Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich expects an agreement with GFL Environmental on plans to address the delayed construction of a new landfill will be in place by the end of September.
“We’ve been meeting with GFL, and we have a couple of points still to discuss but I think that we've come to some resolution — the county is on board as well — with them to address our landfilling needs for the foreseeable future,” Urich told the Peoria City Council during its meeting Tuesday.
Urich said the current framework would have GFL open Landfill 3 by Jan. 1, 2035, while accepting up to 165,000 tons of waste at a transfer station that would open in Pottstown by March 31, 2026.
“That decreases the amount of time that we would operate the transfer station from 15 years to 10 years, but it would still ensure that we have a place to dispose of our waste for at least the next 36 years and possibly longer,” said Urich.
At Urich’s request, the council unanimously agreed to withdraw two agenda items related to consideration of a breach of contract filing against GFL. The items had been deferred multiple times over the past two months.
Urich also told the council the potential agreement would rework financial terms, resulting in as much as $1.6 million in savings for the city.
“Currently, we're paying $90 a ton to Waste Management to dispose of waste at our landfill, based upon the contract that we have with them,” he said. “Beginning in this year, with the contract, that rate would drop to $57.22. In addition, there's a $10 discount for Peoria for our waste. So, it drops it down to $47.22 a ton.
“Now that'll go up on Jan. 1, contractually, by whatever the rate of inflation is; we'll know that in November. But ultimately it should be about $1,600,000 decrease in the amount of money that we're spending on our disposal costs for waste that's coming out of the city of Peoria.”
Urich said the plan calls for GFL to continue working with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to address issues related to wetlands and dormant mines at the planned site of Landfill 3, as Landfill 2 nears its capacity.
He said additional aspects of the plan include establishing a “perpetual care fund” to maintain operations of all the landfills, and holding regular “household hazardous waste collection” events.
Urich said the parties are working to finalize all the paperwork before the matter next goes before the Peoria County Board at its Sept. 12 meeting, followed by the City/County Landfill Committee on Sept. 18 and finally comes back before the city council on Sept. 24.
Tomczyk named treasurer
Also Tuesday, the council unanimously approved the appointment of Chet Tomczyk as interim city treasurer.
Tomczyk, the former president and CEO of public television station WTVP, will complete the remainder of Stephen Morris’ term that expires in May.
“Now's the time for me to be able to give back again to the community after having been retired for 10 years,” Tomczyk said after taking his oath of office. “I thank you for the opportunity, and I promise I will do the best job to the best of my abilities.”
Joe Deacon
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Morris, the former chairman of the Peoria County Republican Party, was elected treasurer in 2021, but left the position in May to take another job elsewhere. Tomczyk will serve in a placeholder capacity until a new treasurer is elected next spring.
Mayor Rita Ali thanked Morris for his service, and touted Tomczyk’s “high level of integrity.”
“He's a professional with extensive experience in planning, operations and administration at the local, regional and national levels,” said Ali. “He has very strong business acumen. He has extensive community experience, and I would say he's an all-around good guy.”
Tomczyk retired from WTVP in 2014, after concurrently serving for one year as interim CEO of the University of Illinois’ WILL public radio and TV stations. He was named to the WTVP board of directors in February.
Parking deck mural
A downtown Peoria parking garage is on track to get a large new mural that will be visible from the Murray Baker Bridge.
The council approved a special use agreement with Big Picture Peoria to place the piece by artist Alex Carmona entitled “Live Greater” on the Niagara parking deck at 111 SW Adams St.
Joe Deacon
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“Rather than making a collage of all the great things that Peoria has to offer, I thought that it would be great to have individuals from the city represented on this mural, and they all have smiles and laughter on their face,” said Carmona.
Funded by the Gilmore Foundation, the mural will serve as a complement to the “Abraham Blue” artwork on the Peoria County Courthouse.
“This will be the 32nd mural that we will be creating for the community, and we are very proud to be part of this process,” said Big Picture Peoria co-founder Eileen Leunig.
“Big Picture Peoria commissioned five artists to create concepts based on the theme ‘live greater,’ and from that, once we had the concepts in hand, we arranged for a jury of city staff members as well as the members of the public. They unanimously agreed that Alex Carmona would be the artist for this project.”
The mural measures 35 feet wide by 32 feet, 7 inches high, with a mounting height of 54½ feet. It will be printed on vinyl and mounted on the facade of the garage facing Adams, with an aluminum frame and wall-mounted lighting.
The mural will remain on display for five years. Big Picture Peoria will be responsible for installation, maintenance and removal. Big Picture also will install and remove the lighting that will be maintained by the city.
The overnight installation of the mural is scheduled for 9 p.m.-5 a.m. on Sept. 4-5, weather permitting. A public unveiling will be held Sept. 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Joe Deacon
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Other business
Among other actions, the council:
- Allocated $5 million in motor fuel tax revenue toward the Pioneer Parkway-University Street intersection project;
- Deferred a vote on a request to extend late night liquor sales at Hacienda El Mirador on Humboldt Avenue;
- Authorized spending $50,000 to purchase one new Ford Explorer Interceptor for the police department to replace a vehicle totaled in a collision, as well as $35,000 to equip the vehicle with the necessary patrol operations equipment;
- Approved a six-month liquor license site application for the Neon Bison on Main Street;
- Approved 11 appointments to various commissions and committees;
- Agreed to renew a contract with Knowbe4 for cybersecurity awareness and compliance training software;
- Agreed to a $20,000 settlement with an individual involved in a motor vehicle collision.
Additionally, Ali presented Chief Craig Harper of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma with a key to the city, reflecting on the city’s history with its namesake tribe that was forced to relocate out of Illinois.
“We acknowledge this painful history so often reflected in the story of other indigenous people across the country,” said Ali. “We are so honored to meet Chief Harper and to reawaken our respect and our commitment to a greater understanding of our past.
“Tonight, we are thrilled to also celebrate the present through the impressive talents of the Peoria tribe. Let us begin a new friendship in our time. Let us find ways to serve and work with each other.”
Harper called the honor “beautiful and quite unexpected.”
“We receive this key, we receive this gift of friendship and this new opportunity on behalf of myself, our elected officials, and our 30,787 citizens across the nation,” said Harper.
