On Tuesday evening, at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson delivered 25 minutes worth of remarks billed as the State of the City address.
The timing for the event was keyed to the 100-day mark since Thomson’s swearing in as Bloomington’s new mayor, on Jan. 1. Towards the start of her remarks, Thomson stated: “This is my 100th day in office.”
It was the first of a half dozen applause lines on the night.
Outside the Buskirk-Chumley, before Thomson’s address started, around two dozen demonstrators stood with signs in support of the city council’s resolution, approved unanimously last week, asking national leaders to work towards a ceasefire in Gaza, to allow for delivery of humanitarian aid. Their signs read: “Don’t veto peace.”
The reference was to Thomson’s indication that she will not sign resolutions passed by the city council that are not directly related to city business.
In her remarks on Tuesday, Thomson referred to the inflammatory, racist remarks that were made at last week’s city council meeting during public commentary, about the Gaza ceasefire resolution. Thomson said, “Three minutes at the microphone doesn’t solve problems, and it often inflames them.” She continued: “When we hear free speech at the microphone, which turns to outright white supremacist and Nazi hate, we must speak against it.”
Thomson’s remarks included bits of news.
Some of the news fell into the category of updates about ongoing initiatives.
Thomson noted that Hopewell Commons, a park that is currently under construction as part of the Phase 1 East portion of the Hopewell project, would be opening this fall. The planned Hopewell neighborhood is the site of the former IU Health hospital at 2nd and Rogers streets.
After the address, parks and recreation director Tim Streets confirmed to The B Square that the location of the new park will be right across the B-Line Trail from the Seminary Square Kroger store. He compared it to People’s Park on Kirkwood Avenue, except that it will be longer and thinner.
Thomson reported that 150 miles of conduit had been installed for GigabitNow’s fiber-to-the-home network, which is a city government initiative started by Thomson’s predecessor, John Hamilton. So far, more than 1,000 customers have signed up for GigabitNow’s high-speed service, Thomson reported.
Also on Tuesday evening, a couple of hours before Thomson’s address, the city’s board of public works met, and approved the reissuance of a right-of-way permit for AEG (Atlantic Engineering Group), which is installing the fiber for the GigabetNow network—either by horizontal boring or stringing it between poles. The reissuance of the permit was needed, because the city had issued a stop work order on AEG’s work, due to several right-of-way violations.
On the topic of housing, Thomson said she has tasked the city’s department of housing and neighborhood development (HAND) with analyzing and implementing the recommendations of housing studies dating from 2020 and 2023—to create a comprehensive city wide housing plan.
About the idea of tackling the need for more housing, Thomson said: “We can wait no longer. We will wait no longer. We must act, and we will act.” She continued, “I’ve directed staff to find every way to eliminate red tape, streamline our processes, and identify barriers that the city may have put up unintentionally over the years, resulting in a piecemeal approach to housing.”
Thomson described how a task force would improve the city’s “housing ecosystem,” and how that would include “hold[ing] builders, developers and owners accountable for the promises they made around affordability.” Thomson added, “Make no mistake, we will welcome these builders and developers with tools and incentives that help them provide the housing we need for the people who work in Bloomington.”
One of the lines from Thomson that generated applause was related to housing: “We have no bigger challenge than our housing crisis. There are too few affordable places to live in Bloomington and too many unhoused neighbors. This cannot continue and it will not. Period.”
On the topic of the unhoused, Thomson noted that her administration had closed two encampments since she took office. Another encampment will be cleared out next month, Thomson said.
The location of the encampment to be removed next is near the southern part of Switchyard Park. The expected date of the removal is May 1.
Thomson has previously stated that she does not consider sanctioned campsites as part of the mix of solutions for homelessness. On Tuesday she reiterated that sentiment. “There’s no dignity in living in a tent, Bloomington,” Thomson said. She added, “And there’s very little dignity in a community that thinks that it can do no better. We can do better. We are Bloomington.”
On the topic of the city’s police department, Thomson announced that two weeks ago, she had authorized a new take home vehicle policy for officers. Thomson told The B Square that the basic requirement is that officers can take their patrol cars home, if they live within a two-county radius.
That’s a break from the previous approach of former mayor John Hamilton, who had adhered to a policy of not allowing officers to take their patrol cars home, unless they live inside the city limits.
Thomson reported that a few days after the new take-home vehicle policy was put in place, some off-duty officers were able to respond quickly to a shooting while enroute to work, because they already had their cars with them.
After Thomson’s address, Bloomington police chief Mike Diekhoff confirmed to The B Square that there had been a west side “road rage” incident, to which officers were able to respond more quickly because of the new take-home vehicle policy.
The number of sworn officers actually on staff in Bloomington’s department has hovered around the mid- to high-80s for the last few years. On Tuesday, Thomson stopped short of saying that she is committed to bringing the number of sworn police officers up to the budgeted number of 105 officers.
Thomson said, “Everyone in our city should be safe and should feel safe. That is my commitment. And that is our goal. To do that we must ensure our police department is working at its best. We will hire enough officers to account for upcoming retirements and that their pay and benefits reflect their skilled and difficult work.”
There was a bigger police presence at the Buskirk-Chumley compared to past years, when the State of the City has been delivered. The B Square counted at least four uniformed officers, in addition to Diefkoff and deputy chief Scott Oldham, as well as a few plain clothed personnel.
Also on Tuesday, Thomson announced that former mayor Mark Kruzan would be leading a new “resident advisory panel” on open government. The mission of the panel, Thomson said, would be to continue a “new era of openness” in city operations. An immediate next step would be to conduct a public information audit, Thomson said. The city’s various information portals, including the city’s website would be reviewed by the panel, she said.
Before Thomson gave her remarks, the youth of BEAT (Bloomington Expressive Arts Training) gave a dancing and singing performance that got thunderous applause and cheers. Also getting enthusiastic cheers was the rendition of the national anthem performed by Troy Thomas, Jr.
In her remarks, Thomson included some mentions of the previous day’s Total Eclipse. She said, “You know what I noticed yesterday? Just before the eclipse, there was only a tiny slice of the sun left exposed, and we still had full daylight. When darkness comes, it only takes a small light to overcome it. You and I can be that light for Bloomington.”
Great report. Thank you Mayor Thompson for your thoughts and all the hard work.