Thursday October 6, 2016 Vol. 4, No. 31
The Weekly Post
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FAQ on Peoria County’s sales-tax proposal for roads By BILL KNIGHT
One of Peoria County’s 10 road projects to address – if voters on Nov. 8 approve a 1/4-percent increase in sales tax – is a half mile stretch of Princeville-Jubilee Road where edges are crumbling, the pavement is washboarding and patches dot the surface. Studies show an average 1,650 vehicles use the road daily. Whether the traffic is from residents or commuters, farm equipment or tractor trailer rigs bringing in pumpkins, it’s past-due for repair, which will cost about $2.6 million. For The Weekly Post
After those 10 projects, an additional 5 are planned to be funded on a pay-asyou-go basis from the increased revenues, which would provide millions of dollars over the 15-year life of the tax although it would mean just 25 cents more on a $10 purchase. All this can get con- Sorrell fusing, so The Weekly Post this week interviewed Peoria County Administrator Scott Sorrell to ex-
Ground broken on Princeville library project By JEFF LAMPE
PRINCEVILLE – A timely state grant has helped speed up a $1.6 million expansion of the Lillie M. Evans Library District. Work started this week on a project that will add 5,000 square feet to the library when completed. An official groundbreaking ceremony will be held Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. at the library. “We were thinking it might be spring before we could start, but we received a Live and Learn Construction grant from the state that was really helpful in getting us over the last hurdle,” said Beth Duttlinger, library director. The $125,000 grant helped move up the construction schedule and plans now call for completion by October of 2017 – or earlier. Bishop Brothers, Inc., of Alta is the contractor in charge. “I’m hoping we’ll be done earlier than” OctoWeekly Post Staff Writer
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plain the idea. Sorrell is not advocating for the measure, he points out, but educating voters to the concept that the Peoria County Board approved 13-1, with Member Brad Harding (R-Dist. 16, in The Weekly Post area) the only No vote. Members Mary Ardapple (R - Dist. 11), Rachael Parker (D - Dist. 5), Paul Rosenbohm (R - Dist 18), and Phil Salzer (D Dist. 8) were absent. TWP: Most people dislike paying taxes for anything, but expect services. How can the County Board’s or other advocates of the 1/4-percent sale tax increase overcome the “something for nothing”
attitude?
Sorrell: Maintaining our road network is as basic a service as there is in local government. The Peoria County Board has a strong history of being good stewards of the people’s dollars and keeping the County's share of the property tax bill as low as possible. In fact, the County’s share of property tax bills has not increased in over a decade. For almost a year, the County Board has been discussing road-funding issues. They have taken a proactive approach by adopting Benjamin Franklin’s approach Continued on Page 2
HOMECOMING PARADES Parades dominated the scene in Farmington and Princeville last Friday, as both schools celebrated Homecoming by packing the streets with floats (like the sophomore class float at left from Princeville, photographed by Collin Fairfield), marching bands, candy and high school royalty. Below left are Farmington King Jake Settles and Queen Sophie Hemp. Photo by Dave Giagnoni. Below right are Princeville’s Mr. Football Scott Snedden and Queen Sydney Ladd. Photo by Collin Fairfield.
More Photos, Page 2