NORMAL – Owner of the Uptown eatery The Rock Restaurant, Said Saliba, had sought Normal Town Council members’ approval on a couple of improvements relating to the expansion of his business at Monday’s Council session at Normal City Hall. Of the two major things he had on his expansion menu, he got one concerning approval of the location of an outdoor cooler, but Council members declined his request for a waiver for installation of a digital sign.
Since 2010, Saliba has owned the building his restaurant is located in, as well as the neighboring shop which used to house C-Tees Screen Printing, a business that closed in October, all located at 201-203 W. North St. Saliba was seeking to expand into the neighboring closed business to increase the size of his eatery.
Saliba was seeking to make improvements to the building, including installation of awnings and signage which would match that already at the current eatery; and the addition of an outdoor cooler which would be fenced in and placed at the rear of the building.
Council members approved the Town entering into a proposed redevelopment agreement with Saliba where the Town would provide him with $82,000, or roughly 60 percent of the cost of the total project so that a steel deck can be constructed to the back of the building, replacing an aging wooden deck. Saliba will invest an additional $50,000 toward upgrading the building’s exterior.
Council members also unanimously approved Saliba’s request to place an unscreened outdoor walk-in cooler at the rear side of the building’s first floor. This would be located along the Broadway St. end of the building. But with two Council members not present – Chuck Scott and Scott Preston – Council members voted 4-1 to prohibit Saliba from adding a digital sign to the building’s façade along Broadway St. Council Member Sonja Reece cast the lone vote in favor of the sign.
In the discussion that took place prior to the vote, Mayor Chris Koos stated his concerns over digital signs explaining he believes such signs “don’t add anything to the landscape.â€
Council Member Cheryl Gaines said she recalled voting against the use of digital signs the last time an Uptown business – Firehouse Pizza at 107 E. Beaufort St. – approached Council members to place one outside their establishment.
Council member Jeff Fritzen said he thought Town Code concerning the use of digital signs needed to be reworked, and suggested the Council decline Saliba’s request temporarily until the Town has a chance to study the matter. After that, Fritzen said, Saliba could bring back another request for a digital sign.
Having electronic signs would be to the Town’s advantage in helping people find businesses, Reece reasoned. “Such signs are today’s way of getting a message across.â€
Council Member Kevin McCarthy said standards for digital signage need to established by the Town. Koos said he “would like for the general business community to weigh in, as well as the Uptown Design Review Committee, concerning use of such signs.
Council Gets Refresher On Community-Wide Sustainability And 2015 Report: Town Planner Mercy Davison gave a brief overview on two of Normal’s long-term projects – Community-Wide Sustainability and the 2015 Report. The Community-Wide Sustainability Task Force was organized in 2009 under Koos’ guidance. Among the goals the task force had was to continue the momentum of the Uptown Project. In the process of doing that the Task Force, Davison explained, brought national attention to the community and connected sustainability with economic development.
She reminded the Town will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Constitution Trail on May 6. To honor that upcoming event and prior to the start of the evening’s meeting, Koos read a proclamation designating the month of May as “Constitution Trail Month.†After announcing the proclamation, Koos gave a copy of it to Dan Steadman, president of the volunteer group, The Friends Of The Constitution Trail.
Harmon Exiting Airport Board; Beth Whisman Given Airport Board Appointment: Former Mayor Paul Harmon, the outgoing chairman of the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority Board of Directors, paid a last call to Council members in that position, as he prepares to step down after being a member of that governing body since 1997. Harmon told Council members he has served in some capacity on one board or committee in some capacity since 1972 when then-Mayor Carol Reitan gave him his first appointment as a member of Normal Planning Commission. He then moved onto the Town Council, and served as Mayor in the early 1990s. Following his time in City Hall, in 1997, he was asked to serve as a member of the Airport Authority Board by then-Mayor Kent Karraker.
“I’m really here to say thank you for appointing me to public offices,†he quipped, as he began his comments filled with appreciation for being able to serve a town he said he was not a native of.
“You don’t know how much we at the Airport Authority appreciated the support of the Town of Normal and City of Bloomington,†Harmon said. He said the Airport Authority continues to work on replacing services that Central Illinois Regional Airport has lost over time, including, he said, the convenience of having AirTran Airways flights, an item that was lost nearly two years ago.
In leading off the comments to Harmon from Council members, Fritzen told him, “It is important for us to thank you for your willingness to serve. Fritzen was a Council member during the early 1990s during Harmon’s term as mayor.
“You’re probably why I am sitting in this chair,†Reece told Harmon, reminding him that a talk he gave the area Chamber of Commerce that she attended inspired her to get involved in terms of serving the community. Reece served on Normal Planning Commission before being elected to her first term as a Council member. She was re-elected for her sixth term as a Council member in 2011.
Harmon’s appointment to the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority Board of Directors expires May 1. Council members unanimously voted to appoint Beth Whisman to serve on that Board for a four-year term ending in April 2018.
Whisman, a Normal resident for nearly 14 years, had spend most of that time working for WJBC Radio as a reporter, talk show host, and the station’s news director. Currently, she is director of development for the McLean County Museum of History. A 1999 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, she is active volunteering with the Child Protection Network, the David Davis Mansion Foundation Board, and as a Girl Scout leader.
Omnibus Agenda Items Approved: Omnibus agenda items approved by the Council included:
Approval of minutes of the Regular Council meeting held April 7, 2014.
Approval of Town of Normal expenditures for payment as of April 16, 2014.
A motion to waive the formal bidding process and purchase a 15-passenger van from Bloomington-based Leman’s Chevrolet in the amount of $33,759.20.
A motion to accept the low bid and award a contract to Peoria-based Kreiling Roofing for the replacement of the Fairview Family Aquatic Center bath house and concession building roofs in the amount of $48,945.
A motion to accept a bid and award a contract to Pontiac, Ill.-based H. J. Eppel and Company for asphalt path extension for Ironwood Golf Course in the amount of $69,075.
A motion to authorize the renewal of the Town’s participation in the MICA Insurance Program for plan year 2014-15 beginning on May 1, 2014.
A resolution authorizing Town Staff to combine multiple existing elevator service contracts with Peoria-based KONE Inc. into a single three-year contract with that firm.
A resolution authorizing the execution of a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Police Benevolent and Protective Association (PBPA) Unit 22.
A resolution authorizing an agreement for construction materials testing services for the 2014 construction season with Bloomington-based Ramsey Geotechnical Engineering LLC.
A supplemental resolution appropriating $431 of Motor Fuel Tax funds for the U.S. Route 51/I-55 ramp traffic signals improvements project and installation of uninterrupted power supply (UPS) units to traffic signals on Veterans Parkway.
A resolution conditionally approving waivers from the Uptown Design Review Code for 200 Broadway (Hyatt Place Hotel).
An ordinance conditionally transferring jurisdiction of a portion of Raab Rd. from .20 miles west of County Highway 29 (Towanda-Barnes Road) westerly .35 miles from the Towanda Township Road District to the Town of Normal.
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