Unknown Speaker
Hello and welcome to Ask The Mayor on WFIU. I'm Joe Hren. This week, I'm in Bloomington with Mayor Kerry Thomson. Hello, welcome. How you doing? Hi, Joe. I'm fantastic. How are you good? Good to hear.
Unknown Speaker
Well, two weeks after the election, wanted to know what it was like the Democratic mayor in a red state, watching returns come in and seeing red all over the place, right? What was your reaction? Well, obviously disappointment and concern.
Unknown Speaker
And you know, I think after we, after we get done being mournful about the significant loss. Our work is really the same as it would be, just in a different framework.
Unknown Speaker
We are here to love our people in Bloomington and provide for them well, and what this means to us is that local politics has never been more relevant, and the way that we serve the people of Bloomington is that we serve you and protect you like you're our family, and we'll continue to do that. And I know lots of people are really concerned. I am focused on what we can do for the people of Bloomington, but I'm also focused on the areas that we can align with the new administration and getting to work on leveraging the assets that we do have and the alignments that we do have. Yeah, does that even change your strategy with the new governor, Braun? So, you know, we were having meetings with Braun's staff when he was on the Hill. So we have existing relationships there, and they're concerned about many of the same things that we're concerned with. It is it's just a different administration than if Jennifer McCormick were to be elected,
Unknown Speaker
and we plan to work well with Braun, especially on housing and economic development and seeing what roads we can pave there. What do you think the Democratic Party needs to do in Indiana?
Unknown Speaker
It's a great question.
Unknown Speaker
I think that we need to really be Big Tent people welcome people in the Democratic Party is not meant to be a close insiders group.
Unknown Speaker
And you know, through through my campaign and through my election, I have really been working to get people involved in in the city and and throughout our community, in whatever that way they want to be, because we need people to offer their best gifts to our community and and so throughout the state. I think that's true for the Democratic Party, and I think we need to work together. There's no need for Democrats to be criticizing one another. We need to look for our next great leadership, elevate them, not criticize them, and and make sure they have the tools that they need to succeed in the next election. All right, let's move on to the convention center. Quick update. Anything you can tell us about negotiations with the hotel developer Dora hospitality and their where they plan to build the hotel. Well, I wouldn't call them negotiations, at least not yet. We are working with Dora on on their initial steps before we even get to a point where we can do any negotiations, they really need to have an economic picture, and that will require at least some preliminary outlines of what's intended to be there. So we're in what I would call a very fun stage of visioning with them what they what they'd like to do in the community, and what seems feasible. I'm excited about the site that they've chosen and the gifts that it can offer back to the Beeline and to the Bloomington community. Yeah. So, so basically, still very early in that process, very early stage, and believe me, we'd love it to move rapidly. Obviously, the convention center is moving along very well, and we're going to need that hotel, so we're doing everything in our power to make decisions quickly and to facilitate that work, but it is just going to take some time. I see you're hosting some public forums. There's one on annexation. Of course, annexation has been halted by the core.
Unknown Speaker
And remonstrators. So I, I know so the while for the appeals process to play out, but do you feel like the city can still make some progress with annexation and these public forums that you're holding? So it's, it's important that that I articulate that I'm not hoping to have any kind of legal discussions in these forums, but I think what hasn't been done in the past, is what I am hoping to do, which is listen to people. And so I really want people to come who have questions about annexation, about about why perhaps I'm for annexation, and I've become a pretty avid proponent of it, but I also really love to allay any fears I can, and to listen to what people need in order to really feel welcomed into the city. So this is really a forum that's open to everyone, but I am particularly interested in getting county residents there that have thoughts on annexation, especially if they're concerned about it. So, you know, we had a question actually come in from Dave Askins. I know you know Dave from B squared bulletin, and it came after an article I wrote about annexation after our last show a month ago, because he went through the process of obtaining all of the evidence from the courts and public records, and said it took him five months to get anything from the city. And was wondering if that is your definition of what it is to have an open communication and records with the public and the media so and I thought it was a decent question, what? Yes, what's your response to that? So we would love to be able to respond same day.
Unknown Speaker
Frankly, the records requests that are coming in are very detailed and very broad, and when that happens, our legal team has to go through literally 10s of 1000s of emails to ensure that we're not releasing anything that divulges personal information, anything that would divulge HR information, for instance. And likewise, with the annexation documents, there was a request for the complete transcription. And in order to do that, some things did need to be redacted. They hadn't even been transcribed yet. And so that that one in particular took an awfully long time. So what would be your message, you know, just to those or media or whoever that do want or do need timely information from the city or from the mayor's office, five months is a long time. Yes, my my best advice is ask us exactly for what you need, instead of a broad, you know, I'm hoping to catch something about this.
Unknown Speaker
Transparency, to me means we're going to give you an honest answer, and we're going to give you as much detail verbally as we can. And if you say, you know, have you can you share with me any emails that you have sent on X, Y or Z. That is, that is much faster process than an official records request that has, for instance, 15 keywords that may be keywords that many, many staff members are using throughout the city at any given time.
Unknown Speaker
So we did a report with experts with I use Kelly School of Business predicting national and statewide economic growth, but yet predicting Bloomington will lag behind in 2025
Unknown Speaker
Bloomington productivity increases don't match the rest of the state. The state grew about 7.8% Bloomington 1.7%
Unknown Speaker
since 2018 Bloomington has only added 700 workers to the labor force. So of course, Bloomington has a big has IU, that's right, big health, medical market. You think of Cook Catalan Sintra. Are there just too many eggs in one basket, or, What? What? What does Bloomington need to keep pace with the state? Well, you know, I'll go right back to the conversation we were just having. It has, it's been proven time and again that cities that lack elasticity are going to shrink instead of grow, both in population and economically. And so we have ostensibly been landlocked now for 20 years and and without any growth,
Unknown Speaker
we we likely are going to be pushing a boulder up a mountain to get population growth, but also to get economic growth. That is why annexation is so important. It's important not just for the city. It's important for the whole region, because in fact, this economic and population decline affects the county and in places like Bloomington, where you have.
Unknown Speaker
A really an economic hub that affects an entire region. It can also impact that region, most notably, obviously, housing. If you want more people here, you have to have places for them to live. And while the city has a number of new housing units on docket, with summit and with Hopewell, we we really are not seeing new subdivisions come up in the county outside of ellisville. Ellisville is doing a great job. So we should all look to ellisville. They're attracting population. They also are annexing and and providing services outside of where the ellisville limits were.
Unknown Speaker
I know this can happen overnight, but can you just talk a little bit about your your plans, when, when you came into office, and then where you are? It's hard to believe it's been 11 months now since, since you took office in trying to increase bloomington's productivity and economic development. Yeah, I think a key part of that is actually something that we're celebrating this week, innovation week, of course, which kicked off at the mill yesterday, and is continuing throughout the week. Of course, the Forge will have its grand opening on Friday. This is incredibly important to have really world class office space that is available for new companies to come in and grow.
Unknown Speaker
Importantly, the CCC grant that was gifted from the Lilly Endowment builds a tangible partnership to
Unknown Speaker
really grow what's happening at trades district, but also to formalize the relationship around economic development with the university. The 2030 plan, of course, is really targeted at commercializing some of the research that's happening at the university. And of course, that relationship with crane is critically important. So you know, these are things that I helped work on before I was even in office, and will continue to work on. And I think, you know, in order to get the economic development and the innovation that we want, we have to have a quality of place and housing that matches it. And importantly, you know, Indiana, for a long time, has been one of the last in entrepreneurship and innovation. We do really well in manufacturing, but that is not going to grow the wages in our community, and that's what we need to look at. And so the kinds of things that are happening at the mill and what will happen at the forge and the future vision for the trades district and what that will attract throughout our city is critically important to our economic development and that population growth that we really need. And I believe, another step forward, and something just reminded me now we talked a month ago about the trades district and the parcels of land being transferred over from the city to the mill, which I believe, took another step forward yesterday in a meeting, it did. And so now that gives the mill that opportunity to develop that land even quicker, right? That's right, you know, once that land is transferred, you know, of course, the Vice President for Development over there is is John Fernandez, and he knows exactly what he's doing with this. He is an incredible bridge builder when it comes to relationships. So he's having conversations with companies that are interested in coming to the trades district and supporting what's happening there, and having it as shovel ready as possible is is just really important, and so having that land transferred over to the trades district is a great first step. I've been following this HT reporting of you and city council at odds over a failed mayoral appointment to the city historic preservation commission and the candidate, according to the article, felt unwelcome, declined the spot. City council members are saying the matter has been blown out of proportion. They just need more time and information on the candidate. What's your take on what happened? Yeah, I think you know, whenever we can have these conversations in public, which is, what is, you know, the the forum allows for that, and so
Unknown Speaker
allowing these questions to come out in public and ask for qualifications, the this particular appointment is my appointment, the mayoral appointment that is to be confirmed by city council. They receive that information in a packet ahead of time. There's time to answer questions, but I think those questions can be provided in a public format. And unfortunately,
Unknown Speaker
there were conversations that happened, evidently, behind the scenes.
Unknown Speaker
And and nobody made a motion to bring that forward. So I would just, you know, I don't think it's a major conflict.
Unknown Speaker
I am just really committed to leading with the principle of transparency, and that includes including the public. And if I don't know the answer to a question that's asked during a meeting. I'm happy to say I don't know, and I can get back to you, but the public deserves to hear those questions and and to participate in that way. That's why the confirmations happen in a public forum. So what happens now with that position? So that position is open, and I will have the opportunity to to name another member of the HPC. Okay.
Unknown Speaker
The big question is, when does the road construction end downtown?
Unknown Speaker
Right? It took me a while to get here today, yes, so I know. So my apologies to to the city that this road construction has really coincided with some significant tourist weekends,
Unknown Speaker
and I'll just say also You're welcome. It's a two and a half million dollar investment in making our downtown roads really work well, to bring them up to speed and to bring those sidewalk ramps up to ADA standards and and make them easier for people with mobility issues. So this was ARPA funding, which means we have to expend it by the end of the year. We did everything in our power to get it done when our population was decreased during the summer, and unfortunately, concrete is really hard to come by, and all of the contractors that work with it are also on really tight schedules. So we're really proud to get this done, and it'll be beautiful. And hopefully you'll you know, you residents out there will enjoy these great ramps and beautifully paved streets, more than you'll remember the pain of not being able to park or get around efficiently. And boy. Weather, football. Weather, what's going on? Football? Weather, I know. Are you jumping on? Have you been to a game? I have been to a game. Of course. I got to, I got to declare it Lee Corso day in Bloomington, I saw you on ESPN game that was very like. Game Day was a blast. I got to meet Ben the the emotional support dog that unfortunately, has since passed. So that was a deep honor. And, and really, you know, I hope that, as much as also traffic and parking, parking can be a challenge, I hope Bloomington is really reveling in the fact that that we have a football team to be proud of. We're welcoming 1000s of visitors on these football weekends. It's great for businesses. I know, you know the businesses are hard pressed to keep up with the labor and service that it takes to to be hospitable to this many
Unknown Speaker
people from out of town, but it's just a fun thing to agree on and to have a football team that that wins here in Bloomington, which is, I've never lived here when that has been the case. So my deep thanks to our downtown businesses that have been hospitable and really bending over backwards to make Bloomington look great. So that was all I had. We're out of time, but I would like to leave the last minute to you any announcements or things that we need to know. Well, you know, we're moving into Thanksgiving week, and I couldn't be more grateful to be holding this office and sitting in this seat, and what we've gotten accomplished this year in the first 11 months is really incredible, and there's more to come in the coming year. And so we're really excited to to to be grateful for our community, and to look forward to 2025
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, I'm looking forward to the the December show, because it's always the last show of the year, and it'll be a good retrospect of a year and what and what to come. That's right. So we'll see you today. All right, thanks so much, Joe. Thank you. You.
Hello and welcome to Ask The Mayor on WFIU. I'm Joe Hren. This week, I'm in Bloomington with Mayor Kerry Thomson. Hello, welcome. How you doing? Hi, Joe. I'm fantastic. How are you good? Good to hear.
Unknown Speaker
Well, two weeks after the election, wanted to know what it was like the Democratic mayor in a red state, watching returns come in and seeing red all over the place, right? What was your reaction? Well, obviously disappointment and concern.
Unknown Speaker
And you know, I think after we, after we get done being mournful about the significant loss. Our work is really the same as it would be, just in a different framework.
Unknown Speaker
We are here to love our people in Bloomington and provide for them well, and what this means to us is that local politics has never been more relevant, and the way that we serve the people of Bloomington is that we serve you and protect you like you're our family, and we'll continue to do that. And I know lots of people are really concerned. I am focused on what we can do for the people of Bloomington, but I'm also focused on the areas that we can align with the new administration and getting to work on leveraging the assets that we do have and the alignments that we do have. Yeah, does that even change your strategy with the new governor, Braun? So, you know, we were having meetings with Braun's staff when he was on the Hill. So we have existing relationships there, and they're concerned about many of the same things that we're concerned with. It is it's just a different administration than if Jennifer McCormick were to be elected,
Unknown Speaker
and we plan to work well with Braun, especially on housing and economic development and seeing what roads we can pave there. What do you think the Democratic Party needs to do in Indiana?
Unknown Speaker
It's a great question.
Unknown Speaker
I think that we need to really be Big Tent people welcome people in the Democratic Party is not meant to be a close insiders group.
Unknown Speaker
And you know, through through my campaign and through my election, I have really been working to get people involved in in the city and and throughout our community, in whatever that way they want to be, because we need people to offer their best gifts to our community and and so throughout the state. I think that's true for the Democratic Party, and I think we need to work together. There's no need for Democrats to be criticizing one another. We need to look for our next great leadership, elevate them, not criticize them, and and make sure they have the tools that they need to succeed in the next election. All right, let's move on to the convention center. Quick update. Anything you can tell us about negotiations with the hotel developer Dora hospitality and their where they plan to build the hotel. Well, I wouldn't call them negotiations, at least not yet. We are working with Dora on on their initial steps before we even get to a point where we can do any negotiations, they really need to have an economic picture, and that will require at least some preliminary outlines of what's intended to be there. So we're in what I would call a very fun stage of visioning with them what they what they'd like to do in the community, and what seems feasible. I'm excited about the site that they've chosen and the gifts that it can offer back to the Beeline and to the Bloomington community. Yeah. So, so basically, still very early in that process, very early stage, and believe me, we'd love it to move rapidly. Obviously, the convention center is moving along very well, and we're going to need that hotel, so we're doing everything in our power to make decisions quickly and to facilitate that work, but it is just going to take some time. I see you're hosting some public forums. There's one on annexation. Of course, annexation has been halted by the core.
Unknown Speaker
And remonstrators. So I, I know so the while for the appeals process to play out, but do you feel like the city can still make some progress with annexation and these public forums that you're holding? So it's, it's important that that I articulate that I'm not hoping to have any kind of legal discussions in these forums, but I think what hasn't been done in the past, is what I am hoping to do, which is listen to people. And so I really want people to come who have questions about annexation, about about why perhaps I'm for annexation, and I've become a pretty avid proponent of it, but I also really love to allay any fears I can, and to listen to what people need in order to really feel welcomed into the city. So this is really a forum that's open to everyone, but I am particularly interested in getting county residents there that have thoughts on annexation, especially if they're concerned about it. So, you know, we had a question actually come in from Dave Askins. I know you know Dave from B squared bulletin, and it came after an article I wrote about annexation after our last show a month ago, because he went through the process of obtaining all of the evidence from the courts and public records, and said it took him five months to get anything from the city. And was wondering if that is your definition of what it is to have an open communication and records with the public and the media so and I thought it was a decent question, what? Yes, what's your response to that? So we would love to be able to respond same day.
Unknown Speaker
Frankly, the records requests that are coming in are very detailed and very broad, and when that happens, our legal team has to go through literally 10s of 1000s of emails to ensure that we're not releasing anything that divulges personal information, anything that would divulge HR information, for instance. And likewise, with the annexation documents, there was a request for the complete transcription. And in order to do that, some things did need to be redacted. They hadn't even been transcribed yet. And so that that one in particular took an awfully long time. So what would be your message, you know, just to those or media or whoever that do want or do need timely information from the city or from the mayor's office, five months is a long time. Yes, my my best advice is ask us exactly for what you need, instead of a broad, you know, I'm hoping to catch something about this.
Unknown Speaker
Transparency, to me means we're going to give you an honest answer, and we're going to give you as much detail verbally as we can. And if you say, you know, have you can you share with me any emails that you have sent on X, Y or Z. That is, that is much faster process than an official records request that has, for instance, 15 keywords that may be keywords that many, many staff members are using throughout the city at any given time.
Unknown Speaker
So we did a report with experts with I use Kelly School of Business predicting national and statewide economic growth, but yet predicting Bloomington will lag behind in 2025
Unknown Speaker
Bloomington productivity increases don't match the rest of the state. The state grew about 7.8% Bloomington 1.7%
Unknown Speaker
since 2018 Bloomington has only added 700 workers to the labor force. So of course, Bloomington has a big has IU, that's right, big health, medical market. You think of Cook Catalan Sintra. Are there just too many eggs in one basket, or, What? What? What does Bloomington need to keep pace with the state? Well, you know, I'll go right back to the conversation we were just having. It has, it's been proven time and again that cities that lack elasticity are going to shrink instead of grow, both in population and economically. And so we have ostensibly been landlocked now for 20 years and and without any growth,
Unknown Speaker
we we likely are going to be pushing a boulder up a mountain to get population growth, but also to get economic growth. That is why annexation is so important. It's important not just for the city. It's important for the whole region, because in fact, this economic and population decline affects the county and in places like Bloomington, where you have.
Unknown Speaker
A really an economic hub that affects an entire region. It can also impact that region, most notably, obviously, housing. If you want more people here, you have to have places for them to live. And while the city has a number of new housing units on docket, with summit and with Hopewell, we we really are not seeing new subdivisions come up in the county outside of ellisville. Ellisville is doing a great job. So we should all look to ellisville. They're attracting population. They also are annexing and and providing services outside of where the ellisville limits were.
Unknown Speaker
I know this can happen overnight, but can you just talk a little bit about your your plans, when, when you came into office, and then where you are? It's hard to believe it's been 11 months now since, since you took office in trying to increase bloomington's productivity and economic development. Yeah, I think a key part of that is actually something that we're celebrating this week, innovation week, of course, which kicked off at the mill yesterday, and is continuing throughout the week. Of course, the Forge will have its grand opening on Friday. This is incredibly important to have really world class office space that is available for new companies to come in and grow.
Unknown Speaker
Importantly, the CCC grant that was gifted from the Lilly Endowment builds a tangible partnership to
Unknown Speaker
really grow what's happening at trades district, but also to formalize the relationship around economic development with the university. The 2030 plan, of course, is really targeted at commercializing some of the research that's happening at the university. And of course, that relationship with crane is critically important. So you know, these are things that I helped work on before I was even in office, and will continue to work on. And I think, you know, in order to get the economic development and the innovation that we want, we have to have a quality of place and housing that matches it. And importantly, you know, Indiana, for a long time, has been one of the last in entrepreneurship and innovation. We do really well in manufacturing, but that is not going to grow the wages in our community, and that's what we need to look at. And so the kinds of things that are happening at the mill and what will happen at the forge and the future vision for the trades district and what that will attract throughout our city is critically important to our economic development and that population growth that we really need. And I believe, another step forward, and something just reminded me now we talked a month ago about the trades district and the parcels of land being transferred over from the city to the mill, which I believe, took another step forward yesterday in a meeting, it did. And so now that gives the mill that opportunity to develop that land even quicker, right? That's right, you know, once that land is transferred, you know, of course, the Vice President for Development over there is is John Fernandez, and he knows exactly what he's doing with this. He is an incredible bridge builder when it comes to relationships. So he's having conversations with companies that are interested in coming to the trades district and supporting what's happening there, and having it as shovel ready as possible is is just really important, and so having that land transferred over to the trades district is a great first step. I've been following this HT reporting of you and city council at odds over a failed mayoral appointment to the city historic preservation commission and the candidate, according to the article, felt unwelcome, declined the spot. City council members are saying the matter has been blown out of proportion. They just need more time and information on the candidate. What's your take on what happened? Yeah, I think you know, whenever we can have these conversations in public, which is, what is, you know, the the forum allows for that, and so
Unknown Speaker
allowing these questions to come out in public and ask for qualifications, the this particular appointment is my appointment, the mayoral appointment that is to be confirmed by city council. They receive that information in a packet ahead of time. There's time to answer questions, but I think those questions can be provided in a public format. And unfortunately,
Unknown Speaker
there were conversations that happened, evidently, behind the scenes.
Unknown Speaker
And and nobody made a motion to bring that forward. So I would just, you know, I don't think it's a major conflict.
Unknown Speaker
I am just really committed to leading with the principle of transparency, and that includes including the public. And if I don't know the answer to a question that's asked during a meeting. I'm happy to say I don't know, and I can get back to you, but the public deserves to hear those questions and and to participate in that way. That's why the confirmations happen in a public forum. So what happens now with that position? So that position is open, and I will have the opportunity to to name another member of the HPC. Okay.
Unknown Speaker
The big question is, when does the road construction end downtown?
Unknown Speaker
Right? It took me a while to get here today, yes, so I know. So my apologies to to the city that this road construction has really coincided with some significant tourist weekends,
Unknown Speaker
and I'll just say also You're welcome. It's a two and a half million dollar investment in making our downtown roads really work well, to bring them up to speed and to bring those sidewalk ramps up to ADA standards and and make them easier for people with mobility issues. So this was ARPA funding, which means we have to expend it by the end of the year. We did everything in our power to get it done when our population was decreased during the summer, and unfortunately, concrete is really hard to come by, and all of the contractors that work with it are also on really tight schedules. So we're really proud to get this done, and it'll be beautiful. And hopefully you'll you know, you residents out there will enjoy these great ramps and beautifully paved streets, more than you'll remember the pain of not being able to park or get around efficiently. And boy. Weather, football. Weather, what's going on? Football? Weather, I know. Are you jumping on? Have you been to a game? I have been to a game. Of course. I got to, I got to declare it Lee Corso day in Bloomington, I saw you on ESPN game that was very like. Game Day was a blast. I got to meet Ben the the emotional support dog that unfortunately, has since passed. So that was a deep honor. And, and really, you know, I hope that, as much as also traffic and parking, parking can be a challenge, I hope Bloomington is really reveling in the fact that that we have a football team to be proud of. We're welcoming 1000s of visitors on these football weekends. It's great for businesses. I know, you know the businesses are hard pressed to keep up with the labor and service that it takes to to be hospitable to this many
Unknown Speaker
people from out of town, but it's just a fun thing to agree on and to have a football team that that wins here in Bloomington, which is, I've never lived here when that has been the case. So my deep thanks to our downtown businesses that have been hospitable and really bending over backwards to make Bloomington look great. So that was all I had. We're out of time, but I would like to leave the last minute to you any announcements or things that we need to know. Well, you know, we're moving into Thanksgiving week, and I couldn't be more grateful to be holding this office and sitting in this seat, and what we've gotten accomplished this year in the first 11 months is really incredible, and there's more to come in the coming year. And so we're really excited to to to be grateful for our community, and to look forward to 2025
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, I'm looking forward to the the December show, because it's always the last show of the year, and it'll be a good retrospect of a year and what and what to come. That's right. So we'll see you today. All right, thanks so much, Joe. Thank you. You.
