Washington will get legal opinion on mayor’s possible conflict of interest with amphitheater developer

A proposed $12 million amphitheater on city property wasn’t on the Washington City Council’s agenda Monday night, but it was the subject of two major council decisions.

The council voted 5-2 to ask City Attorney Keith Braskich to provide a legal opinion if Mayor Gary Manier should recuse himself from discussions and votes about the amphitheater and required city infrastructure installation because of a possible real or perceived conflict of interest.

By another 5-2 vote, council asked city staff to have appraisals done on the 50-acre site in the northeast portion of the city's “223” farmland property off U.S. Route 24 and Nofsinger Road where the amphitheater and parking lot will be built, and the entire 223-acre site.

Appraisals will be done both as farmland and land for development.

Council member John Blundy made the motion for the conflict of interest legal opinion. Brett Adams, Mike McIntyre, Jamie Smith and Lili Stevens joined Blundy in voting yes. Mike Brownfield and Brian Butler voted no. Bobby Martin III was absent.

The subject of a possible conflict of interest for the mayor has been brought up several times at council meetings by both council members and public speakers, including Simon Petravick on Monday.

Manier’s wife Lada is the treasurer of the Washington-based Hengst Foundation, a not-for-profit organization established by former Washington resident Jim Hengst to build and operate the Dee Amphitheater, named in honor of Jim Hengst’s late wife.

Gary and Lada Manier and Jim and Dee Hengst were classmates at Washington Community High School and remained friends.

According to the foundation’s 990-PF tax form, R. Rennie Atterbury III is the foundation president and Nicholas Maloof is the secretary. No employees are listed. Of the three officers, including Lada Manier, only Maloof is being paid. He made $30,000 in 2023.

“My wife worked with lawyers for 50 years. There’s no way she’d do something that would cause even a perceived conflict of interest for me,” Manier said immediately after the conflict of interest/legal opinion vote.

“We’d be handcuffing ourselves as a council by not allowing Gary to contribute to discussions about the amphitheater,” Brownfield said, explaining his no vote.

Manier has voted on an amphitheater-related question. Several weeks ago, he broke a tie vote on a motion made by Stevens for the council to discuss not voting on the amphitheater project until after the April 1 election. The motion was rejected.

The city wants to sell or lease the land for the amphitheater. Having the appraisals done will expedite that process.

Stevens made the motion for the appraisals. Adams and Brownfield voted no. They said they felt it was premature to have appraisals done without knowing what’s going to be done on the land.

The city purchased the 223-acre property in 2013 for $4.95 million, or about $22,000 per acre. 

Washington’s mayor and council members could soon be subject to term limits.

Following a brief discussion Monday, the council asked Braskich to write an ordinance that would limit those elected officials to three full four-year terms. The city clerk and city treasurer, who also are elected, would not be term-limited.

Washington Police Chief Mike McCoy delivered the sad news Monday to the council that police K-9 Loki, a 4-year-old Dutch Shepherd, died early that day after becoming ill over the weekend.

“It’s a terrible loss,” McCoy said.

In a Facebook post earlier in the day, Loki’s handler Sgt. Ron Moore wrote, “K-9 Loki will forever be remembered as a loyal partner and beloved friend. His service, spirit and dedication have left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him. Rest easy, Loki. You were truly the best boy, and you will never be forgotten.”

These ordinances and contract changes were approved Monday by the council:

• The city’s tax levy for 2024 (taxes paid in 2025) will be $2,297,352, an 8.56% increase from 2023 (taxes paid in 2024). Most of the increase will help provide funding for the city’s new contract with the Washington Fire Department. The vote for the levy was 5-2, with Blundy and Stevens casting the no votes. Stevens said she prefers the city find other revenue sources instead of raising property taxes.
• No property taxes will be used to make the $474,750 payment for 2024 for $4.735 million in stormwater management bonds the city had issued in 2023. A 0.5% home rule sales tax for stormwater projects, enacted by the city in 2022, once again will cover the annual payment for the bonds. The vote for the tax abatement was unanimous.
• Changes in the city’s contract with Five Points Washington to hold city meetings there include not installing a permanent television screen in Banquet Room A, removing a mention of the city’s forgiveness of $600,000 that Five Points owes the city from the contract, and holding Planning and Zoning Commission and Historic Preservation Commission meetings in the Senior Room instead of Banquet Room A. The changes were requested by the Five Points board. The vote for the changes was 6-1, with Blundy voting no.

Here are highlights of City Engineer Dennis Carr’s report Monday to the council:

• The Nofsinger Road realignment project is nearly done, with the road scheduled to open Wednesday.
• Work has begun on a berm in Washington Park that will retain water and hopefully stop the flooding of yards south of the park after heavy rainstorms. Nearly 300 loads of clay were delivered to the park for the berm.
• Pedestrian crosswalk signals on Centennial Drive between McCluggage and Spring Creek roads near the Washington Greenhouse driveway have finally been repaired after they were damaged by a driver a few months ago. The lead times on some of the items that needed to be repaired were extremely long, Carr said.
• IDOT will resume work in the spring on traffic signal and Americans with Disability Act upgrades on U.S. Business Route 24 as part of its mill and overlay project.

Here are highlights of McCoy’s and Deputy Police Chief Jeff Stevens’ report Monday to the council:

• Officers responded to a report of a broken window at an apartment and discovered that accidental gunfire caused the damage and damage inside the apartment. A neighbor was the source of the errant shot.
• Officers stopped a business burglary suspect, resulting in an arrest and the recovery of construction equipment. The business was located outside the city limits in Tazewell County.
• The department raised more than $5,000 for Illinois Special Olympics in 2024. Officer Mike Brown led the effort. A Polar Plunge will kick off Special Olympics fundraising in 2025.

Here are highlights of Planning and Development Director Jon Oliphant’s report Monday to the council:

• City staff anticipates that work will be completed on the downtown square restaurant in a few weeks.
• The city has received a $427,796 grant from the Tri County Regional Planning Commission for the resurfacing of South Main Street from the downtown square to Guth Road. That was the city’s full requested amount. The city will be responsible for 20% of the full project cost. Work will be done during the 2027-28 fiscal year.

Here are highlights of Public Works Director Brian Rittenhouse’s report Monday to the council:

• The removal and installation of new service lines on Lincoln and East Jefferson streets will be done when schools are on break. Each job requires a one-block road closure for safety.
• Damage to the public works storage/police evidence building because of a fire early this year is more extensive than originally thought.

A first reading was held Monday of an ordinance that would prohibit a cemetery from being located on a property that has a residential structure on it.

The ordinance was written in response to a resident who wants to put a burial plot in his backyard.

Council will vote on the ordinance Jan. 6.