The Bloomington City Council on Monday approved installing two drone docking stations and possible police cameras at Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District locations.
All but one council member approved the intergovernmental agreement between BNWRD and the Bloomington Police Department.
Police Chief Jamal Simington wasn’t sure exactly how many times a day a drone might be launched from the docks, saying, "It depends on the manpower availability and trained pilots as well.”
Council member Mollie Ward expressed concern over the people captured on camera during a drone’s flight from the dock to the scene.
“Do I want to be seen necessarily by the drone operator?” she asked. “We as a community need to keep that in mind and recognize that is a legitimate concern for some people.”
Council member Sheila Montney was concerned about how residents would be impacted by the noise and frequency of a drone overhead. Simington said the department plans to meet with residents.
Ward was the only member to vote against the agreement.
The docks will be located at BNWRD's west lagoon at 1920 W. Washington St. and at the GE Valley Pump Station at 1 Tiehack Circle.
The council approved installing a drone dock at the police department at its last meeting.
The intergovernmental agreement does not list specific locations, but stated “three certain other BNWRD communication towers, buildings, pump stations and other structural assets” are being eyed as “highly suitable locations to support … public safety camera infrastructure.”
While he did not address that item on the agenda, Jason Hamilton of Bloomington spoke against public cameras, specifically Flock cameras.
Hamilton brought a copy of George Orwell’s "1984" and compared the novel’s telescreens to Flock cameras, arguing it is a modern day “Big Brother” surveillance system.
He particularly took issue with the fact that the cameras and their live feeds are hosted by Flock, not public bodies.
“Calling these automatic license plate readers is a gross oversimplification,” he said. “They record more than license plates, they record information. Even if we trust the city and the BPD, Flock stores the data.”
Hamilton asked the council to end its agreement with Flock and end camera surveillance.
BNWRD will provide electricity and network connection to the drones and cameras. The agreement states BNWRD can “decline a request for installation of COB PD [City of Bloomington Police Department] equipment at any proposed location in its sole discretion.”
BNWRD also can ask the department to move, modify or remove its equipment for operational and maintenance reasons.
Public comment on data center regulations
Brian Kagel criticized recently released draft regulations for data centers, expressing a desire for an all-out ban over a regulatory system.
He also said he wanted to know the qualifications of the people drafting the regulations, and if a panel of experts would agree with them.
“Data centers are the 21st century smelting factories,” he said, “and I don’t want an environment-destroying, carcinogenic fear factory anywhere near my town.”
Kagel said he is concerned about the vibrations that data center generators and cooling systems can produce. The regulations lay out decibel limits during the day and night for hyperscale data centers, and continual monitoring.
City Manager Jeff Jurgens said under the current proposed regulations, a hyperscale data center’s special use permit could be revoked if it does not follow city regulations.
Emergency shelter ordinance
Also Monday, the council re-enacted an ordinance declaring a homelessness emergency and authorized the city manager to expand shelter capacity ahead of the winter months.
The city put a similar order in place in 2024 and 2025. Both of those orders were active only during the winter months. The October 2025 order expired in March 2026.
Jurgens said the emergency orders will likely continue.
“This is something that the Salvation Army has requested,” he said. “It would take some major changes to their structure to make it compliant.”
The orders were first enacted to help shelter those experiencing homelessness during dangerously low winter temperatures, with hopes that a permanent solution would come once Home Sweet Home Ministries’ The Bridge opened.
The village of about 50 single-room cabins opened in January 2026, but has mostly been at capacity since then. A staff memo for the ordinance mentions the success of The Bridge thus far, but admits it hasn’t been enough.
“The City continues to lack sufficient shelter capacity, requiring interim measures to protect vulnerable residents from extreme temperatures and other risks,” the ordinance reads.
The ordinance once again declares a homelessness emergency in the city, and thereby authorizes the city manager to issue executive orders that essentially waive certain aspects of building and fire codes to allow more people inside congregate shelters.
In exchange, shelters must install additional temporary smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, have 24-hour on-site staff and participate in monthly inspections.
The order will expire on March 15, 2027.
Other business
The council also authorized buying about $500,000 worth of technology to change traffic signals during emergency response. It is colloquially known as Opticom, though that is the name of a specific brand.
The fire department requested buying what is officially called traffic signal emergency vehicle preemption equipment for 90 intersections.
Traffic signal-changing technology is installed at some locations. A staff memo said the device uses line-of-sight technology, which is now outdated. Staff believes the new equipment would speed up response times by 20% and lead to fewer crashes while emergency vehicles are enroute.
“It helps me [with] some of the standards that are out there,” said Bloomington Fire Department Assistant Chief Mike Hartwig.
The purchase and installation costs were included in the FY2027 budget.
Hartwig said the police and fire departments are seeking Illinois Department of Transportation grants to cover the cost of installing the traffic signal interruption equipment in squad vehicles and fire trucks.
A map showing where the traffic signals will be installed was included in the council’s agenda packet.
