Normal's city manager said she's confident the federal government will come through funding for the Uptown underpass, even after the project missed its first deadline for starting construction.
Pam Reece said the Federal Railroad Administration [FRA] has assured the town it's OK with the delay.
“Which is a game changer,” Reece said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas. “And council’s questions were the exact questions I asked of my staff a few months back to ensure that we could move forward with confidence.”
Council members Scott Preston and Kathleen Lorenz, who both voted against the underpass, expressed concerns ahead of Monday night’s 4-3 vote that the town did not meet the terms of the amended agreement with the Federal Railroad Administration to have construction start within 90 days of the amended agreement, which the town approved in November.
Andy Byars cast the other "no" vote.
The project was delayed six months after the first developer pulled out.
The agreement also calls for completion of the underpass by June 1, 2027. Reece said the FRA has indicated that it simply needed to have the federal portion spent by that date.
“We’re feeling very confident that we can meet the federal BUILD grant timeline obligation,” Reece said.
The federal government is contributing $16.1 million for the underpass project. The town’s portion is close to $15 million. The town started collecting higher hotel-motel and food and beverage taxes on April 1 to pay off its $12 million debt on the project.
Reece said she believes Peoria-based contractor P.J. Hoerr will be able to complete the $42.8 million project on time and within budget. The project has been in the works for over a decade.
“We can prepare as much as possible and can’t fully predict what the future will hold, but we are as confident as we can be,” Reece said, adding the town has contingency funding if costs go up further.
Uptown South
Town officials said now that the Uptown underpass has been approved, it will unlock business development south of the railroad tracks.
Reece said the town has been approached by several developers who said they were interested in Uptown South development, but only if there's an underpass to connect with the rest of uptown.
“For those we have spoken with in recent months, that did seem to be a significant asset to prompt their interest in having a development on the south side,” Reece said.
Reece would not discuss any concepts under consideration for Uptown South, saying they are still preliminary. When asked if the projects involve retail, residential, mixed-use, or office space, Reece replied “not office.”
Data centers
Reece said town staff has started collecting policies from other Illinois municipalities on data centers to help craft a policy while the clock starts on a six-month moratorium the town council approved on Monday.
“We’ve got a good amount of information of information based on what other municipalities have done,” Reece said, adding the town is also collecting data from the National League of Cities, Ameren, Corn Belt Energy and other stakeholders.
Reece said the town will soon start engaging public feedback, noting the town has been monitoring the response in Bloomington, where the city hosted two public hearings in which dozens of residents voiced their opposition to any data center coming to Bloomington-Normal.
“Data centers are going to be one of those necessary evils that we all are going to have to figure out a solution to in this country, and so I think it presents challenges, but I’m sure we’ll find the right solutions for the Bloomington-Normal community,” Reece said.
The City of Bloomington is expected to adopt a temporary moratorium on data centers next week.
