Friday, April 28, 2017

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Friday, April 28, 2017

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ANNEXATION Cook Group among parties behind annexation’s sudden halt

By Alexa Chryssovergis and Emily Ernsberger region@idsnews.com | @idsnews

Cook Group, among other groups and local government agencies, is partially responsible for halting Bloomington’s annexation proposal. In February, Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton proposed 10,000 acres and 15,000 people in and around the city to become official parts of Bloomington. The proposal, which has been continuously deliberated by the city council and was set to be voted on as early as June 30, was killed early Saturday morning by the Indiana General Assembly in a last-minute provision to the state’s budget bill. The provision terminates any annexations introduced after Dec. 31, 2016. No annexations can be introduced or approved until June 30, 2022. Bloomington is the only city verified to be affected by this provision. The only other city in Indiana considering annexation was Dayton, Indiana, which wanted to annex a proposed subdivision. Dayton city attorneys said they did not know how the provision would affect their proposal. Because the provision is included in the budget bill, the only bill that must pass the legislature every year, it’s nearly guaranteed to become law. While Republicans who support the provision see it as necessary to regulate local government actions, some Democratic opposition has voiced that the move is a state government overreach of local authority. “I think the bottom line is that we’re both sincerely disappointed that it ended in this way and concerned about what this means in the future,” City of Bloomington spokesperson Mary Catherine Carmichael said. “If this happens to the city of Bloomington, it can happen to the county of Monroe or any other municipality in the state.” Author of the budget bill Rep. Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, confirmed Cook was one of the groups to influence the bill’s new language. The motivation for Cook to be involved could have included a previous contract with the city to comply with any city annexation and high tax increases. In May 1998, a contractor named Jack Thompson signed a waiver of remonstrance in a deal to have the Cook build-

ings hooked up to Bloomington’s sewer system. A remonstrance waiver is an indefinite promise not to appeal an annexation that has already taken place. Marsha Lovejoy, spokesperson for the Cook Group, said Thompson did not have the authority to sign the waiver. Indiana has since made provisions that allow such waivers signed in 2015 and later to expire after 15 years, but they do not apply to Cook’s waiver. If Cook Medical, the campus of the Cook Group that is located in one of the proposed annexation areas, were annexed into the city, its property tax rates would increase by 44 percent, according to an assessment done by Reedy Financial Group for the mayor’s office. “Different people have varying ideas on how employment centers should be taxed, and I think there were concerns taxing west side industry,” Carmichael said. However, Brown wouldn’t say whether Cook had more influence than other groups or how many groups there were in total that had voiced opposition to Bloomington’s annexation. Chairman of the Board of Cook Group Stephen Ferguson, a former representative in the Indiana General Assembly, had been vocal about his opposition to annexation since it was proposed. Ferguson did not return calls from the Indiana Daily Student. Rep. Jeff Ellington, R-Bloomington, said annexation language has been in the works throughout the session and the provision to the budget bill is not lastminute. Every session there has been legislation brought forth related to annexation issues, and this session was no different. Initially, the issue was in Senate Bill 381, authored by Sen. James Buck, RKokomo. The bill, which would have required county councils to approve any annexations that were voted on by June 30 or later, didn’t pass its initial committee. Bloomington’s original plan was to have the city council do a final vote on annexation by June 28, and this date was later pushed back to June 30 after the bill died. In the second half of session, language concerning annexation waivers was included in House Bill 1450, which made it out of committee. When it reached the full floor, however, the waiver language was

Proposed annexation killed Saturday morning The annexation would have added 10,000 acres and 15,000 people in and around Bloomington as official parts of the city.

Bloomington boundary Proposed areas SOURCE CITY OF BLOOMINGTON GRAPHIC BY MIA TORRES | IDS

removed, Ellington said. Throughout the session, Ellington said he heard concerns about the proposed annexation from citizens, community leaders, county commissioners, county councilmen, township trustees, fire chiefs, the Monroe County sheriff, Monroe County Community School Corporation, Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation and Cook. The lawmaker said Cook Group had no more influence than any other concerned group that approached him — though it should have more influence because of its philanthropy and employment in southwest Indiana, he said. The annexation would have taken away about $270,000 from MCCSC annually, and about 30 percent of Monroe County’s deputies. This wasn’t a Cook bill, he said. He didn’t give up when the language was removed from HB 1450, out of a responsibility to concerned constituents and groups, he said. SEE ANNEXATION, PAGE 5

ROWING

Former rower speaks out about health treatment By TC Malik tcmalik@umail.iu.edu | @TCMalik96

VICTOR GAN | IDS

CHARLES MURRAY AND IUPD COSTS, PAGE 2 Conservative social scientist Charles Murray gives a talk to students and faculty members at IU on April 11 in Presidents Hall. Murray is known for his book “The Bell Curve,” and his recent appearances at universities have led to protests and in some instances have led to physical violence. IU hired extra security in preparation for protests during his talk on campus.

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The recent allegations from former IU rower Katlin Beck against IU athletics have been a topic of conversation ever since Beck’s interview with “Outside the Lines,” an ESPN program. The claims from Beck targeted IU medical trainers and the current coaching staff, most notably Coach Steve Peterson. The 2015-16 Big Ten rower of the year, Rebecca Davis, was teammates

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with Beck at IU during the time of Beck’s injury and her one year on the rowing team. Davis was in the same situation as Beck because they were both injured during the same season. Davis said the medical and coaching staff were extremely cautious with not rushing her back to practice too soon. “I don’t remember a single time where any of the coaches pressured me to push through my injury,” Davis said. “Every single time they were SEE ROWING, PAGE 5


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