1 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:31,440 JAMES DILLON: We'll get to- I'm going to receive and file  3.1 to 3.4 unless there's   2 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:39,600 any questions on presentations for  the sake of timeliness. Seeing none,   3 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:53,360 we're going to kind of take these a  little bit out of order. Mr. Setti, welcome. 4 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:58,160 CHRIS SETTI: Thank you. Uh thank you so much uh for the  opportunity. You are lucky in that you   5 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,760 don't get to listen to me talk for very long but  uh Chris Setti, the CEO of the Greater Peoria Economic   6 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:08,800 Development Council, and about a year or so ago  the county board asked us via uh some money   7 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:16,000 I believe you had in your CEJA energy transition,  uh, energy communities transition uh funds, uh to   8 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,720 work on an economic development strategy. I think  it was part of your larger strategic plan as a   9 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:26,400 board to develop an economic development strategy.  The timing was great in that you already had   10 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:32,400 engaged a team for your comprehensive  plan that included an economic development   11 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:40,720 partner. So we kind of came alongside  that particular um contract and contracted with   12 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,960 their economic development partner because  a lot of the work that was being done on that   13 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:50,880 comp plan of having community conversations could  then fuel, versus bringing in a completely separate   14 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,920 consultant who was going to have to do everything,  you know, on their own. Uh so it's my pleasure uh   15 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:02,240 to introduce Kevin Hively from Ninegret Partners.  And really uh and Kevin's going to go over   16 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:07,520 the process that he went through and we all went  through. Um this was a really great team effort.   17 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:16,640 Your um, your staff, Melissa, and uh Scott  and Andrew and others on the Peoria County staff,   18 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:22,800 um were really great to work with. You know,  my staff was engaged, the city of Peoria economic   19 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:28,400 development staff was engaged, and then all of the  citizens who talked during the comprehensive plan   20 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:33,840 outreach also were a part of this conversation.  So I'm going to turn this over to Kevin. I   21 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:41,120 assume Tim when he's ready for a slide, he'll just  give you a thumbs up. So uh thank you so much.   22 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:48,240 KEVIN HIVELY: Thank you. I appreciate it. Um just quickly, as  uh Chris said, we spent a lot of time actually   23 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,960 in Peoria, um which was really great. I've gotten  to know the community pretty well and I appreciate   24 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:57,280 the opportunity and it's a, it's a, it's a great  place. I want to start with some observations.   25 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:02,880 The next one, please. So, there are a  series of issues that I want to get to,   26 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:07,680 but I want to make sure that everybody's clear.  This is not an economic plan for the county per   27 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,920 se. It's for an economic plan for the county  government specifically. So, that's a different   28 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:16,400 kind of way to look at this. There's some issues  with the economic growth and tax base. I'll   29 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:21,760 touch on that. You're trying to move to a talent  driven economy and there are some issues related   30 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:29,440 to recruitment. there's some housing questions  um and bringing talent into Peoria. One of the   31 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:34,960 things that I talked we learned during our  process, our public process was there is    32 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:39,200 some frustration with the sustainability of  initiatives. A lot of them are short-term funded   33 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:45,520 and some of these things take 5, 10, 20 years  to actually pull off. and then economic   34 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:51,760 infrastructure issues, everything from tools to  actual, literal infrastructure and then finally kind   35 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:57,440 of profile and image questions. I actually think  that Peoria is harder on Peoria than the rest   36 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:04,320 of America is for what that's worth, uh, but  there are some distinct issues that permeate   37 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:10,720 kind of leadership in the community. Next. So the  first thing is um and this is the most important   38 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:15,840 thing, and I know that you had a finance committee  meeting before this. One of the issues right now is   39 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:21,280 that Peoria is the county itself is lagging what's  happened in other comparative regions. We   40 00:04:21,280 --> 00:04:27,440 looked at a series of competitive metro areas  and counties and host counties and um other   41 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:33,920 than the exception of Cedar Falls, you're lagging  behind. Next, the other thing is you're not as   42 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:42,640 economically dynamic as as the state of Illinois  overall and I live in Massachusetts. Um, I don't   43 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,800 think, not to be rude, but Illinois is generally  not considered one of the fastest growing states   44 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:52,080 in the country in terms of economic activity and  you're actually even lagging the state. And this   45 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:58,160 has issues. This has fiscal issue ramifications  for you. Next. So, as an example, your sales tax   46 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:06,720 base is growing slower than the state. Um, next.  And you have an issue with population forecast,   47 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:11,600 which is if this forecast holds there's two  very, very important things to recall here.   48 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:18,880 It's the gold gap and the green gap. The gold gap  well and, actually, the blue gap. The blue gap is   49 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:25,600 your future workers. The gold gap is your current  workers and the green gap is the people who are   50 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:34,000 retiring. And eventually life takes over and they  will not be as retired as they once were for various   51 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,600 reasons. But as you can see what's happening  right now and this is really, really important   52 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,680 because it has all kinds of implications for  workforce dynamics, your ability to recruit and   53 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:49,200 attract companies. Consumer spending shrinks  as you get older. You just don't spend as much.   54 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:53,520 And this is- and then on top of that, you  have a lot of housing stock that's in the 65 plus   55 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:59,040 age group that probably has not been kept up in  the same degree that you would keep it up when you   56 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:05,680 bought the house in your 30s. Next. So, I think  overall there needs to be a growth agenda for the   57 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,840 county and I don't mean the county government and  I think it has four elements and I think it has to   58 00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:16,880 be a growth agenda like you must grow and that's  sustained focus on investment, get building a   59 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:22,240 homegrown pipeline of talent and businesses, build  the brand through quality experience. You can't   60 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:27,280 advertise your way out of this, and right sites  for businesses and great places for talent to   61 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:33,760 live. Those are the elements of it. So what can  the county do in this regard? Next. So why should   62 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:41,040 you be more involved? A couple reasons. Go ahead.  First is 70% of the property value in the county   63 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:46,320 is in the urbanized areas. And when you see those  dark areas, that's where all the land that's where   64 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:53,360 actually all the property value is in the county.  All the dark. Next, you're also more dependent   65 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:58,800 upon residential property tax and the base is  growing slower than the other parts of Illinois.   66 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:05,120 So this is basically Peoria, the rest of the state,  which means not Chicago, and then statewide. So you   67 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,360 can see that you're more dependent on property tax  and you're simply growing slower. Their value is   68 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:14,480 next. The other thing that's very interesting here  is this is where STEM workers live. This is the   69 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,480 thing that everybody wants and this is something  that's very, very important to consider where the   70 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:23,680 STEM workers live which is on the left hand in  the green versus where the housing's built since   71 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:30,800 2000 which is in that kind of orange. they live  in the newer housing stock. So, it's very, very   72 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,760 important that you continue to develop quality  housing stock if you want to keep attracting   73 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:41,680 um and a lot of them live in the outside in  the villages also. So, there's this very, very   74 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:48,240 important between housing creation and livability  that has to get addressed in the county. Next,   75 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:53,520 and the other thing is the comp plans and vision  plans across all of it. We looked at every one of them   76 00:07:53,520 --> 00:08:00,080 across the community. We documented every single  recommendation. There were more than 300 and   77 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,760 they've created all of these special districts and  other things to kind of do things, but they can't   78 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:13,360 execute. There's no resources to do it. Next. So  what can you do next? So we basically separated   79 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:18,720 things into two different buckets. One is where  the county can act directly and where the county   80 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:23,600 can lead and or initiate but they're  things within local control but the county doesn't   81 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:27,760 control it completely. So in this first one, uh  let's start with the read. Let's go to the next   82 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:33,040 one, please. So you need to resign your county's  economic development digital presence. It's the   83 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:38,880 first thing that anybody sees when they're looking  up what about Peoria County. This is your website   84 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:44,240 for economic development. The links don't work.  It's a program that ties to another program.   85 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:48,880 It doesn't actually tie to programs inside  Peoria County, inside the county and the city.   86 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:54,480 So you need to m- and also the visuals don't match  what's going on with other branding efforts across   87 00:08:54,480 --> 00:09:02,000 the community. Next, this is a hard one to read,  but you have you have some money. You have $7 to 9   88 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:07,040 million in lending capacity. You have this thing,  the Government Assistance Program. I think it   89 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:12,880 needs to be completely revisited. There are issues  around what you could potentially do with it.   90 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:20,880 Small contractor support, retail launch funds,  um closing, basically deal closing funds,   91 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:24,640 but also thinking hard about what are the goals  and things that you want to actually accomplish   92 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:30,160 with this money because it's a lot of  money relatively speaking, but the small business   93 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,720 community is also borrows like $500 million  a year. So, it's not a huge amount of money   94 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:42,400 relative to the total. Next, you should think  about pursuing 100% enterprise tax abatement to   95 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:49,120 help drive redevelopment. If you see all of those  orange dots, that is all the places in the county   96 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:57,520 where the land is worth more than what's sitting  on top of it. And it's actually quite a bit. Um,   97 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:04,880 and there's about 15,000 acres. Uh and there are  other examples in Illinois where people have   98 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:10,320 done this and some of them have gone all the way  and have actually like a basically an algorithm   99 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,840 um about how we make a decision on when we're  when we're going to do this and how they work   100 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:19,440 together with the schools and everything else.  Next, I think you need to think about what I'm   101 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:25,040 going to call a Great Places fund where you're  going use the windfall from the renewable energy   102 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:31,840 developments when they come online, because the land taxation becomes   103 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:37,440 different once you put a wind farm or a solar farm  or even energy storage on top of it, it creates   104 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:42,560 an increment that didn't exist before. That  increment's not there. Think of it as like, think   105 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:48,320 of it as a TIF that you can then use to fund the  smaller communities who don't have resources to   106 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:54,000 do the 300 plus things that they want to do. What that- I would- I wouldn't do it until the money   107 00:10:54,000 --> 00:11:00,880 actually started coming in, but it's, I think it's  something that you all should think about. Next,   108 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:05,680 you need to think about an ag sector development  fund. There's a lot of talk about ag tech and   109 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:09,360 um ag and what's happening in the future of  farming in the community. There's a lot of   110 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:13,840 different ways to cut this. I will be honest with  you, it's, I understand what you're trying to do.   111 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:20,320 It's not completely clear to me the execution of  it because of, again, resources. Um and the 112 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:24,960 frankly, again, living in New England there's a  lot of people chasing the blue economy. There's   113 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:29,680 a lot of people chasing ag tech and they're  investing major resources into trying to build   114 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:34,880 out ag tech and those are just some examples.  So some of that windfall money could come in   115 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:43,520 to help fund this. There might be other ways  to do this as well. Next, um I think you need   116 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:51,200 a nonprofit development corporation to fill in  where the market isn't doing projects. And that's   117 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:56,640 everything from small-scale commercial development  to missing middle housing to potential certain   118 00:11:56,640 --> 00:12:03,760 industrial development. Um you need I think you're  in a situation where you need to prove the market   119 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:08,800 here. And the only way to do that is through  some kind of partnership where the risks are   120 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:15,280 shared to get this, to get momentum built. And  there's all part of it's an appraisal issue,   121 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:20,640 part of it's a lending risk issue, part of it  is there's no growth as you look at the   122 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:25,280 demographics. And all the numbers look the  wrong way, but there need to find a way to jump   123 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:34,400 start this. Next, um, another thing I think you  need to do is to invest in yourselves in a very,   124 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:40,160 uh, strong way. So, figuring out a way to create  a capital stack, including bond and options,   125 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:45,520 to basically what I would call Rebuild Peoria.  Um, like I said, there's a lot of needs. There   126 00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:51,120 are not a lot of resources, there are not a lot  of patient resources. We identified more than   127 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:58,560 300 plus improvements across all of the county.  Um, and there are examples of this. The South,   128 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:03,440 frankly, is very, very good at doing this. They  have a series of different mechanisms that they   129 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,120 can do this through bond issues and other  things. But particularly everything that's   130 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:11,600 going on and where we are with, frankly, at  the federal budget level with the deficit,   131 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,280 I think it's time the communities begin thinking  about how to reinvest in themselves. And some   132 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:21,040 people call it the new localism, but  that money is getting very competitive.   133 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:26,640 Having local dollars that can match or commit  some of that money makes you more competitive   134 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:33,280 for what's becoming an increasingly competitive  grant as opposed to um uh what's the word I'm   135 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:42,240 looking for? Entitlement type money going forward.  Next, that's it. Questions? I know you got a lot   136 00:13:42,240 --> 00:14:02,880 on your agenda, so I went through really fast.  It's a New England thing. I'm from Ohio. DILLON: Anyone 137 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:16,640 else? 138 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:24,880 STEVE RIEKER: Are we good now? Maybe. All right. It's a good  overview of the situation that we're in. And I   139 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:31,200 I think you've captured the essence of our  challenges. And there's a few things that   140 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:38,640 come to mind as you present, is we really  need to understand 'who do we want to be?'   141 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:44,880 What do we want Peoria County in this area to  be known for? I mean we got some things here   142 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:53,440 but to draw the incentive and the excitement  around it um we really need to understand and   143 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:58,880 have a common agreement not just with the  county but the villages and the other   144 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:04,720 um centers here in the county is what's our focus  so we can have a common message. You hit the   145 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:12,480 website, but branding, image. We're sitting  in a building here that has an awesome branding   146 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:18,160 and image experience. And I won't talk too much  because someone else will talk about that after a   147 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:25,600 bit. Uh but we really need to figure out what that  image is and then start a plan because there's a   148 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:33,040 lot of cost in addressing housing and needs  and in order to get the funds we really need   149 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:37,760 to understand what we want to be and who wants  to invest in it. It's going to take some more   150 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:44,160 investment dollars than what even the windfall  so so to speak dollars. HIVELY: Absolutely. Yeah. 151 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:50,160 RIEKER: S o I think the county quite frankly should be  the leader in this. I think we should lead this   152 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:55,440 effort, bring other parties because we're not  the experts, but we should be behind it saying,   153 00:15:55,440 --> 00:16:01,440 "Let's put this together and run with it." And  as you said, it's not a one or two or five year   154 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:06,800 plan. It's a 25-year plan. Where do you want to  be? Where do you want to go? It might be good   155 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:11,280 if you give us some examples. You had Garland,  Texas, I think down, but there's a lot in   156 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:17,280 the southeast that have done great. Uh I think of  Asheville, North Carolina is one that I personally   157 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:22,160 have followed for many years. They've done a great  development. They're about the same size as we   158 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:29,120 are. But some guidance and direction, I think,  is what we need. And so, thanks for the overview,   159 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:35,920 but now the work really needs to be put in place.  How do we go ahead? HIVELY: Yeah, I would say to um like   160 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:40,800 I said, we reviewed all of the plans of the  villages, the other municipalities, the city,   161 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:45,600 um the county comp plan, and there's a lot  of great thought. The the biggest issue,   162 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:52,000 the problem is not A, the problem is getting to  C. It's not even getting to B, it's actually   163 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:56,720 getting to C. It's actually taking an idea  and scaling it up and actually having to have   164 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:02,240 an impact. And the frustration is that it never  gets past B. Like you never see it take hold.   165 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:12,800 and actually kind of create that momentum or  pivot the way you all want it to. RIEKER: Yes. 166 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:20,160 HIVELY: Exactly. And it fuels cynicism  and all that other stuff. 167 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:28,640 EDEN BLAIR: Uh, um, conversation today about one program that  we have helped support that just didn't have the   168 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:32,720 people bandwidth to keep it going and make sure  it's happening. And that's definitely something   169 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:39,440 we need to look at. I think also as a board we  look at the Keystone fund is something I've taken   170 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:46,400 a lot of interest in. Um and a lot of the reason  we haven't spent it is a um um unwillingness to   171 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:52,240 take risks and I think that's something that  we need to decide what our risk appetite is and   172 00:17:52,240 --> 00:18:01,040 understanding that a low risk appetite probably  will not help us get very far. SETTI: Right. Sure.   173 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:10,880 Uh I think that, and as you see in  the full report uh and and even the there's   174 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:15,920 links in the in the PowerPoint presentation that  that I think is one of the keys. You as a county   175 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:21,680 have a tool that most counties don't have. And  right, $7 to 9 million is not a lot in the grand   176 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:26,720 scheme of things but it is more than almost  any other county in Illinois would have. So,   177 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:32,080 how and some of the suggestions that Kevin  and we are making in this plan is how might   178 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:38,000 you deploy those funds? How might you look at  your your um your low-income I'm sorry, your   179 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:42,880 revolving loan fund, right? How does it stand up  against some of the competition that's out there?   180 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:49,520 Advantage Illinois, 504 loans from the SBA so  that what you're offering isn't a duplication of   181 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:55,200 something else but is a complement uh  to what's being offered or or really helps to   182 00:18:55,200 --> 00:19:01,040 um you know address something, a gap in the  marketplace. Uh and so I would agree with you   183 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:07,200 that it's something that you have a chance  as a board to kind of look around say how are we   184 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:12,160 really going to deploy these funds uh you know in  different ways through through granting through   185 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:20,400 seed, you know seed funds for things, uh like a like  the idea of a uh a CDC um, or through different   186 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:25,840 types of lending programs uh but it's exactly  because you have something that most most counties   187 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,040 just wouldn't even be in this conversation  because they don't have the resources to do that. 188 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:39,600 TERRY RUHLAND: Full disclosure, I'm a retired home builder and  developer still involved on a part-time basis,   189 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:47,200 and I'm currently working on a house that happened  to fall on an enterprise zone lot. That is a real   190 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:54,400 impact to the price of a house. This is a $600,000  home that generates uh between sales tax and   191 00:19:54,400 --> 00:20:03,760 property tax abatement over $35,000 in value to  that buyer. I also happen to own a number of lots   192 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:09,360 that are have been on the market for years. You  know, it's been a slow grind trying to trying to   193 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:19,520 move new projects since COVID, the price of building  is exorbitant. We also have some lots that do have   194 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:28,080 enterprise zone that aren't built yet. This is  just land. It's not- We don't have streets on it at   195 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:36,160 $1,000 a lineal foot to build a city street today.  Why should I take a risk to do that and sell those   196 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:44,160 lots at 85 or $90,000 each when the right thing  to do would be to incentivize the lots that have   197 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:51,680 been on the market for 5, 10 years. Pick a number.  Somebody's got to be an expert. Pick a number. Get   198 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:59,120 those lots cleared up and we won't have a choice  but to build at the new rate, the $1,000 a lineal   199 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:04,960 foot. But it's it it seems counterproductive.  We're building I think, you know, we're building   200 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:10,160 a steady number of houses. I think Andrew  is in the room. He can tell you where we are   201 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:17,840 permit-wise. But compared to a 40-year career, it  feels to me onesy twoosy. We're getting one here,   202 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:28,080 one there. Mostly older families, cash customers,  um not dependent upon their income level,   203 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:34,800 but their retirement savings. So I think  from the standpoint of the enterprise zone,   204 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:41,440 we're doing it wrong. We should enter, we should  incentivize every lot that's been on the market   205 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:50,320 for eight years or more. Again, I don't know  that number, but until that inventory clears,   206 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:58,000 nobody's going to build a single street. It's  just cost prohibitive. So, I am intrigued a great   207 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:05,520 deal. In fact, I've been, you know, making some of  the same kind of conversations um with legislators   208 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:13,440 um with uh, officials at the hospital. I'd like to  talk to you guys more about that separately, but   209 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:21,120 um but I think there is an incredible potential  for that. And if you talk to the people at in   210 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:28,640 recruiting at the hospital, that's the biggest  barrier to their success. I can hire a doctor.   211 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:35,280 I just don't have any place for them to live. So,  you know, we need to work together in that respect   212 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:42,560 and find again where where would this money  come from uh to to maybe underwrite interest   213 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:48,080 rate either to the buyer or to the developer.  There's a million things. The list is long,   214 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:53,120 but um unfortunately this isn't the place. But  I'd like to talk to you guys a little further   215 00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:58,880 about where this comes from. SETTI: I would just say  in, as a broad statement, there's, I think there's   216 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:03,360 a lot of opportunity. We are underutilizing our  opportunity, our enterprise zones. There are some   217 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:08,400 constrictions. You can't just say every lot can  you know should be in because of just some of the   218 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:14,800 the boundary issues that the that the legislation  has. But within the legislation we are allowed to   219 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:23,280 have full property tax abatement for a number of  years. Currently it's it's uh three years uh 100%   220 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:29,520 of the abatement of the increase in property taxes  for three years and two uh two more years at 50%   221 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:35,200 but only to the participating taxing bodies and  almost all of our school districts do not  222 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:40,240 participate um and and it really is  something where I think all of you as county board   223 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:45,440 leaders could help us and this is something that  GPEDC could take on in in helping to articulate the   224 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:50,240 value of the enterprise zone and participating in  the enterprise zone. that you might be giving up   225 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:55,440 three years of something, but you're going to then  get 30 years of that something. Um, and and really   226 00:23:55,440 --> 00:24:03,120 working to educate mostly our school districts  who uh which are 50 to 60% of any given property   227 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:08,960 tax bill. So, the incentive isn't as powerful  as it could be and it's just about convincing um   228 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:14,480 those but having that kind of political backbone.  uh and I don't mean that in terms of cowardice or   229 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:20,080 not cowardice, but having the some infrastructure  behind us going out and and making those asks that   230 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:24,720 that local elected officials are also part of that  and we have, speak some common language. So I   231 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,880 would agree with you that enterprise zone there's  something where the county can lead. It's going   232 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:38,000 to be a a series of local decisions, but that  can help increase development in the community. 233 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:55,680 RUHLAND: business my business does.  That's how we get $35,000 in tax relief to our homeowners. 234 00:24:55,680 --> 00:25:00,240 BLAIR: I would ask uh Mr. Setti, could  you also send this report to the   235 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:16,000 um advisory committee on small business  and entrepreneurship? SETTI: Certainly. BLAIR: Be meeting soon. So, 236 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,160 thank you. 237 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:24,320 DILLON: Next up, uh speaking of economic development,   238 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:32,400 Chris Waible with Downtown Development Corporation  had asked uh to speak at his budget season. We   239 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:39,760 have historically had in our plan asking  what we can do to invest in downtown or   240 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:45,840 uh be part of that conversation but there never  really any clear vision. Some been around for a   241 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:53,920 while it was a topic conversation when they  created it but it never happened for a multitude   242 00:25:53,920 --> 00:26:00,320 of reasons so I asked Chris to come and give  a presentation of the work that they are doing 243 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:10,560 CHRIS WAIBLE: Let's see if this works. 244 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:15,600 Well, thank you for having me, Jimmy. I'm  Scott. Uh, as as Jimmy said, I'm Chris Waible.   245 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:21,840 I'm the president CEO of the DDC, the Downtown  Development Corporation. and I'm here to just   246 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:26,960 give you a little bit of an idea of what we're  doing to build a great downtown and where the   247 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:38,000 DDC has been over its life of now 12 years. Um,  boy, that's light. Uh, so around 2014, there was   248 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,800 a group of individuals here in the community  that decided that uh we needed to be like   249 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:50,160 other cities who had an organization dedicated  to the growth of its downtown. And so a group,   250 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:58,000 part of the CEO Council formed the DDC  and since that time uh up until about two years   251 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:05,040 ago there was one CEO, Michael Freilinger, who you  may have met along the way and a small team   252 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:12,160 uh with him really laying the groundwork for DDC  and growth downtown. So the early work included   253 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:18,080 things like creating a historic- if you back  up. Yeah. Uh creating a historic tax credit   254 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:22,880 uh status here part of the Rivers Edge  Redevelopment Zone um here in the state   255 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:28,800 of Illinois that has been utilized by a lot of  developers particularly in the Warehouse District,  256 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:38,000 creating the uh warehouse renovation  to residential conversions. And so there were   257 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:46,080 some tools like that early on that got got some  things started in downtown, we'll call it 2.0. Um,   258 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:54,080 and from like the '15 to- 2015 to 2017, we saw a  number of smaller apartment buildings come online,   259 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:59,520 some early adopters who decided to give  downtown a chance as a place to live.   260 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:05,760 And DDC continued to to support that through  efforts like housing studies, which we continue   261 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:13,040 today to try to quantify the demand for downtown  living. And I'm happy to report that despite   262 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:19,040 really great absorption rates, there still  shows to be strong demand for housing downtown.   263 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:27,760 So what's been developed today is is typically  about 95% occupied across the entire inventory.   264 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:33,840 Early on, there was some acquisition uh and  development work too that was done in terms of   265 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:39,520 assembling pieces of property to be made available  for larger scale redevelopment. So DDC was part of   266 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:46,000 that, sometimes commanding closer to a fair market  value for the value of those properties to then   267 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,880 work with developers to get them developed.  On the laying the groundwork side of things,   268 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:57,200 there was also work to be done to make some of  this conversion work possible in terms of creating   269 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:03,200 air rights and uh mechanisms within the building  code that would allow for buildings that uh   270 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:08,160 typically had a building right next to them  to then be opened up with windows to be used for   271 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:17,440 residential use. So that leads us to uh 2022ish  and um the growth since that time. So the last   272 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:22,800 five years and again, I've been uh here at the DDC  for the last two years. We look forward to some   273 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:28,880 of that growth and if you go to the next slide  we can start to see in the next slide after this.   274 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:36,800 Test your vision here. Some of the progress  that we've made since then. So we've we've   275 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:42,880 seen about 140 million plus dollars in private  investment in the last 5 years. A lot of that's   276 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:48,400 on the residential side. Nine new multifamily  buildings have come online and with that about   277 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:58,480 550 units. In addition, we've also seen 10ish new  uh activated storefronts which creates vitality at   278 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:07,680 the street level. The the type of activity that we  associate with the bustling and vibrant downtown. 279 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:11,520 Couple quick ones here moving forward. 280 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:19,440 just see that cumulative investment over  the last five years from 2022 on the left to   281 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:28,480 uh more present day on the right. Um again  reaching 140 millionish plus dollars and then   282 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:33,840 as I said nine new multifamily buildings  and 550 residential units. The big chunk   283 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:39,920 of that is in warehouse conversions. We do  have a couple of new construction projects.   284 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:45,680 One that's just opened in the Chic  Apartments, but a lot of that inventory is   285 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:52,480 converted warehouse space. And then  over the years, seeing a couple of new   286 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:57,120 storefronts at a time activated again, gradually  starting to reestablish downtown as a place   287 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:03,440 for destination retail and retail oriented  businesses, which a lot of us associate with   288 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:09,120 uh a destination downtown places that we  visit and think of as successful downtowns. 289 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:19,280 And we've seen pretty good um leverage on  the the public investment in downtown over 5x   290 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:25,520 ratio of public dollars to the total  investment within downtown. So we are   291 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:33,200 seeing good participation on the private side  to actually see these projects come to life. 292 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:38,640 And so a lot of that groundwork was laid,  as I said, over the last 10 plus years. And   293 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:41,920 we could cover a lot of different separate  topics, and I'm happy to answer questions,   294 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:46,880 but I wanted to give you a sense of where  our focus is today in terms of what is the   295 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:51,680 next step needed to make downtown uh a  really great place. And that starts in   296 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:56,160 our minds at DDC with core density and  really building that, as it's the engine   297 00:31:56,160 --> 00:32:01,680 that drives this term vibrancy that we talk  so frequently about. That's foot traffic.   298 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:07,440 That's the perceptions of safety. That's visitors  from near and far coming and thinking of it as a   299 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:13,040 place that they want to be. So the question  we ask people that we interact with at the   300 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:17,920 DDC is tell us about your favorite downtown.  And I'm going to share some of those today   301 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:26,000 just to give you a sense of some of the answers  that we hear and what those places look like. 302 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:31,920 So we have places like Boulder, Colorado and  Pearl Street. And I'll go through these semi-   303 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:38,080 quickly, but um Cincinnati. Kevin had  mentioned Cincinnati earlier. This is   304 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:43,840 uh an image from there. This is a relatively new  addition to the list and a good one. Asheville,   305 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:49,280 North Carolina. And a great mix of public  spaces as you see in the bottom right.   306 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:58,080 Uh activity on the sidewalk and just a  really uh concentrated area of activity. 307 00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:03,280 And it's led us to places like Lemont, Illinois,  which was a shocker to me that somebody would say   308 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:08,000 Lemont was their favorite downtown. But but  lo and behold, Lemont is a favorite downtown   309 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:12,000 of someone that we've worked closely with.  And if you look at this image, you see why   310 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:17,760 that would be. You see a a two-sided street with  activity on both sides of the street, which makes   311 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:25,360 for a gathering place where there can be events,  festivals, and things where people come together. 312 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:31,360 We all know Denver. And on the left is um is  a nice image, but what I want to point out   313 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:36,480 on this slide on the right is the proximity  of the Rhino District, the River North Arts   314 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:42,080 District of Denver on the right foreground to  the central business district in the background.   315 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:48,640 Uh Rhino is the fastest kind of growing area  within downtown with a lot of activity and it   316 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:54,000 has a similar relationship to what we have between  the Warehouse District and the Central Business   317 00:33:54,000 --> 00:34:02,080 District, albeit much further away than what we  have here. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Of course,   318 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:10,560 the historic Third Ward Public Market on the left  gets a lot of notoriety and um typically get a lot   319 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:16,160 of people who talk about the cleanliness of it.  The certainly the historic building stock and the   320 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:27,760 conversions that you see on the right do have some  similarities to Peoria as well. Madison, Wisconsin, 321 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:34,720 and then Chicago. And you see there the  again again the relationship between the   322 00:34:34,720 --> 00:34:40,080 loop in the background of the photo on the  left and the West Loop Fulton Market area   323 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:45,680 uh in the foreground resembling the Warehouse  to Central Business District relationship that   324 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:56,960 we have here. Peoria Heights we all  know. Omaha's Old Market District. 325 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:00,880 Nashville at a larger scale, but even in  the photo on the left, you just see the   326 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:06,080 density at Fifth and Broadway there. Um,  just in that small development of all the   327 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:10,000 layers of activity that are happening  and bring excitement and people and   328 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:19,280 um things going on just to that one corner. and  Galena with attention on the pedestrian, making   329 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:25,920 this very pedestrian friendly, walkable, a lot of  storefronts, uh less reliance on the vehicle and   330 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:34,720 a nice place that many of us locally have  been to. So what we think about from there,   331 00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:40,480 what what I want to ask you is what has what's  the commonality across all of those? Because when   332 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:47,280 we ask people what it is that they they like  about downtowns or their favorite downtowns,   333 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:53,440 the answers are often the same. As you see, the  cities are different. But the answers are usually   334 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:58,720 things like we like the place where there's  a lot going on, that's [a] place that's walkable,   335 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:06,000 that has events on a regular basis, that has  places to shop and eat and be entertained.   336 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:14,880 And the driver of that really when you look at a  lot of it is the core density. And so some of the   337 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:21,280 cities that we just went through are in this peer  group or aspirational group of cities but many of   338 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:27,200 them aren't. Many of them are uh on the smaller  side. Kevin had mentioned Chattanooga earlier.   339 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:35,040 cities like Grand Rapids, Sioux Falls, um, and  Peoria Heights closer to home. And the core of   340 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:39,680 their downtowns, what we'll refer to the core  of their downtown, their densest two blocks,   341 00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:49,520 on average, they would have 28 active storefronts.  Peoria Heights has 27. Downtown Peoria right now,   342 00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:58,960 our densest two blocks hold roughly 10 active  storefronts. We're at a third of a village the   343 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:05,200 size of Peoria Heights. So if you look here, you  can see from Kelly to Duryea, the densest two,   344 00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:10,080 there are 27 active storefronts. That's a little  bit bigger than the densest two, but that's a the   345 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:16,800 area around it. 27 places to come and go from that  are bringing people just for that one specific   346 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:22,400 business. and the activity that comes with that  gets people who are maybe neutral on Peoria Heights   347 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:28,880 to go there just because it's the place where  there's activity. So, it's no surprise that we   348 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:37,840 hear time and time again that people think of Peoria  Heights as a great place to be in the Peoria area. 349 00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:45,040 So, what do we do from here? As we've gotten  10-ish years down the road in the DDC's efforts,   350 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:51,200 it's time for us where we can be a little  bit more intentional about how we move forward,   351 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:58,160 about the strategy that we need to put in place  and what types of things and projects we need to   352 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:04,400 take on to move us closer to being the vibrant  place that so many site as their their favorite.   353 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:09,520 And so I just want to go through a quick  couple quick things here. Really three types   354 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:16,240 of categories to simplify this that we are looking  at at DDC. In the left column, we're looking at   355 00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:21,520 excite and prepare for growth. This is how do we  get the community engaged or the larger community   356 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:28,080 engaged with downtown Peoria based on where it is  today. How do we get more people to come down to   357 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:38,560 give it a try, to work there, to live there, to  bring their family for a night out. The next stage   358 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:42,880 moving forward and this isn't totally linear so  we kind of move between these categories, but the   359 00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:49,520 next category is how do we build the density  to grow the users and the market. What are we   360 00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:54,960 doing to create the infrastructure that's going to  bring an even bigger population downtown? And   361 00:38:54,960 --> 00:39:00,000 then finally, you know, how do we move towards  large-scale redevelopment and investment and   362 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:05,280 growth through downtown? So, a couple of quick  projects to give you an example of of how we're   363 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:11,120 kind of moving through some of these things. In  the left hand column, last year we had a pop-up   364 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:16,560 uh event, events through Thyme and Kelleher's  that were incredibly well-received. We brought   365 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:22,400 thousands of new people downtown during that  time period over year-over-year to see something   366 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:29,040 that was unique and exceptional for Peoria.  We've worked to promote those that are doing   367 00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:34,720 business and their projects to get people  to be more aware of them, educate them, and   368 00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:43,280 populate them. And we've continued to work on  our policies and ordinances. So right now we're   369 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:47,760 looking at the form-based code in the Warehouse  District, making recommendations to the city on how   370 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:53,600 to make this more developer ready, how to make it  more the process more predictable and to provide   371 00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:58,720 options for developers and investors that lead to  the kind of place that we want while still giving   372 00:39:58,720 --> 00:40:05,760 options. In the center column, we're working on  placemaking projects like the string lights that   373 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:10,880 we just wrapped up a couple of weeks ago over the  800 block of Southwest Adams, helping to bring   374 00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:15,840 together those individual retailers and make it  read as a destination, feel like a destination.   375 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:24,000 We have been in the process of launching our  own revolving loan fund with generous terms,   376 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:30,240 favorable terms, recognizing that these are  high-risk loans to try to incentivize new   377 00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:37,920 retail storefront development and get more to get  closer to that 28 active storefronts per block.   378 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:42,720 And the on the bottom photo there, we're  looking at how we work within our existing   379 00:40:42,720 --> 00:40:48,560 infrastructure downtown to create transportation  modes that allow people to get around quickly and   380 00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:55,360 connect people from one destination to another  one micro destination downtown that may be a   381 00:40:55,360 --> 00:41:02,640 number of blocks away and seem unwalkable, looking  at how do we how do we move towards more diversity   382 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:09,520 within our housing stock, incorporating more new  construction options, looking at larger scale   383 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:16,560 redevelopment in general to expedite the process  and provide more continuity. And then finally,   384 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:23,680 attracting national and regional retailers to  provide more variety within our tenant mix.   385 00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:30,480 Creating the kind of place that people want  to visit and spend their time and dollars. So,   386 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:34,720 we are interest- we are very interested in  and working more closely with Peoria County   387 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:42,080 on this. Um the dollars in the community  right now are are slanting more towards the   388 00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:48,800 left hand column which is more of a temporary  column in terms of creating uh short-term wins,   389 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:54,720 if you will. But as Kevin mentioned earlier, to  really make long-term change, these are 25-year   390 00:41:54,720 --> 00:42:00,560 commitments with millions of dollars behind them  in order to create the infrastructure that creates   391 00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:07,920 a different kind of environment that brings,  attracts, and holds people over time. That's   392 00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:17,280 all I have. I'm happy to answer any questions  that you have. And thank you again for having me. 393 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:33,440 STEVE RIEKER: General comment I think you've hit a  lot of key things here. One of the big hurdles   394 00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:39,120 that is I engage with people from outside of  the city, I live at the edge of the city. But   395 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:47,920 when I talk to folks that maybe live in Dunlap or  Princeville or Chillicothe, or, you know, further out,   396 00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:55,200 the word safety- may be real, maybe perceived, it's  oh, is an issue. Well, I don't want to go downtown   397 00:42:55,200 --> 00:43:02,480 because I saw in the news blah blah blah. So,  we're our own worst enemy when it comes to safety.   398 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:10,400 and I'll just, you know, we love to talk about  one bad thing that may have happened and we blow   399 00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:15,600 it out of proportion. Now, you can't control that,  but we need to start building the narrative around   400 00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:23,600 that. It's a good place. I think your column one  over here getting people to come in, draw them in,   401 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:29,600 attract them in and create a safe environment  so they have a good experience and they go   402 00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:34,720 home and go, I don't know what the people that  was really neat to go out and do the Christmas   403 00:43:34,720 --> 00:43:40,320 event or this or that. So you the mental thing  is you've got to get that barrier out of their   404 00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:46,560 head. Part of it's real but more perceived. So,  whatever you can do in column one to get that   405 00:43:46,560 --> 00:43:51,840 out of their head and get them to experience a  wonderful experience will help you draw people   406 00:43:51,840 --> 00:44:04,480 here short-term and to live here. WAIBLE: Great, great  points. DILLON: Member Blair. BLAIR: Um, I would also   407 00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:10,160 um be interested in in how we can use our new  Bicentennial Park to support what you are doing.   408 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:14,960 You know, we had some great events that were  not greatly attended this summer. Mind you,   409 00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:20,720 it was crazy hot, but um I know it's a little  bit a little bit north of what you're doing,   410 00:44:20,720 --> 00:44:28,240 but how can we help use that space to help  support what's going on? I think of our   411 00:44:28,240 --> 00:44:33,760 um block bash. What was that called  that we did last fall? That thing,   412 00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:39,440 the block party there. I don't know why I could  not come up with party, but that might, uh,   413 00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:43,440 those are I thought that was a great event and  I think anything we can do to help support. I   414 00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:48,160 think one of the best things we have is that  brand new park, is that brand new courtyard. So   415 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:54,720 um and with that, how can we support getting the  the food trucks to come out as you know helping   416 00:44:54,720 --> 00:45:01,280 build those kind of interesting things even from  from it as a pop-up experience might be useful. 417 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:08,880 WAIBLE: It's a, it's a beautiful um plaza. The  redesign is wonderful. And you know,   418 00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:15,840 as we look to grow downtown to address safety  issues, uh one of the greatest things that we can   419 00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:21,040 do from an urban planning perspective is to put  people on the streets, to create a an environment   420 00:45:21,040 --> 00:45:26,080 of a buddy system where you have people around  you. There's nothing scarier than being face   421 00:45:26,080 --> 00:45:30,480 to face with somebody who looks suspicious  and you're the only one on the street. So,   422 00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:35,200 uh, getting more people down there to  provide the safety aspect, but also to   423 00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:40,160 populate a lot of our great spaces downtown,  including places like the courthouse plaza,   424 00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:44,000 um, you know, goes beyond those that  are currently using downtown. We have   425 00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:49,280 to continue to attract new people, not just  those working or coming for whatever one-off   426 00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:54,640 reason that they might come for. So a big part  of our push is to expand the population using   427 00:45:54,640 --> 00:46:07,680 downtown on a regular basis so that we can  fill more of the spaces and fill them well. 428 00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:13,760 Okay. DANNY PHELAN: Excuse me. Kind of a two-part question.  Um the first part as you went through the   429 00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:20,320 data and you talk about the two densest blocks in  a storefront. if you could explain what qualifies   430 00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:25,680 a storefront, if that's something that's open  5 days a week, 8 hours a day, or um what you   431 00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:30,960 looked at when you put together uh that data. And  then the second thing I would ask is um I think   432 00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:36,880 reading between the lines, Jimmy mentioning budget  season, there's a financial ask here.    433 00:46:36,880 --> 00:46:44,640 I'm not asking for conversation about that, but  what could a partnership look like from your   434 00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:54,080 perspective? How could um a partnership help you  in your mission? WAIBLE: So, uh first first question in   435 00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:59,040 terms of the retail storefronts, what we're  looking at is regular pedestrian activity in   436 00:46:59,040 --> 00:47:05,760 and out of the storefront. So, uh, there's no set  number of days of the week, per se, but something   437 00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:11,280 that's regular invite regularly inviting the  public into that space typically slants more   438 00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:17,200 towards retail, restaurant, entertainment uses  versus office uses. However, there are some   439 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:22,480 office uses that may qualify if you're bringing  in clients or customers on a regular basis.   440 00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:30,640 Uh, as far as partnership goes, um, as I  mentioned, the support that the DDC has had,   441 00:47:30,640 --> 00:47:36,800 uh, more easily access more easily accessed  lately is in the short term outcome category,   442 00:47:36,800 --> 00:47:43,200 that first column. Those are, hey, can you  turn around an event in 20 days for us to do   443 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:49,600 something that gets people excited? Those types of  activities aren't necessarily in and of themselves   444 00:47:49,600 --> 00:47:54,480 changing the narrative downtown or changing  the environment downtown. They do contribute.   445 00:47:54,480 --> 00:48:01,760 We're looking for institutional uh support that's  dedicated to long-term growth, large-scale growth,   446 00:48:01,760 --> 00:48:06,160 and that's where we see, you know, the county as  being a good partner in that. someone who's going   447 00:48:06,160 --> 00:48:11,680 to help with all the infrastructure that  it takes to create a great downtown. Just   448 00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:23,120 not just the one-off event that might  bring a hundred people on a Thursday night. 449 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:30,400 PHELAN: Thank you for that. The last um question I  have for you is uh at Tri County Regional Planning   450 00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:37,440 uh through the help of Chris Setti with EDC and Kathie  Brown there. We're getting ready to perform a   451 00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:42,080 housing assessment that's going to go out to RFP  in I think October. Is that something you're aware   452 00:48:42,080 --> 00:48:48,880 of or have you had conversations about that? WAIBLE: Is that a regionwide study? PHELAN: Yes. WAIBLE: I'm not aware of   453 00:48:48,880 --> 00:48:54,320 that. PHELAN: I will ask um someone to to reach out to  you, but if you don't mind sharing your content,   454 00:48:54,320 --> 00:48:59,600 I'm sure Jimmy's got it, but they're  trying to do a regionwide study to address   455 00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:03,840 uh current housing stock. You talked about housing  and housing downtown. So, want to make sure that   456 00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:10,400 you're part of that if you can participate. WAIBLE: I  appreciate that. Thank you. PHELAN: Thank you. DILLON: Other   457 00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:17,760 questions or comments? So I'm not looking for a  decision or directive today per se, but as the club   458 00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:24,400 said, budget season, as we've made significant  investments in the courthouse. You have Market   459 00:49:24,400 --> 00:49:29,680 After Hours, GPLC is trying to attract people. The  reason we were not part of this in the past were   460 00:49:29,680 --> 00:49:35,360 valid but I think we've come to turn to a time  that we should address this conversation and   461 00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:39,920 continue instead of saying our strategic plan's,  say what are we going to do to help we need to   462 00:49:39,920 --> 00:49:45,760 be in the game because right now we're standing  outside saying what do we do? Um and I think this   463 00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:52,720 is the first step we've invested in JD and his  organization Discover Peoria for our how we project   464 00:49:52,720 --> 00:49:57,360 ourselves and our image. It's our, as it was  said multiple times, our image is not always of   465 00:49:57,360 --> 00:50:04,800 ourselves as good as the outside community views  us. So that's part of it and this is a very big   466 00:50:04,800 --> 00:50:11,280 step and even in the negative context of you know  they say across the river units going online but   467 00:50:11,280 --> 00:50:16,480 yet you forget how many units have gone online  downtown Peoria we're pretty close to being, and   468 00:50:16,480 --> 00:50:23,760 Chris could say it, we'll have 5,000 residents in  a tiny couple block area in itself in downtown so   469 00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:30,400 uh I don't know what that I have ideas of what  that partnership will look from from a financial   470 00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:35,920 stake. I did ask Chris if that's something that  the board wants, I would expect a board seat   471 00:50:35,920 --> 00:50:41,760 potentially on that board so that we are involved  in that. So I'm not saying for a thumbs up,   472 00:50:41,760 --> 00:50:46,160 thumbs down right now, but I would say here in  the next, as we work through the budget cycle,   473 00:50:46,160 --> 00:50:55,120 if you have strong objections, please let me  know. Uh and if I or strong uh wanting to see   474 00:50:55,120 --> 00:51:00,000 this happen, please let us know. But ideally, we  would be looking to present something that would   475 00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:08,960 be like all of our other agreements, one-year  agreements, renewable for so many years. So, 476 00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:14,880 Chris, thank you for your time  and presentation. WAIBLE: Thank you. 477 00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:22,880 DILLON: Last but not least. Andrew, are you taking part? Just cheerleading? 478 00:51:38,240 --> 00:51:43,920 SID RUCKRIEGEL: Is that coming through? There it go. Thank you for  having us uh here today. My name is Sid Ruckriegel and   479 00:51:43,920 --> 00:51:49,360 I currently serve as the vice chair for the Peoria Riverfront Museum. And on behalf of our board of   480 00:51:49,360 --> 00:51:57,440 directors, our 600 visionary members, our 5,200  members, the citizens and taxpayers of Peoria   481 00:51:57,440 --> 00:52:03,360 County um who helped fund this beautiful program.  Welcome back to your building and thank you for   482 00:52:03,360 --> 00:52:10,000 having your meeting here today. What started out  as a wonderful relationship where we serve as   483 00:52:10,000 --> 00:52:16,960 a private organization and a public house has  become not only a model to the rest of the not   484 00:52:16,960 --> 00:52:22,480 only the local community but to the nation not  on how not on just how the how the project was   485 00:52:22,480 --> 00:52:28,480 done implemented but also on the outcomes that  are happening right here on this very block that   486 00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:34,480 have a ripple effect throughout our community.  um whether we go to the number of students that   487 00:52:34,480 --> 00:52:42,480 are touched by ESI having a visit here every year  on a curriculum based through the museum or the   488 00:52:42,480 --> 00:52:47,360 uh lifelong learning that happens with such groups  as the Fine Arts Society or having our wonderful   489 00:52:47,360 --> 00:52:54,400 speaker series that is uh just has been fantastic  this year with even such notables as Dr. Elizabeth   490 00:52:54,400 --> 00:53:00,320 Pryor coming back and being able to join and  talk to our group here and our members. There's   491 00:53:00,320 --> 00:53:03,200 a lot of wonderful things happening as you  could probably hear the construction that was   492 00:53:03,200 --> 00:53:10,400 happening upstairs. That is another piece because  we are implementing the first relationship of its   493 00:53:10,400 --> 00:53:16,880 kind that has ever happened with the 9/11 museum  and memorial out in New York City. No museum has   494 00:53:16,880 --> 00:53:20,960 ever had the relationship that we're building  up here and that's going to be opening here   495 00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:26,800 in just about a week. Um something very very  spectacular. And so just want to thank you,   496 00:53:26,800 --> 00:53:31,920 thank the citizens of Peoria for what you do for  the Peoria Riverfront Museum. And to tell you a little   497 00:53:31,920 --> 00:53:38,560 bit more about this exciting year, here's John  Morris. JOHN MORRIS: Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman and formerly,   498 00:53:38,560 --> 00:53:45,760 Mr. Chairman. Aren't we lucky to have Sid Ruckriegel  serving voluntarily along with 21 board members I   499 00:53:45,760 --> 00:53:53,040 report to? They serve on an all volunteer basis  and I propose doubling their salary every year.   500 00:53:53,040 --> 00:54:03,440 Uh we're very blessed to have tremendous leaders  for this board and on this staff and around this   501 00:54:03,440 --> 00:54:11,040 table right here, my landlords. Thank you, my  first order of business, for allowing us to   502 00:54:11,040 --> 00:54:19,440 live in the public house. This extraordinary  museum is so much more than the traditional   503 00:54:19,440 --> 00:54:28,240 definition of that word. We have really become the  community's gathering place. 250 events a year,   504 00:54:28,240 --> 00:54:35,040 not museum events, community events take place  uh here at the at the Peoria Riverfront Museum   505 00:54:35,040 --> 00:54:42,720 and hundreds of other events and activities take  place with 320 partners from education to business   506 00:54:42,720 --> 00:54:51,600 to arts uh to culture to history to agriculture to  manufacturing on and on. It's a joy, nine and   507 00:54:51,600 --> 00:55:00,080 a half years on the job, Mr. Chairman. Um it's  a joy to serve uh the this private organization   508 00:55:00,080 --> 00:55:08,080 living in a public house. And it is a reminder,  I hope, to all of you that for the taxpayers,   509 00:55:08,080 --> 00:55:14,320 we're working hard to give the best deal possible  because for nine and a half straight years,   510 00:55:14,320 --> 00:55:19,680 the Peoria Riverfront Museum's request for  operating support for the Peoria Riverfront   511 00:55:19,680 --> 00:55:29,200 Museum is zero. You do not have to provide one  dime to operate this museum because $7.2 million   512 00:55:29,200 --> 00:55:36,800 a year annual operating budget is paid for. 86%  of it by philanthropy, 14% by earned revenue   513 00:55:36,800 --> 00:55:42,640 like ticket sales, which are all subsidized.  Thanks to relationships like Alice Walton,   514 00:55:42,640 --> 00:55:48,560 the wealthiest woman on the planet in Bentonville,  Arkansas, and a chief funder of our museum,   515 00:55:48,560 --> 00:55:55,600 we've been able to give Second Sundays for access  for all for free, bringing 800 to a thousand people for   516 00:55:55,600 --> 00:56:02,160 free on second Sundays of the year. We have so  many access programs now from the Every Student   517 00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:11,040 Initiative, which as Mr. vice chairman mentioned  is a preeminent model for how to engage students,   518 00:56:11,040 --> 00:56:18,560 their families, and their teachers. Just a quick  story. We started what was it? Two months on the   519 00:56:18,560 --> 00:56:29,040 job for me in May of 2017. And Sid Ruckriegel and I  just out that door sat with a woman named   520 00:56:29,040 --> 00:56:36,320 Polly Barton who signed the pledge commitment for  five years to help fund the Peoria Public Schools   521 00:56:36,320 --> 00:56:44,880 to come through our museum. Five years. that was  not not we're entering our 10th year of the Every   522 00:56:44,880 --> 00:56:51,280 Student Initiative and the dream of a woman named  Sally Snyder who many of you know who had been a   523 00:56:51,280 --> 00:56:55,360 former school board president years ago, had dreamt  of bringing every student every year from the Peoria   524 00:56:55,360 --> 00:57:03,840 Public Schools from that time. We not only bring  the students for free in the museum, we give the   525 00:57:03,840 --> 00:57:09,440 students passes to bring their entire families  back. I'll never forget standing at the top of the   526 00:57:09,440 --> 00:57:16,880 stairs of up there and a little kid with a pass  in his hands with 11 people with him bringing   527 00:57:16,880 --> 00:57:22,960 the entire gang in. Who knows whether they were  all related? It doesn't matter. What matters is   528 00:57:22,960 --> 00:57:36,080 that kid had a sense of ownership, pride in  this place. Now we as we enter the 10th year   529 00:57:36,080 --> 00:57:43,040 some very exciting things are going on in this  in the 10th year of the Every Student Initiative   530 00:57:43,040 --> 00:57:50,160 program and this is what I want to conclude.  We decided some three or four years ago that   531 00:57:50,160 --> 00:57:57,600 we would be the greatest celebration of America's  semiquincentennial in America, the America 250. So,   532 00:57:57,600 --> 00:58:03,840 we put a little sticker on the side of the  building. That was meant to be humorous cuz   533 00:58:03,840 --> 00:58:09,200 it is to the best of our knowledge the largest  America 250 sticker in the world. I'll go ahead   534 00:58:09,200 --> 00:58:13,040 and say in the world because I don't know  what other countries put are putting a huge   535 00:58:13,040 --> 00:58:20,560 sticker, but we have been told it is the largest.  Eight different exhibitions on the theme of   536 00:58:20,560 --> 00:58:29,600 America 250. A musical performance commissioned  originally commissioned paid for by Linda Beth and   537 00:58:29,600 --> 00:58:38,240 Ed Saddowski the donors of our museum plus program  and a flagship exhibition called the Promise of   538 00:58:38,240 --> 00:58:44,480 Liberty for which we produced one of the greatest  publications on the subject of and documents of   539 00:58:44,480 --> 00:58:50,400 liberty ever produced. And I'm pleased to tell  you that each of you are getting a copy is   540 00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:56,800 getting a copy of this book today along with some  other goodies that our staff has put together,   541 00:58:56,800 --> 00:59:03,680 the endowment of the Peoria Riverfront Museum,  which Mr. Chairman, you may recall at the time we   542 00:59:03,680 --> 00:59:13,680 signed this agreement for me to give you a dollar  a year to lease this great facility was required   543 00:59:13,680 --> 00:59:22,560 to be $10 million after a certain period of time.  The endowment is just north of $20 million now   544 00:59:22,560 --> 00:59:28,160 generating 5% of a five-year rolling average that  helps support and give the bottom line to the the   545 00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:34,400 health of this organization every year. So, um,  and I am pleased to say that a former member of   546 00:59:34,400 --> 00:59:41,440 this body and a guy who used to sit right there  in that chair, Mr. Chairman, Andrew Rand, uh,   547 00:59:41,440 --> 00:59:48,960 is a new newly elected, unanimously elected member  of the Peoria Riverfront Museum Foundation Board, a   548 00:59:48,960 --> 00:59:54,640 separate 11 member board that manages and keeps an  eye on the growth of that endowment. Our grow our   549 00:59:54,640 --> 01:00:01,360 goal is to get to $50 million by 2034. And we're  we're revved up, engine revved up and on the way.   550 01:00:01,360 --> 01:00:12,160 Again, private dollars. It's nice. It's nice. So,  in the presence of the elected officials and our   551 01:00:12,160 --> 01:00:20,480 landlord, I will thank you for representing the  taxpayers to live in your house. But I also thank   552 01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:28,160 the private donors in front of you because they  are the ones who help us continue to grow this   553 01:00:28,160 --> 01:00:38,880 incredible array of inspiring talent unleashing  mission that we have. So that is my report and I'm   554 01:00:38,880 --> 01:00:48,560 sticking to it. Now as is has become tradition,  Mr. Chairman, when you conclude this meeting,   555 01:00:48,560 --> 01:00:55,600 uh, I have some goodies for everybody, but I'd  like to get you into the galleries upstairs to   556 01:00:55,600 --> 01:01:02,000 take a picture of you in front of the Declaration  of Independence, the printing of which we have   557 01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:08,720 just acquired for the permanent collection of the  Peoria Riverfront Museum on this America 250 year.   558 01:01:08,720 --> 01:01:17,360 So, those of you who have the time, let's wander  upstairs and we'll celebrate America 250 with   559 01:01:17,360 --> 01:01:25,200 the Peoria County Board. Thank you very much. RUCKRIEGEL: One last thing that John failed to mention because I   560 01:01:25,200 --> 01:01:30,080 know he he doesn't like to take credit for this.  Um, but it's because of the relationships that   561 01:01:30,080 --> 01:01:35,920 he built throughout this country that really have  brought a spotlight right here to Peoria, Illinois   562 01:01:35,920 --> 01:01:41,360 that we always talk about that that is making a  difference. One of the relationships that I think   563 01:01:41,360 --> 01:01:45,840 um many of you may know the name Ken Burns. He chose   564 01:01:45,840 --> 01:01:52,640 one exhibit this whole year on 250 to be able  to put his name and to partner with to be able   565 01:01:52,640 --> 01:02:07,200 to see happen. And that's what you're going to be  seeing upstairs. MORRIS: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you all. 566 01:02:07,200 --> 01:02:13,440 BLAIR: I offered extra credit to my students um in  the spring and I will continue to do that um   567 01:02:13,440 --> 01:02:20,320 for to go visit the um America 250 exhibit and they are required in order to get the extra credit   568 01:02:20,320 --> 01:02:25,680 to write me a little paper about what they saw.  And they loved it. And my researcher's heart   569 01:02:25,680 --> 01:02:34,160 loved seeing Betty Friedan's actual research, her  surveys that the Smith graduates had filled out   570 01:02:34,160 --> 01:02:40,720 that helped write the Feminine Mystique. That  was amazing to see. Um thank you as a Bradley   571 01:02:40,720 --> 01:02:47,360 um employee for helping provide those free  memberships to both um staff and students at   572 01:02:47,360 --> 01:02:54,480 Bradley. That has been a great boon to us and  helps connect our the bubble up on the Hilltop.   573 01:02:54,480 --> 01:03:00,160 Yeah. Down here. MORRIS: Brilliant. As we as we build this  sort of corridor, Bradley to the museum. President   574 01:03:00,160 --> 01:03:04,880 Shadid talks about that a lot. That corridor,  Bradley to the museum. An anonymous donor gave   575 01:03:04,880 --> 01:03:11,360 us the money to pay for memberships for students,  staff, and faculty at Bradley University. 1,500   576 01:03:11,360 --> 01:03:19,200 have signed up. and it's so gratifying to see the  Bradley crowd making use of this national facility   577 01:03:19,200 --> 01:03:26,480 in their in their backyard. So, thank you. BLAIR: I  heard they someone wanted us to have um those   578 01:03:26,480 --> 01:03:32,560 bird scooters to go from the hilltop down here.  I'm not entirely sure that's the safest thing,   579 01:03:32,560 --> 01:03:40,160 but um uh anything that we could do to both  connect those areas um both here as a county with   580 01:03:40,160 --> 01:03:45,440 the museum and everything else as we talked about  um and make students again perceive that that's a   581 01:03:45,440 --> 01:03:53,040 safe thing to do would be just wonderful. MORRIS: Yeah,  thank you. I should mention Phil Salzer is here.   582 01:03:53,040 --> 01:03:59,280 Does everybody know Phil? The legend. Phil sits  on the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame board   583 01:03:59,280 --> 01:04:05,120 as some of you may know and we have worked very  closely with Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame   584 01:04:05,120 --> 01:04:12,800 to secure really 10 of the greatest stories of  the greats of all time and display those uh in the   585 01:04:12,800 --> 01:04:18,560 lobby. And so it's been a real joy, Phil, to work  with with that group and to bring the artifacts of   586 01:04:18,560 --> 01:04:26,960 some of these absolute national legends from uh  Sean Livingston to uh Lorraine Ramsay uh and uh   587 01:04:26,960 --> 01:04:34,720 Tim Broe and on and on. So we're going to keep keep  doing that. We've also correspondently brought   588 01:04:34,720 --> 01:04:42,720 three of the biggest legends uh of entertainment  from uh Peoria in central Illinois. Gary Richrath   589 01:04:42,720 --> 01:04:48,640 of REO Speedwagon, which led us to actually have  a reunion of REO Speedwagon upstairs. They made   590 01:04:48,640 --> 01:04:56,160 even more noise than the people made today moving  things around. Dan Fogelberg, whose widow Jean lent   591 01:04:56,160 --> 01:05:03,280 tremendous number of things, including the baton  with the leader of the band uh his father about   592 01:05:03,280 --> 01:05:09,360 whom there is a famous song. And coming up probably  the biggest one we have done of any entertainer   593 01:05:09,360 --> 01:05:14,400 and the most famous person to come from Poria is  Richard Pryor and we've been working closely with   594 01:05:14,400 --> 01:05:20,560 his family uh and uh with very limited number of  collections out there his story is an enormous   595 01:05:20,560 --> 01:05:26,240 story and trying to help tell that in context of  our mission to unleash the full talent and genius   596 01:05:26,240 --> 01:05:32,080 of every individual which I think is his story in  many ways. Juliet Whitaker and the Carver Center   597 01:05:32,080 --> 01:05:37,280 getting him off the streets and onto the stage  is a really remarkable story to tell. So, Phil,   598 01:05:37,280 --> 01:05:47,760 thank you for what uh Sports Hall of Fame's  done with us. DILLON: Any other comments? John, Sid,   599 01:05:47,760 --> 01:05:54,000 thank you as always for joining this. I think the  uh best piece of news I heard today is that uh   600 01:05:54,000 --> 01:06:00,240 2034, that means you're not retiring  anytime soon. MORRIS: No, I'm I mean that's it's in their   601 01:06:00,240 --> 01:06:08,080 hands. But we're going full speed and I think  everybody knows this folks. This is no longer a   602 01:06:08,080 --> 01:06:13,920 local museum. It's no longer a regional museum.  This has truly emerged as a national museum. I   603 01:06:13,920 --> 01:06:19,360 just got back from Winter Tour in Delaware. We  work with New York City museums. Uh we made the   604 01:06:19,360 --> 01:06:24,880 Wall Street Journal and the New York Times top 10  list of best American 250 exhibitions this year.   605 01:06:24,880 --> 01:06:29,360 Our film society's growing, our planetarium  is growing, our educational programs lead the   606 01:06:29,360 --> 01:06:35,280 nation. So we are very proud to represent central  Illinois. And please when you have guests from out   607 01:06:35,280 --> 01:06:40,960 of town or when you want to come down here and I  know Linda Daley, former board member of the museum   608 01:06:40,960 --> 01:06:48,480 as a matter of fact, uh does this but bring them  here and let us know. We we'd be happy to comp   609 01:06:48,480 --> 01:06:55,200 you and your guest, your ambassadors for us. You  are the landlords. Bring them in here to see what   610 01:06:55,200 --> 01:07:03,040 what is going on. So, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and  thanks to Sid and and uh our newly named member of   611 01:07:03,040 --> 01:07:09,040 the foundation board, my staff here, Kate Schureman,  chief strategy officer, who works so closely with   612 01:07:09,040 --> 01:07:14,320 with all of you and does a lot of the work  with our public officials. Matt Daughenbaugh,   613 01:07:14,320 --> 01:07:20,720 uh, our chief operating officer, is doing a great  job and Jen Flaherty, my executive assistant. Pray   614 01:07:20,720 --> 01:07:31,120 for her. Um, thank you all, Mr. Chairman. See you  up at the Declaration of Independence. DILLON: All right,   615 01:07:31,120 --> 01:07:40,080 that will bring us to discussion. Uh, standing  committees, member Salzer, infrastructure 616 01:07:50,160 --> 01:07:57,680 PHIL SALZER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And John's report was  tremendous. And about six months ago, when my wife   617 01:07:57,680 --> 01:08:05,600 and I finally wrote our will, we we absolutely put  in a donation of CAT, some of our Caterpillar stock,   618 01:08:05,600 --> 01:08:15,040 which has done pretty well, and um for the museum  and a few other things that played an important   619 01:08:15,040 --> 01:08:22,240 role in our life. This museum to me of all the  years that I've been on the board is one of our   620 01:08:22,240 --> 01:08:29,600 greatest contributions to our community. This  museum is fantastic. I'm kind of a museum nut.   621 01:08:30,160 --> 01:08:38,960 In fact, the last major uh vacation that my  wife and I took was in 2017 because that was   622 01:08:38,960 --> 01:08:44,880 the 100th anniversary of World War I and  we went to Kansas City. Along with that,   623 01:08:44,880 --> 01:08:54,240 we saw about six museums out there in the  St. Joe and um the uh Kansas City area.   624 01:08:55,360 --> 01:08:59,920 I know I know the kid used to always say, "What  are you going to do for, you know, your vacation?"   625 01:08:59,920 --> 01:09:04,880 I say, "Go to a museum." "Oh, you're not going to  go to the beach and swim." I said, "Guys, I can't   626 01:09:04,880 --> 01:09:13,600 swim." So, so I said that that's kind of  out. But anyway, we had three resolutions that we   627 01:09:13,600 --> 01:09:25,360 uh had presented to us. Uh however uh two of them  u were moved to the informational item and and   628 01:09:25,360 --> 01:09:33,440 Kyle made a report to us on each one of  those two and and as a result we are going   629 01:09:33,440 --> 01:09:40,000 to have a special meeting right before our next  county board meeting and and we'll deal with two   630 01:09:40,000 --> 01:09:47,440 two of those reports. The one resolution that  we did adopt was the one that, everybody has   631 01:09:47,440 --> 01:09:54,480 um probably gone through the viaduct up there  in Chillicothe because you shudder sometimes   632 01:09:54,480 --> 01:10:03,680 if there's a big truck coming uh in the other  lane at you. But the resolution that was   633 01:10:03,680 --> 01:10:12,720 adopted was an intergovernmental resolution  with the state of Illinois. Uh and our highway   634 01:10:12,720 --> 01:10:20,800 department is going to be very busy over the  next few few months. Uh we are going to upfront   635 01:10:20,800 --> 01:10:31,600 the two railroad viaducts for the   Burlington, uh Northern and Santa Fe railroads and   636 01:10:31,600 --> 01:10:37,280 it's going to be to the tune of a million dollars  and and they're going to be awful busy because   637 01:10:37,280 --> 01:10:45,520 they're going to have to uh not only discuss a lot  of things in that meeting for the million dollars   638 01:10:45,520 --> 01:10:55,600 which will come out of our county board. We will  upfront county bridge uh fund and uh we will be   639 01:10:55,600 --> 01:11:03,520 reimbursed from the state of this million dollars.  The state, they're extremely busy and they can't can't   640 01:11:03,520 --> 01:11:11,600 do it. So we are going to have the major part  of the work to be done and and they will our uh   641 01:11:11,600 --> 01:11:20,800 people will be recommending to us the um adoption  uh of the resolution in regard to   642 01:11:20,800 --> 01:11:32,560 the um hiring of the engineering firm for this uh  phase first phase of of this particular project. 643 01:11:34,560 --> 01:11:40,240 Thank you. 644 01:11:40,240 --> 01:11:46,560 DILLON: Thanks, coach. Any questions  for infrastructure? Seeing none,   645 01:11:46,560 --> 01:11:59,040 member Duncan. Ways and Means. DUNCAN: Okay.  Is it on the ways and means it? Hello. 646 01:12:01,360 --> 01:12:08,080 It's on. Okay. The Ways and Means Committee  had one resolution which was the um monthly   647 01:12:08,080 --> 01:12:17,440 delinquent taxes for the month of August 2026  with 18 items and the vote passed unanimously.   648 01:12:17,440 --> 01:12:25,840 And also we had the uh comm a committee action  which was the assignment of tax sale certificate   649 01:12:25,840 --> 01:12:34,320 of purchase and it passed unanimously and that was  it. Thank you. DILLON: Thank you member Duncan. Questions   650 01:12:34,320 --> 01:12:42,000 for member Duncan. I'd just like to um give notice  to everybody. Talked to member Duncan previously   651 01:12:42,000 --> 01:12:47,600 before the meeting but um please keep on your uh  agenda. We will probably have to have a special   652 01:12:47,600 --> 01:12:56,640 meeting regarding tax sales due to a recent piece of legislation.  So right now we would be planning a 5:00 ways and   653 01:12:56,640 --> 01:13:03,920 means um committee to have something on the sales. Tax sales are in September. We have to have a sense   654 01:13:03,920 --> 01:13:09,200 of urgency here. So um if you do have questions,  please reach out to Branden Martin. We can give   655 01:13:09,200 --> 01:13:16,000 you a little bit beforehand, myself, uh, Jennie or  Scott if you want some questions beforehand. Uh,   656 01:13:16,000 --> 01:13:18,880 but we will have that and I would  encourage the whole board to attend   657 01:13:18,880 --> 01:13:32,480 so that we can understand the complicated  process. See next, Land Use. Member Rosenbohm. 658 01:13:32,480 --> 01:13:38,880 Thank you, Mr Chairman. We have one zoning piece, a land split. [unintelligible] 659 01:13:53,920 --> 01:14:02,560 A resolution for Peoria County comprehensive plan that we haven't  done since I believe 2009 passed unanimously also. 660 01:14:05,600 --> 01:14:18,160 DILLON: Thank you. Member Rosenbohm. Questions?  Seeing none, operations was cancelled. Health was canceled. Public Safety. Member Allison. 661 01:14:18,160 --> 01:14:26,560 JENNIFER GROVES ALLISON: They had one resolution and that was a a $13,000  request to PCAPS. Um Becky is planning to use   662 01:14:26,560 --> 01:14:35,440 that for uh future capital needs. DILLON: Perfect. Thank  you. Questions? Seeing none that   663 01:14:35,440 --> 01:14:40,480 would bring us to Finance. Member Daley. LINDA DALEY: Um  well for the sake of brevity which you know   664 01:14:40,480 --> 01:14:47,200 I love we started with two resolutions.  One was withdrawn so we actually have one   665 01:14:47,200 --> 01:14:56,320 resolution revision of the pure county financial  policies and that resolution passed 10 to two.   666 01:14:56,320 --> 01:15:04,880 DILLON: Thank you. Any questions? Seeing none, that would  bring us to public comment from the public. 667 01:15:04,880 --> 01:15:19,200 None. Miscellaneous. Meeting adjourned. Thank you.