A new TIF District and more
The Village intends to add a fourth tax increment financing (TIF) district, this one to encourage economic development along the Heights’ riverfront.
TIF is an economic development tool wherein a local municipal government designates an area of land for a period of time, freezes its property tax value, incentivizes private investment there with public funds and then uses the additional tax revenue generated by the development to pay for infrastructure (roads, water pipes, etc.) and other costs. Generally speaking, TIF funds are supposed to be used in areas of decline where, the argument goes, investment would not occur without them. By law, the term of the TIF would be a maximum of 23 years.
In this case, the Village has targeted the area along Illinois Route 29 from the bluff to the river, between Gardner Lane and just north of the McClugage Bridge. Much of the area is commercial or industrial, with a smattering of residential on both sides of the road.
The Village’s Bloomington-based economic development consultant has identified 450 properties in that Route 29 corridor, 364 of which have a building on them. There are 86 vacant lots. About 90 percent of those properties are in need of “a little love,” said Steve Kline, president and CEO of The Economic Development Group. Many of them are at risk of further deterioration, he said.
While this TIF District and the pending Route 29 reconstruction are separate projects, the state’s focus on the corridor with nearly $90 million in pending reinvestment makes it “ripe” for development and is a primary reason behind this TIF, said Kline. The Village hopes to “piggyback” on that attention by tangibly encouraging private investment there, said Mayor Matt Wigginton.
There is a fair amount of public confusion and sometimes concern regarding TIFs, acknowledged Kline, but it doesn’t mean a tax increase or a surrender of control over anyone’s property. It has nothing to do with eminent domain, which means a forcible government purchase of a property, he said.
Fundamentally it’s just a reallocation of property tax and sometimes sales tax revenues that are diverted from a local government’s general fund to a separate TIF fund – fundamentally a “lockbox,” said the mayor -- to be used to assist development in that specific corridor. It can affect the budgets of other governing bodies such as school districts though other arrangements can be made. Peoria Heights, for example, has made efforts to compensate School District 325 for its loss of revenues during the life of the TIF.
At a recent hearing, residents had questions about whether the TIF could be used to address unkempt properties – the answer is no, as that’s a code enforcement issue – whether current property owners would have any say over the types of development to come, which is predominantly a zoning issue, and what will become of Roosevelt Road, where vehicle traffic is now restricted to emergency vehicles and to residents who live there.
Recipients of TIF funds must enter into a development contract with the Village. “It’s a very transparent process,” said Kline.
In other recent business:
The Village Board approved a TIF agreement with assistance for a five-townhome project at 1201 E. Duryea.
Florida-based developers King/Donnellan Joint Venture, LLC and William and Roberta King are behind the $2.75 million project, which will be aided by up to $828,000 in property tax reimbursements over the next 16 years. The developers’ TIF-eligible costs in this case include land acquisition, site preparation and utilities extension. They purchased the property from Larry Herman, the developer of the Twelve21 Duryea apartment project.
The Village Board approved a $412,500 contract with Missouri-based water consultant Woodard & Curran for design and construction services regarding replacement of a water main beneath Illinois Route 29, in coordination with the pending $90 million road reconstruction there. The firm will work closely with the Illinois Department of Transportation, which will determine the timing of the project and the placement of the line.
The Village will be replacing 8,000 linear feet of six-inch drinking water main and 2,200 linear feet of 12-inch raw water main at a total cost topping $2 million, with about half of that covered by a federal grant secured through the office of Congressman Eric Sorensen. The Village’s portion of the project will be paid for through a 40-year, low-interest loan, said engineering consultant Mark Lee.
The current main dates to 1970. “This is the time to replace it, not 100 years later,” said Heights Public Works Superintendent Chris Chandler.
At no time will residents of the area be without water, said Lee.
The Village Board unanimously approved another contract with Woodard & Curran, this one for $250,000, to oversee lead service line replacement in the Village in 2026. The work will include engineering, design and contract bidding. Approximately 275 local service lines will be addressed in the coming year.
The work is being funded mostly through grants and forgivable or low-interest loans.
“They understand our system,” said Trustee Teresa Symmonds, who encouraged a “yes” vote on the contract.
The Village Board continues to discuss the future of garbage service in the community, even though the Village still has more than two years left on its contract with GFL Environmental.
Trustee Brandon Wisenburg has advocated for taking the Village out of the waste-hauling equation and letting residents contract for garbage service on their own, noting that there are just two companies that serve this part of central Illinois for the most part, that “you can’t really call that competition,” and that theoretically, with competition “the cost should come down.” The Village used to subsidize garbage pickup but no longer does.
Others including Village Administrator Dustin Sutton have noted that there are “advantages and disadvantages” to letting residents do their own thing regarding the removal of waste, among the latter the risk that many residents wouldn’t have their trash removed at all, with it ending up not in a landfill but in local alleys and other undesirable places. Meanwhile, letting residents secure pickup on their own might actually drive up costs as waste haulers forfeit the economies of scale that come with a community-wide contract. Public Works Supervisor Chris Chandler cautioned that the wear and tear on Village roads of having more garbage trucks on local roads could affect the Village’s bottom line, as well.
“We need a lot more investigation,” said Sutton.
Trustees learned that the fourth annual Mt. Moon Festival in Peoria Heights last August raised some $10,260 for charity, specifically this year for homelessness outreach and transitional housing. Organizers of the two-day music festival and street party said they hope to return to the Village for their event in 2026 and that they intend to do a better job of working with the Chamber of Commerce in communicating the road closure.