Amid books, cafegoers and constituents, Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson discussed housing, developments and Flock cameras alongside the city’s Planning and Transportation Director David Hittle at a traveling town hall on Monday.
She began the event at Morgenstern Books and Café by discussing housing and homelessness, during which time a protestor held a sign that urged Thomson to talk about Seminary Pointe and said that she’d “lie about it like always.”
Seminary Pointe is an apartment complex on a parcel of land owned by the Monroe County Commissioners. The Capital Improvement Board asked the city and county to hand over the land, and adjacent land, for the convention center expansion. Many tenants said their leases, which won’t be renewed, end in July.
“The city is not involved in that land deal, but they are scheduled to be vacated because the county is giving that land to the Capital Improvement Board as part of the convention center project,” Thomson said.
When asked if the city would consider stepping in to save what Thomson referred to as the “affordable housing units” at Seminary Pointe, she said that Senate Enrolled Act 1 has cut Bloomington funds so much that the city can’t take on any more building projects. She also said that it would be expensive to update the apartments to meet city codes.
SEA 1 is a property tax relief law that Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed into law in 2025, that has effectively decreased local government budgets.
Thomson then highlighted the Hopewell South development, pointing out that the prices of the 98 homes planned for the development could change now that the construction may be delayed. The Bloomington City Council has delayed a vote three times on a Planned Unit Development that would create new zoning rules for the site to ensure the development can build more housing units at a lower cost.
Thomson has advocated for a speedy development process for Hopewell South, a city-led neighborhood development on the former site of the IU Health Bloomington Hospital. Recently, Thomson called on the city council in press releases, at council meetings and at her recent address to the city to pass the PUD.
“The affordability is the most important thing to me, though, because we increasingly have people, especially younger folks, in Bloomington who move here, and they can't find a place that is affordable for them to live,” Thomson said.
She also said that the city frequently discusses housing with IU, and that the challenge in Bloomington is the number of undergraduates that drive up housing costs, arguing many students do not work in the community to fund their housing.
“People can't move here, and they can't grow businesses here because there aren't places for them to live and afford,” Thomson said.
Hittle acknowledged that it’s “tough to build” in Bloomington, and said his department, along with others, have commissioned a third-party audit to identify “communication gaps and redundancies.” He did not specify who this third-party is.
Hittle told the audience that his department is looking at ways to simplify the city’s ordinance, or land use codes, so that more forms of housing can be built to address affordability. In response to a question about wheelchair accessibility, Hittle said consultants working on plans for Hopewell are looking for ways to incorporate accessibility but didn’t share more specific details.
At her January town hall, Thomson addressed public concerns about the Bloomington Police Department’s Flock Security cameras, stating that the city does not want U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to access Bloomington’s Flock database.
Flock cameras are used for license plate reading, however the ACLU and other groups allege information collected by the cameras can still be accessed by ICE, sparking widespread community concern and a protest on Jan. 30.
During Monday’s town hall, an IU student asked Thomson if there will be more Flock Security cameras placed around the city, and what she has to say to concerned citizens.
Thomson said the city is finalizing a report that will be sent to city council on April 15 and discussed at its April 22 meeting, and that it is taking safety concerns about immigrant and transgender populations into account.
“We are very carefully weighing people's privacy, and how those Flock cameras have been used in other places with our ability to solve crimes as well,” Thomson said.
Thomson holds a traveling town hall or traveling office hours every month. At her traveling office hours, individuals can sign up for one-on-one time slots to speak with Thomson. These events rotate between different city districts monthly, and a schedule can be found here.
