Both Tri-County Regional Planning Commission and the Peoria City/County Health Department cancelled their July meetings. Peoria Public Schools did not meet June 8 for lack of a quorum.

PPS is an excellent example of why you might want to keep an eye open even when it’s steamy outside. There have been a lot of questions about its procedures lately. Incoming board member Andy Diaz even sued the school district because he said it was not following rules in setting up its July meetings.

Peoria County Board

The Peoria County Board met July 9 with all members present except Brandy Bryant, Paul Rosenbohm, and Phil Salzer.

In regular business, the board approved a zoning request for a new veterinary clinic in Rosefield Township, additions to the Peoria Urban Enterprise Zone in Peoria, Mapleton and unincorporated parts of the county, and $10,000 to N.E. Finch for emergency replacement of a drainage structure on Radnor Road. This repair may result in a complete closure of the road near Route 6 for a week.

Highlights of the unanimously approved consent agenda:

• A $10,000 PCAPS grant to permit fee-waived adoption events in August, September and October.
• A $5,000 donation to PCAPS for animal medical care.
• Creation of a special homestead exemption for residential units built by municipalities. Permits a 10-year EAV reduction if the municipality builds and sells the residential units.
• An amendment to the Peoria Rural Enterprise Zone that adds Brimfield. This permits property taxes to be collected on the full value of property improvements immediately rather than five years post-development.
• A $105,000 contract with Stark Excavating to repair a structure on Mossville Road.

Peoria County Farm Bureau President Cheryl Walsh provided an update on the sale of their current building on University Street, the new building construction at the Farm Bureau Park between Edwards and Kickapoo, and locations for county 4-H shows with the closure and sale of Expo Gardens.

Springdale Cemetery

The Springdale Cemetery Management Authority met with two members absent — Pam Johnson and Kathy Ma — June 15.

The only approved action items were the previous meeting minutes, the check register and the financial statements, election of new officers, and revised text on the historical marker for Soldier’s Hill.  New officers beginning in July are President Ma; Vice President Jarrod Martis; Treasurer Johnson; and Secretary Betty Duncan.

The remainder of the meeting focused on the General Manager Aaron Comte’s report, which stated there were 13 burials in April and 15 year-to-date. Both were trending slightly higher than average.

Peoria County Board appointee Henry Blackwell completed his term in  June and will not pursue another term.

Peoria City Council

The Peoria City Council met June 9 with a quorum present.  Absent were Councilpersons Denise Jackson and Kiran Velpula.

The consent agenda passed without discussion.  Under regular business, Finance Director Kyle Cratty discussed the unaudited financial report for the period ending April 30.  He said revenues and expenses matched year-over-year trends and the city is in good financial health.  The yearly audit should be presented before budget discussions for next year. Public safety pension fund contributions were briefly discussed.

City Manager Patrick Urich mentioned sturdy growth in property values in tax increment financing (TIF) districts and announced new development from WS Investments planned for Warehouse District.  This would add retail space, as well as residential units.

Health Department

The Peoria City/County Health Department Board met June 15 with a quorum present.  Karen Cadet-Saintilus and Harreld Webster Jr. were absent.

Public Health Administrator Monica Hendrickson presented an update on the Food Insecurity Framework timeline, aiming to award up to $100,000 total in mini-grants later this summer.  These funds will be split between three to five community-based food access organizations, tentatively starting in October.

Board members approved consent agenda items and authorized $6,000 in additional funding for the Sharing Shelf for the rest of 2026.  Created by Health Department employees in 2025, the Sharing Shelf serves as a mini-pantry within the Health Department building providing immediate food and hygiene items to clients in need.  The Sharing Shelf provided 60 “care-bags” for clients last quarter.

Board members discussed a planned drawdown of the reserve fund in fiscal year 2027.  They discussed the positive impacts of community outreach programs for seniors this past year. The programs focused on social connection, wellness, and Medicare fraud prevention. Age Central (formerly the Central Illinois Agency on Aging) and Graceland Center for Purposeful Aging were co-hosts.

Election Commission

The Peoria County Board of Elections met July 14 with all members present.

Open houses will be held to encourage new election judges.  There are currently just under 450 approved.  New judges will be approved at the end of September.

Runbeck Election Services has been sending out initial mailings to permanent vote-by-mail citizens since 2020.  Approximately 20,000 mailings need to be sent out, which is too many for the Election Office to handle.  Executive Director Jessily Joseph wanted a three-year contract this time to avoid years with big elections.  The contract was approved contingent on edits by the state’s attorney’s office.

The scanner for vote-by-mail ballots must be replaced.  New ones are available that are specific to voting needs. Funding comes from the County’s budget as a capital expenditure.

Dates to note: July 28 to start circulating Peoria City Council petitions; Oct. 19 to Nov. 26 to file for the 2027 elections; and Nov. 2 as the deadline for filing objections to those petitions.

Sanitary District

The Greater Peoria Sanitary District Board of Trustees met June 16 and approved the following purchases and projects:

• Purchase of a remote-controlled mower, RC Mowers, $68,613. This model has been rented in the last few years but the rental option is no longer available. The purchase was justified on usage, safety, and cost advantages.
• Re-coating auxiliary pumps and piping in the pump and blower building, Era Valdivia Contractors, Inc., $163,800.
• User charge updates that impact the discharge of domestic wastewater and commercial and industrial wastes. Modifications include authority for the Executive Director to negotiate and execute industrial service agreements, provide billing cycle flexibility, and streamline processes.
• Enactment of a general industrial pretreatment program to regulate the use of public and private sewers and drains, private sewage disposal, the installation and connection of building sewers, the discharge of waters and wastes into public sewers. Penalties can be levied for violations.

The board authorized water shutoff on delinquent accounts which included Illinois American; Peoria Heights; Pleasant Valley 5. Details of the impacted accounts are provided on the GPSD website.

Finances reported were within the budget. Water quality was within the required limits.

LWVGP observers attend and report on local government meetings. For more information, check https://www.lwvgp.org/2025-newsletters.html