Dec. 1, 2025: Mayoral campaign, septic hauling, towing fees, $7M hotel project donation, jail tour

Civic Solver

It's Monday, which means there’s a link to a new puzzle at the bottom of this bulletin. I did this one in 3 minutes and 3 seconds. If you decide to wager with your friends based on your puzzle solving time, please try to keep things friendly.

Weather Talk

Based on the National Weather Service forecast in text and charts here’s some advice.

Monday: Wear your warmest coat and hat because we’ll start the day coming off an overnight low of 21F°. The high will get to 35F°.

Tuesday: Slow down, because overnight there’s a good chance we’ll get 1–3 inches of snow. Do whatever you did to stay warm on Monday. The day will start from an overnight low of 26F° but will get up to a high of about 30F°.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system.

Roundup of recent articles

• Analysis: Re-election cues surface in Bloomington mayor’s report on housing and homelessness.  Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson released a Nov. 20 housing and homelessness report days before a Dec. 3 campaign fundraiser. It presents a donor-friendly narrative but makes facts hard to check. Links loop back in a circular way, and key details in a table of projects aren't included.
• Sunday Funnies: Hawk v. Fish.  Hawk starts off by saying: The meteorologists are providing fresh information about snowstorms, snow flurries, blizzards, and sleet. How does Hawk finish off the joke? And how does Fish respond with an even better joke about a snowman at the board of zoning appeals?
• Monroe County property transfers through Nov. 25, 2025.  This report includes new property transfers in Monroe County that haven’t previously been reported by The B Square, with dates ranging from Nov. 6 to Nov. 25, 2025. The data in this report comes from Beacon, the county’s online geographic information system for property and parcel data.
• 2025 Canopy of Lights!.  It’s been an annual tradition for the courthouse square in downtown Bloomington since 1985. This Friday was no different. Santa flipped the switch to transform the area into a sparkling winter wonderland.
• Fallout from North Park jail site vote: Commissioners want huddle with council on ED LIT plan.  Monroe County’s ED-LIT capital plan needs reworking after the county council’s rejection of North Park jail funding. County commissioners have called councilors to their Dec. 4 meeting to rework the state-required plan to avoid millions in local income tax being sequestered or redistributed.
• Bloomington might donate $7M site for convention center host hotel after year-long stalemate.  Bloomington’s RDC might now donate the $7M former Bunger & Robertson site to revive stalled talks with Dora Hospitality on a host hotel for the convention center expansion. The proposal reverses Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson's prior position.
• ACLU attorney tours Monroe County jail amid settlement extension talks.  ACLU attorney Ken Falk toured the Monroe County jail Tuesday as officials weigh renewing a 2008 overcrowding-case settlement. The visit highlighted structural failures, security risks, and space limitations, while uncertainty over funding for a new facility looms.
• Thanksgiving Funnies.  This cartoon was originally made for The Ann Arbor Chronicle around 15 years ago. In the tradition of Thanksgiving leftovers, it has been re-run several times.

Quick notes

Breaking News: Passenger displays kindness on a public bus. Bloomington Transit has a smart phone app for paying fares. Remember that for later.

On Saturday, I rode the Bloomington Transit Route #3 bus out to Bloomington Hardware to get some marine epoxy and some stainless steel metal sheet screws to repair my shower door. On the return trip, a somewhat disheveled older man boarded at one of the stops out near College Mall, and sat down without paying a fare.

The driver addressed him: “Sir, you’re forgetting something.” He gave a blank stare. The driver tried again: “Sir, you just need to swipe your card.” He rose from his seat, hiked up his trousers, patted down his pockets, but did not find a card. He seemed like he was ready to concede defeat and get off the bus—not that the driver had escalated things that far.

But the passenger seated across from the old man had already put down their book, retrieved their smartphone, stepped to the farebox, and waved the screen in front of the scanner. Boop! Payment confirmed. End of scene. (That passenger was not me. It’s easy to tell, because I don’t read books.)

I want to live in a place where strangers treating each other in a decent way on a public bus is not front page news—but is still something that somebody will occasionally take the time to write down for the record. That way someday, when all of the world’s history is pieced together, there will be a line in the archives that says Bloomington was, at least once upon a time, the kind of place where a public bus passenger could choose to be kind, and it was no big deal.

On the calendar

Host hotel for convention center: Land donation after all? On the 5 p.m. Monday (Dec. 1) meeting agenda for Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) is a resolution that affirms the RDC’s support for the convention center expansion project and offers the former Bunger & Robertson property at 4th Street and College Avenue at no cost to the hotel project. For more B Square background see: Bloomington might donate $7M site for convention center host hotel after year-long stalemate

Bus stop installations. On the 5:30 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 2) meeting agenda for the board of public works is a $47,150 contract with CGR services for the installation of five bus shelters at Bloomington Transit stops. The bus shelters themselves cost $83,070.

Higher towing fees in Bloomington? On the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 3) meeting agenda for Bloomington’s city council are two ordinances that change local laws on towing. For city-initiated towning and other non-consensual towing alike, the ordinances would raise the maximum charge from $135 to $150, eliminate the 20% release-payment option, shorten the storage-fee clock from 24 to 12 hours, and allow a $75 after-hours pickup fee. For B Square background: Bloomington may increase towing fee limits, end partial payment option, start storage clock quicker. 

Higher septic hauling fees in Bloomington? On the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 3) meeting agenda for Bloomington’s city council is an ordinance raising the septic dumping rate at the Dillman Road plant from about 2 cents to 8 cents per gallon—a four-fold increase. A study showed current charges no longer cover treatment costs. For B Square background, see: Bloomington eyes big hike in septic disposal fees, would still cover just half the cost. 

Fiscal plan for one-parcel annexation. On the 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 3) meeting agenda for Bloomington’s city council is a resolution adopting a fiscal plan for the voluntary annexation of a single parcel into the city. The plan commission has already recommended the zoning for the land. If all goes according to schedule, the actual ordinance for annexation would get consideration by the council at its Dec. 17 meeting. For B Square background, see: Owner wants land annexed into Bloomington: Zoning recommendation OK’d by city plan commission

Dec. 6–9: YMCA Holiday Bazaar. From the organizers: “Browse the Holiday Bazaar at our Southeast Y on December 6, 8, and 9 to find the perfect hand-crafted gifts for your loved ones this holiday season! Hand-knitted and crocheted items, such as scarves, hats, stuffed animals, blankets, and more, will be available for purchase during the bazaar.”

Hours on individual days break down like this: Saturday, Dec. 6: 8 a.m.–noon; Monday, Dec. 8: 8:30 a.m.–noon; Tuesday, Dec. 9: 8:30 a.m.–noon. All items are handmade by the YMCA’s Y Service in Friendship group, which is made up of volunteers. All proceeds benefit the Y for All Scholarship Fund.

Dec. 1: Online auction for “Batman House” ends. The big old mansion at Kirkwood Avenue and Madison Street is up for auction for a minimum bid of $750,000. The high bid so far is still $760,000. The auction is being conducted online.

Meet Willie!

This very, very good boy is a mix of German shepherd and hound. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Willie:

Willie is a nervous young pup who wasn't exposed to much of the world when he was little. He's still learning that people aren't that bad (and that they often have tasty treats with them)! If you can give him a patient home to grow in, you'll be rewarded with a loyal best friend.

Photo Finish: College Avenue & 6th Street

The Photo Finish items are drawn from the B There section of the B Square website.

Thanks for reading. I hope your week is off to a great start!

Dave Askins
734-645-2633
dave@bsquarebulletin.com

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