WEBVTT 00:00:04.706 --> 00:00:10.907 - Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Bloomington City Council met on May 20th and 00:00:10.907 --> 00:00:16.928 - established the Cottage Grove Conservation District. This marked the second reading of an ordinance 00:00:16.928 --> 00:00:23.129 - that would give some historic protections for the Cottage Grove neighborhood. Deputy Clerk Susan Stoll 00:00:23.129 --> 00:00:29.511 - introduced the legislation. In order to designate the Cottage Grove Conservation District, a neighborhood 00:00:29.511 --> 00:00:33.726 - of 122 properties in the city of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, 00:00:33.986 --> 00:00:40.750 - as a conservation district. The majority of structures in the proposed district date from the years 00:00:40.750 --> 00:00:47.650 - before and after World War I and are built in the folk Victorian and Queen Anne styles representative 00:00:47.650 --> 00:00:54.752 - of this period in Bloomington's history. Houses from the late 1910s and 1920s are mostly craftsman style 00:00:54.752 --> 00:00:58.878 - with a conspicuous number of limestone Tudor revival houses. 00:00:59.106 --> 00:01:05.633 - Many of the pre-war houses were built by employees of the showers brothers furniture company and bear 00:01:05.633 --> 00:01:12.159 - the hallmarks of carpenter built folk housing While many of the larger post-war houses are associated 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:19.006 - with Bloomington's booming limestone industry the neighborhood demonstrates a high degree of integrity and 00:01:19.298 --> 00:01:25.121 - many notable houses. During public comment, petitioner Amy Butler said Cottage Grove is worth protecting. 00:01:25.121 --> 00:01:30.835 - In her view, the neighborhood's historic homes provide affordable housing and a sense of character that 00:01:30.835 --> 00:01:36.603 - cannot be replaced. Our neighborhood is a great example of Bloomington's cultural heritage. It is facing 00:01:36.603 --> 00:01:41.438 - significant development pressure and I encourage you to vote in favor of protecting it. 00:01:41.666 --> 00:01:48.796 - Councilmember Sydney Zulik spoke in support of the district, saying historic preservation can help preserve 00:01:48.796 --> 00:01:55.596 - affordable housing for renters. When I was in college, I started college in 2020, graduated in 23. The 00:01:55.596 --> 00:02:02.397 - first apartment that I signed a lease for was for $1,200 with one other person, so I was spending $600 00:02:02.397 --> 00:02:06.622 - a month, and that was pretty much all I could afford. There was 00:02:06.754 --> 00:02:14.237 - no option for me to go to the luxury apartments. I now work two jobs and I still can't afford anywhere 00:02:14.237 --> 00:02:21.575 - near that level of rent. And so when I look around and I think about historic preservation as one of 00:02:21.575 --> 00:02:28.986 - the only opportunities to preserve some of the housing opportunities for people who look like me, for 00:02:28.986 --> 00:02:33.854 - people who grew up like me, when we think about the working class, 00:02:34.146 --> 00:02:39.938 - They are not in those luxury apartments. If we want to bring the working class back to Bloomington, 00:02:39.938 --> 00:02:45.787 - we have to start providing real housing for them. And it's not new apartments guy rises. Um, so I'm, 00:02:45.787 --> 00:02:51.579 - I'm really excited to support this. This is in my district. Historic preservation commission chair, 00:02:51.579 --> 00:02:57.428 - Jeremy Hackard explained why the commission supported the cottage Grove district. And he pushed back 00:02:57.428 --> 00:03:01.598 - against the idea that historic preservation prevents home improvements. 00:03:01.794 --> 00:03:08.025 - Just two meetings ago, there was a notable house in a historic district where we approved an addition 00:03:08.025 --> 00:03:14.317 - and an ADU Work can be done in these areas. We have no purview over work that is done inside homes You 00:03:14.317 --> 00:03:20.670 - can renovate all the houses all you want on the interior. It's totally fine. You can keep these up. Um, 00:03:21.186 --> 00:03:27.010 - We also have the support from my predecessor, Sam de Saller, who was chair before me. He asked me to 00:03:27.010 --> 00:03:32.891 - read part of a letter out for him. He writes, I'm writing to express support for the proposed Coddish 00:03:32.891 --> 00:03:38.888 - Grove Historic District. I'm a practicing architect and served on the Bloomington Historic Preservation 00:03:38.888 --> 00:03:44.769 - Commission for over a decade. I've seen many proposals for historic districts. I did not vote for all 00:03:44.769 --> 00:03:47.710 - of them, but this one has my wholehearted support. 00:03:48.130 --> 00:03:54.553 - Cottage Grove is the type of neighborhood you think of when you think of Bloomington. It has a distinct 00:03:54.553 --> 00:04:01.161 - architecture character and streetscape is contiguous and is under threat. On the flip side, local resident 00:04:01.161 --> 00:04:07.336 - Greg Alexander said he believes that historic preservation will actually increase housing costs and 00:04:07.336 --> 00:04:12.030 - limit landlords' ability to provide adequate living conditions for tenants. 00:04:12.226 --> 00:04:17.280 - Historic preservation here will make this neighborhood more expensive and more exclusive and it will 00:04:17.280 --> 00:04:22.383 - also Exacerbate the problem of people living in drafty and moldy houses because their landlords won't 00:04:22.383 --> 00:04:27.587 - have the opportunity to make rational choices And just as an aside, I checked the names on the petition 00:04:27.587 --> 00:04:32.791 - The address is almost entirely rentals. The names are not the names of the owners. That's fine You know 00:04:32.791 --> 00:04:36.894 - as an activist, I really I envy that skill to get students to sign a petition and 00:04:37.346 --> 00:04:42.612 - but the volume of names here reflects nothing but naive good wishes from people who were presumably 00:04:42.612 --> 00:04:47.930 - told the city wants to tear down their house. The council voted seven to one in favor of designating 00:04:47.930 --> 00:04:53.406 - Cottage Grove as a conservation district with council member Kate Rosenbarger casting the lone no vote. 00:04:54.530 --> 00:05:00.239 - The Richland Bean Blossom School Board met on May 19th. Much of the meeting's public comment period 00:05:00.239 --> 00:05:06.232 - focused on support for the appointment of Kyra Campbell as the next director of the Edgewood High School 00:05:06.232 --> 00:05:11.998 - Choir Program. Given Campbell's history with the Edgewood Program, Jessica Foster said that Campbell 00:05:11.998 --> 00:05:17.707 - could help create continuity between programs and strengthen student connections. Most importantly, 00:05:17.707 --> 00:05:23.358 - she understands the importance of creating unity between the junior high and high school programs. 00:05:23.554 --> 00:05:30.183 - These programs should not feel like two completely separate groups, but rather one connected music family 00:05:30.183 --> 00:05:36.562 - that supports and builds upon each other. Because Kyra has personally experienced the program as both 00:05:36.562 --> 00:05:43.066 - a student and an educator, she understands how to bridge that gap and create continuity, encouragement, 00:05:43.066 --> 00:05:45.630 - and shared purpose between both schools. 00:05:45.922 --> 00:05:51.566 - Several speakers described Campbell's mentorship and influence on students' confidence and personal 00:05:51.566 --> 00:05:57.379 - growth. Andrea Andrews said that Campbell had already developed strong relationships with students and 00:05:57.379 --> 00:06:03.079 - families. I saw the love that she has for these kids. She is from the seeds of greatness of that man 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:08.892 - down there who loved on her and poured into her life. And because of that, she has blossomed into what 00:06:08.892 --> 00:06:14.366 - she is. And she's going to do nothing but continue to grow this program. She is Edgewood Choirs. 00:06:14.690 --> 00:06:20.815 - Students also spoke about Campbell's role in helping them develop confidence and leadership skills. 00:06:20.815 --> 00:06:27.430 - Ethan Staggs said that Campbell encouraged him to stay involved in choir and helped him believe in himself. 00:06:27.430 --> 00:06:33.678 - She reminded me every single day that I am worthy, I am loved, and I am talented. Parents continue to 00:06:33.678 --> 00:06:39.986 - describe the impact that Campbell had beyond the classroom. Molly Osgood said that Campbell helped her 00:06:39.986 --> 00:06:43.294 - son gain confidence through show choir participation. 00:06:43.586 --> 00:06:50.460 - Because Kyra believed in him, Luke began to believe in himself. Our once quiet boy now performs solos 00:06:50.460 --> 00:06:57.199 - and competitions. He sings on stage with the confidence that I will never experience myself. And he 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:04.005 - has so much self-confidence, and he's willing to put in countless hours of hard work that challenges 00:07:04.005 --> 00:07:08.318 - stamina, focus, and self-discipline, all under Kyra's guidance. 00:07:08.514 --> 00:07:14.972 - The board voted to extend the public comment period beyond its planned 30 minute limit. Public comment 00:07:14.972 --> 00:07:21.179 - continued for nearly the first hour of the meeting with speakers repeatedly emphasizing Campbell's 00:07:21.179 --> 00:07:27.448 - leadership, mentorship and connection to students and the choir program. The school board will meet 00:07:27.448 --> 00:07:28.702 - again on June 16th. 00:07:29.826 --> 00:07:36.229 - The Bloomington Utilities Service Board met on May 18th and discussed the College Mall Road sewer system 00:07:36.229 --> 00:07:40.254 - design study. Capital Projects coordinator Kevin White explained. 00:07:40.514 --> 00:07:47.529 - This basis of design will implement some flow meters that you'll hear another contract later tonight 00:07:47.529 --> 00:07:54.614 - with grip about. We'll set the flow meters out, study the system, figure out potential route and size 00:07:54.614 --> 00:08:01.559 - of pipe needed to be upgraded to alleviate this ongoing SSO. As part of that basis of design study, 00:08:01.559 --> 00:08:02.462 - they'll also 00:08:03.106 --> 00:08:10.526 - estimate the construction cost of the different options. So this is really just the very beginning stages 00:08:10.526 --> 00:08:17.806 - of what's going to be a much larger project down the road. White said that a contract with Commonwealth 00:08:17.806 --> 00:08:25.086 - engineers for the study will cost $197,461. Engineer Phil Peden said that there has been an action plan 00:08:25.086 --> 00:08:28.446 - in the area since 2004 to fix undersized pipes. 00:08:28.674 --> 00:08:37.066 - That area around College Mall, we've done a ton of rehabilitation. We've done a lot of lining, we've 00:08:37.066 --> 00:08:41.470 - done grouting. So we did connection remediation too. 00:08:42.978 --> 00:08:50.020 - I'm going to say over $5 million, maybe $10 million in rehabilitation in that basin, try to eliminate 00:08:50.020 --> 00:08:57.062 - I&I. We still occasionally still have the SSO there at Covent Enter and College Mall Road. So as part 00:08:57.062 --> 00:09:04.173 - of that corrective action plan, it detailed upgrades to this system for more capacity all the way down 00:09:04.173 --> 00:09:10.110 - to where the sewer crosses Sayre Road. It's significantly undersized. We've lined it. 00:09:10.370 --> 00:09:16.529 - to try to eliminate I&I along the stream. And that was years ago, but that didn't correct it. Board 00:09:16.529 --> 00:09:22.935 - President Kirk White asked if the area was mostly affected by heavy rain. Peden responded that problems 00:09:22.935 --> 00:09:29.279 - only occur during rain, and it has only happened once in the past year. It's still happening, and like 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:35.685 - you said, there's a lot of development happening in that area, too. A lot of changes where we're seeing 00:09:35.685 --> 00:09:36.670 - increased flow. 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:44.440 - The goal is to get this estimate so that we can put this on the next rate case for sewer so we have 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:50.935 - an accurate idea what the cost will be for the project. That's a good idea. The board passed the agreement 00:09:50.935 --> 00:09:57.005 - for the design study unanimously. Next, they moved on to discuss a memorandum of understanding with 00:09:57.005 --> 00:10:03.318 - the retreat at Switchyard that was tabled at their previous meeting. Utilities Director Catherine Zager 00:10:03.318 --> 00:10:07.870 - introduced the resolution. It was suggested by the board that we added the 00:10:08.578 --> 00:10:16.178 - added additional language that now reads, in the event retreat decides to sell the property before the 00:10:16.178 --> 00:10:23.556 - balance is paid in full, the retreat shall immediately notify CBU and the remaining balance due and 00:10:23.556 --> 00:10:31.230 - owing for connection fees shall be paid to CBU at closing on the sale of the property. So we have added 00:10:31.230 --> 00:10:33.886 - that and are presenting this again. 00:10:34.018 --> 00:10:41.157 - board member Megan Parmenter said the legal team has looked over the MOU and she hopes the agreement 00:10:41.157 --> 00:10:48.367 - is holding the retreat to the board's expectations. I can see how it's been billed but they said they 00:10:48.367 --> 00:10:55.435 - were not able to pay it so we've performed the services so I guess that's why I see it as more than 00:10:55.435 --> 00:11:03.422 - like their bill that we've agreed to let them pay over five years. It's the services have been performed so like 00:11:04.098 --> 00:11:11.483 - like somebody that go put on a new roof for a thousand dollars, they've performed the services. They're 00:11:11.483 --> 00:11:18.584 - getting paid back. The MOU was approved unanimously. The next utility service board meeting will be 00:11:18.584 --> 00:11:26.750 - held on June 1st. The Monroe County Commissioners met on May 21st. County Surveyor Tron Enright Randolph announced 00:11:26.978 --> 00:11:34.075 - that the Monroe County Surveyor's Office won a Special Achievement in GIS award for its collaborative 00:11:34.075 --> 00:11:41.381 - Hoosier Character project with the Monroe County Public Library. GIS coordinator John Baton demonstrated 00:11:41.381 --> 00:11:48.895 - some of the site's capacities and how users can search historical residents and landmarks through digitized 00:11:48.895 --> 00:11:51.678 - records layered over 19th century maps. 00:11:51.906 --> 00:11:57.512 - This is an interactive website and it's growing and it's going to continue to grow and the goal here 00:11:57.512 --> 00:12:03.229 - is for folks to contribute to this so we get a better idea of where we came from and maybe where we're 00:12:03.229 --> 00:12:08.946 - going. The commissioners praised the collaborative nature of the project and discussed the possibility 00:12:08.946 --> 00:12:14.718 - of residents contributing family archives and local historical material to expand the database further. 00:12:15.522 --> 00:12:22.957 - Later in the meeting, Hoosier National Forest Supervisor Mike Chavis introduced himself and addressed 00:12:22.957 --> 00:12:28.862 - misconceptions about the financial impact of federal land ownership on counties. 00:12:29.058 --> 00:12:35.648 - property taxes, technically speaking, but we make payments in the form of payment in lieu of taxes, 00:12:35.648 --> 00:12:42.568 - and then there's also a different fund called the Secure Rural Schools Act. So it comes in two different 00:12:42.568 --> 00:12:49.686 - tranches, and in the 2025 payments were just recently made. So that amounted for Monroe County specifically 00:12:49.686 --> 00:12:56.408 - to 119,000 acres. That's not a huge windfall, but that's funds that can be applied to roads, schools, 00:12:56.408 --> 00:12:58.846 - public schools, that. And of course, 00:12:59.042 --> 00:13:04.619 - We think there's other value besides that payment to having a national forest. The next Monroe County 00:13:04.619 --> 00:13:10.086 - Commissioner's meeting will be held on June 4th. The Monroe County Capital Improvement Board met on 00:13:10.086 --> 00:13:15.717 - May 20th. Project Manager Andrew Sherry from Weddle Brothers Construction gave a detailed construction 00:13:15.717 --> 00:13:21.293 - update for the convention center expansion. We are preparing for the remainder of the site demolition 00:13:21.293 --> 00:13:27.198 - existing curb so that we can start getting sidewalks, light pole bases and those types of things installed. 00:13:27.298 --> 00:13:32.813 - and then starting our exterior features on the south side of the project. So, trash enclosures, our 00:13:32.813 --> 00:13:38.439 - main entrance ramp, those types of things at the loading dock area. A big talking point over the next 00:13:38.439 --> 00:13:44.120 - couple months will be the connector preparations. So, we are planning to proceed with the next closure 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:49.745 - of College Avenue on June 30th through July 24th. We have a Board of Public Works meeting June 2nd at 00:13:49.745 --> 00:13:55.702 - 5.30. We have been coordinating with the Board of Public Works, talking through all the logistics planning, 00:13:55.702 --> 00:13:57.246 - the closure. Luckily, we've 00:13:57.570 --> 00:14:03.180 - or luckily or unluckily, we've been through this before. Luckily, we hope to not have two feet of snow 00:14:03.180 --> 00:14:08.790 - hit the same day we plan to close. But if so, we do have a snow blower this time. So we currently have 00:14:08.790 --> 00:14:14.400 - started our work to prepare for the closure. So we're getting ahead everywhere that we can. This photo 00:14:14.400 --> 00:14:19.955 - of the closure, you can see the parapet wall is framed. We've framed underneath for the metal panels. 00:14:19.955 --> 00:14:20.990 - We're buttoning up 00:14:21.250 --> 00:14:26.864 - ramps for the elevation changes and then we will start installing curtain wall systems prior to this 00:14:26.864 --> 00:14:32.478 - closure that way that we really focus on just getting across the road in this time period. So I want 00:14:32.478 --> 00:14:38.258 - to eliminate any risks that we may have. Again, we will have the curtain walls, metal panels, plumbing, 00:14:38.258 --> 00:14:41.982 - electrical rough ends and roof work completed during this closure. 00:14:42.210 --> 00:14:48.358 - Next, the discussion moved on to the recommendation of a, quote, form of connection, unquote, by Ball 00:14:48.358 --> 00:14:54.386 - Nogue's studio as the public art installation for the Convention Center. Board member Galen Cassidy 00:14:54.386 --> 00:15:00.413 - summarized the work. We began our first round of public feedback in September of 2025, which helped 00:15:00.413 --> 00:15:04.030 - us determine what the community was looking for in the art. 00:15:05.186 --> 00:15:11.145 - By October, 2025, we were ready to release our call for artists. That call attracted more than 180 artists 00:15:11.145 --> 00:15:16.881 - from around the world. Holly and I then formed the recommendation committee to help sort through these 00:15:16.881 --> 00:15:22.561 - artists, which consisted of representation from the Blumenthen Arts Commission, the CIB, and the Beat 00:15:22.561 --> 00:15:28.186 - Advisory Committee, as well as other members involved in the arts in this community. Our first round 00:15:28.186 --> 00:15:30.302 - narrowed it down to roughly a top 60. 00:15:30.434 --> 00:15:35.852 - then a top 10, and by the end of December and early January, we had narrowed it down to a top five. 00:15:35.852 --> 00:15:41.759 - These five finalists then spent the next several months working on proposals based on the themes represented 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:47.285 - in our public feedback session, and we hosted several of the artists onsite for a chance to meet with 00:15:47.285 --> 00:15:52.975 - the stakeholders and community members. By April, we had four finalists move on to the last stage, where 00:15:52.975 --> 00:15:58.014 - a recommendation committee, along with Schmidt and Weddle Brothers, interviewed each artist, 00:15:58.274 --> 00:16:04.822 - We also did another round of public feedback where the community got to see each proposal and vote for 00:16:04.822 --> 00:16:10.735 - their first and second choices. We received nearly 1,000 responses to that survey. The board 00:16:10.735 --> 00:16:17.474 - voted unanimously to approve the $400,000 art installation. Following this, board president John Weichart 00:16:17.474 --> 00:16:24.276 - updated members on residential and commercial tenants occupying properties south of the Convention Center, 00:16:24.276 --> 00:16:27.582 - outlining tenant assistant efforts. We're providing 00:16:28.130 --> 00:16:34.478 - three more months from now, actually, for the tenants, for the residential tenants, to continue to look 00:16:34.478 --> 00:16:40.704 - at relocation opportunities. As I said, we're meeting the business needs of Friendly Beast, and we're 00:16:40.704 --> 00:16:47.296 - providing two additional months for my sister's closet relocation and extending the financial contribution, 00:16:47.296 --> 00:16:53.949 - not only that the county is making, but by extending that lease, then we're actually extending an additional 00:16:53.949 --> 00:16:55.902 - $13,000 of our own contribution 00:16:56.226 --> 00:17:03.306 - in rent waiver that would bring support from the county and the CIB to $65,400 to my sister's closet 00:17:03.306 --> 00:17:10.526 - to assist in their relocation. During public comment, Bloomington city council member, Isabel Piedmont 00:17:10.526 --> 00:17:17.747 - Smith encouraged the board to consider alternatives that would preserve affordable housing while still 00:17:17.747 --> 00:17:25.598 - accommodating a future hotel project. I wanted to also encourage the CIB to look at the homes for all proposal. 00:17:25.730 --> 00:17:38.002 - And also consider whether a hotelier would actually need an entire block like College Square, because 00:17:38.002 --> 00:17:50.634 - one possible avenue for the land swap would be to swap the southern property, which is assessed at quite 00:17:50.634 --> 00:17:55.326 - a bit lower value than College Square. 00:17:55.490 --> 00:18:02.184 - for part of College Square rather than the whole block, which would seem sufficient space for a hotel 00:18:02.184 --> 00:18:08.813 - if we compare with the other large hotels we have downtown. The board unanimously approved extending 00:18:08.813 --> 00:18:15.835 - lease options for remaining residential and commercial tenants. The next Monroe County Capital Improvement 00:18:15.835 --> 00:18:18.526 - Board meeting will be held on June 17th. 00:18:19.234 --> 00:18:27.294 - And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.