The updated tentative price to build the Uptown underpass in the Town of Normal is about $1.7 million more than the $32 million the council narrowly approved in November.
The number will change from that draft submission — and it's likely to be higher. The issue will go back to the council next month. Even with time winding down, in a WGLT interview, City Manager Pam Reece said unknowns remain.
[This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.]
WGLT: What's your sense of whether the council will support any increase?
Reece: That remains to be seen. There are still a lot of details to work through with a prospective contractor as well as with our all of our stakeholder partners. ... Ordinarily when we come to council with a particular project or initiative, we like to lay out a recommendation with a plan, and the council can agree with that or disagree with that. It remains to be seen.
WGLT: Will a new council vote on the issue also require a new bond financing plan?
Reece: I can't say with certainty. I believe we're in a pretty good position to potentially move forward with the bond funding plan, if that's the route council wants to go. I don't know that we would have to change that number very much.
WGLT: Will the council start collecting the new food and beverage and hotel motel taxes on April 1, as planned and approved last November, which will be before the new bid goes before the council?
Reece: That's a very valid question. We have notified all the vendors who are responsible for collecting the food and beverage tax and the hotel-motel industry that that tax increase becomes effective April 1. They are prepared for that, in anticipation of a bond issuance. If we take a different route, then we will have to make changes quickly.
WGLT: What if the council doesn't go that route? Do you give the money back?
Reece: [This answer came after the interview.] I will discuss with legal, but I don’t know how any type of rebate would work. The taxpayer is a customer of the venue collecting the tax, so we couldn’t necessarily rebate back to the payer. It would be my presumption that in discussions with council, if there was no underpass project and no associated debt issuance for that project, we would either terminate the tax increase or redirect funds to some other council-prioritized project or initiative.
WGLT: Would it be feasible to defer collection until the future of the project is certain?
Reece: That also would require an ordinance. Our next council meeting is April 6, again, after the effective date of the order of the tax increase. My hope is we can make a decision very quickly and come to council with a recommendation.
WGLT: Back in November, the town was concerned about the tight timeline to complete the project by a September 2027 federal deadline to qualify for substantial grant funding. Public Works and Engineering Director Ryan Otto said the other week that the Federal Railroad Administration is sticking to that deadline. Part of the winter was supposed to be for the contractor to begin accumulating materials and staging so it could hit the ground running when the weather improved enough for construction. That is now several months past the plan. With the start of construction delayed even further, is it even possible to finish by the deadline?
Reece: I don't believe it is possible to complete the entire project, including the amphitheater on the south side of the tracks and all that we planned with this comprehensive investment by the September 2027 deadline. Those details are being discussed with the Federal Railroad Administration. Does substantial completion mean spending of their dollars? The entire substantial completion of the project overall, including the plaza and the amphitheater, and all that space? We don't have enough information at this point to make a recommendation to the council or even know with certainty where that stands.
WGLT: Some things in construction may not be foreseeable. What if you started and didn’t hit the deadline and the feds say you can't take the money? Who pays those millions?
Reece: That's what we're working out. We don't want to go to council with unknowns and uncertainties. We want to be in a position where we know what the federal government's position will be in terms of flexibility and discretion.
WGLT: Is the risk to the town too high to proceed at this point?
Reece: My job and my team's job is to minimize risk. We will go to the council with a recommendation where we believe we can minimize the risk to the municipality. Nobody here wants to take on a very risky, financially challenging project. We want to go in with eyes wide open.
WGLT: If the council says no, what do you do with the original idea of facilitating crossing the grade for passengers of Amtrak who have to go to the other side of the tracks?
Reece: At this point, there is no alternative. We remain with the current at-grade crossings at the two street intersections of Broadway and Linden. Those would be the only options. I think all the stakeholders would agree doing nothing on any particular project is always an option. We had moved forward with this underpass project under the belief this was the best solution for safety and accessibility. We would still have safety concerns and accessibility concerns moving forward.
WGLT: A new town budget for FY 26-27 has passed the council. What are the high points of that spending plan that takes effect April 1?
Reece: We are going to be seeing continued investment in infrastructure, which is very important. We try not to kick the can down the road. In pavement preservation, street resurfacing, bridge repairs, I believe in fiscal year '26-27 we have a plan to invest about $14 million which continues our recent trend of inconveniencing our trail and roadway users, but hopefully for good cause. People will continue to see our crews and our contractors out on streets and bridges.
WGLT: The entire budget increase was about 10%. How much of that is just simple cost of living and incremental increases, and how much is additional money that's going to capital?
Reece: Much of that investment is in capital infrastructure. If you only looked at our bottom line, it would show a deficit position for the fiscal year. That is intentional. It is not a structural funding problem. The town has saved money to then reinvest it into capital projects.
In terms of the operating side of the municipality, it's generally status quo. We are planning to add 2.5 positions into our workforce. On the flip side, we removed 2 full-time positions that had been planned for but remained unfilled. It's almost a net zero in workforce change. We try to be very mindful of adding staff. The other operating expenses we're seeing are linked to the cost of living. We are experiencing significant cost increases in energy and chemicals for our operations, things like that.
WGLT: What are the positions added, and what are the positions subtracted?
Reece: If I recall correctly, the two positions we had in the budget and removed: one in the legal department and one in the communications department. The new positions are part-time positions in Cultural Arts, in clerical support, and the key positions, professional positions, one in our innovation and technology department, an operations manager, and one in the fire department, which we're considering somewhat temporary for a few years. That is for succession planning, to recruit a third assistant fire chief.
