At their Oct. 13 meeting, the Bloomington Council expressed frustration with the city's budget process and voted to recess their meeting until Oct. 27, in order to further negotiate with Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton. Some councilmembers want to add a full-time climate action director who would oversee implementation of the city's climate action plan. Other councilmembers are concerned about the city's ability to recruit and retain Bloomington Police Department sworn officers, and want to increase officers' base pay. The deadline to act on the budget is Nov. 2. After that, the 2021 tax levy is carried over automatically and the city would lose about $1.2 million in general fund revenues. Watch the council's Oct. 13 meeting on CATS here.
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On Friday, Oct. 8, official public notices from the City of Bloomington were published in the Bloomington Herald-Times, marking the next step in the city's annexation process. Property owners who oppose annexation now have 90 days to file remonstrances with the Monroe County Auditor. Forms will be available at the courthouse square rotunda from 8-4 weekdays. Cathy Smith, the county auditor, will be offering informational classes on the remonstrance process at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Oct. 11-15, also at the courthouse square rotunda. Read more about the city's annexation process here. Mayor John Hamilton's Recover Forward relief program has allocated $100,000 to the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association (BUEA) and the Bloomington Arts Commission (BAC) to support local artists, nonprofit organizations, and businesses whose work has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant applications are due Friday, October 29th at 5pm, and can be submitted under the following three categories:
If you are interested in learning more about submitting an application, follow this link to the City's website for more information. The City will also be holding office hours the week of October 18th for applicants to ask further questions. To schedule a meeting, please contact Holly Warren, Assistant Director for the Arts and Staff Liaison to the Bloomington Arts Commission by email at holly.warren@bloomington.in.gov or by phone at 812-349-3534. At an Oct. 6 working session, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Commission members discussed the county's approach to increasing the supply of housing. Two of the three county commissioners – Penny Githens and Lee Jones – attended. Commission Julie Thomas was absent. AHAC members included Cathi Crabtree (chair), Will Smith (vice chair) and Deborah Myerson. Watch the Oct. 6 discussion on CATS here. It will continue at the next Board of Commissioners' working session on Wednesday, Oct. 13. The working session immediately follows their regular meeting, which starts at 10 a.m. via this Zoom link. The City of Bloomington is re-opening Kirkwood Avenue to vehicles from Walnut to Indiana after Oct. 31. Portions of the street have been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow businesses – mostly restaurants – to have more space to serve customers outside. Also ending is the "parklet" program, which cordoned off parking spaces with orange barriers to allow for extra outside seating, and the restricted parking spots designated as pick-up/drop-off zones. City staff are preparing a proposal for Bloomington Council to consider restarting the partial Kirkwood closures and parklet program in 2022, from mid-March through October. Kaisa Goodman is the point person for the proposal, and can be reached at kaisa.goodman@bloomington.in.gov. UPDATE: Staff will present a plan for 2022 to Bloomington Council on Wednesday, Dec. 8 with a final vote expected on Dec. 15. Stayed tuned for details. Leslie Green, who has worked at Stone Belt for 42 years and serves as its CEO, announced her retirement this month. She talked about her decision in a video available here. She will remain on staff until April 1, 2022 and will focus on facilitating a smooth transition to the next CEO. The Stone Belt board has hired a consultant to help with the search. Stone Belt is a nonprofit that provides resources and supports for individuals with disabilities. Established in 1958, it is the oldest and largest agency of its kind in south-central Indiana. We send best wishes to Leslie on her retirement and thank her for her years of leadership and service! |
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