- I'm Deputy Mayor Gretchen Knapp, and thank you so much for being here tonight. I also want to thank
- Kathleen Bennett, our ASL interpreter, who will be with us tonight. Tonight is our chance to get an
- update on what work is happening across the city and what are the opportunities that we can all look
- forward to. To begin tonight's festivities, we will start with the presentation of colors by the Bloomington
- Fire and Police Departments, followed by the National Anthem, performed by Officer Caleb Brinson.
- Officer Brinson joined the Bloomington Police Department in May of last year. His time as a student
- at Indiana University and his experiences in our wonderful city of Bloomington shaped a lasting connection
- to the city, one that led him to serve it. And we're very grateful for that service. Please rise for
- the Color Guard and the National Anthem.
- You'll live, right? You'll live. You'll live. You'll live. You'll live. Right, face. Color guard, carry
- the colors. Post colors, post.
- O say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming
- Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, for the ramparts we watched were so
- gallantly streaming.
- be seated. Thank you to our police and fire departments and to Officer Brinson for that powerful opening.
- To begin tonight's program, I'd like to introduce Fire Chief Roger Kerr II and Police Chief Michael
- Diekhoff. Chiefs. Good evening.
- I'm honored to stand alongside Chief Decoff as we reflect briefly on the past year in public safety.
- For many years, Bloomington Fire lost trained firefighters to neighboring departments offering higher
- pay and maintaining minimum staffing required frequent reassignment and overtime. In September of 2025,
- our fire department reached full staffing for the first time in nearly a decade.
- Since then, staffing levels have remained stable. We also completed long overdue improvements to Fire
- Station 3 located on the IU campus. The station opened in 1963 and has not seen major modernization
- until last year. The renovation improved firefighter safety and added updates to cancer prevention protocols.
- Construction continues on the Operation and Training Center, which will bring training, logistics,
- and equipment into one place and strengthen training and daily operations when it opens in September.
- Another important part of our system is our mobile integrated healthcare program. Whether that's at
- a residence, at a nursing home, or on the street, led by the fire department community paramedics providing
- screenings, vaccinations, and follow-up care while helping connect people to mental health services,
- substance use resources, and ongoing support. I am proud to announce
- MIH handled at least 220 unique responses last year. Later this evening, the mayor will speak in more
- detail about public safety and the work ahead. For now, it's my pleasure to introduce Chief Mike Deakoff.
- Good evening. On the police department side, we have made important staffing progress. Today, we are
- staffed at 94 officers out of 105 authorized positions.
- eight candidates moving through the Board of Safety hiring process. If those appointments move forward
- as expected, we anticipate reaching approximately 96% of our authorized staffing in the near term. As
- staffing stabilizes, we are beginning to see improvements across our community. In 2025, Bloomington
- experienced substantial decreases in property crime and crimes involving weapons. These improvements
- reflect focused enforcement, continued community engagement,
- and the work of officers across the department divisions. Patrol coverage is more consistent, specialized
- units are rebuilding capacity, and training schedules are returning to normal after several years of
- disruption caused by vacancies. Although staffing for both the police department and dispatch are improving,
- we must continue to prioritize how we deploy resources and focus on calls and incidents that most affect
- public safety.
- Even with these challenges, our officers continue to show up every day with professionalism, care, and
- commitment to this community. This progress is a result of their work, and we're proud of what's being
- accomplished and what's ahead. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Chief DeGoff and Chief Kerr.
- And to everyone who works in our police and fire departments, thank you so much. You serve with integrity
- and compassion every day, and I know that when lives are on the line, the people of Bloomington can
- count on you. Thank you for your service. And at this time, I'd like to invite Clerk Nicole Bolden and
- Council President Isa Kasari to begin the official proceedings.
- Thank you, Deputy Mayor Knapp. I now would like to call to order this special session of the Common
- Council on Tuesday, March 31st, 2026. Will the Honorable Clerk please call the roll? Happily.
- And to begin, Councilmember Asari. I am here. I didn't notice. Daly? Here.
- Piedmont-Smith? Rallo? Rosenberger? Ruff? Stossberg? And Zulek? Thank you all.
- Please note that this is a special session of the Common Council. Now, if you ever wondered why it is
- that the state of the city is a city council meeting, it's because for the last 200 years of Bloomington's
- history, it has been the aspiration of every mayor to come to a city council meeting. But please note
- that the council will adjourn.
- following the mayor's remarks. So with that in mind, we're here to hear from our mayor, and so please
- join me in welcoming Mayor Carrie Thompson to the stage. I have been dreaming of getting to a city council
- meeting, and so thank you, President Asari, for holding one here at the State of the City.
- It's been, I don't know, five days since I've been at a city council meeting. Too, too long for all
- of us. So good evening, Bloomington. I am so delighted to see a packed house this evening and to welcome
- you all to this beautiful theater. You know, before we start, I want to note that
- And we are really in a place that, in 1996, 30 years ago, the city questioned whether or not it would
- even still be standing. And here we are today in a beautiful restored theater, one of many city projects
- that has successfully been completed
- far greater than what we ever expected. And I think that there are other things happening right now
- that, in years to come, will feel completely obvious that we did them. Something will wonder how we
- ever lived without. Because if there's one thing about this community, we don't always see the ending.
- when we're in the middle of it. So tonight, I wanna talk about what we're building now and what it might
- become. Before we go any further, I wanna recognize the people whose work makes everything in this city
- possible. If you are a member of city council, a county or state elected official,
- or serve on one of our boards or commissions, and that includes the CIB, because it's not technically
- ours, but it's a joint. I'm inviting you to stand so we can thank you. And if you work for the city
- of Bloomington or for Monroe County, you all can stay standing. I also invite you to stand. If you work
- for the city or
- For Monroe County, please stand. These are your neighbors. These are the ones who solve problems most
- of us hopefully never see. They keep our city functioning day after day and administration
- after administration. And I am so deeply grateful for the work that you do.
- You know, one of the best parts of my job is how often people literally stop me in the street to tell
- me why they love Bloomington. Entrepreneurs tell me about how in Bloomington, their startup business
- found its first investor, its first customer or first collaborator, and artists tell me about how they
- found a community of creatives, venues for their work, and a public that values
- arts and culture as central to Bloomington's identity. Retirees tell me about their many volunteer projects
- and the fact that they're busier after they retire than when they were getting paid to work, and the
- hours of service they've contributed, the friends they've made while working together to improve our
- community. And of course, many, many people talk to me about that underrated quarterback who came to
- Bloomington
- trained hard and left with the Heisman Trophy and a national championship. That is what Bloomington
- does. It helps us all tap our potential. And what's described again and again is a community where people
- make connections, invest in one another, and we build businesses, nonprofits, culture, friendships,
- and tradition.
- Part of our job in city government is to create the conditions where those connections can happen and
- potential is unlocked. When we get those conditions right, we build and sustain a thriving community
- where everyone can belong. So what exactly is a thriving community? First and foremost, it's well-maintained.
- It's clean and it's safe. It has a variety of housing that meets the needs
- of diverse residents. It offers viable business and job opportunities that lead to wage growth, economic
- diversity, and a sustainable future for individuals and our community. And it has a government focused
- on getting the right work done in service to the public. All of that makes it possible
- for each person to bring their gifts and talents to fruition and to find community and support in a
- creative, innovative culture. And tonight, I'd like to talk about what we're doing to build a thriving
- community where everyone can belong. A city that takes care of what it has. A thriving community starts
- with a well-maintained, tidy city. Over the years, Bloomington has funded
- amazing assets. The Beeline Trail, Switchyard Park, Hopewell Commons are just a few of those. We've
- also built assets we walk and drive on every single day. Sidewalks, roads, multi-use paths. We've invested
- in preserving historical assets like this very building, City Hall, and also the Waldron. And it costs
- money to maintain those assets.
- as well as critical infrastructure like our water and wastewater treatment plants, our storm systems,
- and the facilities for the animal shelter, sanitation, fleet, and street. And those are just a few.
- It's also true that deferring maintenance and repairs only serves to drive up costs and increase risks.
- So we've committed first and foremost to ensuring that city investments are well maintained.
- If we're gonna make decisions about bonding, infrastructure, and long-term investment moving forward,
- we need more than just good intentions. We need a plan. We need data, clarity, and a clear trajectory.
- We're putting together a full asset and capital plan. Now I'll touch on some of the work we've already
- done. In the first two years of my administration, we paved over 32 miles of streets.
- Before I was mayor, I had no idea how many miles of streets we might be paving. And so to put that in
- perspective, who has ever wondered that? Right? Probably just Adam Wason. To put that 32 miles
- in perspective, that's more than the city paved in the previous four years combined.
- That investment, of course, is important to stabilize our road network and prevent further decline and
- increase costs. But we have more work to do to ensure that we don't fall further behind. Traditional
- funding sources are no longer what they used to be. Our road system requires an additional $3 million
- annually just to maintain current conditions as they are.
- And I know what we feel about our current road conditions based on the number of calls that come in
- to the mayor's office for potholes this season. We know we're doing just the minimum, even though we've
- done more than we've done before. So we're getting creative and using grants and partnerships to extend
- our local tax dollars. And through the INDOT Community Crossing matching grant program, we've been able
- to extend our tax dollars for street paving and add ADA-compliant ramps and will continue to leverage
- that resource and more. In 2026, the parking meter funds will help us complete over $400,000 in paving
- and infrastructure projects downtown that would otherwise have been very difficult, if not impossible,
- to achieve. So thanks for paying for parking tonight. Through a partnership
- With IU, we'll be able to repair and maintain the brick sidewalks along Kirkwood, keeping Bloomington
- safe and beautiful. We'll also renovate some downtown alleys along with building on the downtown
- beautification efforts that we made last year to repair concrete planter boxes, power wash, and improve
- landscaping downtown. In 2026,
- We'll implement the results of the parking and sidewalk studies that we began last year to ensure that
- we understand the costs, the needs, and have a strategic plan for those resources that we need.
- Next month, the Transportation Commission will review the parking study and comprehensive plan. And
- the following month in May, they'll review a draft pedestrian facilities operations plan outlining sidewalk
- repair and maintenance.
- We're preparing to release the parks master plan, which will guide how we prioritize investments across
- our park system. That matters because we have real needs to address. Two pools and an ice rink are in
- need of repair. Sports centers and courts need maintenance and a wide range of parks that we care for
- every single day. To give you an idea,
- Our brand new switch yard park alone will cost somewhere around $125,000 annually just to maintain.
- Our controller is working with parks to create a sustainable future, and we are grateful. At utilities,
- fluoride is flowing again.
- I don't know if Kat Zager's here tonight, but she and I have joked that to celebrate, we should both
- learn how to do the floss dance, but I have not gotten there. We've secured $1.25 million for upgrades
- to our wastewater treatment with the help of Senator Aaron Houchin. And we're preparing to make long-delayed
- repairs to the Monroe Water Plant, and we're also looking at how to build and fund a public works facility
- that adequately serves the city's needs and protects our investments in sanitation trucks, snow plows,
- fire engines, police cars, our electric fleet, and more. Equipment that costs more than $100,000 should
- not be left outside to deteriorate in the weather. Maintaining that equipment requires storage space
- and modern tools and facilities. And finally,
- we're looking at how best to use the Showers West space. Given the bond restrictions, the city's need
- for space and the current state of its aging systems, the fire department moved into Showers West, their
- new headquarters, last year as planned in the bond. And we are now negotiating final agreements with
- the remaining tenants. Since then,
- We've used Showers West to meet immediate needs across the organization, supporting city council,
- accommodating departments during renovations, and creating space where it's needed most. Most recently,
- our engineering department relocated to Showers West, affording planning and hand the space they have
- long needed within City Hall. No more working in closets. As we look ahead, we are actively assessing
- how the whole building
- should function long term. We're evaluating departmental needs, conference room capacity, and how teams
- that work closely together can be physically aligned, and how the public moves through that space as
- well. We're also incorporating safety planning into that assessment. We'll soon hire the city's first
- emergency management specialist to create a building safety plan for City Hall,
- and other buildings. They'll train staff and run regular safety exercises to ensure that we are prepared
- to respond to emergencies. Community safety is critical in Bloomington. It is a key responsibility of
- our government. A city simply does not thrive without safety. Everyone in Bloomington deserves to be
- safe and to feel safe.
- And to do that, we... Yes. In order to achieve that, we have to ensure that our public safety teams
- operate at their best. You met the two chiefs tonight. And for too many years, both the police department
- and the fire department operated well below their authorized staffing levels, which strained response,
- increased overtime, and made it harder to retain personnel.
- In the past two years, we made targeted changes to pay and policies to address that, enabling Bloomington
- to compete again. In 2024, we successfully negotiated two union contracts with police and fire to increase
- pay, to be competitive in the market, and both passed with a unanimous vote. That seems like yesterday.
- but the 2026 collective bargaining discussions have already begun and we anticipate two more successful
- union negotiations. But I want to be clear, unanimous union votes are probably a once in a lifetime
- mayoral experience. But what I do know is that we have built a team and our unions have come together
- at the table and we collaborate.
- and we're transparent and we're honest about what each needs and what resources we have. And
- that transparency and collaboration has led to better success than we see in most other union negotiations
- around the country. For the fire department, in the most recent hiring cycle, 272 applicants applied
- to join the fire department.
- That is a 213% increase from the number of applicants in 2024, entire year. That is really pretty awesome,
- but public safety is not only about how many people we have, it's about how our police officers and
- firefighters show up in our community, building relationships, preventing harm by solving problems early,
- and being part of the fabric
- of our city. For the police, full staffing allows us to reduce turnover, stress, and the risk of injury.
- Also, it reduces overtime costs so service is consistent, response is reliable, and the system isn't
- stretched too thin. It also creates space to be present in the community where officers are known and
- where relationships come before a response is ever needed.
- When people know their local police, trust increases and safer, more connected neighborhoods follow.
- That's part of a thriving community. And in 2025, we saw obvious forward movement. BPD welcomed 11 new
- officers in a single class. That is the largest group in more than three decades.
- Our public safety teams want to work in Bloomington. We just needed to provide the resources to equip
- them well. One of those individuals from that recruiting class was Officer Brinson, who opened this
- evening with the national anthem. Several officers from that recruitment class were already certified,
- which allowed quicker service. And one veteran officer returned to Bloomington after more than 20 years
- of prior service.
- He returned to serve. We are making progress, but we are not finished. Not every recruit completes training,
- and some officers will retire. Others may leave the profession. But this is my commitment. We will reach
- full staffing by the close of this calendar year. And just as staffing matters, so does how we respond.
- Not every call requires the same response. Some situations require enforcement.
- but others require medical care, mental health support, or connection to services. We continue to build
- a structure of care that reflects that reality. Stride is our community's nonprofit. It is a 24-7 mobile
- crisis response team run by CenterStone, made up of trained mental health professionals who respond
- in real time to substance use and behavioral crisis.
- Stride works closely with our police and fire and dispatch teams, ensuring that calls are routed to
- the most appropriate response. They meet people where they are, whether it's on a sidewalk in a park
- at a business, at their home, and they connect them to the care that they desperately need.
- In many cases, Stride resolves situations before they escalate, reduces unnecessary emergency room visits
- and arrests,
- and builds trust with residents who may not otherwise engage with traditional systems. My gratitude
- to Cook for working with us and Stride to create the bus wraps and other marketing campaign tools to
- promote their work. Because if we don't call Stride, they don't get to serve our community.
- The city's downtown resource officers, police, social worker, and outreach teams work together to respond
- to individuals in crisis and reduce repeat calls for service as well. Last year, we embedded a mental
- health professional within central dispatch to help triage certain calls in real time and direct them
- to the appropriate response. And later this spring, we'll launch an analysis
- for how we could potentially integrate an alternative response into 911 dispatch. Isabelle's leading
- the applause on that one. She helped us find LEAP, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership. Thank you,
- Isabelle. And they are... thank you, Isabelle. They're gonna analyze current calls and community resources
- to identify where alternative responses can expand.
- while still maintaining strong, fully capable police and fire presence for the most urgent public safety
- needs. This work is deliberate. It's grounded in data and informed by our local situation, our local
- assets, providers, financial constraints, and systems and staffing levels to make sure that the results
- are pragmatic, actionable, and importantly, safe for all.
- Those same principles apply to the tools we use to support safety in our community. The city is currently
- reviewing our contract for flock cameras and we'll be presenting our findings on April 15th to the city
- council based on their recent resolution. Safety.
- I am happy to meet with people and talk to you about your feedback. I have met with several of you,
- I think. I'm gonna continue speaking and happy to have a face-to-face sometime. Safety stabilizes a
- community. Housing stabilizes people. That's where we turn next. Attainable housing and homelessness.
- For 25 years, my professional worked
- centered solely on housing. It was a top commitment of mine when I ran for office, and it remains our
- city's greatest priority. We need more houses of more sizes for more people, and we need housing diversity.
- The largest opportunity to do that is Hopewell. We have a community that cares deeply about getting
- this right, and in Bloomington,
- Even when we agree on the goal and what needs to be done, it can still take a very long time to move
- forward. Government and politics in our community tend to take the scenic route. And the trip never
- gets boring. This isn't the first time there have been lively conversations about problems and their
- solutions. At different points in our community, we have debated an abandoned rail line
- the hospital leaving downtown, an outdated convention center, a proposed tech park, chickens. And before
- that, our community confronted the possible loss of the courthouse, and even of this very building.
- And look at where that process has led us. We saved the courthouse. We developed the Beeline Trail.
- We purchased, designed, and built
- the trades district. We moved forward on the convention center. We built out bicycle and pedestrian
- infrastructure across the city, constructed the Bloomington Transit Hub. We've established Bloomington
- Entertainment and Arts District, including the building that we're in, and soon we will, one way or
- another, have Hopewell.
- A once in a generation neighborhood. And all of us will be proud. We all agreed to high standards when
- it came to our neighborhoods. We all want housing that is safe, sustainable, and built to last. But
- we also have to be honest about the moment that we're in. Costs are rising. Wages aren't keeping pace.
- Just yesterday, Novo announced
- layoffs impacting 400 people. At the same time, state and national decisions continue to influence wages
- and costs in ways that we don't control locally. Like all projects of this significance, the proposal
- has been shaped through expansive outreach and engagement. We've engaged experienced planners and designers
- renowned throughout the country for their innovative work to
- to advance housing that is attainable. Local lenders, builders, developers, and housing experts have
- weighed in on what works in Bloomington to make a project like this truly viable. We've collaborated
- with the public, with city council, with city departments, and the Redevelopment Commission and Plan
- Commission. It takes time for a project to reach a point of action.
- Hopewell would be difficult to deliver in today's environment without sustained public leadership. Together
- with our council, I agree, this project is worth the work. And we all share the same vision for it.
- Attainable housing in Bloomington. Hopewell South is just the first phase of a much larger neighborhood
- For this phase, the administration made a clear choice to focus on two things, homeownership that more
- people can attain at market rates, and a neighborhood that connects the residents to opportunity. On
- those two goals, this plan delivers. It doesn't resolve every challenge. No single project does. But
- it moves us forward.
- And in a housing crisis, that matters more than perfection. As an administration, we take responsibility
- for our part of the ongoing housing puzzle. Outside of Hopewell, we are working to clarify expectations
- and legal boundaries, align departments, reduce red tape, and generate a clearer path from concept all
- the way to construction.
- Our existing UDO does not always allow us to build the kind of housing we say we want. That's why we
- use tools like a PUD to create a path to actually build housing. We'll keep improving our code, refining
- our tools, and learning from this work. This is not an either or. It's both. We have to stay focused
- on outcomes.
- where process adds cost without improving the result, it moves us in the wrong direction as a community.
- We have capable local builders and we have standards that support energy efficiency, and this is where
- we shift from discussion to delivery. I'm confident we'll get to the finish line with Hopewell because
- we share the same vision for attainable housing in Bloomington, and that alignment is what matters most.
- Housing attainability also requires strengthening the systems that we have. We've enforced Title 16
- housing standards, held negligent landlords accountable, and revoked permits for chronically unsafe
- properties. In one case, a longtime property owner whose repeated life and safety violations persisted
- for decades and spanned 31 properties
- within city limits alone is now prohibited from operating rental units in Bloomington for the next two
- decades. Unsafe, unmaintained housing will not be tolerated in Bloomington. In parallel, we're working
- to reposition local builders and developers to succeed by shifting internal processes.
- Two permitting audits are underway. One where the city acts as a zoning petitioner to identify real
- friction points. We found them. And a second comprehensive review of every step in the development process
- across departments. These audits will lead to tangible change in the time and process for creating housing.
- This work is paired with updates to the Unified Development Ordinance and a redesign of permitting systems
- to reduce that red tape
- and make housing development more predictable and therefore more affordable. Builders and developers
- consistently report shifting interpretations, conflicting departmental guidance, and unpredictable review
- timelines. It all adds to the cost of a house. These are challenges that hit small single-family projects
- the hardest. And when local builders leave the table, we lose local jobs, local investment,
- and the ability to keep that economic activity here at home. When housing production slows, the entire
- housing system tightens. From starter homes to rental units to the safety nets people rely on when life
- gets difficult. If you are listening tonight and you are a housing builder or developer, here is what
- I would say to you. Pick a lane and build it well.
- We need many kinds of housing in Bloomington and your city wants to make it easier for you to create
- it. Housing supply alone does not solve the full challenge. We're also working to address what happens
- when housing is lost. Homelessness does not happen overnight. It is the result of a longer chain of
- housing instability.
- We're seeing the same pressures that communities across the country are seeing. Many residents feel
- two things at once, compassion for individuals living in crisis and concern about impacts in parks,
- along trails, and in neighborhoods. Both are real. Both come from a place of caring about a thriving
- Bloomington. And both deserve a response that is thoughtful, consistent,
- and effective. While city government alone cannot solve homelessness, we play a direct role in response.
- We support shelter and service providers, we coordinate across departments, and we bring partners together
- every day to move people toward housing and stability. Our nonprofit partners do critical day-to-day
- work building relationships, providing care, and helping people take their next step.
- Our job is to support that work, strengthen it, and make sure it leads to real outcomes. But let me
- remain clear. We cannot arrest our way out of homelessness. We prioritize housing, treatment, support,
- and connection, because that is how people stabilize and begin to rebuild. And at the same time,
- cities must operate within the laws that govern public space. Recently, the Senate passed SB 285, which
- prohibits public camping beginning July 1st. This is not a law we supported, but came with a mandate
- from the state to empty camps. I am determined to use this as a deadline to see just how many people
- we can get housed
- into services, and into a place where they never have to sleep outside again. In January 2024, there
- were more than a dozen encampments on city-owned property. Today, there is only one. This is a result
- of sustained outreach and coordinated response prior to SB 285. Only one established encampment in the city.
- and our teams remain engaged with those residents every single day to help them move towards stability.
- This is the result of focused coordinated work, daily engagement, cross agency collaboration, and consistent
- follow through by city teams. In 2024, our administration put clear protocols in place so that when
- encampments have to close, they do so humanely and with structure.
- Encampments receive notice, outreach teams connect residents to shelter services and reunification with
- family or support networks whenever that option exists. In fact, reunification is one of the tools we
- pursue most because reconnecting someone with people who already know and love them and care about them
- is often the fastest path back to stability.
- Last year, our Bloomington Police Department facilitated the reunification of 50 individuals. They also,
- last year, identified and interacted with 139 individuals experiencing homelessness who were new to
- Bloomington. Stride, our community's mobile crisis response team, also is working on reunification.
- they reunified an additional 78 individuals. Even accounting for some overlap between those efforts,
- that means that at least 117 people were reconnected to support systems in the past year. The larger
- reality is that Bloomington currently carries a disproportionate share of services for people experiencing
- homelessness across our region. Our community has stepped forward to help, and I am proud of us
- but too many people are still without housing or support. Our current resources can't meet the scale
- of the need, and the need is great. And as communities across Indiana continue to close encampments,
- we want to be sure that we can focus on the people who are already experiencing homelessness here or
- at risk of becoming homeless.
- If we want to make a meaningful impact on individual lives and on the health of our community, we must
- acknowledge our limits. That means setting clearer expectations about how services are delivered across
- our region, and that's a six county area defined by HUD. The city continues to call for a temporary
- approach to regional service boundaries within our six county HUD region.
- Regional service boundaries are not a test of whether someone belongs in Bloomington. Boundaries are
- not a barrier to immediate food, shelter, or reunification help. Instead, regional service boundaries
- are a temporary framework that prioritize permanent housing and housing resources for people whose care
- networks are in Bloomington and our surrounding counties. So the help we offer is real and sustainable.
- There are exceptions to regional service boundaries, which include domestic violence and other issues
- that are very hard to stay in your home county. But we're also making something clear to other jurisdictions.
- We want other jurisdictions to stop transferring people to Bloomington without a local connection or
- a follow-up plan. If someone moves here, we need to have someone on the other end who can support.
- taking someone out of their community and dropping them somewhere where they have no support and cannot
- access service does not lead to recovery, and it does not lead to dignity. I want to thank Heading Home
- for their leadership in thinking through and exploring training a group on next steps for encampment
- closure, and for our county colleagues, especially Commissioner Madeira and Councilor Wilts, for taking
- this so seriously
- and having an approach of partnership. Solving homelessness requires both compassion and structure,
- housing services, and a region willing to take shared responsibility on collaborative and oftentimes
- iterative solutions. That's how we're going to solve this. Housing stability allows people to build
- a life. And economic opportunity allows them to build a future.
- Our commitment in economic development is to grow the workforce population, grow wages, and strengthen
- the economic base that supports the services our community depends on. The single most important action
- we can take to support that is removing barriers to housing. If families cannot find a place to live,
- they cannot take a job here. Housing and economic development are inextricably entwined.
- you cannot solve them in isolation. When housing supply grows, employers can hire the workers that they
- need. When businesses grow, wages rise, and housing instability falls. And when the economy grows, the
- revenues generated by local income, property, and food and beverage taxes allow the city to reinvest
- directly in our built environment, safety, affordable housing, and public health. Under Senate Enrolled Act I,
- that connection becomes even more important. Cities like Bloomington are increasingly dependent on income
- tax tied directly to the workforce. Our role is to create the circumstances where people and businesses
- can succeed. One of the most visible investments supporting that work is the Convention Center expansion,
- and I know we have some CIB members, maybe even our leader here. Can we give them a hand?
- community has worked toward this moment for nearly 20 years, and we have taken it out of politics and
- built a joint board that is moving this thing forward faster than any jurisdiction could have done on
- their own. And that required blood, sweat, tears, partnership between the city and the county, the creation
- of that CIB, and a long term commitment to investing in Bloomington's future.
- Today, that vision is becoming real, and it's rising right here at Third and College, connecting our
- past to our future. The expanded convention center is expected to bring millions of dollars in new spending
- from outside Bloomington each year. This investment is not in isolation. It's part of a broader pattern
- of progress concentrated in the corridor stretching across South Rogers, South Walnut, and the Hopewell
- redevelopment area.
- For years, this area has truly been a gap in the center of our city. Now, it is becoming a place where
- we are intentionally restoring connection and continuity. The Convention Center expansion, the Hopewell
- neighborhood, the proposed future location of public safety infrastructure, when we locate housing,
- jobs, and services in close proximity to one another, the system works better.
- People live closer to where they work, and businesses benefit from the steady base of residents and
- visitors. Then, just up the beeline, the trades district continues to grow. New employers, expanded
- workspaces, a new hotel, and more public art and programming are on the horizon. In late 2024, a $16
- million Lilly Endowment grant awarded to Indiana University in partnership with the city
- and the mill, now Amplify Bloomington, is accelerating that work. My gratitude, I think we have Rachel
- McAfee and John Fernandez in the house tonight, my gratitude for the university and John's leadership
- in that endeavor, really foundational and transformative. Last year, the city added a position to deliver
- on that partnership.
- and move projects forward, and that investment is already showing up on the ground. The Forge, which
- is a Class A office building, is now home to companies like Vivum, AI, Folia, and Bloom. Amplify Bloomington
- is expanding inside the mill, adding new workspaces, offices, and conference capacity. And next door
- at the kiln, Paragraph is fueling new startups with funding, and Soma Coffee is fueling us all with caffeine.
- Last Wednesday, we closed on the new hotel in the trades district. We're on track to break ground this
- summer, adding rooms, meeting space, and street-level activity that connects directly to our downtown.
- When we don't have enough hotel capacity, demand spills into short-term rentals, often taking whole
- homes off the market for our residents. This plan is about putting the right supply in the right place
- and staying competitive.
- Bloomington has fewer hotel rooms than comparable markets, even if we include planned projects. The
- Trades District Hotel will help close that gap and strengthen a key part of our economy, destination
- tourism and events. We are correspondingly investing in the district's experience by activating it with
- our events and programs so it works for residents too, not just visitors or tenants.
- This is economic development at its best. There are jobs, business activity, and investment that move
- beyond one district alone, and they strengthen the entire community. We're also making decisions about
- how people experience our city day-to-day. Kirkwood Avenue is a great example, and I want to acknowledge
- Kirkwood's outdoor dining experience has meant a lot to people.
- I have experienced feeling like I'm in Paris eating in the middle of Kirkwood myself. The full closure
- created moments people loved, but the day-to-day reality did not consistently match the intent of the
- program. The city's adopted transportation plan identifies Kirkwood as a shared street. It
- carries businesses, deliveries, emergency access, and daily movement, and it also carries a critical
- sense of place
- at the intersection of city life and campus life. Our responsibility is to balance all of that, not
- just on the best day, but every day. We looked at the data, business participation, and overall community
- impact, and the recommendation and the Board of Public Works decision is to continue with the shared
- street model this year. And this season, we're working with partners to expand activations so the space
- works harder for the community.
- More events, more programming, more reasons for people to be there beyond just outdoor dining. Because
- how a place functions day to day shapes how people experience it. And how people experience a place
- shapes whether they stay, invest, and build something here. That brings us to something we should have
- done a long time ago. We need to be clear about who we are as a city.
- and nearly a decade ago, the city's Wage Growth Task Force recommended that Bloomington define a shared
- identity. That work did not move forward at that time, but it is now. Later this year, we'll roll out
- Bloomington City and Place branding. We partnered with a national firm to build the framework, but our
- story comes from right here in Bloomington. Over the past 12 months, residents, business owners, students,
- artists, and community partners have shaped it through surveys,
- committees, workshops, and direct conversations. That input continues as we refine the design and strategy
- in real time. We all know that if you ask someone why they love Bloomington, they'll give us 20 minutes
- of response. That's a strength, but it's also a challenge. And right now, Bloomington has a strong identity,
- but we've not always told that story clearly. This will help.
- Cities that compete for talent, investment, and growth do not leave their stories undefined. They state
- it clearly, reinforce it constantly, and use it to guide decisions. The goal is to make sure we communicate
- Bloomington plainly enough that people can see it, understand it, and choose to be part of it before
- they ever step foot in our community. And at a time when national conversations pull attention in every
- direction, we stay focused on what we can actually shape.
- here in the city. We can control the systems we build, the investments we make, and the expectations
- we set for ourselves as a community. When those are clear and consistent, people do not have to guess
- whether they belong here. They know. We're building a government that works. We start by listening,
- and many of you know, because you tell me, you see Team Bloomington out and about
- and you know how to reach us. Over the last two years, we've made listening a regular part of our job,
- monthly door knocking town halls, traveling office hours, and regular listening sessions with nonprofit
- and faith leaders. Our sequence is simple, listen, discern, lead, deliver. We've worked diligently to
- get our financial reporting up to date. In 2024, we closed out the delayed 2022 audit. In 25, we closed out 23.
- And on Thursday, we meet with the auditors for the exit conference on the 2024 audit. I've never been
- so excited about an audit. We'll now be able to complete the 2025 audit on time and be back in compliance
- with reporting deadlines. In addition, we completed long overdue update of the city's financial account
- numbers. And our housing and neighborhood development department worked hard to return to reporting
- compliance with HUD
- and has even been invited to present at their conference. It's a big deal. There's more to do and we
- continue to clean up and improve the systems, but increasingly we're leading the way rather than playing catch up.
- We've discussed our efforts to fully staff public safety, and the same focus has extended across the
- rest of the city to ensure we're staffed with skilled public servants. Implementing the salary study
- has been a key piece of that success. And as a result, this week, engineering is fully staffed for the
- first time since October 2022. I had your new employee in new hire training today, Andrew.
- Other departments are experiencing the same thing, and we continue to closely work with the city's unions
- to build stronger relationships. Everybody needs an intermission, so I'm gonna skip a whole bunch of
- really important government updates and get to the meat of things. SEA 1 changes how local governments
- are funded, and will change how we're able to do our work.
- Income tax distributions will switch, and municipal revenue growth will slow. Bonding capacity is tightening,
- and those challenges compound over time. Cities across Indiana, including Bloomington, will have to
- make hard choices, and our response must be disciplined. Our role is to first ensure we deliver essential
- services and responsibilities that only local government can provide. We'll honor the commitments we've made
- and take care of our infrastructure. If we want to do our essential work well, we have to prioritize.
- In a city full of smart people, ideas are never in short supply. But progress happens when we choose
- a direction and stay with it long enough to deliver real results. We're going to pair our reduced resources
- with a priority list to deliver on our top capital projects
- And to do that, we need to know what we spend, what results we get, and whether those investments align
- with what matters most. And that work has started. With our new controller, Jeff McKim. Yay, Jeff. We're
- reviewing our budget with a closer lens and are preparing already for budget season. The state of the
- city is strong and moving forward.
- not without bumps and not without limitations, but with purpose, clarity, and community. In 1996, we
- couldn't have seen this building in its current form. We would not have envisioned a trail along that
- abandoned rail corridor, and I bet we wouldn't have dreamed we would be at the precipice of
- a transformational housing development where our hospital used to be. What it is that we're doing this year
- that we couldn't imagine living without in 2056. If we look ahead over just the next two years, we can
- envision what that might look like. We'll see a convention center alive with activity, visitors moving
- through streets and gathering in restaurants. We'll see homes rising in Hopewell, a once in a generation
- neighborhood taking shape block by block. We'll see downtown that feels vibrant and cared for.
- Events that bring people together, clean and well-maintained streets and sidewalks, a clear, distinct
- sense of identity reflected in our branding. We'll see more public art, more activity and more life
- in our shared spaces. We'll welcome people home if they've been sleeping outside. We'll see couples
- on dates on the new roof at the Trades District Hotel.
- Entrepreneurs and small businesses are heading into the forge to the kiln and amplify Bloomington to
- grow their success. We'll see our workforce population grow and our wages as well. We'll see fully staffed
- departments and we'll see a community that shows up to serve you and to help solve your problems every
- day. That's what a thriving community looks like.
- wages growing our economy and housing residents can afford, opportunities people can pursue, and safety
- that our neighborhoods rely on, and a government focused on getting the work done, a place to belong.
- But there's one other thing that we can do that matters just as much. In a moment where national political
- rhetoric lends itself to us and them, we can do better in Bloomington.
- We can solve problems together, sitting face-to-face and co-creating solutions. We can be tough on challenges
- and respectful of everyone working on them. We can rise above identity and party politics and see one
- another for what we are. We're a community full of people showing up every single day to transform lives
- and improve our community. I believe this even more today
- than when I wrote this speech 24 hours ago. In the coming year, I'll be looking at ways we can continue
- to help set a different tone in Bloomington where we can call people in instead of calling people out.
- I want us to be a Bloomington where we talk in person or in written communication rather than targeted
- quips on social media
- because... while there are dozens of challenges and hundreds of issues and thousands of opinions before
- us, we all know that we're at our best, our strongest, and our most progressive when we are one Bloomington.
- Good government is not measured by a single headline, a single announcement, or a single meeting.
- The decisions we make today may take years to be felt, but their impact reaches across generations.
- And it's the way we come together, not the things that divide us, which define us in the end. It is
- that courthouse that Charlotte saved, and now no one can remember ever wanting to demolish it. That
- is the long arc of this work, and Bloomington does not need anyone
- to invent its potential. It's already here. Our job is to keep unlocking it through thoughtful discussion
- and decisions, through a shared commitment to this community, our one Bloomington. And that work is
- stronger when people stay engaged and lean toward assuming goodwill and creating common ground. So thank
- you for showing up this evening, for paying attention,
- for being a part of a community that continues to grow into its potential. Thank you for being critical
- of your government and helping us get better every single day. Tonight, we began by talking about what
- happens when people come together in a shared space. We'll close in the same spirit because what you'll
- see next through movement, timing, and connection is another expression of what makes this community thrive.
- Please join me in welcoming Windfall dancers.