The Peoria City Council has approved an application to the Illinois EPA for a $32 million loan to cover the cost of installing the first round of green infrastructure projects needed to achieve a 35% reduction in the city’s combined sewage overflows by 2027.
Of that amount, $15 million will be spent over the next three years to meet a 20% reduction deadline by the end of 2024.
City Manager Patrick Urich told the council Tuesday the loan is the first in what is likely to be an annual exercise in borrowing to cover the total $109 million price tag of CSO-related projects over the next 18 years. Repayment of those loans is tied directly to revenue generated by the city’s sewer customers — the residents of Peoria.
“We feel very confident that over the life of this 18-year project that we’re going to be undertaking, that we’re going to be able to raise the rates to be able to borrow the funds and then also repay the funds in order to...comply with that federal consent decree,” said Urich.
Council member Denis Cyr, who voted against the motion along with council member Sid Ruckreigel, has taken issue with both borrowing and additional fees charged residents.
“I believe we have sufficient revenues (in) other places,” said Cyr. “It would be good to have a discussion about why we have enough revenues coming from another source versus generating a new fee.”
Council member Tim Riggenbach highlighted the loan’s low introductory interest rate of 1.4%, a rate he said is extraordinary for a municipality.
Cyr agreed the rate was low, but questioned the overall strategy.
“What if we did not have to borrow any money...0% would still be better than 1.4%,” he said.
The loan pays for projects that resulted from the years-long negotiation with the EPA to reduce the city’s pollution of the Illinois River with sewage overflows that enter the stormwater system during heavy rains. The city’s CSO plan states that so-called green infrastructure projects, such as rain gardens, will prevent overflows by diverting rainfall from the stormwater system with natural and economic solutions that enhance public spaces.
The loan will not cover the required maintenance for the new infrastructure that is estimated to reach $600,000 annually by 2027. Urich said those costs will be covered by the city’s Stormwater Utility Fund, adding conversations with state and federal legislators have continued in an effort to explore grants to reduce borrowing over the life of the CSO project period.
“We’re continuing on...a number of different levels to look at how we can fund this at the lowest possible level for our taxpayers,” he said.
155 committee members appointed to Joint Commission for Racial Justice
On the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by a former Minneapolis police officer, the council formally appointed 155 residents to the Peoria City/County Joint Commission on Racial Justice.
The commission formed in the months after Floyd’s death led to a wave of protests throughout the country calling for increased commitment to issues of racial justice and equality.
Elected officials from Peoria County, the City of Peoria, and state representatives formed a coalition that led to the adoption of a charter in the fall of 2020. The city collected online applications in the months following to recruit committee members to carry out the commission's stated vision to “end racism in city and county government and to achieve racial justice and equity across our community.”
The appointees will participate in numerous sub-committees covering a range of topics, including economic development, justice, youth development, housing, heath and human services, transportation, information technology, and environment.
Mayor Rita Ali said committee members had received racial justice and equity training from instructors at Illinois Central College and additional training will be provided to facilitators who will navigate sensitive topics.
Council member Andre Allen, who was a member of the original coalition that founded the commission, said he was excited to see the effort come to fruition with diverse representation.
“There's a lot of recognizable names on this list, but there's a lot of names that we don't recognize and I think that's the beauty of this,” said Allen. “To have the unusual suspects a part of this important commission as we look forward to making Peoria, Peoria County, a more inclusive place for all.”
Wear Orange Event: June 4, National Gun Violence Awareness Day
The City of Peoria issued a proclamation at Tuesday’s meeting in observance of National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 4.
The national day of observance is organized by the Wear Orange initiative that began in 2015 in honor of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old who was shot and killed in Chicago in 2013.
During the proclamation, Ali noted Peoria has the 36th highest rate of gun violence in the U.S.
Residents are encouraged to wear the color orange to raise awareness for gun violence. A blood drive associated with the initiative will be held on June 4 starting at 7 a.m. at the Impact Life Donor Center, 1123 W. Glen Ave.
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