- Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman.
- The Bloomington City Council met on January 14th and discussed a resolution that would approve
- recommendations for the Community Development Block Grant funds for 2026. City Clerk Nicole Bolden walked
- through an overview of the resolution. Resolution 2026-02 to approve recommendations for distribution
- of Community Development Block Grant funds for 2026. The synopsis is as follows. The City of Bloomington
- is eligible for an estimated $778,200
- $193 in 2026 Community Development Block Grant funds from the United States Department of Housing and
- Urban Development. This resolution outlines program recommendations from the Citizens Advisory Committee
- and the Redevelopment Commission. Pursuant to federal regulations, CDBG allocations are made across
- the following general program areas, social services programs, physical improvements and administrative services.
- Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development, Anna Killian Hanson, presented the resolution, saying
- that while the grants help spur housing and economic development opportunities, funding can be hard
- to come by. Despite CDBG's success, more than $1.1 billion has been cut from the program since 2001.
- And I have a feeling that we're not done with those cuts. Next slide, please.
- had awards grants to entitlement community grantees to carry out a wide range of community development
- activities directed towards revitalizing neighborhoods, economic development, and providing improved
- community facilities and services. But all activities must meet a national objective.
- All activities must meet one of the following national objectives for the program. Benefit to low and
- moderate income persons, prevent or elimination of slums or blight and or urgent need. Which fulfill
- community development needs that have a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious
- and immediate threat to health or welfare of the community. Hand program manager Matt Sweeney highlighted
- physical improvements that CDBG dollars could help fund.
- We always have to do the contingency language because stated earlier, we never know exactly what our
- allocation is gonna be. So the contingency language for physical improvements is as follows. If CDBG
- funding for physical improvements exceeds $505,890.45, the additional funding will be used to fully
- fund projects in this order. First would be New Hope for Families. Second would be Summit Hill Community
- Development Corporation, BHA.
- Third would be My Sister's Closet and lastly would be Boys and Girls Club. If the CDBG funding for physical
- improvements is less than $505,890.45, funding shall be reduced as follows. The first $12,000 will be
- taken from Summit Hill Community Development Corporation and anything over that will be taken from My
- Sister's Closet.
- Sweeney went on to outline some of the recommendations in the resolution for social services. First
- on my list is Community Kitchen with their free meals program receiving a full ask of $25,000. Next,
- Beacon Inc. for the Friends Place Emergency Shelter for $20,000. Hoosier Hills Food Bank for their food
- distribution program at $20,000 as well.
- Boys and Girls Club for the Ferguson Cresmont Center after-school child care and education programs
- $18,000 and New Hope for Families Child Care and Early Childhood Education $18,000 and finally Middleway
- House for the New Wings Emergency Shelter at $15,744. Killian Hansen responded that these cities should
- quote work smarter not harder end quote when it comes to funding requests.
- I think that if we are able to collaborate on which projects we're funding and prioritize as a group,
- not just with Jack Hopkins independently and CDBG independently, but maybe collaboratively so that we
- can meet everyone's community needs. I think that there are times when projects may be funded by multiple
- organizations and we don't necessarily know about it. So maybe a little bit more collaboration could
- help stretch the dollar a little bit further would be my
- hope but We haven't crossed that bridge and we haven't had to yet So I'm really actually dreading the
- time when the CDBG may or may not get cut Because look we have two to three times the funding requests
- then funding so it is incredibly challenging and our social service agencies really rely heavily on
- this funding every year, but I also think that you know, we are restricted with our projects by what what
- Is applied for so if that we have community needs that aren't getting applications Then we really need
- to be start working smarter about how we're addressing them It's just my personal opinion Mine too.
- Thank you. And I wanted to just bring this up to be cognizant of our situation and hopefully people
- across the political spectrum will Contact their representatives and say this is unacceptable
- This is our tax money. There are people in need. It's unconscionable. It continues to be cut. Councilmember
- Isak Asari said that he would like to see better communication between CDBG and the Jack Hopkins grant program.
- I would just like to say that I know we've had a lot of discussions and I think it might be useful for
- all of us to, you know, continue to maybe work on this, but both the question of how do we share information
- better between Jack Hopkins and CDBG, I know they're on different timelines, but maybe that actually
- might help a little bit in sort of feeding information from CDBG and to Jack Hopkins and vice versa.
- And then similarly, if any of
- My colleagues would like to think about, for example, writing a resolution that we can send once passed
- to our members of Congress and Senate, sort of just showing the support to this and what it's done in
- our community, I think would be a welcome thing to do as a council. The resolution passed by a unanimous
- vote. The next Bloomington City Council meeting will take place on February 4th.
- On January 13th, the Bloomington Board of Public Works met and discussed the city's policy on special
- events and the public right-of-way. Public Works Director Adam Wason presented a proposal which would
- move 4th Street Festivals and other events to Kirkwood Avenue. The policy that we're proposing here
- would apply to special events and the public right-of-way.
- i.e. events that take place on city streets and it does not apply to events that take place in our parks
- or with our parks and recreation department at their facilities. This was co-created with consultation
- with our public safety agencies both here in Bloomington and with the state of Indiana other city departments
- other comparable cities and our community event organizers.
- Several updates of note this establishes three downtown festival footprints for events anticipating
- attendance of 1,000 people or more the application use and temporary parking permit fees per the Bloomington
- Municipal Code chapter 12.08 and 12.10
- Moving forward, there will be a routine annual review of this policy and application and any changes
- will be shared with the Board of Public Works. The three suggested downtown festival locations include
- Kirkwood Avenue, the Courthouse Square, and the Trades District. The board cited public safety concerns
- as the main cause for the change.
- We know not all of the participants in the Forestry Arts Festival agree with trying to move their festival
- to Kirkwood. This is very much public safety in mind. We recognize that we haven't had a major incident of.
- of what we're trying to avoid at 4th Street, but it doesn't mean it can't happen in the future. This
- is why we're taking this approach. It is not to target one festival over others. It's one to try to
- provide consistency for all of our large festivals in the downtown. The 4th Street Art Festival would
- still be permitted to celebrate their 50th anniversary on 4th Street in 2026, but it could be the last time.
- Exception for the 4th Street Arts Festival has been granted for the 20s for 2026 in the policy. The
- event will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year on 4th Street and we want to help accommodate their
- use of 4th Street for this 50th anniversary and in subsequent years would be moved to Kirkwood Avenue.
- Volunteers on the 4th Street Art Festival board addressed their concerns about the new policy. They
- said that the festival has a long tradition in the Bloomington community and various issues could arise
- with the change. Board member Pamela Davidson highlighted possible problems with being located on Kirkwood Avenue.
- The city would like to move the festival to Kirkwood and suggest we avoid the bar blocks. How is that
- even possible when most blocks have a bar? So that would break up the festival with interruptions. The
- flow and continuity would reduce attendees and sales and mar the experience that make it such an exceptional
- art fair. Juliet Roberts, president of the Fourth Street Festival, explained that the public safety
- is essential when it comes to event planning.
- Public safety shade and crowd comfort like you said public safety is of the most the utmost importance
- Patron feedback from our on-site survey this year was clear. We need more shade This act this feedback
- was echoed by comments on our Facebook post yesterday patrons concerned about heat exposure on Kirkwood
- Fourth Street's mature shade trees materially improve safety Comfort and crowd flow during late summer
- heat and allow patrons to spend more times browsing the wares Kirkwood Avenue lacks shade Increasing
- heat exposure and limiting how long patrons can safely remain on site We have had incidents each year
- where patrons have needed medical attention or attention from the firehouse
- to deal with heat stroke or heat exposure. The lack of shade on Kirkwood is my largest concern. The
- Bloomington Board of Public Works will meet in October of 2026 to review this policy. The next Bloomington
- Board of Public Works meeting is January 27th.
- The Richland Township and Town of Ellitsville Reorganization Committee met on January 13th and finalized
- subcommittee responsibilities and members. Town attorney Darla Brown explained the steps to determine
- subcommittee meeting schedules. Somebody needs to put together a comprehensive list of all
- of the subcommittee members with their contact information. So what we had talked about was having
- town supervisors and or individuals from the township trustee also join the board so that they can be
- helpful in explaining what the government does. And I think we leave it to each, this isn't just my
- opinion, leave it to each individual subcommittee to decide how often you meet.
- Committee member Mike Corman asked how Bloomington's 2017 annexation attempt could affect the Ellisville
- reorganization if Bloomington wins its case in the Indiana Supreme Court. Ellis said that the committee
- should continue planning the reorganization with the entirety of Richland Township, regardless of that
- outcome. We can adjust if the court rules. I mean, right now Bloomington's lost at the appellate
- They've lost at the trial. So, I mean, I don't want to assume anything, but I'm thinking, why would
- we leave those people of Richland Township out in the wind? The committee agreed to discuss map boundaries
- at future meetings. The committee then moved on to discuss the reorganization website contract. Ellis
- says the reorganization committee needs a website for the public to easily access information. The biggest
- thing is we just need this
- on the website. Most of the links will be from the Town website. Videos will come from the YouTube channel
- that Dawn has set up with the Township, so they'll have a one-stop shop for everything, including the
- minutes and discussions we've had
- on this. The committee approved the website contract. The town of Ellitsville will pay the $1,500 contract
- with money from the local income tax economic development fund. The website will also have a link to
- information about the Sheridan Adams township reconciliation, which town manager Mike Farmer says was
- a similar situation to this reorganization. I feel like we're on the right road. I left there feeling
- very good about
- our situation because it was so similar to their situation and they were on a pretty tight schedule
- as well. The next meeting of the Richland Township and Town of Ellisville Reorganization Committee will
- be on January 21st.
- The Ellisville town council met on January 12th. The council members started the meeting by electing
- Scott Oldham as president and Dan Swafford as vice president. The council then moved on to a presentation
- by deputy fire marshal, Shane Jarrett, regarding community risk reduction. Jarrett explained that CRR
- aims to identify and reduce local fire hazards through education, prevention and community partnership.
- Community risk reduction,
- is a strategic approach aimed at lowering all hazards within the community. You have to identify the
- hazards, you prioritize the hazards, and then you implement programs with the resources that you have
- available to you or requesting resources to help reduce their occurrence and impact on a local level.
- It emphasizes collaboration amongst community members to address specific hazards
- enhance preparedness and improve resilience against the disasters. Jarrett then gave a proclamation
- designating January 19th through the 25th as Community Risk Reduction Week.
- Next, the Council discussed wastewater treatment plant updates, highlighting the upcoming replacement
- of the plant's system control and data acquisition system. The original system is from 1997. The lowest
- price for the replacement is around $105,000. Utilities Director Jeff Farmer explained the benefits
- of the new system. Once this panel is purchased and
- We get it in. You will, I mean, we'll see. I'll be presenting you a quote from Wessler Engineering to
- actually do all the integration. Term price includes computers, software, licensing, and all the stuff
- that goes to make this all happen. And then they integrate all the equipment into it. We've also prepared
- it that way. We can also integrate
- Our water towers, water booster stations, lift stations can all be on one SCADA system and that you
- can get on your phone, your laptop, your computer, anybody can look at it, but only certain people can
- use the controls. Next, the council discussed a proposal to have Baker-Tilley conduct a financial study
- for establishing a fire protection territory between the town of Ellisville and Richland Township.
- Fire Chief Kevin Patton explained the territory will not be needed if the Ellitsville Richland Township
- reorganization passes. If the consolidation goes through the territory just is assimilated into the
- consolidation and no changes. If the consolidation was not to go through then Ellitsville Fire still
- provides fire protection to Richland Township just like we've been doing.
- Councilmember Scott Oldham said that the Town of Ellitsville has been providing fire protection for
- Richland Township for 79 years. Patton then stated that he has not had any complaints with the service.
- The next Ellitsville Town Council meeting will be on January 26th.
- The Monroe County Commissioners met on January 15th and discussed the NDOT Community Crossing Matching
- Grant. Highway Director Lisa Ridge said Monroe County was awarded $1 million for paving projects in
- 2026. Ridge said the grants were very competitive this year because of funding cuts. It was very competitive
- this time around. The funding, I believe, used to be around $350 million that was given out for this program.
- 100 million. I think there is a house bill out now to try and increase that back up to maybe 175 million.
- So we're very fortunate. I know a lot of local partners around here, entities that we work with surrounding
- counties were not awarded. So we're very fortunate that we actually were a success in this award.
- Commissioner Julie Thomas said that the city of Bloomington did not get the grant this year. Thomas
- then highlighted that the voter registration office will temporarily move to the second floor of the
- Showers building starting on February 9th. I just want to make sure I understood everything that's happening
- and that the public more importantly understood everything that's happening. A lot of moving parts here.
- Yeah, for sure. And it would be nice to do some signage now even just to let people know that that's
- coming because
- You know, voter registration is an important thing before in an election year. So we gotta make sure
- that folks have that opportunity to get that done. The current voter registration office is undergoing
- flooring renovations. Commissioner Thomas closed the meeting by paying respects to longtime Perry Township
- trustee, Dan Combs, who died last week at the age of 73. We have lost a key
- member of local government. Dan Carpcombs was the Perry Township trustee for 40 years. My gosh. Amazing,
- amazing guy. I mean just so wise, so knowledgeable and he listened and he learned and he just he got
- things done for the people and so we're
- really, really going to miss him and send out our deepest sympathies to his family and all of his friends
- in the community, which are numerous. So we are going to miss him. Commissioner Jodi Madeer acknowledged
- Combs' teaching career at Bloomington High School South, saying it's a huge loss in the community. I
- had people reach out who were in
- their teens, 20s, 30s, who had been his students. And his loss is felt as a teacher, as a person.
- I mean, he was really the beating heart of our, one of the beating hearts of our community in so many
- ways. And his loss is very deeply and keenly felt. Yeah, it's huge. It is huge. And it's something we're
- going to be feeling for quite some time. Yes, irreplaceable. Yep. Yep.
- Um, so, uh, but I stopped by and talked to staff briefly this week and they're doing well and as can
- be expected. Um, but it's, it is a huge loss and, um, we encourage folks to share their memories. Um,
- Dan comes as teacher, Dan comes as township trustee, Dan comes as all around great guy who understood
- nature in ways that most people never will.
- I've learned a lot from him, so I'm really gonna miss him. The Monroe County Board of Commissioners
- will meet again on January 22nd. The Bloomington Arts Commission met on January 14th to discuss budgeting
- and projects for the upcoming year. Assistant Director for the Arts, Holly Warren, discussed funds allocated
- to public art projects. In the past, we've had $16,500 for public art projects.
- That money still exists in our budget. I just don't want to necessarily put it here until we come up
- with a real idea for spending it. Warren suggested treating this money as emergency reserve until the
- commission can determine how to use the funds. What kind of situation we might be in with organizations
- funding being pulled by
- just state and federal and other agencies that we might want to be prepared to make quick moves on the
- way we were kind of able to at the end of the last year. Warren also revealed the launch of a public
- art database in collaboration with Indiana University's GIS department. Elena, who was my O'Neill practicum
- student, helped me revitalize it and worked with our IT GIS department to do not just a revamped database,
- which is really a spreadsheet,
- of artwork, but also creates a publicly accessible map that folks can use to do self-guided tours and
- just learn more information. The database contains 20 of Bloomington's most recent and beloved artworks.
- It will be launched at the end of January. The next Bloomington Arts Commission meeting will be held
- on February 11th. And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.