NORMAL –Normal Town Council members voted 5-2 to execute an agreement with Chicago-based Farr Associates to create an update to the community’s current Uptown Plan. The original plan was conceived by Farr Associates in 1999, resulting in numerous developments including construction of Bloomington-Normal Marriott Hotel and Conference Center (which now bears the name of the late former Mayor Carol A. Reitan), and Uptown Station.

The Town had $50,000 budgeted for the project and will transfer $243,500 in Tax Increment Financing dollars into the Town’s General Fund to make the project financially possible. Farr Associates had wanted to budget $323,500, partly so the process of updating the plan could be documented on videotape. That extra money was removed from the new plan.

Farr Associates proposed extending the plan to include improvements that could be made to the Town by extending their study area from Uptown to Willow St. to the north, Vernon Ave. to the south, Walnut St. to the east, and Main St. to the west. When the vote was taken, Mayor Chris Koos, joined by Council Members Cheryl Gaines, Chuck Scott, Sonja Reece, and Kevin McCarthy voted in favor of the expenditure. Council Members Jeff Fritzen and Scott Preston voted against it.

Council Member Chuck Scott said, from his perspective, the new plan is based on the previous “master plan” which was conceived in 1999. “It’s very appropriate for this community to address. I fully support it.”

Asking for expanding the “master plan,” City Manager Mark Peterson told Council members, “is looking beyond the confines of Uptown Normal to see what opportunities exist.” He pointed out the 1999 plan “served as a catalyst in $240 million to $250 million in development for the community.”

But Fritzen voiced concerns about delving into spending money on such a plan. He said going into areas beyond Uptown in this plan concerned him. He said he wondered what the study’s end result would be. He added he was not opposed to the development of a new plan, however, he was not willing to spend the money for it.

Referring to the price asked by Farr Associates, Koos said he “knows there is sticker shock, but the Town has had other plans that have cost money.”

The Townspeople will ultimately have the last word as far as Scott was concerned. “This is a plan and a process to help give future Councils an option,” he said. “We don’t know what is deliverable, but what is deliverable will be driven by the community. It’s not a case of something we have to do. It’s an option.”

“Friends Forever” Participants Visit Council: Prior to the beginning of the meeting, Council members were introduced to 10 members of Friends Forever – five Israeli and five Arab students, age 16 and older – who had been spending the past couple of weeks in the Twin Cities participating in a number of bonding activities, including speaking to local groups. Two teen girls, Samah and Dapna, who didn’t give their last names, each addressed Council members

Together, the girls, both Israelis, told Council members they “found a second family” as they stayed with the new friends they had made through the program. This year marks the second year the Town of Normal has participated in this program.

Moment Of Silence For NFD’s Whitfield: As the meeting opened, Koos asked for a moment of silence to honor Nick Whitfield, who served Normal Fire Department as both an engineer and an investigator. Whitfield, 48, died Aug. 11 as a result of heart disease.

Parks & Rec Recognizes Fritzen: Gary Little, director of Normal Parks And Recreation, and Cary Frey, supervisor of adult sports for that department, honored Fritzen with a plaque, acknowledging his 30 years of involvement with the program by serving in numerous capacities including player and manager in numerous softball leagues organized by the Town.

Omnibus Agenda Items Approved: Omnibus agenda items approved by the Council included:

• Approval of minutes of regular meeting held Aug. 4, 2014.

• Approval of Town of Normal expenditures for payment as of Aug.13, 2014.

• A motion to reject bids for the 2014 PCC pavement patching project.

• A motion authorizing Phase 2 of the ISU Redbird Street Sign Program in conjuction with the Redbird Pride Committee.

• A motion approving the annual renewal of the employee group insurance program.

• A resolution to accept bids and award a contract to Chesterfield, Mo.-based Insituform Technologies USA, LLC in the amount of $231,638 for the Cured In-Place Pipe (CIPP) sanitary sewer lining project.

• A resolution authorizing the execution of an intergovernmental agreement between the Board of Trustees of Illinois State University and the Town of Normal for classroom use of the Normal Theater.

• A resolution authorizing execution of a real estate sale contract – 105 W. Poplar St.

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