Board of Trustees

Village of Peoria Heights Board of Trustees March 18, 2026 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, Elizabeth Khazzam, Teresa Symmonds, Sarah DeVore, Brandon Wisenburg, and Jen Reichert. Trustee DeVore is attending remotely due to work. Others present included Mayor Matt Wigginton, Administrator Dustin Sutton, Village Clerk Stephanie Turner, Superintendent of Public Works Chris Chandler, Chief of Police Chris Ahart, Interim Fire Chief Austin Szentes, and Village Counsel Mark Walton. Trustee Symmonds made a motion to approve the Board minutes from March 3, 2026. Trustee Wisenburg seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0. Mayor Wigginton made an announcement. He noted a public hearing on the Village’s proposed budget will be held April 7, 2026 at 5:00 pm. Mayor Wigginton opened the meeting to public comment. Hearing no public comment, Mayor Wigginton closed the meeting to public comment. The Board moved on to old business. Trustee Steinwedel made a motion to approve Ordinance 2026-1786: An Ordinance Rescinding and Repealing Prior Ordinance 2025-1170 (passed October 7, 2025, overriding mayoral veto), Establishing New Article E Of Chapter 3 Of Title 3 Of the Peoria Heights – old Village Code Implementing a Municipal Grocery Tax. Trustee Wisenburg seconded the motion. Trustee Steinwedel suggested the Village was no longer in a mindset of scarcity, and it could focus on growth. Trustee Khazzam noted she appreciated the residents who came out to vote. She stated the Board has been elected to represent constituents while also making decisions that are best for the Village long-term. She stated she wasn’t convinced that eliminating the grocery tax eased the burden on residents. She spoke of the Village’s patrons which consists of many visitors. Trustee Khazzam noted she would vote with the citizens, but she hoped the issue would not arise again. Trustee Wisenburg noted he had consistently opposed the tax and thanked Mayor Wigginton for his consistant stance against the grocery tax. Trustee DeVore noted the communities surrounding the Village had passed the local tax. As the Village doesn’t have a full service grocery store, the residents will continue paying taxes but to other communities. Trustee DeVore noted that purchases using SNAP benefits are not subject to tax. She stated the Village had a long list of infrastructure that required improvement, and she didn’t personally believe it was the right decision, but she had committed to support the voice of voters. Trustee Symmonds thanked the residents for their votes. Mayor Wigginton expressed his appreciation of the Board’s thoughtful conversation, their conviction, and also their willingness to ask the residents their opinions. The vote passed 6-0. Trustee Khazzam made a motion to approve the site plan application filed by The 33 Room, LLC seeking approval of a site plan for an outdoor alcohol consumption area pursuant to Section 10-3-4 for the property located at 4541 North Prospect Road. Trustee Steinwedel seconded the motion. Trustee Khazzam explained the application had been reviewed at the last meeting. It was approved by the Zoning Board of Approval. She noted there were additional issues which have not yet been resolved. She recommended the Board approve the site plan, but the restroom issue must be resolved prior to a development agreement or construction. The owner came forward and provided an update. Mayor Wigginton asked if the owner would prefer to defer the item. He stated he’d prefer to defer and work with staff to be added back to the schedule when appropriate. Trustee Khazzam made a motion to defer. Trustee Symmonds seconded the motion. Mayor Wigginton noted the item would essentially be tabled. The deferment passed 6-0. Trustee Wisenburg made a motion to approve the request street closure on Prospect Road from Kelly Avenue to Seiberling Avenue for Mt. Moon Festival on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Trustee Steinwedel seconded the motion. Trustee Wisenburg explained the Board had discussed the event at the last meeting. The Board had concerns about closing Prospect Road and tasked the event organizers to develop an alternative plan. The representative for Mt. Moon Festival thanked the Board for the opportunity. He shared he had spoken to Administrator Sutton about collaborating with Santa Rosa Cafe and closing a portion of Kelly Avenue. Santa Rosa Cafe has offered to open their doors to further participate the event. The event planners have attempted to contact the home owners on that block, but the road block would not affect them, and they haven’t responded as yet. The parking lots for businesses on either side wouldn’t be affected. He requested the street closure for both Friday and Saturday. Administrator Sutton noted closing the street both days would allow Public Works to do the work during business hours. Trustee Wisenburg made an amendment to approve a street closure at Kelly Avenue for Mt Moon Festival the morning of Friday, August 28, 2026 until morning Sunday, August 30, 2026. Trustee Reichert seconded the amendment. Trustee Symmonds asked if a charity had been chosen. The representative stated they had not. The amendment passed 6-0. The motion as amended passed 6-0. Hearing no additional old business, Mayor Wigginton moved on to the new business. Trustee Khazzam made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Trustee Reichert seconded the motion. The consent agenda consists of the following items: approval of the use of Tower Park for Howlin Halloween Bash on Saturday, October 31, 2026 and approval of the use of Tower Park for #GIRLSDAY on Saturday, October 10, 2026. Trustee Steinwedel requested to remove the #GIRLSDAY event from the agenda. The Howlin Halloween Bash event was approved 6-0. Trustee Steinwedel noted he would recuse himself from the vote as his fiancée sits on the Board for the organization. Trustee Reichert made a motion to approve the use of Tower Park for #GIRLSDAY on Saturday, October 10, 2026. Organizers of the event came forward to thank the Board for considering the request. She noted it's a passion project, and she hopes to grow it to a national event. In the first year, the event raised $10,000, and it really needed extra space. The Board approved the event 5-0 with Trustee Steinwedel abstaining. Trustee DeVore made a motion to approve a pedicab business license with Peoria Pedicab LLC. Trustee Khazzam seconded the motion. The business is in its third year operating in the Village. The business has a good working relationship with the Village, and the pedicab will operate on Prospect Road and Grandview Avenue. The license was approved 6-0. Trustee Reichert made a motion to approve the execution of a local joint funding agreement for Glen Avenue Preliminary Engineering. Trustee Symmonds seconded the motion. Trustee Reichert explained the project will start the process of making Glen Avenue ADA compliant. Trustee DeVore asked if this was the same project that began under Mr. Wayne Aldrich. Mr. Mark Lee, consulting engineer for the Village, came forward and noted it was explaining this was where the Village was approving its matching portion of the project. Mayor Wigginton noted the project will update the ramps to be ADA compliant but doesn’t replace the entire sidewalk. Mr. Lee agreed noting that this was the first step, and the second would be seeking funding to resurface Glen Avenue. Trustee Khazzam asked where the Village’s portion would be paid from. Clerk Turner noted there were funds reserved within BDD, TIF, and MFT which could be adjusted at the Board’s guidance. Trustee Reichert noted the funds would be in the future budget with staff agreeing. The agreement was approved 6-0. Trustee Reichert made a motion to approve a donation in the amount of $500 for Peoria Heights Grade School PTO. Trustee Symmonds seconded the motion. Trustee Reichert explained the donation would be for the Easter egg hunt that was coming the following weekend. The donation is an annual donation. The Board approved the donation 6-0. Trustee Steinwedel made a motion to approve the final loan payment on 2016 fire truck in the amount of $201,576.73. Trustee Khazzam seconded the motion. Trustee Steinwedel thanked Administrator Sutton for his stewardship that the Village could make the ballon payment out of the surplus rather than financing the payment. Administrator Sutton noted the Village will save $16,000 in interest by paying off the loan this week. The Board approved the loan payment 6-0. Hearing no additional new business, Mayor Wigginton opened the meeting to public comment. Hearing no public comments, the Board moved on to miscellaneous business. Trustee Reichert questioned the recycling dumpster had been locked up which had previously been available for public use. Administrator Sutton explained it wasn’t a public dumpster, and it had been misused for garbage and food waste. Trustee Steinwedel shared the Fire Department was putting together a grant taskforce. He thanked retired chief Barry Roulette, retired chief Greg Walters, and Dr. Adrian Cabador for volunteering their time to the grant taskforce. He stated the taskforce has requested individual meetings with the Board in order to be efficient in its work moving forward. Mayor Wigginton shared Trustee Symmonds’ flag donation has been hung by Public Works. Superintendent Chandler explained the flag has been hung in Poplar Lane Park. Mayor Wigginton explained grant assistance applications for lead service line replacements FY28 are due March 31, 2026. The Board will need to have a special meeting in order to take action since the Village received notice today. He requested the Board schedule an emergency meeting in the next week. The Board reached a consensus to have a special meeting on Monday, April 23, 2026 at 5:30 pm. Mayor Wigginton invited Mr. Lee forward to speak about the loan. Mr. Lee explained the Village’s consultants have suggested the Village increase their request in order to maximize the federal dollars spent on the project. Trustee Wisenburg asked if the project would be completed with those funds. Mr. Lee and Superintendent Chandler explained there are still a large number of unknowns. Trustee Wisenburg asked additional questions about the lead service line replacements with Mr. Lee explaining that communities are taking a variety of approaches. The Board discussed options to reduce costs by identifying lead service lines. Trustee DeVore requested Woodard and Curran be at the special meeting. Mayor Wigginton agreed. Trustee Symmonds requested Mr. Lee attend as well. Trustee Wisenburg noted the Village does a community clean up every spring. He asked if it would be held again in 2026. Administrator Sutton noted it would, but it hadn’t been scheduled yet. Trustee Wisenburg asked if the “Welcome to Peoria Heights” signs had all be installed. Superintendent Chandler stated they were not. He note about 25% were installed. Trustee Wisenburg stated they looked great. Hearing no additional miscellaneous business, the Board moved on to payment of the bills. Trustee Symmonds made a motion to approve the bills. Trustee Reichert seconded the motion. There were no questions on the bills. The Board voted 6-0 to approve payment of the bills. Clerk Turner read the Treasurer’s Report. At the end of February, there was $12,039,175.42 in the Village controlled accounts, and $2,247,189.85 in the Water controlled accounts. Trustee Wisenburg made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Trustee Steinwedel seconded the motion. The Board voted 6-0 to approve the report. Hearing no additional miscellaneous business, Trustee Khazzam made a motion to adjourn. Trustee Steinwedel seconded the motion. The Board of Trustees voted 6-0 to adjourn at 6:36 p.m. ____________________________________ ______________________________________ Matthew Wigginton, Mayor Stephanie Turner, Village Clerk