By: Diane Benjamin
I wonder if Chris Koos will try to blame Stan Nord for this:
This is yet another company who contacted Stan. They can turn the mural into a digital picture and save taxpayers a lot of money.
Stan forwarded the information to City Manager Pam Reece:
Have you noticed how Stan continually protects people who contact him? He did the same thing with the Bloomington company wanting to relocate to Uptown: https://blnnews.com/2019/07/31/did-chris-koos-lie/
By the way, City Attorney Brian Day serves as the ethics officer for the Town of Normal. If you think Chris Koos should be held accountable for his lie, file a complaint with him. [email protected]
Below is Pam’s response to Stan:
Meanwhile the Town is still in court racking up legal fees and the construction of Trail East has been delayed.
Moving the mural was estimated to cost $100,000. This option is $15,000 and can be resized to fit anywhere.
This has never been discussed at Council. Did Pam bury this option? Do the artists still suing know about this option? Is this an option that should be discussed?
One more email pertaining to Public Comment:
Normal has rules that violate the 1st amendment rights of citizens.
The new Attorney General appears to be worse than the last one, his office hasn’t ruled on the Request for Review filed by Karyn Smith when her right to speak about the mural was denied.
Citizens have a right to talk about anything they want, it’s only 3 minutes. Let Chris Koos cut you off – it will be on video.
Keep in mind, public comment isn’t only for you to talk to Trustees, the video makes sure citizens know too. Likely many agree.
Pam Reece asking citizens to honest is RICH! She is a joke. First citizens can only speak on what she and her Comrade Koos approve of on the Agenda and then she doesn’t understand why citizens use the agenda items (citizens only avenue to make comment) to make a point. She needs to resign!
Her Majesty, Queen Pamela, needs to look over the minutes or the Council agenda. Every month her Council humbly bows and falls in line with her wishes and blindly approves a payment to Connect Transit that I believe is nearly $70,000 a month. The four speakers she references spoke about Connect Transit in public comment. The Council agenda included approving the monthly payment to Connect.
She needs to get off her high horse. She’s worse than Peterson. When she retires we can name a Connect transit bus stop after her, complete with an engraved granite monument with her name on it. Just like Mark R. Peterson Plaza.
As one who has challenged this Council in the past over public comment rules, even filed a complaint with the Public Access Counselor at the Illinois Attorney General’s office and won, I still don’t understand why citizens must seek permission from the city manager to speak at a Town Council meeting. Neither do I understand why we must be limited in our remarks to only items on the Council agenda. That rule is currently under review right now and if we ever get an answer, perhaps we can address advanced notice to the city manager. I won’t hold my breath.
Pamela, Koos, and the Gang want their rubber stamp back. All of these pesky questions about how taxpayer money is spent and accountability are getting in the way of them doing whatever they want. Again, it is clear that they do not know how to handle a difference of opinion. They’ve been in command of the town without any checks against their power for so long. This illustrates just how indefensible their positions are. Think about it…Koos and friends are resorting to attacks because they cannot form any reasonable arguments in support of their actions/opinions. Stan is just holding up a mirror to town government…we can’t help it if they don’t like what they see.
Long when this started I suggest ed that as a solution . a traveling banner that could go to events and be displayed . . Normal doesn’t give 2 craps about any thing but an agenda the mayor and a few perceive as a right to do anything they please , without consideration or the bottom line What they do one day changes later to fit the bill they want .