People experiencing homelessness who are staying at an encampment in south-central Bloomington near the Rail Trail have until July 24 to voluntarily leave the area or be forced out.
City officials posted a notice on Monday giving people 30 days to vacate the property. The encampment is located along the trail between West Country Club Drive and West Gordon Pike.
Monroe County’s Geographic Information System shows tents are near homes on South Rogers Street and South Hays Drive, and at ones on West Gordon Pike.
Desiree DeMolina, the city’s new communications director, said the city chose to clear the encampment after receiving reports of fires. She said there are about 15-20 people currently staying there.
Reports filed through the city’s uReport system, a portal that allows residents to notify the city of issues anonymously, show complaints of large fires and noxious fumes along the trail, as well as fighting between people at the encampment.
A woman staying at the encampment told WFIU/WTIU News she doesn’t know yet where she’ll go after the city makes them remove their belongings. She added she and others may move to the other side of Clear Creek, which is east of the Rail Trail.
She said someone else in another part of the encampment had set their tent on fire, and neighbors have called the fire department several times since.
Read more: Randy Cassady running for Monroe County Commissioner as a Republican
She added she is just trying to survive and provide for her two dogs, who she called her “babies.”
When the city removes the encampment next month, it will be the fourth time it has done so under Mayor Kerry Thomson, who took office in January.
The last time was in early May, when the city joined the county in clearing out tents by Switchyard Park and a county-owned property on Bloomington’s southwest side that once was home to the old Thomson Consumer Electronics plant. The county-owned site was previously considered a possible location for a new county jail.
The other two times were in January: one behind the Wheeler Mission at West Third Street and South Westplex Avenue and another at a lot at Fairview Street and Patterson Drive.
The first time the city cleared an encampment this year, it gave 48 hours notice. The second time, it gave 72 hours notice, and the third time, it gave 30 days notice.
Read more: Consultant recommends 0.2 percent local income tax for new county jail
Thomson told WFIU/WTIU News in January the city gave more notice the second time because people need adequate notice to move their belongings.
DeMolina said the 30-day notice was based on advice from the South Central Housing Network. However, she said the city may remove encampments with 72 hours notice when there are "pressing safety concerns."
Thomson was unavailable for an interview Thursday, as she was traveling back to Bloomington from Washington, D.C.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify the location of the encampment.
