PEKIN, Ill. (WMBD) — Pekin city council met this morning to discuss plans for the next fiscal year, chief among them being fixing their roads.
Local businesses along the popular Court and Derby streets have felt the effects of the bumpy roads. Merle Keefer, owner of Pekin Bass & Bow along Derby Street, said that there hasn’t been much done to the roads since they’ve been in business.
“We’ve been in business on Derby street for 29 years, soon to be 30, and we haven’t seen any improvements in the street since we’ve been in business,” Keefer said.
City council members are aware of the road conditions, and are prepared to fix the issue.
“We have a lot of roads out there that are in need of repair, we have traditionally not spent more than a few million dollars on roads a year in maintenance, this year we have almost $17 million budgeted for road projects,” said Josie Esker, city engineer for Pekin.
The new fiscal year is set to begin May 1. The final budget has yet to be decided.