I urge a no vote on the public facility referendum

by Merle Widmer, Peoria County Board Member and local blogger

In the October, 2007 issue of the Community Word, Roger Monroe wrote a column titled, “Peoria Chiefs Have a Great Run.” “What a great year with Ryne Sandberg as manager, the Chiefs set some attendance records.” Monroe continues “Despite claims by a malcontent (me) that he had never received a return on his investment, investors say that the stock is worth a ‘lot more than it originally sold for.’”

In 2008, I received my 2007 Schedule K-1 showing a loss of $847.00 for this “great” year. Approximately a year later, on 8/14/08, Kevin Capie of the Journal Star, wrote, “Sunny Days are Ahead for Chiefs” with an attendance setting record of 276,673. Three days later, Capie wrote “Say Goodbye to O’Brien” as the O’Brien naming rights contract had not been renewed. In fact, it was recently announced that no one had been found to replace O’Brien so the name will stay, just no naming revenues. Maybe Monroe Field?? I look back in time shows that the Chiefs at old Meinen field drew 194,000 in 1994. When I received my 2008 Schedule K-1-P last week, I expected the club would have made a profit. Instead, I had a loss of $1,641.00, my 15th consecutive loss since I made my $50,000 investment in 1993. Worse yet, my tax form shows I now only own 0.760 percent of shares outstanding. Put these figures together and the overall stockholder losses appear to be substantial. The original prospectus prepared by a “consultant” projected a $153,000 profit the first year. I’m waiting for just one profitable year. So much for consultants. My stock has been for sale since 1998 with only two offers, one made in jest by a stockholder’s wife and another from an unknown for $1.80. I’m waiting for Monroe’s offer. Public tax dollars and tax abatements totaled over $7 million dollars including $2 million from Ex-Governor and now incarcerated, George Ryan from his Illinois First giveaway program went into the new ballpark.

On the riverfront or nearby, we have had a lot of publicly funded or partially public funded struggling projects such as the Gateway Building, Cub Foods, out of business, the bankrupt InPlay, One Technology Center; part of which Peoria County is still “stuck”, several failed restaurants; River Station, Tilly’s and Damons, a suspect $55 million dollar expansion of the Civic Center, a proposed new hotel that would stick the taxpayer with $30 million or so if it failed and of course the Riverfront Museum, a new zoo short at least $5 million and a Children’s Playhouse only halfway to its fundraising goal after four or more years of effort.

Now the museum promoters are asking for $40 million or more (over 20 years) in a quarter per cent sales tax. (Actually $72 million or more overall) Even if the public facility sales tax referendum passes, we are now told by Museum CEO Richerson that the 4 or more years of fund raising will still leave the museum construction fund short $11 MILLION which he believes will be made up by the CEO Roundtable. We are told the endowment, once projected to be $14 million is at $1.6 million as of March 2009 and that cash for the project is approximately $7 million, and pledges, after a last year write-off by the museum of $556,000.00 for non collectables, stood at approximately $9 million. And with the dire financial situation, not all that pledge money may be forthcoming. The museum group is spending $640,000 to educate and promote a yes vote for the now smaller, 83,000 down from 110,000 sq. ft., but more costly museum, $78 million up from $67 million less than 18 months ago. If the referendum passes, $40 million will go to museum construction along with the City of Peoria’s contribution of $14 million and State and Federal contributions of $6 million and counting totaling over $60 million, ALL tax payer dollars. Caterpillar won’t build their Visitors Center if the referendum fails. Yet their stock has shrunk 60% and terminations continue.

Other local companies continue to fire or lay off hundreds of workers and we appear to be a recession not seen in recent history. While Methodist Hospital has stopped their construction project, their CEO urges more taxes on the people by asking support of a new museum that is certainly not a priority of this community. Look ahead and see the large increase of taxes in the future, from schools and libraries to sanitary sewers. After all, we have an underutilized 33,000 sq. ft. Lakeview Museum, centrally located and expandable, the 2nd largest museum between Chicago and St. Louis. All major projections have been missed over the past years. The museum “projections,” after considerable research, see my blog site “Merle Widmer Peoria Watch,” do not appear to be close to being valid. I urge a no vote on this public facility referendum.