For the last 2 years I have watched the actions of the Public Property Committee many times and even before that when the swimming pool was being discussed, the closure and going out for estimates on building again. The aldermen who were on the committee had frequent discussions about what needed to be done on anything relative to Public Property owned by the city of Peru. The mayor always kept his distance when Ald. Ankiewicz was the chairman during the last 2 years but with persistence and without any help from the mayor things were accomplished in spite of the off balance way in which Mayor Harl set up the committees in 2011 and by that I mean only 2 aldermen per committee.
This year, it appears that Mayor Harl without announcement is taking over projects from the Public Property Committee chaired by Ald. Rodney Perez. Several weeks ago the mayor through Gary Bleck hired Peru Greenhouse to plant flowers in 4 city parks and kept the dollar amount low enough that it did not require council approval. He did this without consulting the chairman but I suspect that the other member Ald Mueller was sometimes aware of what was going on. And then Ald. Perez evidently did not please the mayor by gathering together a group of volunteers to make baskets of flowers and planters along Route 6, it looks great but evidently totally unappreciated by the powers that be, sitting at city hall.
I said privately to friends that the mayor would bite this off in chunks and hire someone to do the landscaping work in small bits, small billings and that is exactly what has taken place. Evidently last Friday Peru Greenhouse began working on the landscaping around city hall. I thought that the city hall was considered public property and that committee should make decisions about it. I don't know if this went the same route Mayor Harl through Gary Bleck but I suspect so.
So Mayor Harl, take the next step and disband the committee and take over all of the decisions that are delegated to them. Make this city rule by one person. Maybe we don't even need aldermen any longer.
Consider this my public comment forum where opinion counts. Don't me surprised if the video of this meeting doesn't make it online either.
31 comments:
Harl is just another Chicagocrat wanabe.
It looks like the pickel ballers voted in Radtke, they dont need to worry about getting their courts fixed in 4 years Radtke will have spent all our tax money..Typical Chicago Democratic politics happening in Peru...Everyone says we dont need to have parties and they have no place in city politics. I think this is an example of where we need party support for Perez the conservative on the council, with Waldorf and Luskosus combined with Radtke we are in trouble. Mueller is the Mayor's girl and will be out in 2 years and too bad we tossed Ankowicz because Sapienza is a disappointment so far. At least Bob could keep the Mayor at bay!
Lois, funny comments! You blasted Bob Ankiewicz for four years. Now you have reminded followers of how effective Mr. Ankiewicz was as a City Alderman. You have mentioned that the public property committee has new members. Is Ald. Perez capable of running the committee without Ankiewicz? Should we bring back Bob. How many signatures do we need?
8:54 AM
I was expressing how Mayor Harl would not have had the guts to go over Ald. Ankiewicz because the other aldermen would not have tolerated it and he was still trying to make nice to them.
Ald Perez is a conservative thinker and speaks his mind and that is not something the senior aldermen want to hear. They do not respect an independent spirit and a true representative of the people. They only respect those who agree with them and then it becomes like a pack of friends. If you go against the mayor and the go alongs you risk living with a pack of wolves.
take a minute and copy and paste this and look at what I call real innovation for a small town.
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/279
I think they should clean house and replace everybody . that way we might have a chance .
What the hell are they doing now? What a scheme this administration is up to with this sewer fix resolution. Reimburse up to $3,000.00 ? Have we read the small print? What a joke! Government trying to tell us where to shop and who to use. My cousin is a licensed plumber in Itasca. Can I use him since he's not union??
Unreal!
Everybody needs to watch how the sale of the ESDA building goes. Harl has been wanting to sell that property to his buddy who owns Brandy's for the appraised value instead of putting it up for sale and offering it to whoever might be interested. If it gets sold to Brandy's owner without allowing anybody else to bid on it, that's what I call abuse of power, and that is wrong, and probably illegal, not to mention immoral. Let's see how Perez and Mueller handle this sale or if Harl takes this decision out of their hands like he did the landscaping bids.
5:46 What ESDA building are you referring to, and where is it located?
6:49 PM
The ESDA building in question is located on Water St several doors to the east of Brandy's. The garage with the large white lift door.
Since the building is already owned by the city, the building should be demolished. Face it, no matter who "buys" it, the city will end up owning it again and tearing it down anyway. Might as well get a head start on it. Maybe if the city would put any work into that area, it could be developed. Until somehting is done to keep the river out, nothing will happen down there.
The mayor is not interested in developing anything along Water Street. He's only interested in the northern part of Peru.
Anon 5:09 What type of work do you think the city should put into that area that would enable Water Street to develop.
What plan do you have that will keep the river off of Water Stree? Remember that as the more and more water runs off into the Illinois River because of development North of us the more often the river is going to overflow. 2 100 year floods in the last 5 years are proof of this statement.
Is Harl, the assistant appraiser to the appraiser on 7th and Peoria the one and same Harl who is Mayor of Peru? Doesn't sound proper and gives hints of conflict of interest and fraud.
If it is the same person he should be forced to decide which he prefers to be. Too much political influence to be both. After Dixons misfortune you would think ethically he would be one or the other. As is he has too much arm twisting power to be both.
10:21. It is one and the same. I think Harl was poised to take over Biedersted's position if he lost the election. Big time conflict of interest!!
Why does he want to develop North of Peru with all the empty buildings that Peru already has?
7:46 must of had alot of pickleballers, he won by a large margin.
Lois, thanks for the comic relief.
Harl is a two faced liar! So is Bleck! And Waldorf is now the most ignorant alderman on the council followed closely by Mueller!!
Who does Mueller think she is? She can't take on Rod and think she'll win!! Hope she enjoys her 2 years as alderman!
10:10 -
The city should purchase and demolish everything from Maze Lumber west to Pike Street. Develop it as green space - maybe boardwalks and temporary kiosks that can survive a flood every year. Maybe fishing, but the bank is quite steep when the river is normal. Two rail lines are problematic. Is the rail line that is closest to the river active? Purchase and demolish every house on Brewster Street. Develop Brewster Street as a commercial area for bars and resturaunts. Figure out some way to get people up and down the hill between the Waterstreet area and Brewster Street without killing them.
Anon 5:01 I've known Mueller for years. She's the type who likes to think she's important and wants to be liked by people who she thinks will get her recognition. I wouldn't be surprised if she does everything in that position that Harl wants. She's a follower, always has been.
I watched the video of the last council meeting. Harl and Bleck are fudging the rules so they can get around the ordinance of any purchase over $5,000 needs committee approval. I think Bartley is the city clerk, not an alderman, and should keep his opinions and comments to himself unless asked, which he was not. Radtke was upset because so much time was taken discussing "flowers"? It was actually a discussion about the mayor and SPW going against ordinance and doing what they want to do. Mueller needs to grow a pair, like Mayszak had to. She needs to think with her own head and not just follow the "in" boys. So what happens as Perez watches the landscaping expenditures and it goes well beyond $5,000? I think a call to the Attorney General to ask if fudging ordinances is acceptable. Why should anybody be forced to follow any ordinance when the people who make them don't follow them?
Point well taken 11:15. Why even make ordinances since we only follow the ones we chose to?
@Anon 11:15
Your blog post raised suspicion so I tuned in. I can see why that administration loathes Alderman Perez.
He puts them on the spot and makes them answer up!
Perez never should've voted for the plumbing scam ordinance it was clear not one alderman knew what they were voting for. For this administration to take the word from a Chamlin Engineer without knowing and understanding the entire process is foolish. For Chamlin to place a 100% guarantee on something smells fishy. Nothing in this life is 100% guaranteed except death and BS.
My advice to Perez is next time stick to your guns and don't vote for something until all Facts are in your hand.
I will hand it to Perez for his conservatism and for putting that Alderwoman and others in there place.
Keep up the great job Perez
12:27 PM
Peru ordinances seem to be enacted for the moment and quickly forgotten. Just look at the property at Putnam and third street and it doesn't seem that this individual is having to follow any ordinance whatsoever. Ald. Perez tried getting something done but Frank Taylor evidently didn't want to (defies ordinance) and the mayor defers to Taylor and shows that he also doesn't care to enforce the ordinance. I could go on and on about ordinance violations existing in the city that surely the city must see but ignores unless they wish to enforce them for retribution.
12:31. Perez voted nay on the plumbing scam.
Ride by their landscaping jobsite and yell " I-N-S " and watch them all scatter
One thing about LaSalle , it is trying to clean up messy unkept property. Peru should start to do the same. If Taylor can't do it, if he is too scared to stand up to anyone, fire him, and give someon else the job who will do it. We need another Borostoski.
2:35 PM
But the mayor likes and respects Frank and wants to help him get another pension by continuing on the job. Whether he is doing the job or not doesn't matter to our mayor and maybe even the council.
Didn't take long to develop a good ole boys club, did it!
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