The Village of Peoria Heights has $2 million in its pocket and an eagerness to spend it on something so hard and durable that people can walk all over it.

Cement sidewalks, specifically.

The Village is looking for some direction from residents on where that money should go at a “listening session” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, at the offices of Hermann & Associates, 4603 N. Galena Road.

If you’ve long complained about the poor condition of the sidewalk in front of your home – or no sidewalk at all – this is your chance to weigh in.

Indeed, the condition of such basic neighborhood infrastructure has been a constant complaint in the Village, but until now, the Village had not really been able to set money aside for a substantial capital budget. After multiple consecutive years of disciplined budgets and healthy revenues, the Village now can start filling those gaps.

These coming sidewalks are “the fruits of their frugality,” Mayor Matt Wigginton said of the fiscal responsibility the Board of Trustees has exhibited over the years.

That said, even though $2 million sounds like a lot of money – it’s about a third of the Village’s total budget -- it falls short of building new or improved sidewalks over the entirety of the community, which is why the Village must prioritize that spending. And that’s why Village leaders want to hear from residents, on this and other issues.

Meanwhile, the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission has agreed to do a sidewalk inventory for the Village, which will have it mapping all existing sidewalks and ultimately rating their condition, identifying such things as just wear and tear, damage from tree roots, tripping hazards, etc., said the mayor. There will be no out-of-pocket cost to local taxpayers for that analysis.

Once the Village has that information, it will go out for bids in the spring of 2027, said the mayor.

This is the second of three such listening sessions, the first being at the Peoria Public Library earlier in September.

“This is a great opportunity for residents to weigh in,” said Wigginton. “We’re hoping for a good turnout.”