- (upbeat music)
- Hello and welcome to Cats Week.
- I'm Annalise Poorman.
- The Monroe County Election Board met on June 5th.
- Democratic board member John Fernandez was not
- in attendance and his place was chair
- of the Monroe County Democratic Party, Samuel Udak,
- who explained that he temporarily appointed himself
- to the Monroe County Election Board
- following Fernandez's resignation.
- He read a statement briefly explaining the situation.
- I wrote a letter this morning appointing myself
- for a short term to the board.
- It reads as follows, to whom it may concern,
- this letter serves as notice that on June 5th, 2025,
- I'm appointing myself to the Democratic Party seat
- on the Monroe County Election Board effective
- through June 30th, 2025.
- A formal notice of a permanent appointee will be made
- to county staff no later than that date.
- As of the writing of this letter,
- the chair has made no other formal appointment
- to the position.
- Thank you, Samuel Udak,
- Chairman Monroe County Democratic Party.
- During the meeting, the board discussed a contract
- with BNL who helps with technical support for elections.
- We actually do own the equipment.
- Okay.
- And BNL services helps us with the IT portion
- of our election, they're our IT vendor.
- They also move our equipment prior to election day
- and then pick it up.
- And then they also help us.
- I'm doing a very poor job of this.
- Mr. White is on the meeting if you have specific questions,
- but they also help us with our IT during early
- and absentee voting as well as on election day.
- County Clerk Nicole Braun explained BNL has worked
- with the county doing IT work for elections for 11 years.
- Monroe County Commissioner Julie Thomas came
- to the meeting to explain why the commissioners
- were looking for more information about the contract,
- saying that there was not enough information
- for the commissioners to feel comfortable approving it.
- Hello, Monroe County Commissioner Julie Thomas.
- I just wanted to reiterate information that we sent
- in this letter in May.
- And we have questions about whether you all have
- reviewed the contract and were fine with it,
- whether there was a search for multiple vendors
- to find a good price, whether this is something
- that could be done in-house, how many other counties
- do this with outside IT versus inside IT.
- And our biggest concern was that there's $100,000
- there's $100,000 in non-election year cost
- that goes to this particular company.
- And yes, while Hart may indeed offer some software updates
- this year in a non-election year, that's on what happens.
- We don't understand the dollars, right?
- And that's all we were asking for because we were asked
- to approve a contract that there is missing information
- for us because for transparency sake, we wanna make sure
- that when we get asked a question by the public
- about why does it cost this much to do this
- when you're also paying Hart that,
- what is this person doing?
- What is this company doing?
- We wanna be able to answer those questions.
- And we felt like the contract had a lot of gaps
- in it and Ms. Turner-King is aware of those gaps.
- So thank you so much.
- Clerk Brown asked if Thomas had seen the letter
- that B&L had sent filling in those gaps.
- Thomas said that she had not received a letter.
- County Attorney Molly Turner-King then said
- that she had only received the letter the day before
- and had not had time to distribute it.
- B&L was asked to summarize the letter
- for Commissioner Thomas.
- Clerk Brown then said that they have had good service
- working with B&L and explained that they are
- a cost effective choice as well.
- So we kind of, I guess, got bang for our buck
- by going with B&L because what they charge
- is exponentially less than what we would charge.
- And as to, only so many vendors make election equipment
- and everybody does not have the experience
- or background to work on that equipment.
- B&L does, this is just short of bringing heart in here
- to service their own equipment and work with us.
- We are getting an incredible deal
- and he's been good to us for the last 11 years.
- His ethic is beyond reproach
- and we are incredibly fortunate that he continues
- to lend his talents and services
- to Monroe County government.
- He retired from city technology,
- the city of Bloomington technology.
- And I really do not, short of bringing heart here,
- I really do not believe we can do better than B&L.
- Thank you.
- Thomas also spoke during public comment
- outlining the future plans for election central
- following the demolition of the current building
- due to the expansion of the convention center.
- Thomas invited fleet and facilities manager Richard Kreider
- to give more information on the future plans
- for election central.
- Julie Thomas, Monroe County commissioner here once again,
- but we wanted to provide some information
- for all of you and for the public,
- because as we know with the groundbreaking
- for the new convention center,
- the Napa building election operations
- will be demolished very soon.
- And we want to assure you all
- that there are plans in place.
- And this is for those who don't know Richard Kreider,
- who is our fleet and facilities manager.
- And if you would quickly just walk through
- what our plans are, that'd be great.
- Thank you.
- Okay, so our plans are to renovate
- the east side of the first floor
- of the showers building for early voting.
- It's been a little bit of a process.
- We started in January working myself with clerk staff
- on getting to a point where we could hire an architect
- to start doing some real programming.
- And through that process, we've added some more space
- than what we originally thought.
- It was obvious and apparent
- that we needed more square footage.
- So we've extended that.
- And I think we're where we need to be square footage wise.
- And if we can maintain the architects program,
- we're looking at a finishing construction December, 2024,
- 2025, my apologies.
- Later in the meeting, Kylie Ferris said
- that the Ellisville library branch
- would be a good location for early voting.
- Also, I know that like Ellisville is another location
- that has like questioned multiple times
- over especially 2024 where their early voting location
- was in Ellisville because they had figured
- that there would be one and there wasn't.
- So that is another one that we really looked at
- that really think that there should be one
- at least in Ellisville
- and then somewhere on the south side of town.
- And then we have election operations
- in the center of downtown.
- The Monroe County Election Board
- will meet again on August 7th.
- The Bloomington Board of Public Works met on June 3rd
- to discuss a series of contracts and closures.
- The board was asked to approve a contract with ENB Paving
- for asphalt resurfacing on North Walnut Street.
- Zach Rogers from Bloomington Engineering stated
- that the work would stretch from the area
- between the McDonald's and Big Red Liquors locations
- up to where the street intersects with Old State Road 37.
- Rogers elaborated that the work would require lane closures
- and would last from now until approximately November 1st.
- President Kyla Cox Deckard and Vice President
- Elizabeth Caron questioned whether the lanes
- would be open during high traffic periods
- such as football games and door move-in dates.
- Rogers assured them that they would work with contractors
- to avoid major closures during those times.
- Will the lanes be open during high-volume times
- like football?
- That's a good question.
- Yeah, we'd have to work through that.
- I guess work with a contractor
- and make sure we don't have any major closures.
- I'd also add, in addition to football weekends,
- the residence hall move-in days,
- those high-traffic days would be ones
- to potentially have the lanes open.
- Yeah, and those would be probably for a period
- of about three days, a Sunday through Wednesday, roughly.
- So it might be during peak working times.
- The board voted to approve the contract with ENB Paving.
- Next, engineering field specialist Alexandra Gray
- presented a proposed sidewalk closure
- at the intersection of East Seventh Street
- and North Jefferson Street in order to make way
- for a tree plot and a new sidewalk.
- The closures would occur on both streets,
- but not at the same time.
- Cox Deckard asked if there would be alternate sidewalks
- adjacent to the closed ones on each street.
- Gray clarified that this would be the case on Jefferson,
- but that Seventh Street did not have another sidewalk.
- Gray and Maria McCormick,
- also representing Bloomington Engineering,
- studied a map of the location
- in order to find a solution
- to the lack of accessible sidewalks on Seventh.
- When questioned about the reasoning for the sidewalk closure,
- McCormick explained and offered a possible solution.
- This is two duplexes that are going into these lots,
- and the sidewalks didn't meet functional,
- the sidewalks didn't meet functional compliance
- with planning, so they have to replace the sidewalks.
- A lot of times we don't get into that with duplexes,
- but since the sidewalks didn't meet functional compliance,
- they did have to be replaced.
- What we can do is we can require them
- to put jersey barriers on Seventh.
- There is a bike lane.
- We'll have to do some figuring on this one,
- but we will figure out how to keep the sidewalk open.
- The board voted to approve the closure
- with the understanding that a separate strip
- of Seventh Street will be blocked off
- as a temporary sidewalk.
- The Monroe County commissioners met on June 5th.
- During department updates,
- health administrator Lori Kelly provided an update
- on COVID-19 in the community,
- saying that the CDC will no longer include
- the COVID vaccine in its recommended vaccination schedule
- for healthy children and pregnant women.
- As of June 3rd, emergency department visits
- for COVID-like illness have continued to decrease
- as well as wastewater concentrations.
- As of May 27th, the COVID-19 vaccine
- will no longer be included
- in the CDC's recommended vaccine schedule
- for healthy children and pregnant women.
- People who will be recommended to receive the vaccine
- are those over 65 and those with existing health problems.
- It's not clear at this time what insurance companies
- will do about the new recommendations and coverage.
- The health department does still have
- three COVID vaccines available.
- You can call 812-353-3244 for more information
- or to schedule an appointment.
- All right, thank you so much.
- What is the last day of that availability?
- For the COVID vaccines?
- Yes.
- So we do have them available at the public health clinic.
- I know that some of our childhood ones have expired,
- but we have various other age groups,
- so you can call for that.
- Okay, I think what I'm asking is when is that new?
- Oh, recommendation.
- It actually started May 27th.
- Okay, so it's already in place.
- Okay. - Yes.
- And there is a new RNA shot next spike
- that was approved by the FDA,
- but we don't know what availability will be or any of that.
- Commissioner Jody Madeira described the news
- as heartbreaking, especially as new variants
- of the COVID-19 virus have evolved.
- Madeira asked Kelly where people can receive better guidance.
- This actually breaks my heart because what we're seeing
- is sort of the systematic taking apart
- of the vaccination system.
- And I think this comes at a time
- when we have new variants coming down the pipeline.
- I urge anyone who needs a COVID vaccine
- to get it as soon as possible
- because there is a new variant that has actually been found.
- It has, there has been news about this in the last two weeks.
- And I just had a question for Lori.
- Do you know whether there are certain criteria
- where healthy adults who may have health problems
- that are not normally considered life-limiting,
- like, for example, they may have asthma.
- And do you know, like, where people can obtain guidance
- on what kinds of conditions can qualify them
- for continued COVID vaccinations, I guess?
- I imagine that many of us have conditions
- where we may take medication for them.
- They may not prompt us to go to our daughter,
- to our doctors in a bi-weekly or monthly schedule.
- Where can we get this information?
- So, other than talking to someone's provider, of course,
- you can check the CDC website
- to see updated information is listed on there.
- That's kind of the best guidance at this time.
- During public comment,
- Senior Director of Government and Community Relations
- for the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, Chris MG,
- referenced a contentious moment
- that happened during the
- Monroe County Plan Commission meeting,
- saying that he believes disagreement
- is a healthy democratic process.
- Good morning, Commissioners.
- I'll just begin public comment to get the ball rolling.
- I want to continue the celebrating
- of Tuesday's Convention Center expansion
- groundbreaking a truly historic day for our community.
- Some milestones have been a long time coming,
- and we're now on the path to that 12-month economy.
- I commend this body for their leadership.
- As Commissioner Thomas said, the key was having the intuition
- to establish the CID and then get out of their way.
- Today, we're seeing the fruits of that vision.
- The other thing I want to bring up
- is what I witnessed at a recent
- Commission Administrative Session.
- They had some robust, respectful discourse
- that democracy requires.
- It's not always comfortable, but it is necessary.
- So, disagreements isn't dysfunction.
- It's engagement. I want to stress that.
- And that engagement means that people hear deeply
- about Monroe County,
- which is what we want to see on our boards and commissions.
- So, I encourage the planned commission
- to continue leaning into that discomfort.
- Respect differences. Ask hard questions.
- Because even when we don't all agree,
- we're all working toward that same goal of more vibrant,
- a better, more balanced Monroe County for all.
- And I thank you for your time today.
- Near the end of the meeting, Commissioner Julie Thomas
- criticized the Chamber of Commerce
- for putting out a statement denouncing county leadership
- and planned commission member Margaret Clements.
- I have a statement I'd like to make,
- and this is just for me.
- This is not from the board of commissioners,
- but it's important enough that I'd like to make the statement.
- So the Chamber of Commerce issued a newsletter
- a little more than a month ago,
- disparaging me as an elected official.
- It's sort of a whatever, you know?
- Used to it. Yep.
- However, the Chamber, which in my opinion,
- spends a bit too much time on political affairs for a 501C3,
- has an agenda, pro-housing no matter what.
- The Chamber and the developers have a mutual relationship.
- Meanwhile, people like our planned commission president,
- Margaret Clements, gets caught in the crossfire.
- The Chamber's doing what the Chamber's doing.
- That's fine. That's their role. That's fine.
- But the Chamber didn't like her vote on the zoning petition.
- They didn't tell the readers of a newsletter
- that the majority of the planned commission
- supported that petition as well.
- It then came to the Board of Commissioners for a decision.
- Dr. Clements, like some other members of the planned commission,
- are appointed by the Board of Commissioners.
- We don't direct them to vote in any particular manner,
- and we have appointed both Democrats and Republicans
- over the many years.
- It is inappropriate for the Chamber to direct their vitriol
- against an appointed member of a body.
- It is disrespectful to her personally.
- Maligning someone who is essentially volunteering
- her time to the community is misdirected and disgraceful.
- How's that for the word "community"?
- If you go to the newsletter, you'll get why I said that.
- I am so proud of Margaret Clements.
- She had stood up for the interests of Menorah County residents
- in the fight against the city's annexation process.
- Her home wasn't targeted for annexation,
- but she cared so much about people in the community
- who faced potential property tax increases
- if their homes were annexed,
- meaning their affordable homes would become unaffordable.
- Let's talk about affordable housing.
- And she stepped up.
- She's worked hard for this community that she loves.
- She didn't gain anything, but in fact spent a great deal
- of her precious time and funds to support county residents.
- The Monroe County Commissioners will meet again
- on Thursday, June 12th.
- The Bloomington City Council met on June 4th.
- During staff reports,
- Planning and Transportation Director David Hiddle
- gave an update on the UDO.
- He discussed the housing crisis and explained
- that since the council has control over the UDO,
- they can attempt to make changes
- to incentivize housing stock growth.
- There are lots of factors that dictate
- whether housing is attainable.
- There is land scarcity availability.
- There's workforce availability.
- There's the lending climate.
- There's the market.
- There's workforce.
- And there's the law.
- And here we're looking at just one of those things.
- That's the law, the regulatory framework,
- which in this case is the UDO.
- So it's impacting one of many things
- that has an impact on housing attainability.
- But it's the one thing that we have total control over
- in terms of the people in this room,
- the mayor's administration as well.
- But the UDO is written and maintained and modified
- and changed solely by this group.
- So that is the thing that you have control over.
- Hiddle said that he would try to get new UDO language
- to the plan commission by January.
- Next, council heard ordinance 2025-22 and 2025-21,
- which would authorize and approve a payment
- in lieu of taxes agreement with Henderson Court Housing
- and Cambridge Square Apartments.
- Director of Economic and Sustainable Development,
- Jane Cooper-Smith spoke to the council,
- giving an overview of the ordinance.
- Payment in lieu of taxes allows the city
- to set a fixed rate for a property
- instead of collecting property taxes,
- often saving the property owner money that in this case
- will be set aside to renovate and improve the units.
- This approach is being used to incentivize developers
- to maintain affordable housing units.
- Payment in lieu of taxes or pilot agreements
- are facilitated by state code
- and administered on a local level.
- Pilots may support the renovation, acquisition
- or construction of affordable housing units.
- They require that long-term affordability be guaranteed
- through an extended use agreement,
- which is with the IHCDA.
- In pilots, the property owner makes a payment
- at a percentage of the overall tax liability.
- In the proposals today, the payments are proposed
- to be fixed at 45% of the current tax liability
- with an annual escalator of 3%.
- The pilot payments, this is by state code,
- are then directed to the city,
- which means that 100% of the related tax revenue
- is diverted from other local government units.
- So the pilot payment comes to the city.
- It does not get redistributed to the government units.
- It gets deposited here into an affordable housing fund.
- Just wanted to underscore that.
- So pilots are a trade-off of community goods.
- They decrease revenue in exchange for the retention
- or creation of affordable housing units.
- Cooper Smith said that developers cannot increase
- the rent to pay for the renovations.
- The renovations have to be paid
- for using the money saved from the taxes.
- Henderson Court.
- Henderson Court is located at 2475 South Winslow Court.
- It was acquired by the Glick Foundation in late 2024.
- It features 151, two, and three bedroom units
- at 60% of the AMI.
- The requested payment is $80,400,
- or 45% of the tax liability.
- That's the 24/25, 24 pay 25 tax liability,
- and then there's the escalator of 3% annually.
- Council Member Isak Asari spoke in support
- of the pilot agreement.
- The proposal is fantastic.
- It creates long-term affordability at that AMI rate
- that we've talked about in so many cases is really missing
- and for a large number of units.
- And so a lot of them at that 60% or below AMI,
- and in many cases below that,
- while allowing the developer
- to complete much-needed renovations
- without sacrificing affordability.
- And so I just think that it's a really, really positive,
- the type of things that we wanna see
- in the way that we wanna use this tool.
- And so I'm in great support of it
- and aligns very well with so many of the other things
- that we've brought up in other contexts.
- Thank you.
- The council voted unanimously
- to approve the payment in lieu of taxes at Henderson Court.
- Council Member Hopi Stasberg abstained from voting
- on the Cambridge Square apartment complex pilot agreement
- due to a conflict of interest.
- The council voted to approve the pilot
- with a vote of eight yeses and one abstention.
- Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thompson answered questions
- from residents in City Council District 3
- at a traveling town hall on June 2nd.
- The event took place at University Elementary
- on Russell Road.
- It featured Director of Economic Sustainability,
- Jane Coopersmith and City Council President Hopi Stasberg.
- The mayor kicked off the town hall by providing a rundown
- on her latest initiatives and recent developments.
- These included increased staffing for police
- and the creation of the new Blink Transportation Service.
- We are getting very close to being fully staffed
- at our police department and we, I shouldn't say this
- because then somebody will retire or get injured,
- but our fire is in great shape.
- That's what I'll say.
- So we really have made great strides
- in the last 18 months on both fronts.
- I also wanna highlight the new transportation
- that we have going on downtown
- and people are confused about that.
- That makes sense.
- So this is, it's like a little mini bus
- and it's branded with our Blink Bloomington Transit logo
- and that will be circulating, so it will be going
- on a set route, but if it's not busy,
- it also can be called sort of like an Uber.
- So you can say, "This is where I am, come pick me up."
- So that is really exciting.
- It's free and it is an effort to really maximize parking
- in our parking garages and elsewhere
- and to make shopping downtown easier,
- especially if you're mobility limited.
- So you wanna park a couple blocks away
- and go to a few shops and then go all the way back
- to your car, Blink can help with that.
- Later, city leaders fielded questions
- from local residents in the third district.
- One resident commented on a situation
- with the sober living facility Malibu House,
- asking how the city can hold these organizations accountable,
- making sure that they are providing safe housing
- for their residents.
- The mayor explained that because the landlord renting
- to Malibu House is not providing safe shelter,
- the city has gotten involved.
- What we have learned in,
- that situation has been in the news
- for two different reasons.
- And one of those reasons is that some of those houses
- and the landlord is renting to Malibu House,
- so Malibu House doesn't own these properties,
- are not providing safe shelter.
- And so the city has gotten involved because there are,
- we of course have rental inspections
- and we require safe, inhabitable living situations.
- So that's one of the reasons.
- So we have, we did not just target this over living,
- there were multiple properties
- that came under that violation.
- And we are committed in my administration
- to ensure that if you're renting in the city of Bloomington,
- you will be providing safe, inhabitable housing.
- The town hall wrapped up with the mayor
- and council president advising residents
- to stay informed on what is happening
- at the state and federal level.
- They highlighted the importance of local nonprofits
- and engaging with the community.
- And that is all for Cats Week.
- Thank you for joining us.
- For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.
- (upbeat music)
- (gentle piano music)