The meeting day and date was changed to Monday August 19 because of the ITEP
grant schedule (Illinois Transportation Enchancement Program).
The last day to apply for the grant is 8/20. This is the same program approval that was tabled last week. I have asked for information on this project from the city clerks office through a foia but it seems they don't have anything other than the map which I received.
Quote from the ITEP web site is:
"ITEP 2012 Announcement
CHICAGO – January 30, 2013. Governor Pat
Quinn and Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider today announced a
nearly $50 million investment in community transportation projects throughout
Illinois. The latest round of funding through the Illinois Transportation
Enhancement Program (ITEP) will support more than 400 jobs through 54 projects,
including bike paths, walking trails, historic preservation and streetscape
beautification projects in communities across Illinois. The ITEP is a
federally-funded, competitive program that encourages transportation-related
enhancement projects in a variety of categories.
Read
More |
Approved Projects."
Some of you may remember that this subject of a bike path through La Salle Peru was brought up prior to the election 3 years. At that time we gave Chamlin Engineering the job of drawing up a map of possible routes that would connect with La Salle and then go on west. The problem is that no further route extensions were done. This was eventually to connect with the Hennepin Canal and be a part of a great bike trail titled the Kaskaskia Trail through northern Illinois but at this time I understand there is NO Kaskaskia Trail..
Based on this estimate the local share portion of the project will be $250,589.58 which will need to be an upfront payment and then we would be reimbursed by the state.
I understand at the Recreation Board meeting this past Tuesday there was someone present who lives in LaSalle and is working on the routes but he is not a part of the La Salle administration.
If interested you might want to speak with your alderman before the meeting Monday as I understand some of them might be more interested in a swimming pool than a bike path.
TOTAL ESTIMATED COST $ 1,252,947.90 and our cities portion would by the 250 thousand plus, the rest would be covered by the state. I have the itemized listing.
The most recent video is posted so please take a minute to watch as there is some relevance to the grant. Not sure the aldermen have received enough information to make an informed decision from looking at this video.
40 comments:
Joke! Mayor Scottie must have all his puppets in line to pass it. I hope Alderman Perez received the meeting change text. Hate not to have him there.im sure he will put them I. Their place!
Lois. Can you make sure Perez got that text?
Please sign my petition for the council to vote no:
http://chn.ge/14J0NEu
Share on Facebook, twitter and email all your friends to sign it this weekend we need to mobilize as a team to get a no vote.
This is the same grant that both La Salle and I believe Ottawa have already applied for.
Ride your bike around Baker Lake or up and down beautiful waterstreet. Next purchase that peru invest in is a pool for our children. End of story.
I saw the agenda for Monday. My question is what is the rush to sell the ESDA building to Harl's buddy? The ad that the building is for sale was just in Thursday's paper. Is that adequate time to see if somebody might be interested in that building, or is the city just gonna give it away?
2 weeks in a row? What must the attorney general think of us?
I heard on the radio this morning that the little town of Grand Ridge is having a celebration! Pretty sad that Peru can't do something like the other towns do to celebrate!!
Is both the police chief and fire chief on ESDA? What is their salary now per year? Where do they conduct meetings, etc?
Somehow, I think Peru will own the ESDA building again, in one form or another. As far as the bike trail goes, I supported it years ago. I thought it would get the Mayor and Council thinking about long term plans. No such thing in Peru. Now, it sounds like the Mayor wants to prove his pork hunting abilities. Is he planning to go on a larger safari? Hmmm... constant fund raising, pork hunting. I heard the hunting is good down in Springfield or dare I say farther east?
I don't know what "pork hunting" refers to, but if Peru can get rid of Harl by having him go to Springfield or east, good riddens, the sooner the better.
What's going on here? Peru's motto is spend, spend, spend.
Friends to Build a Peru Pool have been asking citizens for donations to build a new pool for the children. This has been going on for a few years. But what does Harl & Co. want to do now? Spend 250k on a bike trail. What a slap in the face to the pool committee.
Peru accepts only 1 bid for their million dollar+ street program. Other neighboring communities have 3 to 5 bids for theirs. Peru accepts Test's contract without going out for bids. Peru accepts no-bid engineering contracts from Chamlin. These are all big ticket items for such a small town. Whatever happened to "shopping around"? All this stuff is not rocket science.
Peru ups the sales tax without a referendum vote. Home Rule certainly has its advantages when you want to suppress the citizens vote.
Its getting so old to listen to all the B.S. that this mayor and council dish out. With the exception of Perez, Harl & Co. think like flakes. Throw these bums out!
6:38. You didn't need a referendum vote for the sales tax. Fliers went out and there were more yes votes than no votes.
6:38 If you're not happy with what your representatives are doing come to Monday's meeting and voice your opinion.
Anon 10:11 AM You have asked a very good question in asking why is there such a rush to sell the ESDA building?
Why is there such a rush?
Is the reason that the city should not sell the building? Some time ago the outer east wall was shored up with dirt and than rocks piled on top of the dirt to keep it from falling down. Yet it is still sinking.
The extension of this wall is what keeps flood waters from entering the Peru power plant area and causing havoc with the sub station area. It only makes sense to demolish the ESDA Builing and build a retaining wall to protect the electrical sub station than to sell the building and have to depend on a outside owner for the protection of this necessary expensive piece of equipment. The building is in a flood plain and the purchaser will have to tuck point the east wall. This tuck pointing provision for the east wall is a clause in the purchase ordinance.
If you look to the roof of the building you will see loose bricks which could fall at any time. No one but a few probably know how much has already fallen from this structure. If anyone remembers it was the city which had the front of the Amcore Bank property fenced off all the way to the highway.
City officials who are continuously wanting to demolish property should look at their own and demolish the ESDA building rather than sell it. What has the Assistant Building Inspector done about this city property?
I would think that it is his responsibility to inspect the soundness of the city structure give a full written report to city council members and explain why this east wall is so important to the sub station. If the Assistant Building inspector cannot evaluate this structure the new P.E. should be given this assignment. The ESDA Building is a tiny fish in the river in comparison to the electrical sub station.
Again I ask why is the city so impatient to sell the ESDA Building?
Why have they tryed to first sell this property without advertisng it for sale to the public? One reason is that they picked the buyer they wanted to own it another reason is that they should not be selling it. There seems to be more to this sale than has been published. When it comes down to it nothing has been published. Why?
Anon 7:43 You mean you call what I have a Representative?
9:18 I agree with you because I don't have a representative either (or at least not one who will listen or who cares). You have to be somebody in this town to get them to listen otherwise they mock and criticize you.
Always wheeling and dealing. Over time, the city is going to pay many times what they are "making" by selling this rat trap. Remember folks, you heard it hear first. In three years - that is the longest a business can go without making a profit - the city will be talking about purchasing it from tax scavengers. Then the somebody will open their big mouth about asbestos - how much is that clean up going to cost in three years time? Yup, we got some really smart wheelers and dealers running this town. Sell UNSAFE and WORTHLESS property only to buy it back later.
I have also questioned why the City is trying to develop property in a flood plain location when FEMA has been buying these locations up with homes, businesses etc. on them at a huge expense to the government. The closest splash pad to Peru is built on such a piece of property in Ottawa, Il. FEMA bought all the homes in this area and had them demolished at the cost of big bucks and than sold the flood plain area back to Ottawa for a small sum of money. Ottawa since has developed a very nice park in the same area including the already mentioned splash pad, a frizbee court and a building housing public washrooms.
Why are the city officials taking action which is directly opposite to the Federal Government representative, FEMA.
Water Streets latest flood was in April 2013. The ESDA Building is where the flood waters reached their highest level.
This fact raises the questions of how extensive was the clean up of this building after the flood since the river water is a breeding ground of bacteria
and fungus and open sanitary sewers. Is there mold breeding behind the walls of this structure?
What sanitary inspections of this building have been processed and who has conducted them? If there is any possibility of a food or beverage service going to be conducted in this building in the future what liabilities are going to be encountered by the city upon selling it? The LaSalle County Health Department should be contacted to inspect the building for mold, fungus, bacteria and all other diseases which have had a opportunity to breed in this envirnoment. Also it appears to have been utilized as a garage which indicates abestos from brakes, anti freeze, oils, and many other cancer causing agents.
Does the EPA have to be called for any further inspections and hazardous clean up?
Perfect place for a gourmet Burger joint and an ice cream parlor
Mayor, City Attorney, Peru City Officials ENOUGH, ENOUGH, ENOUGH. As a child were each of you not taught STOP, LOOK , LISTEN now as a adult practice it. Their have been so many holes pointed out in the sale of the ESDA Building that the only sensible step for you to take is to forget the sale and demolish this eyesore and dilapidated building and build a levee for the substation and power plant.
Really how close should a substation and power palant be located close to a private business? The electrical plant and sub station could blow up and also how often has it been checked for stray electicity which has not been proven not to cause cancer. Now that this has been brought out the fireworks are also conducted in the wrong location because of these safety factors. Safety factors such as this should be addressed by city officials first and foremost. Don't forget that the reason there are accidents is because the instance that could never happen happened. $16,000 is a small amount of money in comparison to what Peru spends on cars and trucks in a year or the $5,200,000 it receives in sales tax/year and will not be missed. For safety issues it would be best for all voting city officials to keep ownership of this property and start to reevaluate the best course of action to implement Monday evening.
7:17 You make many good points, but I continue to be amazed at the safety decisions. There have been decisions that defy any professional safety review. Throwing a city sponsored function like the fireworks with a train running through it, leaving demolition sites unfenced or poorly fenced for months, ignoring environmental concerns, supporting concerts without safety plans or adequate safe evacuation , running the airport like a private club where the FAA buzz rules are ignored for the weekend pilots and aerobats that buzz residential neighborhoods. These things reflect a getterdone attitude, safety is for wimps, won't happen to us.
Too many times safety is reactive around here, not proactive. But bad things really happen and you need to bump up that safety committee to the twenty first century.
It has been suggested many times that the committees should have an unelected volunteer expert added to the committee members. No committee needs that more than safety.
For days there have been nothing but intelligent comments on why the city should not sell The ESDA building. There has yet to be one comment on why this building should be sold. There have even been comments that the city will again be the owners of the building within three years. I agree with those who believe that the city has nothing to gain and everything to lose by selling this property. Now that there is a definite safety issue pointed out the city should take necessary steps to protect all who could become in harms way. There are no excuses for Peru council members to not vote Nay Monday if they have Peru, its citizens and all others who are involved at heart.
The ESDA Building is named as it is because it houses ESDA vehicles. The SPW claimed that the city building was not big enough to house city vehicles inside it so the city decided to rent property for $800 per month to park inside. At $800 per month, $9600 per year $16K will be reached in less than 2 years. Where are the concrete plans for parking ESDA vehicles once this building is sold or has no one thought of that yet?
Is this sale all about starting the process of building a new police station? There has to be a reason that the sale of the property on Water Street has been so hush hush and so rushed.
Anon 7:17 I do know from travelling Interstate 80 every day stray electricity coming from high voltage wires is a health concern which many from the medical field believe causes brain cancer.
The safety committee should be making strides to learn what health hazards can be on account of the conditions that the city has created on Water Street and rectify them before allowing any sale to be made. At one time it was a must for the city to pay a insurance consultant $7500 per year until the consultant had to change employers and that was the end of him. To add someone onto the safety committee who is educated in health and safety is a wonderful idea. To add a unpaid volunteer to each committee who is educated and experienced in the responsibility of that committee is a even better idea.
Peru had a Mayor who held the office for 44 years has anyone ever asked him for his opinion on city issues from time to time?
He was Mayor when the airport was built, he was Mayor when the hydro plant was built, he was Mayor when Peru made huge progress North, he was Mayor when all positive progress was made in the last half century in Peru. Maybe it is time someone asks him what he thinks.
10:51, Maybe nobody asks him for his input because he is not only unaware of where he lives but also who he is. You are apparently as out of touch as he is.
Just like the real "Godfather"
"The Don has become weak and vulnerable". "He is no longer a strong and powerful Don".
This discussion has brought forth a very legitimate concern regarding the remaining electrical substation near the location to be sold. Are there any legal implications to selling property that is so near to something that could be emitting a large amount of EMFs? What are the cities responsibility if any or is this strictly buyer beware?
Lois if this is stictly buyer beware and city leadership will pawns off its responsibility to a private party without as deep pockets as the city than it is also strictly Peru citizen beware.
To obtain this grant wouldn't the city have to put its own money in first and than be reinbursed from the state.
I do remember that Chamlains engineer said that the way to build a bike path in Peru was to let the school apply for a grant and all paths stemming from the school should than be connected to by the city. This procedure would allow the city to escape almost all of the costs of a bike path.
2:50 PM
Correct
Anon 2:50 I also verify and remember this as well as if the meeting took place last night. I also remember that Chamlain billed the city $3,000 for this info.
Mayor Harl set up a three man committee which included Ferrari, Potthof and possibly Mertel. Never heard another word about a bike path for years after this meeting. All of a sudden it is the flavor of the month. What is really going on that calls for cover up.
Driving past Washington Park this morning I saw a city worker watering the big diamond. Is there a reason for this. If it is some form of preparation for next spring we have 100 year floods every year and suffer from too much water rather than not enough.
I'd hope that the policy of this is the way we always do it changes with the the newbe.
3:38 the pickleball ambassador wants a bike path.
Another primarily adult hobby of a bike path, which is what pickleball is. What about a pool which more families and our youth would use. Start with the splash pad and incorporate a pool within time.
2:51 I have to disagree, biking is all ages.
Why was a city worker watering the ball diamond in Washington Park yesterday? Complete waste of manpower and money as there are no games scheduled until next spring. By than we will have plenty of rain and snow.
Peru is presently in the midst of a 25 year rain. Three days ago the water Dept. was watering the Washington Park ball diamond. Isn't the next game to be played there next April? Who is responsible for this? The new P.E., or the Park board. Who do both of them answer to?
P.S. When finding out why the ball field was being watered down it would also be best to make sure the lights are turned off!
10:37 I'm a new member of the Park Board and I can assure you that I was not informed of who ordered the ball diamond to be watered. In my opinion that's not a Park Board decision.
Why waste money (water and manpower time) on a ball diamond and field? PLAY IT AS IT IS!!!!! Have some competition in the mud if need be! OOOOH! I have to look good in my pretty uniform or mommy will get mad if I get it dirty!
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