Board of Trustees

Village of Peoria Heights Board of Trustees June 3, 2025 The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. Everyone stood for a moment of silence and the Pledge to the Flag. Upon calling roll, the following Trustees were present: Nate Steinwedel, Beth Khazzam, Teresa Symmonds, Sarah DeVore, Brandon Wisenburg, and Jen Reichert. Others present included Mayor Matt Wigginton, Village Clerk Stephanie Turner, and Village Counsel Mark Walton. Trustee Wisenburg made a motion to approve the Board minutes from May 20 and May 24, 2025. Trustee Khazzam seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0. Mayor Wigginton noted the Peoria Journal Star had misquoted him and stressed he had never offered a candidate for fire chief for consideration to the Board. He explained he valued consistency and stability, and he did not want to see any backsliding in the Peoria Heights Fire Department. As such, Mayor Wigginton announced he will be naming Mr. Tony Ardis as the Interim Fire Chief. Mr. Ardis comes to the Village after serving more than 25 years with the City of Peoria as a career firefighter. Mayor Wigginton detailed Mr. Ardis’ history of service including many years progressing up the command structure of the City to his final rank of Fire Chief. Mayor Wigginton stressed the Village was taking the fire department’s future very seriously with the naming of Mr. Ardis. Mayor Wigginton stated the Village was moving forward with a strong leader in Mr. Ardis and he expected excellence from the PHFD. Mayor Wigginton opened the meeting to public comment. Ms. Cathy Stevenson came forward to express concern with approving an amendment to the PH Samuel, LLC development agreement. She noted that the proposed amendment including diagonal parking which the Zoning Board of Appeals and residents had expressed great concern over during the initial site plan approval. Ms. Stevenson quoted the minutes from the ZBA meeting regarding the parking issues at the unit. She encouraged the Board to review previous meetings and documents regarding the issue. Ms. Tammy Roush came forward to speak about a request for a permanent handicap parking sign. Mayor Wigginton noted she would be allowed to speak during discussion of the item on the agenda. Hearing no additional comments, Mayor Wigginton closed the meeting to public comment. The Board of Trustees moved on to old business. Hearing no old business, the Board moved on to new business. Trustee Khazzam made a motion to approve Ordinance 2025-1762: an Ordinance Approving and Authorizing the Execution of a Second Amendment to the TIF District Redevelopment Agreement by and between the Village of Peoria Heights and PH Samuel, LLC Peoria Heights TIF District 3. Trustee Steinwedel seconded the motion. Trustee Khazzam noted the Board had a proposal in front of them which cleaned up many concerns with the development agreement. Trustee DeVore noted a lot of her concerns had already been addressed by the comments of Ms. Stevenson. She noted the Village had spent more than a $1,000,000 since 2016 on studies and proposals forming a vision of the Village. She expressed the Village should trust the advice given to Board by its consultants. She stated the Board needed to make decisions based on the vision. Mayor Wigginton invited Mr. Nic Nelson, consultant for the Village, as well as representatives for PH Samuel, LLC to come forward to speak. Trustee Khazzam noted she had concerns regarding the parking as well and that the parking spaces were exclusive to people using the building. Trustee DeVore noted the spaces were on public property, and no other business had been granted private parking on public property. Mr. Jim Beckendorf, representative for PH Samuel, LLC, offered to remove the parking clauses from the agreement in order to proceed with the amendment. Trustee Khazzam made a motion to amend the agreement to remove the exclusivity of the parking, and the amendment was seconded by Trustee Wisenburg. The amendment was approved 6-0. Mr. Nelson explained the Board could remove the parking site plan and replace it with the options in the engineer’s report. Trustee DeVore noted she didn’t support any of the engineer’s options sharing concerns about reverse in diagonal parking. Trustee Khazzam made an amendment to allow 7 diagonal parking spots along the south side of Samue Avenue and 4 parallel parking spaces along the north side. Trustee DeVore seconded. Both reemphasized, per the previous amendment, these spots would be public parking spots and not for the exclusive use of the developer’s tenants. The Board voted 6-0 to approve the amendment. Trustee DeVore asked if the amendment still removes the deed restrictions. Mr. Nelson agreed noting the clause involving timely payment. The ordinance passed as amended 6-0. Mayor Wigginton thanked everyone for their hard work in passing the agreement. Trustee DeVore made a motion to approve including Juneteenth and Casimir Pulaski Day as holidays in the Employee Handbook. Trustee Wisenburg seconded the motion. Trustee DeVore noted the Village wanted to offer employees the same holidays as other employers. Trustee Wisenburg questioned if it would include contracted employees, and Mayor Wigginton noted it applied to administrative employees. The Board voted 5-1 with Trustee Wisenburg voting nay. Trustee DeVore made a motion to approve Resolution 2025-12: a Resolution of the Village of Peoria Heights Approving Proposal from Farnsworth Group for Engineering and Community Development Oversight. Trustee DeVore seconded the motion. Trustee DeVore noted the contract was to provide consistency and stability for the Village. Director of community Development, Mr. Wayne Aldrich, stated to the Board this was an option to explore a succession plan for his role as he will be out of the office for some time for medical reasons. Mr. Mark Lee came forward to be introduced to the Village Board. Director Aldrich noted it would provide the Village with flexibility. Mr. Lee shared his work history, including 10 years on the zoning board for Galesburg and many years as a municipal engineer. He also shared that his mother had been a teacher in the Village for many years, and he had spent a lot of time here as a child. The Board approved the contract 6-0. Trustee Wisenburg made a motion to approve the request for Road Closure on October 11, 2025 for the 3rd Annual Red Sneakers Peoria 5K Walk/Run. Trustee Symmonds seconded the motion. Trustee Wisenburg noted the request was for a partial closure of Prospect Road and additional closures on the side streets. Deputy Chief Ahart noted it was an annual event, and there hadn’t been any issues. A representative, Mr. Chris Horan, came forward to clarify the event’s road closure request. He noted he had provided several options for the Board to consider. The Board discussed past practices including closures as well as attendance. Mayor Wigginton spoke about the event, which he attended the first year, noting the danger, with many people crossing, if the street wasn’t closed. Superintendent of Public Works, Mr. Chris Chandler, asked for some clarification of the walk / run’s route noting it overlapped the normal detour pattern. Deputy Chief Ahart agreed with Superintendent Chandler’s assessment noting the danger of the detour options given the route’s race. The Board and Mr. Horan agreed to closing Kingman Avenue instead. Trustee Wisenburg made a motion to approve closure of Kingman Avenue from 8:00 am – noon on October 11, 2025 contingent on notifying the residents. Trustee Symmonds seconded. The Board approved 6-0. Trustee Wisenburg made a motion to approve a permanent handicapped parking spot at 1107 E Moneta Ave by Mr. Gary Roush. Trustee Steinwedel seconded the motion. Ms. Roush noted previously the Board had requested they obtain a permanent placard which they had. Trustee Wisenburg noted the Board had previously approved one such spot, but the discussion was how the Board felt about approving permanent handicapped parking in neighborhoods. He expressed the housing and roads were tight, and he was concerned it would impede safety. Trustee Khazzam expressed sympathy for the applicant but agreed. Trustee Wisenburg noted the issue might not be resolved since it wouldn’t be exclusive parking. He stated he was uncertain it was a precedent the Board wanted to set. Trustee DeVore asked Ms. Roush if they had investigated any other options. Ms. Roush stated they hadn’t waiting to see the results of the meeting. The Board discussed alternate options with Ms. Roush. Trustee Reichert made a motion to amend to allow for temporary handicap parking for 60 additional days. Trustee Steinwedel seconded the motion. The Board approved the amendment 6-0. The Board voted 6-0 to approve as amended. Trustee Wisenburg made a motion to approve Ordinance 2025-1763: an Ordinance Amending Title 4 of the Village Code to Regulate and License Bodyworks Establishments. Trustee Symmonds seconded the motion. Trustee Wisenburg noted the ordinance requires massage parlors to be licensed. Attorney Walton stated the ordinance brings the Village in line with neighboring communities. Trustee Wisenburg moved to amendment by striking section 4-10-6c in its entirety which requires a written price list for all services be posted in the reception area. The amendment was seconded DeVore. The Board approved the amendment 6-0. Trustee Steinwedel expressed he’d had concerns and thanked Chief Sutton and Trustee DeVore for addressing his concerns. The Board approved 6-0 as amended. Trustee Wisenburg made a motion to approve a purchase of a vehicle from Thomas Dodge in the amount of $39,417. Trustee Khazzam seconded the motion. Trustee Wisenburg noted it was a vehicle that had been bid through the state bidding process for the Police Department. He stated it was a budgeted item. Trustee Steinwedel asked Deputy Chief Ahart to speak to the purchase of a Durango rather than a Charger. Deputy Chief Ahart stated they were more ergonomic. The purchase was approved 6-0. Mayor Wigginton asked for miscellaneous business. Trustee Khazzam commented that yesterday was the ribbon cutting for the new shared kitchen at the old pumphouse. She praised the new opportunity for small business owners. Mayor Wigginton noted he was very pleased, and he hopes it will be the start of many more partnerships with Bradley University. Trustee Reichert commended Superintendent Chandler on his quick response to requests from the residents. Trustee Reichert also Trustee Steinwedel had brought to her attention some repairs for Fire Station No. 1. Chief Sutton will be getting quotes for the work. Trustee Steinwedel thanked PHFD for their professionalism during the transition. He also thanked Mr. Ardis for standing up in the Village’s time of need. Mr. Ardis thanked the Board noting he wasn’t big on words, but he’s looking forward to working with the firefighters and the Board on moving forward. Trustee Symmonds thanked Superintendent Chandler for giving her a water tour. She also thanked Mr. Mark Gauf for joining to provide so much history. Mayor Wigginton announced the observation tower would open soon. Trustee Wisenburg thanked Public Works for putting spinners on the new stop signs. He also shared volunteers had planted 240 native plants to build a pollinator garden over the weekend. He said it was a very successful event. Trustee Symmonds thanked the wonderful volunteers as well. Superintendent Chandler reported the new stop signs had been installed. He announced that combined bills for water and garbage will be coming out in July. He also advised residents that 5 Star would be coming through as the lead service line replacement begins. Trustee Wisenburg reported to Superintendent Chandler one of the traffic signs needs to be replaced on Gardner Ln. Director Aldrich noted the Village had received $700,000 in grant funding for ADA compliant sidewalks on Glen Avenue. TriCounty recently announced they had surplus funds so they allocated additional funds to the Village. Total cost of the project is approximately $1.1 million. He reported the State is solicitating applications for funding. The Village submitted applications for 6 projects. He noted the State might have funds that are unallocated or is perhaps surveying needs in the state. Director Aldrich reported contractors are starting to enter the homes for the HUD program to do assessments. Trustee Reichert asked about a children at play sign. Mayor Wigginton directed her to speak to Trustee Symmonds and Trustee Wisenburg as they work on a recommendation for signage. Mayor Wigginton opened the meeting to public comment. There were no public comments. Mayor Wigginton closed the meeting to public comment. Mayor Wigginton complimented the Board. He noted the agenda had a lot of complicated issues and commended the Board on their professionalism and handling of the issues. Trustee DeVore made a motion to adjourn, and Trustee Wisenburg seconded the motion. The Board of Trustees voted 6-0 to adjourn at 6:40 p.m. ____________________________________ ______________________________________ Matthew Wigginton, Mayor Stephanie Turner, Village Clerk