Peoria Housing Authority (PHA) Board of Commissioners meeting was held on August 5 at Taft Homes, 245 Green St. at 4:30 pm with Commissioners Tekia Childs and Renee Andrews absent.
Chairman Cannon informed the audience that additional board members would be present next meeting. Meeting agenda was posted on PHA web site; no additional information or approved meeting minutes were posted at the time of this meeting. Many residents of Taft Homes were present, anticipating discussion of the future plans to renovate Taft Homes. Commissioner Cannon explained that the plans would be shared with residents at public meetings as soon as they were available. There were no public comments. Jackie Neuman, CEO, gave her report and shared copies of PHA quarterly newsletter. Monthly Board meetings will be held at various PHA sites for improved communication with residents. PEORIA – Legislation designed to clean up coal ash, the toxic byproduct of burning coal and power plants, and prevent local water sources from being polluted was signed into law today.
Assistant Majority Leader Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) was one of Senate Bill 9’s chief-cosponsors. “Someone needs to be responsible for cleaning up the toxic waste around coal power plants, and it shouldn’t be local taxpayers,” Koehler said. “I commend the advocates who made this bill happen and the governor for making this a priority.” A report issued by environmental groups in late 2018 found that the amount of coal ash in groundwater around the E.D. Edwards Coal Plant south of Peoria was 18 times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water standard. The Peoria area is home to three coal plants total: E.D. Edwards in Bartonville, Powerton in Pekin and Duck Creek near Canton. Information and Congressional petition on "The Dead Zone" available (copy paste) at: https://mississippirivernetwork.salsalabs.org/1mississippimonthly-julywrap?wvpId=8a34f2a7-d204-4b0f-8ff3-7f239560e6ec The monthly meeting of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission met on July 25 with only eleven of the twenty-one members present. There was not a quorum for a regular meeting, but there were enough members of the executive committee to hold an executive meeting.
The meeting started with a presentation by Jake Hamann of the Peoria Innovation Alliance. He told of plans for an Innovation District in downtown Peoria, as well as plans for Peoria to become a Smart City. Russ Crawford stressed that there should be collaboration between the various groups involved in these projects. In regular business, the Commission approved letting a five year old line of credit expire since it was used only once and that was four years ago. They approved putting new salary ranges into the employee handbook and giving employees a 2% pay increase. That had already been approved in the budget. The Commission approved the use of a consultant to assist with a Regional Autonomous Mobility Conference that will be held in Peoria this fall. They also discussed the Strategic Planning Session that will be held on Saturday, October 5. Irene Pritzker, Observer Jamila Wilson, Observer Linda Daley chaired the meeting, welcoming new Board Member, Pam Johnson.
Director Bride and his staff have started working on next year's budget. He anticipates an increase of 11.57% in total expenses because it will be a presidential election year. This takes into account an increase in vote-by-mail. He believes the Board will be under budget this year and plans to use some of the excess money to buy supplies for next year. The director will sit down with the County administrator at the end of July to go over the proposed budget. The Election Commission will need to approve it at the August meeting with the County Board voting in November.
There was not a lot of business to conduct since there are no pending elections. Commissioner Reed was out of town and Commissioner Burke arrived ten minutes late. During the discussion of expenses, Director Tom Bride explained that he wanted the payments for Ameren and the cleaners to be pre-approved since the bills were not expected until after the monthly meeting. This way he could avoid late payments since he knew approximately what those amounts would be. Irene Pritzker, Observer The Regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners for PHA was held on July 1, 2019 at 4:30 PM. The meeting began without a quorum. Council Person Denise Moore was present and discussed formation of Fair Housing and Fair Employment Commission. No further business took place until Commissioner Alma Brown arrived 4:59 PM.
Jackie Newman, Chief Executive Officer, discussed changes for PHA property at Taft and plan that compliments city revitalization plan. Commissioner Helen King asked if residents would be included in planning at Taft; response was affirmative. Harrison Resource Center will hold Grand Opening July 15. Resolution to approve early start development agreement with BEAR development of Taft Homes through Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program was approved. Linda Daley chaired the meeting
· Mark Matusak presented the Manager’s Report · CloudPoint staff is completing training staff. They were thorough and available. Organization is the focus at this point. · Burials are consistent with last year to date but lower than the previous 3rd and 4th years. Purchasing is up. The marketing of the Scattering Garden has encouraged more traffic and calls regarding more information. There was suggestion by the Board that the Manager’s Report should continue to report burials as well as sales in order to provide a clearer picture for business activity and incoming revenues. · SC received a State Capital Grant for $100,000 of which a portion will be identified for the “Shaft” Project, if needed in order to reach the Project’s fund raising goals. The Board discussed the overwhelming need for those funds to repair infrastructure such as roads and maintenance equipment and buildings on the Cemetery’s grounds. · The “Shaft” Project Ground Breaking Event will be held Saturday, June 22, 11:00 a.m. The Peoria County Board met for its regular second Thursday of each month meeting on June 13th.
Board Chairman Andrew Rand and members entered the room shortly after 6 p.m. Chairman Rand apologized the meeting was beginning late and explained there had been a memorial to recently deceased member Dr. Greg Adamson. Flowers were in place at the regular desk location for Dr. Adamson. Four proclamations were followed by the consent agenda and three zoning cases for final vote, which were approved. Joyce Blumenshine, Observer The council approved a resolution Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Illinois being the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment Allowing Women to Vote for Elective Office. Councilwomen Jensen and Ali spoke to the motion.
There were a lot of questions about the Township report. Large Ameren expenses and legal expenses were questioned. Supervisor Abdnour responded. The Peoria County Election Commission met on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, for their regular monthly meeting. All were present except for Commissioner Sandra Burke who arrived after the business part of the meeting was completed. Also present was Chief Circuit Judge Paul Gilfillan.
Board Chairman David Collins resigned that day because of a change in employment. Judge Gilfillan swore in new Commissioner James Manning at the end of the meeting. Matt Bartolo will serve as Board Chairman until the end of the fiscal year in August. |
View by Date
December 2023
Categories
All
|