The City of Bloomington recently approved the purchase of an armored security vehicle for use by police and the department's SWAT team. The Town of Normal has a tactical response team too, but the town is not likely to keep up with the Joneses.
Mayor Chris Koos describes himself as "adamant" and "opinionated" on the question of whether Normal needs an armored police vehicle.
"And no," Koos said on WGLT's Sound Ideas.
Bloomington Police said there were 39 times in the last five years when such a vehicle could have made SWAT deployments safer, not counting times it could have helped neighboring agencies like Normal, ISU police or the McLean County Sheriff's Department.
"I'm not a fan of armored vehicles in a local police environment," said Koos.
Some Bloomington City Council members expressed reservationsabout the perception of a potential increased militarization of police. Bloomington's armored police vehicle will cost close to $250,000. Koos said that's steep for the use it might get.
"Do you plan your budget for equipment around 2% of the day-to-day activities of a police department?" he asked.
In arguing for the security vehicle, Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington said it will come in handy to rescue people in heavy snows and floods. Koos did not find that convincing and implied perhaps a different arm of town services could better benefit from such an expenditure.
"That may be as much our fire department as it is our police department," he said.
Bloomington Police noted its existing command vehicle is not bullet-proof, can't be brought into crisis negotiations with armed suspects, or help take fire department tactical medics into "hot zones."
Koos said it's possible the town could have an event that would prove him wrong about this.
"But it's unlikely," he said.
New fire station
On Monday, the Normal Town Council took another step in the years-long process of reconfiguring its fire station placement.
The council approved a contract to build a new station at Shepard and Hershey roads on the town's northeast side. When it’s ready, the town will decommission the fire station at College Avenue and Blair Drive. Koos said despite unanticipated growth in the last few years, it's unclear whether the town eventually will add a station or where it might go. When the town realigned its stations, significant effort went into projecting where growth could happen.
“A lot of this was not pre-Rivian, 1,100-1,300 employees, but pre-Rivian, 7,000 employees," said Koos. "So, that's something we'll have to look at at some point. But I think there was enough future planning in the decision on where to locate these stations geographically, that we've got plenty of breathing room on that. And it was very intentional, and a very long, drawn-out process to make sure that our response times didn't suffer, and were more equitable.”
If future growth does indicate a need for an additional station, Koos said he is still not sure it should go near the west side Rivian plant.
“The growth of the community is going to dictate that and where the population ends up. We're still very mindful of keeping our footprint small in the community. With a lot of growth, I don't think it would still be that much of a problem or an issue requiring that because of the way we want the community to grow,” said Koos.
He said future councils could change course about the need to keep the community compact, but given environmental trends throughout the world, a shift seems unlikely.
Residents of the Blackstone Trails subdivision located near the new fire station have, at times, resisted the fire station site plan. Koos said the town will reach out and ask for opinions through a computer survey of the neighborhood to learn about lingering issues.
There also will be a public meeting to take input in a different way. Koos said he still expects some to be unhappy despite the town's promise to be a good neighbor — like it has been in residential areas where current stations are located.
“A fellow mayor at a mayor's conference once said that the only person that wants to change is a baby with a wet diaper. Change scares people. We have to be able to explain to people what that's going to look like and listen to their concerns, and take those concerns into our final buildout,” said Koos. “It's important we understand what people's concerns are in the very initial planning stage."
City manager contract
City Manager Pam Reese has received a contract extension through March of 2026. She'll get a 4% raise to about $217,000 a year.
Koos said Reece’s accomplishments are significant.
“Getting projects to fruition. The underpass project would be an important one to consider, and the fire station issue. Some of the infrastructure work that we're doing, doubling the amount of street work that we were doing in the community, keeping up with the long-term plan that we have for upgrading our water systems and to keep our water systems vital and in good repair. She's done quite a bit,” said Koos.
And oh, yes, there was a pandemic.
Her goals in the upcoming contract term are clear.
“Housing, housing, housing," said Koos. "The next steps on mental health initiatives in the community will be an issue. Always for her or any city manager is succession planning for a professional staff.”
Trailside water feature
The council has awarded a $72,000 contract to Chizmar Landscaping in Bloomington to install a Constitution Trail bird viewing water feature. Koos was enthusiastic during the WGLT interview.
“I think it's a great idea," he said. "It's a very good location, there's a lot of dense growth in that area that at the 'Y' where the trail continues to go south or it goes east, which attracts a lot of wildlife. That's beneficial to wild birds and animals in that area and is an amenity for the community people that are very interested in that kind of thing.”
The installation will have a couple waterfalls and will recirculate water. Koos predicted more bird and other wildlife activity in that area of central Normal.
