Speaker 1
Great. Hello and welcome to ask the mayor on WFIU. I'm Joe Hren, this week we're at Bloomington city hall with Mayor Kerry Thomson. Hello and welcome to the
Unknown Speaker
show. Thanks for coming back. Nice to have you.
Speaker 1
Another cold day. It's going to be a cold week. It is and I people might be looking for warmer places, especially those on house people may know of people who need a place to go. Is the city doing anything to help?
Speaker 2
Yeah, so we're part of a broader partnership with our fire stations and Wheeler mission and New Hope and the county where we have warming stations set up. And then, of course, for the unsheltered population, the we are encouraging people, really, whether they are sleeping outside normally, to access their regular shelters to get inside and and stay warm. And so we've, we've mobilized a lot of beds, and have added more even in this season. And so staying warm is, is pretty important.
Speaker 1
Are those run by the city the shelters or those run by churches. It's in a mixture of both. So
Speaker 2
the most of the shelters are run by nonprofits. And then, of course, we've had this temporary emergency winter shelter set up. It goes between first Christian and first Methodist Church downtown. It's run by volunteers, and they did that at the end of last season. They've been doing it for the entire season this season, but really that is and we're so grateful for their work. It's really been a big, significant endeavor, and so we're working hard with heading home to make sure that we're increasing beds and have adequate space next season, so that we aren't needing that emergency winter shelter. So okay,
Speaker 1
so that's what I was going to get to is that something that the city sees is more of a need, that the city can take this more over than the nonprofits.
Speaker 2
Well, I don't think the city needs to take it over. What we're doing is very clearly supporting the system with a plan. So heading home, of course, is an umbrella organization that works with all the shelter providers and and stays on top of best practices, etc. And so we're really interested in funding that system and working with the professionals who are trained and and the Rapid Rehousing program, of course, so that we get consistent case management for people and and that we're really placing people in a system that helps them succeed and get permanent housing
Speaker 1
so property tax bill taking shape, of course, the General Assembly working on the budget for the next two years. As I've heard the mayors in this month say, it's only February, most bills go through a lot before they become final or go to the governor's desk or before dying. Still, that looks like there may be some school revenue losses over the next five years. Braun just says he wants to do more with less. How do you respond to that?
Speaker 2
Well, I think it's, you know, ideally, we don't want any excesses being spent in government. And I think that the first question you have to ask is, is money being wasted? And if it is, then obviously, look at those programs and figure out how we can do them more efficiently. The challenge is that a lot of the conversation that's happening is is not to do more, it's to do less. And I think the problem that we're going to have, clearly, because we've seen it happen historically, is that when you do less, you end up spending more taking care of the crises that you cause. And so we don't want that to happen. And SB one has been very concerning to to many municipalities, and that's a bipartisan issue, and that that really is seeking to take the the taxes that we're going to counties and cities and send them straight to the state. And that's going to hurt our schools. It's going to hurt your local government, things like police and fire, things like roads that our residents really depend on.
Speaker 1
Well, in talking about money, we there was lots, and this was a few weeks ago from the federal government talking about freezes on federal funding through grants. We just talked with force Gilmore at Beane and Inc, and how it's affecting them. You know. Must be really hard as mayor, because you have a budget set, and then all of a sudden, some of these cuts come down. But it's not like you can just, I would assume from talking to mayors over the years, you just don't have millions of dollars. You can just, oh, let's move it from here to over here. So like, how do you deal with that when that comes down? That's
Speaker 2
right, and it we're in a bit of an unusual circumstance where we have seen at least one municipality, not in Indiana, have money actually clawed back out of their out of their bank accounts, and so that that has not happened here, but we're doing some contingency planning. But ultimately, Joe, you know we need to, we need to watch these bills carefully, do some plan B and Plan C, but also do our regular work of caring for the people in Bloomington, doing our everyday, very important work, and while we're advocating for what we need, make sure we're not spinning our wheels too much on on issues that may never happen.
Speaker 1
Here's one from the state, a bill that would jail and find people sleeping on state property passed out of committee on Monday. But when we say state property, it's not just state property, right? I mean, it's any public property, yes,
Speaker 2
and this is, this is really rooted, you know, obviously, in the in the the Supreme Court case that came out of Oregon last year. And so, you know, we don't want to criminalize being homeless. And it's, you know, what we're told is that this doesn't criminalize being homeless, it just puts teeth in the fact that you can't, you can't trespass on public lands. It is, it's part of a greater movement I think that we really need to keep an eye on, to make sure that we are seeking the resources that are needed to help people really heal and get better and get back on their feet without creating onerous penalties that actually further prevent them from doing so. If you find a person who's experiencing homelessness and they can't pay the fine, those things just keep multiplying. So it doesn't solve the problem.
Speaker 1
On previous shows, you've maintained Bloomington is for all people, emphasis on diversity, and with all the cuts to the DEI program, some targets to transgender people, how do you maintain that aspect of Bloomington being an open to all people?
Speaker 2
Well, you know, I think Bloomington, Bloomington has long been a place that many people can feel at home, and we've been striving to be a place where even more people can genuinely feel at home. And so my commitment to our community is that we will, we'll continue to innovate on ways that we can be warm and welcoming and create a sense of belonging for all people, and I think that's important now more than ever. And I think it's important not only for our humanity, but for our economic development. We need to be a place that that welcomes all kinds of people with with creative ideas, a place that innovates and is is really a center for entrepreneurship and and that means diverse number of people coming together in one place.
Speaker 1
So one more from the State House Republicans approved a bill to give the Attorney General more power to go after businesses that employ undocumented immigrants, and the Attorney General's office said that the bill would make it easier to win ongoing lawsuits against two county, albeit County, sheriff's offices, and one of those courses here in Bloomington, as you know, what's your response to that bill, knowing that obviously you're not over the sheriff's department, but you are the mayor of Bloomington. Yeah,
Speaker 2
we're, I mean, I am the Mayor of Bloomington. And, you know, our, our police department, of course, is, is the law enforcement arm. And the the police have really nothing to do with immigration. We're not trained professionals in in the legitimacy of of of somebody's immigration documents, our role, as laid out in code, is to is to keep our local community safe, and so we we are focused on that, and not on the on the federal immigration issues
Speaker 1
we do have. A question. Ryan wrote in about electric car power stations. I do a little research about this last night. I don't know much about it, but there are three different levels of power, one, two and three is about the speed. So one can charge a car 11 to 20 hours, up to level three, which is only about 30 to 60 minutes. And he doesn't see much in Bloomington in terms of powering electronic or electric vehicles. I looked at a map too, and I didn't see many, especially those level threes, right? Should Bloomington be leading the state or leading the country in this type of technology? And if so, why aren't we? Yeah,
Speaker 2
so I have learned a tremendous amount about EVs in my role as mayor, not only because because of the infrastructure that we have and the various city codes that we have, but also because I'm a new EV driver. Have been driving an EV now for 14 months. Myself and my husband recently switched to EV. So we're, we're an all EV home. It is true that there are three different levels of charge, and there's, there are several different factors that go into how fast your car charges, including the battery that's in your car and how much it can draw even on a fast charger. So some of these batteries, including mine, other cars, will charge in 20 minutes. Mine takes an hour on the very fastest the high speed chargers are incredibly expensive to install, upwards of $100,000 a piece, and that is, it requires infrastructure, etc. We really are in a prime spot. And, and with, you know, with adequate planning, I think we should have some level three chargers right on this I 69 corridor where we could pull people off the interstate, have a meal in a Bloomington restaurant, and keep going. The challenge is getting the money to do those and the planning it takes to get them done. We do have infrastructure in our city garages for level two chargers, etc. And then, of course, in our in our multi family developments, new multi family developments of a certain size are all required to put in EV chargers. So we're doing what we can to sort of mandate the infrastructure. Unfortunately, the funding that was there to support municipalities doing EV chargers appears to be disappearing with the new federal administration, and so obviously it's a concern. In order to encourage more people to drive electric we need a solid grid right now. When I go on a longer road trip, I really have to plan out where I'm going to stop and recharge. We want people planning to stop in Bloomington and so it's, it's something we're interested in, and it may necessitate a public, private partnership to pull in some of those faster charges. Yeah,
Speaker 1
I could see this maybe being a potential income for some businesses that could install this, but again, that would be over a longer period of time, when you're talking about 100,000 just for the station, and not even the infrastructure or the land that it would have to be on. That might take some time to get businesses wrapped into that yes, I would assume yes. So yeah,
Speaker 2
and you know, the universal chargers, which you know are supposed to come to pass, so that they all have the same connections, that also can help. Because, of course, they are, there are different connect points now. And of course,
Speaker 1
I'm speaking on the level of those who are as well coming in to visit. I mean, Bloomington relies on tourism as a huge part of the economic driving force here, football games, auditorium, festivals, things like that. Of course, a lot of people have them in their garages, right? But I think this question was more, excuse me, was more about the tourism aspect as well,
Speaker 2
right? And again, our our downtown city garages all have chargers in them. Switch yard Park has chargers so they are accessible publicly. And then I know at least two level three chargers at dealerships both both East Side and West Side in town that are open for public to plug in. People
Speaker 1
might want to know a little bit more details about the city finalizing the outdoor dining program for Kirkwood Avenue. What's different, or what might they see from before? Is it pretty much the same?
Speaker 2
Yeah, well, it will be different, and we're still finalizing exactly what that's going to look like, but Kirkwood will be closed for the summer months, and. And, and this is a longer term picture. We're not going to get it perfect yet, and that is, I want to really communicate that to the public. We're still listening to what the public needs. Accessibility is the main concern. So getting people who are not physically mobile, to be able to access places is, is the main concern, and of course, public safety. So we are so you know, we're keeping those things in mind. Ultimately, our goal is to have a long term vision for Kirkwood with whatever closure is going to happen that ties into our transportation infrastructure and doesn't look like just a temporary closing and and has access points for people with limited mobility.
Speaker 1
I know we're about out of time, but do you want to let us know when your state of the city? Yes? Is that coming up.
Speaker 2
Yes. So April 3. Okay, yes, so april 3. So we have another month to go. I did it in April last year too, to coincide with my first 100 days. And so we'll be April 3. We'll be at the Waldron this year, so going to a different city venue. We're excited to be there. It'll be six to 9pm and encourage people to come out. We'll have a nice reception and a good time to share company.
Speaker 1
Great and last word. Any other announcements, things we should know about? I
Speaker 2
don't think so. A small team and I are I've been selected for a fellowship at Harvard to it's the just city fellowship, and it's focused on housing. And so David hittle, our planning director, and Anna Killian Hanson and I are all engaged one day a week in in virtual classes, and then we go in April to Harvard to finish up with a project. So really excited about bringing more affordable and just housing to Bloomington through that.
Speaker 1
So is that taking a plan, an action plan, to a group to work on, or, I guess, what's the Yeah.
Speaker 2
So there's a whole design team there. I was up at Harvard for two days in an intensive, and David and Anna were logged in remotely. Then we will be developing our proposal together, this is going to focus partially on Hopewell, but also on city policy elsewhere, how we can really drive more housing to be affordable and open to all people. Time goes
Unknown Speaker
by so quick. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
Great. Hello and welcome to ask the mayor on WFIU. I'm Joe Hren, this week we're at Bloomington city hall with Mayor Kerry Thomson. Hello and welcome to the
Unknown Speaker
show. Thanks for coming back. Nice to have you.
Speaker 1
Another cold day. It's going to be a cold week. It is and I people might be looking for warmer places, especially those on house people may know of people who need a place to go. Is the city doing anything to help?
Speaker 2
Yeah, so we're part of a broader partnership with our fire stations and Wheeler mission and New Hope and the county where we have warming stations set up. And then, of course, for the unsheltered population, the we are encouraging people, really, whether they are sleeping outside normally, to access their regular shelters to get inside and and stay warm. And so we've, we've mobilized a lot of beds, and have added more even in this season. And so staying warm is, is pretty important.
Speaker 1
Are those run by the city the shelters or those run by churches. It's in a mixture of both. So
Speaker 2
the most of the shelters are run by nonprofits. And then, of course, we've had this temporary emergency winter shelter set up. It goes between first Christian and first Methodist Church downtown. It's run by volunteers, and they did that at the end of last season. They've been doing it for the entire season this season, but really that is and we're so grateful for their work. It's really been a big, significant endeavor, and so we're working hard with heading home to make sure that we're increasing beds and have adequate space next season, so that we aren't needing that emergency winter shelter. So okay,
Speaker 1
so that's what I was going to get to is that something that the city sees is more of a need, that the city can take this more over than the nonprofits.
Speaker 2
Well, I don't think the city needs to take it over. What we're doing is very clearly supporting the system with a plan. So heading home, of course, is an umbrella organization that works with all the shelter providers and and stays on top of best practices, etc. And so we're really interested in funding that system and working with the professionals who are trained and and the Rapid Rehousing program, of course, so that we get consistent case management for people and and that we're really placing people in a system that helps them succeed and get permanent housing
Speaker 1
so property tax bill taking shape, of course, the General Assembly working on the budget for the next two years. As I've heard the mayors in this month say, it's only February, most bills go through a lot before they become final or go to the governor's desk or before dying. Still, that looks like there may be some school revenue losses over the next five years. Braun just says he wants to do more with less. How do you respond to that?
Speaker 2
Well, I think it's, you know, ideally, we don't want any excesses being spent in government. And I think that the first question you have to ask is, is money being wasted? And if it is, then obviously, look at those programs and figure out how we can do them more efficiently. The challenge is that a lot of the conversation that's happening is is not to do more, it's to do less. And I think the problem that we're going to have, clearly, because we've seen it happen historically, is that when you do less, you end up spending more taking care of the crises that you cause. And so we don't want that to happen. And SB one has been very concerning to to many municipalities, and that's a bipartisan issue, and that that really is seeking to take the the taxes that we're going to counties and cities and send them straight to the state. And that's going to hurt our schools. It's going to hurt your local government, things like police and fire, things like roads that our residents really depend on.
Speaker 1
Well, in talking about money, we there was lots, and this was a few weeks ago from the federal government talking about freezes on federal funding through grants. We just talked with force Gilmore at Beane and Inc, and how it's affecting them. You know. Must be really hard as mayor, because you have a budget set, and then all of a sudden, some of these cuts come down. But it's not like you can just, I would assume from talking to mayors over the years, you just don't have millions of dollars. You can just, oh, let's move it from here to over here. So like, how do you deal with that when that comes down? That's
Speaker 2
right, and it we're in a bit of an unusual circumstance where we have seen at least one municipality, not in Indiana, have money actually clawed back out of their out of their bank accounts, and so that that has not happened here, but we're doing some contingency planning. But ultimately, Joe, you know we need to, we need to watch these bills carefully, do some plan B and Plan C, but also do our regular work of caring for the people in Bloomington, doing our everyday, very important work, and while we're advocating for what we need, make sure we're not spinning our wheels too much on on issues that may never happen.
Speaker 1
Here's one from the state, a bill that would jail and find people sleeping on state property passed out of committee on Monday. But when we say state property, it's not just state property, right? I mean, it's any public property, yes,
Speaker 2
and this is, this is really rooted, you know, obviously, in the in the the Supreme Court case that came out of Oregon last year. And so, you know, we don't want to criminalize being homeless. And it's, you know, what we're told is that this doesn't criminalize being homeless, it just puts teeth in the fact that you can't, you can't trespass on public lands. It is, it's part of a greater movement I think that we really need to keep an eye on, to make sure that we are seeking the resources that are needed to help people really heal and get better and get back on their feet without creating onerous penalties that actually further prevent them from doing so. If you find a person who's experiencing homelessness and they can't pay the fine, those things just keep multiplying. So it doesn't solve the problem.
Speaker 1
On previous shows, you've maintained Bloomington is for all people, emphasis on diversity, and with all the cuts to the DEI program, some targets to transgender people, how do you maintain that aspect of Bloomington being an open to all people?
Speaker 2
Well, you know, I think Bloomington, Bloomington has long been a place that many people can feel at home, and we've been striving to be a place where even more people can genuinely feel at home. And so my commitment to our community is that we will, we'll continue to innovate on ways that we can be warm and welcoming and create a sense of belonging for all people, and I think that's important now more than ever. And I think it's important not only for our humanity, but for our economic development. We need to be a place that that welcomes all kinds of people with with creative ideas, a place that innovates and is is really a center for entrepreneurship and and that means diverse number of people coming together in one place.
Speaker 1
So one more from the State House Republicans approved a bill to give the Attorney General more power to go after businesses that employ undocumented immigrants, and the Attorney General's office said that the bill would make it easier to win ongoing lawsuits against two county, albeit County, sheriff's offices, and one of those courses here in Bloomington, as you know, what's your response to that bill, knowing that obviously you're not over the sheriff's department, but you are the mayor of Bloomington. Yeah,
Speaker 2
we're, I mean, I am the Mayor of Bloomington. And, you know, our, our police department, of course, is, is the law enforcement arm. And the the police have really nothing to do with immigration. We're not trained professionals in in the legitimacy of of of somebody's immigration documents, our role, as laid out in code, is to is to keep our local community safe, and so we we are focused on that, and not on the on the federal immigration issues
Speaker 1
we do have. A question. Ryan wrote in about electric car power stations. I do a little research about this last night. I don't know much about it, but there are three different levels of power, one, two and three is about the speed. So one can charge a car 11 to 20 hours, up to level three, which is only about 30 to 60 minutes. And he doesn't see much in Bloomington in terms of powering electronic or electric vehicles. I looked at a map too, and I didn't see many, especially those level threes, right? Should Bloomington be leading the state or leading the country in this type of technology? And if so, why aren't we? Yeah,
Speaker 2
so I have learned a tremendous amount about EVs in my role as mayor, not only because because of the infrastructure that we have and the various city codes that we have, but also because I'm a new EV driver. Have been driving an EV now for 14 months. Myself and my husband recently switched to EV. So we're, we're an all EV home. It is true that there are three different levels of charge, and there's, there are several different factors that go into how fast your car charges, including the battery that's in your car and how much it can draw even on a fast charger. So some of these batteries, including mine, other cars, will charge in 20 minutes. Mine takes an hour on the very fastest the high speed chargers are incredibly expensive to install, upwards of $100,000 a piece, and that is, it requires infrastructure, etc. We really are in a prime spot. And, and with, you know, with adequate planning, I think we should have some level three chargers right on this I 69 corridor where we could pull people off the interstate, have a meal in a Bloomington restaurant, and keep going. The challenge is getting the money to do those and the planning it takes to get them done. We do have infrastructure in our city garages for level two chargers, etc. And then, of course, in our in our multi family developments, new multi family developments of a certain size are all required to put in EV chargers. So we're doing what we can to sort of mandate the infrastructure. Unfortunately, the funding that was there to support municipalities doing EV chargers appears to be disappearing with the new federal administration, and so obviously it's a concern. In order to encourage more people to drive electric we need a solid grid right now. When I go on a longer road trip, I really have to plan out where I'm going to stop and recharge. We want people planning to stop in Bloomington and so it's, it's something we're interested in, and it may necessitate a public, private partnership to pull in some of those faster charges. Yeah,
Speaker 1
I could see this maybe being a potential income for some businesses that could install this, but again, that would be over a longer period of time, when you're talking about 100,000 just for the station, and not even the infrastructure or the land that it would have to be on. That might take some time to get businesses wrapped into that yes, I would assume yes. So yeah,
Speaker 2
and you know, the universal chargers, which you know are supposed to come to pass, so that they all have the same connections, that also can help. Because, of course, they are, there are different connect points now. And of course,
Speaker 1
I'm speaking on the level of those who are as well coming in to visit. I mean, Bloomington relies on tourism as a huge part of the economic driving force here, football games, auditorium, festivals, things like that. Of course, a lot of people have them in their garages, right? But I think this question was more, excuse me, was more about the tourism aspect as well,
Speaker 2
right? And again, our our downtown city garages all have chargers in them. Switch yard Park has chargers so they are accessible publicly. And then I know at least two level three chargers at dealerships both both East Side and West Side in town that are open for public to plug in. People
Speaker 1
might want to know a little bit more details about the city finalizing the outdoor dining program for Kirkwood Avenue. What's different, or what might they see from before? Is it pretty much the same?
Speaker 2
Yeah, well, it will be different, and we're still finalizing exactly what that's going to look like, but Kirkwood will be closed for the summer months, and. And, and this is a longer term picture. We're not going to get it perfect yet, and that is, I want to really communicate that to the public. We're still listening to what the public needs. Accessibility is the main concern. So getting people who are not physically mobile, to be able to access places is, is the main concern, and of course, public safety. So we are so you know, we're keeping those things in mind. Ultimately, our goal is to have a long term vision for Kirkwood with whatever closure is going to happen that ties into our transportation infrastructure and doesn't look like just a temporary closing and and has access points for people with limited mobility.
Speaker 1
I know we're about out of time, but do you want to let us know when your state of the city? Yes? Is that coming up.
Speaker 2
Yes. So April 3. Okay, yes, so april 3. So we have another month to go. I did it in April last year too, to coincide with my first 100 days. And so we'll be April 3. We'll be at the Waldron this year, so going to a different city venue. We're excited to be there. It'll be six to 9pm and encourage people to come out. We'll have a nice reception and a good time to share company.
Speaker 1
Great and last word. Any other announcements, things we should know about? I
Speaker 2
don't think so. A small team and I are I've been selected for a fellowship at Harvard to it's the just city fellowship, and it's focused on housing. And so David hittle, our planning director, and Anna Killian Hanson and I are all engaged one day a week in in virtual classes, and then we go in April to Harvard to finish up with a project. So really excited about bringing more affordable and just housing to Bloomington through that.
Speaker 1
So is that taking a plan, an action plan, to a group to work on, or, I guess, what's the Yeah.
Speaker 2
So there's a whole design team there. I was up at Harvard for two days in an intensive, and David and Anna were logged in remotely. Then we will be developing our proposal together, this is going to focus partially on Hopewell, but also on city policy elsewhere, how we can really drive more housing to be affordable and open to all people. Time goes
Unknown Speaker
by so quick. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
