ROGER MONROE

It’s Round 2 for Riverfront Development, or is it Round 3? Regardless, the proposal has created about as much excitement as news there won’t be another music festival in Chillicothe.

Sadly, the project has become a joke with some people after developers announced the development will feature a kayak launch pad. But, hey, how many river cities in America have something like that? Leaders in city government revealed the plan will cost between $15 and $25 million.

Overnight it grew by another million to $26M and not a shovel was turned or bush planted. The financing will come with $15 million from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development. City Manager Patrick Urich believes the additional $11 million will come from local businesses and contributors. I wonder if that could include owners of kayaks.

Truth is, despite everyone on the council voting for the plans, hardly anyone is jumping up and down about Riverfront development except for those with businesses that’ll benefit from it. Let’s face it, our Riverfront is dead. save when there’s a weekend event like Irish Fest and the Art Fair. Failure has been the word since the days when it was Eckwood Park to the elevated structure with Joe’s Crab Shack and Damon’s Steak Shack, or whatever it was called. Even the presence of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce couldn’t save that project. With the disappearance of the riverboat and Steamboat Days, our Riverfront has become a lonely city asset.

So, let’s applaud developers and the council for trying. After all, what can we lose if it fails other than $26 million?

Here are a couple of suggestions. Let’s start slowly. Let’s begin with some gorgeous landscaping and benches where people can sit and enjoy the riverboat traffic. How about some tables where those who like to sit in coffee shops and work on their laptops can do so along the Riverfront?

I don’t know what it would take to establish Wi-Fi in the area, but it would be worth exploring. Maybe we could encourage a coffee vendor to set up a shop with a nice river view. Lord knows, there are plenty of coffee shops in the city and one more with scenic views might be an attraction.

Years ago I loved the sound of a riverboat calliope. Let’s get one and have it play once or twice as a sound beacon like a lighthouse to draw people downtown. Why not build a cute lighthouse on the riverfront flashing at night like the light at the top of the once First National Bank building. Let’s try to be creative.

The city might like to have occasional fireworks shows. Nothing like Red, White and Boom, of course. The Chiefs do it. Why not the city? Skip the sports courts. No doubt someone wants to draw kids downtown to play basketball. There’s enough basketball courts in the city. Meanwhile, I urge developers and the city to take each part of the development slowly. Quit being in a hurry to spend millions as quickly as possible.

From my vantage point, the proposal will not make the Riverfront an immediate attraction when completed. Any plan is a good one if it’s flexible. Peoria will not be subject to protests and riots if you dump the kayak launch or put it on hold unless you make it available for floating cars like the one the late Jim Garrott had.

CITY DESERVES CONGRATULATIONS

Officials with the City of Peoria are to be commended for finally taking action against the homeless by removing their encampments. Their “camps” have been described as filthy and despicable. One of the worst was behind Landmark on Dries Lane not far from the Dr. Maude Sanders School on Forrest Hill. Needles and other drug stuff were reportedly found in their so-called “living quarters.”

Gone, too, the camps on the west side of the Murray Baker Bridge near the east bound ramp and one under the bridge. One remains, I’m told, on North Knoxville near Thrush Street.

There was some confusion about a city official claiming there was a state law protecting the rights of the homeless to live on public land. That claim was proven to be baseless according to my sources. As Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife said, “You have to nip it in the bud.” City officials did that, finally.

MEDIA NOTES

I mentioned it last month and will do it again. WOAM-1350 AM on the dial, is back on the air 24 hours playing great music, commercial free, seven days a week.

Most of the music is from the 1950s and ’60s, but not all. You can hear favorites like Neil Diamond and “Sweet Caroline,” songs by Frank Sinatra, the Carpenters and others. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Peoria defense attorney Kevin Sullivan has been providing wonderful commentary about the trials and tribulations of former President Donald Trump on “Breakfast with Roger and Friends” on WAZU-FM 90.7 around 7:30 am each week.

The morning news staff on WEEK-TV has changed its focus on its newscasts. Instead of opening with “hard news,” they falsely believe people want to hear feature stories. Wrong. When people turn on the radio or TV in the morning, they want to hear what happened overnight, such as a fire, shooting(s), accidents, robbery, storms, etc. That’s called hard news. A feature story is one that has no timeline. It can run today, tomorrow, or next week. Newspapers used to have a separate section called “Features,” and we all know what’s happened with that form of communication. Unfortunately, the feature story is on too long. I don’t know about others, but when the Channel 25 folks open with a feature story, I hit the remote for another channel.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them,”
— Ernest Hemingway