WEBVTT 00:00:05.090 --> 00:00:07.582 - and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. 00:00:08.066 --> 00:00:14.059 - The Monroe County Board of Commissioners announced that they will indefinitely postpone the eviction 00:00:14.059 --> 00:00:20.112 - of a homeless encampment on the county-owned Thompson property during their meeting on December 11th. 00:00:20.112 --> 00:00:26.402 - This signals that they are abandoning the original December 15th deadline to evict people from the county 00:00:26.402 --> 00:00:32.573 - property. Commissioner Julie Thomas said Sheriff Ruben Marte refused to enforce the proposal. She added 00:00:32.573 --> 00:00:38.032 - that while she sees the encampments as trespassing, she recognizes that this is a community 00:00:38.032 --> 00:00:45.294 - that needs to be addressed. We fervently believe people are safer and healthier when they live indoors, 00:00:45.294 --> 00:00:52.555 - especially during the winter months. We have worked with Health Net, the City of Bloomington, and local 00:00:52.555 --> 00:00:59.538 - not-for-profits and community groups to identify reasonable accommodations for people who currently 00:00:59.538 --> 00:01:05.054 - reside on the Thompson property. Let's be clear, there are people trespassing. 00:01:05.154 --> 00:01:14.031 - on county property and there are no appropriate public health sanitary facilities present. The sheriff 00:01:14.031 --> 00:01:22.650 - has indicated that he will not remove people from the Thompson property at this juncture. Our hands 00:01:22.650 --> 00:01:31.269 - are tied. We fear the worst, but we hope for the best. There is a broader community issue that this 00:01:31.269 --> 00:01:32.734 - is a symptom of. 00:01:32.994 --> 00:01:41.680 - We will be part of the solution, but it will require that we, along with the county council and the 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:50.713 - city of Bloomington, the mayor's office and the city council need to work together. This is a community 00:01:50.713 --> 00:01:53.406 - problem and we recognize that. 00:01:53.634 --> 00:01:59.904 - During public comment, executive director of hotels for homeless, Katie Norris warned the commissioners 00:01:59.904 --> 00:02:06.174 - about the dangers of evicting encampments in the cold weather. I come to you today to desperately plead 00:02:06.174 --> 00:02:12.263 - for an extension on this eviction, not on behalf of the dozens of people who are currently living at 00:02:12.263 --> 00:02:12.926 - this camp. 00:02:13.570 --> 00:02:19.806 - You have already heard and understand the devastating and potentially deadly consequences this eviction 00:02:19.806 --> 00:02:25.982 - will have on them. You know that their chances of survival significantly decrease instantly upon their 00:02:25.982 --> 00:02:32.218 - eviction. How them losing the safest and most stable place they have found and worked hard to call home 00:02:32.218 --> 00:02:38.214 - will put them at greater risk for being robbed, raped, and even murdered right here at night on the 00:02:38.214 --> 00:02:43.550 - streets of Bloomington. That's not up for question. That's just reality. Not to mention, 00:02:43.810 --> 00:02:49.609 - that if the eviction takes place on Monday the 15th that the two days before when they will have to 00:02:49.609 --> 00:02:55.871 - prepare pack and leave the temperature and leave the temperatures are going to be negative one and negative 00:02:55.871 --> 00:03:01.728 - three respectively. Today I am begging for an extension on the eviction on behalf of the rest of our 00:03:01.728 --> 00:03:02.366 - community. 00:03:02.498 --> 00:03:09.847 - There is not nearly enough time today to explain the exponential negative effects our community will 00:03:09.847 --> 00:03:17.124 - suffer by displacing just over two dozen more people. Camp resident Matt Frost urged county leaders 00:03:17.124 --> 00:03:24.546 - not to issue an eviction under frigid temperatures. This whole thing has been very nerve wracking and 00:03:24.546 --> 00:03:32.478 - overwhelming for me because I go back to my tent every day and not knowing what the future is going to hold. 00:03:32.834 --> 00:03:41.362 - I'm seeing that you guys are wanting to see this eviction through not only during the winter, but so 00:03:41.362 --> 00:03:49.805 - close to the Christmas season. When we were always taught about goodwill towards our fellow man and 00:03:49.805 --> 00:03:59.262 - all this stuff in the season where we're supposed to be positive and uplifting towards the people that we have. 00:03:59.394 --> 00:04:07.512 - that are less fortunate than us. Frost continued saying an extension would remove added pressure on 00:04:07.512 --> 00:04:15.793 - him to figure out where to relocate under current weather conditions. I just. I just want a chance to 00:04:15.793 --> 00:04:23.911 - just be able to have note that I can at least sit up, sleep, stay at my tent and not. At least have 00:04:23.911 --> 00:04:26.590 - the chance to be if we get this. 00:04:26.786 --> 00:04:42.455 - that would help me get some time to get my life together. That would help me get the stuff that I need, 00:04:42.455 --> 00:04:55.262 - because I'm in a position where I know I don't want to be in this spot all the time. 00:04:55.746 --> 00:05:05.688 - But all I know is it's been overwhelming, as you can see. I'm stumbling my words here. If we can just 00:05:05.688 --> 00:05:15.631 - get this extension, it will be a lot of pressure off me. And I know it would be a lot of pressure off 00:05:15.631 --> 00:05:25.086 - the rest of the occupants out there. I know I just want an opportunity, this opportunity to just 00:05:25.634 --> 00:05:32.135 - let you guys realize how hard it's been on me. And I'm sure it's just as hard on the people or the rest 00:05:32.135 --> 00:05:38.385 - of the property. I figure I might not be able to speak for all of them personally, but I wanted you 00:05:38.385 --> 00:05:44.761 - guys to at least hear a little bit from one person's experience. The commissioners indicated verbally 00:05:44.761 --> 00:05:51.074 - that they would not pursue the planned December 15th eviction. No formal action was taken. The issue 00:05:51.074 --> 00:05:55.262 - could be brought to a vote at their next meeting on December 18th. 00:05:56.258 --> 00:06:02.870 - The Ellitsville Town Council met on December 8th and selected members for the Ellitsville Richland Township 00:06:02.870 --> 00:06:08.992 - Reorganization Committee. The committee will be tasked with making a plan for the reorganization by 00:06:08.992 --> 00:06:11.870 - June to be voted on by the public in November. 00:06:12.386 --> 00:06:18.204 - Town Manager Mike Farmer gathered a list of 22 names for the council to choose from. Council member 00:06:18.204 --> 00:06:24.196 - Dan Swafford expressed concern that he had not seen the list before the meeting and that Farmer should 00:06:24.196 --> 00:06:30.131 - have sent it to him earlier. Farmer said that he was caught off guard by Swafford's grievance because 00:06:30.131 --> 00:06:36.123 - he had vetted the names to make sure that they fit the council's criteria. The council gave Farmer the 00:06:36.123 --> 00:06:41.534 - authority to vet the list in a prior email exchange. The reason I have all these names still 00:06:41.634 --> 00:06:48.135 - is because these all seem to be names we can use for the subcommittee. And so I didn't toss, I mean, 00:06:48.135 --> 00:06:55.023 - it didn't have to be to toss any or to even, but they all fit the criteria to be on one of the committees, 00:06:55.023 --> 00:07:01.910 - so. Swafford thought the council should have had more to say in compiling the list. Kind of what I thought 00:07:01.910 --> 00:07:08.926 - too would be there'd be questions asked from these people and have them respond to us and we all look at it. 00:07:09.282 --> 00:07:16.147 - and get that kind of response and go from there. Well, I mean, this is kind of like an interview process 00:07:16.147 --> 00:07:22.750 - that we are speaking for our constituents out here that have elected us to their ward. So we have to 00:07:22.750 --> 00:07:29.419 - vote for their people to come in, our people that we want in there. You're going to give us a list of 00:07:29.419 --> 00:07:33.342 - 22 names. I don't know who this person is from that person. 00:07:33.442 --> 00:07:39.451 - Farmer said that he did not know that the council would want names and qualifications to be presented 00:07:39.451 --> 00:07:45.402 - at the meeting. Swafford said farmers should have reached out before the vote. I want to know what's 00:07:45.402 --> 00:07:51.411 - going on and how we pick those people. If I'd have known that any time between now and two weeks ago, 00:07:51.411 --> 00:07:52.766 - I could have told you. 00:07:52.866 --> 00:07:57.868 - When this all started, I wanted to keep in the loop of everything. I am not calling you. You can call 00:07:57.868 --> 00:08:02.820 - me. I'm busy taking care of this. I understand that. I've been busy every day of two weeks. But what 00:08:02.820 --> 00:08:07.871 - are you going to do? And you've never called me once. You've never called me once. Mike, I have called 00:08:07.871 --> 00:08:12.823 - you and you have never called me back, but that's hearsay. That's BS. We have got to make a decision 00:08:12.823 --> 00:08:17.776 - here. So you're giving me a bunch of names that I have no reason why they've been picked, who picked 00:08:17.776 --> 00:08:19.198 - them, or what they're about. 00:08:19.458 --> 00:08:26.448 - I mean, I think we all need to know what's going on. Councilmember William Ellis gave his opinion regarding 00:08:26.448 --> 00:08:33.050 - the issue, saying Swafford should have gotten involved sooner. I called him. Scott called him because 00:08:33.050 --> 00:08:39.716 - we know as a town manager, he is not going to be sitting there picking up the phone. And as an elected 00:08:39.716 --> 00:08:46.317 - official, we're not there to be drug across the line and told exactly what to do. That is not what an 00:08:46.317 --> 00:08:47.806 - elected official does. 00:08:47.938 --> 00:08:54.315 - We're supposed to be self-starters. We don't sit there and have to beg for permission to get these things. 00:08:54.315 --> 00:09:00.514 - I asked, Mike, did you send any of these out for me unsolicited? No. No, I asked. Council member Pamela 00:09:00.514 --> 00:09:06.593 - Samples said they would get nowhere by fighting and started asking about the duties of the committee. 00:09:06.593 --> 00:09:12.852 - Farmer said that the committee would make a plan for the reorganization independent of Richland Township 00:09:12.852 --> 00:09:14.878 - and the Ellitsville Town Council. 00:09:15.138 --> 00:09:22.968 - At points, they'll have to be work sessions so the two boards can interject with their thoughts and 00:09:22.968 --> 00:09:30.955 - ideas. And that'll be where this directions might change here and there. So I think there'll be a lot 00:09:30.955 --> 00:09:38.785 - of information passed back and forth. And that's what the working sessions will be about is to help 00:09:38.785 --> 00:09:42.622 - the reorganization committee get a feel for what 00:09:42.978 --> 00:09:49.271 - the general public or at least the representatives of the general public might want in there. The council 00:09:49.271 --> 00:09:55.326 - chose Mike Kornman, Andrew Henry and William Ellis to be the town's representatives on the committee. 00:09:56.290 --> 00:10:03.565 - The Monroe County Public Library Board of Trustees met on December 10th. During his monthly report, 00:10:03.565 --> 00:10:11.059 - Library Director Greer Carson said October saw the highest digital collection usage since the pandemic 00:10:11.059 --> 00:10:18.552 - in January of 2021. A total of 52,625 digital media were borrowed, including e-books, e-magazines, and 00:10:18.552 --> 00:10:26.046 - audio books. Additionally, he said that physical and digital media use outpaced the last six Octobers. 00:10:26.242 --> 00:10:32.642 - One of our biggest stories for 2025 has been the strong circulation statistics we've seen particularly 00:10:32.642 --> 00:10:35.998 - in digital circulation for the second month in a row. 00:10:36.162 --> 00:10:41.862 - Overall circulation was stronger last month than any previous November going back to 2020. As we prepare 00:10:41.862 --> 00:10:47.725 - to adopt a new collection analytics tool and in thinking about some of the patron use and seasonal patterns 00:10:47.725 --> 00:10:53.208 - you all asked about last month, we'll be looking closer at these circulation stats in 2026 to better 00:10:53.208 --> 00:10:59.179 - understand correlation, causation, and some platform specific trends that are driving our digital circulation 00:10:59.179 --> 00:11:04.717 - increases. But with that said, the bottom line is that our patrons are making greater and greater use 00:11:04.717 --> 00:11:06.128 - of our digital collection 00:11:06.128 --> 00:11:11.850 - and that our suite of digital content platforms is meeting the needs of more and more patrons. So that's 00:11:11.850 --> 00:11:17.573 - just a great thing. Carson also spoke about the Downtown Library Branch's partnership with Heading Home, 00:11:17.573 --> 00:11:22.750 - a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening housing security and ending homelessness in the region. 00:11:22.882 --> 00:11:28.661 - As we've shared previously, our partnership with Heading Home of South Central Indiana involves a diversion 00:11:28.661 --> 00:11:34.012 - and prevention case manager being stationed on site here at the Downtown Library. Our case manager, 00:11:34.012 --> 00:11:39.363 - Shaquay Norris, has been working on site and is starting to connect MCPL patrons who are at risk of 00:11:39.363 --> 00:11:44.821 - losing their housing with local agencies to help them develop a plan to avoid becoming homeless. This 00:11:44.821 --> 00:11:50.547 - position is funded by a generous grant from the Lilly Foundation to the Monroe County Community Foundation 00:11:50.547 --> 00:11:52.848 - and Heading Home of South Central Indiana. 00:11:52.848 --> 00:11:59.547 - The $7 million grant is aimed at reducing instances of homelessness in Monroe County over the next five 00:11:59.547 --> 00:12:06.117 - years. We'll have a full update on this partnership and on the work that Chiquet is doing in probably 00:12:06.117 --> 00:12:12.107 - quarter two of 2026. Carson shared updates on the library's pest control efforts, which have 00:12:12.107 --> 00:12:18.613 - shown improvements specifically in bed bug infestations. Back in 2023, MCPL developed its own policy 00:12:18.613 --> 00:12:22.800 - and procedures for mitigating pest infestations. Over these past 00:12:22.800 --> 00:12:28.622 - Over the last three years, we've refined and expanded the procedures to identify and eradicate bed bugs 00:12:28.622 --> 00:12:34.333 - in particular, which are sometimes found in return library books as well as materials on our shelves. 00:12:34.333 --> 00:12:39.931 - Now with three years of practice and success under their belts, our Circulation Services Department 00:12:39.931 --> 00:12:45.586 - gave a presentation at this year's ILF Conference on how MCPL manages this challenge that all public 00:12:45.586 --> 00:12:51.240 - libraries now face. This is the first time that our Circulation Services Department has presented at 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:52.752 - a professional conference, 00:12:52.752 --> 00:12:59.505 - proud to celebrate their great work and well-earned accolades. Director of Finance, Gary Latalier, requested 00:12:59.505 --> 00:13:06.073 - an annual renewal to use the library for El Centro Comunal Latino, which provides services for the Latino 00:13:06.073 --> 00:13:12.455 - community in Bloomington. Board member Nancy Van Allen said that she was confused about the aim of the 00:13:12.455 --> 00:13:18.713 - culture center. Board member Jennifer Whitley provided a more detailed explanation, stating that the 00:13:18.713 --> 00:13:22.430 - business helps connect people to services in the community. 00:13:22.882 --> 00:13:29.876 - they kind of are able to connect people to whatever resource they may need. I know of this because I 00:13:29.876 --> 00:13:37.215 - used to use it a lot to promote the speech therapy services that I was providing, but they're a wonderful 00:13:37.215 --> 00:13:44.555 - resource for our Latino community. Whitley said that having El Centro at the library can introduce people 00:13:44.555 --> 00:13:46.494 - to the library's resources. 00:13:46.626 --> 00:13:53.515 - For families that are new to our community, getting them here to El Centro and then getting them here 00:13:53.515 --> 00:13:59.998 - and introducing them to our library is just phenomenal. The contract was approved by the board. 00:14:00.354 --> 00:14:07.353 - Next Director of Human Resources, Becky Throckmorton, introduced a retirement program being considered 00:14:07.353 --> 00:14:14.487 - for library employees called Hoosier Start. Throckmorton explained that this would replace the library's 00:14:14.487 --> 00:14:21.758 - existing 403B plan, but would not replace their Public Employees Retirement Fund, otherwise known as PERF. 00:14:22.050 --> 00:14:28.761 - We have been reviewing some of the benefits that we offer to staff. And one of the opportunities that 00:14:28.761 --> 00:14:35.341 - we saw as a chance to improve some benefits and offer additional retirement savings to folks was to 00:14:35.341 --> 00:14:42.183 - change our retirement plan in addition to PERF. So PERF is the one that you guys signed to renew that's 00:14:42.183 --> 00:14:47.710 - the employer contribution. Employees wanna contribute money as well to help retire. 00:14:47.874 --> 00:14:55.288 - or help save for retirement. And so we currently offer a mechanism to do that. But there's some barriers 00:14:55.288 --> 00:15:02.419 - to entry. There's not great participation. There's not a lot of education that we're able to do with 00:15:02.419 --> 00:15:08.350 - that plan. And Hoosier Start is a program that's a statewide program. It's a bigger 00:15:08.642 --> 00:15:15.279 - pool of employers that use that. There's a lot more education. They have a specific person for our region 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:21.540 - who would come out and educate staff on how to save for retirement and plan for retirement and what 00:15:21.540 --> 00:15:28.302 - those mechanisms look like. They also are able to have a much lower fee for participating in the retirement 00:15:28.302 --> 00:15:34.814 - plan. And they also offer a couple of different options that would meet folks where they really need to 00:15:34.978 --> 00:15:42.310 - be saving for retirement. Throckmorton explained that the program has pre-tax and post-tax options and 00:15:42.310 --> 00:15:49.642 - an annual fee of $54, which would be paid by the employee. There is no fee paid by employers using the 00:15:49.642 --> 00:15:55.550 - program. She shared more about how widespread the program is in Indiana. They have 00:15:56.482 --> 00:16:02.845 - 60 plus counties out of the 90 counties in Indiana. They have fire departments. They've got public libraries 00:16:02.845 --> 00:16:08.859 - that all participate. And so it's something that a lot of employers are offering that we thought would 00:16:08.859 --> 00:16:14.755 - make sense to offer for our folks as well. And then they also have the option for part-time folks to 00:16:14.755 --> 00:16:20.826 - be able to save for retirement, which is something we can't offer now. And so that would be a voluntary 00:16:20.826 --> 00:16:24.446 - enrollment for folks if they did want to save for retirement. 00:16:25.186 --> 00:16:30.976 - We are just starting the discussion, so we still have some work on our part to do. We are going to ask 00:16:30.976 --> 00:16:36.654 - them, we have already asked for contacts of other public libraries who use it so we can talk to them 00:16:36.654 --> 00:16:42.388 - and hear a little bit about how it's going and do a little bit more research. But wanted to start the 00:16:42.388 --> 00:16:47.166 - discussion with you all, see what questions you have and just kind of go from there. 00:16:47.298 --> 00:16:54.094 - Later in the meeting, Martin O'Neill, manager of Community Access Television Services, or CATS, provided 00:16:54.094 --> 00:17:00.695 - a department update. O'Neill explained that CATS is looking into using Memnon, a digital preservation 00:17:00.695 --> 00:17:07.556 - company, to help digitize their legacy tapes. Digitizing the government meetings would cost approximately 00:17:07.556 --> 00:17:14.157 - $240,000. He emphasized that they are not making a decision yet, but that it is important to consider 00:17:14.157 --> 00:17:17.264 - in maintaining the archival collection at CATS. 00:17:17.264 --> 00:17:24.541 - We feel good about them. They're here in time. We've met with them. It feels good. They have given us 00:17:24.541 --> 00:17:31.748 - a contract, but of course, we'd have Tom look that over and everything else. And again, this is just 00:17:31.748 --> 00:17:39.310 - something that we're looking into. But we know that we are contractually obligated to keep the government 00:17:39.310 --> 00:17:46.445 - stuff archived and make it available for folks online. So that's one thing. And then the tapes, our 00:17:46.445 --> 00:17:47.230 - degree are 00:17:47.554 --> 00:17:54.025 - degrading and every year that they're there, that degradation just keeps accelerating and we'd hate 00:17:54.025 --> 00:18:00.497 - to get to the stage where, you know, we have dust shitting on the shelves. The Monroe County Public 00:18:00.497 --> 00:18:04.574 - Library Board of Trustees will meet again on January 21, 2026. 00:18:05.602 --> 00:18:11.124 - The Bloomington Arts Commission met on December 10th. First, Assistant Director for the Arts, 00:18:11.124 --> 00:18:17.117 - Holly Warren, said the Arts Commission went over budget this year, pulling the remaining dollars from 00:18:17.117 --> 00:18:18.174 - the general fund. 00:18:18.370 --> 00:18:27.086 - Four grants, we spent a total of $179,483. Woohoo! Oops, we went over a little. We went over, our budget 00:18:27.086 --> 00:18:35.387 - was $167,537, and we spent an extra $11,000 and many change on budgets. And that overage just comes 00:18:35.387 --> 00:18:43.688 - from my general fund. I just pulled some money out of there. Again, I think we just all agreed that 00:18:43.688 --> 00:18:48.336 - just given the nature of things, especially for our 501 00:18:48.336 --> 00:18:54.559 - and C3s that are really feeling the cuts from the Indiana Arts Commission and other federal funders 00:18:54.559 --> 00:19:00.906 - that they deserve that extra funding. Also thanks to the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association who 00:19:00.906 --> 00:19:07.688 - gave us a little more than their $50,000 allocation this year to cover some of those funds. Warren explained 00:19:07.688 --> 00:19:13.911 - why $16,500 set aside for public art went unused. This $16,500 that we allocated for public art and 00:19:13.911 --> 00:19:15.902 - grants, we have not spent that. 00:19:16.034 --> 00:19:22.099 - And I don't think we're going to have an opportunity to get that out the door before the end of the 00:19:22.099 --> 00:19:28.163 - year. And I just want to acknowledge that the committee that was assigned the task of deciding what 00:19:28.163 --> 00:19:34.713 - to do with that funds this year has been through a lot this year. We had an unexpected change in leadership 00:19:34.713 --> 00:19:41.202 - and some other big public art projects that kept us from having the time to do this. With your permission, 00:19:41.202 --> 00:19:42.718 - what I would ask is just 00:19:42.818 --> 00:19:50.453 - allowing me to use that $16,500 to pay for some other arts expenses that I need to cover before the 00:19:50.453 --> 00:19:53.278 - end of the year. Would that be okay? 00:19:53.730 --> 00:19:59.490 - with you all. Do you want to ask questions and criticize me heavily? Nope. No. Okay. Awesome. 00:19:59.490 --> 00:20:05.925 - Thank you. And I'm happy to give you a tally of how that is spent in the new year. One commission member 00:20:05.925 --> 00:20:12.175 - asked how the money would be used. Warren said it will help cover some public art expenses, including 00:20:12.175 --> 00:20:18.303 - traffic boxes and arts grants. Money to pay vendors that helped us with some of the traffic box art 00:20:18.303 --> 00:20:23.696 - projects and other art projects. I will probably spend some of that money too on grants 00:20:23.696 --> 00:20:29.640 - both for our BAC grants, but also we give pretty large grants to Constellation Stage and Screen in the 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:35.931 - Buzzkirk Chumlee Theater to run our city-owned facilities every year. They can always use a little kickback. 00:20:35.931 --> 00:20:41.702 - It takes a lot of money to operate those facilities. We're very lucky to have them doing that work. 00:20:41.702 --> 00:20:47.819 - So I would most likely give some of that money to them as well. Later, public art interim chair Christina 00:20:47.819 --> 00:20:53.648 - Elam gave an update on the signature public artwork for the Bloomington Convention Center expansion. 00:20:53.648 --> 00:21:01.779 - Elam said that the city combed through about 180 applications for the artwork and narrowed it to eight 00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:09.831 - finalists. Since we last met, we were able to close out the applications. I think we received 180 for 00:21:09.831 --> 00:21:17.962 - the call. Through Holly, like doing a first sweep, she was able to get that down to 60, and the Public 00:21:17.962 --> 00:21:23.646 - Arts Subcommittee, Betsy, thank you, looked through these applications. 00:21:23.970 --> 00:21:30.646 - And then we were able to kind of narrow it down even more. And so today we were able to meet with, 00:21:30.646 --> 00:21:37.793 - I guess, the CIB recommendation board and kind of get it down to like eight or whatever. So that's pretty 00:21:37.793 --> 00:21:44.604 - exciting. It's a lot of talented artists. It was not easy. And we're still finalizing things, making 00:21:44.604 --> 00:21:50.942 - sure that we're confident about the people that are going to be moving on to the final round. 00:21:51.042 --> 00:21:57.065 - So that's pretty exciting. Another commission member asked about the process behind selecting the final 00:21:57.065 --> 00:22:02.973 - candidate. Elam said that they ultimately want five candidates with a few alternates. Is there a list 00:22:02.973 --> 00:22:08.881 - somewhere of the eight? Yeah, I'd like to see that. Yeah, I will. So what I'm gonna do, so we kind of 00:22:08.881 --> 00:22:14.846 - like today we looked at the top applicants and it was actually really cool. I think there was a lot of 00:22:15.682 --> 00:22:21.978 - alignment between what the recommendation committee was gravitating towards and what the arts commissioners 00:22:21.978 --> 00:22:27.867 - gravitated towards. So that made it easier. And so what we kind of agreed on, Christina, Rob, and I, 00:22:27.867 --> 00:22:33.813 - we've seen each other many times today. And what we agreed on was we took that group and we asked the 00:22:33.813 --> 00:22:39.643 - recommendation committee today to kind of categorize people as A, B, or C. So A being like definite 00:22:39.643 --> 00:22:45.648 - finalists, Bs being maybes or alternates, and Cs being like we love y'all, but this is not the moment. 00:22:45.648 --> 00:22:50.927 - So I'm gonna share that list back with the CIB recommendation committee just so they can have and be 00:22:50.927 --> 00:22:56.207 - prepared for a discussion on Monday, but I'd happily share that with the public arts subcommittee as 00:22:56.207 --> 00:23:01.643 - well, that makes sense. Warren admitted that she's nervous about the community's reaction to the public 00:23:01.643 --> 00:23:06.975 - artwork. However, she maintained that backlash to art is inevitable. There have definitely been a lot 00:23:06.975 --> 00:23:12.254 - of conversations about, well, someone's gonna be mad. Like, you know? And I think that's also the... 00:23:12.546 --> 00:23:20.796 - It's part of public art. If everyone was happy, I think that would be a failure. I just... I swore I 00:23:20.796 --> 00:23:28.965 - would never be involved with public art. The Bloomington Arts Commission will meet again on January 00:23:28.965 --> 00:23:37.950 - 14th, 2026. And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.