NORMAL — Construction of a long-awaited fire station in northeast Normal is expected to start this October following Monday's unanimous approval by the Town Council. The Normal Town Council approved a site plan and an amended contract for Normal Fire Station 2 along with a major plan expansion at Rivian Automotive. The council votes were unanimous except Mayor Chris Koos, who was absent because of a vacation, said the town's communication director, Cathy Oloffson after the meeting.
The Normal Town Council meets Monday at Uptown Station. The amendment sets the total contract with developer Core Construction of Peoria at $7,727,484. This is almost $3 million more than the initial $4,936,000 budgeted for the station.
The council approved a design and construction contract with Core Construction for the new station almost a year ago after a 2014 strategic survey of firefighter and paramedic response times suggested a realignment of the town's fire stations. Construction of the new fire station — which will be at the northeast corner of Shepard and Hershey roads and adjacent to the Blackstone Trails subdivision — can start as soon as Oct. 9 with substantial completion by Oct.
15, 2025. This image shows the proposed Normal Fire Station 2 planned for Hershey and Shepard roads. City Manager Pam Reece said the project was delayed while the town waited for a $1 million state grant sponsored by then-state Rep.
Dan Brady, R-Bloomington. "We're finally ready to go and we're excited to get this project going," Reece said. Reece said the station is the second of a three-part plan to realign Normal's fire stations to improve response times.
The first project was the construction of the Main Street headquarters, which was finished in 2017 . Normal Fire Chief Mick Humer previously told The Pantagraph that the closest station to the area right now is the current Fire Station 2 (the former department headquarters) at 1300 E. College Ave.
The response time from there is about 91⁄2 minutes to Normal Community High School, Grove Elementary School, The Village at Mercy Creek retirement community and the surrounding area. The department tries to be everywhere within the town within 41⁄2 to six minutes, which is a national standard, so the new station is needed, Humer said. He added that in the last year or two there have been numerous emergency medical calls and two kitchen fires in the Blackstone subdivision.
During one of the fire incidents, an elderly resident was rescued by her neighbors because she could not get out herself due to a medical condition. The new fire station will be at the northeast corner of Shepard and Hershey roads, adjacent to the Blackstone Trails subdivision. This is the second project of a three-part plan to realign Normal's fire stations to improve response times.
The plans call for a one-story, 10,000-square-foot building, and the exterior design of the station will reflect that of neighboring homes in the Blackstone subdivision. The design team also presented the proposed plans at an April 10 neighborhood meeting that was advertised to the entire Blackstone subdivision. All access to the station will be from Hershey Road, with emergency vehicles entering from the north driveway, driving through the building and exiting through the south driveway.
Employee and visitor access will be on the north side of the building. There will be 18 parking spaces north of the building for firefighters and people visiting the nearby Blackstone detention basin and trail. One space will have an electric vehicle charging station.
A sidewalk will connect the lot to the trail, and a bike rack will be at the northeast corner of the lot. The site will have code-required lighting and green space, with nondecorative light fixtures and light poles on the south and east sides of the parking areas. The light poles will have shields to minimize glare on adjacent properties, and there will be a number of trees and shrubs on the north and east sides of the building.
During Monday's meeting at Uptown Station, councilmember Kathleen Lorenz said that as the town moves forward with this new station, the final phase of the fire station relocation plan will be to relocate the current Fire Station 3, 1200 E. Raab Road. According to council documents, the future of the College-Blair station is yet to be determined and will be addressed at a later discussion with council.
Lorenz added that she wanted to make sure that the town was evaluating potential changes in populations and increased activity to ensure that the results from the survey conducted in 2014 are updated. Reece said that this project, as with any in the town, has been through a lot of steps and that the decision is data driven. "I can't imagine that we would have to redo a plan from 10 years ago to look at where headquarters and everyone is going separately," Reece said.
"We know how long it takes to respond to calls for service and we know the apparatus we have so we will look at all the information we have and come to council with a recommendation about where to go in the future (with) the future Station 3." Reece added that discussion should be expected to take place within a year. Councilmember Karyn Smith said that she obtained a copy of the 2014 study and confirmed that at the time the population data used was from 2010 and the town had 52,772 residents.
The town's 2020 population was 52,736. "So populationwise, we haven't changed that much," Smith said. "I don't think that there has been that much that has changed dramatically since that study was completed.
" Smith also highlighted public parking and access to the detention basin and trail around the new station that will be an amenity to the surrounding residents. Councilmember Scott Preston said that he and others who were on the council in 2014 remember how important it was to balance the need of improved response time to the east of Veterans Parkway and the fact that the site is bordering a residential neighborhood. "I think there are a lot of examples of that as we look at the specifics here, be it from lighting and lighting being shielded .
.. be it landscaping, be it the orientation of the building as it relates to the dumpster and a lot of things that I wouldn't think about," Preston said.
"Also reducing the overall square footage footprint of the facility from what it could have been while looking at some efficiencies to be able to still provide the same service." Zoning amendments The council approved two zoning map amendments for the northeast corner of Orlando Avenue and Northbrook Drive and the southwest corner of Shelbourne Drive and Constitution Trail. The Planning Commission initially recommended these changes at its Aug.
8 meeting . Approximately 2.7 acres at the Orlando-Northbrook site has been zoned for B-1 general business since the mid-1980s.
This satellite view shows outlined in red 1.68 acres at the northeast corner of Orlando Avenue and Northbrook Road in north Normal that is proposed for rezoning. Applicant Gopinath Kalyanasundaram owned the property for many years but sold part of it for what is now the Unity Community Center at 632 Orlando Ave.
The pending zoning change applies to the remaining undeveloped 1.68 acres. The council approved changing that land from a B-1 to a R-3A (medium density multifamily residential) zoning.
The 0.85-acre property at Shelbourne and Constitution Trail was rezoned from R-3A to S-2 (public lands and institutions) for the town to leave underdeveloped until plans to mitigate stormwater drainage issues move forward. This satellite view shows outlined in red approximately 0.
85 of an acre at the southwest corner of Shelbourne Drive and the Constitution Trail in Normal that is proposed for rezoning. Christ Church, 1301 N. Linden St.
, purchased the property in 2006, but the church later discovered the site was not suitable for development for a variety of reasons, including soil quality and drainage issues. The church sold the land to the town for $10 in May, after the council approved the purchase . Other business The council authorized a three-year intergovernmental agreement for the administration and implementation of the McLean County Watersheds Management Program.
The work performed under this agreement will promote clean stormwater runoff, which will help ensure a safe and stable water supply, according to council document. The agreement is between the City of Bloomington, McLean County, the McLean County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Bloomington and Normal Water Reclamation District, which is a new partner to this agreement. The existing agreement is expected to expire in October, which is why a new agreement was considered.
The town's contribution to the program is $10,000 annually for three years, which is the same as the county's contribution and matches the previous agreement's amount. Since Bloomington's water supply is directly impacted by water quality in Lake Bloomington and Evergreen lake, its annual contribution to the program is $90,000 for the first year and $100,000 annually for the second and third years. The Bloomington and Normal Water Reclamation District will pay $25,000 per year.
The council also waived the formal bidding process and authorized the purchase of refuse containers from Schaefer Systems International Inc. for $28,974. Will Morgan and Anna Cone practice at band camp for the Normal Marching Band.
Both are students at Normal Community High School. Junior Nina Paolucca leads the band in dance block during marching band camp at Bloomington High School. Paolucca is the clarinet section leader.
Senior John Phillip goes through drills during marching band camp for University High School. Penny Albertson practices with the color guard during marching band camp for Eureka High School. Senior Zoe Wietlispach, second from left, goes through drills during band camp at Bloomington High School.
Macy Wettstein practices with the color guard during marching band camp for Eureka High School. Normal Community's Quinton Nelson performs during marching band camp at Normal Community High School. Director John Landes works with students during marching band camp for University High School.
Director Todd Stalter talks to the Eureka Marching Band during marching band camp. From left to right, senior Briannon Snyder, junior Lydia Carroll and senior Nessiah McGill practice during marching band camp at Bloomington High School. Junior Isaiah Wear practices percussion during marching band camp for Eureka High School.
Director Max Chernick works with students during marching band camp at Bloomington High School. Students practice during marching band camp for University High School. Senior drum major Allison Wetzler directs the band during marching band camp for Eureka High School.
Junior Allie King, left, goes through drills during marching band camp for University High School. The Bloomington High School Marching Raiders go through drills during band camp at the school. Alyssa Hitchins practice the flute during marching band camp for Eureka High School.
Normal Community's Jacob Aldeman, front, during marching band camp at Normal Community High School. From left, senior Morgan Petersen, senior Liam Taylor and sophomore Miles Roth await instructions during marching band camp at Bloomington High School. Students practice during marching band camp for University High School.
The Normal Marching Band color guard practices during band camp. BLOOMINGTON — With a new school year on the horizon, most high school students are getting the last bit of summer freedom in before the semester starts. But hundreds of area marching band students are hard at work refining their skills and memorizing music in these last few weeks.
High school bands across Central Illinois are wrapping up their band camps and preparing for a season filled with Friday night football games, parades and competitions. Bloomington Marching Raiders Director Max Chernick talks about season for Bloomington Marching Band Max Chernick, band director for the Bloomington Marching Raiders, said the band includes about 140 students who will perform music like "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia and "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper in their show titled "Patchwork," which will follow a theme of assembling different scraps into one beautiful quilt. "We have giant spools of thread on the field, about 51⁄2 feet tall, that our soloist will perform from the top of.
We'll have 8-foot scraps of fabric that will move around the field as the fabric gets torn apart and ...
our uniforms are patchwork quilts of different patterns in red, which will be a new color for us," Chernick said. "They have really been adding a lot of themselves to the performance and it's been fun to see it come together with the drill and the choreography." Junior Nina Paolucca leads the band in dance block during marching band camp at Bloomington High School.
Paolucca is the clarinet section leader. Chernick said the band has learned all of its music already and is two-thirds of the way through learning the drill formations on the field, with choreography to be added later. "We have a lot of new staff this year, including a new assistant director of bands, and we want kids to understand that 'different' doesn't mean 'better' or 'worse,' it just means different, and we're still going to be our very best regardless of the changes," Chernick said.
The freshmen are the first group of students that did not have a fifth grade band experience due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have adapted well to marching, Chernick said, and the upperclassmen have been supportive in making sure they are all brought into the fold. Senior Zoe Wietlispach, second from left, goes through drills during band camp at Bloomington High School. "We're able to put leadership positions in here and teach these kids about life," said Jarrett DeFields, the new assistant band director at BHS, and also a 2015 graduate of the school.
"Band is kind of like life, and marching band is not always the most fun thing that kids like to do, but I tell them all the time that they're going to remember all these memories for years to come." Lindsey Carstens, a senior drum major for BHS, said she likes the show's concept of individualism, and how it captures every instrument's section and intertwines them together through movement to show them as one big team. From left to right, senior Briannon Snyder, junior Lydia Carroll and senior Nessiah McGill practice during marching band camp at Bloomington High School.
Carstens said her goal this year is to keep the band's visual performance at a high level, and she also hopes for everyone to form friendships with each other, as she has over the last four years. "We've all gone through our waves, our bumps and sharp turns, and we're still here, we all come to band and we work hard every time," Carstens said. "These are my people.
I don't know what I would do without some of the people in this band." Director Max Chernick works with students during marching band camp at Bloomington High School. The Bloomington High School Marching Raiders go through drills during band camp at the school.
Normal Marching Band Normal Marching Band co-directors Paul Carter and Ryan Budzinski talk about upcoming 2024 season Ryan Budzinski, co-director of the Normal Marching Band, said this year's band, made up of about 150 students from both Normal Community and Normal West high schools, is playing classics such as "Singin' in the Rain" and "What a Wonderful World," as well as a piece called "A Road, A Path" written by composer Roy Magnuson, a professor at Illinois State University. Their show, titled "Seed to Bloom," will use plant imagery to describe how humans grow throughout their lifetimes. The show is set in a garden, with props like hedges and masonry, and the students dressed in bodysuits that will resemble plants and change during the show.
Will Morgan and Anna Cone practice at band camp for the Normal Marching Band. Both are students at Normal Community High School. "Being able to portray something on a football field that is meaningful to someone, something that's memorable and something that has an impact on the audience — when you're a performing artist, your biggest hope is that your art reaches other people," said Budzinski, who is band director at Normal West.
Co-director Paul Carter said the band has learned the first two movements of the show, with the remaining two hopefully learned by the end of the month. "If every student is trying to be better than they were individually yesterday, and if we as an ensemble are trying to be better every day, then we're going to continue to move in the direction we're looking for, with the excellence but also with the artistry of what we do, and try to make them into better performers," said Carter, who is band director at Normal Community. Normal Community's Quinton Nelson performs during marching band camp at Normal Community High School.
Normal West senior and clarinet section leader Drew Jackson said he likes the artistic approach to this year's show, with everyone focusing on movement and visuals. More importantly, though, everyone is having fun and making sure they take something out of this experience, he said. "Our sense of community — being two different high schools and showing how we can come together and create a show like this that hasn't been seen before — is exciting," Jackson said.
"We just keep going forward, and we want to keep striving for more, but I don't know what that more is yet." Normal Community's Jacob Aldeman, front, during marching band camp at Normal Community High School. Normal Community senior and color guard captain Jenny Sanchez Cruz said the show's theme has been reflective of how they have developed as a band this season.
She added that she and the other upper classmen have been making sure to enjoy and create as many memories as possible this year. "I feel like marching band as a whole, especially my color guard section, they're like my second family. It's like we're all united and so close," Sanchez Cruz said.
"It just creates a lot of new skills that can help you in life, and it's just an amazing experience." In a few months, the band will be heading overseas for the London New Year's Day Parade & Festival , but for now, they are still deep in the parade planning process before they can ring in 2025. U High Marching Pioneers University High Marching Band director John Landes talks about upcoming season Jason Landes, director of the University High School Marching Band, said this year's show, titled "Stronger Together," will have the band starting in one large group before being divided through obstacles until they are brought back together at the end.
The music is an original composition called "Boundaries" by Gary Gilroy that has been adapted musically and visually for the show's theme. The color guard will be integrated into the band for this show, allowing for more group visuals. Senior John Phillip goes through drills during marching band camp for University High School.
With about 65 students in band this year, Landes said they will have two movements finished with music by the end of this week, after working on marching fundamentals all summer. They'll learn the third and final movement later on. "It's always fun when you do have the award success at the end of competitions, but really, the bottom line for me and I hope our students is just how you feel when you walk off that field at the end of every performance," Landes said.
"Whether it's a football game or it is a competition, whenever we have that performance, we want it to be our best one, and better than the last." Landes said they will continue to work on musical elements like projection and tone to grow as musicians throughout the season, but they'll also be working on visual elements and body control when marching on the field. Director John Landes works with students during marching band camp for University High School.
"When you've got all the activities going on in school, marching bands are such a huge part of that school spirit," Landes said. "That's one of the things that we want to continue to work on in all the programs that we have here, is just that school spirit and pride in our school." Senior drum major Lydia Wilcox said a big goal for her is to have a clean, well-polished look for the band, while also having fun and seeing their hard work pay off with how the show resonates with audiences.
Students practice during marching band camp for University High School. Wilcox said everyone has done an amazing job lifting each other up and being respectful with each other, especially with the new class of freshman, to create a sense of community that they will hopefully foster for years to come. "I choose band because I feel like it's a very important and rare community within a school environment where people feel like they can be at home and be their authentic selves," Wilcox said.
"It's a very important environment within a high school to have a safe space for everyone." Eureka Hornets Marching Band Eureka Marching Band gets ready for upcoming season Todd Stalter, director of bands at Eureka High School, said this year's show is titled "P.U.
S.H." after the acronym for "persist until something happens.
" The underlying theme, he said, is that in order to effect change, people have to go beyond what they may be comfortable with. "We like to think that our work ethic is something that really adds to what we do, and it's essential to our success, and that idea of persisting is something that we try to do," Stalter said. Penny Albertson practices with the color guard during marching band camp for Eureka High School.
The music has been curated by Marching Monk, which creates compositions and designs for marching bands across the country, and features unique and emotional high points through the show, Stalter said. With around 80 students, the band has been able to get a grasp on the first two movements of the show, which Stalter said is faster than he expected, and he's proud to see that. This year is also special, since it will be Stalter's last marching band season before his retirement.
Macy Wettstein practices with the color guard during marching band camp for Eureka High School. Stalter was hired at EHS in 1991, and from 2000 to 2023, has led the marching band program to 15 state class championships at the Illinois State Marching Band Championship s at ISU. "Even though it is my last year, I'm excited to attack it just like any other year that we do, and I'm trying to make it so that it's not about me, because it really is about the students," Stalter said.
"There's time to focus on me later. This is for them, so I'm going to work just as hard or harder to make sure that the focus stays on them." Director Todd Stalter talks to the Eureka Marching Band during marching band camp.
Senior clarinet section leader Ciarra Abel said this year's music is more technical than anything they have done before, and since it was first introduced to students, the concept of persistence has been resonating with each of them. "My real goal for the band would be for everyone to take the message of the show to heart," Abel said. "If all of us persist, and if all of us push ourselves as far as we can go, we can do some really great things.
" Blake Andrews, senior snare drum and drumline section leader, said he likes the show's theme this year, adding that he felt that last year's drumline was not where he wanted it to be. So, during the offseason, they practiced every Tuesday and Thursday morning just to get better. Junior Isaiah Wear practices percussion during marching band camp for Eureka High School.
"The whole offseason we were hoping for a harder show, and we persisted until something happened, and now we have a really cool show with some of the hardest music," Andrews said. Andrews said that he, just like anyone else, wants to win the state championship again, but since it is Stalter's last year, he really wants to be the best drumline at Eureka. "I was horrible, and a lot of those offseason practices were kind of, for me, to keep me consistent," Andrews said.
"I just want to say that it doesn't matter if you're talented or not, if you work hard enough, you'll beat talent." Senior drum major Allison Wetzler directs the band during marching band camp for Eureka High School. Sept.
7: Washington Marching Panther Invitational at Washington Community High School, 115 Bondurant St., Washington: Sept. 14: Pontiac Indian Showdown at Pontiac Township High School, 1100 Indiana Ave.
, Pontiac: Sept. 21: Normal Marching Band Invitational at Illinois Wesleyan University, 1312 Park St., Bloomington: Oct.
5: Morton Marching Invitational at Morton High School, 350 N. Illinois Ave., Morton: Oct.
12: Lincoln-Way Invitational at Lincoln-Way West High School, 21701 Gougar Road, New Lenox: Oct. 12: Metamora Band Invitational at Metamora Township High School, 101 W. Madison St.
, Metamora: Oct. 19: Illinois State Marching Band Championships at Illinois State University's Hancock Stadium, 211 N. Main St.
, Normal: Oct. 26: Illinois Marching Band Championships at University of Illinois Memorial Stadium, 1402 S. 1st St.
, Champaign Contact Mateusz Janik at (309) 820-3234. Follow Mateusz on Twitter:@mjanik99 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Government Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
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