This is the WFHB Local News for Tuesday, April 21st, 2026.

In today’s newscast, Pat Wall from the Bloomington Democratic Socialists of America says that while he applauds the mayor for not renewing one contract with Flock Safety, the fight against surveillance is not over yet. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, we have the latest edition of B Square Bites – a collaboration between B Square Bulletin and WFHB.

Bloomington RDC signs off on public offering for College Square, declines 30‑day pause for land‑swap talks

By Dave Askins

At its regular Monday meeting (April 20) Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) voted unanimously to move ahead with a public offering for the College Square property at 4th Street and College Avenue.

That meant the RDC declined a request from Monroe County’s capital improvement board (CIB) to delay action for 30 days to explore a possible land swap. The RDC wants to negotiate a swap that would trade the Seminary Pointe block, which was recently transferred by the county government to the CIB, for the College Square property, so that the CIB could offer it to a potential developer of a host hotel for the convention center.

The RDC’s resolution authorizes issuance of a notice of offering for the roughly 2‑acre College Square site, which is often called the former Bunger & Robertson lot.

The minimum offering price is set at $7.59 million, the average of two recent appraisals, according to RDC executive director Anna Killion‑Hanson. That figure is higher than the nearly $7 million the city’s RDC paid in 2019 to purchase the property in two transactions under then‑mayor John Hamilton.

The RDC meeting included public commentary from several housing advocates and tenants of the Seminary Pointe property, as well as a Bloomington city councilmember, Courtney Daily, who all spoke in favor of a 30-day delay to negotiate a land swap with the CIB.

In the end RDC members were not persuaded that 30 days was enough time to get information about appraisals and environmental conditions for the Seminary Pointe property in order to conduct a meaningful negotiation.

The time frame for the public offering would allow for the CIB to make a proposal with that kind of information. The idea is to publish the notice of offering on April 27, with responses due and opened at the RDC’s July 20 meeting. That’s an 84‑day window that RDC executive director Anna Killion-Hanson characterized as a realistic response period for serious developers.

RDC member John West pointed out that the RDC’s public offering allows for the possibility of a response from a host hotel developer. But based on his comments, the prospects of a host hotel getting developed at College Square as a result of a land swap with the CIB sound grim. The long-time commercial real estate broker said:

I just, I’ll rip the band aid off: I don’t think the land swap as proposed is a good opportunity or even a good deal for the city.

Last Wednesday, the city announced it would not renew its contract with Flock license plate reader cameras after months of protests and concerns about surveillance and immigration enforcement. Bloomington Police have also issued restrictions on how Flock data can be used, including bans tied to immigration or reproductive healthcare investigations. In today’s feature report, WFHB News speaks with Pat Wall, a member of the Bloomington Democratic Socialists of America, who has helped organize opposition to the city’s use of Flock. Wall, who co-hosts our punk show Radio Regazzo on WFHB, says that while the mayor’s announcement is a step in the right direction, the fight against Flock is not over yet. We turn now to that interview on the WFHB Local News.

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