By: Diane Benjamin
More on this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/02/14/i-could-have-predicted-this-one/
Tim Gleason wasn’t at the meeting where hiring a federal lobbyist firm for $270,000 over 3 years was voted down. It wouldn’t have gone that direction if he had been there, he’s a master at changing the minds of council members.
Tim Gleason is the employee of the Council, he isn’t their boss. He was upset that aldermen didn’t tell him in advance that this item was going to be pulled from the Consent Agenda so he had time to change their mind.
Excerpt from the end of the email posted in the story above:
Jump to this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/09/08/streetscape-deception/
Note the language used in that story to get the Moline Council on board with spending.
Last August Gleason got a majority of the Council to approve a $750,000 downtown streetscape study. The results will be available soon. Gleason will be looking for federal tax dollars to achieve “even greater outputs”.
In 2013 Bloomington did another Downtown Strategy study: https://blnnews.com/2022/11/18/friday-laughs-a-previous-bloomington-downtown-study/
I don’t know what that study cost because Bloomington no longer has data that old on their website. The report described in that story was obviously expensive.
PDF page 4:
The Council approved the $750,000 study. Citizens would be outraged at what this project is going to cost after every other attempt to “revitalize ” downtown has failed. He needs grants to build his legacy, therefore a revote was essential. Construction will happen because otherwise the $750,000 would be wasted. The last study resulted in Way Finding Signs.
Get ready for the celebration of your FEDERAL TAX dollars going to yet another downtown project.
In case you missed this one from Monday:
Downtown is littered with empty commercial buildings.
BlnNews 
Maybe the buildings woulldn’t be vacant if the city would treat small business owners with some appreciation incentivizing occupancy and an entrepreneurial spirit.
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They’d rather put “businesses” in spaces who are the “right fit.” They don’t even have to be profitable. They just have to be acceptable to progressive democrats.
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$750,000 wasted on yet another ‘study’ or artists conception/ CGI virtual overlay that any 8th grader could do on the Sims…
the consultants get bank for jak and the downtown business owner really gets squat.
Gleason doesn’t have to worry about being elected or re elected and views those who do as mere cheerleaders or rubber stamps.
His britches sure have grown since he left Pekin.
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wow! he does think that the council works for him. If the council had any brains they would immediately straighten him out but they would have to have brains. Like your taxes Bloomington make sure that you don’t vote!
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Gleason is our Fouchie…government knows best…politicians must obey. Sad
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Gleason is hired help. A strong mayor and engaged alderpersons would remind him of that fact. Gleason needs to implement the policies and directions the mayor and alderpersons direct , not the other way around. City managers tend to get this way over time especially so when they find a malleable mayor and council.
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Mboka is a figure head. Nothing more.
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False !
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Managers in B/N get paid big $$ to spend our money. They love spending our grandchildren’s future!
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This is bigger than Gleason. The Mayor wants to build things and spend lots of good liberal money. He wants to be part of JBs team if JB is elected president
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A couple of scary thoughts there!
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