April 24, 2025: New park, job reclass reversal, teacher petition, College-Walnut study, Little 500
Weather
Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here's some advice:
Thursday: It will be warm enough to start the day without a jacket because the overnight low from Wednesday will be around 55°F. The temperature will hit a high of around 80°F. You can assess your own risk of not taking an umbrella, and getting wet, or taking an umbrella and forgetting it someplace, given the 30-40% chance of rain starting around 2 p.m.
Friday: Either take an umbrella or a raincoat to start and finish the day. It looks like rain for most of Friday, and maybe some thunderstorms. The women's edition of the Little 500 is set to start at 4 p.m. If it is not put off until another day, I would be surprised.
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Roundup of recent articles
- Grand opening for Bloomington's Hopewell Commons: 'It's a front porch to something much bigger.' Bloomington held a grand opening for Hopewell Commons park on Wednesday. This park is the first visible piece of a larger redevelopment project, which is supposed to transform the former IU Health hospital site into a new neighborhood with 750 to 1,000 housing units . The overall estimated cost of the total project stands at about $38 million.
- Teachers petition MCCSC for clear reduction-in-force policy amid budget strains Nearly 500 MCCSC teachers have petitioned for a clear reduction-in-force policy. This comes in the context of budget challenges. Aja Jester was sworn in as a new member at the board's Tuesday meeting.
- Bloomington's College-Walnut study comes back to life, with $95K more funding, more detailed analysis At Tuesday's board of public works meeting, Bloomington's College-Walnut corridor study received $94,682 more funding, increasing the total to $264,6821 . This expands the scope to include analysis of 23 additional intersections. The study will form the basis of a decision on keeping the streets and a one-way pair or converting them to two-way traffic.
- Monroe County reverses course, nixes higher pay for health services director On Tuesday, the Monroe County council voted 2–5 against increasing the health services director's job classification. That reversed an earlier 4–3 vote. Reasons included fiscal concerns driven by a revision to state property tax law and the recommendation against the change by the county's HR consultant.
- Site review for hotel takes step forward, as project lags behind Bloomington Convention Center expansion On Monday, Bloomington's redevelopment commission authorized up to $100,000 for due diligence on 216 S. College Ave., the former Bunger & Robertson site, to support a hotel project for the Bloomington Convention Center expansion.
- Cost for shoring, repair of century-old brick wall in Trades District could reach $600K Bloomington's redevelopment commission (RDC) faces costly repairs for a century-old brick wall, which was discovered to be 4.5 inches out of plumb. Temporary shoring cost roughly $100,000. The permanent repair, estimated to cost up to $500,000, and authorized by the RDC, will involve rebuilding part of the wall over about 12 weeks.
On the calendar
Impact of SB 1. Meeting on Thursday at 11 a.m. is the long-term finance committee of the Monroe County council. They'll review the impact of the change the state legislature has made this session to property tax law. It will mean a lot less revenue for all local government units.
Accessory dwelling unit (ADU)? On the 5:30 p.m. meeting agenda for Bloomington's board of zoning appeals is a variance for the construction of an ADU. The proposal would need a variance from the regulation on the maximum size of an accessory structure generally, as well as from the regulation on the maximum size of an ADU.
Little 500. Friday is the women's race. The men take to the track on Saturday. As you make your way around town, the enthusiasm of young folk might make it seem a little chaotic. Just drive slower than you normally do. If you're looking for something to do besides watching the race, try this advice from six years ago: 5 ways to prep for watching the Little 5: “Do all those things while you can.”
Groundbreaking for convention center expansion. Now set for June 3 is the groundbreaking for the expansion of the Bloomington Convention Center.
Meet Haze!
This very, very good girl is a beagle mix. Here's what shelter staff have to say about Haze.
Haze is a sweet younger dog who bounces like a puppy when she's excited. She takes a moment to warm up to human and canine friends but is an absolute lover!
Photo Finish
6th Street & Morton Street
The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website. But there's more to Bloomington than the narrow slice of Bloomington that I traverse in my daily travels. To improve the geographic coverage of B There, please consider occasionally contributing to The B Square brief factual observations about the world outside your own head, as you go about your normal business. (Photos are optional for B There.) The mechanics of making a contribution are pretty straightforward—just let me know if you'd like to learn the ins and outs. If you're looking at this bulletin in your email inbox, you should be able to reach me by hitting Reply.
Thanks for reading. I hope you have a good weekend!
Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com