By Heart of Illinois ABC
NORMAL – The Town of Normal is launching a survey to get feedback from residents in order to help prioritize investment areas to address related to the impact of COVID-19 and recovery.
The Town is set to receive $10.8 million over the next two years, according to a release. Half of those funds have already been provided to the Town; the remainder will be paid in 2022.
Funds must be allocated by 2024 and used by 2026 and may only be applied to qualified uses.
“The Town of Normal values feedback from residents and we want to hear from citizens how to prioritize these dollars,” said Cathy Oloffson, director of Communications & Community Relations. “The survey outlines several broad categories of how the monies can be used, and respondents are asked to rank the priority of the categories.”
Survey participation is voluntary and it can be completed in less than five minutes.
Oloffson said the Town is looking for a sample representative of the community, the survey also includes demographic questions.
Rankings span from “No priority” to “Low,” “Medium” or “High” priorities. The survey also asks an open-ended question about the largest issue facing the Town of Normal due to COVID-19.
Survey findings will be one of the considerations the Town will use in determining how best to allocate ARPA dollars.
The Normal Town Council will be holding a work session later this year to further discuss community needs and potential uses of the American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected].
