A little more than a year after opening, an East Peoria entertainment and dining venue plans to upgrade the facility, with some financial assistance from the city.
Owners of The Putt Club intend to significantly remodel the inside entertainment area, in response to high demand during bad weather and cold seasons.
The city council on Tuesday moved forward with intentions to issue the business a $500,000 loan from East Peoria’s revolving loan fund.
“We don't give this out very freely, not very freely at all,” said commissioner Mark Hill. “We go through due diligence and check the background and actually have assurances in place, even as good as it may sound, and we've done that in this case.”
The council unanimously approved the resolution’s first reading, with one absence. The item will be open to public inspection for at least one week before the loan is issued.
The loan will carry a five-year term with a 5% interest rate. East Peoria’s revolving loan fund currently has a $650,000 balance, and the city anticipates the account will be replenished quickly as payments are received.
The Putt Club is located between Bass Pro Shops and Interstate 74, not far from the Murray Baker Bridge. The location features one indoor 18-hole putting course and one outdoor course, along with a full-service restaurant and bar.
“It has started to be a destination location,” said Hill. “It complements the Bass Pro; it complements the city. It’s giving somebody someplace to go, both in inclement weather and cold weather, as far as for miniature golf.”
The total cost of the interior remodeling is expected at around $800,000.
“That's basically enhancing what they already have there,” said Mayor John Kahl. “They've identified a need to enhance the indoor space for more year-round activities, and what they have planned … is exciting.
“I think they'll continue to be very successful down there, an outstanding group of investors, that this community really benefited from what they've done here.”
Street maintenance funding
Also Tuesday, the council approved the first reading of a resolution to allocate $493,000 from the general fund to the previously approved 2025 Street Maintenance Program, after a submission error resulted in the Illinois Department of Transportation declining the city’s intended use of motor fuel tax dollars.
“The reason was, it was not submitted in time. It doesn't mean that we won't be reimbursed for it,” said commissioner Dan Decker. “It just means that. The city is going to pay the money this year, and then that money will come back to us next year.”
Hill said the reason IDOT declined East Peoria’s submission was because some of the work was performed before the city had received approval.
“So we learned they have a policy, and there's no room for human error when you're on this side of the state,” said Kahl.
The council had authorized close to $1 million worth of motor fuel tax projects and $2 million in general fund projects as part of the 2025 street maintenance program.
Other business
The council also approved an agreement with Maurer Stutz not to exceed $25,000 for a one-time integration of sewer mapping and inspection data into the system’s online geographic information services feature, as well as two special-use allowances and one separation agreement.
Items approved under the consent agenda included second readings and adoptions of previous resolutions:
- A contract not to exceed $190,000 with Fehr Graham & Associates to provide engineering services for a chemical storage system at the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. No. 1;
- A $110,000 contract with TWM Inc. to assist the city in fulfilling its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System [NPDES] permit requirements, and $32,500 for the annual renewal of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s NPDES fees;
- Authorizing a three-year collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local Union No. 627 for public works department employees;
- A cost-sharing agreement with IDOT for reconstruction work on the Cedar Street extension bridge;
- Updated video detection systems for select traffic signals on North Main Street;
- The purchase of new bus benches located on city rights-of-way.
