Nat U. Hill – The B Square

Board of public works member Kyla Cox Deckard (Dec. 8, 2023)

Board of public works member Elizabeth Karon (Dec. 8, 2023)

Real estate agent Tim Ballard (Dec. 8, 2023)

Bloomington corporation counsel Beth Cate (Dec. 8, 2023)

Bloomington resident David Sabbagh (Dec. 8, 2023)

Police union president Paul Post

Police union vice president Jeffrey Rodgers (Dec. 8, 2023)

Councilmember Matt Flaherty (left) and city council attorney Stephen Lucas (Dec. 8, 2023)

Council president Sue Sgambelluri (Dec. 8, 2023)

Cued up next Wednesday for Bloomington city councilmembers—as the final agenda item for the final scheduled meeting of their four-year terms—is the sale of the city’s police station, which stands on 3rd Street, just north of The Waldron, Hill and Buskirk Park.

That’s the outcome of Friday’s board of public works public hearing, to review three purchase offers.

The board did not recommend that the mayor and city council sell the property to any of the three potential buyers. The board also did not recommend against selling the property.

Instead, the three-member board, all mayoral appointees, voted 2–0 to give no recommendation. That non-recommendation will now go to the city council on Wednesday (Dec. 13) for a vote.

Outgoing mayor John Hamilton administration’s first choice of a buyer is GMS-Pavillion Properties, which after some back-and-forth, offered $4.4 million. Continue reading “To sell or not to sell Bloomington’s police station building: Board tees up vote for city council” →

From left, Bloomington BPW members: Jane Kupersmith, Elizabeth Karon, and Kyla Cox Deckard. (Nov. 21, 2023)

Park gets new name By Christy Mullins 331-42661 cmullins@heraldt.com The small public park on Third Street behind the Bloomington Police Department now bears the name of three prominent Bloomington families who deeded the land decades ago. In a celebration Sunday, the park was rededicated as the Waldron, Hill and Buskirk Park. Members of each family attended, some from as far as New York, to thank the city for its recognition. But “the families didn’t seek this,” Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan said. About a year ago, curious resident Evelyn Powers found the deed to Third Street Park on microfilm and brought it to Kruzan, the city’s parks director and the city’s legal department for some answers. The original deed stat- ed that the park would be named after the three famP lies who sold the land to the city in the early 1920s — for a lump sum of $5,400. Until Sunday, the land had been known as Third Street Park, although officials aren’t sure why. “Of course I thought she was wrong," Kruzan said. “There was no way. But she was right. "Some might say gov- ernment works slowly, but today we’re getting it right.” In the background, hun- dreds of people occupied the park, finishing a 5K walk through Bloomington for homelessness awareness. A smaller crowd gathered for the rededication cer- emony. Kruzan and others acknowledged that the park has remained free and open to the public, even during special events at its amphi- theater. “Call this park what you want,” said Nat U. Hill, rep- resenting the Hill family. "So long as you maintain the belief that it should remain a free, public park."

Aerial image of Bloomington police station.

At a 3 p.m. public hearing on Friday, Bloomington’s board of public works is set to consider three purchase offers that have been received for the city’s police station.

Under state law, the board’s role is not to approve one of the offers. It is Bloomington’s city council that has to approve the sale.

The board is just supposed to make a recommendation, then notify the mayor of that recommendation. The wording of the state law goes like this: “…the executive shall designate a board or commission of the municipality to give notice, conduct the hearing, and notify the executive of its recommendation.”

[Updated On Dec. 8, 2023 at 4:11 p.m. At the conclusion of the public hearing, at which just three people spoke, the three-member board voted 2–0 to forward no recommendation to the city council. Board member Jane Kupersmith recused herself from the vote, citing as the reason her pending appointment by mayor-elect Kerry Thomson as head of the city’s department of economic and sustainable development. The three purchase offers are available on BloomDocs.org]

Even if the board of public works were to recommend against selling the police station, the question could still get a vote by the city council.

Outgoing Bloomington mayor John Hamilton wants to put the question of a sale on the council’s meeting agenda for next Wednesday, Dec. 13. That is the city council’s final scheduled meeting of the year. Continue reading “Purchase offers for Bloomington police station: Board of public works to mull proposals on Friday” →