• The Block, to include the Peoria Riverfront Museum and the Caterpillar Experience, is poised to be one of the most important developments in our region’s history, drawing a projected 360,000 visitors and infusing an estimated $21 million into our local economy each year.

• The Caterpillar Experience, a world-class attraction, will not be built unless the Peoria Riverfront Museum is fully funded.

• The 25-month construction phase of The Block will create a homegrown economic stimulus package, generating more than 250 local union jobs each month and $1.8 million in monthly labor payroll.

• The Block will provide an investment in our community’s present and our future, turning a vacant Peoria riverfront block into a center for hands-on learning and entertainment for people of all ages.

• Known as the “public facility tax” referendum, it is for a sales tax increase of one-quarter of 1% (0.25%) to help pay for Peoria Riverfront Museum.

• Although the requested increase is small, the additional sales tax would raise up to $40 million needed to close the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s public funding gap, making it possible to move forward with the entire Block development.

• The tax will begin on January 1, 2010.

• It will be assessed for no more than 20 years to pay off museum bonds issued by Peoria County.

• The tax will equal 2½¢ on $10. That means if you ate lunch at a Peoria County restaurant once a week for a year and spent $10 each time, over the entire year, you will pay about $1.30 in sales tax toward the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

• Local economists estimate that each Peoria County resident will pay an average of $17 in increased sales tax per year—less than the cost of one movie for two with sodas and popcorn.

• Local economists project that every $1 in Peoria County sales tax directed to the Peoria Riverfront Museum will create an impressive $14 return in economic activity over 20 years.

• The tax will be assessed on select Peoria County retail purchases, including those at restaurants and hotels.

• The tax will not be assessed on groceries, prescriptions and titled goods, such as boats, cars and property.

• Visitors who make taxable purchases in Peoria County will share in supporting the Peoria Riverfront Museum. For example:
• Residents of nearby counties who shop and dine in Peoria pay Peoria County sales tax.
• Visitors who stay and eat in Peoria during conventions, concerts, business trips and sporting events will contribute to the museum through sales tax on their lodging and purchases.

• If the referendum passes, Peoria County residents will receive a 15-percent discount on admission on each visit to the Peoria Riverfront Museum admission.

• Tax dollars will be used only for the construction of the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

• Tax dollars will not be used to construct the Caterpillar Experience, which will be funded entirely by Caterpillar.

• Tax dollars could not be used for any operational expenses of the museum.

Even with the proposed increase, Peoria County sales tax will be equal to Tazewell County and lower than Woodford County:
• Peoria County sales tax would increase from 0.25% to 0.50%.
• Current Tazewell County sales tax is 0.50%.
• Current Woodford County sales tax is 1.0%.

• Total average annual attendance for The Block is projected to be 360,000 visitors. This figure is composed of three categories:
• 120,000 visitors who visit only the Peoria Riverfront Museum
• 120,000 visitors who visit only the Caterpillar Experience
• 120,000 visitors who visit both facilities during their visit to The Block
Therefore, the average annual attendance projection for the Peoria Riverfront Museum and the Caterpillar Experience is 240,000 visitors each. For more details see the economic Impact Study.

• These figures are based on stable, fourth-year attendance projections.

• Projections were researched extensively by The Block collaborators using attendance figures for similar American museums in the Midwest [and South], including the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Illinois, and the Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa; the latter also provided the primary comparison for IMAX attendance.

• Additional factors considered included, among others:
• current attendance for Lakeview Museum gallery and planetarium offerings
• visitor studies using U.S. Census Bureau information
• continual updates planned for all content area
• Caterpillar’s strong commitment to encourage dealers, other visitors and students to visit the Caterpillar Experience
• the draw of the riverfront location

• The Peoria County sales tax question will be the only referendum question on the April 7, 2009, Peoria County ballot. The language of the referendum, included in full below, will not mention the Peoria Riverfront Museum, but rather “public facility purposes”:

To pay for public facility purposes, shall Peoria County be authorized to impose an increase on its share of local sales taxes by one quarter of one percent (1/4%) for a period not to exceed twenty (20) years? This would mean that a consumer would pay an additional twenty-five cents (25¢) in sales tax for every $100 of tangible personal property bought at retail. If imposed, the additional tax would cease being collected at the end of twenty (20) years, if not terminated earlier by a vote of the county board.

• The language of the referendum is dictated by State law and does not allow for further clarification, such as inclusion of the words museum, block or listing of purchases not included in the tax.

• Vote YES to help ensure the Peoria Riverfront Museum and The Block become a reality.

• If you live in Peoria County, be sure you’re registered to vote, and take advantage of early voting and absentee voting as needed. See important voting information.

• Encourage other Peoria County residents to vote YES on the April 7 Public Facility Tax Referendum.

• A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—the entire Block development—will be lost.

• Neither the Peoria Riverfront Museum nor the Caterpillar Experience will be built.

• Our community will lose the benefit of the nearly $90 million in private and public funds already pledged to the Block, including Caterpillar’s nearly $55 million total gift to the project—as well as its commitment to put deeper roots in our community.

• The sinkhole will remain.

It’s now or never! Vote YES on April 7 and Build The Block!