An $11 million dollar low-income senior housing project is proposed for a parcel of land already purchased by the Decatur Housing Authority along West Mound Rd.  The money came from a federal grant.

Last month the city voted down the annexation request, after several owners objected to the project, however the council revisited the vote last night after some strong persuading by the DHA, who wasn’t prepared for the amount of objection they encountered last month.

When I stepped into the Civic Center lobby I was greeted by DHA supporters asking if I was in favor or against the vote. I told them I was just there to learn more about the issue but they handed me a sticker anyway in case I decided to support them later. There were senior citizens sitting front and center before the council in the first several rows, obviously planted strategically by the DHA.  

Several residents spoke before the council, first on the vote to revote and then on the actual annexation vote itself. There were several moments of loud applause for both sides. It remained, for the most part undramatic, until Councilwoman Dr. Dana Ray spoke her mind.

Ray expressed how she was in favor of the low-income housing plan, stating she wanted seniors to have a safe location to reside in, however she stepped in it when she said that Wabash Crossing, another low-income housing project in Decatur was unsafe because of criminal activity there. That perked the ears up of opponents who shouted out, “That’s our point!” and feared the same thing would happen to their area. Ray then raised her voice and pointed at the audience and told them that they had their time to speak and now it was hers. She then went on to proclaim herself the champion of those in the community with no voice. I have a feeling this stems from the recent decision by the city council to revoke the taxi license of a minority owned business.  She was the lone vote against revoking the license.

Before Ray’s statements last night, Councilwoman Julie Moore-Wolfe expressed her concerns that voting in favor of the annexation would be a stamp of approval for the entire project, to which she is opposed, at least at the proposed location. She agreed with a resident who spoke before the council that the project would be a better fit in a part of town which needed redevelopment. Moore shook her head in agreement as the woman spoke.

I agree with Moore and many others, who feel the development could be a great thing in another part of town that needs revitalized. Let’s face it, there are parts of Decatur that no private home builder will ever invest in. An $11 million dollar project would be more than welcomed in another part of town.  Lowering property values in a stable neighborhood doesn’t make economic sense, when we can bring up property values in another area that desperately needs it.

Beyond looking at it from merely a means of economic development for the city, the social issues it brings up didn’t go unnoticed by me.  It brings up social, racial and economic disparity issues in the community.  I wouldn’t call the area affluent, as has been suggested.  That has never come to my mind when driving though the area.  It seems more average middle-class to me.  Homeowners in the area worry about their homes losing value because of a low-income housing unit being next door.  They also worry crime will be introduced to the area. Others feel that the development should be able to go anywhere and not discriminated against because of the economic status of its tenants.  I see their point as well.  It’s basically a big ol’ can of worms dropped onto the city council’s lap.

The discussion isn’t over.  We’ll be hearing much more about it in the months ahead.

My opinion on the subject would be to keep the road open, but widen it to give more room for pedestrians, if that’s the real concern. That in itself would solve most of the problem. However, if I remember correctly, plans call for a large amphitheater to eventually go in this area. I’m assuming that’s the real reason for the closure, however a date for the construction of the amphitheater may be several years from now. I really don’t see the need to close the road until that happens.

Mayor McElroy Probably Running For A State Senate Seat

This is news that doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been hearing the idea tossed around since district maps were redrawn. Much of Decatur would be in the same district as the inner city of Springfield. Yes, it’s all political gerrymandering, meant to benefit democrats (Chicago) and neither Springfield or Decatur, but this is Illinois. I don’t expect much. Anyway, republicans, if they’re to have any chance capturing this seat will need someone with name recognition. They see McElroy as their best chance. His opponent remains to be seen but I have a hunch it would most likely be Bob Flider. That would be a very interesting race. I’d give the edge to Flider considering the demographics of the district but who knows after last year.

Parking Meters

The city council will be discussing parking options for downtown Decatur tonight. There’s several options being kicked around. I hope I get a chance to attend but 5:30 in the evening is a hectic time in the Disney house. I’ll try to make it.

The Millikin/Regions building has been suggested in the past as a possible location, however the Millikin building’s owner has removed the building from consideration due to space constraints.  New tenants have moved into a portion of the building since the site was first considered, therefore not enough space remains for the police station.

The study is suggesting two phases.  The first phase would cost between $3.4 million and $3.9 million and would house the communications center, evidence storage, and crime scene unit.

The second phase is estimated to cost between $9.6 million – $11 million.

There would be costs savings, of about $300,000 if both phases were done at the same time.  The total cost of the new facility would be between $11M-$14.9M.  The cost of renovating the Millikin building is estimated at $12 million; however the long-term costs would be higher at the Millikin building because they city would have to pay leasing fees.  The city would own the new facility.

The entire police study can be found on the city’s Web site at:  http://decaturil.gov/council/councilagenda/Decatur%20Police%20Department%20Facility%20Study.pdf

The Decatur City Council will have a study session on the recommendations during Monday night’s meeting.  (Dec 21st)

The city crew has been plagued by staffing issues, broken equipment, parts delays and other unforeseen difficulties.  However, a representative of the workers spoke to the council and disputed some of the numbers and doubted whether a professional firm would be able to do much better.  For instance, some basins of the lake have several tree stumps and other debris which makes it more difficult to dredge.  It’s estimated that a professional dredging company could remove as much as 600 acre feet of silt per year.  It may be hard to tell if we’re actually comparing apples to apples in the estimated progress a professional firm could do in comparison with an expanded city workforce.  It would depend which basin of the lake we’re talking about.  Basin 1 is fairly clear of stumps and debris and would be much easier to dredge; other basins may not go so smoothly.  At any rate, the city council advised city staff to move ahead with option 4, which would hire an outside firm to more quickly do the work. The project is expected to take five years.

However, the question of selling city owned dredging equipment came up.  Larry Foster very much supported the idea; Pat Laegeler showed a bit of reluctance.  Laegeler was on the previous city council which approved the city taking over dredging operations because he believed that dredging would be a “forever project.”  Personally, I think it would be wise for the city the keep its dredging equipment because it will forever be an ongoing maintenance issue, considering 110 acre feet of silt wash back into the lake each year.

It was also decided last night that the option of using the city’s lowest water intakes during a drought wouldn’t be cost effective.  The water treatment facilities that the city currently operates would not be capable of filtering such murky, muddy water.  The water would be unfit for drinking without a boil order.  The council will now look at horizontal wells below the dam as its next option to increase Decatur’s water supply during a severe drought.

First of all, WHOA we’re taxed for anything and everything!  Secondly, the national, state and local economies are stinking it up and making hard times for everyone – like that’s news to anyone.

Community goals will also be discussed: http://decaturil.gov/council/councilagenda/Item%20IV.pdf (beginning on page 35).  There are many interesting ideas and priorities listed; too many to list.  I recommend reading through it.  I’ll have more comments later.

The meeting was also feature the first neighborhood group presentation from the GM Square Neighborhood Organization.  A selected neighborhood group from the city will give a presentation before the city council on the second council meeting of each month.  This is a new program that the city has created.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 8, 2009

City, Neighborhoods To Share Information

DECATUR – Local neighborhoods and the Decatur City Council will continue their push to work more closely together through a new initiative announced this week during this week’s Decatur City Council meeting.

City neighborhood organizations will make public presentations to the Decatur City Council during the second council meeting of each month, detailing ongoing programs and positives, needs and issues faced by each neighborhood. The presentations will be coordinated through the Coalition of Neighborhood Organizations, which works with the city’s 23 neighborhood groups and throughout the community to address neighborhood issues.

The City Council in the last two years has made improving and strengthening city neighborhoods one of its top three goals.

“The feeling of this council has been certainly (over) the last 2 or 3 years and certainly with this new group that the neighborhoods are the lifeblood of this community and I don’t think there’s any better way for the council to hear everything together as opposed to a comment here or a comment there,” said Mayor Mike McElroy. “You’ll hear something from a different neighborhood (during the second meeting of each month) – the good things that are happening and the bad things that are happening.

“We want to hear it all.”

For more information contact Mayor Mike McElroy at 424-2804 or Billy Tyus at 424-2753.

Sounds good to me but I had no idea there were 23 different neighborhood groups in Decatur – soon to be 24.  So it will take at least two years for the council to hear from each group?  Oh well, I guess it’s better than nothing.

It was assumed that if the ordinance passed, if more pro-business council members were elected to the council, the ordinance would probably be brought back for a new vote and most likely rescinded.  In Monday’s council meeting, Councilman Patrick Laegeler began that process and requested the RBO be brought back for a new vote.  There are probably four votes of the seven member council who will vote to rescind the ordinance.

This leaves the question:  Will every other council approve or rescind the ordinance based upon their feelings on organized labor?

A few weeks ago I sent questions to most of the candidates.  Out of ten candidates to whom I sent questions to, only four replied.  The lack of responses from the majority of the candidates, tells me everything I need to know.  Okay, I’m not Larry King or Oprah Winfrey; I’m sure there’s more important people to impress, but it’s not my ego that concerns me.  I’m just a concerned resident of Decatur.  If they aren’t willing to respond to me, a nobody, how could I believe they’d respond to the other 70,000 nobodys in town?   It changed my mind about nearly all of the candidates.  In fact, several of the people I was going to vote for, lost my vote.

2 Year Candidates:  Marcia Phillips, Larry Foster, Pat McDaniel

My pick:  Pat McDaniel

I have had discussions, albeit through a blog, with Pat McDaniel, but I think it’s given me a pretty good idea of the type of person he is.  He seems like someone who would be independent enough to vote based upon, not only his convictions, but community input.  He’s conservative but not aligned with any particular organization in town.  He’s been involved with the community for many years, in many different roles.  He has plenty of knowledge of city council issues, having been a reporter for the Decatur Tribune, covering city council meetings for several years.  I believe he would be a reasonable voice on the council.

4 year Candidates:  Betsy Stockard, Dan Caulkins, Rev. Carey Grady, Adam Ruderman, Matthew Jackson, Julie Moore-Wolfe, Jerry Dawson, Adam Brown

There are three 4-year council seats up for election.  If Mike McElroy wins as mayor, his seat will be open; it’s likely that one of the losing candidates would be appointed to fill McElroy’s seat.

Here are my best picks:

Jerry Dawson – His response to my questions was convincing.  I agree with everything he wrote.  I think we’re on the same page, regarding many issues.  I wasn’t aware of that prior to his response.  He isn’t running as a “change” candidate, or a “chamber” candidate.  He’s just running as a candidate.  Refreshing.   Much of Decatur’s success is dependent upon our school district.  Even though the city council and school board are two different entities, they still need to work together to make Decatur public schools, the best in our area.  It will require both our city council and school board working together to make that happen.  I believe Dawson understands this.  Making our neighborhoods safer and more attractive, will boost property values, and encourage young families to choose to stay in Decatur.  This will create more revenue for both the city and school district.  More importantly, it will create a better environment for kids to grow up in.  Decatur needs to retain its’ young families, if we are to have positive growth and success in the future.

Adam Ruderman – Before I sent Ruderman my list of questions, he contacted me to come speak before the neighborhood group that a few neighbors in my area are trying to form.  To me, that shows someone who is willing to get to know the people he would represent.   A very important quality.  I also like his ideas for lakefront development.  In the Business Journal of Midcentral Illinois, he pointed out his interest in capitalizing on Decatur’s most attractive asset – our lake.  “A boardwalk with everything from restaurants, specialty shops, arcades, etc. would give Central Illinoisans another reason to visit Decatur for a day or two.”  I too believe it would be a unique attraction to the city and open up many possibilities and sources of revenue.  I agree with him on several other issues as well.  He also understand labor issues, which is important in a city like Decatur.

My third candidates choice is a toss up.  I’m not even sure who I’m going to vote for yet, but I think any of these candidates would be a good choice:

Rev. Carey Grady: I believe he understand the problems of many of our most troubled youth in the community.  As a pastor, he’s on the frontlines every day.  I also believe he would be a voice for a large part of Decatur that hasn’t always been represented well in the community – our inner city.

Adam Brown: Brown is an energetic individual who I believe would be receptive to new ideas, and represent a segment of our population, of which Decatur desperately needs to attract and retain – young professionals.  I also agree with his stance on city taxes.  Decatur needs to be competitive with its neighboring communities to attract new business.  Having a younger and fresher perspective on the city is important.

Matthew Jackson (Write-In Candidate): Of all the candidates I have discussed, Jackson is the one I have had the most discussions with over the past couple of years.   He has faithfully attended city council meetings, and knows the issues well.  I believe that he would take the time to study all aspects of an issue before voting on it.

Mayoral candidates:  Steve Daniels, Mike McElroy

My pick:  Steve Daniels. We know what status-quo has produced, and if we take a look around Decatur, we can see that it hasn’t achieved the effect many of us, working paycheck to paycheck, or trying to live without a paycheck, would like to see.  Our city council has paid more attention to neighborhood issues as of late, but much of that is the result of ChangeDecatur’s efforts to give neighborhoods more of a voice in the city.   I have been an opponent of ChangeDecatur in the past, and haven’t agreed with some of their tactics, but I think it’s fair to say- the opposing side isn’t without fault either.

Daniels education plan is on the right path, even though at this point, funding hasn’t been secured.   I’m skeptical of it coming to fruition, but it shows me, that Daniels is at least thinking outside the box.  I think a better alternative is to have Richland begin offering 4-year degrees.  It would allow recent high school grads and adult learners an affordable option.  Any way you slice it, Decatur needs an educated workforce to attract different employers, of which we haven’t been able to attract in the past.  Decatur hasn’t been able to diversify our job base, in large part because we are seen as only a blue-collar town.  The percentage of college graduates in Decatur is less than Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, and Champaign-Urbana.  It puts us at a disadvantage right off the bat.   If we are to attract high paying white collar jobs, we have to have a trained workforce ready to fill those positions.

I have some reservations of Daniels, but McElroy seems to lack a vision to really improve Decatur in any meaningful way.  I haven’t heard anything new from him.  No, I don’t want empty promises, or impossible plans, but I do want a mayor who is open to new ideas.  I’m willing to give Daniels two years to try a different approach.

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In conclusion, I think it’s important to see new faces on the city council.  While I respect all of the candidates running for office, and have nothing against any one of them personally, I tried to pick the people that I believe would put forth the most effort to improve Decatur and, most importantly,  respond to residents’ needs.   I believe it’s important to have people from all walks of life on our city council, with open minds, and new ideas.   In a city that could easily have a 10% unemployment rate soon, we need to try something different.

Unlike corn, grass actually gives back considerable amounts of nutrients to the soil, thus requiring far less, if any fertilizer – which finds its way into our water supply.  After all, we can credit the prairie grasses that once covered our part of the state for our rich soil.

Personally, I’ve never been a proponent of corn-based ethanol.  Corn ethanol, in essence, takes about as much energy to produce as it yields.  It’s also highly subsidized by the federal government and takes massive amounts of water to produce.  It requires approximately 1,700 gallons of fresh water to produce one gallon of ethanol!  This is undoubtedly a huge strain on our lake and local water supply.  We’re not alone.  Other regions in the county have dealt with the strain corn-based ethanol production puts on their water supplies.  Switching to grasses, like Switchgrass for our biofuel needs, is certainly something to consider.

Here’s an interesting article on switchgrass:  http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/papers/misc/switgrs.html

City Council Agenda for January 20, 2009:  http://decaturil.gov/citygovernment/council/council_agenda.htm