Bloomington mayor-elect Kerry Thomson picks Larry Allen as city attorney, some interims for other slots

In a news release issued on Wednesday morning, Bloomington mayor-elect Kerry Thomson announced additional appointments that she is making for her administration, which starts in a little under two weeks, on Jan. 1, 2024.

In Thomson’s administration, Bloomington’s city attorney will be Larry Allen, who currently serves as deputy mayor. Previously announced was Margie Rice as corporation counsel, who will be head of the legal department.

Tapped as interim director of planning and transportation will be Jackie Scanlan, who currently serves as development services manager for the department.

Thomson’s pick as interim director of the housing and neighborhood development (HAND) department is Anna Killion Hanson, who is currently the department’s assistant director.

Continuing as chief of staff working out of the mayor’s office will be Josefa Madrigal, who is currently serving in that role.

According to Wednesday’s news release, two appointments in the mayor’s office, which were earlier made by outgoing mayor John Hamilton on an interim basis, will continue as part-time interim staff, while Thomson searches for permanent appointments: Angela Van Rooy, as interim communications director, and Crystal Ritter, as interim public engagement director.

Ritter will also continue to serve as community events coordinator in the parks and recreation department. Van Rooy will also continue to serve as program manager in the HAND department. Continue reading “Bloomington mayor-elect Kerry Thomson picks Larry Allen as city attorney, some interims for other slots” →

Bloomington mayor-elect Kerry Thomson names most top staff picks, cascade of caucuses could result

Kerry Thomson

Gretchen Knapp

Jessica McClellan

Kurt Zorn

Jason Moore

Andrew Cibor

Jane Kupersmith

Margie Rice

Beverly Calender-Anderson

Sharmaine Pechac

Rick Dietz

Tim Street

Mike Diekhoff

Adam Wason

John Langley

In a Friday morning news release on the first day of December, Bloomington mayor-elect Kerry Thomson announced most, but not all, of the department heads who will be a part of her administration starting on Jan. 1, 2024.

Replacing Larry Allen as deputy mayor will be Gretchen Knapp, who is head of operations and marketing for The Mill.

Returning will be some familiar faces: Mike Diekhoff (chief of police); Jason Moore (fire chief); Adam Wason (director of public works); Andrew Cibor (city engineer); Tim Street (now interim director of parks and recreation); and Rick Dietz (director of IT).

Returning on an interim basis will be Beverly Calender-Anderson who is head of CFRD (community and family resources department).

Coming on board only as interim to serve as head of city of Bloomington utilities will be John Langley. According to Thomson’s news release, Langley, retired as the CBU’s deputy director in 2019, is a former deputy mayor, personnel director, and housing code enforcement officer.

That means Vic Kelson will not be returning as CBU director.

Also not returning are HAND (housing and neighborhood development) director John Zody and planning and transportation director Scott Robinson. But Friday’s news release does not name interim or permanent replacements for those two departments. Continue reading “Bloomington mayor-elect Kerry Thomson names most top staff picks, cascade of caucuses could result” →

Bloomington board: No action on ‘garbage’, or gateway, or Griffin Realty services for police HQ sale

Former deputy mayor Don Griffin (Oct. 10, 2023)

Rendering of gateway monolith, birdseye view from the southeast.

Joe Davis (Oct. 10, 2023)

Bloomington BPW from left: Jane Kupersmith, Elizabeth Karon, and Kyla Deckard (Oct. 10, 2023)

After two and a half hours on Tuesday night, Bloomington’s board of public works adjourned its meeting without acting on three controversial agenda items.

The items involved: the Miller-Showers gateway project; a professional services agreement with Griffin Realty in connection with the sale of the 3rd Street police station; and the city’s enforcement of city code against “garbage,” which it says Joe Davis is keeping on his South Washington Street property. Continue reading “Bloomington board: No action on ‘garbage’, or gateway, or Griffin Realty services for police HQ sale” →

Bloomington gateway delayed again by board of public works

Rendering of gateway monolith, birdseye view from the southeast.

Excerpt of the maintenance of traffic plan and detours for the construction.

Elizabeth Karon, Bloomington board of public works (Sept. 26, 2023)

Kyla Cox Deckard, Bloomington board of public works (Sept. 26, 2023)

Director of parks operations, Tim Street (Sept. 26, 2023)

Public works director Adam Wason (Sept. 26, 2023)

Tim Street talks with David Ebbinghouse after the board of park commissioners meeting (Sept. 26, 2023)

After Tuesday’s meeting of Bloomington’s board of public works, it’s now not clear when work will start on the installation of a new gateway monolith at the north end of Miller-Showers Park.

In connection with the monolith, public infrastructure improvements are planned in the general vicinity of College Avenue and Old 37.

And those public infrastructure improvements require closure of sidewalks and street lanes—for nearly three months, from Sept. 27 to Dec. 22.

But for the second time in as many meetings, on Tuesday night, Bloomington’s board of public works declined to give permission for the closure of public right-of-way in the area, to allow for the infrastructure improvements.

Based on the response from board members to questions from The B Square immediately following the meeting, it’s not clear if the item will return to the agenda for the board’s next meeting, which is currently set for Oct. 10.

The project has received widespread and fairly uniform criticism, based on its cost and its design aesthetics. Continue reading “Bloomington gateway delayed again by board of public works” →

Delayed by Bloomington board: Right-of-way closures for Miller-Showers city gateway construction

Rendering of gateway monolith, birdseye view from the southeast.

Bloomington board of public works president Kyla Cox Deckard

Board board of public works vice president Elizabeth Karon

Public works director Adam Wason

Parks operations director Tim Street

Engineering field specialist Alex Gray

David Ebbinghouse at the public mic

Planning and transportation director Scott Robinson

Excerpt of the maintenance of traffic plan and detours for the construction.

In a change of plans, over the next few days, Reed & Sons Construction will not be starting onsite preparations for various improvements at the north end of Miller-Showers Park.

The scheduled work is supposed to include a 40-foot tall gateway monument costing about $400,000. The monolith features the word “Bloomington” in all caps inscribed vertically from top to bottom.

What delayed the parks department project was a decision made by Bloomington’s board of public works at its Tuesday night meeting.

In the area of College Avenue and Old 37, Reed & Sons had requested temporary sidewalk and lane closures, with proposed pedestrian detours, in order to make the construction work possible.

But the board voted to put off approval of those right-of-way closures.

Continue reading “Delayed by Bloomington board: Right-of-way closures for Miller-Showers city gateway construction” →

Lower Cascades road options to be heard by Bloomington city council

Lower Cascades meeting (July 22, 2023)

Isabel Piedmont-Smith Lower Cascades meeting (July 22, 2023)

Carole Canfield, Lower Cascades meeting (July 22, 2023)

Al Carpenter Lower Cascades meeting (July 22, 2023)

Larry Allen, Lower Cascades meeting (July 22, 2023)

Extract from Bloomington Transportation Plan.

Locator map for proposed road closure.

Section of road proposed for closure. It stopped short of the underpass, and did not extend to College Avenue.

On the north side of Bloomington, there’s currently no dedicated non-motorized pathway between Miller-Showers Park, up the Old SR 37 highway through Lower Cascades Park up to Cascades Park.

On Wednesday (July 26), Bloomington’s city council will get a presentation from planning and transportation director Scott Robinson with four possible approaches to address that situation.

No vote on any proposal appears on Wednesday’s agenda.

The four options are sketched out in a memo from Robinson to the council.

One of them is labeled the “no-build” option, which means that cyclists would share the roadway with cars the way they do now, and pedestrians would walk in the road or else beside the road, where there is no improved surface.

The other three options are: closing the road to automobile traffic and dedicating the existing roadway just for non-motorized use; constructing a non-motorized path that is separate from the roadway; or converting the road to one-lane only for automobile traffic and the other lane for non-motorized traffic

On Saturday in Lower Cascades Park the “no build” option was the overwhelmingly preferred approach for the crowd of around 85 people who had gathered in the Waterfall Shelter to express their views. Continue reading “Lower Cascades road options to be heard by Bloomington city council” →

Robinson confirmed as head of Bloomington’s planning and transportation department

On Monday night, Scott Robinson was confirmed by the city plan commission as director of Bloomington’s planning and transportation department. This Square Beacon file photo shows Robinson at a Bloomington city council meeting in late 2019. To Robinsonson’s left is then-director of planning Terri Porter.

On Monday night, Scott Robinson was confirmed by the city plan commission as director of a Bloomington city department that, for the time being at least, is called the planning and transportation department.

The unanimous vote by plan commissioners came after a rare appearance by the mayor at a plan commission meeting, who introduced Robinson as his appointment to head the department.

Mayor John Hamilton intends to rename the department, to eliminate the word “transportation.” The intended move provoked the ire of some city councilmembers, when it was revealed at a recent public meeting of the city council about the proposed 2021 budget. Councilmembers had some objections based on substance, but were also annoyed because the news came as a surprise.

Not a surprise was Hamilton’s introduction of Robinson to the plan commission on Monday night. For one thing, a press release issued a couple of weeks ago announced that Robinson, who was assistant director of the department, was the mayor’s choice to replace Terri Porter. She retired on Sept. 25 after serving as director for about three and a half years. Continue reading “Robinson confirmed as head of Bloomington’s planning and transportation department” →