Although most Peoria Heights village board meetings tend not to include any comments from the audience, that was not the case at the board’s July 15 meeting.

Jenny McCarty, a Peoria Heights resident, said she was speaking on behalf of her mother, Marilyn Frakes, 77, of 5011 Glen Elm Drive.

McCarty said her mother was upset about concrete dumped near her property by Mel Allen Construction Co. employees, who is not related to mayor Mark Allen, and Peoria Heights fire chief Norm Reichert.

McCarty said Reichert lives across the street from her mother and dumped concrete near her mother's property after he redid his driveway.

Allen said he will have the village engineer look at it next month.

“The concrete is a temporary fix to help stop erosion,” Allen said.

McCarty said there used to be a culvert in the ravine, which was removed about four years ago and replaced with a curb.

“There were 5-foot chunks of concrete down there,” McCarty said. “They removed the larger chunks, but it looks like they broke up what is still there.”

“It looks horrible and it’s dangerous.”

For more on this story see the 7/23 issue of the Peoria Times-Observer.