Peoria Mayor Rita Ali says development of the city's five-year strategic plan is off to a strong start.
Earlier this month, more than 400 people attended the city's two-day strategic planning kick-off sessions at the Peoria Civic Center. The goal was to help identify major issues and gather public input on areas the city should prioritize.
In her monthly conversation with WCBU reporter Joe Deacon, Ali discusses the strategic planning process, and how the city's direction for the next five years will be shaped.
She also addresses a proposal aimed at reducing juvenile crime, launching a role model and mentorship program, development potential for KBD Group properties, the possibility of reopening downtown’s Fulton Plaza to vehicle traffic, and the city’s option to purchase the water distribution service.
This transcript has been edited lightly for length and clarity.
A couple of weeks ago, the city held two days of strategic planning kickoff events at the Civic Center. What are your thoughts on how those sessions went?
Mayor Rita Ali: Well, I'm just so grateful for the engagement and the turnout of Peoria stakeholders. We had over 400 individuals that came out for those two days. We focused on six different areas, business support, retention, and recruitment. We focused on reimagining downtown Peoria, infrastructure improvements, neighborhood investment, growing the workforce, and the city's fiscal health and financial future.
Those were the discussion groups that we had for the Peoria stakeholders, but there was also information shared. The city manager (Patrick Urich) gave an overview of where we are with regard to certain projects and planned projects. The city's chief diversity officer, Melodi Green, talked about equity, diversity and inclusion. Then our police chief (Eric Echevarria) gave an update on some of the police initiatives taking place to reduce gun violence and crime overall in the city of Peoria.
So what were your biggest takeaways from the sessions? What kind of public input did you receive?
Ali: Lots of public input. People really want to be part of this process to plan the future of Peoria, and that's what was so I think promising about the two-day kickoff event. It’s actually a four to five month process; this two days just kicked it off, and we learned how interested people are in wanting to help this next five-year plan – to help to shape it, to be a part of it, to own it, to have input into it.
So in each of those areas, there was discussion; they identified the issues, the problems in these areas. They also identified some strategies, potential solutions to addressing these issues. There were report-outs at the very end, each group – 14 groups in the morning session, eight groups in the afternoon sessions, and they all reported out; there was a scribe in each of the sessions. So we got a lot of detail, and we're taking all that information, synthesizing it, analyzing it, putting it in perspective. We saw a lot of overlap – from neighborhood investment to infrastructure, a lot of commonalities in terms of the problems as well as the strategies for addressing them.
What are the next steps in this strategic planning process?
Ali: The next step is to continue to engage the community. There’s going to be different sessions where the city is going to the community, in terms of focus groups with business, community-based organizations, with residents and neighborhood associations, and other key stakeholders. So the city is going to hold more sessions, but really not asking the people so much to come to us, but we're going to them.
We're also looking to engage young people, the youth. Oftentimes, they're excluded from planning that impacts them and impacts their future. So we're going to work with the schools, we're going to work with the neighborhoods, and we're going to find a way to engage youth to hear their ideas: What do you want downtown Peoria to look like? What do you want your neighborhood to look and feel like? So, I think we don't want to miss anybody.
There's also a technology component – it’s called a social pinpoint – where you can go to the city's website and put in, just search for strategic planning. There's a whole website on it; it gives the database, it gives the slide deck for the information that was shared a couple of weeks ago. It also provides some opportunities for people to actually weigh in and go on to the website or technology to give some input now; you don't have to wait until there's another session. There's a way that people can be interactive right now through the city's website.
A few weeks ago, at the last city council meeting, there was discussions about taking a look at the possibility of penalizing juvenile offenders through city ordinances. How would this work and what are the options?
Ali: Well, you know, I don't know if that's the direction that we want to go. We already had a lot of things in place to address juvenile crime, juvenile misbehavior. That was kind of a brainstorming thought that came from, I think, a couple council members that the city as a home rule (city) could impose some additional infractions. We'll probably continue to talk about those things as we, as a city council, explore strategic planning for what we want to do moving forward.
But you know, I think a lot of it comes from by being the village that really enforces what we already have. I think we already have a lot of rules on the books, sometimes maybe they're not enforced enough – not just by the police or officials, but by parents. I think we have to find ways to engage more parents in their children's lives. Sometimes parents work, and they're not able to be there all the time. But I think finding a supportive adult to connect with some of the youth and be involved in their life.
We're actually looking to identify the gaps in households that have youths and working to connect them with – if they don't have a father in the home, or they don't have a parent who's there at key times of the day – how do we connect them with a mentor, someone that can help provide guidance and support to them, to let them know that they're important? We don't want them to get in trouble; we don't want them to ruin the rest of their lives. So we do have some strategies. One is a role model program that we're going to launch sometime in the latter part of July, and I'll be really happy to tell you more information about that.
Well if you could, could you tell me about it now, or this is something you need to wait on? What is this program going to be?
Ali: So this is a pre-introduction then. It's a role model program that actually targets, identifies Black, African American role models in Peoria. It's going to feature initially 100 individuals – 60 men and 40 women – who have careers and who are positive role models for our youth, and who have agreed to participate in a program that's funded by PNC Bank. We'll be having profiles of these individuals, and we've already got acceptance of the first 50 – nobody said “no.” Then a few months later, we'll identify the next 50.
It’s similar to a book that I had written when I worked at Illinois Central College that identified 126 African American role models in Peoria, and we had a lot of programming around that to connect youth. So it's similar to that, but it won't be a book; it's going to be web-based. The individuals will be featured with a photo and their story, and talk about their careers and so forth on the city's website.
How big of an issue has juvenile crime become lately? I know we've seen a rash of carjackings that have increased (and) I know there's the (Greater Peoria) Auto Crimes Task Force being launched. But what can be done to get a grasp on this?
Ali: Yeah, I think it is a problem. I think it's an increasing problem where young children, young youth are engaging in criminal activity – whether it's auto crimes, auto theft, whether it's having access to and possession of guns. I think that's scary; it's what keeps me up at night.
It’s finding ways, again, to engage these youth in a positive way. One thing that we did last year and again this year, is have a program: the mayor's internship program for 14- and 15-year-olds. So getting them younger, where they're not at the age where typical employers will hire them because they require a work permit (and) they’re younger, they’re more immature. But, getting them at the youngest age possible.
Getting them connected with individuals that will help to guide them and develop their character, help to build their work skills, getting them directed in a positive way educationally, career-wise, and getting some exposure to various careers. So we're excited. Last year we had 120 youth and this year we have about 105, I think it is, youth that are engaged in the program – because what we did this year was took the 14- and 15-year-olds who participated last year, and we brought them back so they'll have a two-year experience, those that did come back to us. Some of the 16-year-olds decided they wanted to make a little bit more money and go to work somewhere else.
But again, giving them a two-year experience and then next year we'll open it up again for all new 14- and 15-year-olds and also still have our program for the older youth.
The future of Peoria’s near-century-old armory building is unknown now, with developer Kim Blickenstaff putting all his properties up for sale. Obviously, this is not a publicly owned site, but what would the city hope or like to see done with the armory site?
Ali: Well, I have some of my own thoughts. I think we don't really know what the city might do with it, other than to encourage developers to consider that facility. I think the facility still has strong bones; I think Kim Blickenstaff understood that, that it still has strong bones (and) that there would need to be a major investment in renovating that facility.
But one of the thoughts that I've had, whether it's for that building or another building downtown, is a public market eatery. Some other cities, usually larger cities but it can happen in a mid-sized city like Peoria, to have a public eatery downtown that houses many different restaurants, food establishments, grocers that might sell fish or other food products. They're really popular, especially in downtown areas that are in close proximity, perhaps, to a civic center. It gives vendors a low-cost overhead, because they're in one older building that everybody's sharing the costs for the overhead. So that's one idea that I have for, whether it's the armory or whether it's some other vacant building that can be renovated for downtown.
How about with some of Blickenstaff’s other KBD Group locations – there's a mansion on Knoxville Avenue, a vacant lot at a former church site at the High and Main intersection. What kind of influence can the city have with seeing something happen with these sites?
Ali: We want to help to encourage developers to consider the purchase of those buildings, facilities or the land, because they have promise; they were chosen by Mr. Blickenstaff because they have promise. I mean, look what has happened with the Scottish Rite Theatre. If someone purchases that facility, it’s ready to go, it's ready to serve, it's ready for performances. It has, major investment has been made. So I hope that we are able to help assist in attracting developers, those that want to come in and purchase those properties.
Along with the two-way conversion of Adams and Jefferson streets downtown, plans call for reopening Fulton Plaza to traffic. But some residents in that area have voiced opposition to this idea and want it to remain as a courtyard. What is your response to those concerns, and will the city take these opinions under consideration?
Ali: I think we always want to take those opinions under consideration. Those people that live closest to the area (where) that development is taking place, we want to hear you; we want to understand and we want to accommodate. Yet we do know that that park – you know, I've been here long enough to know when it was a street; I worked very close to that street. But when it was first set up as a plaza, like a park area, it was well-maintained (and) it was beautiful.
That hasn’t really happened over the years. It's really been a place where vagrants have hung out, where trash has been thrown. It doesn't have the same landscaping or caretaking that it has. So I think it's an opportunity to change that look and to change it to a street again,
It doesn't have to mean that it's a fast moving street; it can be a slow moving street with only two lanes. I think that there are ways, scientific ways, traffic design ways, to slow down the traffic in that area. So those are some of the things that we want to discuss with residents, to assure them that if it's opened as a street, it's not going to be really fast moving traffic and we're going to do everything that we can to accommodate them as much as possible.
What is the latest information you have on the possibility of a carbon capture pipeline connecting to the BioUrja plant?
Ali: Well, there's weekly meetings that are being held by, I think, Sierra Club and some other individuals who have concern about this. We're just really trying to keep informed and educated on it. We are waiting to hear the decision that has been made by BioUrja. We haven't been informed that a decision has been made, but we have been informed that it would be coming soon – whether they chose or will choose the pipeline, or whether they'll choose trucks or railways, or whether they'll choose to put it in the ground. Those are three of the options that I'm familiar with, but I don't know what their decision is. I know that they were kind of weighing in between a couple of those decisions.
You're going to be giving your next State of the City address at the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce event next week. We don't want to undercut your speech, but can you share with us some of the key points you plan to emphasize?
Ali: Well, I'm going to be sharing a lot of good news. There's a lot of great things that are happening in Peoria. I want to let people know what is actually happening – without saying that we have a plan in place, because we're working toward a new five-year plan – that things are in progress to develop that plan, a plan that's not going to be put on a shelf. A plan that's going to be a living and breathing plan; a plan that's going to be tweaked every two years. A plan that will engage the people of Peoria and not just be siloed to the council. There's a lot of excitement in Peoria now, a lot of optimism, and we want to keep that moving in a positive direction that things are going well. I'm very optimistic about Peoria’s future.
What are some of the key items that are going to be on this week’s city council agenda?
Ali: We're taking a look – every five years, we have to take a look at the water company buyout, that's by ordinance that we have to do that by the agreement that's been in place for, I don't know, maybe 100 years or so. So that is something that we'll be looking at, whether we will actually hire a company (Woodard and Curran) to do some due diligence, to do some analysis work and report back to the city. That's at a very high cost of $100,000 – we did put out an RFP (request for proposal). We did get a response, but it was only the one company that actually responded to the RFP.
But the discussion on the water company buyout will begin at the next city council meeting. We have to make the decision by October of this year. So fortunately, we're beginning the discussion now and we'll get a feel for where the various council members feel about a potential buyout, a potential study – whether they feel that we should study the problem more and get more information before making a decision.
Well, what are your thoughts on whether the city should get into the water business at this point?
Ali: Well, I do want more discussion. I'm certainly more hesitant; I don't think that the city can afford to purchase the water company. There are a lot of new requirements associated with a public utility, like lead requirements now, making sure that the water quality is of high quality. It means more investment in the infrastructure and the piping.
The city taking on that responsibility and cost, I don't – I'm leaning toward the other direction, that I don't think that we should go in that direction right now. Not to say that we should give up our rights to make that decision every five or 10 years; I think that we should retain that. But for this time around, I would lean toward being opposed to the water company buyout.
