Twelve jobs will soon be added to Peoria’s employment roles after the city council Tues. rezoned property to allow meat processing and packaging.
Kencor Company will now move its operation from Kenosha, Wisconsin to Peoria and begin operations this fall on Precast Way.
The company will process catfish, using the fish body for human consumption, primarily by ethnic groups. The remainder of the fish will be used for animal food. Company president Kevin Evans says the oven at the new facility will meet air quality standards.
“It’s a fairly traditional commercial oven and there is a venting system that takes all of the emissions from the oven. Part of that system has an air cleaner that actually conforms to EPA standards,” Evans said.
Evans says the company has no plans at this time to process Asian carp from the Illinois River.
In other news, garbage collection fees for homeowners in the City of Peoria will remain the same for at least one more year. It’s part of a contract extension council approved with PDC Services. The monthly fee the city imposes on private residences for waste collection remains 14 dollars a month for next year. The cost of that fee will be considered again in 2018.
Yard waste collection will be put out for competitive bid at the end of the two-and-a-half year contract extension.
Local NAACP president Don Jackson asked the council to consider minority employment when that time comes.
“I think it’s unfortunate that we have to continue to raise this issue especially since this is a public contract and especially when we have made it known in this community that our goal is to see equal opportunity employment throughout the city of Peoria,” Jackson said.
The contract extension, approved unanimously, also calls for an additional week of yard waste collection in December.