By: Diane Benjamin
At the Normal Town Council meeting on October 18, 2021 a bill was approved labeled remediation. The amount was $23,250.
I received the whole story by FOIA.
The police were asked to do a wellness check by a neighbor on 3/27/2021. The neighbor was concerned because mail was piling up and the owner had not been seen recently. The police found the front door unlocked and entered the home.
I have lots of pictures, but below is one that shows what they found throughout the house:
Police saw rates, mice, animal feces, mounds of trash, mold, and a ceiling caved in.
Keep in mind, this is March. The owner had moved to a motel. Since the police didn’t know that they checked the entire house.
Also on March 27 Greg Troemel, Director of Building and Zoning, sent the owner a letter saying the property was not approved for occupancy.
The Town next got 2 bids for cleaning the property. The October check was made out to Chem-K LLC, that is Paul Davis Restoration.
A contract was signed on June 7, 2021 by the homeowner and Pam Reece. The issue never went to Council for a vote before she decided to hand out a no interest loan. Another bill for rat/mouse traps for $85 is a gift from taxpayers, it isn’t included in the repayment. The contract between the Town and Paul Davis Restoration was signed June 4th.
Below are the repayment terms:
I asked for a copy of the lien filed, I didn’t get one. The statement below says Normal MAY file one, Normal needs to file one so a future buyer is aware of the contract.
If this hadn’t been a duplex the property probably would have been condemned and demolished. Instead, the owner got the home cleaned and a no interest loan courtesy of taxpayers.
The documents I received say nothing about mental health and/or required counseling. The owner obviously needs it. The contract does have this provision:
The Town has now set a precedence for properties they deem a “health hazard”. The Health Department wasn’t contacted to agree with Normal’s findings or to assist in getting counseling for the homeowner. The Town will remediate and hope to get paid back. Since the contract states code violations are likely to still exist, the property might only be worth around what the Town invested. It needs to be taken back to the studs, rewired, and then rebuilt.
Was Town code followed? So if you can interpret this: https://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/7696/Chapter-02—Officers-Elected-and-Appointed?bidId=
The Council wasn’t notified until October, maybe because it was discovered days before the last election.
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Where do I sign up to get zero interest loans to clean up my home? This is corrupt, someone involved is connected or this was campaign interference by Pam. Has the town ever done this before?
Not that I know of.
How, under any circumstances, is this legal? Pam Reece has the authority to dispense taxpayer money as an interest free loan? She should be fired, and then prosecuted. Hoping that someone will bring this up in public comment to get this on the record that everyone can see.
I plan on emailing city with my address. They can clean my home for free.
Did you get my last post? Not sure if I lost it, but spent a good amout of time on it
I received this one first
However, they will have nothing to do with helping out the taxpayers of Normal who had water in their basements for two years in a row on April 26 of 2020 or June 25-26, 2021. For some reason, this to me just shows how much any of us and all the money we are paying into the system matter. No wonder we have so many people on unemployment and food stamps and utility help. Why does this equate those who are struggling to pay taxes, provide food and clothing for their family, and cannot afford to spend anything else still struggle while others are “chosen” to reap the benefits when they and their families have worked hard to provide and strive during these last 3 years. If I could afford to complete my basement, sell my property at a profit, and get the hell out of here, I would. I only assume many more families are going into debt trying to afford food to feed their families, gas to get to work, and never ending property tax which continues to go up with no benefit to taxpayers are all stuck in this cycle. Stan, thank you for standing against everyone and living for the tax payers. The rest of the council never lived paycheck to paycheck. What is wrong with society is we are supposed to listen to the privileged instead of the workers. Why and how did all of our lives become determined by those who were handed down privilege, never had to pay student loans, never had to work to live, never had to wonder how to pay gas, water, and the never ending increases we are handed in this town be allowed to tell us how we have to live and how we should appreciate this community. I work at ISU, we have not received a living wage in years. This year, we received 1 extra day off before Thanksgiving. Why is it ok to continue to steal money from us all when none of us are receiving a living wage to cover the exponential water, garbage, sewage increases, property increases when we are unable to sell our property due to flooding even if we are not located in a flood plane, and continue to get screwed on each and every increase the elite decide to pass along. I will love and fight for my community when my community fights for me. At this point, I feel robbed on a daily basis. None of my requests for the understanding of my overly increased water bill have been answered, none of the restrictions normal has to be able to raise my own eggs, meat, or do what I need in order to feed my family are permitted, but please tax me more for bread, water, milk, and then charge me for recycling, increase my taxes, and tell me my property is worth more than it ever has before. You are creating a catastrophic eclipse of unattainable housing and ability to sustain life for those you are supposed to represent. Shame on all of you, except Stan. And more than anything, shame on you for having to answer questions you should be more than open to answering. BTW, waiting for the free loan to still clear all the flood damage from my basement. Where do I app