By: Diane Benjamin
Mayor Koos appeared on his favorite radio station last week. He again mentioned spaces in Uptown that aren’t good for retail because parking in front of the door doesn’t exist. Why did Normal build 3 parking garages and take away on street parking then Mayor?
Read the story and listen to the interview here:
https://www.wglt.org/post/mayor-normal-details-reasons-nonstandard-commercial-leases-town-property
Part of the conversation concerned Wild Country. Koos claimed the property couldn’t be rented to anyone else because of the condition, therefore only paying property taxes was fair.
Why did the Town of Normal buy this property in 2010 for $325,000 if the condition was horrible? We know, Uptown 2.0 decades before the property was needed, if it will ever be needed! Or was the purchase the Koos “Friends and Family Plan”? Both?
Verify the purchase price at the McLean County Assessor’s website – PIN #14-28-438-007.
Koos also claimed there is interest in building a Trail North building. All of the charm of the former downtown will be gone if Koos and company aren’t gone after the next election.
You know when you visit a theme park? How from a distance it looks so authentic/real? But up close you see it is just a plastic façade. That is how Normal is beginning to feel to me. The small town charm is gone, now it has gone the way of just another Bloomington beige subdivision
It feels like a movie set to me now. What we had (you long time residents know what we had) compared to the abomination called “Uptown” might as well be made out of cardboard. The real downtown Normal was stolen from us by Koos and his crooks and liars. It was replaced by a marketing movie set for ISU. That is why Troy you don’t feel comfortable in this Uptown movie set. ISU students and their parents are the actors who belong there. The residents of the Town of Normal are just unseen backstage extras. Extras that have to pay for the movie set of course.
Ironic. uptown WANTS to be like Boulder, et al. Go to Boulder, what do people THERE do for relaxation? GET OUT of town! They hike, ski, climb, raft, ride, etc. It’s the folks OUTSIDE Boulder that want to GO to Boulder, and make it WHAT it is-a concrete freak fest university town, with more instructions then an Ikea house! IF uptown WANTS to be this way, they certainly are achieving the goal. NOW they just need the mountains, etc. As for WHAT locals in CO. call Boulder?
10 SQUARE miles surrounded by REALITY! Keep it up koos-maybe YOU should hit an OXYGEN bar!
Downtown Normal, Illinois: Potemkin Village
After you tell so many lies, it becomes difficult to keep your stories straight. This is exactly what’s happening to Koos. His answers and storylines are incredibly inconsistent. At this point, it seems that no matter the tales he spins, people can see with their own eyes, and decide with their own disposal income how unsuccessful Uptown truly is. Maybe his favorite media outlet and its lemming listens are buying it, but the people have caught on to the Uptown charade. But, as Diane reminds/asks us, will they show up on election day?
Too late: Its charm has been gone for a LONG time! Like ever since Koos became Mayor!
Applying Koos logic, State Farm just needs to put out some beanbag chairs, ping pong tables, and a sushi buffet, and they’ll become as innovative as Apple or Google.
The ISU lease has no 3 month out clause. In the council video the town attorney says the only way for the town to get out is if ISU breaches by not paying. When they have nothing to pay how can they breach?
ISU agreed to the original 5 year deal long ago and had no problem then limiting it for only 5 years. This 2nd 5 year lease is 100% giving away taxpayer money where there is no need. This is corrupt and puts special interests above the individuals who live and pay taxes in Normal.
It would be interesting to watch Normal and ISU fight it out in court… they both have bottomless (taxpayer) funds for legal battles.