Building new homes in the Fox Creek subdivision and tearing down the west side’s O’Neil pool complex are both in the works, after the Bloomington City Council took construction-related actions at its Monday night meeting.
O’Neil Pool, which has been closed this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen its last days with the unanimous vote to pay Stark Excavating about $140,000 to begin demolition.
A year ago, city officials proposed razing the nearly 50-year-old public pool, arguing its aging aluminum structure was too expensive to maintain, and that its location near the interstate would be better served as a modern aquatic center.
Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason said during the livestreamed Zoom meeting that the demolition costs came in $85,000 less than projected.
"We seized an opportunity and advanced the idea of demolishing O'Neil Pool," and achieved those savings, he said.
Demolition is already running a bit behind schedule. The city announced in May that both Holiday and O'Neil pools would not open this summer due to COVID-19. At the time, the city said demolition at O'Neil could begin as early as June, calling the coronavirus-forced closure an "opportunity" to begin the work.
Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner acknowledged the delay but said he and other council members are still committed to the project. The scope and exact timing of the project is still to be decided, Renner said, but he's optimistic construction could start next summer.
"It's about time we started helping the west side and investing in the west side, and not just the east side," Renner said on WGLT's Sound Ideas. "The O'Neil Pool project has many, many advantages, and we should move this forward as expeditiously as possible."
Fox Villages project
Meanwhile, plans are moving forward in the Fox Creek subdivision to build onto private streets.
The subdivision, established in 1993 along with the Fox Creek Golf Course, sits on the city’s southwest side. The development’s empty acres are included in a plan revisited every three years for approval, said Bloomington city planner Katie Simpson.
With Monday’s vote, also unanimous, development will be allowed on 15 new mostly single-family lots in an eight-acre section. The Fox Villages, as it is called, already has 26-acre planned unit development.
The council decided to allow the developer to build sidewalks on just one side of the streets, as well as on a Winding Way cul-de-sac, despite a Bloomington Planning Commission recommendation for sidewalks on both sides of the streets.
When the first homes went up in Fox Creek, no sidewalks were built. A 2013 amendment to the plan required future construction to have sidewalks on one side of those streets, she noted. The council debated whether sidewalks on both sides would be a better decision.
Discussion centered on the difference between city-owned public streets and private streets, as is the case in Fox Villages. Other points addressed were accessibility and safety, and whether future sidewalk additions would cost city taxpayers.
Council member Donna Boelen, who represents Ward 2 where the subdivision is located, said because streets there are not city-owned, the homeowners association would have to pay for additional sidewalks. She noted that she supported the sidewalks on one-side only because the lots and the streets in that area are narrow.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the council approved merging two city departments. The Department of Economic and Community Development will be led by Melissan Hon, starting Sept. 1.
Gleason said the change won’t bring a positive or negative financial impact. But it's intended to cross train employees to make serving Bloomington citizens easier, creating “the ability to create a one-stop shop,” he said.
Gleason also described a customer service hub to be created at the city-owned downtown arena "to be standing up in the very near future," where residents can get help either in person, or virtually. Government services represented there will be the clerk, community development, finance, legal, parks and recreation, and public works, he said. This hub eventually will be relocated to the nearby Government Center, he said.
At Monday's meeting, the council also approved:
- Spending up to $99,400 with CDM Smith on a risk assessment and emergency response plan, relating to water infrastructure.
- Spending about $65,000 with Bradford Systems Corp. for the city clerk department's document digitizing and shredding project.
- A contract with Customized Environmental Solutions, Inc., for lime sludge removal at a rate of $30.88 per dry ton of lime sludge.
- Spending about $230,000 with RJN Group for sewer engineering evaluations.
- A roughly $482,000 agreement with Corrective Asphalt Materials, LLC for a pavement preservation program.
- Country Financial's decision to prohibit potable groundwater use for its properties at 810 IAA Drive.
- Final plats of Traeger and Bloomington Commons subdivisions.
Editor's note: This story has been updated from its original version to clarify the status of the O'Neil Pool replacement project. Comments from Mayor Renner were added.
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