By Eric Stock

NORMAL – The town of Normal looks much different now than it did when Mark Peterson started as city manager in 1998.

Likely the biggest difference has been the transformation of what is now known as Uptown Normal. But Peterson recalled to WJBC’s Scott Laughlin and Patti Penn asking what was then a debt-free town to take on financial risk was a struggle.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Patti’s interview with Peterson on WJBC.

“I don’t know at the time that we realized what we were getting into,” Peterson admitted. “When I say ‘we,’ I’m talking about the city council and staff. We had these big plans and huge expectations.

“I don’t know that fully understood the magnitude of what we were taking on and it was painful at times.”

Peterson said plans for a town-funded hotel over a decade ago backfired because the public didn’t want it and voiced opposition in an advisory referendum.

“It was going to be publicly-owned and that was a very, very controversial financing method. I will go my grave believing that was the best way to go, but we couldn’t sell it to the community. It was complicated and people just couldn’t get their arms around it.”

Peterson said those discussions proved beneficial years later when developer John Q. Hammons came to town to build the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center with mostly private funds. The hotel opened in 2009 as the first centerpiece of Uptown’s revitalization.

Peterson is retiring in March after 30 years working for the town.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].