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 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.
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