A plan to build a village of small cabins for unhoused individuals just south of downtown Bloomington received a green light from the city council on Monday.
The council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the sale of the property, where the shelter village known as “The Bridge” will be developed, from Connect Transit to Home Sweet Home Ministries [HSHM].
“This project really represents collaboration. It represents a step forward, and one that’s really rooted in dignity and care,” said council member Cody Hendricks. “Is it going to be perfect? No, nothing ever is. But it’s a start and it’s the right start.
“For too long, we’ve waited for ideal conditions and many, many locations to pop up to act, while too many of our neighbors have gone without shelter. This is a chance for Bloomington, in my opinion, really to model compassion in action and be a representation for the region.”
The council’s approval allows Connect Transit and HSHM to begin negotiating a sale price for the property located at Main Street and Oakland Avenue, the public transit system’s former headquarters.
No new details on the proposal were provided during the meeting, with City Manager Jeff Jurgens relying on the formal presentation made by Home Sweet Home CEO Matt Burgess during the March 17 council meeting.
The non-congregate gated community would feature 48 private sleeping cabins and a central community building with on-site bathrooms. The site would be fully staffed around the clock by HSHM personnel, and the community building would have co-located support services.
While she ultimately supported the resolution, council member Sheila Montney said she would like to have more information on why Bloomington’s homeless population appears to have doubled in the past year. She also cautioned that similar micro-community projects have had mixed results in cities such as Denver and Seattle.
“What I haven’t seen in the discussions in the last year is a robust discussion about how we ended up where we are today, and I think it’s important to have that conversation,” said Montney.
But council member Mollie Ward suggested that comparing Bloomington to much larger cities “muddies the water” in regard to finding solutions to homelessness.
“Those meetings are happening; those conversations, those data are out there. They’re being discussed,” said Ward. “Frankly, I trust the people who have been attending those meetings — some of whom are in this room — to give us recommendations about how to proceed. And the amount of work that’s gone into putting this project together shows that they are very focused in on our context.”
Approval of the resolution faced a minor hiccup when Mayor Dan Brady suggested the council ask the Town of Normal to adopt a similar resolution. Ward motioned to amend the city’s resolution accordingly, but Hendricks voiced concern such a change would slow the process.
Ultimately, city clerk Leslie Yocum said she could add a sentence to the resolution language that would encourage the Normal Town Council to pass a similar measure without making Bloomington’s support contingent upon it.
“That was my comment originally, was simply to suggest to the Town of Normal that they have their own separate resolution speaking to this issue [while] we move forward with our own,” said Brady.
Jurgens said the resolution approved by the council does not commit any direct city funding to the project, estimated to cost $2.65 million. Annual operating costs are projected at about $1 million.
“My understanding is that they [HSHM] are looking at a grant award that would help fund this, so that is something that is ongoing,” said Jurgens, adding the property already is zoned accordingly, but operating the shelter will require an administrative permit and submission of a concept plan.
“That permit will be renewed annually, and if at any time that Home Sweet Home is not in compliance with the concept plan or the permit requirements, or if the project were to become injurious or a nuisance to the neighborhood, the permit could be revoked,” said Jurgens.
The resolution came as Brady presided over his first city council meeting as mayor, joining new council members Mike Straza [Ward 5] and Abby Scott [Ward 9] in their initial participation.
Three public commenters who spoke in relation to The Bridge development all voiced support for the project, including Liam Wheeler of the Central Illinois Continuum of Care who shared his personal experience as an unhoused individual.
“This is the county where I experienced homelessness for the last time. It is by being a client at Home Sweet Home, that they gave me six months of shelter and a place to sleep where I was able to even start thinking about how to rebuild my life,” said Wheeler.
“We’re just asking, as we’re looking at leveraging all these resources between state and federal grants, we are rebuilding the infrastructure in order to administer these grants. But we need more time, and this project will be a stop-gap to help us create more space so that we can find more permanent solutions.”
Sabrina Berkiewicz added the project already received community support during two public forums.
“By supporting this this resolution, you’re also creating a positive legacy that will shine in the history records 100 years from now,” she said.
Other actions
The only other item on the regular agenda was allocating $82,500 toward a second algaecide treatment for the Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake reservoirs that also was unanimously approved.
“We’re hopeful we’re not going to need this treatment, but we want to go ahead and have the council approve it, just in case,” said Jurgens.
Water department director Ed Andrews updated the council on the city’s ongoing efforts to address taste and odor issues with the supply, pointing to signs of improvement.
“It’s always good to come here and share good news,” said Andrews, who noted Lake Bloomington’s water level has topped the spillway while Evergreen Lake is less than a foot below its normal pool.
He said the first algaecide treatment in late March was effective, noting communication he received from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency that test results suggested the lakes were “on the backside” of the harmful algae bloom.
“We’ll continue with taste and odor monitoring,” said Andrews. “We’re making that transition to our own equipment in house, but have run all those tests with IEPA down in Springfield throughout.”
As part of the consent agenda, the council authorized the water department to spend just more than $1 million to replace the existing electrical system at the water treatment plant, and another $489,000 to install a new hydrated lime system.
One item removed from the consent agenda sought to follow the zoning board’s recommendation to deny a special use permit application seeking to convert a dwelling in the 700 block of East Empire Street into three apartments.
Ward asked her colleagues to oppose the denial, considering the city is facing a housing crisis and needs more residential units. John Danenberger disputed that assertion and claimed the residential units in question “are not livable.”
“I agree we do have a housing crisis, but one unit at 707 Empire is not going to fix it,” he said. “What will fix it are real housing solutions, like the State Farm building, like the Verizon complex and maybe the shelter village that we’re going to vote on later tonight. One unit at 707 is not going to move the needle either way.”
The denial passed, with Ward and Jenna Kearns opposed and Straza recusing himself.
