PEORIA, Ill. – Hurry up and wait.
The Peoria City Council will wait for two more weeks before signing off on a new brokerage deal with Distillery Labs, an entity started with groups including OSF HealthCare promising more startup business here.
The council Tuesday voted to defer a proposal that could help fast-track tech-related startup businesses through the city permitting process, and give them access to city rights-of-way to test their products.
The reason for the deferral, given other recent council discussions, might sound familiar.
“I think this has come to us too soon with a lot of information,” said Council Member Chuck Grayeb, District 2, “We’re just hearing tonight who some of the players that will be a party to this brokerage agreement. This should have been disclosed earlier to us.”
A number of council members said they thought the concept was a great idea, while some had concerns with why the city would potentially cede some permitting authority.
“‘The city will review and respond to all proposals,'” said Council Member Tim Riggenbach, District 3, reading from part of the proposed agreement. “We’re not giving anything up. We’re just making it easier for the startup to work through the system.”
Officials say there are currently four startups waiting to set up shop in Peoria once what’s called a “brokerage agreement” takes effect.
But Riggenbach says he “reluctantly” voted to defer, so council members could get more details.
Some council members said because Distillery Labs doesn’t have a full-time staff now, they had concerns about being able to execute the agreement. While an Executive Director continues to be sought, Chris Setti of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council is filling the role on an interim basis.
Other council members questioned Peoria NEXT about the proposal, and an official there said at the meeting that they also had some concerns.
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