NORMAL – The coronavirus pandemic left city leaders to prepare for a related financial impact last September, but some revenue streams are performing better than expected.
A conservative budget with cuts and adjustments, coupled with a better-than-expected economic recovery from COVID-19 shutdowns has put the city in good financial shape to enter the next budget cycle, said chief financial officer Andrew Huhn.
âWe appear to be in a very good position now,â Huhn said Monday night during a presentation of the city’s annual financial trends and conditions report.
The report is an overview of 35 indicators categorized as positive, negative or unclassified, meaning they do not exhibit a positive or negative trend. Each indicator shows a trend in six categories: community, income, spending, debt service, balance sheet, and financial strategies.
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Huhn said several tax revenues were higher than expected given the pandemic, such as sales tax revenues. Other revenues, such as tax revenues on food and beverages and hotels / motels, two of the industries hardest hit during the pandemic, are underperforming.
Courtesy of the Town of Normal
Additionally, Huhn said there were financial trends on the horizon, including funding for police and firefighters’ pensions and the health and dental fund.
“This report is extremely valuable to us as it gives us a high level overview of the financial situation of our community,” said Mayor Chris Koos. “It is a very, very valuable document.”
In addition to the Financial Trends Report, city council heard a presentation from Jamie Wilkie, partner at Lauterbach & Amen CPA, on the city’s annual financial statements and audit report.
The city received an unmodified or no conclusions audit opinion, Wilkie said.
Social media comments
A normal business owner confronted a city councilor during public comments on a series of social media posts following a meeting on August 17.
Julie Hile, co-owner of Normandy Village, said Councilor Stan Nord “made a series of false statements” about her and her partner, Bob Broad, regarding their “actions and intentions” for the village.
Normandy Village, a cluster of cottages from the former Illinois Soldiers and Sailors School in Normal, may be added to the National Register of Historic Places this spring.
DAVID PROEBER, PANTAGRAPH FILE PHOTO
âThe efforts of board member Stan Nord to discredit us and distort our actions and intentions for Normandy Village are disappointing because they do not serve the public good,â Hile said Monday night during public comments.
Broad told the Pantagraph on Wednesday that the couple wanted to respond publicly to Nord’s social media posts, which were both made in video and written online on their public Facebook page.
Julie Hile, co-owner of Normandy Village, said Councilor Stan Nord “made a series of false statements” about her and her partner, Bob Broad, regarding their “actions and intentions” for the village. READ MORE HERE.
The comments were made with reference to a zoning change from August to the development of the One Normal Plaza planned unit, where the village of Normandy is located.
Broad said that while they supported the amendment, the social media posts included “multiple versions of misrepresentation,” including part of the amendment that would allow a catering establishment to open in the area.
âWe were amazed at how many misrepresentations there were both in the video and in the written portion of it,â Broad said. “I think Mr. Nord saw an opportunity for political gain by upsetting and scaring (ONP’s) neighbors, and he took it.”
Nord said he was unsure of Hile’s concerns about his comments, but “people should listen to recorded testimony” from two previous meetings regarding the ONP zoning amendment.
“All I have done is state what they have testified publicly and what is being recorded,” Nord told the Pantagraph on Tuesday.
Three board members responded to concerns expressed by Hile during her public comment: Chemberly Cummings, Kathleen Lorenz and Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy and Lorenz both said they were concerned about the nature of social media posts.
âMy heart won’t let me shut up,â Cummings said. “I know that sometimes a comment from one of the podium is a reflection of that podium, and in this case, I don’t want to be associated with those kinds of comments.”
Bloomington-Normal business openings and closings
Sugar Mama Bakery
Almost six years after a local bakery moved its ovens from downtown Bloomington to Uptown Normal, the company is preparing to reopen its kitchen from a new downtown storefront.
Sugar Mama Bakery is scheduled to open in early July from the former Subway Restaurant, 109 W. Jefferson St., in Courthouse Square. It will close its normal location, 116 W. North St., before August.
I surprised owner Susie Tod on Tuesday as she and employees unload and move baking supplies around the space, which features exposed bricks, natural materials, and lots of natural light.
âIt won’t be a cookie cutter design,â Tod joked with me as she moved a stand mixer off a counter.
Tod closed its old location in downtown Bloomington, 405 N. Main St., in 2015 to focus its efforts on the Normal location.
The bakery, which specializes in artisan and made-to-order bakery products, was established around 2010 when Tod and his then partner, Krista Gaff, started cooking at Gaff’s house.
Tod’s plan was to open the new Bloomington store on July 2, but that date will likely be pushed back, she said. It faced construction delays caused by weekend storms and still has to install some equipment.
In addition to adding another option for coffee and baked goods in downtown Bloomington, the company will fill a vacant storefront since mid-2019.
– Timothée Eggert
TIMOTHY EGGERT, THE PANTAGRAPH
Car wash on track
The site of a former car wash on the northeast side of town is expected to have a new car wash facility, to be built later this year.
Developers Jeremy and Jeffrey Schoenherr want to build a new automated on-track car wash at 1509 E. Vernon Avenue, largely replacing the 10-bay express car wash that occupied the site between 1988 and 2010.
The 0.92 acre lot sits on the corner of one of Bloomington’s busiest intersections and in one of the city’s main commercial corridors. It has been vacant for the past 11 years, after the last facility was demolished.
The proposed car wash facility follows a design to house a franchise model of Tommy car wash systems, including a 110 foot tunnel for automatic car wash equipment and 15 exterior suction bays.
Planning officials approved the site plan for the new facility in May and Bloomington City Council approved the plan in June.
– Timothée Eggert
Panda Express Restaurant
In addition to almost all of the other basic fast food chains, the shopping stretch on the west side of town will soon be home to a drive-thru and a Panda Express restaurant.
CFT NV Developments LLC, based in Las-Vegas, Nevada, wants to build the 2,381 square foot Chinese-American fast food restaurant at 1901 W. Market St.
The property was previously used for a gas station from 1978 to the early 2010. It has been vacant since 2017, after the demolition of the Citgo station.
The Bloomington Planning Commission approved the restaurant’s sitemap earlier this month. He will be before the city council on July 26.
Construction of the restaurant would mark the second new fast food restaurant added to West Market Street in 2021.
A site plan for a new 3,900 square foot commercial structure at 1514 W. Market St. – replacing the old Grand Café West Side restaurant – was approved by City Council in April. A Domino’s Pizza restaurant will occupy half of the new building.
– Timothée Eggert
Screenshot of Google Maps
Jersey Mike’s Subs
The construction of a new sandwich shop in the far east of the city is progressing and construction is expected to be completed during August.
Teams modify the interior of Unit 103 at Eastland Commons, 305 N. Veterans Pkwy, to accommodate a Jersey Mike’s Subs restaurant. The space was previously occupied by a TD Ameritrade office.
A $ 130,000 commercial building permit for the conversion was issued in late May, and when I arrived this week an on-site contractor said most of the rough work was done.
The sandwich chain offers East Coast-style subs and competes directly with Jimmy John’s and Subway. Its location in Bloomington will be the first in McLean County.
– Timothée Eggert
Screenshot of Google Maps
Construction of a Texas Roadhouse restaurant
Construction on the new Texas Roadhouse restaurant in the far east of Bloomington is progressing and the restaurant is slated to open in late August.
Amanda Norton, spokesperson for the Louisville, Ky. Based restaurant chain, said construction crews suffered delays due to extreme rains last month, but are still on track for open before fall.
The restaurant is located between the former Toys R Us store and Olive Garden in the Bloomington Commons shopping center, 1701 E. Empire St., also home to Barnes & Noble, H&R Block, and Schnucks.
TIMOTHY EGGERT, THE PANTAGRAPH
Contact Sierra Henry at 309-820-3234. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_sierrahenry.