WEBVTT 00:00:04.738 --> 00:00:11.578 - Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Richland Township Board of Trustees and Ellitsville 00:00:11.578 --> 00:00:17.671 - Town Council met for a joint meeting on June 22nd. They hosted the final hearing for the proposed 00:00:17.671 --> 00:00:23.889 - Ellitsville-Richland Township reorganization. During public comment, Clark Greiner, interim CEO for 00:00:23.889 --> 00:00:31.102 - Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, voiced support for putting the reorganization on the November ballot. 00:00:31.266 --> 00:00:37.690 - The BEDC highly respects the forward-thinking leadership both entities have shown in shaping the prosperous 00:00:37.690 --> 00:00:43.756 - future of generations to come. Therefore, we strongly encourage a favorable vote tonight to place the 00:00:43.756 --> 00:00:49.764 - reorganization measure on the ballot and grant your residents the voice and opportunity they deserve 00:00:49.764 --> 00:00:55.890 - to decide this issue coming in November. Andrew Henry, who was involved in the reorganization planning 00:00:55.890 --> 00:00:59.518 - process, also supported presenting the resolution to voters. 00:00:59.714 --> 00:01:05.790 - I have heard many interesting questions, positions, and arguments for and against. One view I have not 00:01:05.790 --> 00:01:11.985 - heard a single time, not once, is I would like to not have the opportunity to vote on this. Every single 00:01:11.985 --> 00:01:18.061 - person I've spoken to, whether they were indifferent initially, whether they were in favor or opposed, 00:01:18.061 --> 00:01:24.078 - every single person expressed the desire to have the opportunity to cast their vote and not have this 00:01:24.078 --> 00:01:26.910 - be taken away from them as a ballot initiative. 00:01:27.074 --> 00:01:33.686 - The combined boards voted five to one to put the reorganization on the ballot in November. Ellisville 00:01:33.686 --> 00:01:40.299 - Town Council President Scott Oldham urged residents to do research and ask questions before the vote. 00:01:40.299 --> 00:01:46.911 - Don't just believe everything that's floating around because there's a lot of misinformation both pro 00:01:46.911 --> 00:01:53.394 - and con out there. This shapes this town's future. This shapes this township's future. So let's all 00:01:53.394 --> 00:01:54.366 - try and get it 00:01:54.594 --> 00:01:59.908 - as absolutely right as we can and not disbelieve a rumor of a rumor of a rumor of a rumor. Come and 00:01:59.908 --> 00:02:05.329 - ask one of the two boards, come and ask the committee who put these things together. Don't just go on 00:02:05.329 --> 00:02:10.644 - third, fourth hand information. This is a very significant vote. Residents can vote on the proposed 00:02:10.644 --> 00:02:13.726 - Ellitsville Richland Township reorganization in November. 00:02:14.914 --> 00:02:21.652 - The Monroe County Council met on June 23rd and heard a request from the sheriff's office for additional 00:02:21.652 --> 00:02:28.130 - funds to hire outside council to prepare for an ACLU lawsuit. Sheriff Ruben Marte asserted the need 00:02:28.130 --> 00:02:34.608 - to move quickly. We're moving at a very fast pace that we don't have the luxury to wait. And again, 00:02:34.608 --> 00:02:41.022 - to be fair to the council, that's one reason why I said it. Taking your lead, following your lead, 00:02:41.442 --> 00:02:48.018 - That's the reason why we're coming to you right now, because it was moving at us really quick. Much 00:02:48.018 --> 00:02:54.593 - of the discussion centered on whether the county's insurance would cover litigation and whether the 00:02:54.593 --> 00:03:01.300 - sheriff should reallocate existing funds before seeking a new appropriation. Councilmember Kate Wilts 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:07.613 - questioned the request. You already have a line for this and you have money for these purposes. 00:03:07.613 --> 00:03:08.862 - I'm just, I guess, 00:03:10.082 --> 00:03:17.703 - unsure as to why you need an extra appropriation before a lawsuit has been started. The council approved 00:03:17.703 --> 00:03:25.178 - the sheriff's request for an additional $30,000 by a vote of six to one with council member Marty Hawk 00:03:25.178 --> 00:03:27.646 - casting the lone dissenting vote. 00:03:28.386 --> 00:03:36.096 - Next, the council heard from Cientia, a software cybersecurity company seeking a property tax abatement 00:03:36.096 --> 00:03:43.658 - to support a major expansion. Company president Doug McDaniel said the company offers high-wage local 00:03:43.658 --> 00:03:51.219 - jobs and long-term careers. We currently have 39 employees. Our average salary is just a little north 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:52.702 - of $105,000 a year. 00:03:53.730 --> 00:04:01.610 - 90% of our employees are in Indiana. 74% of those are here in Monroe County. The average longevity of 00:04:01.610 --> 00:04:09.567 - our folks is right at five and a half years. And we've got quite a few young folks as well. Counselors 00:04:09.567 --> 00:04:17.446 - largely praised the company's local economic impact while asking about workforce longevity, benefits, 00:04:17.446 --> 00:04:22.622 - and whether any environmental regulations apply to its operations. 00:04:23.394 --> 00:04:30.489 - The council voted to advance the Ciencia tax abatement request to public notice. Later, the County Council 00:04:30.489 --> 00:04:37.319 - approved Resolution 2026-25 restructuring the Collaborative Justice Project Working Subcommittee after 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:44.082 - its first meeting failed for lack of quorum. County Attorney Molly Turner King explained the narrowed 00:04:44.082 --> 00:04:50.845 - scope of the subcommittee. The Collaborative Justice Project Working Subcommittee's focus shall be on 00:04:50.845 --> 00:04:52.702 - location only at this time. 00:04:53.026 --> 00:04:59.632 - The subcommittee is expected to return a recommended jail site in roughly one month. The Monroe County 00:04:59.632 --> 00:05:06.110 - Collaborative Justice Project Working Subcommittee held its first meeting on June 24th. The expected 00:05:06.110 --> 00:05:12.523 - first meeting lacked a quorum, so the Monroe County Council reduced voting membership from eight to 00:05:12.523 --> 00:05:19.130 - six members. Currently, the subcommittee has five members because the Monroe County Commissioners have 00:05:19.130 --> 00:05:21.246 - yet to appoint a representative. 00:05:21.378 --> 00:05:27.617 - The subcommittee's goal is to evaluate potential properties within Bloomington city limits and recommend 00:05:27.617 --> 00:05:33.737 - one location to the city county collaborative group. Deputy Prosecutor April Wilson proposed a process 00:05:33.737 --> 00:05:40.274 - for the task. With the truncated schedule, I think one of the things we should do is create a site evaluation 00:05:40.274 --> 00:05:46.335 - metrics, identify properties, apply the site evaluation metrics to the identified properties, discuss 00:05:46.335 --> 00:05:50.910 - our findings and make recommendations. I recognize we only have three weeks. 00:05:51.106 --> 00:05:58.426 - That's why you have a calendar which is included as well. Wilson said the council gave the subcommittee 00:05:58.426 --> 00:06:05.605 - one month to find a location. This is the calendar. That's why I picked July 14th as our deadline and 00:06:05.605 --> 00:06:09.054 - trying to reach that deadline with this process. 00:06:09.186 --> 00:06:15.161 - It seems like we would have to have multiple meetings. I just put some meetings on a calendar. Obviously, 00:06:15.161 --> 00:06:21.023 - I haven't checked with anyone's schedule, so I understand that they might have to be moved. Wilson said 00:06:21.023 --> 00:06:25.758 - she hopes the process and pacing will allow the subcommittee to meet its deadlines. 00:06:26.018 --> 00:06:33.863 - Her plan also provided six metrics to judge each property. The subcommittee agreed to review the proposed 00:06:33.863 --> 00:06:41.337 - metrics before the next meeting. Thompson suggested the subcommittee members submit additions before 00:06:41.337 --> 00:06:48.886 - June 26th. I would suggest that members of the committee submit suggested additions by email ahead of 00:06:48.886 --> 00:06:51.550 - time so that we get to a near final 00:06:51.810 --> 00:06:58.056 - at least something that we can all look at and the public can look at before our next meeting. 00:06:58.056 --> 00:07:04.630 - The subcommittee approved scheduling six meetings through July 13th to finalize its recommendation. 00:07:04.630 --> 00:07:11.270 - It voted to accept public comment during the June 29th and July 6th meetings while also establishing 00:07:11.270 --> 00:07:18.042 - a process for written public input. The committee moved on to hear County Attorney Larry Allen present 00:07:18.042 --> 00:07:20.606 - a history of the jail property search. 00:07:20.962 --> 00:07:27.168 - The first round was when we had Sheriff Swain and Sheriff Swain had a request that we look close to 00:07:27.168 --> 00:07:33.375 - the I-69 corridor so that they could transport inmates to the medical facilities in Indianapolis if 00:07:33.375 --> 00:07:39.581 - there was an event that was needed. I think you guys all received some material about this and it's 00:07:39.581 --> 00:07:45.973 - in the packet. We basically looked at and we called one property north, which is a property off Vernal 00:07:45.973 --> 00:07:46.718 - Pike, which 00:07:47.234 --> 00:07:52.478 - was in round two and then we looked at Fullerton Pike and we looked at a property further south the 00:07:52.478 --> 00:07:57.879 - one further south they can get a lot of traction because it's so far south but there was a lot of back 00:07:57.879 --> 00:08:03.490 - and forth at least the initial meeting between the Fullerton Pike site and the Vernal Pike site we reached 00:08:03.490 --> 00:08:08.734 - out to the owner of Vernal Pike and they weren't interested in selling at that time so that kind of 00:08:08.866 --> 00:08:15.378 - eliminated that. So that's how we got to Fullerton. We went through the city council process, city council 00:08:15.378 --> 00:08:21.586 - rejected it. Allen also explained the history behind the Thompson Hopewell power lines and North Park 00:08:21.586 --> 00:08:27.793 - sites. The North Park site was denied by the county council in May. County attorney Molly Turner King 00:08:27.793 --> 00:08:34.366 - moved on to the properties that design company DLZ identified downtown and on the outskirts of Bloomington. 00:08:34.850 --> 00:08:42.038 - Within your packet, there are six properties, including a property south of the post office, the Bloomington 00:08:42.038 --> 00:08:48.764 - Transit garage, a tap road south, a tap road north, the H.T. building and the fell iron bender lumber 00:08:48.764 --> 00:08:55.490 - property. Turner King said the properties were considered for their size, location within floodplains 00:08:55.490 --> 00:08:57.534 - and whether they are for sale. 00:08:57.890 --> 00:09:04.672 - She said none of the six properties met the stated criteria. The subcommittee decided to add the Thompson 00:09:04.672 --> 00:09:11.583 - property, the Curry property, and the Powerlines property to the list of sites under current consideration. 00:09:11.583 --> 00:09:14.590 - The subcommittee will meet again on June 29th. 00:09:15.746 --> 00:09:22.953 - The Ellisville Town Council met on June 22nd. During public comment, community member and business owner, 00:09:22.953 --> 00:09:30.228 - Jason Barrett disputed a fine that he received. Barrett alleged the fine was enforced for personal reasons 00:09:30.228 --> 00:09:37.027 - and that there was a lack of communication from the town. Long story short, we were on a great path 00:09:37.027 --> 00:09:42.398 - and then had some challenges with being able to expand my business, try to get 00:09:43.042 --> 00:09:50.580 - A project internally in the business approved. It took many, many months. Got the DNR involved in another 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:57.691 - project, and then we got a fine because we didn't follow the rules that were set aside by the town. 00:09:57.691 --> 00:10:02.526 - And really, it came down to after we've sat down with the town that 00:10:03.202 --> 00:10:08.606 - It really took longer than anybody wanted to, expected to, or should have, but then we were fined because 00:10:08.606 --> 00:10:13.856 - the DNR forced the town to. Anyway, there's still this little bit of a fine that's standing out there, 00:10:13.856 --> 00:10:19.107 - and I've been trying to have somebody listen to just our story, and we're trying to grow our business. 00:10:19.107 --> 00:10:24.663 - Really, what we're trying to do is add onto the building that's there, and that's just to grow our business. 00:10:24.663 --> 00:10:27.518 - Part of it's gonna be warehouse, part of it's hopefully 00:10:28.066 --> 00:10:34.608 - road frontage for another business. And I guess the whole reason I'm here is just to ask for 00:10:34.608 --> 00:10:41.923 - some cooperation. Town attorney Darla Brown urged Barrett to go to the Board of Zoning Appeals. I would 00:10:41.923 --> 00:10:49.027 - also note that any fine levy by the planning director is something that can be appealed to the Board 00:10:49.027 --> 00:10:55.358 - of Zoning Appeals because that's their job. One of their jobs is to consider appeals from 00:10:55.586 --> 00:11:02.351 - the zoning director's decision, and that time limit has passed. It's 30 days after she renders her decision. 00:11:02.351 --> 00:11:08.682 - Following the discussion, town manager Mike Farmer thanked first responders for their assistance with 00:11:08.682 --> 00:11:15.012 - recent storms, and street commissioner Kip Hetty made an announcement about 4th of July fireworks and 00:11:15.012 --> 00:11:21.343 - the town's annual blood drive. Two quick things to remind everyone, this year's fireworks are on July 00:11:21.343 --> 00:11:24.446 - 4th, up around the high school, junior high area. 00:11:24.674 --> 00:11:31.445 - There will be food trucks and they'll be out by the junior high parking lot and then our annual blood 00:11:31.445 --> 00:11:38.283 - drive is July the 18th at the fire station and you can sign up for that and get additional information 00:11:38.283 --> 00:11:45.187 - on the fire department Facebook page or you can call the station and I'll get you in contact with Chris 00:11:45.187 --> 00:11:49.502 - Klaus. The Ellitsville Town Council will meet next on July 13th. 00:11:50.626 --> 00:11:56.878 - The Bloomington Transportation Commission met on June 22nd. Project engineer Kendall Kenoki presented 00:11:56.878 --> 00:12:03.314 - the goal of an infrastructure project for Patterson Drive, Grimes Lane, and Rogers Street. Kenoki walked 00:12:03.314 --> 00:12:09.505 - through the plan for Rogers between 2nd and 3rd streets. This was an area where we were proposing to 00:12:09.505 --> 00:12:15.634 - remove some on-street parking. But if you talk to someone who lives in the area, they will tell you 00:12:15.634 --> 00:12:18.270 - we are actually removing a left turn lane. 00:12:18.370 --> 00:12:25.352 - from northbound Rogers onto westbound Howell. It's actually not a left turn lane. There's street parking 00:12:25.352 --> 00:12:32.069 - on the east side and then kind of a taper for traffic to go around, but it essentially functioned as 00:12:32.069 --> 00:12:38.985 - a left turn lane. So the proposal was to, this is what was shown before, but to eliminate that parking, 00:12:38.985 --> 00:12:45.635 - provide pedestrian refuge islands and then taper the road over and maintain the street parking with 00:12:45.635 --> 00:12:46.366 - bump outs. 00:12:46.850 --> 00:12:53.887 - After doing outreach, the updated design is essentially the same thing. So there's no changes tonight 00:12:53.887 --> 00:13:00.785 - in terms of Title 15 or anything. Kanoki said the third and final location is Grimes Lane where the 00:13:00.785 --> 00:13:07.891 - BTC proposes an implementation of safety improvements. We are now showing the extension of an existing 00:13:07.891 --> 00:13:12.030 - multi-use path on the north side of Patterson along Grimes. 00:13:12.130 --> 00:13:19.817 - from Morton to the Switchyard Park entrance, and then adding a raised crosswalk adjacent to the Switchyard 00:13:19.817 --> 00:13:27.360 - Park entrance. So this was prioritized by planning for pedestrian safety and traffic calming. The motion 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:34.616 - passed unanimously. Next, Ryan Roebling proposed updates for the bylaws for BTC members, which would 00:13:34.616 --> 00:13:39.358 - seek to reduce confusion in policymaking. Our rules had no formal 00:13:39.522 --> 00:13:47.104 - Method for them to bring forward anything which obviously they are allowed to amend title 15 but title 00:13:47.104 --> 00:13:54.613 - 2 Requires that this body review any title 15 amendment first and so it led to this confusing handoff 00:13:54.613 --> 00:14:02.416 - where no one was really sure how to move that to from council to this body and so thankfully Commissioner 00:14:02.416 --> 00:14:06.686 - of Olan is on top of it, but this will alleviate that now 00:14:06.914 --> 00:14:13.533 - staff can reach out to council members and have that handoff happen smoother. Robling explained the 00:14:13.533 --> 00:14:20.350 - powers that the BTC has with the city engineer. We became aware that there was an issue where the body 00:14:20.350 --> 00:14:26.968 - might never agree with the findings and might want to for all intents and purposes adopt a negative 00:14:26.968 --> 00:14:33.785 - finding while still allowing the city engineer to move forward with a project since the transportation 00:14:33.785 --> 00:14:36.830 - commission doesn't really have the ability to 00:14:36.962 --> 00:14:44.163 - cancel a project. So this fix will do that. The motion to update bylaws passed unanimously. The next 00:14:44.163 --> 00:14:51.149 - Bloomington Transportation Commission meeting will be held on July 27th. The Bloomington Historic 00:14:51.149 --> 00:14:58.706 - Preservation Commission met on June 25th. Board members first discussed staff reviews on two certificates 00:14:58.706 --> 00:15:04.766 - of appropriateness ranging from fence installation to solar panels on a garage roof. 00:15:04.866 --> 00:15:12.387 - Hand program manager Noah Sandweiss walked through specifics of the first COA on North Jackson Street. 00:15:12.387 --> 00:15:19.982 - That was proven to be inaccurate. The 907 North Jackson Street is a limestone faced, pure middle-roofed 00:15:19.982 --> 00:15:27.576 - cottage with a front corner porch and a later rear addition corner porch slash carport. There's a 1950s 00:15:27.576 --> 00:15:32.542 - garage at the rear of the property. This request, as I received it, 00:15:33.570 --> 00:15:40.898 - The proposed project consists of the installation of a new decorative black metal fence along the property 00:15:40.898 --> 00:15:48.020 - line. The board members agreed to move forward with the project. Next, the board discussed a demolition 00:15:48.020 --> 00:15:54.937 - delay request for a property on 424 South College Avenue. Sandoy said that he thinks there should be 00:15:54.937 --> 00:16:01.374 - a delay. This actually generally refers to buildings that are located in a historic district. 00:16:02.114 --> 00:16:13.612 - Demolition delay, for the most part, is handled under the Unified Development Ordinance. When demolition 00:16:13.612 --> 00:16:24.563 - delay comes up, the things that the commission is allowed to consider are about the significance of 00:16:24.563 --> 00:16:31.134 - the existing buildings, but not the future use of the site. 00:16:32.898 --> 00:16:50.489 - No. OK. Any other? Well, I'm a bit puzzled. Puzzled is probably the wrong word. Could you explain why 00:16:50.489 --> 00:17:01.182 - it is? On what basis did you include this in your submission? 00:17:01.570 --> 00:17:10.507 - If the delay is posted, Sarah Wolford, a member of local advocacy group Homes for All, said the organization 00:17:10.507 --> 00:17:13.950 - has an alternative plan for the property. 00:17:14.178 --> 00:17:20.407 - In reference to some of the deferred maintenance, deferred maintenance isn't necessarily a reason that 00:17:20.407 --> 00:17:26.817 - something deserves to be torn down. There are plenty of buildings and I can think of many that the cooks, 00:17:26.817 --> 00:17:33.045 - for example, have poured a lot of money into that I think the majority of people would agree had a lot 00:17:33.045 --> 00:17:36.734 - of deferred maintenance and that it probably would have been 00:17:36.930 --> 00:17:45.228 - more cost-effective to go ahead and tear them down. But just like it's not necessarily relevant what's 00:17:45.228 --> 00:17:53.445 - happening with the buildings in the future, that deferred maintenance is not necessarily a reason for 00:17:53.445 --> 00:18:01.903 - them to go ahead and be demolished. And they are currently housing people. Next, board members discussed 00:18:01.903 --> 00:18:06.334 - a COA for the Fleener Building at 112 East 3rd Street. 00:18:06.722 --> 00:18:13.584 - The proposal requested brick repairs in areas damaged by a vehicle accident. Bricks would only be replaced 00:18:13.584 --> 00:18:20.062 - where necessary. Sandweiss discussed whether to move forward with brick repairs since it is a unique 00:18:20.062 --> 00:18:26.476 - building type from the 1920s. Even though the proposal is for brick replacement now is because that 00:18:26.476 --> 00:18:32.953 - shows where repairs are going to have to be made, which, you know, we additionally have this picture 00:18:32.953 --> 00:18:35.262 - here of the damaged storefront, but 00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:41.643 - This is sort of at an angle, so yeah. Okay, so the window stays. Yes, the window is going to be blended 00:18:41.643 --> 00:18:47.738 - instead of having limestone put in. Yes, my understanding that's going to be a combination of salvaged 00:18:47.738 --> 00:18:54.128 - brick and the smooth red brick. The Fleener Building brick replacement plan was approved by the Commission. 00:18:54.128 --> 00:19:00.163 - The next meeting of the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission will be on July 9th. And that is 00:19:00.163 --> 00:19:05.310 - all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annaliese Poorman. 00:19:05.730 --> 00:19:06.110 - you