By Adam Studzinski
BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington aldermen took a look Monday night at the preliminary five year capital improvement plan for the city.
City Manager David Hales said one of the priciest items would be a new $50 million city hall and a city operations center with the same approximate price tag. But he said this list is far from final.
“The goal of putting those in here is we have to move expeditiously and embark on a space study,” he said.
The plan currently points out $336 million in projects. However, only about $60 million of that has funding identified.
Alderman David Sage called this initial conversation a major step. He said the city has long needed a plan like this.
“It has taken years to get to this point and countless hours of some so many of the folks back here,” said Sage. “First and foremost, I want to say thank you cause this has been one of those really big rocks.”
As aldermen work on finalizing the plan, Alderman Kevin Lower hoped they take a thorough look at their priorities.
“Maybe it would help if we had some idea of what, you know, really is something that’s going to be on our plate in the next year,” said Sage. “And then a timeline of what you think the needs are into the future.”
The council will discuss the plan in more detail at future meetings.
Adam Studzinski can be reached at adam.studzinski@cumulus.com.
