This questions has been asked on the blog and I didn't have an answer and still do not. We all know that ice skating is a recreational activity and logically it should fall under the responsibilities of the Peru Recreation Board. Now many of the board members have a particular interest and they don't generally venture into unknown territory. One is informed about soccer, another girls baseball and another boys baseball and then of course there is tennis and pickleball and the Recreation Director Linda Kasik takes care of the summer recreation programs, movies in the park and at one time the Peru swimming pool.
In the past I believe that the Public Works Department kept it in condition so that people could skate on the ice. For the last few years that hasn't happened and partly it was because the city council chose to locate the rink at Veteran's Park which is prone to extreme wind conditions and the ice did not freeze properly and it was impossible to maintain.
This year it was going to be at McKinley Park on the girls baseball field. Last year Mayor Harl took it upon himself to purchase a $7000 ice rink setup and a zamboni machine to clean the ice for skating. The pictures above show the condition of the ice rink. The weather has been cooperating the last few weeks and temperatures cold enough to keep the water frozen. Yesterday several people were at the rink using snow blowers trying to clean the ice of snow and as you see above in the photos, it was not accomplished. The First Ward which is the location of McKinley Park has 2 aldermen and not a word has been heard from either one Ald Tony Ferrari or Ald Becky Mueller regarding this recreational activity located in the First Ward. Will this year be like last year and the entire winter will go by without a usable rink. I understand that Ald. Perez of the second ward has been looking into the situation. He and Ald. Mueller of the First Ward are members of the Public Property committee and perhaps this should be under their management as this is public property.
Someone either the mayor or the city council needs to take the reins and decide who is responsible as this is such a waste no matter how you look at it.
64 comments:
That's the problem, Lois, no one knows who's problem this is. Maybe it's the Rec Board...maybe its the Public Property Committee...maybe it should be dealt with from the first ward alderman....maybe the mayor should be contacted....perhaps the Superintendent of Public Works....blah blah blah. For a town this size, our government is TOO BIG, a town where NO ONE will be held accountable for our tax dollars, and where officials are shielded from phony committees. But lets all keep on voting in the next person with the bright idea of "change!" People who believe they have the next greatest solution, none of those solutions being shrinking the size of government, cause like good ol' Obama said: we don't need bigger or smaller government, we need smarter government. Gimme a break.
Maybe we should create a Park District with an elected Park Board and funding from property taxes.
10:16 PM
I hope you will support the ballot referendum in March to initially reduce our city council by 2. Not the total answer but it is a start and maybe someday we will have a city manager and no treasurer or city clerk. I am sure more cuts in jobs can be made but we have to have better management at the top before that can happen.
Yes to a city manager!!!!!!! Get rid of the treasure and city clerk!!!!!
I am a new member of the rec board and was very upset when I saw the condition of our ice rink and then went to Oglesby and saw the kids skating. Not knowing who to contact or what to do, but realizing skating is a recreation, I reached out to alderman Perez as I often do because I know he will listen. I believe he immediately checked out the situation and took care of the problem. Thank you alderman Perez and sorry if I didn't follow procedure but I don't know what that is or who was responsible for this situation. Just knew it needed to be taken care of if we were going to use it this year.
Its the job of the committee. Don't blame Harl for this one. Maybe Rodney is too busy with the investigation to get this task accomplished?
9:37 How do you know it's Rodney's job and remember he's not the only member of that committee and remember who actually got the job done.
9:37 AM
This purchase was made by Mayor Harl and did not go through the city council and their approval and yes he bears responsibility for seeing that his purchase was properly placed in an appropriate location and tended too.
What about the Park Board? Suddenly a member speaks out that they are upset. Isn't it your job to keep the Parks in working order, don't blame Rodney. Your were appointed to the position. Get the job done. Field trips to Oglesby won't get Peru's ice in order. The buck stops with you as a Park Board member.
11:35 First of all if you're referring to me (Linda L.) remember I am a new board member and am not sure whose job it is to keep the parks in working order. I have asked and never really gotten a proper procedure other than to report it to the SPW. Yes, I agree with you that it should be the rec's job but I can't make that decision. As for blaming Rodney -are you kidding. Without him this job would not have been addressed. I thank him for his hard work and involvement in city matters on a regular
basis. Remember, I am low man on the totem pole and I did make an effort to get the job done.
It is the responsibility of the Public Works employees. There were volunteers who were eager to help 2 years ago, but that was not received well. The public works employees are responsible, followed by their foreman, the SPW/engineer and then the mayor. Put the blame where it belongs!
I think somebody filed a grievance that last time a volunteer tried to help out with the rink.
The petition for less Alderman is a good idea. We need new ones that will work for Mayor Harl. I noticed in the Newstribune that former Harl Campaign manager Steve Weberski has been organizing the petition, its good strategy to get rid of those who won't work with Mayor Harl. I guess if you can't beat them, its best to change the rules!
1:36 PM
I think you should read the NT article once again and make sure you are aware of all the people who carried petitions and how will you find out all that signed and criticize them also.
We don't want any more aldermen that will agree with Mayor Harl, we want those that will be independent thinkers and working for the people and not the mayors aspirations.
A new mayor and new alderman that can work together for the city and it's taxpayers. 3/4 of the alderman need to go in my opinion.
We need a mayor and aldermen that will work for the people and not themselves.
The petition made no mention of the Mayor. The Newspaper article made no mention of the Mayor.
Those that circulated the petition are two township officials, LP School Board Member (can you believe that?), two unelected hopefuls, a former city employee, wife of a Ald. Perez, Harl Campaign manager. More politics and games. Don't fool us with the cost savings card and don't fool anybody in more representation with less office holders.
Most people sign petitions. A good example is that the same guy who came to my door to have this petition signed was the same guy that asked me to sign the Harl petition for Mayor 5 years ago. Now when he leaves we laugh.
Three wishes of a PWC Employee
A Peru PWC Employee was sitting in the shop on Peoria Street. Out of boredom, he decided to clean out his tool cabinet. He poked through the contents and came across an old brass lamp. “This would look nice on my mantelpiece at home,” he said to himself. So he took it, jumped in his city truck, and booked it on home. Arriving at home, he decided to polish the lamp. All of a sudden, a powerful Genie named Hurley appeared. Hurley said “Per the Local 150 collective bargaining agreement, you will be granted three wishes.” Without even thinking the PWC Employee shouted “I wish for an ice cold beer right now!” POOF! Hurley transported the PWC Employee to a local bar and the bartender promptly gave the PWC Employee a frosty beer on the house. The PWC Employee picked up the beer and guzzled it down as fast as he could. Able to think more clearly, the PWC Employee stated his second wish. “I wish to be on an island where only beautiful women reside.” POOF! Hurley transported him to an island full of gorgeous females. The PWC Employee then asked Hurley the Genie for his third and final wish: “I wish I’d never have to work again.” POOF! Hurley sent him back to the Peru PWC Shop.
Linda on the board.
If you were told to go to the SPW why did you go to Rodney?
So much for procedure!
5:14 PM
Please wake up or at least read the local news. Our SPW has resigned and no point in annoying him with problems when he will be gone in about 10 days and knock that down to 6 because there are 4 days that are either a Holiday or a Holiday Eve. Now where do you want anyone to go after the SPW? Perhaps to the first ward aldermen who don't seem to even be aware of the rink being in their ward. Linda and many of us have learned where to go to get something taken care of and we know where not to go also.
And when you follow procedure and it doesn't work what do you do next? You pursue the issue with someone else which is exactly what I did. Too many things had been reported in the past and to this day remain incomplete. I did what I thought was right and went to the person I thought would get results and I was right. The end result will be, weather permitting, people will be able to ice skate.
Anons of this blog: I have been reading this blog for about a year now, and the newspaper for over 25 years and the local radio for about 5 years. It's really clear to me alderman Perez is the most active and passionate leader our city has. The change in aldermen was selling point to me today when I read in the paper that the aldermans wife was supporting it. I believe in alderman Perez and also have faith in his words so I trust him. Our city needs more like him. It's clear people flock to him because he obviously works to take care of business. I too like alderman Dave Pothoff . Lets get change in this town and get rid of our crooked mayor asap.
2:56 Harl made many promises and fooled many people 5 years ago. The power went to his head. He thinks he doesn't have to follow procedures, and then bullies and intimidates because he got caught.
Everybody was fooled by him 5 years ago, especially his campaign manager, who Harl then threw under the bus when he endorsed Lukosus instead of Weberski for 4th ward alderman. How's that for being a friend??
7:06 we had plenty of options for change this past election. Change comes from educating the electorate, nothing more. this new alderman re-structuring will ultimately fail, there are too many old, stubborn people in the area and the last thing they want is change. We as adults need to find a way to pry our youth from smartphones and social media and get them to wake up. It is a damn shame that I can count the number of people under 30 who have somewhat of a clue on what is going on here with local politics.
Are you kidding 7:24 if Harl would've appointed him everyone would be crying foul. Not appointing him was the wisest thing he could have done.I can only imagine the comments that would've been posted here!!!
1:03 PM
Best to let this drop because if you are not aware of what happened, it is best to keep all in the past. Let' move ahead and open some doors and let the closed stay closed.
Lois, very seldom do I disagree with you but on the issue of Mayor Harls treatment of a friend who attended city council meetings for years with no other wish than seeing Harl become capable of being a Mayor of Peru makes me a believer that everyone should be made aware to watch their backs when conducting associations with the Mayor. Yes years and I mean more than three or four years. The hours spent in advising Scott and than being his campaign manager by Steve are great and only truly known by the two of them.
Steve Weberski is a very honest man who works hard for what he believes in and he is well thought out in these beliefs. It is not Steve who has changed his beliefs in the last five years it is Scott. Steve is still very good friends with all who campaigned for Scott. Is Scott?
Yes we must move on but as for Mayor Harl it is best to remember history is a very excellent teacher of the past for use in the future.
As for the past, are you are you in agreement with what you campaigned for 5 years ago or have you been as disappointed as many others which include mysef, Steve and many, many more.
Please keep these doors open until the next Mayors election in 2015.
This disappointment has to be put to bed for my own self elvauation and justification in my efforts for a better Peru. Lois I cannot to this day believe that we were so brutally taken to the cleaners.
Wishing you and Bob a very Merry Christmas I would like to be able to send you a card but I have to cut back to pay for my rising taxes and utility costs. I am sure that you understand. Remember when you recieved Decembers electricity free as a Christmas gift from Peru.
Lois did you fall and hit your head??Best to keep all in the past?? You are such a hypocrite!!! LOL
1:03. I was talking about the April 2013 election, not the appointment.
I know what has happened since Scott Harl has been elected and it surely has not been a pleasant memory and I also know about the Lukosus appointment and I know how he became an elected alderman in the last election and yes I know that Scott Harl turned on his former campaign manager for his own self aggrandizement. And I will always remember how he turned on all those who worked for him and as I am constantly reminded by family, "he found new friends". Hard lessons learned and yes almost unanimously those workers were thrown aside because they could not help him with his bigger aspirations. We will all continue to work for better government in Peru and hopefully without Scott Harl winning any more elections.
I am a sinner that does not expect forgivness. But, at least I am not a government official.
Its a shame that the ice rink is in the first ward. You really don't think Ferrari or Mueller will do anything about getting it ready do you? They do not partake in anything. Thank God for Rodney.
This is why we need all of them to be gone. We need for new aldermen and 2 at large. Its a must.
Where was Bartley, they he didn't catch the extra hours the two men got on there checks? I think hes useless also.
3:16 Well said. I too was a die hard supporter for the Harl and worked hard for him and today he doesn't know I exist. But, I too, like Lois continue to try to work for a better Peru and definitely a better, open and more transparent government.
Whatever happened to the Zamboni? Has it even been started up yet? Peru spends a lot of mony on crap that just sits in a garage.
Everyone should bring a lump of coal to the next council meeting and give it to the Mayor.
No kidding 7:34. I find that strange. The buddy buddy system.
Anons 7:34 and 10:08_____ I aslo find it strange that employees of the Public Works Department and possibly other departments are and have been paid extra hours improperly for years and it was never discovered and if discovered never investigated and questioned as to why such a agreement was in exsistence.
I do question who should have been involved in the check and balance system. It is evident that possibly the present Treasurer should have discovered Payroll illegalities long ago. Since it is Mr. Mikos who discovered and reported the misaproprriation
I would say the individual who Mr. Mikos replaced is probably involved and had the Mayor as a likely copilot. Because the Mayor has always been so adament about the public works department, his union brothers, not having a time clock,it appears that a long lengthy invstigation will not be needed. The one person or persons who been unethically and possibly a accomplice of this illegal act is the person or persons recieveing the illeal pay. As for Mr. Miksos he is to be commended for all of his time and actions in his 5 months of employment in Peru. Good job Sean! You, yourself have excellent work ethics and are driven in a manner which enables you to achieve your goals unlike some who have been going in circles for so long it is the only path they are aware of.
In a few days Peru will be without a SPW/Engineer, January 1,2014 to be exact. During the time that this position is unfilled I am sirprised that the Mayor who belives so strongly that a combination of occupations is such a money saver that he hasn't stepped forward and volunteered to perform the responsibilities as Mayor, Liquior Commissoner, and the Superintendent of Public Works at his present Mayors salary. When Bleck, who the citizenship does not want back in any capacity, was SPW it was his sole responsibility. The one decision that no one has ever been able to explain is why was the past city SPW keep on the job to orientate the new Public Works City Engineer. Sean was hired as a city engineer/SPW and expected to perform both jobs for less money than Bleck was hired to fill only the SPW. Mayor Harl give it a go and see if you can do it. To talk the talk you have to be able to walk the walk.
The SPW would be a natural matchup for you as you are a retiree of Local 150 the same local as yor brothers of the Public Works Department.
I drove down 4 th street today. The sidewalks in front of and to the east of city hall were NOT cleared of snow, but the sidewalks of the businesses to the west of city hall were clear and dry. Why are the sidewalks around city hall not clear?
The businesses clear their own sidewalks. Hurl is in charge of clearing sidwalks in front of city buildings.
Why couldn't the Mayor or two city councilmen, Sapienza or Waldorf, donate their time as city officials to clean the sidewalks in front of city buildings. They are the individuals who create ordinances such as you must shovel your own sidewalks. Maybe they believe that it only their job to create the law not obey it.
With the cold tempatures . The kids off of school it would be nice if I could take my daughter to a ice ring in Peru.
Mr. Harl it's time to get your head out of the ice,
The people of peru are not going to take the insults much more. We the people are pi$$ off!!
Anon 5:26 Great comment. It is ashame that so many are lacking trust in Peru City Hall or should I be writing it would be ashame if many were not lacking trust in Peru City Hall. It is apparent that even if this investigation cannot find Mayor Harl of any wrong doing the majority will still believe that he has performed a misuse of the Mayors office. When the results of this investigation are released it would be best for Mayor Harl to resign. Presently the Peru political leader is not the Mayor and has not been for a long time. Sadly Mayor Harl has himself to blame for this big black hole of leadership. Ultimately he is the final word on the actions of every department and the person he has allowed to be in charge of every department such as the Peru Recreation Committee.
By now all should be aware that a city does not gain by and that political parties do not belong in city government as well as certain oganized work groups from Joliet and Chicago which saw Peru as a city with a lot of money. Finally anyone who is in the Mayors position must realize that there is always going to be a number of individuals who will be waiting for the for the election tally so they know who to rub shoulders with to remain powerful in the city. This so called "Inner Circle" has mistreated Peru badly under or over this entire administration. Whoever is in charge I hope they realize this and who these people are and that they listen to citizens whose interest is for the betterment of Peru and not for themselves.
I do have a problem with the age old answer that the present administration did not start this or that. Its been going on for a long time. This administration has been in office for 5 years and by now has all responsibilty of what takes place. If there is anything that this administration finds fault with from the last adminisration they had one full year to point out their findings and than start to change it. After one year they become part of the problem if they don't change it and precede to simply carry on with previous improper methods. No one of a previous administration should be complained about after one full year of the new administion has been in office as well as 5 years. If the last Mayor awarded employees individual raises as his judgement felt justified, which is more a family type of ownership management viewpoint allowed when there is not union involvement. He most likely felt that this created motivation more so than collective bargaining or incresing pay by a overall blanket method which is the result of collective bargaining.
Mayor Baker managed without a union contract Mayor Harl manages in the times of government employees belonging to a union, many in the same union as himself, and knows that today this group has the negative restrictions of such that he has consented to live under as well as the positive gains. One of the most important clauses of collective bargaining is blanket raises rather than individual raises. As Mayor Harl should know being a retired member of Local 150 "All for one and one for all" we are only as strong as our wekest link.
Why are peru pd dispatchers so snotty and condescending on the scanner? They sound like they are king sh*t and everyone else is scum. They make rude remarks about people who they are bringing up info about . They sound like the general public who calls about something are full of crap and are bothering them by making them work. There should be a dispatcher friendliness class they're required to take. I know its really difficult sitting on your butt all day typing.
Lois responded to my question:
Please wake up or at least read the local news. Our SPW has resigned and no point in annoying him with problems when he will be gone in about 10 days.
Lois I was surprised at your response to a normal question. So I called my friend that encouraged me to read Peru town form website.
She also thought it was unusual that you would excuse the SPW from doing his work. Work that would require a phone call to instruct the workers to clean the rink.
But after further reading she said it was probably because you were defending your friend that's on the rec board because that is who I asked the question .
Either way I am not participating in this site to be insulted.
Signed,
Disappointed
11:33 AM
I don't think that cleaning the ice rink off required an order by the SPW, this is something the employees should check upon daily or as needed depending on the weather. I was informed years ago by a public works employee that most of them have been doing the work for so long, that they knew what needed to be done without much supervision.
You might tell your friend that the Rec. Board has absolutely nothing to do with the ice rink. They didn't purchase it and have anything to do with the set up or maintenance. I don't know how it was done years ago but for the last few years, the recreation board only handles sports that they are interested in.
I participate on this forum and was disappointed myself when Lois mentioned something about a person bugging her about Liberty Fire, Fire Chief and Alderman Perez with questions. And yes, when the fire department spends a couple grand on a Christmas party, it does matter! And Perez use to be a member of Liberty Fire therefore he does have some knowledge as to Liberty's SPENDINGS. He avoided at first answering the question as to who paid that couple grand. Open forum Lois. transparency. Thank You, Merry Christmas.
12:31 PM
All roads to appointments come directly from the mayor and usually the council agrees. In the case of the PFD, the appointment is a done deal and now we have a elected position of mayor which is basically not functioning and that means that most other things are not proceeding as well as they should. By questioning every little thing in the city while we are under this black cloud, the city will accomplish nothing. The big issue must be solved and at that time you can demand that that all other issues be addressed by the mayor. This is kind of like the last election, too many candidates and you are demanding answers to too many issues at a time when nothing will be addressed until the integrity of this cities administration is again functioning.
11;33 This is Lois's friend and member of the rec board Linda. Whether or not Mr. Mikos was contacted with regards to the ice rink, and whether or not he instructed his people to clean it is immaterial. The fact of the matter is is that I witnessed city employees trying to clean the snow off the rink with a snow blower. As you can see from the pictures above they were not successful.
Because I feel that ice skating is a recreational program I wanted to get the ball rolling so that (weather permitting) the kids could skate during their xmas vacation. I then contacted alderman. No harm was meant. The overall intention was to hopefully provide some winter recreation and not have the same mess we had the last 2 years.
Lois why would think that this order shouldn't come from the SPW??! First and foremost the rec board should initiate all business that deals with recreation activities within the city, sounds like to me Linda dropped the Puck on this one, LOL, no pun intended. Hopefully this is just a learning curve for her.I have some high expectations for this newly formed board and will be eagerly awaiting future actions of this board and hopefully they will breathe some fresh ideas that our rec minded citizens can enjoy!
2:24 PM
If you are from Peru and did not know the Rec Board has existed since the 1950's, I don't think we can take your criticism honestly. Hopefully this is a learning curve for you to be more aware of what is taking place in Peru.
2:24 This is Linda again. You state that first and foremost the rec board should initiate all business that deals with recreation which is exactly what I did. So, how did I drop the puck? You also contradicted yourself by stating the SPW should be informed first and then that the rec board should be first and foremost. Which way do you want it. It can't be done both ways. Sorry this seems to be irritating you but that's how I felt when I saw the rink sitting in that condtion knowing full well no skating could or would be done.
10:46 - the bigger question is why does the Peru PD have dispatchers at all? It is another redundant function of the local government fiefdom. If WE were SMART and demanded that the PD Management do their job SMARTLY, and we demanded our local government officials (Mayor, Aldermen, County Board) do their job SMARTLY, and demanded our Sherriff do his job SMARTLY – we would have a regional dispatching system. This would save time and a great deal of money.
The sheriff dept can't even hear radio traffic from.one end of LaSalle county to the other end. Why would they take it over. Look at Bue-com. They have no clue. Its one dispatching system for every dept. Each dept has the same policies. No individualism . Leaves for a lot of what ifs. Every town has it's own policy that fits their needs. Besides Bernbei is putting together a central location dispatching center for the illinois valley area to be located in Peru. This of course will cost millions because he needs a new building to do it in. Cost of upwards of 12 million dollars and expects to have this in 3 years. A new police/dispatch/jail complex. Say hello to higher taxes again in Peru. And longer with no pool.
Linda what was meant is that the board initiates the business but the SPW delegates the who, when, and how. Essential the board gets the ball rolling first contacting the SPW if city labor is required for any project. Every program should have some type of project charter so that the projects can be tracked and completion verified.
This comment got caught in my spam filter.
" Anonymous Anonymous said...
The ice skating rink is the direct responsibility of the public works employees, under the direction of foreman Jim Sittler, who is under the direction of Sean Mikos, who is under the direction of Scott Harl.
8:18 PM, December 19, 2013"
8:49 Exactly what I've been trying to say and accomplish. I agree with you but as far as I know there is no check and balance system to verify if projects have been completed.
Anon 10:00 You cannot be a active 1st ward city representative because you are courteous, tactful with political savy in your message. In conclusion you are really saying that since Sean Mikos has resigned and the Mayor is more concerned in not supervising any of the departments supervisiors and a foreman who writes his own approved paycheck being without a time clock.
Citizens of Peru,children and grandchildren, you are going into the 3rd year of being without a ice skating rink with all equipment and rink being paid for but yet some equipment still in a box. Does this have anything to do with this being outside and the city does not need additional cold weather jobs?
Also you are entering the fourth summer without a swimming pool and splash pad. Now if the city folks can pawn off the library you had better enjoy pickle ball, baseball, a BB Gun Club or horseshoes. From a great faamily town to a nothing.
10:34, What equipment remains in the box regarding the skating rink?
I heard the zambini. Does anyone know if the rink is ready for skaters as of yet?
10:39 AM
My understanding is that the rink is open. I don't know the condition or if there are benches to sit on to put skates on or any sheltered protection against wind. If you check it out let us know.
Didn't see any benches. Didn't see anyone skating. Didn't look like it was cleaned off. Didn't look like anything had been done to it after the last thaw. Wonder why zambini appears to not being used. Isn't it supposed to smooth out the ice?
Call Rodney, he said it was open.
Oglesby is closed due to high temps and sloppy ice. I'm sure peru is too.
Post a Comment