and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thompson hosted a press conference
following a shooting on Kirkwood Avenue in the early hours of Sunday morning that left five people injured.
This comes during Little 500 weekend which draws thousands of visitors to Bloomington. The incident
sparked concerns about public safety during one of the largest events of the year. Mayor Thompson condemned
the violence on Kirkwood.
It is, of course, an incredibly sad day any time there's violence in our community, and any time especially
there are victims of gun violence. We condemn gun violence unequivocally, in any form, and my thoughts
are with those that were injured last night
Police Chief Mike Decoff clarified that five people were injured in the shooting, fewer than the nine
people initially reported. Decoff said all of the victims are in stable condition. Last night,
at approximately 12.25 a.m., police department officers were stationed in the 400 block of Mason Kirkwood,
monitoring a large crowd that had gathered in the street. Officers heard what they believed to be multiple
gunshots, and the crowd began scattering. Officers immediately converged on the area and located
It was originally believed that up to nine people had been injured as a result of gunfire, but now we
believe that there were five people that were actually injured by gunfire and fragments from bullets.
The individuals currently known to have suffered injuries were a 20-year-old female, an 18-year-old
female, 22-year-old female, a 17-year-old female, and a 21-year-old female. All were treated and released
except one.
Decoff said that a fight broke out between two women outside five guys on Kirkwood. According to security
camera and cell phone footage obtained by the Bloomington Police Department, two males involved in the
fight both drew handguns and fired their weapons.
The incident prompted concerns about public safety during large events. Decoff said that the crowds
were estimated to be made up of two to 3,000 people. Mayor Thompson said while police maintained a presence
on Kirkwood, the city's ability to prevent gun violence proves limited under state law. After every
large gathering or violent incident, the city does a review. We will be doing that in the coming days
again, and we're committed
to update policies and procedures as needed to increase safety at public events. It has been suggested
that we forbid guns from public gatherings in the future in Bloomington. Unfortunately, Indiana gun
laws prohibit such action. And if the gun laws remain as they are, anyone can hope and carry.
We encourage people not to bring guns to gatherings. And we encourage you to speak up to those who can
change our gun laws. When violence happens in our community, our entire community is impacted. Chief
DeKoff said police were active on the scene. However, the large crowd made it difficult to take control
of the situation. The crowd was much larger.
on Friday night and so it would have become a resource issue and our belief was if we tried to move
the crowd that that problem would have caused more problems. There wasn't really any reason for us to
move the crowd because everybody was pretty jovial and happy until the
The Monroe County Council met on April 28th. Health Administrator Lori Kelly presented the results of
efforts to remediate homes that were identified as former methamphetamine houses. The Health Department
Environmental Health Services, we address testing and remediation for 12 properties that were identified
as former methamphetamine lab sites by the Indiana State Police.
So properties that were identified go back as far as 2009 with only one of those being vacant. So through
the support of Health First Indiana funding in the amount of $50,000 and through approval with our local
authorities, we were able to hire a contractor to complete this work. Through those efforts, 11 of the
12 properties were successfully addressed with those $50,000 in Health First Indiana funding.
And so we really just hope that these efforts demonstrate a dedication to mitigating environmental health
hazards, protecting residents and maintaining compliance with state regulations. Next, the council discussed
funding the jail. Council member Peter Iverson asked where the council reached the $135 million estimate.
The last estimate that we got, we were sitting in this room and the last architectural rendering that
we got was a quarter of a billion dollars.
That was for a co-located facility. It was both phases together. I have not seen an analysis that shows
that 135 million dollars is phase one. Council President Jennifer Crosley continued that they have asked
for those estimates and not received them. I know you've asked during a few different times
during conversations that we've had joined earlier this year about
like cost estimates for that. And as of air on Tuesday, April 28th, we still haven't received it. Council
member Marty Hawk emphasized a location for the jail has not been selected and the county still needs
to move the inmates while a facility would be built. I mean, I'm not afraid of ACLU, but you know, some
people are shaking, uh, but that we would, we would be forced to, uh,
move a certain population, which we've always agreed to from the beginning of the agreement, off to
another facility. And that it might be as much as $1 million a year. Well, but if we do this,
it is $6,750,000 while we are determining and putting together a known fact so the public knows where
we're going and what we're spending.
And so yes, it could be more later to build, just like people's salaries are more as we go along.
I get that. It's always more every year to operate county government. But I wanted to keep that in mind,
that when somebody says, oh, it might cost us a million dollars to move some of these folks someplace
else, that shouldn't be
the deciding moment, figuring out what we're going to do. The council moved on to discuss appropriations
of $30,000 to hire a lawyer in case of further litigation. Crossley said it could be beneficial to protect
the county council. But what I'm just saying is, this is just our way of saying, should we get to this
level? Again, I really hope to the higher powers that be, we don't. But should we? Maybe that's something
that we could enact.
But if we need to have a consultation or anything like that, again, that's up to this body to have that
conversation. Crossley further explained that seeking outside legal counsel is not a criticism of Monroe
County Attorney Molly Turner King. It is to have separate counsel from the county commissioners. What
I'm just saying simply is it is just us seeking outside advice
of what we should do should we get to next level mayhem. Because again, as I'm being honest, I've not
heard anything that would suggest that we could potentially agree on the train to North Park right now.
I don't. But again, I'm willing to work with our city counterparts, but again, it is what?
This is April 28th. Again, as I said, we have a meeting. They have a meeting on the 30th. This is coming
to them. We have a meeting on the 12th that is coming to us. That is all of the moving pieces before
the time bomb clicks at zero. Again, it's just if we prepare and we, again, find that we're
Councilor Iverson's words sometimes, if we sing kumbaya and we're all in together on this and we are
one, then we don't have to go down this route. I wish to God that we don't have to go down this route.
But should we do?
That is my intent of just trying to prepare ourselves for what is coming. Council member David Henry
moved to approve the appropriation and give power to Crossley as the council president to seek legal
advice. The council approved the appropriation with council member Trent Deckard as the only opposing
vote. The next county council meeting will take place on May 12th.
The Monroe County Commissioners met on April 30th and reviewed an $11.4 million purchase agreement for
the North Park property to build a new jail. County Attorney Justin Rody said the purchase agreement
resembles a contract brought to the Commissioners last year. He also stated the new terms of the contract
allow them to build only a jail, although it's their intention to eventually build a full justice complex.
Commissioner Julie Thomas maintained that the current facility does not meet constitutional standards
and she does not believe it can be renovated. The current facility is unconstitutional and no it cannot
be renovated yet. Somehow all of these things have come back to light again and that's mystifying and
talks stalled on questions of multi-floor, single-floor, etc.
The council then passed a resolution, I don't remember the date, but it was a resolution that set April
7th as their own internal deadline to complete site selection and identify funding. Well, in a sense,
that resolution itself identified funding because it shows existing revenue captured plus future revenue
will exceed $170 million, which is more than we think ballpark wise, a new jail only facility will cost.
Thomas said the county council asked ACLU representative Ken Falk for an extension on the lawsuit, which
he granted. They asked for 30 days and he agreed. So now we're looking at the end of May as the new
deadline from the ACLU. So the private settlement agreement is in a sense,
putting on hold the lawsuit again, the lawsuit from 2009. And that lawsuit was filed against the board
of commissioners and the sheriff of Monroe County, not against the council. So we were, the council
had already missed their April 7th deadline, and we were on the verge of as a county, missing the April
15th deadline. And I, for one, and I think my colleagues would probably agree, I'm grateful
And I feel like we're lucky and fortunate that Mr. Falk agreed to extend the deadline. Commissioner
Jody Madeira said moving forward with the purchase agreement does not mean that they are tied to the
North Park property if other opportunities present themselves. Just because we move forward with this
purchase agreement, by the way, does not mean that if a better option presents itself, we don't have
to go down this road. If we,
have a better option that presents itself tomorrow, we can go with that option. But this is the option
that is before us on the table today. So to all of those who say the commissioners love North Park,
this is not so much a vote for North Park as it is a vote against this lawsuit. And it is not, I think,
a site that even the commissioners wanted, any of them, even when they
looked at this the first time. It is the only viable site they saw when they looked at the accumulation
of properties that they considered. So I think that that's where we find ourselves today. Thank you.
Thomas rebutted she does not believe alternatives are viable and she sees North Park as the best option.
And I'm going to offer
my own opinion on if something else comes up. I don't think there's any possibility that anything else
can come up and be ready for a bond, a bond initiation in July because you would have to have everything
else done. I just don't see that that's even possible. I mean, we should work. It's just not, we've
kind of as a county, we've backed ourselves into this corner and the time is now.
make the right decision, make the hard decision. One of the things we can do is we could sell Thompson.
That could put that property back into the tax rolls for the city. It could become housing. We could
use part of it maybe for substance use mental health treatment. I don't know, but you know, and then
once we get everyone hopefully to North Park in the co-located facility, that's a healthy building,
we can sell that building. And that again becomes another
part of the tax base for the city of Bloomington and it could be offices. Lord help me if it's more
student housing because I will just scream. Thomas asserted the council has continued pushing off the
deadline despite possible legal measures. We're at the bottom line. This has gone on long enough. If
Monroe County fails to meet the provisions of the settlement agreement, we're going to look at the council
and ask why.
Failure to abide by this deadline. I've heard it. Well, I'm shaking in my boots about the ACLU. Oh,
you should. We don't know what a judge is going to order. Why would you give that? Why would you abdicate
your responsibility and decision making to a judge? The commissioners approved the purchase agreement
three to zero. The item now advances to the county council on May 12th.
On April 27th, the Ellitsville Town Council met and considered vehicle equipment purchases for the Department
of Public Works. Street Commissioner Kip Hetty said the first purchase would be a new street sweeper.
So what it is is that if you remember, I come to you a couple months ago letting you know that we'd
be looking for a new street sweeper. That's the first item. We've got a global sweeper that's going from
a vacuum type sweeper to mechanical sweeper. We like this setup a lot better. It will be replacing our
2005, which is over 20 years old street sweeper. I tried to entertain a trade-in from the company and
the trade-in was way, way, way below what I wanted to get for it. So, depending on what happens,
In November, we might keep it around a little longer to have an extra sweeper. We'll put a little money
into it to get us going in the first of the next year. Following the sweeper, Hetty explained that the
Public Works Department would budget for a snow plow. The second one is a 2026 Kenworth single axle
dump truck complete with the snow plow and spreader. I originally reached out to Kenworth
to spec for a 2026 cabin chassis and then get all the outfits. And while I was on the phone with them,
they told me they actually had one there set up in stock. The price that I have here, prices I have
here are exact prices. And that price there of $213,002 is roughly 20,000 cheaper if I were to wait
and order it versus getting one that's already on the lot.
That will replace also a dump truck that's at least 18 years old. And again, I will probably not surplus
that until we'll see how the fall goes. Heady said the department can use the current equipment for
a little while longer, though it's nearly 20 years old. He said funding is available within its budget.
Clerk Treasurer Noelle Conyers explained that a newer funding plan called the Master Lease Agreement
is available.
So the master lease agreement can be used for equipment. It essentially is a loan, but we're just putting
it under one umbrella to keep it all legal. The motion was postponed until the next Ellisville town
council meeting on May 11th. And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB,
I'm Annalise Poorman.
hurting families in Monroe County. A contribution to children who are vulnerable and in need of an advocate.
A staff that goes above and beyond to support and advocate for children in need of services. The web
of remarkable people who are dealing with difficult situations. So many young people that are in need
of help and trying to find a stable family.
stable place to live. Without the CASAs, to make that happen, many of them would be unable to find a
good home. I love being that voice for the child who can't speak for themselves in court. It takes me
out of my comfort zone and it also helps others. CASA means supporting our community. Being a CASA is
making sure that your village is healthy and whole and that the children in your village will someday
be able to help the village as well.
A child who doesn't have a voice maybe in their family situation or school situation now has a voice
that can advocate for them. I really enjoy working with children that are going through difficult times
and letting them know that I care about their future. We are privileged with our charge of representing
the best interest of children and so therefore we can advocate for exactly what they need without restriction
focusing on their best interest.
I want to repair the world one child at a time.