The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 5

Local News of our communities, our region and state A5 The Pantagraph Tuesday, December 9, 1 997 Bloomington OKs smaller levy increase Council 'united' on tighter spending Region braces for snow By SHARON K. WOULFE Pantagraph staff If you listened to a weather forecast Monday night and heard something about snowfall in the vicinity of 6 inches, don't get an anxiety attack about shoveling just yet. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for tonight because of a weather system brewing in the Rocky Mountains. But that brings only a possibility of up to 6 inches of snow here. And the possibility would involve a narrow band of heavy snow 20 to 30 miles wide somewhere in Central Illinois, said Chris Miller, meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Lincoln.

The rest of the state will likely only get a dusting of the stuff, he said Monday night. So the media using the forecast of 6 inches are jumping on that so if there is half a foot, they can "claim it as their own." If there is little or no snow, then it's "the goofs at the weather service don't know what they're talking about," he said, adding it happens every winter. Miller said various Illinois communities reported to the weather service they had 1 to 2 inches of snow from Monday's snowfall. Though snow was scant, slippery roads were less scarce. McLean County sheriffs police said they had assisted about half a dozen motorists with cars in ditches but many more people got help on their own and didn't call.

The roads were slick and "Towanda-Barnes (Road) is nothing but ice," one officer said. In a check of nearly two dozen local and area police agencies Monday night, the only Pantagraph area accident reported was by state police at Pontiac, who handled a crash on Interstate 55 about a mile north of Towanda at 8:44 p.m. The three occupants suffered minor injuries after their van wentoutofcontrolonapatchofice and rolled over. By DAVID WICKERT Pantagraph staff The Bloomington City Council on Monday solidified its resolve to minimize property tax increases by approving a $12.7 million levy, up 5 percent from last year. Funding for the city library and police and fire pensions were up substantially, but other line items rose moderately, if at all.

The city's general corporate levy, which funds administrative and some department expense, was down more than 4 percent. The levy marks a departure from the council's longtime policy of setting a fixed tax rate about $1.50 and letting the levy rise as property values increase. A majority of the council now believes that practice discourages fiscal discipline. The council this year chose to focus on the levy the total amount the city collects in property taxes. In several workshops leading up to Monday, a majority decided to cap the levy increase at 5 percent.

Originally, a 12.5 percent levy increase was considered. Although there were sharp differences of opinion in those previous discussions, Monday's vote was unanimous. "I think we're all united behind the idea that we're going to do the best we can with the lower levy," Mayor Judy Markowitz said. Under the plan approved Monday, the library's funding will rise more than 17 percent to $2.1 million next year, making it the single largest portion of the levy. The new money will be used to reroof the building and buy a new bookmobile for mobile library service.

Money for police and fire pensions also will rise substantially. Police pensions will rise 10.5 percent to $1.2 million and fire pensions will rise more than 9 percent to $1.2 million. Pension levels are regulated by the state. The amount set aside for other purposes will rise modestly. Police and fire department operating funds each will receive a 5 percent increase, while the funding for Social Security and other employee retirement programs will rise 4 percent.

The amount of property tax money used for debt reduction will remain about the same: $1.3 million. Money set aside for general corporate use will decline more than 4 percent to $2.03 million. That money could be made up through cost cutting or through raising other taxes or revenue. The city staff is preparing next year's budget and will have recommendations ready for the City Council early next year. -1 Hs ft Hl -4MB.

1 ism BB I Pf jflj BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBH Library spared cuts to two major projects The PantagraphDANA HOBACK Yuletide teamwork Gordon Brakebill fixed a broken bulb that Ross Gilfillan discovered on a strand of Christmas lights the two were hanging Monday on Gilfillan's house in Bloomington. The two men decided to hang the lights before the snowfall expected in the next couple of days. Group to go door-to-door with video on Christ Washington Square East, 510 E. Washington Suite 102. For now, it's furnished with just a long table, four chairs, scattered stacks of handouts, a phone book and a phone.

That phone will ring when someone dials (309) 827-2772. Ooms said someone's usually there to answer it during the day on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Ooms said he realizes getting a video in every home is virtually impossible. Others have told him to expect 40 to 55 percent of the homes to accept the video, which portrays Jesus Christ's life based on the gospel according to Luke. Here's what they plan to do: If you're home when volunteers stop by, they'll offer you the video.

If you're not home, they'll simply hang a flyer on the door knob, letting families know how they can get the video. about the life of Jesus Christ. But the group also hopes to increase church attendance. Distributing a movie that's already been seen by more than 500 million worldwide, volunteers will likely start with pockets of Bloomington-Normal and perhaps a small McLean County community. Other small communities will follow, including El Paso, which is in Woodford County.

The group hopes to reach 30,000 to 40,000 homes. But because each video will cost the group $7.50, fund-raising efforts are still being discussed. Can it be done? "We have a great deal of faith," said the 68-year-old Ooms, who attends East White Oak Bible Church in Normal. "It is work, but with the interest from people in churches and in communities, we think it's a reasonable goal." Just last week, the group opened an office at By DAVID BRUMMER Pantagraph staff Thanks to a new McLean County religious group, now even couch potatoes might be able to discover Jesus Christ. "Especially couch potatoes," said Normal's J.

Wesley Ooms. Ooms is the chairman of Operation 2000, a multidenominational effort whose goal is to give every family in McLean County a free videotape of the 1979 film "Jesus" before the turn of the century. The nonprofit group, which already includes lay and clergy board members representing 14 different churches, plans to distribute this 117-minute movie door-to-door, possibly starting next April 5, Palm Sunday. If nothing else, Ooms admits the video could provide a quick alternative for those who don't have the time or the attention span to read more By DAVID WICKERT Pantagraph staff Matt Kubiak is no George Bailey, but the Bloomington Public Library director's life just got a lot more wonderful. After years of scrimping and saving and getting by on a little less than he needed each year, Kubiak and his library compatriots received a whopping reward for their quiet dedication: a $312,320 tax levy increase that will repair a leaking roof and buy a new bookmobile.

"What a great Christmas gift for the community," Kubiak said. "Bless their heart; the (city) manager and council are going to make it work." The council Monday approved a $12.7 million property tax levy, including $2.1 million for the library. While the general fund levy was cut more than 4 percent and most other funds rose 5 percent or less, the library's share rose more than 17 percent. But like Bailey of "It's A Wonderful Life," Kubiak and his staff have struggled for years to make ends meet. The library's 20-year-old roof is warped and leaky, and has been for years.

"Why they even build flat roofs in Central Illinois I'll never know," the director said. The crisis peaked last spring when a waterfall sprang from the ceiling of the adult services department. Kubiak said damage was minimal, but "another two feet over and we'd have lost thousands of dollars of books." Even that episode wasn't enough to send Kubiak crying for money. He questioned a contractor's recommendation for a new roof, he said, because Firm hired to study proposals' impact on water rates Engineers required an erosion control study. That study found erosion problems along five miles of shoreline.

The city is eligible for a low-interest IEPA loan to address the water pressure problems. But both projects are unbudgeted and could require water rate increases. The current rate is $2.70 per hundred cubic feet of water per month for the first 2,300 cubic feet, and the minimum bill is $5.40. The rate covers most residential customers. The first is a $10 million upgrade of water transmission lines from Lake Bloomington to the city's Fort Jesse Road pump station.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency requires pressure in water lines to be at least 20 psi, but the lines in question fall short of that goal. The other project is a $1.5 million to $1.8 million erosion-control project at Evergreen Lake. When the city raised the height of the lake spillway in 1995, the U.S. Army Corp of By DAVID WICKERT Pantagraph staff The Bloomington City Council agreed Monday to study water rates to see if two major capital projects will mean a future rate increase. The council voted to hire Alvord, Burdick Howson engineers to study the city's rates.

The firm will receive $29,000 for its work. City officials say the assessment is needed because of two capital projects required by other government agencies. roofers always say that. He asked Jim Hepperly, director of the city's planning and code enforcement department, for a second opinion. He, too, recommended a new roof.

Finally, Kubiak asked for an insurance company assessment. It was unanimous. The library needed a new roof. The cost: about $150,000. Next on his wish list was a new bookmobile.

The current model also is 20 years old. It's a truck chassis with a box on top and is not designed to carry books, let alone compact discs, audio tapes and magazines. Nonetheless, the library has made do, hauling books to the Boys and Girls Club, Phoenix Towers and other popular spots. And when it came time to buy a new one, the library's Sylvia Brondow and Debbie Suttle did plenty of homework. They contacted about 70 libraries to find out what works and what doesn't.

The new model will be specially designed with plenty of light, central air and more room for books and other materials. The price: about $158,000. The library has other needs, especially for staffing, that probably will have to wait. "It may be a long wait," Kubiak said. Although he's proud that his staff has been "doing more with less" for years, Kubiak said the stress has been getting to him lately.

"It was getting me down, talking about a leaking roof or the bookmobile," he said. But don't look for him on a bridge outside town on Christmas Eve. Kubi-ak's angel already has paid a visit. "It's given me a whole new attitude on life," he said. Car used to chase man on sidewalk By Pantagraph staff A 50-year-old Normal woman was behind bars Monday night after police said she tried to run over her boyfriend with her car but hit the front steps of a house instead.

The incident happened between 11:30 and 11:43 a.m. Monday in the 600 block of West Market Street, a Bloomington police report said. Police said the woman and her boyfriend, 43, had an argument, and he had stayed overnight with an ex-girlfriend. The Normal woman went to that woman's apartment and made threats, police said. She then spotted her boyfriend in the 600 block of West Market Street and began chasing him in her car.

police said. While the man was on the sidewalk, she drove the car across the curb toward him and through the front yard at 613 W. Market St. The car hit the concrete front porch steps of the house, dislodging concrete blocks and a railing on the left side of the steps. Also dislodged was a concrete ball the size of a bowling ball.

A police report noted front-end damage to the car. The woman then left the area but returned shortly afterward. Seeing the man again on the same block, she threw beer bottles at him. She fled a second time but was arrested a short time later. The Pantagraph does not use the names of people involved in senous crimes until charges are filed by the slate 's attorney's office NEWSMAKERS mHNHH MM Is his life outside work really that exciting? Actually, he and his family socialize just not on Friday nights, usually.

"We've discovered the Blue Moon Coffeehouse this year. We've been there three or four times. That is a wonderful series." Charles Reynard McLean County state's attorney Age: 5 1 In addition to these folk concerts at Illinois Wesleyan University, Reynard listens to new age and rock music. Peter Gabriel is his favorite performer. On disagreements at home: "Mary Anne and the girls have become better lawyers than I.

They, Family rundown: He and wife Mary Anne have two girls, Meghan, 15, and Rachel, 20. His nickname is Charley. Most people, including journalists, misspell it. High school years in Indianapolis: "I felt like I was relatively invisible. I was a middle-range student, didn't see myself as being (part of) the 'in' social crowd, considered myself shy with girls and hadn't really found something I considered myself good at" During those years, a love for the TV show "The Defenders" helped direct him toward a law career.

"I saw myself as advocating for what is right. A lot of people said I was a good arguer." Today he's not so shy, having held his county-wide elected office for 10 years. However, he's not as gregarious as his father or your typical politician. Not "the "In order to do something well, I had to work at it for a long time." What he does on a Friday night "I frequently fall asleep on the couch watching Other Friday nights, I'll be getting a jump on the weekend ironing." rhetorically, are very powerful people. If you wanted a clear winner, it probably would not be me." In other words, he loses most of the arguments at home.

The "hippie" years: He admits to a long-hair-and-beard phase after college. When he became an assistant state's attorney here in 1975, he was referred to as "the hippie prosecutor." And after this gig is over: He believes this current term his third will be his final one. He is interested in a judgeship or teaching. (He used to teach junior high school.) A run for state or federal office would be highly unlikely. Becoming a writer is his fantasy career.

Incidentally: He loves to read. He loves movies. Please do not interrupt him while he is trying to watch a good movie. Interview by Steve Arney Newsmakers is a weekly column profiling community leaders. It appears every Tuesday.

The PantagraphLORI ANN COOK.