by: Â Diane Benjamin
In 2008 Doug Farr was paid $200,000 to design downtown Bloomington. Â $125,000 was paid by the City of Bloomington and $75,000 was paid by the Downtown Bloomington Association. Â Where did the Downtown Bloomington Association get the money? Â From the City of Bloomington.
This information is from a July 1, 2008 article in the Pantagraph. Â I wonder why the City of Bloomington website only has Council history from 2009 on? Â Very convenient for them.
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Highlights from the Pantagraph article:
Farr added the City Council will need the courage to tear down some buildings as part of the plan.
“I want to steel you for this,” said Farr, who also created the redevelopment plan for uptown Normal, where many of the buildings in the town’s seven-block district have come down.
The city has spent about $9 million in TIF money on downtown since 1986. It also invested more than $50 million in the downtown when it renovated the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, 110 E. Mulberry St., and built the U.S. Cellular Coliseum, 101 S. Madison St. The two entertainment venues serve as anchor tenants for the downtown.
The council likely will vote on spending the money for the study at its July 14 meeting.
The council also will receive a progress report from the downtown association on its five-year work plan. Last year the council approved $850,000 in funding for the association’s work plan.
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The Bloomington Downtown Association has a plan too?
The Doug Farr plan is 126 pages, and it appears to be a Master Plan! Â
Here’s a link to it – dated November 13, 2013
http://www.cityblm.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=6034
Somebody please ask YOUR alderman why they need another plan? Â
Another $202,865 for a new plan?
Do you really believe they will pay for all these plans and then not con you into building it?
You may be given a choice in the future: (1) Doug Farr plan  (2) the new plan.  You won’t be given a third option:  PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT!  If anything was worth doing in downtown Bloomington, a private developer would be doing it!  Keep in mind – Normal just raised property taxes 10%.  They say it is for pensions, which is a normal cost of having employees.  Obviously they didn’t have the money to fund pensions, so they raised taxes.  Why do you think they didn’t have money for pensions?  Maybe something to do with almost $90,000,000 of debt?
Both cities elected mayors with their own personal agenda. Â The aldermen supposedly represent you. Â How many 7-2 votes do you need to see on the City Council before you understand that 7 alderman are nothing more than potted plants who vote YES on most anything brought to them? Â Demand they actually represent you for a change! Â Your family deserves better than what you are getting from Mayor Renner and David Hales and the Rubber Stamp 7.
Check out this website for the history of downtown through 2007, you’ve already spent millions on downtown:
http://www.mobilitytechzone.com/news/2007/08/19/2872151.htm
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Courage to tear down………………yeah right, more like destroy our city Heritage!
May I forward this to the City Council with my comments? I’d also like to add a few news sources as well since you are often accused of not being informative. Personally, I think it’s better to let them you as you far more eloquent. If you disagree, that’s ok, I’ll put it in my own words.
Thought I would ask permission before doing so.
Fine with me. I wish 100 people would do the same.
Disregard and thanks for the reply.
As usual Bloomington is about 10 years behind the rest of the world. The belief in global warming which supposedly pushes the sustainable communities initiative is waining. Even Al Gore is moving on! Heck he’s made a few billion off the scam. Next! Yes Bloomington council you’re being played as a sucker with your mayor leading you off the (financial) cliff. When this plan fails, like so many of past city council big expenditure plans have failed you’ll wish that you would have DONE THE RESEARCH YOURSELF instead of relying on a staff that is directly concerned about keeping their jobs. Cross the city manager and early retirement for you. Yes you heard that right! Not to mention the fact that this staff needs how much money for study after study after study? Remember when the outlet mall was built, as outlet malls were dying up? Lol, funny if not so sad. Council please stick with maintaining infrastructure which is what the staff was trained for. If this were a good idea, developers would be knocking your doors down. The opposite though is that, if you’re dumb enough to give them a bunch of money or ruin property values and use eminent domain for THEIR gain, then they’ll stand in line for that too. The Doug Farrs of the world are laughing at you council. They’re laughing at you too mayor, all the way to the bank!
Very well said mudd! 😛
Doug Farr is also used by the Town of Normal right?
I’d love to see a combined total that both cities have used. I bet it hits pretty high.
Wasn’t the mayor campaigning on using the resources of a huge college/grad pool that has been relatively untapped for these studies? I’m sure Scott Black and him both repeated this claim while they were running.
Yes Doug Farr was involved in Uptown. Yes, at least Renner ran on using College kids. Not sure about Black.
Dear Mayor, YOU LIE!