The Peoria City Council on Tuesday approved the first step toward a $2.5 million financing package for the Twin Towers Place condominium association, deferred a contentious liquor license application for a North Knoxville Avenue grocery store, and passed a resolution to place a time capsule in City Hall's cornerstone — to be opened in 2126.
Twin Towers debt process
The council voted to set a public hearing on a proposed Special Service Area [SSA] for Twin Towers Place, the downtown residential condominium complex that has faced mounting capital needs following a fire that depleted the association's reserves. The hearing is scheduled for July 14.
Corporation Counsel Patrick Hayes explained the SSA mechanism would allow the city to issue up to $2.5 million in bonds, repaid through property taxes assessed directly to unit owners over a recommended 20-year term.
Mayor Rita Ali asked why the association couldn't simply get a bank loan. Hayes said the building's debt structure made that effectively impossible.
"I know the condition that the Twin Towers are in," said council member Kiran Velpula. "It seems like, from everything I've heard, this is the best way for the Twin Towers to move forward."
Council members Zach Oyler and Mike Vespa abstained due to conflicts of interest.
A yes vote, Hayes told the council, commits the city only to holding the public hearing — not to the loan itself. Under Illinois law, residents who oppose the SSA have 60 days after the hearing to gather signatures from more than 50% of owners and residents of the towers to stop the process.
The ordinance passed with nine votes in favor and two abstentions.
King Zone liquor license
The council spent nearly an hour debating a liquor license for King Zone, a small grocery at 2411 N. Knoxville Ave., before deferring the item to the next meeting.
Council member Alex Carmona, who brought the item forward, argued the store is the only market in the area stocking things such as meat and eggs. He said the owner had renovated the building's exterior and interior and agreed to a restrictive plan of operations: no more than five cooler doors for packaged alcohol, hard liquor stored behind the counter, no single-serve cans or shooters, and a $900-a-year subscription fee giving police access to security cameras.
"It is hard to turn a profit on selling groceries alone," Carmona said. "I would like to see it survive."
Opponents pointed to a Peoria Police Department report recommending denial. The department cited more than 18,000 calls for service in the two surrounding police districts in a single year. The department also flagged the store's proximity to several Children's Home properties and a Peoria public school.
Ali said cosmetic improvements didn't change the underlying concern. "If we saw crime going down, maybe," she said. "I support the denial."
Council members Tim Riggenbach and John Kelly said the plan of operations was restrictive enough to warrant a chance. "The percentage that this is allowed is so diminutive that I think it deserves a second look," Riggenbach said.
Carmona ultimately withdrew his motion to approve and moved to defer, saying he wanted to consult two more neighborhood associations before returning to the council.
The deferral passed 10-1, with council member Denise Jackson casting the lone "no" vote.
Time capsule to be sealed May 5
The council unanimously approved a resolution commemorating the placement of a centennial time capsule, to be sealed in the City Hall cornerstone on May 5 and intended for opening in 2126.
Strategic Communications Director Stacy Peterson said the project was sparked by the discovery and opening of an 1897 time capsule last fall.
A buckeye will be placed inside, continuing a tradition from the original capsule. A buckeye tree also will be planted on City Hall grounds.
Other business
In other business, the council:
— Approved, 9-2, a special use for a tobacco and alternative nicotine products shop at 7802 N. University St., the long-vacant site of the former Chantilly Lace bar. Council member Denis Cyr backed the item, citing the chance to renovate a long-vacant building. Council members Andre Allen and Bernice Gordon-Young voted "no," with Allen arguing the city's cap on standalone tobacco licenses existed precisely because residents were frustrated with their proliferation.
— Approved a rezoning of a property at 1401 NE Adams St. from industrial to single-family residential.
— Approved a campus expansion plan for Bradley University, allowing pickleball and sand volleyball courts, a bandstand and a maintenance building.
— Received and filed the unaudited February financial report, with the finance director reporting a cash flow of $131 million and no immediate cause for concern.
— Reappointed Don Knox to the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District Board of Trustees.
– Approved a special use for an auto repair shop at 2723 SW Adams St. to add auto sales.
— Heard public comment from outreach workers with Lula Peoria urging the council to rescind the city's camping ordinance that prohibits sleeping on public property. The representatives said an estimated 40 people lost housing after federal funding cuts closed a supportive housing facility, pushing them back to the streets.