At its June 8 meeting, the Monroe County Council approved issuance of two series of bonds to pay for the construction of a new Monroe County Public Library branch and renovations at other facilities.

Series A bonds were approved to be issued in an amount not to exceed $2 million and will be payable over a period ending not later than Jan. 15, 2030. Those bond proceeds will be used for the renovation of and improvements to existing library facilities and purchase of equipment. The Series B bonds, together with the Series A bonds, will be issued in an amount not to exceed $6 million and will be payable over a period ending not later than Jan. 15, 2041. Proceeds of the Series B bonds will  pay costs of the design, acquisition, site development, construction, equipping and furnishing of a new library branch.

Read the meeting packet materials related to the bond approval here.

At their June 16 meeting, Bloomington City Council unanimously approved a 10-year abatement for the Retreat at Switchyard, a residential development at 1730 S. Walnut St. 

The development involves construction of 64 residential units. Of those, 48 units will be devoted to households with low to moderate-incomes for a period of 99 years.  Ten of those 48 apartments are set aside for clients of StoneBelt.  The five-story building, adjacent to the Switchyard Park east entrance, includes a 3,000-square-foot first-floor retail space. The abatement, which is applicable only to the 48 affordable units, would start at 100% and step down to 5% in year 10.

The developer is Real America. The city's Redevelopment Commission intends to convey the land and structure to Real America for $1. That's a value of about $975,000, according to Alex Crowley, director of the city's Economic & Sustainable Development department.

Watch the council's June 16 deliberations on CATS here. Read abatement-related materials from the council's meeting packet here.

Regional Opportunity Initiatives is collecting data about broadband speeds and mapping those speeds in the community to help get grants and other support to improve broadband capacity. As part of the project, they're asking residents and businesses to take an internet speed test.

​The goal of this project is to create an accurate regional map of where internet service is available, where it is unavailable, and what broadband speed residents are currently receiving.

Read more about this project and take the test here.

The City of Bloomington Utilities Department has released its annual drinking water quality report. As part of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency requires community water systems to deliver this report to their customers each year.

The report provides information about local drinking water quality, data from tests conducted the previous year, and contact information for any questions or concerns. Listed in the 2021 report are the 12 contaminants detected in Bloomington's drinking water during 2020, such as disinfectant byproducts (DBPs), lead, and copper. All are within allowable levels, according to the CBU.

​Read the full report here.

Southern Meadows, a project to add 190 residential units on 37 acres in the Clear Creek area, was rejected by Monroe County Commissioners at their June 9 meeting. Commissioners Julie Thomas and Penny Githens voted against it. Commissioner Lee Jones was absent.

Builder Tom Wininger is already approved to build 90 single-family homes on that lot, but wanted to increase density in order to make each unit more affordable. Among other things, commissioners objected to density in that part of the county.

​Watch the project discussion on CATS here. Click here for meeting materials related to Southern Meadows.

Starting July 1, all Indiana employers who employee five or more employees under the age of 18 (per location), must begin using the Youth Employment System (YES) to track and report minor-employee information. Schools will no longer issue work permits effective July 1, and the new requirement is designed to simplify the process of hiring minor employees.
 
YES is live now, and employers can begin using the system now to set up their accounts and start inputting their minor-employee information. Employers who fail to comply with the new law effective July 1 could face a penalty of up to $400 per infraction.
 
More information is available on the DOL's Youth Employment site here.