The City of Bloomington is partnering with the Habitat for Humanity of McLean County to construct two new housing units on the west side.
The city council on Monday unanimously approved an agreement with Habitat that includes allocating $80,000 to develop two homes on Trailside Court as part of the city's "ReBloom the Block" program. City staff said the infusion of funds will speed up the non-profit's building schedule.
Habitat for Humanity is currently building two homes at the same site. It built walls for two Trailside Court homes in June.
Cordaryl Patrick, director of Community Enhancement and Impact [CIE], said the organization expects the homes to be complete and inhabited within 12 months.
Bloomington and Habitat for Humanity have worked together in the past. The city has used Community Development Block Grant [CDBG] funding to install water and sewer service to homes built by the nonprofit.
Under this agreement, or memorandum of understanding, the city agreed to allocate $80,000 in funds and affirmed it could deed land to Habitat and assist in sewer and water service installation when possible.
The agreement also sets some rules for who may live in the housing units, saying the annual household income must be 80% or less of the area's median income. For a family of four, the household cannot earn more than $93,600, according to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD].
"ReBloom the Block" was a new initiative included in the FY27 budget, focused on preserving and developing affordable housing. Nothing in the memorandum requires the city to financially support the organization using those funds, and it does not require Habitat for Humanity to deliver a certain number of houses.
However, it does establish procedure for how funds may be given out and re-affirms state and federal law in relation to HUD and Illinois Housing Development Authority funding.
In the case of city funds, the memorandum states the city will provide a list of property parcels that will receive ReBloom the Block money. Before Habitat for Humanity receives that money, it must explain the project timeline, and give quarterly updates until the home is built and occupied.
According to the memorandum, the house must be constructed and occupied within three years of using CDBG funds. If Habitat for Humanity misses that deadline, the city is allowed to take the property back for free. In that instance, Habitat also would need to provide written notice that it will not build a home there.
Financial check-in
In another matter, city financial director Scott Rathbun said the city could end the fiscal year about $10 million over budget, based on the numbers as of April 30. Recent changes to state tax law required online retailers to collect state and local sales tax, which Rathbun said contributed to the increase.
"It's impacted [home rule] municipalities and government in a positive way," he said, adding the sales tax increase is likely a one-time deal.
He also mentioned around $840,000 the city did not send to the shared Mental Health and Public Safety fund, but said City Manager Jeff Jurgens requested that money be set aside.
The city has about $39 million in reserve funds. Rathbun said the plan is to keep about two-month's worth of expenses in reserves.
Data centers
Concerns over data centers brought three members of the public to the meeting. There were five comments from the public emailed to the council. Those were not read into the record; only the names of those who wrote them are read aloud.
One speaker, Dale Durcholz, does not reside in the city but rather in rural McLean County. He pointed out high voltage power lines that travel through Mt. Pulaski and Latham. Durcholz followed the development of a data center near Latham, about seven miles away from Mt. Pulaski.
He urged council members to get involved, get the county involved, and get the county governments surrounding those high voltage power lines involved, saying they are "attractants" to bring a data center in.
He directly asked the mayor and council members if they had any discussions with Ameren about the power infrastructure needed to support a data center. The mayor and members did not respond, as is policy during public comment.
"I think the data center is a done deal," Durcholz said. "Seriously."
Two others who live in Bloomington also voiced their concerns. Mike Fitzgerald asked each council member to meet with their constituents and take their feedback with them when they vote on any regulations or proposals.
That sentiment was echoed by 35-year resident Tracy Henry, who reminded the council "you're making decisions for us." Henry said she was worried about pollution, the energy required by data centers, the noise they generate, their effects on property values, and more.
"I feel like we're just headed down this path and there's no guardrails and there's no restrictions, it's just the wild wild west," Henry said.
There were no data center-related items on the council agenda. Council member Kent Lee thanked the two Bloomington speakers for their input as they are from his ward, but there was no other discussion on the issue.
The city has scheduled a planning commission meeting and public forum with the Town of Normal regarding data centers for Aug. 26 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
'Childcare crisis'
Melissa Breeden also spoke to call attention to a "childcare crisis," especially given the recent announcement that Milestone Early Learning Center and Preschool will close July 31.
That closure will leave hundreds of families without care, she said.
Breeden was previously vice president of the McLean County YWCA, and is currently the State Board of Education's Region 17 council manager for Birth to Five programs.
Breeden argued available, affordable childcare is necessary for the city to achieve any of its development or growth goals, as working adults with children need it.
"Having access to childcare is a critical workforce issue," she said. "People need childcare in order to work."
Breeden asked the council to consider childcare an urgent, regular agenda item and said there ought to be a city representative in the ongoing conversation about how to increase access to childcare and to bring the price of it down.
