The City of Bloomington will spend more than $500,000 to buy additional powdered-activated carbon [PAC] in an effort to eliminate ongoing odor and taste issues with the water supply.
Water department director Ed Andrews told the city council on Monday the order will provide 1,000-pound bags of PAC for the temporary water treatment solution. That comes on top of a proposal in the 2026 fiscal year budget for 2,000-pound bags to stock a PAC silo.
“This round and moving ahead while we're doing a manual feed on the temporary system, we would look still for 1,000-pound super sacks. So, there is a slight [price] increase per pound when you have that in that bag form,” said Andrews. “These are units that are handled by a forklift for a ton-capacity rating, so it's not just a standard disposable throw away 50-pound bag like we used to get 30 plus years ago.”
The purpose of the PAC water treatment is to remove or reduce certain contaminants from the drinking water, notably 2-methylisoborneol [MIB] and geosmin, that have led to a musty, funky taste and smell since Bloomington switched its primary supply source from Lake Bloomington to Evergreen Lake earlier this year.
Andrews said the use of PAC to address water quality since the onset of the current issue has resulted in “almost double the removal efficiency.”
The agreement unanimously approved during a special council session authorized spending a maximum of $556,800 to purchase the PAC from Calgon Corporation at a price of $1.42 per pound.
Calgon already is the city’s supplier of granular activated carbon [GAC] and the successful bidder to supply both products during the 2026 fiscal year. With the existing relationship and the desire to move quickly toward a solution, Monday’s council action also waived a formal bidding process.
Non-congregate shelter village
In the first of Monday’s three presentations, council members got an update on a proposal by Home Sweet Home Ministries to develop a non-congregate “shelter village.”
The nonprofit’s plan calls for a gated community with 56 beds split between single- and double-occupancy private sleeping cabins on a lot near the intersection of Main Street and Oakland Avenue, southwest of downtown Bloomington.
Home Sweet Home CEO Matt Burgess said the 80-100-square-foot, climate control cabins would have door locks and dresser space for basic amenities.
“The safety and security is one of the primary considerations that we are taking seriously as we look at this,” said Burgess. “Safety and security for the people occupying this village, but also safety and security for our community. We really see this as a significant step forward in both of those areas.”
The adults-only village site also would feature a central community room with bathroom facilities and access to other support services.
“Our nonprofit partner colleagues from multiple organizations have lined up and expressed their eagerness and support and partnership to come on site to deliver their behavioral health services, their primary medical care, employment support services, a number of other specific services will be available on site, eliminating another barrier of getting people to go to an office,” said Burgess.
The property is currently owned by Connect Transit, and Burgess said Home Sweet Home is in “active negotiations” on a long-term lease agreement.
Burges said capital expenses to develop the shelter village are projected at about $2.5 million, while annual operational costs are estimated at $700,000 per year — with $600,000 of that going toward staffing.
He said Home Sweet Home is seeking a McLean County mental health and public safety grant of up to $1.5 million, and is still under consideration as the grant program’s sole applicant.
“We hope to move aggressively on this project, because it's already been too long. The people have been stuck outside. We want to bring people indoors into this shelter village before it gets cold again,” said Burgess, hoping for occupancy by the first week of November.
“We're well along the way in meeting with the city and talking through different things that need to be considered to really have this be a successful program.”
Infrastructure dashboard
The city has launched a dashboard system to keep residents up to date on planned and ongoing infrastructure projects.
The online dashboard resource uses Geographic Information System [GIS] data in an effort to enhance public engagement and promote transparency, providing interactive access to project details such as timelines and funding sources.
“This is a very dynamic tool that shows a lot of what the city is doing. Also, city manager [Jeff] Jurgens has directed, we're looking to expand it,” interim engineering director Jim Karch said during his demonstration of how the dashboard works.
“Water department, parks, public works — we can add this, and really tell our story to citizens about the vast amount of work that's being done.”
Next steps for streetscape
The city’s “Downtown for Everyone” streetscape project is gearing up for its initial phase, upgrading the 300-600 blocks of North Main Street, between Jefferson and just north of Mulberry streets.
Assistant city manager Billy Tyus said initial construction drawings have been completed and the city intends to put the first phase of the project out for bid this week.
“It's going to bring a new look and feel and energy to our downtown,” said Tyus. “It's new lighting, it's new landscaping, it's a new parking layout. It's creating ways for us to be more multi-modal. We're narrowing the streets so that it's less driven by vehicular traffic and more by pedestrian traffic and other types of traffic.”
Tyus said the project will include a new underground drainage system and fiber internet service.
“For all of the beautification, for all of the streetscaping, this is an infrastructure project,” emphasized Tyus. “Forty cents on every dollar in this project over the years of this project is going directly for infrastructure.”
Tyus said they hope to have bids returned in time to have the council vote on awarding a construction contract in May.
“When those come back, you as a council would consider that and see whether or not the dollar amount that is bid makes sense for you to approve. We're hopeful that it will,” he said. “What we've heard is that, as we know, the cost of building these days is higher. But we're expectant that it'll be in line with what we've expected.”
He said the initial work would start on the two northernmost blocks of the Main Street project corridor and be completed in the final quarter of this year, with work on the 300-400 blocks targeted for next year.
City officials have not indicated a projected cost of the first phase. A study the city released last year put the overall price tag at $59 million for the entire streetscape project, which would be done over many years.
