WEBVTT 00:00:07.522 --> 00:00:13.104 - Hello and welcome to Cats Creek. I'm Annaliese Poorman. The Monroe County Capital Improvement Board 00:00:13.104 --> 00:00:16.286 - will move forward with plans to demolish Seminary Point. 00:00:16.386 --> 00:00:23.032 - During its meeting on August 19, the CIB approved a 90-day letter of intent with Dora Hospitality to 00:00:23.032 --> 00:00:30.139 - work toward an agreement to develop a convention center host hotel. However, the CIB plans phase opposition 00:00:30.139 --> 00:00:37.180 - from the local advocacy group, Homes for All. During public comment, Homes for All organizer Barry Herbers 00:00:37.180 --> 00:00:43.102 - says he does not believe the Seminary Point property is needed for the convention center. 00:00:43.938 --> 00:00:49.633 - The CIB is no longer even planning to use Seminary Point as the site for a subsidized Convention Center 00:00:49.633 --> 00:00:55.274 - host hotel. It instead appears that the CIB intends to give this land away to Dora Hospitality. It was 00:00:55.274 --> 00:01:00.970 - a lie that the CIB ever needed this land for the Convention Center, and that lie is more clear now than 00:01:00.970 --> 00:01:06.665 - it has ever been. The idea that 29 units of super affordable housing must be destroyed, several beloved 00:01:06.665 --> 00:01:13.182 - businesses displaced, and dozens of people forced to leave their homes was manufactured. This is a corporate giveaway. 00:01:13.730 --> 00:01:19.711 - The CIB is a quasi-government entity, that is, an unelected body with no accountability to the public, 00:01:19.711 --> 00:01:25.633 - but which receives millions and millions in taxpayer money. They have found a way to give millions in 00:01:25.633 --> 00:01:31.498 - free capital to their business pals like Vincent Dora of Dora Hospitality. Jason McCullough, another 00:01:31.498 --> 00:01:37.711 - Homes for All member, said that advocates had developed an alternative plan to preserve affordable housing 00:01:37.711 --> 00:01:38.814 - at Seminary Point. 00:01:38.978 --> 00:01:45.039 - of advocates instead took matters into their own hands, speaking to mission-based investors and affordable 00:01:45.039 --> 00:01:51.044 - housing developers. They ultimately devised a cooperative business plan which could ensure the renovation 00:01:51.044 --> 00:01:56.708 - and affordability of Seminary Point. And for a moment, it seemed like local government and even the 00:01:56.708 --> 00:02:02.373 - CIV were actually listening until they weren't. The land swap to preserve affordable housing in one 00:02:02.373 --> 00:02:08.094 - place and let Dora take a corporate subsidy to build a host hotel in another was abruptly abandoned. 00:02:08.482 --> 00:02:15.148 - In its place, we are now facing down the barrel of two subsidized hotels, a brutal astronomical corporate 00:02:15.148 --> 00:02:21.562 - giveaway that spits in the face of the working class of Bloomington. Meanwhile, C.I.B. President John 00:02:21.562 --> 00:02:28.038 - Weichart pointed out that many of the displaced commercial spaces are finding locations in other parts 00:02:28.038 --> 00:02:34.515 - of town. Furthermore, he argued that Seminary Point apartments continue to cost them money and ongoing 00:02:34.515 --> 00:02:35.710 - security problems. 00:02:36.002 --> 00:02:44.200 - We've now had 27 documented incidents in the last 25 days. They would now be, now we've had 15 trespassing, 00:02:44.200 --> 00:02:52.397 - four vandalism, one missing person that we've been involved with looking for, two of drug use, one indecent 00:02:52.397 --> 00:03:00.215 - exposure, one person urinating in public, three police calls and one drug arrest. So that's what we've 00:03:00.215 --> 00:03:04.542 - dealt with since the 23rd when we secured the buildings. 00:03:04.930 --> 00:03:12.229 - Our security costs, we have now contracted with MSI to provide additional security to those properties 00:03:12.229 --> 00:03:19.670 - to view them more often, to check them out more often. We're now paying $8,680 per month for eight hours 00:03:19.670 --> 00:03:26.827 - of overnight monitoring. I have the distinction, Talisha gets them first and then I get them second. 00:03:26.827 --> 00:03:34.622 - I get to read all the security reports. And so I've read all of these reports of the 27 incidents in the last 00:03:34.946 --> 00:03:42.074 - 25 days. If we extrapolate that 8680 out over a period of time that could include up to December when 00:03:42.074 --> 00:03:49.201 - demolition could be completed, that means we're absorbing $43,500 in additional security costs. Next, 00:03:49.201 --> 00:03:56.539 - the board approved a contract with Weddle Brothers Construction to start the demolition process. Project 00:03:56.539 --> 00:04:00.382 - Manager Andrew Sherry detailed the demolition timeline 00:04:00.994 --> 00:04:07.680 - Again, we have already started the coordination with BRCJ and BET Environmental as far as their environmental 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:13.879 - reports. It would include the coordination of the consultants, the pre-construction services, and the 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:20.078 - permitting coordination and applications where needed. The pre-construction schedule has been created 00:04:20.078 --> 00:04:20.990 - to account for 00:04:21.122 --> 00:04:26.851 - all the permitting, the surveys, the drawings, the title searches, and utility disconnections, which 00:04:26.851 --> 00:04:32.524 - currently, based off the schedule and all the dates that we've heard, could happen by November 4th. 00:04:32.524 --> 00:04:38.196 - Weichart asked when the demolition would be complete. Sherry said that the job would be finished by 00:04:38.196 --> 00:04:44.152 - the end of this year. When would you anticipate, if all goes well, that this process would be concluded? 00:04:44.152 --> 00:04:45.854 - In other words, we would have 00:04:46.114 --> 00:04:51.930 - As I understand it, we would have buildings down and then we need to do some remediation of the service. 00:04:51.930 --> 00:04:57.690 - Yes, we would have to stabilize the job or the site after we remove all the buildings and we would plan 00:04:57.690 --> 00:05:03.562 - on having that done by December 31st. OK, so by December 31st, all of it would be completed. Yes. Matthew 00:05:03.562 --> 00:05:09.211 - Joseph, representing Homes for All, questioned whether the land and financial support offered to Dora 00:05:09.211 --> 00:05:11.870 - could be used for development beyond the hotel. 00:05:12.482 --> 00:05:20.638 - And generally what it is, it's a letter of intent to work towards a definitive agreement that spells 00:05:20.638 --> 00:05:28.712 - out the obligations of DORA and CIB towards the construction and completion and operation of a host 00:05:28.712 --> 00:05:36.222 - hotel. That letter of intent includes as the guidelines or the basis for that, the proposal, 00:05:36.322 --> 00:05:44.292 - that Dora made at their presentation and that we selected in response to our request for proposals. 00:05:44.292 --> 00:05:52.899 - That's incorporated into that letter of intent is what we are expecting as the hotel that will be developed 00:05:52.899 --> 00:05:58.558 - and the parameters of that hotel. And so we are here today asking that 00:05:58.658 --> 00:06:05.943 - that letter of intent be improved and that we move forward with seeking the definitive agreement that 00:06:05.943 --> 00:06:13.084 - will spell all of that out. The agreement letter of intent calls for a 90 day period for us to work 00:06:13.084 --> 00:06:20.655 - towards that definitive agreement. So at this time I'd ask for approval to allow John to sign that letter 00:06:20.655 --> 00:06:27.582 - of intent with Dora so that we can move forward towards a definitive agreement for a host hotel. 00:06:28.194 --> 00:06:35.607 - The board also approved a letter of intent with Dora Hospitality for the host hotel. Board member Jim 00:06:35.607 --> 00:06:43.020 - Whitlatch explained what the LOI entails. It's also very clear that the subsidy is not just going for 00:06:43.020 --> 00:06:50.432 - the hotel. It's very clear that the subsidy is also going for the land that Dora is not using for the 00:06:50.432 --> 00:06:57.918 - hotel. And the question I asked at the last CIP meeting was, what's going to happen to Seminary Point? 00:06:58.050 --> 00:07:06.266 - Still unanswered, yet at the two RDC meetings ago, Vince Dora made it very clear that they are wanting 00:07:06.266 --> 00:07:14.322 - to build housing on top of Seminary Point. Looks like a subsidy to Dora, not for the hotel, does it? 00:07:14.322 --> 00:07:22.538 - That's a subsidy to Dora for market rate apartments. Even if they want to build 10 affordable housing, 00:07:22.538 --> 00:07:26.526 - that is not a replacement of what they destroyed. 00:07:27.106 --> 00:07:33.384 - We need to set a precedent that if you're going to destroy affordable housing that you're going to build 00:07:33.384 --> 00:07:39.722 - more than what you destroyed. Double it and make it for those that are most vulnerable. The Monroe County 00:07:39.722 --> 00:07:45.701 - Capital Improvement Board will meet again on September 16th. The Richland Bean Blossom School Board 00:07:45.701 --> 00:07:52.158 - had their first meeting of the 2026-2027 school year on August 18th. The meeting began with public comment. 00:07:52.258 --> 00:07:59.205 - multiple parents from Edgewood Primary School's Journeys special education program pressed the district 00:07:59.205 --> 00:08:06.218 - on recent changes. Parent Nicole O'Neill summarized her frustration. Parents should not have to organize 00:08:06.218 --> 00:08:13.232 - or and advocate in order for a high needs program to be appropriately staffed and supported at the start 00:08:13.232 --> 00:08:20.446 - of the school year. Our children require consistent specialized support and they deserve that from day one. 00:08:21.346 --> 00:08:28.173 - While we recognize the district's response and the circumstances at the beginning of the year have really 00:08:28.173 --> 00:08:34.743 - impacted our family's trust. The question now is what systems oversight and safeguards will be put in 00:08:34.743 --> 00:08:40.862 - place to ensure this does not happen again and to restore that trust going forward. Thank you. 00:08:41.346 --> 00:08:47.990 - Parent Samantha Parker called for stronger safeguards and more clear documentation for special education 00:08:47.990 --> 00:08:54.634 - students, particularly when it comes to incidents, injuries, and parent notification. We as SPED parents 00:08:54.634 --> 00:09:01.405 - have further requested that the safeguards and documentation systems are broader than health documentation 00:09:01.405 --> 00:09:07.860 - alone. Our children, your students, require additional accommodations that children in gen ed classes 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:09.758 - may not need such as routine, 00:09:10.018 --> 00:09:16.750 - consistency and additional security or reporting of incidences and injuries. This for us may include 00:09:16.750 --> 00:09:23.615 - but does not limit to aforementioned incidents and injuries, medical or safety events, required parent 00:09:23.615 --> 00:09:30.347 - notifications, follow-up and corrective actions, and other defined safeguards which may require more 00:09:30.347 --> 00:09:37.279 - physical tangent means. One major concern we immediately noticed and are still actively addressing with 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:39.678 - the primary school are on staffing, 00:09:39.810 --> 00:09:47.060 - coverage and documenting relevance when noting significant events. What constitutes per legal guarantee 00:09:47.060 --> 00:09:54.589 - an incident requiring documentation? Who determines whether parents are notified and within what timeframe? 00:09:54.589 --> 00:10:01.560 - How are these conflicts conflicting accounts of an incident involved and what actions will be taken 00:10:01.560 --> 00:10:05.534 - to prevent this feed of miscommunication moving forward? 00:10:05.986 --> 00:10:12.609 - The final speaker, Jeremiah O'Neill, urged the board to consider cameras and stronger digital documentation. 00:10:12.609 --> 00:10:18.806 - The point is that safeguards shouldn't be created after something terrible happens. I don't think any 00:10:18.806 --> 00:10:24.943 - of us families want to see something happen to our kids. That's why families have proposed two forms 00:10:24.943 --> 00:10:30.654 - of objective accountability. The cameras, if there's an injury, behavioral event, allegation, 00:10:30.850 --> 00:10:36.469 - or conflicting account, an objective record can protect the student, the teacher, the administration, 00:10:36.469 --> 00:10:41.758 - and the district. Digital communication and documentation. If an IEP safety plan, medical need, 00:10:41.758 --> 00:10:47.487 - accommodation, or other required support says something is supposed to occur, there should be a simple, 00:10:47.487 --> 00:10:53.106 - auditable way of documenting that it occurred. This isn't about assuming teachers are doing something 00:10:53.106 --> 00:10:58.726 - wrong. It's about creating a system where nobody, parents, teachers, administrators, or the board has 00:10:58.726 --> 00:11:00.158 - to rely solely on memory, 00:11:00.674 --> 00:11:07.277 - verbal assurances or conflicting accounts. Later in the meeting, the board turned to a detailed construction 00:11:07.277 --> 00:11:13.516 - update. The most immediate problem being water damage due to issues with a roofing project at Edgewood 00:11:13.516 --> 00:11:19.816 - Junior High Gym. Construction staff said that they plan to start replacing the floor in early September 00:11:19.816 --> 00:11:26.176 - and finish by the end of October while the district and its attorneys work with the roofing contractor's 00:11:26.176 --> 00:11:30.174 - insurer. School board president Dana Kerr explained the timeline. 00:11:30.466 --> 00:11:40.887 - The first goal is to get the job started and then work on the percentage, if not the company paying 00:11:40.887 --> 00:11:51.725 - for all of it. But we have to get started on it now. We can't wait to negotiate who's going to pay what 00:11:51.725 --> 00:11:56.414 - or we could be in this situation for a year. 00:11:56.834 --> 00:12:04.075 - The district is moving ahead with a $22.8 million package of additions and renovations at Edgewood Junior 00:12:04.075 --> 00:12:11.042 - High and High School. After years of piecemeal HVAC fixes, construction manager Martin Truesdale said 00:12:11.042 --> 00:12:17.873 - that the project will connect all buildings to a single modern controls platform while keeping much 00:12:17.873 --> 00:12:24.158 - of the existing equipment in place. You have had, over the years, incremental improvements. 00:12:24.866 --> 00:12:30.789 - And the challenge with that is that, you know, you're mixing old... The meeting ended with board members 00:12:30.789 --> 00:12:36.768 - saying that they took the Journey's parents' concerns seriously while also praising transportation crews, 00:12:36.768 --> 00:12:42.014 - custodial staff and administrators for what they call a strong start to the new school year. 00:12:43.266 --> 00:12:50.458 - The Monroe County Commissioners met on August 20th. The board heard a presentation from the County Women's 00:12:50.458 --> 00:12:57.246 - Commission on a survey that they are conducting. Commission Chair Susan Hingle said that the project 00:12:57.246 --> 00:13:04.304 - began because the county lacks comprehensive data on the experiences and needs of women and marginalized 00:13:04.304 --> 00:13:11.294 - genders. While state and national data exist on some issues, there is very little local data available. 00:13:12.002 --> 00:13:18.081 - particularly for gender diverse residents. We do not currently have a comprehensive community wide data 00:13:18.081 --> 00:13:24.336 - set that tells us what people in Monroe County are experiencing, what challenges they face, what resources 00:13:24.336 --> 00:13:30.299 - they need and what they believe should be addressed. After the first round of data collection, Hingle 00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:36.320 - said the commission needs more participation to make the findings representative. One of the strongest 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.710 - recommendations was the importance of continuing outreach 00:13:40.130 --> 00:13:46.616 - to ensure we hear from a broader and more representative cross-section of Monroe County residents. As 00:13:46.616 --> 00:13:53.038 - a result, the Women's Commission is launching phase two of data collection and outreach. The quality 00:13:53.038 --> 00:13:59.524 - of our findings depends on the diversity of voices represented. The survey remains open until October 00:13:59.524 --> 00:14:05.438 - 1st and takes about 10 minutes to complete. Hingle said that all responses are confidential. 00:14:05.986 --> 00:14:12.430 - She said the ultimate goal is to make sure residents have an opportunity to contribute to the county's 00:14:12.430 --> 00:14:18.687 - understanding of local needs. We hope this will spread the word and encourage participation through 00:14:18.687 --> 00:14:24.944 - the community. Thank you again for your time, your support and your commitment to ensuring that all 00:14:24.944 --> 00:14:28.510 - Monroe County residents have an opportunity to be heard. 00:14:28.802 --> 00:14:36.517 - We look forward to sharing the continued findings with you once data collection and analysis are complete. 00:14:36.517 --> 00:14:44.015 - The next County Commissioner's meeting will take place at 10 a.m. on August 27th. The Bloomington Board 00:14:44.015 --> 00:14:51.441 - of Public Safety met on August 20th. Scott Oldham, Deputy Chief for the Bloomington Police Department, 00:14:51.441 --> 00:14:54.974 - reported a decrease in call volume for the year. 00:14:55.458 --> 00:15:02.182 - So far this year, we're a little bit down on call volume. Don't worry, we'll catch up. Currently 44,018 00:15:02.182 --> 00:15:09.035 - calls as of the time they put this slide together. That's a decrease of about 5,500 or 11.2%. Last couple 00:15:09.035 --> 00:15:15.694 - days, we're making up ground. Oldham said that traffic stops increased and crime involving weapons and 00:15:15.694 --> 00:15:17.310 - adult arrests decreased. 00:15:17.442 --> 00:15:25.600 - Meanwhile, the fire department saw 471 total runs in July, a 4 percent increase from last year. The 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:30.494 - Board of Public Safety's next meeting is on September 17th. 00:15:31.650 --> 00:15:40.684 - The Monroe County Public Library Board of Trustees met on August 19th. The board discussed a $14.6 million 00:15:40.684 --> 00:15:49.212 - spending budget for 2027 with a library tax rate of about 8.5%. Financial Officer Gary Letelier said 00:15:49.212 --> 00:15:57.655 - that the budget is subject to change following county budget hearings in September. Growth quotient 00:15:57.655 --> 00:15:59.006 - for 2027 is 6%. 00:15:59.618 --> 00:16:10.160 - Total estimated operating revenue for 2027 is about $12.7 million. And revenue in the debt fund to cover 00:16:10.160 --> 00:16:20.500 - bond payments will be about $640,000. So total spending budget, including the operating fund, the bond 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:28.030 - payments in the debt fund, and the rainy day fund, is about $14.6 million. 00:16:28.546 --> 00:16:41.991 - Letelier says that the library's proposed 2027 tax rate would be about 8.5% after changes to property 00:16:41.991 --> 00:16:55.305 - values in Monroe County. So in 2027, the assessed value is $11,068,322,579. And so when to calculate 00:16:55.305 --> 00:16:57.150 - the tax rate, 00:16:57.314 --> 00:17:10.913 - It would be the operating levy divided by the assessed value $100. Well, it's the assessed value divided 00:17:10.913 --> 00:17:24.123 - by $100. And that's the figure that we divide the operating levy into to get the 7.93% operating fund 00:17:24.123 --> 00:17:27.102 - tax rate and the 0.58% 00:17:28.258 --> 00:17:44.896 - debt fund tax rate. So a total tax rate of 8.51% for 2027. And then comparing that to the current year, 00:17:44.896 --> 00:17:55.934 - 2026, the assessed value went down by about $21 million. So in 2026, 00:17:57.090 --> 00:18:06.587 - the assessed value dropped from the previous year by close to $100,000. But when you look at 2025, the 00:18:06.587 --> 00:18:15.992 - assessed value in 2025 increased by more than a billion dollars. The board does not simply choose the 00:18:15.992 --> 00:18:25.950 - tax rate. Letelier said that the growth quotient set by the state of Indiana plays a major role. Basically, 00:18:27.618 --> 00:18:38.138 - numbers that determine that. And so it's the growth quotient. So when we take last year's tax levy and 00:18:38.138 --> 00:18:48.761 - apply the growth quotient, that's the tax dollars we're going to get. And when we know that and we know 00:18:48.761 --> 00:18:56.830 - what the assessed value is, that it's just a calculation of those tax dollars, 00:18:57.442 --> 00:19:08.248 - their percentage of the assessed value and that's the library rate. So it's really the growth quotient 00:19:08.248 --> 00:19:18.110 - that is set by the state that is the real determining factor along with total assessed value. 00:19:19.138 --> 00:19:25.664 - The board also looked at renewing its employee health insurance benefits. Human resources director, 00:19:25.664 --> 00:19:32.451 - Becky Throckmorton said that she does not know what the library's rates will be. However, industry-wide 00:19:32.451 --> 00:19:39.238 - increases could be higher than usual. Industry-wide, kind of what we're seeing and hearing is that like 00:19:39.238 --> 00:19:46.156 - 20-ish percent is what folks are anticipating for premiums to increase. That's not specific to us. That's 00:19:46.156 --> 00:19:48.766 - just like, when you look industry-wide, 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:55.459 - So typically we plan for about 14%, so 20%. It's a little bit higher than what we usually expect to 00:19:55.459 --> 00:20:02.054 - see, but a lot of that has to do with things that are going on in the wider world. The library won't 00:20:02.054 --> 00:20:08.713 - know what the actual renewal costs are until later this fall. Library Director Greer Carson said that 00:20:08.713 --> 00:20:15.243 - they're working with the library's insurance broker, JA Benefits, to prepare for whatever increases 00:20:15.243 --> 00:20:16.222 - may be coming. 00:20:16.578 --> 00:20:22.780 - we work with JA pretty early in the season to anticipate what may be coming and then develop some strategies 00:20:22.780 --> 00:20:28.583 - for either absorbing or deferring and passing on or whatever we have to do. So we can bring all those 00:20:28.583 --> 00:20:34.444 - options to you all in November. Depending on what JA brings to us in the next couple of months, we may 00:20:34.444 --> 00:20:38.142 - want to schedule a work session in November if those numbers are 00:20:38.274 --> 00:20:43.243 - bigger than we want them to be, we'll probably want to take some extra time to talk through what our 00:20:43.243 --> 00:20:48.212 - options are. And that's when we would schedule sort of a work session a week before our actual board 00:20:48.212 --> 00:20:53.132 - meeting where you all would vote on it. Because once you vote on it in November, we got to move and 00:20:53.132 --> 00:20:58.494 - do the open rule pretty quickly. Later, Carson said that the library's new bookmobile is nearing completion. 00:20:58.946 --> 00:21:04.279 - We are in the final stages of building the new Bookmobile with a handful of expected wrinkles to iron 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:09.508 - out in terms of our original specifications, the products available, and all of those things. We're 00:21:09.508 --> 00:21:14.789 - getting about bi-weekly updates at this point from the vendor, and we expect the vehicle to be ready 00:21:14.789 --> 00:21:20.070 - close to the stated deadline of late September. To be safe, we might say it'll be early October, but 00:21:20.070 --> 00:21:21.534 - we're getting pretty close. 00:21:21.986 --> 00:21:29.731 - The MCPO Board of Trustees will meet again on September 16th at the Southwest Branch with a public budget 00:21:29.731 --> 00:21:37.184 - hearing slated on the same day. And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and 00:21:37.184 --> 00:21:39.230 - WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.