A path toward construction of a new landfill for Peoria County cleared a second vote Tuesday night when the Peoria City Council unanimously approved a reworked agreement with GFL Environmental.
“We feel like we've ended in a very good spot with this agreement, and it will provide certainty of our costs of waste disposal for the next 30 to potentially 40 years. So, I think it's a really good deal for the city,” said City Manager Patrick Urich.
The plan calls for GFL to open Landfill No. 3 no later than Jan. 1, 2035, and operate a “transfer station” in Pottstown until the new landfill is ready. That transfer station is expected to open “as soon as possible,” with an expected target date of March 31, 2026.
The Peoria County Board approved the agreement at a special meeting on Sept. 24, and the City/County Landfill Committee has a vote scheduled for Wednesday to finalize the deal.
Urich noted the savings will enable the city to address a deficit in the solid waste fund that’s been covered by the general fund for several years.
“This will allow us to keep our rates the same, and it will allow us to put that money towards that deficit over the next couple of years,” he said. “So, we're not going to see an increase in our garbage collection costs like there has been over the last five or six years, where we've grown it $1 a year so every year.
“What it means for Peorians is that, for $25 a month, you're going to continue to get the weekly waste pickup, the recycling that we get every other week, the 37 weeks of household of yard waste collections, and any bulky waste that you take out to the curb. So, we have a great service that we provide to the to the citizens of Peoria at a really affordable price.”
The biggest incentive for Peoria is a reduction in tipping fees that will produce estimated annual savings of $1.5 million.
“The biggest advantage to the city is that our tipping fee will be reduced down to $56.27, and then an additional $10 reduction down to $46.27,” said Urich. “From that point, it will grow with the rate of inflation — capped at 6% a year, if inflation is ever back as high as it was over 6% — but it will last for the life of this contract.”
Council member John Kelly commended Urich and the other parties involved for reaching a beneficial solution.
“This has come out better than I thought it would, which is, maybe that's not a great hurdle,” said Kelly. “However, I'm just thrilled with how it has come out. This really benefits our city; it benefits our budget. All the way around, it’s a really good agreement.”
The actions amend a 2009 agreement with Peoria Disposal Company (PDC) that was later acquired by GFL. The original expectation was for Landfill 3 to begin accepting waste in 2014.
However, GFL’s delays in starting construction, exacerbated by Illinois Environmental Protection Agency concerns related to abandoned mining operations, pushed the city and county to the brink of pursuing a breach of contract legal action.
Although improved compaction rates and waste diversion strategies extended the life of Landfill 2 by more than a decade, it is on track to reach its capacity early next year — well before a new landfill could be built.
Within three months of the closure of Landfill 2, GFL will establish two drop-off sites in Chillicothe and Pottstown, and arrange for monthly household hazardous waste drop-off events at locations throughout the county.
“I think to see that we're going to have that savings, immediate savings, that we're going to be able to pay down the deficit in the garbage solid waste fund, is something that we can all be very proud of,” said council member Tim Riggenbach, who along with Zach Oyler represents the city on the landfill committee.
Proposed 2025 budget
Also Tuesday, the council was presented with an initial draft of the revised 2025 biennial budget, calling for a $288.2 million investment in the city’s six strategic priorities, including $65 million toward the community investment plan.
“We're not anticipating, as we mentioned just a few minutes ago, the garbage fee increase,” said Urich before the council voted to receive and file the 440-page fiscal proposal. “We're not anticipating a storm water fee increase as part of this. The budget fully funds public safety pensions, and ensures that we are closing out the $47.1 million of American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds.”
Initial council discussions on the budget are scheduled to begin at a special meeting next Tuesday, with ongoing special meetings alternating every Tuesday with the regularly scheduled council meetings.
While the city must pass a budget by the end of the calendar year, Urich said he hopes to finish the discussions on Nov. 5 so a vote on the spending plan can go on the Nov. 12 agenda.
The council also received and filed the unaudited financial report for August, with finance director Kyle Cratty offering an optimistic tone.
“In the general fund, we are where I think you usually want to be: We are ahead on revenues, and we are behind on expenditures,” said Cratty, who also noted the city has been repaid in full on a bridge loan to the Peoria Civic Center.
Pumping brakes on go-kart venue
Plans for a seasonal outdoor amusement venue on Peoria’s northwestern edge were deferred for a second time.
Council member Andre Allen said he and Mayor Rita Ali recently met with the developers and property owners in the vicinity of the project regarding concerns about how the business would impact the surrounding area.
“There's still some unanswered questions that some of the neighboring residents have, and the petitioners have agreed to explore providing answers to those,” said Allen in requesting the deferral until the council's Nov. 12 meeting.
“The goal will be to have a follow-up meeting between all stakeholders, either the week of (Oct.) 28 or the week of (Nov.) 4, and then hopefully we'll have enough information that we'll be able to take a vote,” he said.
Developer Mark Lawson’s project would bring paved go-kart tracks, batting cages and mini-golf courses to a 13.5-acre property at the intersection of Orange Prairie Road and Grange Hall Road. Lawson initially pursued a similar development in 2017.
The project also calls for the city to annex another 4.5 acres, and approving a commercial rezoning and special use allowance for the property.
In other action
Among other business, the council took the following actions:
- Approved purchasing 15 new rifle-rated ballistic shields for the police department at a cost of $108,750;
- Approved spending $67,000 on furniture for the police department’s co-response program office space at the Peoria Township building;
- Authorized a $50,000 purchase of a Ford Explorer Interceptor for the police department, along with $35,000 to equip the vehicle as needed for patrol;
- Approved September expenditures and anticipated October expenditures for Peoria Township;
- Voted to approve an agreement with Axiom Global, Inc. for legal services;
- Deferred a vote on approving a site application for a liquor license for Tattabu at 631 W. Main St.
