Feb. 26, 2026: Kirkwood, downtown land values, former H-T building, jail planning, elections

Civic Solver

Civic Solver turns Bloomington’s everyday civic life into a puzzle worth cracking—from familiar faces to local landmarks. This week’s puzzle is a jigsaw of a 2010 photo taken inside the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. If you have not tried one of these jigsaws yet, I promise you that this one is a good one to start with.

Weather Talk

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

Thursday: Slow down. Especially before 7 a.m., there will be snow and rain falling out of the sky and it will be super sloppy out there. But you don’t have to bundle up that much because the high temperature will hit 50F°. Note: All schools in MCCSC are operating on a 2-hour delay on Thursday due to the road conditions.

Friday: Put together a spring outfit, because it will be sunny and clear and the high will hit 60F°.

Sign up for weather alerts: Monroe County emergency alert system

Recent articles

• MCCSC could hold March 24 hearing on possible sale of former Herald-Times building.  MCCSC could hold a March 24 hearing on selling the former Herald-Times building, as the board weighs options of sale, renovation, or delay. Survey responses were split between school-related uses and selling.
• Bloomington Transit: Route 13 safe for at least six weeks; testimony urges tweaks, not termination.  Bloomington Transit will keep Route 13 running for 45 more days, after public comment uniformly urged against cutting the service. The extension gives Monroe County time to finalize possible funding for the route, which serves major employers west of the city and requires non-city subsidy.
• Monroe County council adopts jail resolution, reaffirms ‘no’ to North Park, confronts tighter financing limits.  County councilors voted to adopt a resolution committing to a new jail that provides constitutional care, while reaffirming rejection of the North Park site. A consultant’s $135-million financing estimate has heightened concerns about the county's ability to pay for a bigger, co-located facility.
• Bloomington board of public works: Kirkwood open to traffic in 2026, with parklets allowed for outdoor dining.  Bloomington’s board of public works approved a 2026 Kirkwood dining plan that keeps the street open to vehicle traffic while allowing restaurant parklets. The move departs from seasonal closures used most years since 2020, despite city council objections.
• GOP primary for Clear Creek Twp trustee remains three-way, as Monroe County election board denies Dem challenge 2–1.  A challenge to incumbent Clear Creek Township trustee Thelma Jeffries over CAN-12 paperwork was denied by Monroe County’s election board. Jeffries had written “NA” for all entries, including employer. A 2–1 vote kept her on the GOP primary ballot, leaving a three-way race intact.
• Bloomington RDC weighs $45K payment to CASA to vacate Showers West building.  Bloomington’s redevelopment commission has reviewed a proposal to pay CASA $45,751 and provide parking passes to vacate the Showers West building. The move is part of efforts to clear all private tenants from the bond-funded property, as lawsuits continue.
• Land values in parts of downtown Bloomington rolled back to 2024 levels, based on appeals, economic distress.  Land values for more than 100 downtown Bloomington commercial properties have been rolled back to 2024 levels, reversing steep increases. The move is supposed to provide targeted tax relief as longer-term fixes are weighed for the struggling corridor, plagued by boarded-up buildings and graffiti.

Quick notes

B Square on Facebook. If you use Facebook as a way to stay up to speed on local news, then try following the B Square’s Facebook page.

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Council staff hiring committee. Both of the city council’s attorneys, Lisa Lehner and Kari Bennett, have resigned. On Wednesday, the council held a special meeting to figure out how to hire new staff. A draft “charge” to a four-member hiring committee was posted as a part of the meeting materials. The members of the committee will be: Isak Asare (council president and chair of the committee); Sydney Zulich (council vice president); Isabel Piedmont-Smith; and Dave Rollo.

Piedmont-Smith and Kate Rosenbarger voted against the hiring committee appointments.

A key idea in the charge to the committee, which could lead to better outcomes for the public and the council, is that the committee is supposed to consider the separation of the slashes in the job titles: administrator/attorney and deputy administrator/attorney. That is, there could be two different positions for two different human beings: administrator and attorney.

But that likely means that the “administrator” would not be hired directly by the council. That’s because of this part of state law (emphasis added):

IC 36-4-4-4 Legislative powers and duties
Sec. 4.
(a) The legislative power of a city is vested in its legislative body. All powers and duties of a city that are legislative in nature shall be exercised or performed by its legislative body. The legislative body of a city may not elect or appoint a person to any office or employment, except as provided by statute.
(b) The legislative body may manage the finances of the city to the extent that that power is not vested in the executive branch.

The part that reads “except as provided by statute” includes this part of state law:

IC 36-4-6-24 Attorneys and legal research assistants
Sec. 24.
(a) The legislative body may hire or contract with competent attorneys and legal research assistants on terms it considers appropriate.
(b) Employment of an attorney under this section does not affect the city department of law established under IC 36-4-9.
(c) Appropriations for salaries of attorneys and legal research assistants employed under this section may not exceed the appropriations for similar salaries in the budget of the city department of law.

I think it is a great chance to contemplate the creation of a public information officer (PIO) position and perhaps a deputy, who would work out of the clerk’s office. These two people would be responsible for wrangling all the council’s documents and communications. Obviously, councilmembers would need to have some influence on the hires.

In addition, the PIO could be tasked with handling all the city’s formal records requests, which would mean the legal department would be involved with that task only when asked. The PIO and their deputy would be people who are trained in fields like library and information science. For those occasions when the council actually needs legal support, it will almost always require the kind of specialist expertise that would come from having a medium-sized law firm on retainer, which is allowed by law.

On the calendar

$28,000 for demolition of building on nature preserve. On the 10 a.m. Thursday (Feb. 26) agenda for the Monroe County commissioners is the approval of a $28,000 contract with Bledsoe Riggert Cooper James Engineering for demolition of a building on the Monroe County Nature Preserve.

County commissioner, prosecutor races. Democratic Socialists of America are hosting a candidate forum for two of the countywide races for elected office at First United Church (2420 E Third St.) on Thursday (Feb. 26) starting at 6 p.m.

For Monroe County Commissioner (District 1), vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination are David Henry and Trent Deckard. For Monroe County Prosecutor, vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination are incumbent Erika Oliphant and Benjamin Arrington.

Candy Stripe Classic Bicycle Race: March 8. The board of public works has approved the necessary street closures for a criterium bicycle race on March 8 that is hosted by the Cycling Club at Indiana University. It’s part of a two-day event. The race is several laps around The Mill, up and down Madison and Morton streets between 10th and 11th. There’s a “family ride,” which is a chance for parents and kids to turn one lap of the course so they can get an idea of how tight those corners really are.

Zingtrain: April 1. Brought to you by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, this is a full day of training at the Bloomington Convention Center from the world’s leading experts in customer service—Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan. That’s not just the chamber telling you that, it’s me—former Ann Arbor resident for two decades—telling you that. And check this out: This event is free to everybody, chamber members and non-members alike. The chamber’s event description has more details. Lunch will also be provided!

Ms. Lake Lemon: May 16. Start your training regimen now. This amazing contest of skill is to be held at Riddle Point Park this year. Monitor the Ms. Lake Lemon Facebook page for details, as they become available. The B Square covered last year’s inaugural event.

Meet Sir Coolio!

This very, very good boy is a border collie mix. Here’s what the shelter staff have written about Sir Coolio.:

The name pretty much says it all — this guy is very cool, indeed! Sir Coolio is a big, sweet boy with a lot of love to give. He gets along great with other dogs, adores people, and brings an eager-to-please goofiness to everything he does. He's house-trained, food motivated, and has shown zero signs of resource guarding — basically a foster family's dream. If you're looking for a gentle, laid-back companion who just wants to be part of the crew, Sir Coolio is your man.

Photo Finish: 6th Street & Walnut Street

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

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great weekend!

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

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