The Normal Town Council on Monday rejected bids for a public sculpture park at One Normal Plaza due to unexpected high costs.
The town identified a grassy area in front of the Community Action Center as the location to build the sculpture park. One bid for paving and one bid for electrical work were received.
For paving, the bid by Otto Baum was $93,292 higher than anticipated by the Naperville-based Hitchcock Design Group hired to design and plan the sculpture park. The cost of the electrical package bid offered by Wm. Masters, Inc. was $249,931 higher than anticipated.
The council elected to reject both bids and review the scope of the project.
Monday's meeting was the final one for council member Chemberly Harris, who was honored for her eight years on the town council at the end of the meeting. Harris finished third in the race for Normal mayor earlier this month, giving up her council seat in the process.
Council members congratulated Harris for her service, and wished her well in the future.
“And to hear those, it means that I came and did what I was supposed to do,” said Harris. “I left a positive impression, that I made an impact. I just didn't come and fill a seat. I came to change things, shake things up, and live out my life's missions.”
Harris added she has no plans yet on what to do next, but will be taking time to reflect on her future.
Other business
Also Monday, the town authorized the filing of the 2025-2029 Community Development Block Grant [CDBG] consolidated plan. The CDBG program’s primary objective is to provide housing and economic activities to lower-income and underserved individuals and families. All expenses are to be funded by a grant, having no impact on the general fund for the town.
The CDBG grant is estimated to be about $460,000 for 2025, with around $199,600 in carryover funds from previous years and $1,500 in program income also expected.
Highlights of proposed activities for the program for 2025 include single family, owner-occupied housing rehabilitation; homeless shelter improvements; sidewalk improvements; youth services; down-payment assistance and more.
Seven hundred of the more than 2,000 respondents to a survey regarding the consolidated plan were from Normal. A draft of the plan based on survey responses was then made available at the Normal Public Library, Town Clerk’s Office and town website on March 21. This also began a public comment period that ended at midnight April 21, with no respondents as of the publishing of Normal’s agenda for the town council meeting.
Council members also voted to join an intergovernmental agreement with the Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District [BNWRD].
Federal environmental standards set by the Clean Water Act require a process known as “pretreatment” to be done to reduce or eliminate contamination in non-residential wastewater before it is discharged to a Publicly Owned Treatment Works, which BNWRD serves as. The intergovernmental agreement authorizes BNWRD to perform pretreatment on the town’s behalf.
