Scott Harl, Ken Kolowski meet in Peru mayor forum

The two candidates running for Peru mayor answered questions Saturday that came in from the audience viewing virtually.

Incumbent Scott Harl and challenger Ken Kolowski answered a series of questions over the 1 hour, 30 minute forum moderated by McLean County League of Women Voters Representative Lauri Bergner.

In past elections the Peru Public Library would have played host to, in some cases, more than 150 viewers for this event. The pandemic changed the physical turnout but the forum was hosted on Zoom and Facebook live, and still brought in just more than 160 total viewers.

Both candidates gave an opening speech.

Harl, by way of coin toss, spoke first and said he has run for the position based on his past accomplishments and the record he has left after serving as mayor for the past 12 years.

“Bottom line, I am proud to say that the city is in great financial shape,” Harl said. “The numbers speak for themselves.”

Harl said the city has done the best it can to help small businesses get through the ongoing pandemic and has continued to upgrade its financial rating in his tenure.

Kolowski followed by saying his decision to run was not from a personal place, but rather his want to make the city a better place.

“This isn’t personal,” Kolowski said. “There’s a misconception out there that this is personal and it’s not, it’s just about policies. Basically what this is, is the difference between (Harl) and myself.”

Kolowski said he is not a politician and prefers to make campaign outlooks instead of promises. He mentioned he wanted to cut down on wasteful spending in an attempt to make the city more fiscally responsible.

After both candidates were given enough time to make their opening remarks questions began to file in from the virtual audience. The library staff tried their best to combine similar questions into one to help save time and ensure more people could get answers to their questions.

Position on building a public pool and how would it be paid for?

Kolowski opened the question by saying he is a strong advocate of a city pool, not primarily for people to enjoy swimming but also for the childhood memories it can create.

Kolowski believes the time for putting in a pool is slipping away from the city as the cost of construction and upkeep will continue to grow unless the city acts quickly.

Kolowski said the city would explore utilizing electric money with franchise funds to cover the cost of creating a pool for the public.

Harl responded by saying the pool was closed during his first year in office after the pool was losing thousands of dollars a year in operating costs and would lose 70,000 gallons of water a day.

Harl said something had to be done because the structure was no longer viable. The city has continued to conduct pool studies and he would be in favor of one but the city doesn’t have a way to fund it at this time.

How important is it to attract new businesses to Peru and what type of economic incentives would you consider implementing to attract them?

Harl opened by saying the city is consistently seeking out new businesses to come to Peru. The city attends many trade shows and conducts economic analytic studies to get itself at the table with major developers.

Harl said working with big businesses can be a difficult process that involves having your numbers and many outside factors in place before getting your foot in the door.

Kolowski said he agrees it is more difficult to attract stores today but a main challenge Peru is up against is the internet. He mentioned over the last few years the amount of stores in the Peru mall dropped from 22 to 11.

Kolowski mentioned he would like the city to focus on strengthening and growing many of their small businesses such as their neighbor La Salle.

What is your position on taxes for the future?

Harl opened by saying his opponent has campaigned by saying Harl will increase taxes for the recently constructed roundabout and the under construction police facility. Harl said this claim is untrue.

Harl said the city’s property taxes are the lowest in La Salle County and around four cents of every dollar on a residents tax bill goes to the city. The four cents goes 100% to the police and fire pension funds for the city.

Harl said he would like to see residents paying zero taxes to the city as he has seen other municipalities be able to accomplish.

Kolowski said he has not been campaigning under the claim of raised taxes by his opposition, but rather he is concerned about the city’s spending.

Kolowski mentioned the around $30 million spent recently on projects around the city and the city is trying to catch up on the police and fire pension funding much like the rest of the state.

Kolowski said he doesn’t want to raise taxes but that the pension problem needs to be addressed better and the Harl goal of zero taxes to the city is a great goal but not realistic.

Can you provide examples of leadership and community activities that define you?

Kolowski said his leadership style is unique and he personally believes listening is the key. He said he doesn’t attempt to be the smartest person in the room, but rather tries to surround himself with smart people and encourage others input.

Kolowski said he loves going to all events and going into schools to be a part of the community. He said he is accessible and loves when people stop and talk with him.

Harl said his leadership is exemplified by his service on many boards such as the Illinois Municipal League, of which he is one of the 35 board members of 1,298 municipalities elected by their peers.

Harl also mentioned his leadership is seen with his interaction with aldermen. Stating many ideas begins with the mayor before being placed in front of the council. Harl said most items brought in front of the council are passed unanimously.

Thoughts on building 55+ communities for senior citizens?

Harl said Peru was rated the fifth best community to retire in just two years ago and all senior facilities in the city are currently full with a waiting list.

Harl said the developers of these buildings complete them by using tax credits and two developers applied for a credit last year affected by the pandemic. Both have reapplied for a credit this year.

Harl said the city is fortunate it has the want for these facilities partly because it has all of its amenities so close, which is one of the qualifications.

Kolowski said he absolutely wants to see more senior living areas, but wants to see them become more affordable.

He wishes to see more competition to help the residents be able to afford to live in the buildings that are provided to them.

Kolowski wants to move forward and work with the developers to help those living in the facilities whose cost may have gotten out of hand due to low supply and high demand.

What are your thoughts regarding the right of the public to ask questions of elected officials during open meetings?

Kolowski said he wants to get rid of the city ordinance that allows the public to speak for three minutes and not require answers from officials. Kolowski wants people to come and feel welcome at council meetings without being on a timer.

Kolowski said he understands some issues may not need to be discussed during the meetings, but he wants residents to feel heard and may ask them to speak privately after the meeting concludes.

Kolowski said other council meetings he has visited have encouraged visitors to speak about anything on their mind and believes people have questions they need to be answered

Harl said he disagrees with his opponent and the ordnance is in place for a reason. He said the city doesn’t turn anyone wishing to speak away and asks for public comment at the beginning of meetings and at the end.

Harl said most of the time the questions asked are loaded questions designed to make someone look bad and said rules need to be in place to prevent any issues during a public meeting.

Harl said he has personally asked Kolowski to speak during a council meeting and was told no.

Kolowski responded by saying while attending the meeting he was there to learn and not participate and felt intimidated and called out at that moment.

For more answers

For those who wish to view the entirety of the question forum, the video can be found on the Peru Public Library’s YouTube channel and the Facebook video will be available in the next few days on the library’s Facebook page.

Election Day is Tuesday, April 6, and early voting has begun for those interested. Those who wish may go into the La Salle County Courthouse to vote and also contact the La Salle County Clerk’s Office at 815-434-8202 and ask to have a ballot mailed to you.