Two of my boys went with me to the Peoria City Council meeting.  No, I was not trying to torture them.  It is a scouting requirement that they see government in action and to visit a government building.  So we did the two birds with one stone thing.  We went into the council chambers and the boys got to meet a few of the public officials, including City Treasurer Reg Willis and Fire Chief Kent Tomblin who were sitting behind us.  They each helped to entertain the boys at times. 

 As most people know, there has been a decade long debate on whether to tear out the rail line over the Keller Branch and convert it to a recreational biking/walking trail or not. Last week, the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the federal agency that has jurisdiction over railroads, ruled against the adverse discontinuance of the line. Thus, the Keller Branch shall remain an operating railroad.

I missed posting after Tuesday’s Peoria City Council meeting as I have been rather busy.  Just a couple of quick notes for now:

The city has decided to give Arts Partners $150,000 over the next couple of years.  This is the second council meeting in a row where the city has decided to give private organizations public dollars.  This one only had one dissenting vote; Gary Sandberg thought funneling money away from the civic center through HRA taxes was a bad idea.  How right he is.  Not only that, Suzette Boulais’ also let know that there is a possibility for Peoria tax dollars to be spent in “the tri-county area”.  So Peoria once again pays for other peoples stuff! 

 The issue of whether to expand the 4 am liquor license boundaries came up at the Peoria City Council this week. At issue is the current zone is in a small entertainment district downtown (all liquor licenses are 2 am or earlier except in this area), but the owners of these bars have dress codes that a certain segment of the population says is directed at keeping them from patronizing these establishments. The certain population are black and the dress code is for what the bar owners call “gangsta”, but the wearers call “urban”. So a couple of bar owners whose bars sit outside the 4 am zone, but cater to mostly black clientèle asked the city to expand the zone to reach their establishments.

The Peoria Fire Department has the largest and best trained Hazardous Material response team in the region, and being so, it responds to several HazMat “events” in the region and beyond. So one would think the team would be adequately funded, but apparently that is not the case.

While investigating a compliant from a constituent, Peoria 3^rd District Councilman Bob Manning was involved in an accident where he hit a bicyclist with his car. While attending to the little girl, he was sucker punched by a bystander. Read the full article on PJStar.com. Mayor Ardis was interviewed on an afternoon radio show and reported Mr. Manning was just going in for surgery on his face. The Mayor also reported that even though the punch to his face will require a “plate and some small screws”, Bob did not go down when he was hit. I guess there may be something to the saying about stubborn Irish Catholics and fighting.

 I attended last night’s (May 02) Peoria Council Meeting to see the outgoing Morris and Grayeb, and to welcome the incoming Montelongo and Spain. Other than Fire Chief Kent Tomblin, this was the first I had witnessed the swearing in of any government official. (I’ve caught most of the Presidents that I’ve been alive for in news bites) I didn’t really know what to expect, so when I walked into the council chambers and found the area in the middle of the “horseshoe” was packed with chairs and people siting them, I was slightly shocked. Each council person was allowed twenty guests, and that was who the chairs were for. This left room for any of the general public, like me, that wanted to witness the ceremony in person. Grayeb and Morris both received recognition for their dedicated public service. Each then gave a farewell address, highlighting areas they wish the new council to stay focused on. Even though I didn’t always agree with either Grayeb or Morris, I will miss their presence on the council.