The Bloomington City Council on Monday approved an agreement with a financial advising firm to help the city manage potential debt, including from the construction of a new Public Works campus.
The agreement is with Chicago's Mesirow Financial, which has had similar agreements with the city before, including on the Bloomington Public Library renovation project.
City finance director Scott Rathbun said an outside advisor is necessary to manage the many different moving parts when it comes to the city taking on debt for various projects, such as the new Public Works campus that will be located at the site of the former Owens Nursery.
“Debt is not bad,” Rathbun added. “We utilize debt to fund activities that we need now, and it also kind of spreads the payment for that asset over the future generations that are going to be enjoying that asset.”
Ward 3 council member Sheila Montney asked Rathbun to estimate the cost of the financial advising firm's services, but he said it could “vary.”
Montney pressed, asking “can you even just ballpark?” and asked for specific figures about the library project. Rathbun said the library consulting cost somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000. In the end, the council unanimously approved the measure.
Boys and Girls Club
As part of its consent agenda, the council approved a resolution waiving permit fees for the construction of a new Boys and Girls Club at Sunnyside Park.
The club has successfully raised funds to break ground on a $14 million construction project on Bloomington's west side. The city previously sold the land in question to the organization for $1.
The resolution waives around $67,000 in fees the Boys and Girls Club would otherwise pay to complete the project. City staff said the action will help offset rising building costs and enable the nonprofit club to relocate to an underserved neighborhood.
Homeless situation
In his comments at the close of the meeting, city manager Jeff Jurgens touched on the homeless situation, following the recent disbursement of a tent encampment in the parking lot of Eastview Christian Church.
Recently, Jurgens attended a meeting of a coalition working to address homelessness in Bloomington-Normal, and said while there can be some “finger-pointing” about whose responsibility it is to address these situations, the meeting was productive.
“The city obviously does not provide shelter services, we don’t provide mental health services or substance abuse,” Jurgens clarified. “We support different agencies, and we try to be there and help, you know, lower silos.”
Jurgens added “it is not a good situation” for the homeless population in Bloomington-Normal, and even though the Eastview parking lot is now clear, several encampments still exist in the community.
In other business, the council:
— Approved a resolution reimbursing 100% of the sales tax generated by downtown business Red Raccoon Games to the developer;
— Approved a special use permit for an alternative school to use the former Pantagraph building in the 300 block of West Washington Street.
