- Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Bloomington Commission on Sustainability met
- on June 9th and reviewed new guidance for city boards and commissions. Deputy Clerk Jennifer Crossley
- led a training session covering public communications, conflicts of interest, open door law requirements,
- and expectations for commission members. We've never had that type of formal training. And so a lot
- of things have been left
- to your imagination and just kind of flying off the seat of your pants and the liaisons trying to figure
- out all the things as well.
- And so last month liaisons and went through their particular training. And then this week we will wrap
- up the training for board members and commissioners as well. During staff reports, sustainability staff
- announced plans for a series of public climate talks in 2027 funded through a state energy grant. Proposed
- topics include climate change impacts in Bloomington, energy efficiency and solar power, forest and
- ecosystem health and food security.
- The grant will also help fund energy upgrades, solar panels, and battery storage at the Buskirk Chumlee
- Theater. We received a grant for the Buskirk Chumlee Theater, and for the new commissioners, you might
- not know about that. It's Empowering Energy Partnerships and Communities grant through the Indiana Office
- of Energy Development. We're upgrading the HVAC system. We're installing solar and a battery backup system.
- at the Busker Children's Theater, and part of that grant was to pay for four climate talks in 2027.
- Commissioners also discussed a potential joint effort with the Environmental Commission on Light Pollution.
- They also approved a resolution calling for Bloomington to phase out certain rodenticides and glue traps,
- citing concerns about impacts on wildlife and pets. If our goal here is to reduce the rodent population,
- what this is impacting the most are the animals that eat the rodents.
- Those are the ones that are getting the highest impact. So we're creating a circular feedback loop where
- you poison the rodents and the rodent population might briefly go down, but then you're also poisoning
- the animals that eat the most rodents. So their population goes down, which creates more rodents, which
- causes you to need more chemicals to begin with. The next meeting of the Bloomington Commission
- on Sustainability is on July 14th.
- The Bloomington Plan Commission met on June 8th and sent a North Dunn Street subdivision proposal to
- second hearing on July 13th. The proposed development would create 11 residential lots near Matlock
- Heights. Residents spent more than an hour raising concerns about flooding, traffic and environmental impacts.
- Resident Ididra Sheets criticized the proposal. She said plans to remove trees, reduce permeable surfaces,
- and rely on homeowners to maintain a detention pond ignored the realities of flooding in the neighborhood.
- The plan to significantly reduce permeable surfaces, remove trees that naturally prevent or mitigate
- erosion, and leave it up to the homeowners to manage a detention pond all upstream
- from an area without storm drains and with already existing drainage and flooding issues, to pretend
- that anything other than the obvious is going to happen is to participate in a fiction. And it feels
- like, and I apologize for my language here, and it feels like giving the homeowners and residents of
- Mattlock Heights a really big middle finger. Resident Robin Halpin-Young argued that the city
- was prioritizing growth over neighborhood concerns. We good citizens.
- come to these meetings with our carefully drafted five-minute speeches, hoping to share the expertise
- of our experience and our firsthand knowledge of the situation. Despite our compelling arguments and
- obvious strong community opposition, the city is moving forward with their support for this plan. I
- believe because it supports their plan for density at any cost.
- Residents also described the financial toll of flooding. Resident Julie Williams told commissioners
- that neighbors have faced extensive property damage. This is what we're dealing with. This is the expense
- that neighbors have been struggling with. This is anytime you have to do
- this kind of damage control on your property, it's tens of thousands of dollars. The commission ultimately
- voted to continue the petition to a second hearing where the stormwater management, environmental impacts
- and utility concerns are expected to receive further review. The next meeting of the Bloomington Plan
- Commission will be on July 13th.
- The Bloomington City Council met on June 10th. The meeting began with a review of the city's 2025 tax
- abatement compliance report. Part of the discussion focused on why Novo Nordisk, formerly Catalan, was
- considered substantially compliant despite reporting far fewer employees than originally projected.
- Council member Isabel Piedmont-Smith said that she's concerned about the decision. I don't understand
- why they're considered substantially compliant when
- The planned jobs in the SB1 were 4,212 and the actuals are 1,867. Staff said compliance is measured
- in part by factors within a company's control and argued the decline was largely caused by the collapse
- of the COVID era vaccine market. Council members approved the report without calling for additional
- compliance hearings.
- Next, Council considered Resolution 2026-10, which calls on the federal government to impose a moratorium
- on artificial general intelligence development. The moratorium would last until the technology's alignment
- with human values and well-being is guaranteed. The Council heard from several speakers, including Future
- of Life Institute Director Anthony Aguirre. He urged local governments to participate in the national
- discussion about AI governance.
- path laid out by a few giant US AI companies is not the only possible one, and there are still opportunities
- to switch to another that develops powerful, trustworthy AI tools that empower and complement people
- rather than replacing them and robustly maintains human control and responsibility. Such tools would
- still enable medical and scientific breakthroughs, huge productivity boosts, and products allowing people
- to do things they never could.
- We just need to give up the poorly chosen goal of replicating and then exceeding all human capability
- and AI replacements. With such a seemingly obvious choice for what is best, why then is the current
- dynamic happening? For AGI, it is because of the potential financial prize for companies, a large stake
- of the $50 trillion human labor market. Their investors won't let them stop. For superintelligence,
- it is about power. Each company feels the same way. If we don't do it, they will.
- If companies can't stop themselves, it falls to the rest of us to do so in the common interest. This
- will take urgent action at the US federal and international level. The AI companies and their lobbyists
- have so far been able to block any meaningful regulation of AI. But recently, things have been changing.
- The risk is becoming obvious. And pressure is building from everyday people and communities worried
- about their futures. You have an opportunity today with this resolution to add to that pressure and
- to take a stand on behalf of the human future. The resolution passed unanimously.
- The meeting continued with extensive discussion on Ordinance 2026-12, which would establish a permanent,
- seasonal, car-free Kirkwood Avenue. It would create a framework for future pedestrian-focused planning
- downtown. Resident Zach Ammerman supported pedestrianizing Kirkwood. Bloomington has every structural
- advantage research identifies for implementing a successful pedestrian program. The one ingredient we
- are missing is political will and vision.
- And that is one that can only be supplied by you here tonight Councilmember Hopi Stasberg expressed
- concerns that additional planning and investment are needed before making the closure permanent I don't
- think what we have right now on Kirkwood spells success for a closure to vehicular traffic Especially
- one that requires closure as this ordinance does of five complete blocks for only part of the year
- While I think it is possible to create a vibrant and exciting pedestrian street in Bloomington, perhaps
- even on Kirkwood, it will take significant investment to get there. After public comment and council
- debate, the ordinance passed on a 5-4 vote. It now heads to Mayor Kerry Thompson for consideration.
- Council also discussed guidelines for future alcohol permit districts in Bloomington now authorized
- under Indiana law.
- Aubrey Williams, co-founder of Heartwork Brewing, spoke in support of the resolution expressing criticism
- of the current system. These liquor license costs have become so prohibitive, sometimes at a quarter
- million dollars or more, that only outside developers and larger conglomerates can realistically absorb
- them. This resolution presents an opportunity for the city to level the playing field. Council postponed
- the final vote to allow for additional revisions.
- The next Bloomington City Council meeting will be on July 22nd. The Richland Township and Town of Ellitsville
- Reorganization Committee met on June 10th. Senior consultant Brandon Scruggs presented the reorganization
- fiscal impact analysis from Baker Tilly. The purpose of the reorganization, as all of you know, is to
- improve efficiencies, enhance the services. We want to be
- the town to be more flexible, improve the planning, and support future growth. Really, this
- is a forward-looking approach that's supposed to make things easier and more collaborative. What's being
- proposed is that Richland Township and the town of Ellitsville join to be one unified government. And
- if this becomes effective through voter approval in November, then it would begin as of January 1 of 2027.
- So as of today, right now there's two separate units, there's Ellisville Town and there's Richland Township.
- These two units have separate budgets, separate administrations. They provide separate services for
- the most part. What would be under the proposed structure is that Richland Township and Ellisville would
- join as one government and they would have one budget and one governing body and limit administrative
- duplication.
- Scruggs said the government would be a seven member board with representation from the township and
- the town. The area would be split into two districts, one urban covering Ellitsville city limits and
- one rural covering outside the town. There would be expanded responsibility of the town because now
- they have all the township roads to care for. They would be using town crews and potentially contracted
- services until they can build up to where they will be able to cover it all on their own.
- and this would be funded by revenues like MBH, DAS taxes, and wheel taxes. On to the other two services,
- Township Services, which is referring to, again, that Township Assistance or Public Assistance. That
- department within the newly organized town would provide the Township financial assistance, cemetery
- maintenance, as well as community services, and it is anticipated that the staff
- at the township level would transition into the town. Scruggs said that each entity will retain its
- own debts. The estimated reorganized town budget would be $11.3 million. He moved on to the tax rate
- changes. This is the initial estimated impact. So Richland Township would see almost a 7% increase while
- Ellitsville is about a 4%. Now I say that with
- The caveat being that some properties are going to be at the property tax caps. If you're already at
- the property tax caps or if the increase gets you to the property tax cap, then you're not going to
- see that full increase in your property tax bill. Scruggs said Richland Township will effectively cease
- to exist. Town attorney Darla Brown said Richland Township will be absorbed by Ellitsville except for
- a small corner, which will be annexed by Bloomington.
- During public comment, Richland Township resident Harry Farris asked where the Bloomington annexation
- would reach. Council member William Ellis said that it would only affect areas already in Bloomington
- city limits. Richland Township resident Richard Dillman opposed the tax increase. We should be able
- to go into the reorganization without a tax increase. I mean, let's live like we do with our own paychecks,
- with our own checkbooks.
- We got the money, we don't spend it. We are picking up more services, though. Ellis responded that the
- tax increase is to support expanding services into the township. Ellisville resident Anna Bednarski
- said that the combined town and township budgets currently sum to $8.4 million. She asked why the budget
- would increase by nearly $3 million. That is, to me, a vast increase in spending. And a lot of it is
- through almost doubling
- the police force and increasing the fire department operating budget, which the fire department will
- be, again, if I'm understanding this correctly, serving the same area that it does now. So I think we
- need to ask ourselves as township and town residents about this increase
- and why it doesn't apply to other areas like education or other local concerns that we have. Bednarski
- said the reorganization plan does not include assurances against negative development like factory farming
- and data centers, so she does not feel safer with a reorganized town compared to the current way.
- Members of the Bloomington and Ellitsville Chambers of Commerce and the Monroe County Republican Party
- spoke in support of the reorganization plan. If the plan is approved, it will be on the November ballot.
- If it passes the ballot, the reorganization will take effect on New Year's Day 2027. The Richland Township
- and the Town of Ellitsville Reorganization Committee will meet for the final public hearing on June 22nd.
- The Bloomington Arts Commission met on June 11 and announced Paige Sharp as the new Assistant Director
- for the Arts, replacing the position formerly held by Holly Warren. Commissioners noted Sharp started
- on May 26. Sharp described her background.
- I went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I loved art. And when I graduated, I actually
- went into nonprofit. Both my parents were nonprofit people. So I'd been volunteering since seven, and
- apparently I was just indoctrinated. So I went into the museum field and ultimately continued on that
- pathway. I ended up with the Indiana Arts Commission, which is our state's
- Arts Agency and was there for about 11 years running all the programs for the state. Sharp said she
- attended the unveiling of the Ryan White statue that was unveiled on Thursday at Alumni Hall. White
- became a national symbol for HIV and AIDS awareness as a teenager after his school barred him from attending
- classes. White died in 1990 at 18 years old. I was excited to go to the Ryan White public art unveiling today.
- a Melanie's bronze sculpture. And so that was a great inauguration. It was very heart-rending and a
- really beautiful experience. Sharp said she's excited to take on the position and looks forward to working
- with the Arts Commission members. She described them as a miraculous team. Then the commission introduced
- the Trades District Placemaking Task Force. This organization will help guide public art efforts through
- 2028. The expectation is we'd have either monthly or ad hoc meetings
- I think after the first meeting or two, we'll have a better sense of what sort of rhythm we'll establish.
- Those will be primarily virtual. We'll have some options to attend in person if that's beneficial. And
- this group will operate through the end term of the grant, which is the end of 2028. And so general
- goals for this group
- is looking at vision strategies, you know, sort of looking at the thematic designs that are part of
- individual public art elements, other elements that we're integrating into the built environment in
- the district and providing feedback
- It's our key moments as that plan develops. Next, the Arts Commission walked through upcoming public
- arts projects, including the Convention Center, Hopewell, and traffic boxes. Public arts subcommittee
- chair, Rebecca Kehoe, updated the commission on ongoing projects. The city had deliberated and they
- chose that Benjamin Ball's connection piece for the Convention Center. So just continually noting that.
- There are several, there are going to be several upcoming projects, um, and the public arc subcommittee
- that are coming down the pipeline that I think Christina and Paige can talk to as I sort of like, if
- anybody has questions as I'm like talking them out, um, they can dive deeper into it. Um, so there's
- going to be a Hopewell project, um, with John Resick. Um, and I don't really have more details on that.
- I just know.
- that will be happening at some point in the near future. Another project will be with the Miller Showers.
- So Parks has received a substantial amount in funding, and so that will be a project. And then there's
- a DBI initiative, which involves traffic box murals. So there's still a couple, I think, that need to
- be done. The next BAC meeting will take place on July 8.
- And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.