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The eight candidates vying for the four open seats on the East Peoria City Council got the opportunity to field questions from the city’s residents at a candidate forum on Thursday night at the Fon du Lac Park District’s Administration Building.
The forum, which was sponsored by the East Peoria and Pekin area 9/12 group, allowed attendees of the forum to submit questions for the candidates.
While each candidate boasted different backgrounds and qualifications for the position, most agreed on the majority of issues facing the city. However, some disagreements came out between the candidates regarding the funding of the city’s development projects.
“Fiscal responsibility is huge,” John Kahl, a candidate for the council, said. “I look at the economic development downtown... I have a hard time with $45 million tied into one project during a downturn economy when there’s a lot of other priorities our citizens are concerned with.”
While Kahl ultimately said he supported the project, Chad Joos, another candidate for the council, also questioned the way the Bass Pro Shop deal was negotiated.
I think (Bass Pro) is going to be a great addition to our community. I was not so excited about the way the deal was structured,” Joos said. “I challenge the current council and future councils to bring additional business in a responsible manner and not incentivize them, because if we do that, we negate the purpose of the Bass Pro (Shop).”
Daniel Decker, the city’s commissioner of streets and public improvements, defended East Peoria’s aggressive development plans.
“(The city) has not just sat back and hoped development would come. We’ve gone out and gotten it. We’ve done that at terrible economic times. We’ve gotten things done that haven’t gotten done any place else,” he said.
During the forum, the questions to the candidates ranged from their opinions on the most important issue facing the city to the importance of East Peoria’s recycling program to the current structuring of the Festival of Light’s celebration.
Almost all of the candidates agreed that infrastructure will be a top priority for the next city council.
(East Peoria) has to be more than a great place to do business, it has to be a great place to live,” Zachary Oyler said. “The city has to be built on a strong infrastructure.”
Seth Mingus said that the city’s infrastructure will have to keep up with East Peoria’s growth.
The eight candidates vying for the four open seats on the East Peoria City Council got the opportunity to field questions from the city’s residents at a candidate forum on Thursday night at the Fon du Lac Park District’s Administration Building.
The forum, which was sponsored by the East Peoria and Pekin area 9/12 group, allowed attendees of the forum to submit questions for the candidates.
While each candidate boasted different backgrounds and qualifications for the position, most agreed on the majority of issues facing the city. However, some disagreements came out between the candidates regarding the funding of the city’s development projects.
“Fiscal responsibility is huge,” John Kahl, a candidate for the council, said. “I look at the economic development downtown... I have a hard time with $45 million tied into one project during a downturn economy when there’s a lot of other priorities our citizens are concerned with.”
While Kahl ultimately said he supported the project, Chad Joos, another candidate for the council, also questioned the way the Bass Pro Shop deal was negotiated.
I think (Bass Pro) is going to be a great addition to our community. I was not so excited about the way the deal was structured,” Joos said. “I challenge the current council and future councils to bring additional business in a responsible manner and not incentivize them, because if we do that, we negate the purpose of the Bass Pro (Shop).”
Daniel Decker, the city’s commissioner of streets and public improvements, defended East Peoria’s aggressive development plans.
“(The city) has not just sat back and hoped development would come. We’ve gone out and gotten it. We’ve done that at terrible economic times. We’ve gotten things done that haven’t gotten done any place else,” he said.
During the forum, the questions to the candidates ranged from their opinions on the most important issue facing the city to the importance of East Peoria’s recycling program to the current structuring of the Festival of Light’s celebration.
Almost all of the candidates agreed that infrastructure will be a top priority for the next city council.
(East Peoria) has to be more than a great place to do business, it has to be a great place to live,” Zachary Oyler said. “The city has to be built on a strong infrastructure.”
Seth Mingus said that the city’s infrastructure will have to keep up with East Peoria’s growth.
“The biggest challenge is improving and maintaining what we currently have (with public services),” he said. “Our city is growing ... we need to make sure we are able to maintain and improve the public services that go along with the developments.”
City Commissioner Tim Jeffers said that the city has to “balance the old with the new,” by investing in development and working on infrastructure.
“We grow our resources by investing in development and providing an atmosphere for development that will increase the sales tax revenue in the long run,” he said.
On the issue of the Festival of Lights celebration, the candidates cited its importance in the community, but agreed that changes need to be made.
“I think it’s time to put it to rest or invest the money and time to bring it back to life,” Judy Minner said. “I think you need to have town meetings and talk to the people of East Peoria to see what they want to do with it.”
Gary Densberger, the city’s commissioner of accounts and finance, said that the event needs to have its volunteer base passionate for the celebration.
“It needs to be reinvented. We need to reduce expenses for the event by invigorating the volunteer base,” he said. “We need to bring new and fresh ideas to it.”
The consolidated general election for city council will be held on April 5.
