The mayor of Normal says the atmosphere in Washington, D.C., is unsettled as the flurry of executive orders seeking to chop federal spending continues.
Mayor Chris Koos sits on the national board of Amtrak, the nation's passenger rail service. He was in Washington last week and said the situation there is one of uncertainty.
"The landscape changes every day, twice a day sometimes. So, we don't really know what the end target is of the current administration. So it's hard to make plans," said Koos.
For now, Koos said there are a lot of what-if preliminary discussions going on, but not a lot to hang those on as they relate to legal changes in spending priorities that could filter down to municipalities. There's also demonization of federal workers.
"The uncertainty has more to do with the administration's perception of the work that they do and the administration's perception of their political and moral compass," Koos said on WGLT's Sound Ideas.
Koos said from his contacts with the Federal Railroad Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation, that suspicion is generally not deserved.
"My experience over the years has been those people are very professional and apolitical in their dealings. They do get directives from whatever administration is seated at the time and they do honor that," he said.
In the short term, Koos said both the town and Amtrak will continue to do business the way they have been until they are told they can't do it that way. For Amtrak in particular, he said there's a huge capital spending program advancing, and it would be very difficult to unravel major projects now under way.
Household hazardous waste
Koos said he supports the concept of building a permanent household hazardous waste collection site in McLean County.
"It seems like it's a good idea and an environmentally sound idea. We had that same discussion when we did electronic recycle waste at the town and that has proved to be a pretty successful program," said Koos.
A feasibility study for the Normal-based Ecology Action Center has projected a $3-6 million cost to build the facility. Koos said that broad a range needs further refinement and identification of more funding sources before the town would make a dollar commitment. The county and Bloomington also would have to take part.
Underpass
With less than a month left for the town to act on bids submitted to build the underpass project in Uptown, Koos said town staff is still talking with the apparent low bidder about paring it back.
“They’re meeting constantly and taking a look at things. It’s a pretty difficult process. They’re really looking for every savings they can,” said Koos. “Looking for things that can be pared back, value engineered, or built later but being very cautious not to dumb it down.”
Bids came in several million dollars above the previous reliable estimate of the cost of the project. Koos said another federal grant has been approved to supplement other awards, but it has not been disbursed yet, and the atmosphere in Washington makes that payment unclear.
Rivian improvements
On Monday, the town council deferred some infrastructure requirements for Rivian on land west of Rivian Motorway. Rivian intends to build light manufacturing buildings on about 630 acres across from and north of College Avenue, but won’t have to extend utilities to the entire site right away.
Koos said granting the deferral is good for the budgets of both the company and town, adding, “We see it as broader than Rivian. This is an area that is industrializing. It’s a long-term plan for us. Other suppliers and manufacturers may choose to locate there.”
Other improvements can be staged later.
The town also is allowing Rivian to install the sanitary sewer and then have the town reimburse the company for up to $3 million in costs. He said that move is to allow Rivian flexibility of schedule.
“We felt it was appropriate to get that moving,” said Koos. "Whenever we enter into those kinds of agreements, they come with deliverable milestones or caps that would keep the cost of it from getting out of control.”