by:  Diane Benjamin

In the consent Agenda – which means the potted plants are supposed to not question, just vote yes:

Analysis of Request for Proposal (RFP) and Contract Award to Anderson Building Services, Inc. for Fire Headquarters Station Kitchen Remodel,
(RFP 2015 – 40). (Recommend that the RFP for Fire Headquarters Station Kitchen Remodel be awarded to Anderson Building Services, Inc., Normal, IL, the contract be approved, in the amount of $55,995, and the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized to execute the necessary documents.)

In 2008, this was reported in the Pantagraph:

The Bloomington City Council approved a $2.9 million bid from Peoria Metro Construction for the station, which will be built at Six Points Road and Mitsubishi Motorway.

The Fire Station was built and has been standing empty ever since.  It is has a fully functional kitchen.  Can anything, like a stove or refrigerator, be taken out of the unused station?  Anybody going to ask?  Anybody care that YOUR millions are disintegrating?  The final cost could have been a lot higher than $2.9 million but obviously the City of Bloomington would rather you forget.

Also on the agenda:

Reconsideration of the Brady grant.

Citizens are outraged and no amount of spin is going to change it.  It will be interesting to see if any Alderman change their vote.  Joni Painter said she would have voted NO if she had all the facts.  We will see if she was truthful.  Will any other Aldermen change their vote?  Just in case any Aldermen think Fruin was impartial as required by City Code, below are 32 seconds  showing he wasn’t.  Bill Brady would have been committing a crime if he had given the money directly to Central Catholic (Illinois Constitution – Sect 1   (a) Public funds, property or credit shall be used only for public purposes.)  Brady is funneling it through Bloomington instead.  I’m sure more spin will be on display tonight.  Should be a good show.  Watch it on-line.  The coverage in Wednesday’s paper isn’t going to tell you what really happened.  Kevin Lower, Judy Stearns, Karen Schmidt, and Mboka Mwilambwe voted NO last time.  Will they again?  Their integrity and intelligence would be in question if they did!  Citizens have had enough of waffling politicians misusing public money.

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