Rockford police to spend $2 million on new squad cars from Rock River Ford
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Rockford Police will purchase $2 million of new squad vehicles from Rock River Ford, saving $196,590 off a bid by another Illinois dealership.
City Council was considering a bid from Currie Motors Fleet, of Frankfort, for the purchase of 46 new vehicles, including 38 Ford Police Interceptor SUVs, two Ford Police Transit Vans, and 6 Ford Escapes for the Investigations Department.
On Monday, the City Council awarded the contract to Rock River Ford, in Rockford, whose bid of $2,011,730 undercut the Currie Motors price of $2,208,320.
Funding for the new police vehicles will come from Capital Lease Funds and the Police Department Captial Budget instead of the Suburban Purchasing Cooperative.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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City moves forward with second plan for Central Park makeover; businesses, officials still split
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A somewhat symbolic sidewalk dividing a grassy lawn space has been added to the proposed design for a remade Johnstown Central Park. The original tentative idea, created by New York City-based Scape Landscape Architecture, included a spacious green area with an accessible path in the center of the grounds. The first plan was never formally adopted by Johnstown City Council. Scape's relationship with the city eventually ended. Then, in May, City Council voted 6-1 to approve a revised plan with more concrete, including a walkway and circle area near where the current fountain is located. Mayor Frank Janakovic, Deputy Mayor the Rev. Sylvia King, Ricky Britt, Marie Mock, Charles Arnone and Taylor Clark voted in favor. Councilwoman Laura Huchel was the lone 'no' vote, as she supported Scape's original design that was created after months of ideas and feedback from the community. Other divided opinions exist, too. Discover Downtown Johnstown Partnership President Melissa Radovanic supports 'paramount' upgrades to aspects such as electricity, infrastructure, sidewalks and data that will help her organization put on the annual holiday display with a 36-foot-tall animated Christmas tree as the focal point. But she is 'highly disappointed' that the annual Christmas village will be mostly located in the new Park Place walkway, as opposed to being spread throughout the entire property as in the past. NEW CENTRAL PARK NO CHRISTMAS VILLAGE In contrast, Mike Messina, owner of Chameleon Bookstore, said the planned placement of the village buildings is 'wonderful for me' since it will bring visitors right to the front door of his business after the Gazebo Park street is closed and converted into a pedestrian zone. Overall, though, he thinks there 'could have been a lot more grass' in the final design. Numerous city residents, businesses and nonprofits have offered support for the project, believing it will help make the downtown a more inviting place for people to live, work and recreate. But one business located next to the town square, The Write Cup Coffee Shop, is relocating out of downtown, with the owner citing 'park-nado' among the reasons why in a recent Facebook post. State Rep. Frank Burns, D-East Taylor Township, and Republican Party mayoral nominee John DeBartola are among the loudest critics, opposing doing the work at all and expressing that the money could be better spent in other ways. Central Park | Downtown Johnstown View of Central Park and Main Street in downtown Johnstown on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Photo taken from the fifth floor of the AmeriServ corporate office building. Representatives from The Sweet Spot and Roots Kitchen + Juicery, two restaurants located near Central Park, made a video of themselves chained to a tree and questioning why money was being spent on changing the park in a city with a high poverty rate and other needs. They also noted that the time the park is closed for construction with no events taking place will affect their businesses. 'A lot of this is obviously in the eye of the beholder,' Johnstown City Manager Art Martynuska said. 'It's interesting. It's one of those darned-if-you-do, darned-if-you-don't kind of things. 'There are still folks out there that don't want anything done, still folks out there that wanted the Scape concept, and other folks who are in agreement with the plans that we put forth. Hopefully the compromise will lie somewhere in the middle of all three of those.' Construction is expected to begin around Labor Day. 'Move a project forward' The approved plan includes a redesigned pavilion on a concrete surface, trees and flowers, lawn space, benches, a monuments display and a water feature. A sidewalk dividing the lawn is one of the most noticeable design changes. Clark preferred the 'very spacious grassy area' and 'disagreed' with adding the cement walkway, but said he understood it was put into place under the assumption that people would cut across and make a path anyway. 'I still don't like it, but here we are,' Clark said. 'Sometimes there's compromise that has to go on to move a project forward.' Converting Gazebo Park into a pedestrian walkway is one of the biggest transformations. Messina enthusiastically supports the change that will create a place for people to stroll, sit and spend time together. But, in a Facebook post, The Write Cup's owner viewed it as a potential negative, writing, 'So by closing down our little street more parking will be eliminated and people won't even have the ability to circle the block to look for parking.' All monuments currently in the park will remain, except the historic firemen's bell that will be displayed at the Johnstown Firefighters Memorial Park that is being developed near the Franklin Street Bridge. Central Park | Downtown Johnstown Downtown visitors stop to view the fountain at Central Park in Johnstown on Thursday, June 12, 2025. The bust of founder Joseph Johns, who included the town square in his original design in 1800, is staying, but the faux cannons on either side of the monument will be taken out. The gazebo will be removed, officials said. The Pasquerilla Fountain, which was installed in the 1990s, is going to be transported to Sandyvale Memorial Gardens and Conservancy in the city's Hornerstown neighborhood. The plan is to use it as a statuary, not a functioning fountain. 'We kind of have to wait until it gets here to see what shape it's in and make sure that we can host it appropriately on site,' Diana Kabo, president of the conservancy, said. '… We're more than happy to host this beautiful fountain or sculpture here at Sandyvale.' Central Park | Downtown Johnstown Joseph Johns statue at Central Park in downtown Johnstown on Thursday, June 12, 2025. The Christmas tree will be put on a teardrop-shaped cement space close to the center of the park, as opposed to the original redesign that placed it near the current intersection of Main Street and Gazebo Park. Village houses, which are synched up with the tree as part of a music and light display, will be placed along the new Park Place and in a patio area where the gazebo currently stands. No Christmas display will be in the park this year due to the pending construction that will get underway after the work is put out to bid and contracts are awarded. 'This year's going to be tough,' Radovanic said. Messina added: 'It's going to be brutal. It will be hard. I'm going to lose Christmas (this year). We all are here. It's a shame, but it can't be helped. It can't be helped.' Radovanic said the partnership is 'pursuing all of our options' in an effort to find a temporary home for the Christmas display in 2025. All of the Central Park work is expected to be completed in time for the 2026 Christmas season. NEW CENTRAL PARK WITH CHRISTMAS 'Change in the plan' The projected total cost is between $6 million and $8 million. Johnstown City Council decided to put that money toward the park from the $30.7 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding it received for COVID-19 pandemic relief. Martynuska said he expects a savings of between $800,000 and $1.2 million from the original design to the new one approved by council, mostly by removing proposed rock features that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even with the changes, Martynuska said the goal remains the same – to have the remaking of Central Park, combined with other projects, such as a Main Street streetscape, create a 'rejuvenation of downtown.' 'Hopefully, in the end, everybody will benefit,' Britt said. Britt addressed the concerns expressed by some residents and business owners, saying, 'I think that quite naturally nobody likes change. People become accustomed to seeing things certain ways. In my opinion, when you're doing something over or building something new, there's always a change in the plan somewhere. … You're going to have different opinions about different things, but hopefully it turns out that everyone will enjoy it.' Central Park | Downtown Johnstown Downtown visitors sit to talk near the Union Veterans of the Civil War statue at Central Park in Johnstown on Thursday, June 12, 2025. All ARPA money needed to be allocated by Dec. 31, 2024; therefore, any funds set aside for the Central Park work must now be spent on that project. ARPA dollars need to be spent by Sept. 30, 2026, a date that was recently moved up from Dec. 31, 2026. DeBartola suggested the city should just return the money set aside for the park to the federal government. Clark considered the idea, too. 'That would just hurt the city so much,' Clark said. 'It would be very difficult to get funding moving forward because we would have proven that we can't even get a project done once we get the money for it. At the point that we're at now, even though I believe from the get-go there was too much money to spend on Central Park and all that, we're past that point. 'We've got to move forward with the project that we have, get something good done for the people even if I disagree with some aspects of it, and move this project forward.' Clark also emphasized that the project needs to remain within budget, regardless of what unexpected situations might be encountered when construction is taking place, 'because the council will not allocate any more money for the park. This is it.' 'Changes in leadership' Scape displayed the general proposed design for the park in August 2023. Since then, City Manager Ethan Imhoff resigned, then Melissa Komar and Robert Statler served as co-interim city managers, before Martynuska took on the position full-time. There have also been three Department of Community and Economic Development directors over the same period. That coincided with what publicly appeared to be a period of inactivity on the project. 'Those changes in leadership just created disruptions,' Huchel said. Messina said he has been 'disturbed' at the pace of the remodel and how the process has been handled. 'It's been a long process,' he said. 'I was on the original Main Street project team (appointed by City Council). We had a big meeting. There was like 25, 30 of us there. We were all excited about it. That was years ago. And nothing happened. We heard nothing for a couple of years. I was very disappointed. Essentially, that was disbanded.' Thaddeus Pawlowski, an urban designer who is originally from the Johnstown region, helped Scape in the early part of the process by soliciting local involvement and keeping the public aware of what was occurring. 'I probably should have been like, 'You know what, I should just stay involved the whole time,' ' Pawlowski said. 'That's on me. I have other things to do with my life, but obviously I care deeply about this project being successful.' Pawlowski added: 'I think, in retrospect, there were some lessons learned. One is you gotta just keep the public engaged the whole time through this.' Overall, Pawlowski thinks the redesigned park will be 'hugely impactful' and provide a 'positive long-term economic benefit.' PHOTO GALLERY | Central Park | Downtown Johnstown 'Differences of opinion' Scape, which was paid $1.6 million for its work, has left the Central Park and Main Street projects. 'A lot of the conversations had stopped because of change in leadership (in the city), change in personnel,' Martynuska said. 'We reinvigorated that conversation with Scape, started the process, obviously not anew, but reignited, if you will. … None of those conversations were contentious. There were definitely differences of opinion, professional differences of opinion.' Scape founding principal Kate Orff said the turnover in City Hall leadership affected the project and that 'the plan changes were so dramatic as to kind of change the community's vision. Again, it's not our vision. We were like channeling the community's vision.' Orff said the 'better plan was to just separate and let this new process – because it is a new process – play out.' Regarding how the process went, Orff said, 'Scape has delivered signature, beloved public parks for cities around the United States, and we really tried to do that for Johnstown. 'Right now, our park, Tom Lee Park (in Memphis, Tennessee), is on the cover of Landscape Architecture Magazine. We just also won an ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) award for a park in San Francisco. 'We wish that the park in Johnstown had a different result and that we could see the community's vision through toward implementation. 'However, this is not the direction that the city wants to go in and we wish everyone the best. Many generations to come will be modifying and changing this park to suit their needs, and that is the beauty of parks and public space.' CJL Engineering, a local company that was originally a subcontractor, has taken over completion of the plan, working with UpStreet Architects. CJL did not respond to an interview request. UpStreet deferred to city officials for comment. Huchel, who is involved with two organizations that border the park – Gallery on Gazebo and Alma Hall – still emphatically supports the original plan. 'I'm really disheartened that people are no longer talking about the Scape design,' Huchel said. 'They're only talking about superimposing that design CJL and UpStreet did over Scape's design. I think it's really disheartening that Scape has had to distance themselves from this project. 'I've said numerous times that we paid $1.6 million for a plan and many of those dollars came back locally to CJL, who was always a subcontractor. But we paid $1.6 million for this plan and now we're using it as toilet paper. I think that's a really irresponsible way for us to use our federal grant dollars.' She said it was 'atrocious' and an 'incredible overreach' to override a 'robust community engagement process and a team of professionals who do award-winning parks all over the U.S.' City officials have recently stepped up messaging about the park, including discussing it during the annual State of the City Address, council meetings, personal interactions with nonprofits and governmental agencies, and a gathering in the park last Saturday.
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Developer asks court to intervene over proposed development near Greeneville airport
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — A land developer is asking a court to reverse actions by the Greeneville Municipal Planning Commission regarding a proposed residential development near the Greeneville Municipal Airport. Land Star Development claims the commission improperly halted the project after multiple prior approvals over the past few years. The company purchased 106 acres with plans to build a 200-plus home development there, known as the Bohannan development. According to Land Star, the company closed on the property in July 2022 after the Planning Commission and City Council approved rezoning the property to allow for the proposed high-density residential development. Land Star contends that since then, the Planning Commission and City Council have allowed the project to move forward at several stages, including approving the annexation of the property, reviewing a conceptual site plan, and vacating a right-of-way. But according to Land Star's complaint, the Planning Commission denied a grading plan and permit request on March 11, 2025, after several neighbors spoke against the project. The company argues that the commission lacked the authority to deny the permit and that the project met all requirements, regulations and ordinances. 'The planning commission's decision was based on the placating negative public sentiment about the proposed development, which in turn was based on unfounded speculation concerning potential noise complaints and safety concerns of airplane failures, and lawsuits that could cause the airport to shut down,' Land Star's court filing states. The company said the town's planning director had previously discussed the proposed development with an airport official and reported that there were no concerns about the development affecting the airport. Land Star is also asking the court to reverse an April 8 vote by the Planning Commission to 'wholly deny the planned unit development project at the Bohannon property.' 'When the Bohannon development plan was rejected on April 8, 2025, the proposed plan complied with all applicable zoning requirements, ordinances, and regulations,' Land Star said. According to the company, it has spent $2.4 million to date on developing the property, including $1.4 million for its purchase. 'The expenses incurred by Land Star would not have been incurred if the Planning Commission had previously indicated that the proposed development would not be approved,' the legal filing states. News Channel 11 reached out to the town for a response to Land Star's filing. 'The Town does not comment on an active lawsuit the Town is a party to,' City Manager Todd Smith said in an email. 'The Town's attorney will respond to the petition filed in Chancery Court.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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20 hours ago
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Oak Park Heights announces new mayor, available council seat
The city of Oak Park Heights announced Wednesday that Chuck Dougherty will be taking over the position of Oak Park Heights mayor after the death of Mayor Mary McComber in May. McComber served as mayor from 2012 to 2025. 'Mayor McComber left some big shoes to fill, but in this time of transition, I am committed to providing steady leadership and ensuring continuity for our community,' Dougherty said in the announcement. 'I look forward to continuing to serve our community with dedication, working alongside our Council, staff and residents.' Dougherty previously served as deputy mayor and has had a seat on the Oak Park Heights City Council since 2013. He and his wife also own the Water Street Inn and the Cover Park Manor Bed & Breakfast. The city council is accepting applications for Dougherty's vacated council seat through Thursday, July 3, according to the announcement. Dougherty and the new council member will serve in these roles until November 2026, when a special election for the positions will occur. Both special elections would be for a two-year term to finish the remaining terms of McComber and Dougherty. Applications for Oak Park Heights City Council can be found on the city's website at or at City Hall at 14168 Oak Park Blvd. N. As mayor, Dougherty will help plan for the 2028 closure of the Allen S. King plant in Oak Park Heights. The plant currently provides close to 28 percent of Oak Park Heights' tax base. When running for city council in 2024, Dougherty said one of his priorities was coming up with a plan to minimize the effects the tax base loss will have on Oak Park Heights residents. Obituary: How a bridge got Mary McComber, mayor of Oak Park Heights, into local politics U of M researchers are planting 'survivor' trees in hopes of defeating Dutch elm disease State fund helps Oak Park Heights plan for PFAS treatment Oak Park Heights state of emergency declared to deal with water main break Four Stillwater teachers suspended for cheating on training program
