rest of the council. I do visit the intersection several times a week and it is not getting better when I am there but I do see that there is less traffic but I was told by the Police Chief Bernabei that it was getting better and that there had been no accidents since the change. I said that none of the people who do stop and watch have seen any improvement in turn arounds or uturns but he assured me that a huge number of cars are now taking the N. Peoria return and the problem is getting better. I don't personally agree.
Our city at work is presently an embarrassment! And must have so much sales tax dollars they don't mind those they are losing.
Peru airport could become permanent concert venue
9/5/2012 4:32:00 AM
Peru airport could become permanent concert venue
Jeff Dankert
Staff Writer To prepare and provide for the July 13 Kid Rock Concert for a Cause at the Illinois Valley Regional Airport, the city of Peru had a net cost of $22,809.06. But some of this was one-time cost. More events could increase the city’s hotel-motel tax. In short, the city of Peru might now have an airport/concert venue with a capacity of 15,000.
“This is a perfect venue for this,” city treasurer Gary Hylla said. “Where else could you see something like that? You’d have to travel all the way to Chicago, Peoria or Moline.”
Hylla credited Mayor Scott Harl with tackling roadblocks. The concert achieved a hurdle: It was a non-aeronautic activity at an airport, an airport supported by public money via the Federal Aviation Administration and state Division of Aeronautics. Now that it succeeded, the city could regularly use the airport for large concerts and events. It’s important that the airport fund suffers no losses, said Hylla. “We want to make sure the airport is made whole all the time,” he said. The city outlined costs in a report it prepared for its meeting last week in Springfield with state and federal airport officials about the concert. The airport received $15,364. This included $9,000 under an agreement that concert promoter Merry Noonan of Lou’s LaGrotto restaurant would pay $1 for every ticket sold. This was considered reimbursement for fair market value for the event, Hylla and Harl said.
“They were very satisfied with what we showed them,” Hylla said. The city also paid the airport $6,364 for loss of farm rent on 32 acres of former cropland converted to grass for parking.
Each year the 32 acres of tillable land are converted for parking, the city would pay the airport fund the fair market farm rent value, said Hylla and Mayor Scott Harl. Noonan also reimbursed the city $4,080.22 for police security.
The city absorbed costs for grass seed ($4,030), grass seed planting ($4,173.76), engineering costs for parking ($3,889) and engineering costs for maps ($1,461.50). These are one-time expenses that would be covered by hotel-motel tax, Hylla and Harl said.
The city also incurred costs through public works ($2,217), legal expenses to prepare a contract with Noonan ($525) and fire department expense ($148.74). This and the annual farmland rent would bring the city’s annual cost, at the most, to $9,000.
“Through further concerts or further events we have up there, we’ll start to recoup that money,” Harl said.
Hylla said the city is seeking ways to make it profitable. It could charge for parking. And while “intangible,” Hylla said, visiting crowds could bump up sales tax and hotel-motel tax.
“It’s very easy for the city not only to break even but to make money,” Hylla said.
Jeff Dankert can be reached at (815) 220-6977 or perureporter@newstrib.com.
Monday, September 03, 2012
Saturday, September 01, 2012
Agenda for Council on September 5 A Chamlin Day
Topics from the agenda Sept. 5
PUBLIC PROPERTY COMMITTEE Ankiewicz & Mayszak (Recreation & Parks, Airport, Buildings & Grounds) Motion to approve Chamlin & Associates as airport engineering consultant REPORT
UNFINISHED BUSINESS Motion to re-open Venture Drive and 38th Street Intersection
PUBLIC WORKS Waldorf & Lukosus (Electric, Street & Alley, Water & Sewer) Motion to authorize Chamlin & Associates to prepare bid specifications for the final demolition of the Power House
PUBLIC PROPERTY COMMITTEE Ankiewicz & Mayszak (Recreation & Parks, Airport, Buildings & Grounds) Motion to approve Chamlin & Associates as airport engineering consultant REPORT
UNFINISHED BUSINESS Motion to re-open Venture Drive and 38th Street Intersection
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