CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

MAYOR, CITY OF PEKIN

13. Please identify the three most important large infrastructure projects in the City of Pekin. How do you propose to pay for these projects?

Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce: Court Street improvements, Front Street reconstruction, Derby Street improvments, and Veterans Drive North. For the most part, the Front Street project is already funded by federal programs and local funds. For the other projects, funding will need to come from a State capital bill and/or federal transportation program. In order to take advantage of these funding sources the City needs to prioritize them, have a plan to get them close to shovel ready, and then advocate for the funding.

Mark A. Luft: Our storm, sewage and drainage systems should be an absolute priority. In the last year we have established a committee to specifically focus on this priority. We have successfully addressed some of these issues that had been put on the back burner for too long. We are on the right path in continuing efforts to resolve these issues. Our roads are certainly at the top of our priority list as well. I believe this current council has invested more into our roads than past councils. Through the input of our Engineering Department, Street Department, budget workshops and our taxpayers, we should be able to establish a 10 year improvement plan.

John McCabe: Now that the Wastewater Treatment Plant is completed, there needs to be more focus on completing repairs and other work on the storm water drainage system. I created the infrastructure committee to work with our city engineer to help complete the process, and progress is being made. Most of this is being paid for with the impound fees that the city collects. The next large capital project is the repair/rebuilding of Court St. Because of cost overruns with Veterans’ Drive, money for this work is lacking. We must pursue additional grants and other assistance from both the state and federal government as well as searching for other revenues sources. The third project would be the major repairs to other major roadways such as Broadway St., North 14th St., and others. Our local gas tax along with our motor fuel tax funds helps to pay for this.