By Heart of Illinois ABC
BLOOMINGTON – The City of Bloomington is hiring an engineering firm to determine whether there will be a water rate increase.
Without discussion, the city council Monday night voted unanimously to hire Boston-based CDM Smith Inc. at a cost of up to $214,809 to conduct the study, which is part of the city’s master plan for water infrastructure.
According to the staff’s report to the council, the company will “determine the appropriateness of the current rate structure and evaluate alternatives to determine if a shift in the rate structure is appropriate.”
Other fees and services charges related to the water department will also be studied. The staff’s report said CDM Smith will also engage residents and other stakeholders to discuss various issues.
Also without discussion, the council unanimously agreed to spend $600,000 to shore up two downtown parking decks. A half-million of that is to repair the deteriorating 46-year old Market Street garage, a project that’s been scaled back because of financial constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city said $100,000 is earmarked for work on the much-newer deck adjacent to Grossinger Motors Arena.
The city council approved the bid submitted by St. Louis-based Tarlton Corporation to work on both parking decks.
The agreement to make the city-government owned arena a voting center on election day has been finalized.
The city council voted unanimously to allow the Bloomington Election Commission and the McLean County Clerk to set up polling places on the arena concourse.
The arena is also a early-voting site. The election commission’s executive director Tim Mitchell said there’s plenty of space there for social distancing.
The city is not charging the election commission or the county clerk to use the arena.
Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected].
