Passenger Link – April 2021

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GPMTD Welcomes Chris Ahart to Board of Trustees

GPMTD recently welcomed Chris Ahart to the GPMTD Board of Trustees. He attended his first board meeting on Monday, February 8, 2021 since being appointed to the board on February 2, 2021. Ahart is representing the Village of Peoria Heights and he was appointed by Mayor Michael Phelan. Ahart is serving the remainder of Joan Krupa’s term until May 1, 2023. Krupa resigned from the GPMTD Board of Trustees in December 2020.

Ahart graduated from Eureka College with a bachelor’s degree. He currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Police for the Peoria Heights police Department. He has been employed at the department since 1999 and he has worked his way up from patrol to detective to his current position during his tenure.

Ahart is involved in the Peoria Heights community, previously serving on the Cops for Kids Board and peoria Heights Leadership Academy Board. He has served on the Peoria Heights CUSD #325 Board since 2011.

A native of Washington, Illinois, Ahart has been a resident of Peoria Heights for 20 years with his wife Amy. He has fice sons and two grandshildren. In his spare time, Ahart enjoys attending his sons’ activities and spending time with family.

CityLink Thanks Mayor Jim Ardis

In March, GPMTD Board of Trustees Chair Art Bell and CityLink General Manager Doug Roelfs met with current Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis to thank him for his many years of public service to the City of Peoria. Mayor Ardis has been mayor since 2005, serving more consecutive terms than any other mayor in the city’s history. He announced in October 2020 that he was not seeking re-election for a 5th consecutive term.

Mayor Ardis has long been a proponent and advocate for public transportation during his tenure as mayor. He has supported CityLink and the other services provided by GPMTD over the years. During their recent meeting, Trustee Bell presented Mayor Ardis with a commemorative CityLink clock, which was inscribed with the words:

The Greater Peoria Mass Transit District thanks Mayor Ardis for his distinguished service to Peoria and commitment to the importance of public transportation.

Mayor Ardis’ current term as mayor ends on May 2, 2021. CityLink extends its thanks to Mayor Ardis for his service to the City of Peoria, and wishes him the best on his future endeavors.

CityLink Transit Center Hosting Unity-Point Health Wellmobile

The Unity-Point Health Wellmobile is hosting a stop at the CityLink Transit Center (407 SW Adams) the 2nd Friday of the month from April-December 2021. These are free health screenings that are open to the public.

The screenings will be held in an unoccupied office on the upper level of the Transit Center. Please take the elevator to the 2nd floor and make a left when exiting. The health screenings will take place in the office at the end of the hallway.

The Wellmobile screenings will take place at the Transit Center from 8:30-11:30 am the rest of the year on these dates:

• May 14, 2021
• June 11, 2021
• July 9, 2021
• August 13, 2021
• September 10, 2021
• October 8, 2021
• November 12, 2021

The screenings being offered include:

• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol/Blood Glucose*
• Pulse Oximetry
• Spirometry (this screening is currently not being offered due to COVID-19)

*An 8-12 hour fast is required for the Blood Glucose/Cholesterol portion of the screening. The Wellmobile also recommends drinking 16 ounces of water or more before the stop. Please take prescription medication as prescribed.

For more information and for a complete Wellmobile calendar, please visit www.wellmobile.com.

CityLink Hosts COVID-19 Public Vaccination Clinic

CityLink recently partnered with the Peoria City/County Health Department to host a public COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Transit Center on Thursday, April 8, 2021. This clinic was open to the public, but did require pre-scheduling an appointment. The appointments booked up within 24 hours! AMT was on-site for this clinic as well and administered the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. They came prepared to vaccinate the 225 people who had pre-scheduled an appointment and brought an additional 100 doses for potential walk-ins. AMT administered all 325 Johnson & Johnson vaccines during this clinic.

CityLink was pleased to partner with the Peoria City/County Health Department to host both of these COVID-19 vaccination clinics. The clinic held at the Transit Center provided an opportunity for passengers and the public to have convenient access to get vaccinated.

Jerome Lilly Passenger Appreciation Day 2021

CityLink is pleased to resume celebrating its Passenger Appreciation Day on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 to honor Jerome Lilly by providing free rides to passengers all day on all fixed routes. Unfortunately, this event was unable to take place in 2020 in what would have been its 12th year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 celebration will be considered the 12th Annual Passenger Appreciation Day.

Lilly, a beloved General Manager of CityLink, passed away unexpectedly in 2007. Passenger Appreciation Day is observed on April 20 in honor of Lilly’s birthday anniversary.

“This is a perfect opportunity for us to thank our passengers for their patience, support and loyalty while we continue to navigate through these challenging times,” said CityLink General Manager Doug Roelfs.

Buses and facilities are deep cleaned and sanitized regularly for the health and safety of employees and passengers. Hand sanitizer dispensers are also available on buses and at the Transit Center.