Town Council - Regular Meeting

like to call to order this meeting for the Normal Town Council for Monday, March 2nd, 2026. Please call the role. Mayor Cous, Mr. Preston, here. Mrs. Loren here, Mr. Buyers, here. Mr. Robers, here. Miss Smith, Mr. McCarthy. We'll begin this evening with the pledge of

allegiance to the flag of the United States. As all of you can tell, I am not Mayor Cous, but um in his absence, we'll be filling in uh just this evening um and no longer. And appreciate you sticking with me tonight. Uh we have no public comment at the beginning of our meeting, though we do have a number of uh commenters at the end of our meeting. So, that leads us into then our omnibus vote agenda. Uh items on the omnibus agenda are taken with one action unless any council member wants to pull an item for discussion. Seeing none, is there a motion? So moved.

Second.

Items for consideration on the omnibus agenda tonight are approval of the minutes of the regular council meeting of February 16, 2026. A report to receive and file Tonor normal expenditures for payment as of February 25th, 2026. An ordinance authorizing publication of a zoning map. A resolution to award the bid for water man and service line materials to Ferguson Waterworks of Decalb, Illinois. A resolution authorizing a facility use agreement with Flex Bus, Inc. for use of Uptown Station as a transportation provider. And a resolution authorizing the execution of a joint funding agreement for federally funded construction with the Illinois Department of Transportation for the Chitix Junior High School safe routes to school shared use path project. Please call the role.

Mrs. Loren, I. Mr. Buyers, I. Mr. Roers, I. Mr. Preston, I. The omnibus agenda is approved. Uh, we have no general orders or new business tonight.

So, that then leads us to our public comment at the end of the meeting. Uh, we have, I believe, nine people uh who will be speaking at public comment. Um, first up is uh Kevin Bersett. And as Mr. Burick comes up. I will just remind you that we ask each person to please state their name. Any of these seats, any three uh microphones up here, please state your name for the record. Um and you have three minutes. I'm Kevin Buret. Um hello. I'm here tonight to talk about the potential closure of Glenn Elementary and its impact on the surrounding community. Um if everybody would stand up that's here to [laughter] I guess it's not just me. It's a whole community of people that have come here tonight to to kind of bring this to the the town council's attention. if it isn't or to just kind of reinforce how important this school is to our community. Uh my family and I have lived on Cullen Street Normal since 2017. We love and value our community. Um as you know, Glenn is a pillar of our neighborhood. It's also a big reason we moved from Bloomington to our home in the town's central corridor. My younger daughter attends kindergarten at the school and my elder daughter graduated from Glenn last year. For the last seven days, we've walked one or the other to school. On February 19th, Unit 5 announced Glenn Elementary could be closed and repurposed for an alternative school under one of two proposals. While alternative education is surely a worthy program, it would not it would not fulfill or match the current role Glenn serves for parents and the community at large. The district then gave us 10 days to publicize and complete a survey that could irrevocably change the nature of our community. Now that the survey is passed, we come to you all. The school's closure would be a blow to the community and the town's efforts to attract families to the center of normal. Glenn provides helps provide stability not only to the south of Uptown where a lot of our neighborhoods uh feed in the school, but also Old Northmal as well. It's the main institution that knits the community together in this area. Proposal one would move our kids halfway across town to Sher Creek, ending those

walks to school and the sense of community they bring. It would also scatter the hund open enrollment students that come to campus each day and contribute to the diverse and vibrant student body at Glenn. The effect that closure would have on the community, that's something that's not even being debated among the school officials. That's why I think it's all important for you all to know and put your voices forward. Um, fortunately, the Glen community is not sitting back. Last week, we held a community meeting that drew over 60 people from all walks of life, parents, longtime community members whose children and grandchildren have attended the school, staff, and teachers. Judge James Connect and former Unified board member Michael Trer among the attendees and those who have publicly spoken out against the school's closure. Glenn neighborhoods have deep roots in the community. Mayor lives and has a sign up to save Glenn. He can see the school from his front yard. Um, we have ISU professors, State Farm employees, respected judges, and hard workers of all types. But it's also a future. The neighborhoods are for the future as well. And that school is important to that. It attracts young families. Houses sell very quickly in the neighborhood. And according to a recent study, living close to good schools was a top five priority for millennials when picking a place to live. The walkability to both the school and uptown are very attractive. The former would disappear under Prop One. The town has correctly, in my view, invested heavily into Uptown Normal. You need thriving neighborhoods near the center of town to keep these businesses in this area strong and thriving. Ripping this school out of our community and would take our services, the tax dollars, our I guess the services, our tax dollar support, and out of our neighborhood and spread the wealth and further disincentivize families from moving to the core of the community. I hope you stand with us, your constituents, and your community in speaking out against the closure of Glenn. March 18th, uh, school board meeting, they will unveil the final plan. And in April, the board will decide whether or not to close Glenn. It was really powerful to see the mayor of Carlock, um, go there to the January of their January school board meeting and

speak up for his town. I I hope some of you all do the same for us. Strong towns require strong community schools. as they anchor long-term residency, enhance safety in schools, and raise the property values of residents and the corresponding tax coffers of local governments. Please jo please join us in supporting Glenn.

Thank you. [clears throat] Our next uh public commenter this evening uh is Talia Zephraniac. Zephrroniac. Anybody? Talia Zephroniac. Okay, moving right along. And if Talia is here or does show up, um please just raise your hand at some point and I'll make sure we come back to you at the end. Uh but moving right along, uh after that, um our next public commenter is Natalie Shad. Good evening. My name is Natalie Shad. I am the parent of one and soon three children who will attend Glenn Elementary. I'm here because the draft proposals from unit 5 that include the possibility of closing Glenn Elementary are deeply concerning, not just for my family, but for the future of this community. In 2020, my husband and I moved back to normal from Los Angeles. We bought our home site unseen because we believe in this town, its leadership, its growth, and especially its schools. Glenn Elementary's reputation was one of the most important factors in deciding where to live. We intentionally chose a home within walking distance because we value neighborhood schools and the stability they create. When communities begin closing elementary schools, it sends a clear message and it's not one of growth. Across the country, school closures are widely recognized as red flags. They often signal financial strain, population decline, or disinvestment. They remove anchor institutions that hold neighborhoods together. They disrupt educational continuity and they

weaken the very fabric that makes our town attractive to families. Research shows closures frequently lead to lower student engagement, reduced parent involvement, increased absenteeism, and long-term instability for children. Even practical impacts matter. For our family, we would go from a two-minute drive or a 10-minute walk to a 10-minute drive or nearly 50 minute walk. That shift changes daily routines, accessibility, and connection to the school community. While closures may be framed as financial efficiencies, studies consistently show they carry long-term social and economic costs that outweigh short-term savings. Property values, neighborhood um cohesion, and family investment all feed the impact, all feel the impact. Normal has worked hard to position itself as a growing forward-looking community. We have seen investment and expansion while other towns face decline. Closing a thriving neighborhood elementary school contradicts that trajectory. It risks signaling contraction at a time when we should be reinforcing confidence. Elementary schools are not just budget lines. They are infrastructure for families. These families, they are economic drivers. They are community anchors. I urge this council to communicate clearly to unit 5 via a statement to the leadership that closing Glenn Elementary should not be on the table. If we want to continue attracting families, strengthening neighborhoods, and supporting our children, we must protect the institutions that make that possible. Our town is growing. Our families are investing here. And our children deserve stability in their schools. Please help ensure that Glenn Elementary remains part of Normal's future. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Our next public commenter tonight is Ron Mer. Good evening and thanking you uh thank you for allowing me to comment. I live in the 1100 block of North London for over a decade decade. While Lyndon is a major north south i art iotery through much of Bloomington and normal I rarely saw a vehicle parked on Lyndon in my the few blocks north and south of me. Nor did I ever see a bicyclist. Rarely, I won't say never, but very rarely. Normal repave this section. They put a bicycle lane on each side of the street. I never see anybody bicyclist in the bicycle lane. Um, the driving lanes are narrower now. Sometimes when cars are in the middle of the street turning right or left, cars pass them on the right in the parking and bicycle lane, which is really safe. That's really improved the safety. Uh, the outcome. Uh, let's see. I went through all that more quickly. I thought my question is why did no one from the town or normal think of why bicycle lanes were needed when they weren't needed and the residents are intelligent enough not to use them because about a half block to the east is a bicycle trail. That's why they never rode on Lindon. It would be stupid to drive in the ride in the heavy traffic and with some cars turning on and off. It is very busy during rush hour and at other times. The people aren't going to ride their

bicycles on Lynon when they have a parallel trail. That is outright stupid. What happens though is you now have cars turning right and left. people get ticked off because they're waiting and they drive around on the non-driving lanes, which is much safer, right? Uh why my question is why did no town employees, road engineers, parks and recreation or the bicycle riding mayor enthusiast mayor know that bicycles wouldn't ride on Lyndon? They don't ride on Lynon Bicycle Shop because they're also on the trail a block east of there. Uh so I doubt he or his buddies would ride on it. The town Okay. So uh finally the the trail is beautiful, has less of a asphalt's less hot because it's mostly shade uh shaded. There's no hard pavement with trucks and auto zooming by and producing producing exhaust which people have to inhale. Bicycle roads provided by the government on paved roads with no good alternatives are approach are appropriate and improve self uh social self social well-being. Bicycle lanes on roads with a bicycle train trail a half a block away is just a stupid waste of taxpayer money. Left turn and right turn lanes would produce a lot less pollution because I get irritated if somebody's turning left and three cars are coming the other way. I'm not going to drive dangerously, but I'm ticked off that I have to wait now and everybody on Lyndon uh breathes more pollution. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Up next is uh James Connect. My name is uh James Connect. I am a 50 plus resident of unit 5 and 49 years living on the on Broadway, the Broadway fell area. As you've been told, unit 5 is considering two proposals involving the closure or repurposing of certain schools uh and some redistricting. I'm here to speak about Glenn Elementary. Why would I come to the city council? Well, I believe that the council should be informed and interested because the closure of a neighborhood school affects the quality of life in our town. The more connected we are to community and the idea of community, the healthier we are. Glenn school is the community for the surrounding neighborhood. I suggest the students at Glenn, the families at Glenn, the teachers at Glenn, the staff at Glenn, and the town of Normal are all healthier with Glenn as a vibrant, well functioning, diverse neighborhood school. These are not intangibles. Opposition option two, as suggested by unit five, is the best and healthiest option for everyone. It keeps Glenn open. It keeps Carlock open. It plans for a muchneeded and new facility for early education, thereby closing Bighgam, which is uh downtrodden, and also a facility for transitional programs, taking it out of Eugene Field, which is simply not suitable. Each would

have their own wing in that new building. Glenn is a small school, but it is a community and an anchor for many and a good thing for the town of Normal. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next public commenter this evening is Molly Derby. Good evening, Molly Derby. parent of two daughters at Glenn Elementary. I'm also speaking tonight in objection to Unit 5's enrollment planning draft proposal number one, specifically to the concept of Glenn Elementary being closed as we know it. A walkable elementary school in the heart of a downtown district is something that many communities work intentionally to create, not eliminate. [snorts] It supports foot traffic. It supports mixeduse housing. It allows fam families to live close to work, to campus, to restaurants, and to civic life. It contributes to the kind of density and vibrancy that Uptown Normal has invested in over the past two decades. When families can walk their children to school, they are more connected to local businesses, more engaged in the community, and more likely to remain long term. Glenn Elementary signals that this is not just a college town. It is a full life cycle community where families can put down roots. What started as an enrollment planning project to relieve enrollment imbalance at a handful of schools has evolved into something much more disruptive. And it's imperative that other governing bodies like this one pay attention before it's too late. My concern is that once Glenn is gone, the opportunity to support a walkable family centered uptown core is gone with it. Unit 5 administration is considering

Glenn for closure purely for purposes of facility efficiency. They admittedly have made this proposal not based on the quality of Glenn's performance outcomes, which are many. And it seems clear that they are also not considering community impacts. Glenn Elementary is not simply a building. It is a community anchor. If Glenn closes, the impact extends beyond enrollment redistribution. It affects downtown residential demand, property values, and surrounding neighborhoods, the long-term growth strategy of the Uptown District. Normal has invested heavily in smart growth principles, density, walkability, mixeduse development, and reducing sprawl. A neighborhood school with walking within walking distance of the core aligns directly to those goals. So I respectfully ask, has the town evaluated the economic and planning implications of this potential closure within new business? If not, please consider this a call to action. Has there been coordination between municipal planning staff and the district regarding the future of that property? and how does removing a walkable elementary school from Uptown align with Normal's long-term vision? Unit [clears throat] 5 administration will make final proposals to the school board in 16 days. Are we paying attention? Are we ready? Thank you.

Thank you. Our next public commenter this evening is Bevon Chobin. Is that right? Excellent. Good evening. My name is Bevon Chobin and I live at 1204 South London Street in Normal. And I'm here this evening to add my voice to the chorus of folks uh who are asking you to uh consider the proposed redistricting of Unified Schools this evening. specifically the proposal that would close Glenn Elementary in the neighborhood just south of Uptown. I know the town council does not have power or authority in school district decisions. Uh but I urge you to support in whatever way you can keeping Glenn open because its presence in our neighborhood directly impacts the well-being of our town as a whole. My husband and all three of his siblings attended Glenn Elementary and we are getting ready to send our son there next year for kindergarten. We chose our home for its proximity to Glenn. I feel the council should take a vested interest in this decision uh because a nearby walkable school as we all know uh increases home values and thusly tax revenue. And on a more intrinsic note, Glenn and our surrounding historic neighborhood have a rich entwined history. My husband and I are not the only families that we know sending subsequent generations to our beloved neighborhood grade school. Several of them are in the room tonight. Families intentionally plant, grow, and raise multiple generations in our neighborhood. And Glenn is the heart of that. Families like mine chose this neighborhood specifically because of a walkable school, the trail, and uptown. I met my now husband at Maggie Miley's. I Yeah, I love Maggie's. [laughter] When we want to get dinner as a family, we often walk uptown on the trail and then we let our son roll around on the

grassy hill outside afterward. The Glenn Elementary neighborhood being such a wonderful place for our family means that many of our dollars come back to this economy and I know that's something the council understands and appreciates as a key pillar of a strong neighborhood and subsequently a strong town. I humbly ask you to familiarize yourselves with the proposed changes if you haven't already and voice your opinions as both residents who pay taxes to support our schools and as thoughtful council people who care about nurturing and maintaining a vibrant historic neighborhood in our town's core. I kindly ask the council to prepare a statement on this matter in support keeping Glenn open. Thank you for your time and your thoughtful representation of us.

Thank you. Our next public commenter this evening is Chad Pacy. And then on deck after Mr. Pacy will be our final which will be Avery Lewis. Good evening, staff, council. My name is Chad Pacy, president, Normal Firefighters, uh, Local 2442. I'm here tonight to offer my sincere thank you to city manager Ree, uh, for taking time this last week to meet with us and engage in open, productive conversation regarding several important topics facing our department and our community. We appreciate the opportunity to begin meaningful dialogue and share perspectives in a collaborative setting. These discussions are an important step toward building mutual understanding and developing solutions that best serve the needs of our residents, visitors, and firefighters. We are encouraged by the willingness to listen, exchange ideas, and explore opportunities to work together in a constructive manner. We look forward to a dedicated work meeting between our local town leadership and our fire chiefs where we can sit down collectively and take a deeper look at the needs of the town moving forward in the department. Our goal is to ensure that each year we are evolving alongside the needs of our growing and changing community rather than remaining stagnant through thoughtful planning, datadriven decisions and open collaboration. We believe we can continue strengthening public safety and service delivery for everyone. We remain committed to working in a partnership with the town leadership and to build a safer, stronger community in the future. Thank you.

Thank you. And our final public commenter tonight is Avery Lewis. I think the reasons we should keep Glenn open is it's amazing school. No one wants to move again if we're just a starter at that school. Well, we might not move, but whatever. And the reasons we just need to keep it open is it's a great school. Families have to find a new school and we should just keep it open in general. And like if we start building it now, like quicker, the new building now quicker, we can get we can keep the school open and just stop this from happening and people worrying. Thank you. I think we did save the best for last there. Thank you for uh all of our public commenters, but especially that last one. Um that does wrap up public comment at the end of our meeting. Uh before taking a motion for adjournment, are there council concerns or comments?

Mr. Buyers N.

Thank you. First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for coming out tonight. Um I know that there are lots of things you all could be doing tonight besides coming to town council meetings and schoolboard meetings. So appreciate your advocacy for your neighborhoods and for your community. Speaking for myself, I mean, I I've been pretty surprised and also concerned in the last couple weeks and months seeing all these yard signs coming into the community because as I recall, we had a sales tax referendum and we also had a property tax referendum in the last two election cycles. So, just logically, I am a bit surprised to see that there's talks talk of school closures after the community has supported the district with those extra resources. I understand that there are different tough decisions that have to be made by school districts, but I recall the conversations being during those referendums about keeping our resources open. Um, so appreciate you coming out tonight. Um, I will do some more digging on the issue and see if there's a way I can be of assistance. Thanks,

Miss Lens.

I echo Mr. Buyer's sentiments there, too. Thank you for raising that up and for all the uh Glenn parents and families coming out. Um, I also want to point out that um you need to be paying attention to a few other things as well as far as the center of town. We want to make sure we have appropriate fire and EMS response time to the center of town. We want to make sure that we continue to invest in our community and that includes public safety resources like fire and EMS. So that is has has been a pun hot topic for me here recently. I'm glad to see our firefighters out here. um uh showing support and also want to echo the thank you to finally staff and leadership of the fire department sitting down with the union members and beginning to have dialogue. I think as being talked about here tonight, dialogue is essential to any important issue. And with that, I'm going to because I know you're going to let me go a little bit longer. Um, [laughter] I want to talk about yet another hot topic of investment nature. Why fully funding the EDC and our budget that we will be approving in two weeks. EDC Economic Development Council matters. I'm probably preaching to the choir up here, but nevertheless, for the sake of public uh transparency, we'll say why it is important that we fully fund EDC at $100,000 and not cut it to zero or $50,000. Council has a clear return on its investment. For every $1 invested in EDC, that generates $6,000 in ROI for the town. That is not theoretical. How does that happen? Well, here are some facts that I've gotten. The EDC has secured 1.5 billion, that's B, billion

dollars for the R2 project from Rivian, competing successfully against Georgia by working with the state to amend incentives and standardize the enterprise zone. Point number two, they have issued 1,500 enterprise zone certificates supporting projects like Bridgestone and Aienda Leon driving job creation and capital investment. Recall Asienda filled a many year vacant first floor of uh the building on the circle here. They had they identified and put money towards a housing needs study. And we all know that that is another hot topic before it actually began to become a national crisis, allowing us to try to get ahead of that on workforce pressures. They've also elevated child care crisis as the next train coming and is positioning senior housing as yet another next train coming in terms of strategic priority for the viability and sustainability of our community. It begins with the neighborhood schools. It's secured by our public safety to invest in the economic vitality of this community. We're talking $100,000 We spend more on playground equipment than we do on EDC. It is the least we can do to fully fund our economic development at $100,000. I hope my council colleagues here and away will support me in that in two weeks. Thank you.

Thank you. And m Nope. Okay. Um I'll make just a uh another comment to um dovetail a little bit off of uh my colleagues before. Thank you uh to all of you who are here um in person uh tonight in the council chambers and for making your voices and the voices of your neighbors and your families heard. Uh you are correct as many of you noted that we are not the unified school board. Um but nonetheless being here elevates the um uh public nature of your guys's voice, elevates the conversation, continues to keep it out there with more and more stakeholders in this community. And I would certainly share um the mindset that Glenn is a great asset to the community, to the town of Normal, and certainly to all the families uh who benefit from there with their children being educated there both now um and in the many years prior. So while I don't know exactly what there is that we can do, I would I would share the sentiment expressed by Mr. Buyers that if there is anything that I can be of help with, um I'll be glad to reach out and, you know, do what I can for you. But again, not sure exactly what that would be. Um, and with that, I would uh welcome a motion to adjurnn.

So move. Move. Second. Please call the role. Mr. Buyers. Hi. Mr. Roers. Hi. Mrs. Loren. Hi. Mr. Preston. Hi. We are journ at 7:31.