MINUTES
TOWN OF NORMAL 2030 COMMITTEE
MEETING, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2004, 7:00 P.M.
CONFERENCE ROOM C
100 E. PHOENIX AVE., NORMAL, IL
Members Present:
Jack Chapman, Chuck Scott, Duane Yockey, Dave Robins, Joe Morrow,
Myra Gordon, Rebecca Landau, Kathy Johnson, Julie Hile and Alex
Horvath.
Guest Speakers:
Dr. Alan Chapman, Superintendent (Interim) Unit 5 School District
and Dr. Dick Runner, Illinois State University.
Staff Present:
Pam Reece, Assistant City Manager and Bayo Adanri, Town Planner.
Call to Order/Introduction:
The Committee Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
and noted a quorum was present. The Chairman introduced the guest
speakers and provided the order for their presentations.
Guest Speaker #1 - Dr. Alan Chapman:
Dr. Chapman provided an overview of some of the issues facing Unit 5 School District. He indicated that Unit 5 School District Board recently engaged in an effort to reduce expenditures. According to Dr. Chapman, the District could be $5.3 Million in debt if the budget is rolled over without any cut in expenses. He noted that the biggest change in the budget is a reduction in personnel expenses; about 100 people will be affected by the budget cuts but some of them will be absorbed by attrition.
As a growing school district, Dr. Chapman noted that increased revenue from assessments is not enough to support a growth rate of 1 to 3% that the district is experiencing. By 2011, the school enrollment will be over 12,000 students and they expect the growth rate to continue because of the District’s reputation of providing good education and quality programs. He hopes that the State Legislature can do something about school funding to ease the hardship that most school districts are facing.
Dr. Chapman noted that the current exercise to balance the School District’s budget would only take them through one year. There is a strong possibility that the School District would be looking at other sources to improve its revenue. There is a possibility of the School District asking the community to approve another referendum in about a year from this March. He indicated that the Governor’s budget plan could be another factor and it will be interesting to see how that improves school funding.
Dr. Chapman indicated that the elementary and high school buildings are in good condition. The middle school buildings are not in as good condition as the elementary and high school buildings. He noted that the School District would begin planning for another middle school. Possible sites for a fourth middle school include the south or southwest of Hershey Road and Ireland Grove Road or Prairie Vista Golf Course area. He indicated that the District has property on Kern Street (Bus facility and transportation office) that would be ready for sale in the next few months.
Dr. Chapman expressed optimism about the future of the School District but noted that the District would, in the short term, be doing more with less resources and personnel.
Question and Answers:
- What is your opinion on regionalization of schools or
a possible merger with District 87? Dr. Chapman provided
an overview of the merger exercise that occurred in the past
few years and noted that the issue was polarizing. He noted
that District 87 is struggling financially, like 80% of the
School Districts in Illinois but their situation is not as bad
as Unit 5. He was not sure if the community is ready to reconsider
the merger issue. He indicated that he would need more time
to study the issue to have a better feel for how the community
would react to a merger referendum.
- What type of cooperation exists between the Town and
Unit 5? Dr. Chapman stated that Unit 5 has an Intergovernmental
Agreement with the Town on joint use of facilities. He also
noted that there is cooperation and communication between the
Town and the School District on other matters but these could
be better. He would not suggest anything negative about the
relationship between the Town and the School District.
Assistant City Manager Pam Reece spoke in support of Dr. Chapman’s assessment. She mentioned that recently, there was a work session on a variety of topics between the Town, City of Bloomington and the School District policy makers.
- What are the real needs and what kind of personnel would
be hired assuming the money is available? Dr. Chapman noted
that the District embarked in worthy expenditures but it appears
they were ill timed. He noted that the District hired more teachers
with the deliberate intent to reduce classroom sizes. While
addressing laudable goals to advance their commitment to a quality
education, the District completely tapped out its operation
reserves. What is important according to Dr. Chapman is to get
back what the District is losing. He indicated that he would
not be satisfied with being an average school district but the
District intends to maintain its reputation as a leader and
excellent school district in downstate Illinois.
- Does the community want to be average instead of the best? Dr. Chapman indicated that the Committee should note that they live in a conservative community. The District needs to be cost efficient and do a better job in appealing to parents and those without kids in school and every segment of the community of the need to support the school system especially in generating more revenue to support the school. He noted that without a significant increase in revenue the district would not be able to support the demands associated with their growth projections.
Guest Speaker #2 - Dr. Dick Runner:
Dr. Runner stated that he was representing Dr. Al Bowman. Dr. Runner provided a summary of the Illinois State University Master Plan (copies of the plan were distributed). He indicated that the master plan projects “out” 20 years and is revised every 5 years. The current master plan was prepared in 2000 and the University is getting ready for its first update. Dr. Runner provided an overview of the planning process and identified the major highlights of the plan. The plan is used to articulate different distinctions of the campus. The master plan identifies areas of additional green space as university buildings are clustered. Student apartments will locate around the edges of the campus.
According to Dr. Runner, the plan calls for the filling of the parking spaces in front of the Student Bone Center with a new building, move parking into the periphery and consolidate parking into parking decks. He noted that the University already built three parking structures and another one is in the planning stage. The Institution is currently focusing on residence hall and dining areas. The existing facilities have become obsolete. The Student Apartment Complex at Cardinal Court will be redeveloped into mid-rise student apartments. He also discussed other on-campus housing plans.
The plan also calls for major improvements of the road system that bisects the University. Included in the plan is the need to redesign the intersection of Main Street and College Avenue. The Master Plan calls for the use of a traffic circle (roundabout) with a statue in the center to serve as a focal point and create a warm welcome appearance approaching the University Campus. The University recently moved is farming operation to Lexington. The West Farm property will be held in the reserves.
Question and Answers
- How do you see the relationship between the Town and
the University? Dr. Runner indicated that there is a strong
relationship between the Town staff and the University staff;
the same can be said at the policy level. He mentioned that
Town staff was involved in the development of the Campus Master
plan and vice versa, the University staff was involved in developing
the Normal Downtown plan. He mentioned also that the Normal
Public Works Department and the University Facility Management
Department meet every five weeks to coordinate public improvement
projects. There is also the Town and Gown committee that help
address student issues.
Ms. Reece remarked that there are at least two formalized committees that a Normal Council member serves on.
- What part of the Master Plan do you expect to get done
in the near future? Dr. Runner remarked that the University
is going through similar funding crunch as the School Districts.
The University is using the Campus Master plan in a more assertive
way in guiding development on the Campus. He indicated that
the University is already on the way to accomplishing some of
the goals as established in the master plan. Currently, there
is $123 Million construction work going on. The University recently
received another $22 Million for a project that is planned to
move forward.
- Is there a plan to move the Agriculture Department from
the Town? Dr. Runner indicated that the University will
continue to farm West Farm for grain; all livestock operations
have been moved to the Lexington Farm.
- Is there an expectation that student enrollment will
increase? Dr. Runner indicated that the University’s plan
is to maintain current enrollment.
- Are residence halls difficult to plan? Dr. Runner
indicated that most of the residence halls were built in the
1970s and many of them have become obsolete and carry high maintenance
cost. There are 7,500 beds in the residence halls.
- What do you see about the Campus physical framework –
food court, University competing with local businesses?
Dr. Runner indicated that the University has not added any new
food program. The University only feeds its own people. There
is a sign at the door in an effort not to compete with private
enterprise. The University plan calls for the replacement or
relocation of any retail business displaced as a result of the
Campus plan.
- What’s your opinion on the idea of an improved corridor
between ISU, BroMenn and Illinois Wesleyan University? Dr.
Runner remarked that there is a great potential for an improved
corridor (access) between ISU and IWU but the State DOT needs
to be involved.
- Does ISU have a picture of what the ISU-IWU corridor
could look like? Dr. Runner remarked that the development
of the corridor would have to be guided. Doug Farr, Normal’s
downtown renewal planner, suggested the idea of a trolley. The
University is open to various ideas.
- What is the University’s plan for attracting conferences?
Dr. Runner stated that the University has a conference unit
charged with, among other things, bringing conferences to campus.
- What kind of changes does the Institution expect with
National Online University Education? Dr. Runner stated
that people come to campus for other things than classroom education.
A Resident University will continue to prosper. Average age
of University students is getting older. Enrollment remains
stable for resident universities.
- How do you do a 20-year plan? Dr. Runner stated that
the best thing to do is to turn it around and look at the events
of the past 20 years. One may find out that some have not changed
much. One could also look at it by seven year increments. It
takes long time to change when you deal with physical environment.
He suggested that the Committee go back to the past vision report
and see what has been achieved.
- Are there plans to rehab Braden Auditorium to make it
more community accessible? Dr. Runner remarked that running
operations such as the auditorium requires hard work and specialized
skills. He mentioned that the community is diverse and it is
sometimes difficult to plan programs or events that would appeal
to a large segment of the community. He noted that some communities,
such as Peoria, have a management company that they used, not
necessarily for their management expertise but for their connection
or influence.
- Will Watterson building be torn down? Dr. Runner stated that some of the existing residence halls would be demolished because they don’t have air conditions. He noted that Atkin Colby and others on Main Street are in poor condition. The University staff just finished $8 Mil programming to rewire Watterson Towers.
Mr. Robins remarked that the visual vista proposed in the Campus Master Plan for Main Street and College Avenue will be a community asset just like the spiral on the Church building at the corner of Linden Street and Shelbourne Drive.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bayo Adanri
Town Planner