WEBVTT 00:00:08.258 --> 00:00:15.032 - And welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Monroe County Election Board met on October 2nd. 00:00:15.032 --> 00:00:22.007 - The meeting began with a brief citizenship update followed by Election Supervisor Kylie Farris speaking 00:00:22.007 --> 00:00:28.713 - on voter list maintenance in Monroe County. And then voter list maintenance since July 1st, we have 00:00:28.713 --> 00:00:31.262 - processed 7,558 voter voting records. 00:00:31.362 --> 00:00:39.435 - Through the voting list maintenance hoppers in SVRS, 6,523 of those voters have been made inactive, 00:00:39.435 --> 00:00:48.154 - 814 have stayed active, 189 have been canceled, and 32 have been rejected. Ferris followed up by addressing 00:00:48.154 --> 00:00:52.190 - concerns regarding the new early voting location. 00:00:52.674 --> 00:00:59.864 - And then I'm going to just bring up some concerns that we're having with the 2026 early voting location 00:00:59.864 --> 00:01:07.192 - right now. We were informed that our look at date for moving in will be February, and we're just starting 00:01:07.192 --> 00:01:14.106 - to get to that point of we're trying to prepare things for next year and make sure that we're going 00:01:14.106 --> 00:01:20.190 - to have enough time to get everything turned around, set up, and be organized enough to 00:01:20.674 --> 00:01:27.087 - push through with that, but we're also wondering if there is going to be a discussion among us, the 00:01:27.087 --> 00:01:33.564 - election board and election office staff, if there should be an additional place as a backup in case 00:01:33.564 --> 00:01:40.362 - if construction is not completed in time. I also think that it would be a great idea if we could probably 00:01:40.362 --> 00:01:47.096 - get Richard Kreider in on some of these conversations so that we can get a better understanding of where 00:01:47.096 --> 00:01:50.238 - we're at in general on the new location as well. 00:01:50.562 --> 00:01:56.493 - She went on to share that she had created a list of elected officials that members of the public can 00:01:56.493 --> 00:01:57.374 - easily access. 00:01:57.698 --> 00:02:02.529 - And so I created one earlier this year. I want to say it was about January, February is when I very 00:02:02.529 --> 00:02:07.554 - first started working on it. And then we got busy with voter list maintenance. So it kind of got pushed 00:02:07.554 --> 00:02:12.530 - back a little bit more. But now we're getting to that point of where individuals are coming in wanting 00:02:12.530 --> 00:02:17.410 - to know who's going to be up and what offices will be opening up next year. And I think this will be 00:02:17.410 --> 00:02:21.758 - a great addition to the website. So individuals have that access directly on the website. 00:02:22.146 --> 00:02:29.463 - The election board then discussed creating an accessible map of the districts for citizens to utilize. 00:02:29.463 --> 00:02:37.207 - Clerk Nicole Brown briefly touched on a concern that there will be redistricting ahead of the 2026 election. 00:02:37.207 --> 00:02:44.453 - Let you know that clerks have been made aware that the governor is calling for redistricting ahead of 00:02:44.453 --> 00:02:47.934 - 2026. I don't know what that picture looks like. 00:02:48.258 --> 00:02:55.876 - In fact, none of the clerks know what that picture looks like at this time. We have expressed concern 00:02:55.876 --> 00:03:03.792 - that if that redistricting occurs right up to, you know, butting up to the first day of candidate filing, 00:03:03.792 --> 00:03:11.410 - that that is going to cause a significant amount of confusion. We believe our lobbyist for the Clerks 00:03:11.410 --> 00:03:17.534 - Association is articulating that to the people who have the most contact with the 00:03:17.730 --> 00:03:25.608 - governor but we are awaiting that and so it does not make sense to me to put that map up when it could 00:03:25.608 --> 00:03:33.409 - change depending upon the governor's decision and we are still waiting. I have no further information 00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:41.134 - on that. Clerk Brown went on to discuss her desire to make polling more accessible in Monroe County. 00:03:41.134 --> 00:03:43.582 - Monroe County is in partnership 00:03:43.682 --> 00:03:50.905 - with the city so that if you go to a polling site, and I saw this at the library so this is not my original 00:03:50.905 --> 00:03:57.727 - idea, that there's this emblem where they're kind of shaking hands and it is a accessible site at the 00:03:57.727 --> 00:04:04.415 - Monroe County Library because the city has worked with ADA to get the library in compliance and I'd 00:04:04.415 --> 00:04:11.103 - love to see that at our polling sites even if it's only temporary. The Monroe County Election Board 00:04:11.103 --> 00:04:13.310 - will meet again on November 6th. 00:04:14.210 --> 00:04:21.522 - The Ellisville Plan Commission met on October 2nd. The commission heard a petition for the voluntary 00:04:21.522 --> 00:04:28.906 - annexation of three parcels of land. Town Planner Denise Line presented the annexation case on behalf 00:04:28.906 --> 00:04:36.507 - of petitioners Michael and Megan Ripley. Petition by Michael and Megan Ripley to voluntarily annex three 00:04:36.507 --> 00:04:42.878 - parcels totaling approximately 71.93 acres of land. Subject parcels are located at 5711 00:04:43.234 --> 00:04:54.052 - Northeastern Valley Road, 4601 West McNeely Street, and 4.10 acres, parcel number 53-04-11-100-010.000-011. 00:04:54.052 --> 00:05:04.670 - In appointing annexation, we will assign an address to that parcel. This is a super voluntary annexation, 00:05:04.670 --> 00:05:09.278 - and contiguity of the parcels are as follows. 00:05:09.698 --> 00:05:18.535 - 5711 North Union Valley Road is 20% contiguous. The 4.10 acres is 49% contiguous, and 4601 West McNeely 00:05:18.535 --> 00:05:27.202 - Street is 34% contiguous to the town of Ellsville, and 100% of the property owners are parties to the 00:05:27.202 --> 00:05:35.870 - petition. The properties are currently zoned Agricultural Residential, AGR, by Monroe County, and are 00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:38.334 - recommended to be designated 00:05:38.466 --> 00:05:46.770 - has agricultural AG upon annexation. Properties will be located in council ward three. The plan commission's 00:05:46.770 --> 00:05:54.693 - action shall be in the form of a favorable, unfavorable, or no recommendation town council, which takes 00:05:54.693 --> 00:06:02.387 - final action on the annexation petition. Staff recommends a favorable recommendation be forwarded to 00:06:02.387 --> 00:06:03.454 - town council. 00:06:03.586 --> 00:06:09.990 - with a recommended zoning of Agricultural AG for all three parcels upon annexation and petitioners are 00:06:09.990 --> 00:06:16.208 - present if you have any questions. Plan Commissioner David Drake clarified that the petition is for 00:06:16.208 --> 00:06:22.425 - annexing the property from the county into the town limits. Right now this is just an annexation of 00:06:22.425 --> 00:06:28.953 - the property into the town limits. It's going to have the same zoning in the town that it had previously 00:06:28.953 --> 00:06:29.886 - in the county. 00:06:30.754 --> 00:06:37.793 - We do not know at this point if there are any future plans for the owners of this property to do anything 00:06:37.793 --> 00:06:44.433 - with it. But once they have future plans, if they have any, they will have to come back to the plan 00:06:44.433 --> 00:06:51.405 - commission and then the town council to have the property rezoned if they wish to use it for a different 00:06:51.405 --> 00:06:57.182 - use. So all we're doing right now is annexing this into the town limits and that's it. 00:06:57.730 --> 00:07:05.482 - Community member Jim Perry asked for clarification on the zoning designation. Town planner Line responded 00:07:05.482 --> 00:07:12.869 - by saying that Monroe County and the town of Ellitsville classify zoning terms somewhat differently. 00:07:12.869 --> 00:07:20.474 - I just have a question. Maybe Denise can address it, but you said it's agricultural residential county, 00:07:20.474 --> 00:07:27.422 - but then you said if it comes into this town, it would be agricultural. Is there a difference? 00:07:28.322 --> 00:07:36.614 - It's just zoning districts. Monroe County calls their agricultural, residential, AGR, and we just call 00:07:36.614 --> 00:07:45.389 - it agricultural. So what does that mean, though, in terms of the zoning? Okay. Because obviously residential 00:07:45.389 --> 00:07:54.003 - is in the county, but it doesn't say residential in the town. You said agricultural. So is it agricultural 00:07:54.003 --> 00:07:55.774 - land solely, or is it 00:07:56.482 --> 00:08:05.086 - Is there prospect for some mix? It's owned agricultural which includes residential. We just don't call 00:08:05.086 --> 00:08:13.858 - it agricultural residential But as you say there would have to be a Proposal for the use of the property 00:08:13.858 --> 00:08:22.796 - for other than agricultural in our zone is that if there were a proposal that came forward for residential 00:08:22.796 --> 00:08:23.966 - that would be 00:08:25.890 --> 00:08:33.316 - be sustained for that. So if somebody say purchased it or if the petitioners decided to change the zoning, 00:08:33.316 --> 00:08:40.743 - they would have to petition the plan commission for a recommendation to town council and then town council 00:08:40.743 --> 00:08:47.753 - would be the final authority on any rezone. Yeah, but if it permits residential, then there would be 00:08:47.753 --> 00:08:52.958 - no need for rezoning if somebody came forward with a residential proposal. 00:08:53.986 --> 00:09:00.678 - How much residential does the county allow in agricultural residential? Well, in Ellis, I don't know 00:09:00.678 --> 00:09:07.701 - about the county, but in Ellisville, it's a minimum of two acres to be, two acre parcels to be considered 00:09:07.701 --> 00:09:14.525 - residential. And that means what? I mean, for residents to be, residential be allowed in agricultural. 00:09:14.525 --> 00:09:21.350 - In other words, they would have to have two acre lots if they wanted to make this, make it residential 00:09:21.350 --> 00:09:23.006 - in an agricultural zone. 00:09:23.202 --> 00:09:31.447 - Each lot would have to be two acres minimum minimum correct Local resident Richard Dillman asked the 00:09:31.447 --> 00:09:39.774 - Commission about who will maintain McNeely Street the town's plans for future Annexation and how this 00:09:39.774 --> 00:09:47.938 - would impact the tax rate for the property Who's going to take care of the McNeely Street from this 00:09:47.938 --> 00:09:50.142 - point on if it's accepted? 00:09:51.298 --> 00:09:58.761 - So when we annex properties into town, we also annex the streets. Will McNeely Street be annexed? It'll 00:09:58.761 --> 00:10:05.936 - come into the town inventory, yes. That portion. The whole street? That portion. Just that portion. 00:10:05.936 --> 00:10:13.256 - Only the portions that are adjacent to the property being annexed. Okay. And the road is the road. So 00:10:13.256 --> 00:10:20.862 - in other words, everybody that lives across McNeely Street that borders this annexation are now bordering 00:10:21.346 --> 00:10:30.376 - The city limits, if this is accepted, is that correct? Yes. Yes, the town limits. Okay. Does the town 00:10:30.376 --> 00:10:39.230 - have any future plans on annexing all of your open spots? If you look at GIS now, you guys have got 00:10:39.230 --> 00:10:47.198 - a lot of it. We do, but the state has made it virtually impossible to involuntarily annex 00:10:48.002 --> 00:10:55.140 - areas, so we can only take voluntary annexations. I mean, it's possible, but it's extremely difficult. 00:10:55.140 --> 00:11:02.277 - Okay, and that's just a question. The other question I had, I've always wanted to ask this. What's the 00:11:02.277 --> 00:11:09.276 - tax difference? If you're annexed into the city of Ellipsville, how much more do you have to pay for 00:11:09.276 --> 00:11:16.414 - taxes? I don't know. That's a hard one to calculate. I know, but isn't there a benchmark of like maybe 00:11:16.834 --> 00:11:25.957 - 3 cents, 30 cents a thousand or something like that on assessment? No. On the paper it says the effective 00:11:25.957 --> 00:11:34.564 - annexation of the estimated tax rate increases from .5673 to .5645 for 2526. That's a number nobody 00:11:34.564 --> 00:11:42.654 - probably knows. The planned commission approved the voluntary annexation by a unanimous vote. 00:11:42.754 --> 00:11:49.186 - The next meeting of the Ellisville Plan Commission will take place on November 6th. The Monroe County 00:11:49.186 --> 00:11:55.555 - Commissioners met on October 2nd. The meeting started with department updates, including information 00:11:55.555 --> 00:12:02.051 - that COVID-19 is currently trending down locally. Dr. John Baten then spoke to the Commissioners about 00:12:02.051 --> 00:12:04.510 - an Indiana geographic data sets grant. 00:12:04.802 --> 00:12:11.633 - Yeah, so this is a grant that we applied for and were awarded. It's just for under $30,000 to essentially 00:12:11.633 --> 00:12:18.077 - try to enhance some of our core data sets to align with next gen 911 kind of recording standards of 00:12:18.077 --> 00:12:22.846 - the state. In addition to that, we're going to be using this funding with 00:12:23.906 --> 00:12:28.709 - Cultivate Geospatial Solutions, which is a company we've been contracting with and have a good relationship 00:12:28.709 --> 00:12:33.335 - already, to kind of, I don't want to say just overhaul, but really strengthen our GIS database and make 00:12:33.335 --> 00:12:38.005 - sure that things are going to be running faster and smoother and be more secure moving forward. So yeah, 00:12:38.005 --> 00:12:42.764 - we're here today to basically get the approval so we can hit accept on a button and then we get a contract 00:12:42.764 --> 00:12:45.566 - that comes out and we'll need signatures and things like that. 00:12:45.730 --> 00:12:52.157 - Baten had been awarded funds for the grant previously and received unanimous approval from the commissioners. 00:12:52.157 --> 00:12:58.058 - Commissioner Jody Madeira then moved to approve the Convention Center management agreement. Yes, our 00:12:58.058 --> 00:13:03.901 - current agreement expires at the end of the year. And with the operations of the Convention Center, 00:13:03.901 --> 00:13:10.094 - they need to make sure they have contracts in place for things such as catering, audio visual, and things 00:13:10.094 --> 00:13:12.606 - like that. So we like to get this approved 00:13:12.866 --> 00:13:20.004 - well before the end of the year, we've actually probably been working on this contract for six months, 00:13:20.004 --> 00:13:27.351 - trying to figure out how to accommodate the transition that we see coming with the CIB and the completion 00:13:27.351 --> 00:13:34.281 - of the expanded project and things like that. I think at the end of the day, we kind of came to the 00:13:34.281 --> 00:13:35.390 - conclusion that 00:13:35.586 --> 00:13:41.845 - those conversations really need to be happening between the CIB and the CBC and those groups. So we 00:13:41.845 --> 00:13:48.103 - tried to keep the contract much the same as what it has been historically. We did make some changes 00:13:48.103 --> 00:13:54.487 - to clean up some of the confusions that we think will help the future conversations between those two 00:13:54.487 --> 00:14:00.871 - groups. The funding being the particular area that I think we probably hit the most because I've been 00:14:00.871 --> 00:14:02.686 - looking at this contract for 00:14:02.850 --> 00:14:09.835 - 15 years and I still didn't understand it as completely as I should have or needed to. So we kind of 00:14:09.835 --> 00:14:17.234 - tried to make it a little bit clearer how the money flows from their operations as it goes into an account 00:14:17.234 --> 00:14:22.974 - held by the Convention Center management company who pays the day to day expenses. 00:14:23.074 --> 00:14:29.062 - And then after those are paid, it goes into the county fund, which is then used to pay the convention 00:14:29.062 --> 00:14:35.108 - center management company their management fee. So these are all the revenues we're talking about with 00:14:35.108 --> 00:14:41.272 - this contract originate from the use of the convention center. The commissioners approved the management 00:14:41.272 --> 00:14:42.622 - agreement unanimously. 00:14:43.298 --> 00:14:49.751 - Next, the board heard about an agreement with VET Environmental Engineering. The agreement concerned 00:14:49.751 --> 00:14:56.460 - a dehumidifier installation and long-term stewardship plan at the County Justice Building. Commissioners 00:14:56.460 --> 00:15:03.360 - Administrator Angie Purdy presented the contract explaining that this was in response to mold contamination 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:04.702 - at the site. This is 00:15:04.834 --> 00:15:13.287 - as a result of the mold response and remediation process that occurred at the Justice Building in, 00:15:13.287 --> 00:15:22.168 - I believe, August September. And there's actually two parts to this. So this is the first part, because 00:15:22.168 --> 00:15:31.646 - these are both flat fees. Based upon the information that was gathered during the August-September issues, the 00:15:31.842 --> 00:15:39.606 - Primarily, the issue with elevated relative humidity. I'm going to read this from VET as being the primary 00:15:39.606 --> 00:15:47.514 - cause of much of the identified biological growth. And elevated relative humidity is reportedly attributable 00:15:47.514 --> 00:15:54.842 - to a poorly functioning or improperly calibrated HVAC system. And that was what we found is that the 00:15:54.842 --> 00:15:59.486 - HVAC system, someone who shouldn't have changed the calibration 00:15:59.938 --> 00:16:08.461 - caused all kinds of problems. That coupled with just the inefficiency of the building design, the aging 00:16:08.461 --> 00:16:16.656 - infrastructure has all added to the elevated humidity that's within that particular building. So as 00:16:16.656 --> 00:16:25.179 - a result of that, they are proposing the installation of dehumidifiers. And those were going to go into 00:16:25.179 --> 00:16:26.654 - three stairwells. 00:16:27.490 --> 00:16:35.984 - and anticipated that those will be on the third floor and three dehumidifiers on the third floor and 00:16:35.984 --> 00:16:44.393 - three on the fifth floor. And then their condensate drain will be plumbed into existing drain waste 00:16:44.393 --> 00:16:53.308 - lines. And that their proposal also includes the necessary electrical connections. They're also proposing 00:16:53.308 --> 00:16:55.326 - a long-term stewardship 00:16:55.522 --> 00:17:04.045 - plan which is going to help us not only now but in the future to ensure that our buildings and that 00:17:04.045 --> 00:17:12.823 - we and staff are able to respond appropriately to water intrusions because it's mold and water are the 00:17:12.823 --> 00:17:21.346 - two things that are the problem and we have problems with this building in that some of the windows 00:17:21.346 --> 00:17:24.414 - on one of the sides of the building 00:17:25.186 --> 00:17:33.031 - they leak and that causes problems as it comes into the building and the floors. And so she's proposing, 00:17:33.031 --> 00:17:40.577 - they're proposing kind of an oversight, it'll be a living document that will help us and everyone to 00:17:40.577 --> 00:17:48.197 - understand the building systems, the operations and the ongoing challenges that we have. The contract 00:17:48.197 --> 00:17:54.174 - was approved unanimously. The commissioners will meet again on October the 9th. 00:17:55.618 --> 00:18:01.880 - The Bloomington City Council met on Tuesday, September 30th. The meeting began with Councilmember Kate 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:07.960 - Rosenbarger expressing grief for the recent attacks downtown, including the murder of Sean Sullivan 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:14.222 - and the assault of Robert Ballard. Councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith also commented on the violence, 00:18:14.222 --> 00:18:20.484 - stating that this is a nationwide issue that should be examined thoroughly. I appreciate Councilmember 00:18:20.484 --> 00:18:23.646 - Rosenbarger calling out the names of those who were 00:18:23.842 --> 00:18:34.275 - attacked this weekend or two of the names. But this is a national problem and something we need to pay 00:18:34.275 --> 00:18:44.405 - close attention to locally from not just when these terrible public violence incidents occur but as 00:18:44.405 --> 00:18:48.862 - we move on in government and policy making. 00:18:49.410 --> 00:18:55.789 - Next, Piedmont-Smith introduced reports from the special fiscal committee, which discussed the setting 00:18:55.789 --> 00:19:01.982 - of salaries for elected officials for 2026. Councilmember Courtney Daly responded to the discussion 00:19:01.982 --> 00:19:08.237 - by saying that she did not agree with increasing salaries, especially right now. I think considering 00:19:08.237 --> 00:19:14.491 - all of the SB1 and the federal funding and all the cuts that are happening to budgets everywhere and 00:19:14.491 --> 00:19:19.198 - everybody tightening their belts, I'm highly uncomfortable with the idea of 00:19:19.330 --> 00:19:25.261 - increases for elected officials right now. Councilmember Rosenberger expressed her desire to hold off 00:19:25.261 --> 00:19:31.424 - on discussing the matter until all members were present. I would I don't know I'd rather have a different 00:19:31.424 --> 00:19:37.471 - kind of discussion I guess two of our council members aren't here tonight and I think in this case it's 00:19:37.471 --> 00:19:43.460 - important that all of council is because I don't know seven out of nine doesn't feel great for talking 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:48.286 - about our salaries and I think they are too that tend to have pretty big opinions. 00:19:49.250 --> 00:19:55.749 - Yeah, or perspectives on things. So I don't know. I don't think I'm the only one that missed the discussion 00:19:55.749 --> 00:20:02.128 - point of this. So I would just like to do it a different time, whether it in regular session or something 00:20:02.128 --> 00:20:08.326 - more casual too. Bloomington resident Kevin Keele suggested that perhaps the council could look to the 00:20:08.326 --> 00:20:14.644 - local median household income for ideas on paying elected officials. As a citizen of Indiana, if anybody 00:20:14.644 --> 00:20:18.014 - from any city in Indiana asked me what I would suggest, 00:20:18.210 --> 00:20:26.014 - on how to compensate elected officials, I would think a good pinpoint, a baseline to use would be the 00:20:26.014 --> 00:20:34.277 - median household income. Like for the median household income for Bloomington is 50,156 per the Bloomington 00:20:34.277 --> 00:20:41.929 - Economic Development Corporation. I'd say, hey, that's a good figure. Take 50% of that, you got the 00:20:41.929 --> 00:20:48.126 - city council, four times that, the mayor maybe. I mean, it gives you a good idea 00:20:48.450 --> 00:20:56.139 - of where you really sit in comparison to the median. We're not talking the real taxpayer, the individual 00:20:56.139 --> 00:21:03.535 - citizen out there. I think that would be a great benchmark to use. So I suggest I would suggest that 00:21:03.535 --> 00:21:08.734 - for any elected official. So anyway, I just throw that out. Good luck. 00:21:09.058 --> 00:21:16.632 - Next, Director of Economic and Sustainable Development, Jane Cooper-Smith, introduced Resolution 2025-18, 00:21:16.632 --> 00:21:23.849 - which would establish the geographic area surrounding Miller Showers Park and IU Memorial Stadium as 00:21:23.849 --> 00:21:31.208 - the stadium district. Cooper-Smith described the benefits that the city hopes such a designation would 00:21:31.208 --> 00:21:35.710 - have on local businesses. Naming a thing is a powerful action. 00:21:35.810 --> 00:21:41.695 - This action in particular will strengthen Bloomington's identity as a college town. It's not the only 00:21:41.695 --> 00:21:47.465 - part of our identity, but it's a key piece of what makes Bloomington who we are and why we have the 00:21:47.465 --> 00:21:48.734 - resources that we do. 00:21:49.474 --> 00:21:54.869 - It also highlights activity that is already happening in and around this area. With 2019 changes to 00:21:54.869 --> 00:22:00.318 - the UDO, the student population has indeed been driven to the district. Any time of day, you can see 00:22:00.318 --> 00:22:05.552 - people walking, dog walking, biking around an area that previously functioned as a pass-through. 00:22:05.552 --> 00:22:11.055 - And again, that's the area surrounding Miller Showers Park. And while student housing development has 00:22:11.055 --> 00:22:16.126 - driven the student population to this area, businesses continue to welcome a range of patrons 00:22:16.322 --> 00:22:22.169 - To the neighborhood whether for personal services professional services food or drink. So I think it's 00:22:22.169 --> 00:22:28.017 - a really Lovely balance in a diversified area for this reason. We have a mix of residents in the area. 00:22:28.017 --> 00:22:33.978 - We have students and we have Businesses attracting and serving students and long-term longtime residents 00:22:33.978 --> 00:22:40.166 - of Bloomington permanent full-time year-round residents there are also a number of underdeveloped properties 00:22:40.166 --> 00:22:45.502 - in the area that I believe will be positively influenced by the creation of this district and 00:22:46.050 --> 00:22:53.085 - Councilmember Rosenberger questioned the name for the district and whether the Maple Heights neighborhood 00:22:53.085 --> 00:22:59.854 - needs to be included in the map. I would like it if Maple Heights can be consulted in all of this. So 00:22:59.854 --> 00:23:06.955 - mostly I do need to leave early but I would be voting no on this tonight just because I think like process 00:23:06.955 --> 00:23:13.857 - is very process is very important to me and economic development impacts streets houses humans you know 00:23:13.857 --> 00:23:15.582 - and so I think that if we 00:23:15.714 --> 00:23:22.233 - I kind of relate it to if we have duplexes as a conditional use that you know, there are multiple meetings 00:23:22.233 --> 00:23:28.325 - and neighborhood Approvals for a two-unit home. I think that we should just have approvals for like 00:23:28.325 --> 00:23:34.418 - where this district might be and how it impacts Neighborhoods I know that the naming is it's a name 00:23:34.418 --> 00:23:40.510 - and I totally understand everything just like you can use it or you cannot use it to advertise Sort 00:23:40.510 --> 00:23:44.958 - of with the geography of the name of it. I know it's in relation to this 00:23:45.314 --> 00:23:50.363 - In the process for the river district, but like in my mind if something is called a stadium district 00:23:50.363 --> 00:23:55.561 - the stadium is in the middle so just like It is a ways from the stadium. So people have asked like what 00:23:55.561 --> 00:24:00.660 - other names, you know Like if you don't like that name, what other name and some folks said like city 00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:05.708 - market, which there's not really a market there But there is I guess one market a grocery store, but 00:24:05.708 --> 00:24:10.957 - also like no dough, right? Like north of downtown I was just trying to put out some ideas because people 00:24:10.957 --> 00:24:14.206 - were like have an idea if there's nothing like I understand that 00:24:14.338 --> 00:24:21.245 - So could you discuss a little bit your perspective on resident engagement when you are doing economic 00:24:21.245 --> 00:24:23.006 - development such as this. 00:24:23.618 --> 00:24:30.013 - Cooper Smith stated that the Maple Heights neighborhood was not consulted because the plan was not seen 00:24:30.013 --> 00:24:36.470 - as being, quote, harmful, unquote, for residents in the designated area. A resident of the Maple Heights 00:24:36.470 --> 00:24:42.988 - neighborhood, Sarah Alexander, objected to the plan, stating that it would only encourage more short-term 00:24:42.988 --> 00:24:44.894 - residents to move to the area. 00:24:45.218 --> 00:24:50.960 - While I appreciate the efforts to activate the area surrounding Miller Showers Park, I am afraid that 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:56.871 - whoever made that map doesn't seem to have any understanding of my neighbourhood, or perhaps Bloomington 00:24:56.871 --> 00:25:02.782 - at all. The defined borders include 13th Street, which doesn't exist at all in the proposed area because 00:25:02.782 --> 00:25:08.862 - of the railroad tracks, and North Kinzer Pike isn't on the western boundary but runs sort of three quarters 00:25:08.862 --> 00:25:11.902 - of the way over. Jackson is actually on the west. So, 00:25:12.450 --> 00:25:18.578 - Perhaps I should not be surprised that the proponents of this resolution don't understand that while 00:25:18.578 --> 00:25:25.009 - some businesses line the edges of the neighborhood facing out, most of it is zoned residential, including 00:25:25.009 --> 00:25:31.077 - my own home, which is included in the proposed area. I object to the connection of this residential 00:25:31.077 --> 00:25:37.387 - area to the stadium in any way. The only result of such a connection would be the further encouragement 00:25:37.387 --> 00:25:38.782 - of short-term rentals. 00:25:38.882 --> 00:25:45.020 - Such properties sit empty most of the year, creating hollowed out neighborhoods where it is impossible 00:25:45.020 --> 00:25:51.337 - to foster relationships with the people with whom we should be able to build actual physical communities, 00:25:51.337 --> 00:25:57.475 - which is to say nothing of how short-term rentals inflate the cost of housing. Council Member Stasberg 00:25:57.475 --> 00:26:03.792 - agreed that it would be in the best interest for the new map not to include Maple Heights and recommended 00:26:03.792 --> 00:26:08.798 - that they postpone consideration of the name change until the next regular session. 00:26:08.898 --> 00:26:16.726 - The motion was approved. The Bloomington City Council will meet again on October the 6th. And that is 00:26:16.726 --> 00:26:23.326 - all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.