Bloomington Town Council Discusses Grossinger Ice Arena Renovation

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.- The town of Bloomington held their town council meeting on November 28 at 6 p.m.

The meeting began with comments and concerns from residents of Bloomington, with many of the speakers voicing their concerns with the granting of a special use permit for a 56-unit apartment complex on Lutz Road and South Morris Avenue. The council later voted 5-2 in favor of the permit approval.

Over half of the peak capacity crowd present at the meeting were in support of the numerous residents who brought up the issues related to the development, which could cause issues with the nearby Luther Oaks Retirement Community. Ashley Peddit, a daughter of a resident at Luther Oaks stated how the construction interfering with regular ambulances and current 40-mph speed could cause greater issues for the retirement community and Bloomington.

The council proceeded by recognizing the participants of the Fall 2022 Bloomington 101, a local government event which shows residents how the inner workings of a town government such as Bloomington’s operates.

Among other business, the council voted 7-0 to award a $173,000 contract to the Farnsworth Group to begin the design and construction documents for updates and repair work to the Grossinger Motor Arena and Bloomington Ice Center. The actual work is set to cost between $5-8 million, which will improve the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning of both facilities. The project is expected to last 18 months after it is underway.

The city has also agreed to spend just over $485,000 to purchase additional server storage and technical support from Pure Storage Hardware over a three-year period. City leaders have claimed that Bloomington’s storage capacities are no longer adequate, and the investment will serve to improve these shortfalls for future needs.

A request for the annexation in an agreement with DKS Properties was passed for a parcel of land over an acre in size at 2318 W. Market Street which would provide the city with simplified accounting and possession of the plot and the surrounding property. This move comes after an assessment from the city deciding it was in their best interest to do so.

The city has also pushed an amendment to rezone the property at 1301 W. Washington in order to allow for a Heartland Community College satellite campus. The property is currently home to Mid Central Community Action, which will provide classes and training in basic construction and renovating skills.

The Financial Summary for October was also presented at the meeting, where the report showed how Bloomington was in good financial standing overall, but remained cautious on input prices of goods needed due to inflationary woes.

The town council’s next town meeting will be at 6PM on December 5, 2022.