By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Mid Central Community Action is giving the public a last chance to weigh in before the Bloomington City Council considers a plan to lease a home on West Jefferson Street for the police department to take over as a substation.

MCCA is hosting a listening session tonight at Wayman AME Church, 803 W. Olive St. from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Spokesman Matt Drat told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin the scope keeps expanding.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Patti’s interview with Drat on WJBC. 

“This has been a new kind of project that I don’t think has been attempted in the community,” Drat said. “So can I give you every tiny detail about what’s going to happen? No, because people continually come to me and say ‘We want to be a part of this. How can we partner with you?. ”

Critics have said they don’t want additional police presence in their neighborhood. The agency is calling the project a community house which is nothing new, according to Drat.

“I know a lot of people talk about that this is a new name but it really isn’t,” Drat said. “Certainly the concept of focusing in on what people in the community want for their neighborhoods is absolutely not a new concept.”

The City Council is expected to approve the lease agreement with Mid Central on Monday. The council postponed a vote in December after some in the neighborhood had suggested they weren’t made aware of the plans.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].