Membership at the Normal Activity and Recreation Center [ARC] tipped over 4,000 this month as the 55+ activity center gears up to celebrate its 10-year anniversary.
Normal Township Supervisor Krystle Able said the ARC, which is operated by the township, has plans to expand Friday hours and add programs like bingo and game show nights.
Able reported on the township’s financials Tuesday night as part of its annual meeting. That includes the ARC and a General Assistance Fund, which supports residents in need of short-term emergency aid.
During an October town hall meeting, Able said a primary goal after replacing Jess Ray as supervisor was to get General Assistance Fund spending under control.
“We have actually reduced our general assistance clients from 45 from when we took over this program to having less than 20 now in 2025 to 2026, due to proper intake qualifying processes that were sorted out with training,” Able said.
Still the program paid over $278,000 in assistance during the last fiscal year, plus about $84,000 in administrative costs, which includes two employees. Able noted the greatest expense was in the summer months when a state program providing help with energy costs to low-income families was not available.
“In November 2025, the board realized the funds in reserve for general assistance were nearly depleted and we did need to raise the levy for fiscal year ‘26 to ’27 to be able to continue to fulfill our statutory requirement to provide assistance,” she said.
The township’s general operating fund currently has about $3 million in the bank, collecting $1.4 million in property taxes for that fund this year.
That account is also used to pay the ARC’s mortgage, which has about $630,000 remaining. Able said the board anticipates paying it off early, in 2027, by continuing to pay roughly $320,000 a year.
An office manager position at the township office on Mulberry Street has been replaced by an outside contractor to do bookkeeping. A finance committee of volunteer certified professional accountants has also been organized to support the brand-new board of trustees. And two full-time staff positions have been added: a deputy assessor, plus an executive director at the ARC.
Elicssha Sanders, previously the ARC’s member services for 8 years, was promoted into that position.
In a press release announcing Sanders’ promotion, she said her priorities will be maintaining and growing ARC’s collaborative relationships, which includes partnerships with East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging, Normal Public Library and CCSI – Case Coordination, LLC. She also plans to actively pursue new partnerships that align with ARC’s mission, the announcement said.
Capital improvements to the ARC will soon include a new roof, carpets and siding, plus a shade structure for the center's outdoor raised garden beds. Able said the township also purchased vending machines for the ARC for convenience and added revenue.
“We’re also looking at creating an HR department so that we can review our employee handbook, [and] compiling and publishing township ordinances and resolutions,” Able said. “Right now, anything that the board passes is only in the minutes of the meeting. And we want to make those more public and transparent.”
Able said a new section of the township website would be created for that purpose.
She also reviewed data from risk assurance, social security and retirement funds, noting her choice to opt out of the pension program. That’s a point she previously noted at October’s town hall after facing scrutiny over holding two full-time jobs.
“So the taxpayers are not paying for my pension,” she said.
Able noted a healthy pension fund for employees who have opted in, totaling more tha $83,000 on hand at the beginning of the 2025-26 fiscal year, and adding roughly $57,000, primarily through property taxes.
Expenditures totaled $16,625.
“This is because our pension system is so well-funded right now, the state dropped our contribution down to just 0.8% instead of 4% because we have enough money already in the fund to cover the pension liability we currently have,” she said.
Other business
A larger-than-usual crowd also heard annual reports from Assessor Kent DePew and Highway Commissioner Arin Rader. They were primarily drawn to the meeting by an agenda item voting on a proposed ballot initiative related to a pro-Israel state law.
That was put on the agenda after the Township received a petition with more than the required 15 signatures needed to raise a "question of public policy" in township meetings.
It was also the township’s first annual meeting since the slate of trustees saw a complete turnover in 2025. In November, trustee Nayoka Griffis stepped down. Griffis’ replacement, Jodie Slowther, attended the meeting along with trustee Natasha Syed and clerk Dayna Schikedanz.
The other two trustees, Dylan Hile-Broad and Tanner Starr, were not present.
DePew said the final assessed value for all township properties was $1.4 billion, a net increase of $111 million since 2024.
Rader, who maintains 25 miles of county roads between North Normal and Hudson, said a dry winter largely prevented heaving with freezing and thawing.
The township’s maintenance building at 202 West Northtown Road was sold for more than its appraised value in June, he said.
Rader said the facility on Kerrick Road has been a “great improvement,” providing for equipment storage in a drier, better insulated facility. He said he’s building a secondary structure at the Kerrick Road facility for road salt storage and he’s anticipating improvements to Ziebarth and Northtown Roads this summer, plus possible replacement of one tractor.
