NORMAL – Normal Town Council unanimously approved a resolution conditionally approved the final plat for a second addition Heartland Community College Second Addition at its campus on West Raab Road. The new construction would allow HCC to expand its campus westward, making room for an agriculture-centered classroom building. Council Member Kevin McCarthy was not present at Monday’s session.

The item was part of Council’s omnibus agenda, where a number of items are decided upon together unless a Council member wishes to discuss an item. No Council member sought discussion of this item before voting on omnibus items took place. Town Council approved a preliminary subdivision plan for the project in January.

HCC’s project will use roughly nearly 90 acres of land and will be adjacent to West Raab Rd. and the west edge of HCC’s main campus.

Key parts to HCC’s expansion plan include a private utility easement in the location where HCC will install a sanitary sewer service over to the main campus; A 25-foot public water main easement; And a 20-foot utility and trail easement along the south property line as required by the annexation agreement. The final plat for this project does not include public right-of-way for streets, as all streets involved for this project are all internal to HCC’s campus and will be owned and maintained by the college.

In a report to Council members prepared by Town Planner Mercy Davison, Town Council members voted to annex the land in 2016 in anticipation of HCC’s potentially expanding its educational facilities toward the west.

Council Approves Annexation For Future Development At SW Corner Of West College Ave.: Council members used a 6-0 vote to approve an annexation agreement related to roughly 10.29 acres at the southwest corner of West College Ave. and Interstate 55. A developer, Travis Yordy, is seeking to develop the land to use for a mini-storage facility. Council Member Kevin McCarthy was not present at Monday’s session.

Yordy submitted an annexation agreement which addressed a quartet of land use issues, which included annexation, getting a concept plan approved, and getting a waiver of the preliminary subdivision plan from the Town. The preliminary subdivision plan from someone wishing to construct is mandated by the Town. Yordy also would like to have the zoning of the land changed from its current Agriculture to rezoned to be General Business. Town staff explained in its report to Council members the land Yordy wants to put his business on has never been sought for requests for residential use.

Yordy also was seeking a waiver of a sewer extension required by the Town for this property for numerous reasons including that it’s not needed for the development. The property on the north side of West College Ave. has access to public sewer running from north to west. There is also a sanitary sewer running near the northwest corner of the property.

Normal Planning Commission members held a public hearing concerning the land on March 10 where only Yordy spoke and but no members of the public did. Planning Commission members voted 5-0 in favor of the proposed rezoning, and in favor of Yordy’s concept plan for the property. At Monday’s public hearing prior to the beginning of the Council session, no members of the public spoke on the matter.

Bleichner To Retire As Normal Police Chief At End Of April: Rick Bleichner, who has served the Town of Normal as its Police Chief for the past 11 years confirmed following the Council meeting he will be retiring from that post at the end of April. Bleichner reached the 30-year mark with Normal Police last September. He has worked through the ranks of NPD, starting as a patrol officer in September 1991, and worked his way to being a detective, promoted to the Sergeant in 1999. In 2001, Bleichner was promoted again, to the role of Lieutenant and was appointed to Assistant Chief in 2004. He became chief Aug. 1, 2011.

Liquor Commissioners Approve Annual License Renewals: Prior to the regular Council session, Council members, met in their capacity as members of Normal Local Liquor Commission and voted unanimously to renew licenses for 76 establishments in Normal which are licensed to sell alcoholic beverages.

They include 30 Class A licenses to sell packaged liquor; two Class B licenses which sell beer by the drink; 15 Class C licenses to sell beer and wine by the drink; 15 Class D licenses to sell all liquor by the drink; 4 Class E licenses (Hotels); 3 Class M licenses for brewpubs; 1 Class N license for Corn Crib Stadium; 1 Class O license for an establishment with limited hours; 1 Class P license for a taproom; 4 Class Q licenses for public College or University; and 2 Class R licenses for theaters.

A total of 27 other establishments who specialize in catering, outdoor garden/patio, annual tasting, and parimutuel betting also had licenses renewed by Commissioners.

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

• Approval of minutes of public hearing March 21, 2022.

• Approval of minutes of the regular Council meeting of March 21, 2022.

• Report to receive and file Town of Normal expenditures for payment as of March 16, 2022.

• A resolution authorizing execution of an agreement with Mr. Craig Onsrud for operation of Ironwood Golf Course Pro Shop and private golf lessons.

• A resolution authorizing frame rail replacement and corrosion repairs to a 2014 Pierce fire engine.

• A resolution to waive the formal bidding process and accept quote from Amboy, Ill.-based Dinges Fire Co. for the purchase of 11 Bullard TXS thermal imaging cameras and related accessories at a cost of $37,553.65.

• An ordinance authorizing a purchase agreement for a parcel of property located at 316 N. Glenn in the amount of $12,500.

• A resolution authorizing a contract extension with Washington, D. C.-based Cardinal Infrastructure, LLC for professional services related to Federal advocacy and funding.

• A resolution authorizing acceptance of a proposal from MCCi to implement Laserfiche Electronic Content Management (ECM) solution for a total of $211,780, including a one-time cost of $158,305 and an annual licensing cost of $53,475.

• A resolution conditionally approving the final plat for Heartland Community College second addition (West Raab Road).

NORMAL – Students from a number of classes at Normal Community West High School may have been watching when news about the conflict in Ukraine would come on the news, but on Friday, in the school’s auditorium, West students from a number of different classes were able to receive first-hand accounts of what it has been like to be there – one from one of their teachers who also serves in the military and recently came back from serving there, and one from a member of the Peace Corps who has been there attempting to help the residents during the conflict.

Students from U.S. History and Regional World Studies classes at Normal West listened, first to Glen Petersen, a teacher of Regional World Studies at the school, who is a colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard, described Ukraine as a peaceful country which now finds itself fighting every day for its independence. Peterson was stationed in Ukraine from July 2020 through April 2021, and was part of a joint multinational training group where 165 U. S. soldiers were stationed.

Petersen said Ukraine is “a powerhouse that’s only starting to come into its own” concerning its growth and that, worldwide, Ukraine provides food for 600 million people, primarily due to fertile soil. He added two-thirds of the country’s population live in urban areas.

The other local resident who addressed students was also named Peterson, but not related, and also not a soldier, but rather, a member of the Peace Corps, Casey Peterson. He explained to students he teaches English language as his assignment with the volunteer organization which was established during the John F. Kennedy Administration in the 1960s.

Casey Peterson said he arrived in Ukraine in March 2016, a couple years after that country’s revolution, and he was there to teach Ukrainians English. “The people in Ukraine tried to determine their own destiny,” he said about what the country’s citizens wanted in an attempt to break away from the former Soviet Union. He said to look at current news reports of Ukraine show numerous “war-torn images,” Peterson said, adding, “And that’s not the Ukraine I know.

He showed photos of the places he lived and of photos of Ukrainian children. Of the young people he photographed, “They are young people who just want to enjoy their lives and were looking forward to their futures.” Instead, he said, as a result of the current conflict, many of them are “huddled in basements,” the result of bombings taking place during the current conflict.

He also showed students photos of a fox from Chernobyl, where a nuclear accident occurred at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26,1986. Currently, he said, there is a large concrete dome covering it.

He showed students a group photo of the family he stayed with for 2 ½ who helped him learn the country’s language. Prior to that, he had taken Spanish classes in school. But living with and learning the language from the host family taught him the necessity of learning the language if he wanted to do the simplest things such as ordering coffee in a café among other things.

Among the photos Casey Peterson showed was of a rifle range in the basement of a school, one of the activities older students engage in. When he asked how many students of the 200 or so would like to have been able to take such a class, a number of students raised their hands. He said middle schoolers are taught to shoot guns which shoot pellets while high school students used .22 caliber pistols.

He asked students how many were taking a foreign language, and about one-quarter of the 300 students present did. He then said he hoped those students got a chance to visit the country where the language was common. He told the students to go there and be able to use that native tongue would be “gratifying.”

After the assembly, Glen Petersen told reporters, even with COVID, being overseas “was a very great, rewarding experience. Even with COVID, we built some very strong relationships with our counterparts in Ukraine, and we felt Ukrainian military was very interested in working with the U. S., and furthering their own combat capabilities.”

Stationed as a Deputy Commander of Task Force Illini, Petersen explained where the Ukraine military was at when his team came to help in July 2020.

Petersen, said it was apparent when his unit arrived in Ukraine that Ukrainian military didn’t have all the usual necessary resources a military ought to have on hand for impending battles. He said U.S. military present attempted to provide what was missing for Ukrainians to defend themselves. Those materials U. S. provided included training materials, weapons, and communications needs.

Peace Corps volunteer Casey Peterson began his time in Ukraine in March 2016 staying through fall of 2018, and explained that people living there are reserved until they get a chance to know you. The cause of that, he explained, is they are concerned about inadvertently dealing with people who might turn out to be members of Soviet KGB, he explained. He added people in that country are often seen frowning in pictures “because it is seen as being disingenuous to smile,” he explained.

As a Peace Corps member, Peterson said his job is “to immerse in the culture, live as they live, and really, integrate into the culture.” To do that, he said, gives “them a chance to learn about you and you learn about them.” He said teaching Ukrainians English “was an impact, but it was a pretty small impact.” He said he was also only one of two male teachers sent by the Corps, he said, the rest being primarily female, in a school with 40 teachers.

NORMAL – For a second straight Monday, Illinois State University’s Director of Athletics, Kyle Brennan, introduced a new coach to help lead one of the Redbirds teams to victory in another sport. At the Aaron Leetch Legacy Club on the fourth floor of Hancock Stadium, fans who support Redbird Volleyball, the players, and media were introduced to Allie Matters as the team’s eighth head coach.

Matters signed a five-year contract with an annual salary of $125,000. Also included in the package she signed is a car stipend and bonuses. She is succeeding Leah Johnson in the position.

Matters comes to ISU following four seasons heading the team at Dayton, Ohio-based Wright State University. She got there after serving as the lead assistant coach at her alma mater, Seton Hall University. That success included the Pirates making their debut at NCAA Tournament in 2014.

At WSU, Matters racked up a 79-30 record (.725 winning percentage) including going 48-15 against Horizon League opponents, and getting her team in consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019 and 2020-21. Those numbers indicate an about-face for the team Matters took over at WSU. When Matters took over the program, the Raiders successes including Wright State earning a victory over Samford in a first round match at NCAA Tournament last spring. That turned out to be the first win in NCAA Tournament action for that Horizon League team.

ISU’s Director of Athletics, Kyle Brennan began his introduction of Matters by saying, “We found tremendous interest from a large group of candidates including head coaches, but it became clear Allie stood out head and shoulders above everyone else that we interviewed.”

Brennan said candidates often mentioned positives they had heard about ISU athletics. “We were looking to take our program to the next level,” he said, adding, “With this hiring, it’s not just about making it back to the NCAA Tournament – we want to win a game like she’s done.” He said the University was looking for someone who would understand players not just as athletes but as people.

As she was introduced, Brennan gave her a Redbirds number 8 jersey, the number she wore in her college playing days. She started off by thanking Brennan, Dr. Kinzy, Leanna Bordner, ISU’s Deputy Director of Athletics, and their senior staff for the opportunity.

“This is a great program at a great University and I am honored to be the next head Volleyball coach,” Matters told the gathering. After thanking people she worked with and coached at WSU, she addressed her future players, saying, “To my Redbirds, I met you a short time ago, and without knowing you quite as much as I want to yet, the way that this community and the athletic department speaks of you makes me so proud to be your head coach.

“I promise I am going to be someone you are going to want to go to battle with and for,” she told her new charges.

“I want to be clear, this isn’t a job,” Matters told the gathering. “Coaching is a role, it’s a passion, it’s who I am, and it’s truly something I was called to do.”

She said part of her job is to “encourage, lead, and mentor” her players. “It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly, and coaches can impact some people in a year and some people will in a lifetime.

“To the alums, I look forward to meeting you all and hearing all of your stories,” she said. “Our program has been built on your shoulders and our doors are always open.”

ISU President Dr. Terri Goss Kinzy gave the audience of 80 people an introduction to Matters by explaining that when Matters was touring the University, Dr. Kinzy said she asked Matters if she had any questions she would like the President to answer about ISU. Dr. Kinzy said fans will find that Matters is an“amazing, engaging, passionate, and incredibly intelligent coach.”

Dr. Kinzy credited Matters with asking nothing but “fantastic questions” revolving around authenticity, ethics, “and most of all, about our students, and how we are centered on our student athletes.”

NORMAL – Members of Normal-based Unit 5 School Board voted unanimously to move ahead with plan to make cuts in teacher positions and educational programs next year totalling $2.1 million. That decision was made following a meeting that lasted beyond 5 hours, which included public comments section lasting 4 hours and 40 minutes most of them speaking to save the programs they feared would get placed on the chopping block.

But, as it will turn out, even after the vote and lengthy comments session, the show will go on for the district’s fifth-grade band and orchestra program, which was spared.

But among the programs which became casualties to budget cuts decided on by Board members were: A total of 36 teaching positions, two administrator posts, a with-pay training program for administrators, and an eighth-grade foreign language option.

District Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle told attendees most of the positions will be eliminated through retirements or reassigning other teachers.

A total of roughly 300 citizens attended the meeting in the auditorium at Normal Community West High School with 53 people of varying ages from a seventh grader on up addressed Board members although 75 originally registered to speak, the last of the speakers finishing up at 11:52p.m.

The elimination of fifth-grade band and orchestra program brought 52 speakers to the podium specifically, with Lauren Romero leading off by addressing Board members.

Such support for the fifth grade band and orchestra may have saved it, but the district will experience other losses including eliminating three dozen teaching positions, along with the positions of two administrators. An administrator-training program will also be lost as a results of cuts Board members made. Also being eliminated as a result of the vote is an option for foreign language for eight graders.

Erasing the positions to be eliminated will be done through retirements and reassignments, published reports indicated.

Public Comments Touched A Number Of Subjects: Public comments by those who attended the meeting were wide-ranging in subject matter.

Jennifer Latzke, a Social Studies teacher in the district, told Board members explained she has gone from being a 4th grade teacher who was reassigned due to low student population numbers. From there, she said, she was reassigned as an eighth grade teacher at Chiddix Junior High School. She said the change from one assignment to the next had her making the best of the circumstances. But she said, she has again received notice from the district she will be reassigned again in the fall due to low student numbers in the grade level. “The hours I have spent pouring over my lessons don’t matter to the decision makers in this district, as they continually exploit the hard working nature of educators,” Latzke said. She told Board members she promised her family she would have more time for them during the current school year “was a lie.” She said that lie is because she will be at another different assignment next year.

“Teachers are being affected by this in more horrible ways,” Eighth grader Faith Bednar told Board members. “I mean, you are giving teachers more classes to do without giving them more pay?

Board President Amy Roser later explained the Board didn’t want to make any of the cuts they chose. “We recognize that every one of those programs the staff and the people that oversee them are needed. Every one of those things that were proposed is valuable and needed in Unit 5.”

“We didn’t want to make any of those cuts,” Roser continued. “It’s just that we knew if we did nothing, that our structural deficit would continue to grow to $14 million for next year, school year 2022-23, to over $30 million in the next five years.”

Roser said Dr. Weikle told Board members the district would save some cash by eliminating 38 teaching positions. Roser said the next step for Board members is “to explore other sources of revenue and that includes evaluating the public’s appetite for a referendum.”

Any referendum would be for residents to vote to add money to the district’s Education Fund, she explained. With students out for spring break the week of March 21, there will be no Board meeting March 23. The Board’s next meeting is slated for April 13 at Normal West’s auditorium starting at 6:30p.m.

Closed Session Concerning Personnel Matters Held: When the public speakers concluded, Board President called for a break which lasted roughly 30 minutes beginning at 11:53p.m. When the meeting was called back to order at 12:09a.m. Thursday morning, Board Member Dr. Kelly Pyle made a motion to have the Board adjourn to private session for discussion of matters covered as such by the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Such items as personnel matters are covered under this Act. Roser reminded audience members no action would be taken during the closed session.

The Board then adjourned again at 12:09a.m. for the closed session which included a discussion of personnel matters, returning for their last public session of the meeting at 1:18a.m. Thursday morning.

NORMAL – By a 4-3 count, Normal Town Council members approved an ordinance adopting the Operating and Capital Investment Budget for the Town of Normal for fiscal year 2022-23. Mayor Chris Koos, and Council Members Chemberly Cummings, Kevin McCarthy, and Karyn Smith voted in favor of the ordinance while Council Members Kathleen Lorenz, Scott Preston, and Stan Nord cast opposing votes.

The proposed budget includes a cost of living adjustment to the salary schedule of 5 percent for the Town’s non-contract employees and goes into effect April 1. The Town anticipates beginning the new fiscal year on July 1 with an operating budget of $168,988,734. Of that, it anticipates spending $181,392,679 while anticipating $192,824,801 in expenses and transfers. That proves to be a deficit difference of $11,432,122, the result of which would mean the Town would end the year next June with a balance of $157,556,612.

In his report to Council members concerning the budget, Town Finance Director Andrew Huhn explained Town staff instituted small changes to the proposed budget Council members saw in January. He explained those changes, grouped together, had a minimal effect on the Town’s financial standing.

Divided Council Vote To Increase Water Bill Rates: In a report to Council from Town Director of Water, John Burkhart, during the fiscal year 2022-23 budget cycle, Town staff recommended a water rate increase of two percent go into effect April 1. In addition, Town Staff suggested a 2 percent rate increase programmed into all budgeted out years. In Monday’s session, the rate was approved by a Town Council vote of 4-3, again with Council Members Lorenz, Preston, and Nord registering opposing votes.

Enacting Standards For Solar, Wind-Energy Facilities Approved: Council members unanimously passed a motion to initiate zoning text amendments concerning solar and wind energy facilities. The measure having passed, it will be passed to Normal Planning Commission for consideration.

The Town’s Zoning Code has no current regulation concerning installation of solar or wind-energy facilities. Normal has permitted roof-mounted solar panels provided they met Town building codes. Freestanding systems, like the solar array for the First Presbyterian Church on East College Avenue or Heartland Community College’s wind turbine have been handled by the Town on an individual basis through its site-plan process.

Motion to Approve Reappointments to Various Boards, Commissions, and Committees Approved: By a 6-1 count, Council members approved a motion to approve reappointments to a number of the Town’s various Boards, Commissions, and Committees. Nord cast the lone opposing vote, with the explanation that “The public had no idea who they were appointing for these positions, and the public learned seconds before we announced it.”

He added, “Since they are representing the public, shouldn’t the public have some input on who is going to represent them on these boards and commissions? The public had zero input on who was appointed to these boards and commissions. The public should have input on who will represent them. Only in a dictatorship do people not have a say in who represents them.”

Normal Police “Officer Of The Year” Introduced: Prior to the Council meeting starting, Normal Police Chief Rick Bleichner formally awarded the Department’s “Officer Of The Year Award” to Officer Cory Phillips. Bleichner said the award is given to officers who “demonstrates a sustained performance in all areas of professional policing, who demonstrates outstanding service to the community, and also who embodies the vision and core values of the Normal Police Department.”

Chief Bleichner said Phillips, an NPD officer for 2 ½ years, was nominated by fellow officers for the award “because of his proactive policing during while working the 3p.m.-11p.m. shift and 11p.m.-7a.m. shift, also for his interview skills while on multiple cases eliciting critical information that resulted in felony arrests in multiple instances.”

Officer Phillips was one of the first officers who responded to the active shooting incident on Aug. 30 at Landing Estates Mobile Home Park, that ended in three people being injured and resulting in three people dead, including the suspect. “Officer Phillips was quick to render aid there, and he also performed his duties admirably while in the face of great danger at personal risk to his own safety,” Chief Bleichner explained.

“Officer Phillips is an outstanding representative of the Normal Police Department, and tonight, it is my honor to present you with the 2021 Normal Police Department Officer Of The Year Award,” Chief Bleichner concluded as he handed the decorative plaque to Off. Phillips. As Off. Phillips was presented the plaque by Chief Bleichner, the audience of roughly 30 people in Council Chambers gave Off. Phillips a standing ovation.

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

• Approval of minutes of public hearing Feb. 21, 2022.

• Approval of minutes of the regular Council meeting of Feb. 21, 2022.

• Report to receive and file Town of Normal expenditures for payment as of March 2, 2022.

• An ordinance authorizing annual publication of a zoning map.

• A resolution authorizing the execution of a one-year agreement with St. Louis, Mo.-based Gateway Pyrotechnics Productions, LLC for the annual Fourth of July fireworks display.