WEBVTT 00:00:04.738 --> 00:00:10.885 - Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Bloomington City Council unanimously approved 00:00:10.885 --> 00:00:17.031 - a planned unit development for the Hopewell South project during its meeting on May 6. This comes after 00:00:17.031 --> 00:00:22.942 - months of deliberation on the first phase of a project aimed at bringing more affordable housing to 00:00:22.942 --> 00:00:23.710 - Bloomington. 00:00:23.970 --> 00:00:30.350 - The Hopewell Project is a city-led redevelopment project that aims to transform the former IU Health 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:36.414 - Hospital site into a mixed-use neighborhood. City Clerk Nicole Bolden introduced the ordinance. 00:00:36.706 --> 00:00:42.642 - Ordinance 2026-06 to amend the city of Bloomington zoning maps by rezoning a 6.3 acre property from 00:00:42.642 --> 00:00:48.638 - residential urban lot and residential multifamily within the transform redevelopment overlay to plan 00:00:48.638 --> 00:00:54.752 - unit development and to approve a district ordinance and preliminary plan. The synopsis is as follows. 00:00:54.752 --> 00:01:00.926 - This ordinance amends the zoning of the property from residential urban lot and residential multifamily 00:01:00.926 --> 00:01:05.022 - within the transform redevelopment overlay to plan unit development. 00:01:05.282 --> 00:01:11.187 - Much of the discussion centered on balancing sustainability goals with long-term affordability. Council 00:01:11.187 --> 00:01:17.376 - member Matt Flaherty said energy efficiency measures could reduce costs for future residents. My orientation 00:01:17.376 --> 00:01:23.054 - to energy efficiency and electrification generally is about creating affordable, healthy homes. Gas 00:01:23.054 --> 00:01:28.732 - appliances cause childhood asthma at very high rates. They're unhealthy for all of us. We shouldn't 00:01:28.732 --> 00:01:35.262 - want those appliances. This is a health issue. Efficiency, similarly, it lowers utility bills over time, providing 00:01:35.554 --> 00:01:42.251 - dramatic return on investment. And Achillean Hanson, Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development, 00:01:42.251 --> 00:01:48.818 - warned council members about concerns from the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission regarding rising 00:01:48.818 --> 00:01:55.450 - construction costs and affordability expectations. What happens if we can't build a unit for what you 00:01:55.450 --> 00:01:59.806 - want us to sell it for? We don't have bottomless amounts of money. 00:01:59.906 --> 00:02:06.491 - To be able to subsidize between the cost of build like for instance Let's say that a build is going 00:02:06.491 --> 00:02:13.077 - to cost us fifty thousand dollars more just because lumber prices are going up gas prices are going 00:02:13.077 --> 00:02:19.860 - up What is that dollar amount across the number of units? That's pretty significant. So You know could 00:02:19.860 --> 00:02:25.918 - be millions of dollars that we would have to bring to the table just to get to your AMIs if 00:02:26.018 --> 00:02:32.458 - If we can't build it for that cost if we can great, we'd love to deliver even more affordability But 00:02:32.458 --> 00:02:38.961 - I just want to make sure that you guys have heard that the RDC feels like they really can only commit 00:02:38.961 --> 00:02:43.934 - to the 25% right now Of course, we would love to report back as we're able to 00:02:45.474 --> 00:02:50.776 - So not trying to muddy the waters, just wanna be perfectly clear with what they've authorized me to 00:02:50.776 --> 00:02:56.609 - say. Next, Council President Hopi Stasberg considered how far the city should go with permanent affordability 00:02:56.609 --> 00:03:01.911 - requirements in the project. I also like sticking with the 50% and I appreciate what Council Member 00:03:01.911 --> 00:03:07.320 - Rosenberger just said about that idea, like we could amend it later if it really became impossible to 00:03:07.320 --> 00:03:12.781 - practically do that, but that shooting for that goal might be really appropriate. The next Bloomington 00:03:12.781 --> 00:03:15.326 - City Council meeting is scheduled for May 20th. 00:03:16.482 --> 00:03:24.143 - The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission met on May 4. Angela Van Roy from the Housing and Neighborhood 00:03:24.143 --> 00:03:31.878 - Development Department presented on Resolution 26-30 concerning various neighborhood improvement grants. 00:03:31.878 --> 00:03:39.613 - The Spicewood Neighborhood Association requested funds for a native pollinator garden and they requested 00:03:39.613 --> 00:03:41.086 - $2,350 and that was 00:03:41.186 --> 00:03:47.562 - recommended for full funding. That one, a 16 year old in the neighborhood is the one who presented that 00:03:47.562 --> 00:03:54.123 - project. So we were all quite impressed with that. The resolution proposed distributing a total of $30,000 00:03:54.123 --> 00:04:00.254 - worth of grants in varying amounts among several neighborhood organizations. The resolution passed. 00:04:00.738 --> 00:04:07.652 - Next, the commission opened public comment concerning a potential land swap relating to Seminary Point 00:04:07.652 --> 00:04:14.364 - and College Square. A resident affiliated with Homes for All spoke on the power that the RDC has to 00:04:14.364 --> 00:04:21.411 - support a land transfer intended to preserve affordable housing. Indiana Codes grant RDC's powers beyond 00:04:21.411 --> 00:04:28.862 - the standard property transfer process to offer land to CDCs for the purpose of developing affordable housing. 00:04:29.794 --> 00:04:37.785 - We interpret this Indiana code as a means of encouragement to redevelopment commissions to find properties 00:04:37.785 --> 00:04:45.478 - well suited for affordable housing projects, projects just like Seminary Point, a property where super 00:04:45.478 --> 00:04:53.394 - affordable apartments already exist. Homes for All has finalized a partnership with a qualified community 00:04:53.394 --> 00:04:58.622 - development corporation, which will serve as our land grant recipient 00:04:59.554 --> 00:05:06.440 - We are also finalizing a formal proposal for Seminary Point with a five-year development timeline and 00:05:06.440 --> 00:05:13.664 - funding plan. RDC member Randy Cassidy concluded the discussion by acknowledging that the property remains 00:05:13.664 --> 00:05:20.415 - under Capital Improvement Board ownership and suggested tenants work with the board to pursue lease 00:05:20.415 --> 00:05:27.166 - extensions while negotiations continue. The next Bloomington RDC meeting is scheduled for May 18th. 00:05:28.322 --> 00:05:34.467 - The Bloomington Board of Public Works met on May 4th and discussed a right-of-way on a multi-use path 00:05:34.467 --> 00:05:39.166 - on Dunn Street. City engineer Neil Copper explained what the project entails. 00:05:39.330 --> 00:05:44.444 - This is a project to construct multi use path on the east side of North Dunn Street from the bypass 00:05:44.444 --> 00:05:49.558 - to Clover Lane. The project will require purchase of additional right away from up to nine parcels. 00:05:49.558 --> 00:05:55.183 - If approved by the board, this resolution confirms that the project serves a public purpose and it authorizes 00:05:55.183 --> 00:05:58.814 - the right of way acquisition. The board passed the motion unanimously. 00:05:59.586 --> 00:06:06.130 - Next, Public Improvement Manager Maria McCormick from Engineering requested a public improvement bond 00:06:06.130 --> 00:06:12.867 - for 15th Street. This is for the acceptance of a public improvement bond for the 15th Street sustainable 00:06:12.867 --> 00:06:19.668 - subdivision. Their public improvement bond is in the amount of $12,036 and is for new sidewalk and street 00:06:19.668 --> 00:06:23.454 - trees for this subdivision. The motion passed unanimously. 00:06:24.098 --> 00:06:30.210 - Then engineering field specialist Zach Bell requested right-of-way closures for city utilities. Peditioner 00:06:30.210 --> 00:06:35.979 - is requesting approval of temporary right-of-way closures along South Walnut Street from Dodd Street 00:06:35.979 --> 00:06:41.806 - to Grimes Lane to accommodate water and sewer service updates. The work will be completed in a phased 00:06:41.806 --> 00:06:46.718 - manner with closure shifting between work areas rather than occurring simultaneously. 00:06:47.458 --> 00:06:54.444 - project is scheduled from May 8th, 2026 through May 29th, 2026 during normal construction hours with 00:06:54.444 --> 00:07:01.568 - impacts limited to a single active work zone at any given time. And just received word from James that 00:07:01.568 --> 00:07:08.830 - they will hold off on starting until after commencement. The motion passed unanimously. The next meeting 00:07:08.830 --> 00:07:13.118 - of the Bloomington Board of Public Works will be on May 19th. 00:07:14.178 --> 00:07:20.525 - the Bloomington Utilities Service Board met on May 4th and discussed the Bloomington fuel charge. Board 00:07:20.525 --> 00:07:26.872 - member Amanda Burnham asked how it is determined since gas prices fluctuate. I guess just thinking more 00:07:26.872 --> 00:07:33.220 - about our fuel this month with gas prices that are up, how are we charged? Like when there's a delivery 00:07:33.220 --> 00:07:39.506 - of fuel and then we pay that rate until there's another delivery of fuel and then that's our rate, how 00:07:39.506 --> 00:07:41.886 - do they determine our charge for fuel? 00:07:42.498 --> 00:07:49.536 - A utility staff member responded that he did not know, but that he said he could ask. Next, Bloomington 00:07:49.536 --> 00:07:56.709 - Capital Project Manager Dan Hudson presented on planned electrical maintenance at the Monroe Water Plant. 00:07:56.709 --> 00:08:03.476 - About a year ago, we went under contract with a company to do maintenance on our large high voltage 00:08:03.476 --> 00:08:09.566 - and medium voltage equipment. That includes taking the breakers out and cleaning them and 00:08:10.018 --> 00:08:16.972 - and making sure everything works right and putting them back. But you have to shut down the plant to 00:08:16.972 --> 00:08:23.996 - do that. And in our planning process, we've decided that it's a good idea to keep our servers running 00:08:23.996 --> 00:08:30.950 - so we have data coming in and also keep the lab running because we do laboratory analysis like every 00:08:30.950 --> 00:08:34.462 - hour. And this may take like up to 10 hours to do. 00:08:35.234 --> 00:08:45.190 - So we would like to hire Electric Plus to help us wire an existing generator that we have, a portable 00:08:45.190 --> 00:08:55.634 - generator that we borrow from T&D to run the servers in the lab. We also want to rent a portable generator 00:08:55.634 --> 00:09:02.174 - to run one of the pumps. One of the pumps we can run because it is 00:09:02.402 --> 00:09:09.409 - a high level pump, it's on 480 volts, and we have a generator, we can run a generator to do that. The 00:09:09.409 --> 00:09:16.553 - idea is we don't want to lower the pressure in the system, so we have to have water notices during this 00:09:16.553 --> 00:09:23.628 - time. Hudson said that right now is a good time to do maintenance because students are leaving campus, 00:09:23.628 --> 00:09:25.758 - so water usage should be down. 00:09:25.954 --> 00:09:32.868 - A utility superintendent said that there is a two-week lull between IU graduation and when people start 00:09:32.868 --> 00:09:39.649 - refilling pools for Memorial Day. So now is a good time for maintenance. The board approved doing the 00:09:39.649 --> 00:09:45.964 - maintenance on May 12th. Then Assistant Director of Finance, Matt Havy, explained a memorandum 00:09:45.964 --> 00:09:53.211 - of understanding between the board and the retreat at Switchyard. The retreat at Switchyard is a development 00:09:53.211 --> 00:09:55.870 - here on the corner of Miller and Walnut 00:09:56.322 --> 00:10:04.026 - It was an affordable housing project that's been going on for several years now. And as part of this 00:10:04.026 --> 00:10:11.653 - project, they hooked up to the sewer. And as developments do this, we charge them proportionally to 00:10:11.653 --> 00:10:19.281 - the size of the sewer that they're going to use, what infrastructure that they're going to drive us 00:10:19.281 --> 00:10:22.942 - to buy. And as part of this development, it was 00:10:23.682 --> 00:10:30.305 - get the numbers that grow to say it's a little over $50,000 for them to connect to the sewer. Um, and 00:10:30.305 --> 00:10:37.123 - I think there was some little confusion on both sides is that they thought that since they were building 00:10:37.123 --> 00:10:43.617 - affordable housing, that they, this fee could be waived. Um, but then we took them through the city 00:10:43.617 --> 00:10:50.110 - statute and pointed out to them that we can only waive fees for a single family residences for, for 00:10:50.110 --> 00:10:52.318 - their connection fee. Um, and so. 00:10:53.026 --> 00:10:59.337 - They explained to us they were having a lot of challenges with this development and financially and 00:10:59.337 --> 00:11:06.026 - operationally. And so we, again, we communicated that we could not waive the fee. And so we had a meeting 00:11:06.026 --> 00:11:12.463 - and talked to them and came to an agreement that CBU would agree to give them a payment plan for five 00:11:12.463 --> 00:11:15.934 - years with no interest to pay this connection fee off. 00:11:16.258 --> 00:11:23.897 - Board President Kirk White said the Finance Committee discussed the MOU prior to the board meeting. 00:11:23.897 --> 00:11:31.535 - The subcommittee approved the amendment given that the property is sold during the agreed five-year 00:11:31.535 --> 00:11:39.633 - period. I think it's good public policy for us to be flexible with a project like this that's been worked 00:11:39.633 --> 00:11:45.438 - on by city government downtown, giving them this assistance more or less in 00:11:45.570 --> 00:11:51.949 - the time it would allow them, because it's an affordable housing project, it kind of shows our support 00:11:51.949 --> 00:11:58.204 - for helping those projects as they come along to us, because we all know that's a community priority 00:11:58.204 --> 00:12:04.706 - now. So I think that's a good thing for us to do. The board tabled the vote on the MOU. The next meeting 00:12:04.706 --> 00:12:08.670 - of the Bloomington Utilities Service Board will be on May 18th. 00:12:09.762 --> 00:12:16.124 - Monroe County Board of Commissioners met on May 7th. Financial Director Carly Woodroof from the County 00:12:16.124 --> 00:12:22.794 - Auditor's Office provided an update on American Rescue Plan Act funds. She says a federally funded projects 00:12:22.794 --> 00:12:29.279 - are supposed to come in under budget and the county wants to keep ARPA funds local. We have two projects 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:33.726 - that we're aware of right now that are expected to come in under budget 00:12:33.858 --> 00:12:40.591 - And so that means if we don't re-obligate those dollars to another project that we may have to send 00:12:40.591 --> 00:12:47.458 - that money back to the federal government and we do want to keep those dollars local if possible. The 00:12:47.458 --> 00:12:53.854 - amount that we expect as of right now to come in under budget is just north of about $315,000. 00:12:54.626 --> 00:13:02.004 - We have received some requests from projects that are open that we think may be able to use some of 00:13:02.004 --> 00:13:09.455 - those fundings. One of them is for parks. It looks like they have some drainage situations going on. 00:13:09.455 --> 00:13:14.398 - The second project is another park project and because of the turf 00:13:14.594 --> 00:13:21.798 - extra traffic we've had going in with all the big trucks. They have some interest in getting some paving 00:13:21.798 --> 00:13:28.864 - done and that would fall well within an open project they have right now. The third project is for the 00:13:28.864 --> 00:13:35.793 - Monroe County Fire Protection District. That is also an open project and we would fund some of those 00:13:35.793 --> 00:13:43.134 - extra costs needed to get those ambulances up and going. And then the last one that would be most feasible 00:13:43.522 --> 00:13:49.796 - would be the airport stormwater drainage. Commissioner Julie Thomas asked if the county departments 00:13:49.796 --> 00:13:56.133 - could realistically spend the remainder of ARPA funds by the end of the year. Woodruff responded. So 00:13:56.133 --> 00:14:02.408 - that money does not technically have an expenditure deadline. We're just putting that on your radar 00:14:02.408 --> 00:14:08.807 - because it is closely tied to ARPA. And this money, while it doesn't have an expenditure deadline set 00:14:08.807 --> 00:14:10.878 - forth by the federal government, 00:14:11.394 --> 00:14:18.081 - They do have a chart and that last day on that chart that they provided is 2027. So our ARPA advisors 00:14:18.081 --> 00:14:24.964 - have advised that we spend those money prior to the end of 2027. The county commissioners also discussed 00:14:24.964 --> 00:14:31.717 - a separate related funding source that advisors recommend spending before the end of 2027. All in all, 00:14:31.717 --> 00:14:38.338 - Thomas said that the commissioners and the county council need to set a hard deadline with a plan to 00:14:38.338 --> 00:14:39.518 - spend ARPA funds. 00:14:39.714 --> 00:14:45.889 - We're going to need a drop-dead date. We're going to need a date that says, as of November 1, if this 00:14:45.889 --> 00:14:52.186 - isn't spent, we're allocating it here. But that's the decision that we have to make jointly as to where 00:14:52.186 --> 00:14:58.421 - to allocate those dollars, correct? Correct. Monroe County Auditor Breanne Gregory says at least three 00:14:58.421 --> 00:15:01.630 - out of the four projects could get done on deadline. 00:15:01.858 --> 00:15:07.897 - At least three of the four that we've received that are in the green on the memo. At least three of 00:15:07.897 --> 00:15:14.056 - those, I believe we could turn that money around very quickly. And so I would say Monroe Fire and the 00:15:14.056 --> 00:15:20.638 - two parks. They could spend it before the end of the year and get us receipts so we're not losing any money. 00:15:21.250 --> 00:15:26.665 - I believe as long as we give them enough time. So if we're making this decision in November, that's 00:15:26.665 --> 00:15:32.296 - a very short period to turn around. But if we're making that decision in June, I believe at least those 00:15:32.296 --> 00:15:37.278 - three projects would be able to get that out very quickly. Except they might not get money. 00:15:40.386 --> 00:15:47.816 - So that's the issue, right? Next, the commissioners considered approval of a partnership agreement with the U.S. 00:15:47.816 --> 00:15:54.719 - Fish and Wildlife Service for a prairie restoration project at the Monroe County Nature Preserve. Monroe 00:15:54.719 --> 00:16:01.294 - County Parks Director Kelly Whitmer presented the program. They are the same project as 14 acres of 00:16:01.294 --> 00:16:08.001 - prairie grassland at the Monroe County Nature Preserve. DNR is going to give us around, and I'm going 00:16:08.001 --> 00:16:10.302 - to round these numbers, $3,700 and 00:16:11.266 --> 00:16:18.311 - We get money, we pay for the seed and whatnot. We also, last week you approved Jettle Farms for not 00:16:18.311 --> 00:16:25.567 - to exceed 6,500. That's for our beans for the grassland area that we're planting. We will also be, we, 00:16:25.567 --> 00:16:33.246 - Monroe County is responsible for upkeep and maintenance, 10 years for the prairies for US Fish and Wildlife. 00:16:33.474 --> 00:16:41.115 - three years for DNR, served concurrently. So it's only 10 years. This is a wonderful opportunity because 00:16:41.115 --> 00:16:48.538 - on another note, we are also going to buy 10 more acres. That has nothing to do with these agreements 00:16:48.538 --> 00:16:56.106 - of the same grassland seed. So we can connect our two prairies around our gas well, which we don't want 00:16:56.106 --> 00:17:00.254 - to plant anything else beside grass around the gas well. 00:17:00.738 --> 00:17:07.686 - So this will be like 16 acres of contiguous prairie land. In total, it'll be 24 in the whole end of 00:17:07.686 --> 00:17:14.774 - it. Whitmer says the whole project will cost about $13,000. The commissioners approved the measure by 00:17:14.774 --> 00:17:22.070 - a three to zero vote. Lastly, Commissioner Jody Madeira reminded residents that it is graduation weekend 00:17:22.070 --> 00:17:29.088 - for Indiana University students and encouraged the community to plan accordingly. Just stay safe. It 00:17:29.088 --> 00:17:30.686 - is graduation weekend. 00:17:30.818 --> 00:17:39.134 - And we wish our IU graduates the best of everything and stay safe and have a wonderful celebratory graduation 00:17:39.134 --> 00:17:46.695 - weekend. The next Monroe County Commissioner's meeting will take place on May 14th. And that is all 00:17:46.695 --> 00:17:52.894 - for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.