- Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Richland Township and Town of Ellitsville
- Reorganization Committee met on February 4th and heard subcommittee updates. Subcommittees for Parks,
- Recreation and Cemeteries as well as Planning and Zoning both presented their meeting dates. Subcommittee
- member Jim Perry highlighted timelines for Parks, Recreation and Cemeteries during his report.
- One reason why we're in a little bit of a hurry is because the Reorganization Committee wants our report,
- I think, by the 4th of March, is it? The Reorganization Committee plan is expected to be finalized by
- April 1st. The committee moved on to discuss the maps for election districts. Committee member Andrew
- Henry asked about the details. I found helpful on the Shetland document that pointed out
- that only the county commissioners have the authority to establish voter precinct boundaries and that
- the creation of these maps could result in split voter districts. Thinking through what that's going
- to mean, especially if we find ourselves not consistently on the same page about the whole process as
- the county commissioners, do we anticipate that that could present a significant obstacle? That I would
- not think so. I've not seen any, pretty much they know that by law they recommend, if I'm not mistaken,
- the precinct boundaries
- as close as possible, so it would probably be the election board that would end up doing that, and the
- county commissioners would sign, they've done it before for Ellitsville when we had some out, and it
- was just going through the surveyor and saying, here's where the borders are, here's where the precincts
- are, do we need to move them over a street or whatever? I think it was last done in 2017 when I was
- on the election board.
- During public comment, community member Kathy Wheeler asked for a recap of the committee's actions.
- Ellis gave a rundown of the committee and its responsibilities. At the state level, there's been talk,
- as far as I can remember, at least since 2006, of eliminating townships, consolidating townships, meaning
- you have one smaller township, one larger one, put them together. That sometimes works, but sometimes
- you're going to have
- townships that have different points of view on things, and it doesn't work. So when we're looking at
- this, we're like Ellisville and Richland worked together for 79 years when it came to fire protection.
- We have a shared history and a shared vision of growth. So instead of changes at the state level causing
- us to have to react, we thought we'd be proactive first.
- Ellis emphasized that the reorganization is not an annexation, saying the decision will be voted on
- by the public. He said the reorganization will allow the community to grow to support the public without
- overwhelming the infrastructure. He clarified that the reorganization will not change anyone's address
- or zip code. Committee member Dawn Durnall further clarified that residents will not lose or gain any
- services if the reorganization passes. There will be different
- tax rates for the town and the rural people. Those of us in the township that are not in town, we still
- are not gonna get brush pickup. We're not gonna get whatever is offered to the residents within the
- current town that we don't currently have. Those are not gonna be forced on us. They probably are not
- even gonna be offered. No, you will not lose any services.
- Subcommittee member Kevin Ferris added that the state also has to approve the plan before it can be
- implemented. William Ellis stated later in the meeting that the reorganization would cause a slight
- increase in taxes. He estimated about a 0.05% increase. If the subcommittees and the public say, you
- know what, we want more services than we have, and we're willing to pay for it. But the goal is not
- money, because we're trying to make this as close to
- revenue neutral for the taxpayer, the people in the township is possible. And because we wanna really
- open the industry of new growth, where when new stuff comes in, they can be at the higher rate. And
- one of the biggest things I hear from town residents all the time, we do not wanna have to pay for new
- growth. Well, the way you do that is have smart growth, growth that is commercial, light industrial.
- We're not necessarily attracting any,
- but we're not gonna stop that if you have 100 acres and wanna sell it. It's not our job to tell you
- what you can do with your land, to an extent, as long as it doesn't affect your neighbor. So to answer
- your question, there's a lot of pieces to that, but yes, this is a good way for us to say we have our
- own identity, it's a like identity, we go back generations of the two. Ellisville is Richland Township,
- you know, we're fully in the township. Actually, I think we have a little bit in Bean Blossom now,
- but for most of its history, it has been in Richland Township. The committee restated that
- all the information is available on the reorganization website. Committee members apologized that Facebook
- was their main method of communication with the public. The next meeting of the Richland Township and
- Town of Ellitsville Reorganization Committee will be on February 18th.
- The Bloomington City Council met on February 4th and discussed suspending the city's outdoor dining
- program, which closes Kirkwood Avenue to car traffic from the month of April to November. Economic and
- Sustainable Development Director Jane Coopersmith told the council she believes the best path forward
- is to pause the program for one year.
- The initial approach to this program for 2026 based on communication between the legal teams was for
- ESD to simply update the 2026 guidelines for the Board of Public Works However, it has been determined
- that the more appropriate way forward is to activate section 7 of ordinance 2502 which gives the city
- engineer the authority to temporarily or permanently Suspend all or parts of the outdoor dining program
- So the city engineer will submit a statement to council and the Board of Public Works indicating temporary
- suspension of the Kirkwood closure part of the outdoor dining program in 2026 and that may happen as
- early as tomorrow. Special projects manager Chas Mottinger listed economic concerns infrastructure shortage
- of staff and accessibility among the reasons for this decision. Despite a 57 percent increase in event
- activity last year and 16 more program days we still saw an 8 percent decline in average daily visits.
- This tells us that street closures alone are not enough to support consistent vibrancy and that thoughtful
- activation and infrastructure improvements have a greater impact. Successes of the program have included
- that some restaurants and bars saw increased foot traffic and sales during the closures. Many residents
- enjoyed the walkable, pedestrian-focused environment. However, we also faced significant and reoccurring
- challenges
- One is economic concerns. Some retailers and service businesses reported decreases in visits. Parking
- and delivery access became problematic. Two, infrastructure limitations. Without permanent features
- such as shade, seating, hardscaping, and ADA-friendly services, blocks often fell empty. Three, staff
- capacity and resources. We simply do not have the resources to continuously program and manage a fully
- closed Kirkwood.
- Four are public safety concerns closed but unactivated streets invite crowd surges unsafe behavior and
- congestion across bollards and alleyways Five accessibility challenges businesses and residents express
- frustrations with drop-off access wheelchair routes and delivery logistics These issues make the 2025
- model unsustainable
- Instead, the City hopes to shift to incorporating more small-scale activations, such as building more
- parklets. Councilmember Kate Rosenberger expressed concerns about the sudden change.
- tell me why the administration decided to study this when last year we decided we would keep it open
- and I think so many businesses on Kirkwood invested not in the Parkland but in their outdoor dining
- space because we basically promised that we would keep it open for a number of years. Moddinger responded
- emphasizing the goal of reassessing the city's needs.
- Part of my job is to do the implementation of this program, whether that's the Kirkwood closure or it's
- the parklets. So I work with a lot of people, as we mentioned before, when we're doing this as a team
- effort. It's literally everyone, every department at the city. And these problems have been brought
- up in the past, well, a couple years. But really, especially thanks, shout out to our wonderful, she's
- been here a year, the Public Works Special Projects Manager, Cassie. We've just been able to understand better
- How this program works what the implementation? Successes and challenges are so and thanks to also the
- council and when we presented before we've really had a better understanding of what the city can and
- can't do What are the actual operational? realities So that goes into it
- talking with people constantly, doing our due diligence as public servants, and listening not to just
- the largest voices or the loudest voices, but all the voices. People still struggle with accessibility,
- they struggle with deliveries, they struggle with all these other things. So we're looking at the full
- picture, and these things just get brought to light. And so we are listening to the community, to our
- colleagues, to people with these struggles, and also with their successes with this program. And it
- just gets brought up. So for the past year since this happened, unfortunately,
- You know, we have to deal with it when we hear these things Councilmember Matt Flaherty also brought
- up wider concerns about governance and the city's authority to override council ordinances I do find
- this concerning If if the purpose of ordinance 2502 was simply if the administration reaches a different
- policy conclusion For any reason they can go back on the ordinance then there was no purpose in passing
- it in the first place I
- At least implicit in that to me in in viewing the city engineer with authority and emergencies and other
- Situations to suspend it. There's some presumption that it's not just the administration reached a different
- conclusion than the council So that's just how I feel about it I guess and Even if it doesn't violate
- the letter of the ordinance it certainly violates the spirit in my mind and I
- That's not the first time that's happened under the Mayor Thompson administration. And the type of pattern
- that emerges makes it hard to trust when we are developing legislation, we're passing budgets, those
- types of things. So to me, this is yet another data point on a larger picture, and it's disappointing.
- In a public comment, community member Adam Martinez questioned the city's reasons for pausing the program
- and talked about the importance of decentering cars.
- The packet states an 8% decrease in visits year over year. I wonder how do we know that the street closure
- led to the decrease? The economy overall in 2025 was not great for reasons I won't get into. Is it possible
- that the decline could have been more significant had the street been open to cars? The closure of Kirkwood
- to vehicle traffic is a major reason that many residents, myself included, visit downtown in the summer.
- When I'm sharing drinks with friends, I wanna hear their voices.
- Not the roar of internal combustion engines and the squeaking of un-lubricated brakes. I want my lungs
- to be filled with the smells of tacos and teriyaki, not gasoline fumes and microscopic bits of rubber
- from car tires. I understand the program has presented some logistical challenges, but we should view
- this as an opportunity to improve it rather than justification to regress. These problems are solvable.
- The city should look towards other successful efforts to pedestrianize. There's Pike Place in Seattle,
- 34th Avenue in Queens,
- They show that restricting private vehicle access is possible, and it leads to communities that are
- more connected, more vibrant, and more economically productive. Community member Greg Alexander also
- shared the concern that corridor studies are ineffective and may not promote community-centered change.
- But regarding the possibility of a Kirkwood corridor study, you guys need to understand the history
- of these corridor studies. This body authorized one in 2019.
- And it took four years and then in 2023 the study finally was funded and completed and that was now
- two years ago a solid two years ago and We haven't seen any fruit of that In fact, we've doubled down
- on the expenditure at the same time as it's become really clear that the mayor is simply going to decide
- based on her own opinions and You should be real skeptical about claims of a future Kirkwood corridor study
- we've established a pattern of spending money and then ignoring the consultants. If the mayor's gonna
- decide regardless of what the consultant says, we can save that money. And if the mayor's gonna decide,
- regardless of what you guys say, why are you wasting my time? The next Bloomington City Council meeting
- will be on February 18th.
- The Monroe County Capital Improvement Board met for a special meeting on February 5th to discuss the
- Convention Center Host Hotel. Board member John Wyckart explained the events leading up to the meeting.
- Before moving to any discussion and actions on matters on the agenda, it's helpful to summarize events
- that bring us to today. In April, 2024, the CIB requested identification from the City of Bloomington
- and Monroe County.
- of properties for transfer for the Convention Center expansion project. The project was defined to include
- a host hotel. This request was required by the Monroe County ordinance that created the CIBN 2023 and
- the 2024 interlocal agreement between the city and county. In May 2024, the county identified parcels
- to the east and west for transfer for the project.
- and the city identified parcels to the south and north for transfer for the project, but distinguished
- parcels to the north, what we refer to as the Bunger Robertson site, from the south parcel, stating
- that the north parcels require negotiation with the city for purchase. The CIB subsequently chose the
- east location for the new construction for the Convention Center expansion. Upon this selection, the
- county donated the east parcels to the project.
- Weichart continued that Dora Hospitality was selected as the hotelier in October of 2024, and the company
- preferred the North property. 14 months later, in December of 2025, the city and Dora reported that
- there was no possibility of moving forward on the North site. Weichart said Dora proposed building on
- the South site with a land donation, and the city responded that the parcels prices would have to be
- negotiated.
- We now find ourselves in the following position. The city's position on acquisition of its parcels north
- and now south is clear, and the CIB does not have the ability to meet any price or consideration it
- requires. The CIB cannot agree to the LOI from DORA because we do not have the land it requires. The
- CIB needs to consider its obligations and the need for access to land for parking, a hotel, and for
- other purposes for the project.
- We now find ourselves at an impasse. For us to proceed, it is imperative that the issue of transfer
- and ownership of land for any needs of the project must be resolved. Weichart motioned to end the current
- request for proposal process with DORA and reset. Board member Jay Baer supported the motion.
- unfortunate that we have to take a step back, but it's the wise and prudent thing to do. Sometimes this
- is the way these kind of projects unfold and certainly optimistic that we will get a circumstance that
- will be to the ultimate benefit of the citizens of Monroe County and the city of Bloomington at the
- end of the day.
- Board members Doug Bruce, Adam Thies, and Jim Silverstein also spoke in favor of the motion. The board
- voted unanimously to approve the motion, ending the current process with Dora Hospitality. Weickart
- said the board has long expected a gap between completion of the convention center and construction
- of a host hotel, adding that Visit Bloomington is still booking conventions using existing local hotels.
- The next Capital Improvement Board meeting will be on February 18th. The Bloomington Environmental Commission
- met on February 4th and voted on a memo from the Environmental Commission Plan Committee. Senior
- Environmental Planner Rachel Johnson explained recommendations regarding amendments to the
- Unified Development Ordinance. Well great, well we brought you here today to
- review and vote on the ECPC memo that was written in response to the UDO amendments that we covered
- in our last month's meeting. The ECPC met discussed some of the concerns that we had with the amendment
- specifically around the impervious surface changes and so we wrote up this memo. You all have access
- to it digitally and on paper but I wanted to see if
- If there's any comment or questions about this memo as it stands. Commission member Carrie Albright
- raised concerns about the pollinator populations and where they will have their hives. Green spaces
- and becoming a bee city, knowing that many, I think it was 70% of native bees nest in the ground and
- require impervious surface to create their nests and that reducing the amount of, or allowing for more
- impervious surfaces
- in new developments could potentially impact how we're able to retain some of that biodiversity with
- our pollinator population. The Bloomington Environmental Commission will meet again on February 19th.
- The Ellitsville Town Council met on February 2nd for a special meeting. The council proposed increasing
- the sewer deposit fee for renters from $100 to $250. Town Manager Mike Farmer said that the rate increase
- is in response to renters failing to pay the fee. Just concerned about the amount, because renters are
- already stretched thin. And I don't know if there's something we can do for
- fees to assess ones that are delinquent, but I just don't like the idea of everybody that's paying work
- normally without problems being punished for delinquencies when they're not delinquent. And that's in
- a sense what we're doing here. Other proposal was the implementation of the System Control and Data
- Acquisition System or SCADA. The budget for the labor, programming, licensing, computer, and the system
- software is not to exceed $258,400.
- But this will also tell us if we have some kind of alarm at the wastewater plant or our equipment failure.
- We do not have to staff it 24 hours a day because we have the skating system. So if you can imagine
- having to put, you know, a curve of 12 people out there around the clock, it would be that $250,000
- is not covered. That would be for this year. Right. That's true.
- The board also addressed the recent snowfall and cold temperatures. Farmer opened by expressing his
- gratitude and his appreciation for the snow removal crew. Farmer then made a public service announcement
- for the residents. In about a week, we're going to start warming up and people need to be aware if they've
- had frozen pipes and they're still frozen, people that have
- fire suppression systems, and if they've not been paying attention to how warm their ceilings are, they
- need to be aware when we start thawing out, if their frozen pipes are more likely gonna start leaking,
- and then it'll be emergency shutoffs. Of course, you can always call the Elstil Water Department. We
- have 24-hour service, and we'll come out, but I just want people to be aware it's inevitable that when
- we start thawing out, we've been 10 days below freezing,
- A lot of them been around zero and we've had wind. So I know there's some stuff out there froze up when
- it thaws out, it's going to cause damage. So just be aware. The next Eltsville town council meeting
- is scheduled for February 9th. State lawmakers, Matt Pierce and Shelley Yoder gave updates on legislation
- being considered in the state house on January 31st. The local chapter of the League of Women Voters
- organized the legislative update.
- State Representative Pierce addressed House Bill 1001, a bill that's aimed at housing affordability.
- Pierce says he's skeptical of the bill and he voted against it. In his view, the policy would not guarantee
- lower costs for buyers and could benefit developers. My number one objection is there's nothing in the
- bill that requires the cost savings that might accrue to developers actually onto the homeowner, right?
- So this could end up just padding
- the profits of the of the developers themselves. But at any rate, that's the number one bill for the
- session on housing affordability. One bill I did support House Bill 1002 deals with high utility bills.
- It's another example of where this is at least a good start, but it's fairly modest. And we had a number
- of amendments to House Democrats did to try to increase the protections and
- provide more immediate relief on the bills. For example, I had a bill or an amendment that would have
- gotten rid of the sales tax on utility bills. It's odd to me that, you know, we say we shouldn't be
- taxing necessities like food and clothing with the sales tax, yet we tax energy costs. So this seems
- kind of like an odd situation. So I tried to remove that. Oftentimes I get people saying, oh, that's
- a big fiscal impact. And so
- My answer to that was to eliminate going forward any tax exemptions for data centers. You may not know
- it, but data centers are exempt from sales tax on their utility bills, but residential homeowners are
- not. State Senator Yoder criticized this session's Senate Bill 1, which would tighten eligibility and
- add new restrictions to SNAP and Medicaid. The bill actually would require someone to be
- to be eligible for Medicaid first, and then they could be determined medically frail. But in SB1, to
- be determined eligible for Medicaid, you have to first show that you've worked 80 hours, because they're
- increasing the work requirement in SB1. If someone is medically frail, most likely they are not going
- to be able to show that they
- have worked those hours. And so it's sort of the process. They're gumming up the process for being able
- to being determined Medicaid eligible. And is that by design?
- If you read the bill, it seems like it is by design in order to decrease spending in Medicaid, not because
- someone isn't eligible, but because of all the requirements now that we're putting in to being determined
- eligible, there's going to be more paperwork, more chances of people losing their Medicaid access. If
- you make a mistake, you're going to be thrown out of the system for six months. So it just reads.
- I'm not saying this is the intent, but the bill reads as if we're going to increase obstacles to access
- Medicaid in hopes that we throw so many people off, it will bring down our Medicaid spending. And that
- is similar to what's happening in SNAP. Then Pierce explained House Bill 1315, which would reorganize
- townships. Pierce denounced the bill saying it would force smaller townships to dissolve or consolidate.
- I think the basic premise of this bill and the Senate bill is the idea that you have smaller townships
- who don't do much. Maybe the argument is they're spending more money existing than they're actually
- providing to people for poor relief or duties. And so the House bill is kind of saying if you're below
- certain population parameters and you're not running a fire department, we're basically gonna make you
- merge, I think, with the county or towns. And to me,
- It's kind of a big mess and I'll be voting against it because they're always attempting to go after
- these townships like they're they're worthless or something. And I think that clearly we know that Perry
- and Bloomington townships and other townships are doing significant work in our county. But so that
- so I think the House bill is not good.
- and it's kind of arbitrary, and so I'll be opposing that. Earlier this week, the House passed the Township
- Reorganization Bill by a 55 to 44 vote, sending it to the State Senate floor. Pierce voted against it.
- To view the full legislative update, you can visit catstv.net following this broadcast. And that is
- all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annaliese Poorman.