A Monroe County program to reimburse local businesses and nonprofits for pandemic-related expenses has been extended until April 30. 

Organizations can request up to $30,000 in non-payroll reimbursements, offered by the county through funds from the federal CARES Act. 

Click here for details and to apply.

State Senator Shelli Yoder will hold office hours every Friday from 8:30-10 a.m. to talk with constituents in District 40.​ The first session, to be held online, will be on Feb. 5.

District 40 covers most of Monroe County, including the City of Bloomington. 

Click here for details about how to attend.

Applications are open for the City of Bloomington's new Racial Equity Task Force, a group that will address issues of racism in the community and develop recommendations to address them. Applications are due by midnight on Monday, Feb. 15. The application form is here.

The task force was created as part of the city's Plan to Advance Racial Equity. Members are being asked to make a two-year commitment. Click here for additional details.

A new mixed-use development west of Bloomington was approved by Monroe County Commissioners at their Jan. 27 meeting.

​Called Westgate on 3rd, the 38-acre project at 4755 W. State Road 48 includes a mix of office, retail and residential space. The residential portion will consist of 330 apartment units.

The property, located in Van Buren Township, is near Ivy Tech, Cook Medical and Highland Elementary. It is currently vacant and has been part of the Daniels Farm for over 60 years.

Jim Whitlatch, an attorney and partner with Bunger & Robertson, has been appointed to the Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners for a term ending Dec. 31, 2024. He was appointed by mayor John Hamilton to replace Les Coyne, who retired at the end of 2020 after four decades on the board.

The four-member Board of Park Commissioners is the policy-making authority for the Bloomington Parks & Recreation Department. Other members are Kathleen Mills (chair), Israel Herrera and Ellen Rodkey.

Doris Sims, director of the City of Bloomington's Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) department, is retiring on Jan. 29. She has worked for the city since 1979.

Sims, who is married to Bloomington City Council President Jim Sims, oversees a department that includes the city's residential rental inspection program, affordable housing initiatives, and code compliance for neighborhood preservation.  

At the Jan. 19 meeting of the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission, Sims said that Brent Pierce, HAND's assistant director, will serve as acting director until her permanent replacement is named. 

Janet McCabe, director of  Indiana University's Environmental Resilience Institute, has been nominated to be deputy administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

​McCabe was nominated by the administration of President-Elect Joe Biden, and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. She previously served in the Obama administration as the EPA's acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation.

McCabe is also a professor of practice at the IU McKinney School of Law at IUPUI. Read more about her background here.

The City of Bloomington has release a master plan for the redevelopment of the Bloomington Hospital site, which the city is expected to take ownership of later this year. The 24-acre site will be vacated when IU Health moves to its new complex on the east side of town.

The downtown Bloomington site is bounded by West 2nd Street to the north, West Wylie Street to the south, the B-Line Trail to the east, and South Walker Street to the west. The area is being considered for a mix of residential and commercial development.

Find more information on the project's website.

The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce is kicking off the new year with a weekly news quiz, published each Friday and focusing on local issues and member news.

The quiz is designed to help residents become more informed about local government and other community issues, as well as to highlight what's happening with Chamber members.

Click here to take the quiz!

Water rates would increase by over 30% for commercial customers and over 40% for industrial customers, if proposed increases are approved by the City of Bloomington. Get details on the proposed rate changes here.

Utilities staff held an informational meeting on Jan. 7 – watch a recording of the session here. The Utilities Service Board's Finance Subcommittee will meet on  Jan. 11 at 4 p.m. and Jan. 19 at 4 p.m., followed by a meeting of the entire USB to take final action on Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. 

The Bloomington Council will then hear a first reading of the proposed changes at its Feb. 3 meeting, with final action expected on March 3. If approved by council, CBU will file the rate request with the Indiana Utilities Regulatory Commission (IURC) before the end of March 2021. CBU anticipates that the IURC will host public hearings, with the dates and times to be announced. Any final rates that are approved by IURC will go into effect in early 2022.