Tag: Sarah Bauerle Danzman

Bloomington poised for public offering of Hopewell South land, security extended, fences reconfigured

This flyover image from the online Monroe County property lookup system is from March 2024. The former overlay of streetways is still visible in the image.

At its regular Monday meeting, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) took care of three relatively low-cost items related to the Hopewell project, as it prepares to consider a public offering for some of the land.

Those relatively low-cost items involved security patrols, a security fencing reconfiguration, and an electrical contract related to a vacant building.

The Hopewell neighborhood—to be developed at the site of the former IU Health hospital at 2nd and Rogers Streets—is supposed to eventually offer as many as 1,000 units of additional housing.

A public offering for Hopewell South is supposed to be in front of the RDC for its approval at its Sept. 16 meeting. That’s according to remarks at Monday’s meeting from Deb Kunce, who is with JS Held, the project management firm that the RDC has hired for the Hopewell development.

Hopewell South is the portion of the site bounded north-south between 1st Street and Wylie Street, and west of Rogers Street.

Hopewell South includes 714 S. Rogers on the southwest corner of Rogers and 1st Streets. It’s the former Bloomington Convalescent Center building. The other buildings of Hopewell South have been demolished.

The expectation is that the responses to the offering will be due by Nov. 1, 2024. That’s exactly one year after the due date for the first public offering that the RDC made for Hopewell South. Continue reading “Bloomington poised for public offering of Hopewell South land, security extended, fences reconfigured” →

Dems caucus taps Gregory as Monroe County auditor, previous day’s payroll delay gets a mention

Brianne (Bri) Gregory addresses the Democratic Party caucus that selected her as auditor. (Feb. 10, 2024)
A view though the auditor’s office front door at the Monroe County courthouse. (Feb. 10, 2024)
Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry. (Feb. 10, 2024)
Perry 20 precinct chair Shelli Yoder. (Feb. 10, 2024)
Monroe County treasurer Cathy Smith. (Feb. 10, 2024)
Monroe County Democratic Party vacancy caucus. (Feb. 10, 2024)
Bloomington 20 precinct chair Charlotte Zietlow raises her hand to ask a question. Zietlow is a former Bloomington city councilmember and a former county commissioner. (Feb. 10, 2024)

At a Democratic Party caucus held on Saturday in the Nat U. Hill Room of the historic county courthouse, Brianne (Bri) Gregory was selected to serve as Monroe County’s auditor through the end of this year.

The selection of Gregory to fill the auditor’s vacancy was not a surprise. She was the only person to file the paperwork to stand as a candidate in the caucus. Gregory currently serves as the county’s financial director, which is a position that works out of the auditor’s office.

Monroe County Democratic Party chair David Henry presided over Saturday’s event, which started at 1 p.m. The vote was taken by acclamation of the precinct chairs who had gathered to make the selection, after they suspended various rules in light of the fact that Gregory was the only candidate.

It is only precinct chairs who are eligible to vote in a vacancy caucus.

Henry summed up the proceedings after hearing a roomful of ayes in favor, and after hearing no one respond to a call for those who were opposed: “Hearing none, we have a new auditor.” Continue reading “Dems caucus taps Gregory as Monroe County auditor, previous day’s payroll delay gets a mention” →

Bloomington RDC to vote on resolution rejecting all Showers West bids, police move looks unlikely

Showers West
The aerial image is from the Monroe County property lookup system.
Studio AXIS rendering of Showers West floor plan for lobby.
StudioAXIS rendering of Showers West police station entrance.

Now added to the agenda for the Bloomington redevelopment commission’s (RDC’s) 5 p.m. Monday meeting is a resolution that rejects all of the construction bids for the Showers West renovation.

The revised agenda was released to RDC members around 6:45 p.m. on Friday.

The resolution rejecting all construction bids reflects an apparent decision by new Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson to change course from her predecessor, John Hamilton’s plan, to move both the fire department administration and police operations into the Showers West portion of the city hall building.

The city purchased Showers West about a year ago—with approval from the city council coming on a 5–4 vote.

A “whereas” clause of the resolution says: “[T]he City of Bloomington and the RDC have determined that while the bidders were responsive, they no longer meet the vision and scope of the Project.”

City attorney Larry Allen confirmed to The B Square on Friday that the added resolution reflected the discussion of a working group appointed by Thomson to review the Showers West project. Allen confirmed that the group had met at 4 p.m. on Friday, before the resolution on construction bids was added.

The working group includes city staff as well as two city councilmembers—Isabel Piedmont-Smith and Isak Asare. Continue reading “Bloomington RDC to vote on resolution rejecting all Showers West bids, police move looks unlikely” →

Showers West construction contracts on hold until after Kerry Thomson becomes Bloomington mayor

StudioAXIS rendering of Showers West fire administration entrance.
StudioAXIS rendering of Showers West police station entrance.
Bloomington fire chief Jason Moore addresses the RDC (Dec. 18, 2023)
RDC members from left: Cindy Kinnarney, Randy Cassady, Deborah Myerson, and Deb Hutton (Dec. 18, 2023)
Bloomington councilmember Matt Flaherty, mayor John Hamilton at RDC meeting (Dec. 18, 2023)

At its regular meeting on Monday, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) let four resolutions die that would have approved separate construction contract awards for the Showers West renovation and remodeling project.

That does not mean the contracts themselves are dead.

It just means that the contracts, which totaled around $12.7 million, could be up for a vote sometime in January 2024—but maybe not as soon as the very next meeting of Bloomington’s RDC, which is scheduled for Jan. 2.

The winning bids, which included a base plus some additional money for an IT room were: SCS Construction Services, Inc. (general trades) for $4,623,400; Multicraft Fire Protection (fire protection) for $310,500; Harrell-Fish Inc (mechanical and plumbing) for $4,128,000; and Cassady Electric (electric) for $3,655,900.

The Showers West project is supposed to remodel the portion of the city hall building that was purchased early this year, to make the 110-year-old brick former factory building into a suitable home for the fire department administration and police department operations.

Part of outgoing mayor John Hamilton’s plan was to sell the city’s 3rd Street police station, and move police operations to Showers West. Last Wednesday, the city council voted unanimously to reject the sale of the police station, at least for now.

Hamilton appeared in person in front of the RDC on Monday to advocate for going ahead and approving the construction contracts. Councilmember Matt Flaherty also appeared in person to urge approval of the construction contracts.

As she did on Wednesday, mayor-elect Kerry Thomson weighed in from the public mic on the Zoom video conferencing platform to advocate for putting off a decision.

Thomson said on Monday, “I wanted to ask you all to wait for the new administration to have an opportunity to review these bids in detail and ensure that there’s proper contingency and funding for all of the equipment and other needs before we move forward.” Continue reading “Showers West construction contracts on hold until after Kerry Thomson becomes Bloomington mayor” →

Mayoral transition: Bloomington boards have upcoming vacancies, to be filled by city executive

In an open letter dated Nov. 9,  mayor-elect Kerry Thomson made a clarion call to Bloomington residents for them to participate in city government.

people sitting around a table with two empty chairs
This art was generated by https://www.bing.com/images/create/

Thomson wrote to residents that her administration would “make it easy for them to participate in their government.”

She added: “That starts now—with you.”

Cited in Thomson’s letter as a path to participation is service on a board or commission, through a mayoral appointment.

She invites residents to apply for an seat on a board or commission. 

Appointments to boards and commissions also get a mention in a Nov. 14 letter that Thomson sent to current Bloomington mayor John Hamilton.

Thomson includes such appointments in the decisions that she asks Hamilton to refrain from making in his remaining time in office (emphasis in original): “Such decisions would include, but not be limited to, signing new or extensions of contracts, purchasing or conveying property, and making future board and commission appointments.”

Most board and commission terms go through Dec. 31 or Jan. 1, which means several naturally-occurring vacancies will need to be filled. For example, two of the five mayoral appointments to the plan commission end on Jan. 1, 2023.

At least some of the mayor-appointed members of boards and commissions are described explicitly in local law as serving “at the pleasure” of the mayor—like members of the board of public works or the board of public safety.

Seats on those two boards do not have specified term lengths. There’s not a natural point in time for a mayor to swap out one of those board members, by choosing not to re-appoint them.

The request about appointments in Thomson’s letter to Hamilton is not confined to just those board members that are explicitly described in the law as serving “at the pleasure” of the mayor. Continue reading “Mayoral transition: Bloomington boards have upcoming vacancies, to be filled by city executive” →

Bloomington mayor calls Hopewell groundbreaking a “once-in-a-century opportunity to create a new neighborhood in the heart of our beloved city”

Hopewell West Primary Plat
Hopewell West Primary Plat

On Friday afternoon, a day with partly cloudy skies and a temperature around 80 degrees, about 60 local leaders gathered at the now empty grassy lot on the south side of 2nd Street, between Rogers Street and The B-Line Trail.

They were assembled to mark the groundbreaking for the Hopewell neighborhood, which will be constructed at the site of the former IU Health hospital, where the health care provider operated its facility until December 2021.

Delivering remarks on Friday were Bloomington mayor John Hamilton, followed by Cindy Kinnarney, who is president of Bloomington’s redevelopment commission, and by Mick Renneisen, who is president of the board for the nonprofit called City of Bloomington Capital Improvements, Inc.

Hamilton led off his remarks by saying, “We are here to break ground on this once-in-a-century opportunity to create a new neighborhood in the heart of our beloved city.” Continue reading “Bloomington mayor calls Hopewell groundbreaking a “once-in-a-century opportunity to create a new neighborhood in the heart of our beloved city”” →