This is the WFHB Local News for Monday, August 5th, 2024.

Later in the program, the Bloomington City Council appointed deputy attorney Ash Kulak to serve as interim council administrator during the council’s most recent meeting. More in today’s headlines.

That’s Chris Herring from Pals – that’s People and Animal Learning Services. They use “equine therapy” to help people in our community overcome their challenges. Hear more later in the show on a new episode of Activate!

But first, your daily headlines:

Bloomington City Council

The Bloomington City Council met on July 31st after a summer recess. During the council reports section of the meeting, the council deliberated on filling the vacancy of the council attorney position. The vote concerned whether to allow the deputy attorney Ash Kulak to serve as interim council attorney. Parliamentarian Hopi Stosberg walked through the proposal.

Council Member Isak Asare asked about the process behind the job posting. Stosberg explained the rationale of the hiring committee.

Asare followed up requesting that the committee should include a lawyer in the hiring process of the new council administrator.

Council Member Matt Flaherty asked whether the hiring committee has checked with the city’s human resources office on the salary for the position. Stosberg clarified that the hiring committee had coordinated with human resources.

The council voted 8-0 to appoint Ash Kulak as interim council administrator. Then, the council heard a first reading of an appropriations ordinance. The ordinance would allocate additional money from the food and beverage, general and American Rescue Plan Act funds and would approve of a revised 2024 budget for the Monroe County Capital Improvement Board or C-I-B. The C-I-B oversees the affairs of the Monroe Convention Center and its expansion. City Clerk Nicole Bolden read the ordinance by title and synopsis only.

The city council will vote on the ordinance at a future meeting. The Bloomington City Council will convene for its next regular session on August 7th.

Monroe County Election Board

The Monroe County Election Board met on August 1st. Starting things off, County Clerk Nicole Browne gave a summary of the primary election’s attendance.

Next, the board heard an update from the Vote Center Study Committee. Representing the committee was Committee Member Ami (Ah-me) Gandhi to share what the committee has been working on.

Board Member Judith Benckart said that the recent meeting of the Vote Center Study Committee helped give the public a better understanding of what vote centers would look like.

Gandi shared that they have more meetings planned around the county to reach more members of the community.

Board Member John Fernandez suggested that they could present at the city council meetings to raise awareness as well.

Fernandez also suggested reaching out to the IU Student Government to better reach the student population.

Election Supervisor Kylie Moreland shared that the Voter Registration Office was planning on going to the IU Student Government, and that the Vote Center Committee could go with them.

They also discussed filling two positions on the Vote Center Study Committee. Moreland said that Committee Member Hal Turner had to step down due to health complications and Taylor Bryant also stepped down. Benckart shared that Bryant asked William Ellis to take their place on the committee.

Clerk Browne shared that if members of the public are interested in filling Turner’s position, they should reach out to her. She also thanked Turner for his work on the committee.

Next, the board discussed the letter they received from District 2 Monroe County Commissioner Candidate Randy Cassady detailing his resignation from the campaign. Clerk Browne urged the board to act on the matter quickly due to the time crunch of the upcoming election.

Cassady was in attendance at the meeting and spoke on the decision to suspend their campaign.

The board also discussed the Early Voting Schedule, and the location of polling sites. Clerk Browne shared the early voting hours.

The next meeting of the Election Board will be held on September 5th.

Feature Report:

WFHB News is proud to partner with The Media School at Indiana University to offer internships and volunteer opportunities in broadcast journalism. In July the Media School hosted the High School Journalism Institute, drawing hundreds of students from all over the country to Bloomington for a week of intense workshops. WFHB hosted the podcasting workshop, where students produced new episodes of Activate!, our weekly feature spotlighting people working for positive change in our community.

This week’s episode was produced by Trent Josleyn , a high school student in Crown Point Indiana. Trent won our Audioslinger Award for best technical production skills and was the only student to knock out more than one episode. This final installment features Chris Herring from Pals. That’s People and Animal Learning Services. It’s an innovative “equine therapy” program – using the connection between people and horses to help individuals overcome their challenges. It started out focused on people with disabilities, but now People and Animal Learning Services helps a much wider spectrum. Hear more on a new episode of Activate!, coming your way right now on the WFHB Local News.

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