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Town of Normal, Illinois. Committed to Service Excellence.

2030 Committee
Meeting Notes 3-31-04

Strengths

  1. ISU
    1. Educational opportunities, cultural music, sports. Gordon and Yockey
    2. The college. Johnson
    3. ISU. Morrow and Horvath
       
  2. Uniqueness
    1. Small town feel. Johnson
    2. The distinctive name-Normal.
    3. Mixed use neighborhoods
    4. Current mixed-use neighborhoods. Hile and Robins
    5. World’s richest farmland
    6. Small town feel with large town amenities. Morrow and Horvath
       
  3. Government
    1. Local Government (Accessible and responsible leaders). Yockey and Gordon
    2. Home rule community
    3. Good Public Works. Morrow and Horvath
    4. Safe Community. Morrow and Horvath
    5. Safety (Good law enforcement). Yockey and Gordon
       
  4. Transportation
    1. Amtrak
    2. Transportation access; I-55, I-74, I-39.
    3. Three interstates, Amtrak, airport, well managed traffic. Gordon and Yockey
    4. Centrally located within Peoria, B/N, and Champaign corridor of human capitol in center of Illinois.
    5. Location! Johnson
    6. Equal access to 3 large cities; Chicago, St Louis, Indianapolis for events, services, and shopping.
    7. Transportation/access. Morrow and Horvath
       
  5. Strong Environmental Focus
    1. Strong environmental agencies
    2. Waste management; recycle, bulky waste, etc. Gordon and Yockey
    3. Lighting ordinance
    4. Billboard ordinance
    5. Façade Grant Program
    6. Comprehensive design review
    7. Fell Arboretum
       
  6. Business Climate
    1. Employment opportunities; universities, hospitals, State Farm. Johnson
    2. Business climate. Morrow and Horvath
    3. Good Economy (low unemployment, generous benefits, encouragement for small business). Yockey and Gordon
    4. Strong housing market.
       
  7. Education systems
    1. Schools; Unit 5, Metcalf, Heartland. Gordon and Yockey
    2. Educational systems. Johnson
    3. Educational choices. Morrow and Horvath
       
  8. People
    1. Sizable and established ethnic communities
    2. Strongly represented ethnic groups
    3. Citizens. Morrow and Horvath
    4. Bromenn/ISU/Lincoln College/Heartland corridor of human capital along Main St.
    5. Highest share of creative people to total workforce
    6. People; multicultural, multiracial. Yockey and Gordon
       
  9. Cultural/Recreational Opportunities
    1. Recreational facilities- parks, pools, trail, softball. Gordon and Yockey
    2. Parks and Recreation. Morrow and Horvath
    3. Cultural activities; Normal Theater, Shakespeare, Arts festival, WGLT. Gordon and Yockey
    4. Special events. Morrow and Horvath
    5. Library; Good facilities and programs. Gordon and Yockey
    6. Art on campuses (ISU/HCC)
       
  10. Health and Social Services
    1. Many resources available for all age groups. Johnson
    2. Health care. Yockey and Gordon
    3. Large pool of senior citizen talents to draw on
    4. Unity Center (HUD sponsored after school)
    5. Programs for working class poor, Habitat, Community Health Center, Hope Food Pantry.
       
  11. Forward Thinking
    1. Downtown Design Review
    2. Forward thinking. Morrow and Horvath

Opportunities

  1. Maintain Normal’s flexibility
    1. Endorse home rule. Scott and Chizmar
       
  2. Enhance diversity
    1. (21) Promote intergenerational collaborations. Landau and Williams
    2. (21) Become national model for community faith based collaboration. Landau and Williams
    3. Increase creativity index by increasing diversity. Scott and Chizmar
    4. (20) Create a local mini-exchange program among ethnic groups. Landau and Williams
    5. Enhance educational programs for children from diverse backgrounds. Scott and Chizmar
    6. (16) Support Normal’s well-established and sizable ethnic group/ encourage identity and positive roles. Chizmar and Williams
    7. (19) Become a “gay-friendly” community. Landau and Williams
    8. (19) Attract the “Creative Class” Landau and Williams
       
  3. Develop and Maintain Physical framework
    1. Adopt CNU principles to guide policy, planning and zoning. Scott and Chizmar
    2. Add interchange to northwest Normal. Scott and Chizmar
       
  4. Plan and manage growth
    1. (15) Combine best experiences of past with new urbanism. Williams and Chizmar
    2. (14) Protect against environmental degradation, ensure water supply, build valid green policy. Williams and Chizmar
    3. Redirect forces causing urban sprawl and control it. Williams and Chizmar
    4. (23) Create financial incentives to preserve farmland and ensure efficient land use and residential space. Landau and Chizmar
    5. (23) Create a Regional Housing and Land Preservation Trust Fund. Landau and Williams
    6. Develop coherent zoning policy for neighborhoods bordering ISU. Scott and Chizmar
    7. Plan and manage growth to avoid urban sprawl. Scott and Chizmar
    8. (23) Establish new neighborhoods with a sense of community, easy access to goods, services, and green space. Landau and Williams
    9. (7) Advance diversity, increase affordable housing, and avoid low-income concentrations-encourage developers to TND. Scott and Chizmar
       
  5. Develop an aesthetic identity
    1. Define an aesthetic identity. Scott and Chizmar
    2. Establish urban forestry as part of self-image. Scott and Chizmar
    3. Eliminate light pollution. Scott and Chizmar
    4. Designate Normal as public art capital of Illinois. Scott and Chizmar
    5. Develop studio space for artists. Scott and Chizmar
       
  6. Develop economic engines
    1. With ISU, develop economic incubators. Scott and Chizmar
    2. Develop accredited certification programs for insurance and financial services. Scott and Chizmar
    3. Designate Normal as THE downstate location for programs for aging populations. Scott and Chizmar
    4. Permanent home for Farm Progress Show. Scott and Chizmar
       
  7. Solutions for water problems, affordable housing and public transportation
    1. Find regional solutions for water problems, affordable housing, and public transportation. Scott and Chizmar
    2. Create unified regional water system. Scott and Chizmar
    3. Develop regional approach to solid waste management. Scott and Chizmar
    4. Work with leaders of smaller communities to regional solutions for water, housing and transportation. Scott and Chizmar
       
  8. Greenways/Connected green space
     
  9. Continue Long Range Planning
    1. (19) Plan as a Region-Peoria to Champaign. Landau and Williams
    2. (23) Establish Inter-Community Planning Committees. Landau and Williams
    3. Continue long range planning. Scott and Chizmar
       
  10. Develop Partnerships and reduce redundancy
    1. Partner with Mitsubishi for recreational spaces, childcare and senior care. Scott and Chizmar
    2. Explore service mergers (garbage, police, fire, rescue) with Bloomington. Scott and Chizmar
    3. (22) Consolidate city services and schools where possible to provide better and more efficient services. Landau and Williams
    4. Purposefully align long-term plans with those of Bloomington/ISU/major employers. Scott and Chizmar
       
  11. Value Education
    1. Make educational opportunity a key reason to visit and live in Normal. Scott and Chizmar
    2. Increase cooperation between Unit 5 and Town. Scott and Chizmar
    3. (21) Insure that all children enter school healthy and ready to learn. Landau and Williams
    4. (18) Rethink what we want from our schools/ what we are willing to do to get there/ how to get it done. Williams and Chizmar
    5. (21) Expand the school presence in area neighborhoods. Landau and Williams
    6. (21) Create a walk-to-school safety program (Walking School Bus) Landau and Williams
       
  12. Accountability and information transparency
     
  13. GTP/ Quality of Life Indicator
     
  14. Moved to #8 (Green Belt)
     
  15. Housing Sprawl, Mixed-Use Neighborhoods
     
  16. Moved to #2 (Ethic Strength)
     
  17. Environmental Sustainability
     
  18. Neighborhood Schools and Quality Education
     
  19. Sense of Community
    1. (13) Create and publicize the highest of community standards related to social and environmental quality of life. Williams and Chizmar
    2. Ensure downtown remains/is attractive to students. “Keep the students in town”. Landau and Williams
    3. Make ISU more accessible to the community at large “Community friendly”. Landau and Williams
    4. Promote Normal as a college-friendly town. Landau and Williams
       
  20. Events and Community Organization
    1. Sponsor family fun weekends. Landau and Williams
    2. (20) Create an annual Town Cultural Festival for local ethnic groups “Community that festivals together stays together”. Landau and Williams
    3. Aggressively distribute community event information. Landau and Williams
    4. (5) Launch a juried film festival.
    5. Create community performance places for non-profit groups. Landau and Williams
    6. (20) Establish a world-class cultural exchange program. Landau and Williams
    7. Develop a safe/appealing facility for the youth of Normal “A Town Youth Center”. Landau and Williams
       
  21. Human Services
    1. Create new solutions to provide pre-school day care (2nd and 3rd shift as well) ISU day care model. Landau and Williams
    2. Establish an immigrant welcome center that partners with businesses to enable them to legally hire non-citizens. Landau and Williams
    3. Provide incentives to food providers to channel wholesome food to the needy. Landau and Williams
    4. Serve homeless families and support faith-based efforts. Landau and Williams
    5. Recognize the role of the working poor in the community and work to improve their living conditions. Landau and Williams
       
  22. Education/Health
    1. (20) Establish a public dental care facility. Landau and Williams
    2. (20) Provide resources to help people deal with anger. Landau and Williams
    3. (20) Become national leaders in human services for males in crises. Landau and Williams
    4. (20) Support the community health care clinic for the underserved. Landau and Williams
    5. Collaborative rather than competitive health care “Cancer Center as Model” Landau and Williams
       
  23. Shopping and Commercial Services
    1. Create “villages” of commerce and professional services within residential areas. Landau and Williams
    2. (3) Develop Bloomington, IWU, Bromenn, ISU, Normal, and Heartland Corridor with trolley. Scott and Chizmar
       
  24. Housing development
     
  25. Transportation
    1. Expand Constitution Trail to Lake Bloomington and other communities. Purchase right of way before it’s too late. Landau and Williams
    2. Create a shuttle transportation service for area campuses. Landau and Williams
    3. Create access to public school/before/after school events. Landau and Williams
    4. (3) Develop Peoria/Bloomington/Normal/Champaign/Urbana corridor with light rail. Scott and Chizmar
    5. (8) Based on Constitutional Trail, develop extensive pedestrian/bike arteries throughout Normal. Scott and Chizmar
    6. Create protected street bike lanes to connect to bike trails. Landau and Williams
       
  26. Technology
    1. Create an electronic village within Normal with public wire/wireless Internet access to all citizens-make access part of Town Utilities. Landau and Williams
    2. (12) Implement new technologies throughout community. Scott and Chizmar
    3. (12) Expand e-government. Scott and Chizmar
    4. Create a 24 X 7 “people mover” system around Normal and adjacent communities “energy-efficient and quiet”. Landau and Williams

Overall Impressions

  • Too many opportunities
  • Difficult to interpret meaning behind general statement
  • Cut/paste original documents to reflect “clustered” ideas
  • So many strengths & opportunities make vision statement “unwieldy”
  • Aesthetic Identity definition?
    • Make Normal more distinctive thru aesthetics
  • Index for Scott-Jack Rpt.
    • Higher is better (index)
    • Lower is better (for overall rank)
  • Agree with most but not all
    • Will vote, reach consensus
  • Strengths-many similarities among all of them
  • Focus groups very enlightening
  • “Working class poor” existence and needs
  • Living Wage and Affordable Housing not reflected as opportunities
  • Some issues Town can’t directly control
  • More community input in planning process to get collective buy in
  • Vision statement not necessarily a road map
    • Try to come up with “road map” ideas

This page last modified 05/14/08.