NORMAL - In January, the Normal City Council rejected a proposal to increase admission to the Children's Discovery Museum by $1.

"I'm uncomfortable with the increase," Mayor Chris Koos said at the time. "The amount generated by the fee increase, in my mind, doesn't justify this. When dealing with kids' programs, we want to keep them as cost-effective as possible."

It's a philosophy the council also has followed for other quality-of-life amenities in town: the two aquatic centers, Ironwood Golf Course, Normal Theater and the Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System.

The reason is simple. "We want to keep user fees low so they will be open to a variety of people, no matter their income," said Normal City Manager Mark Peterson.

Because the programs typically don't generate enough money from fees to support themselves, the town usually has to provide a subsidy. City Council members know about how much money will be needed each year when they discuss the budget at annual work sessions, which are open to the public.

"It's pretty typical in most communities to subsidize these types of programs," Peterson said. "It's for the broader public benefit."

While all residents may not use all or even any of the amenities, Peterson said, they indirectly benefit.

"The pools give young people an opportunity to do something," he said. "Otherwise they could be causing mischief."

Transportation system

The transit system is available if residents need it (their car breaks down), and also reduces street congestion and air pollution, he said. It also provides residents without cars a way to get to and from jobs.

"That's clearly a community benefit," Peterson said.

Normal's contribution to the transit system is based on population and has increased through the years as federal and state funding has decreased. While the town anticipates contributing about $300,000 this fiscal year, the projected 2011-12 subsidy increases to $366,500. Bloomington also provides a subsidy based on its population.

The transit system gets the largest town subsidy. Peterson said the golf course usually comes in second. This fiscal year, costs are expected to outweigh revenue by about $170,500 at Ironwood.

"It's a very competitive local golf environment," Peterson said. "We're all trying new things for a competitive edge."

Keeping golf course marketable

Currently, Normal is installing a new irrigation system at Ironwood and is considering new golf paths and golf cart GPS systems -all in an effort to make the course more marketable, he said.

While golf became somewhat of a national phenomenon in the mid-1990s, play is down about 20 percent nationally and locally, Peterson said. Costs, on the other hand, have gone up.

The golf course budget includes money for general maintenance but not the bigger projects, such as the irrigation system, said Geoff Fruin, assistant to the city manager.

The July 1 $1-per-hour increase in the state's minimum wage also forced a larger projected subsidy -$190,000 -for aquatics in this year's budget, Peterson said. Last year, the subsidy was only about $53,000, but Peterson noted it was a great swimming season -the weather was hot and dry.

Meanwhile, the subsidy for the Children's Discovery Museum, which opened in 2004, is about where town officials expected when they decided to bring the museum to uptown Normal.

"Our target was $100,000," Peterson said.

Officials suspended fund raising last year so it wouldn't compete with fund raising for the museum's AgMazing exhibit, so the town covered $121,000 of the museum's budget. The 2007-08 budget predicts a similar subsidy because the council rejected the proposal to increase the admission fee that would have narrowed the gap between expenses and revenue.

"That was a good demonstration of the council's philosophy," Peterson said.

An attractive museum

While the council considers the museum a part of the town's quality of life, it also contributes to the economy by attracting families from outside Normal.

"There's certainly more activity uptown," said Garlic Press co-owner Dottie Bushnell. "It was kind of dead before. Now there's more of an upbeat feel. Certainly, the museum is a part of that. It brings people in; it's part of that activity."

Barbie Fuller, owner of Emack & Bolio's just east of the museum, agreed in part, but actually expected more foot traffic from the museum for the Groove Café, the restaurant her husband, Harry, owns to the east.

"People wanted something more than a bar," she said. "That's why we did what we did. We even have 99-cent kids meals on Tuesdays."

Another contributing factor for some of the uptown business is the Normal Theater, which the town took over and restored in 1994. While there have been years when the theater has made some money, the town has provided between $13,000 and $24,000 toward its budget in the last three years.

"The problem with the theater is that the cost of films and shipping is up," Peterson said.

The town has raised admission prices some, but Peterson said "we've resisted it as much as possible." Current prices are $5 for students and children and $6 for adults.