Town council to decide on government’s role in keeping fit

Posted on January 4, 2022

Normal Town Council — *Tuesday’s town council meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. (WJBC file photo)*

NORMAL – Elected leaders in Normal will soon decide whether the local government should take a more active role in helping area residents stay fit, perhaps spending some taxpayer money for construction of a $180,000 outdoor fitness court.

The National Fitness Campaign (NFC) wants to partner with communities like Normal to bring outdoor fitness to 1,000 cities and schools by 2023. On its website, the organization touts its fitness courts as the “world’s best outdoor gym.”

On the agenda for Tuesday night’s Normal Town Council meeting, council members will decide whether to accept a $25,000 grant to help pay for the project, and the campaign pledges to help the town find “sponsorship opportunities” to pay all or a portion of the price.

According to the town’s staff, NFC fitness courts were built in Lincoln, and the Chicago suburb of New Lenox.

Staffers suggest Rosa Park Commons on Raab Road as a possible fitness court site.

Tuesday’s town council meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

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