A forum on Tuesday, June 16 will focus on getting input for the redevelopment of a 24-acre site where the IU Health Bloomington Hospital is now located. The City of Bloomington will be taking over ownership of that area in 2021. The public forum starts at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Registration is required – click here to register. The event will also be livestreamed on the city's Facebook page. Unable to attend? Give your input by taking this online survey. Click here to view the project's website.
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As part of the process to update the Monroe County Consolidated Development Ordinance (CDO), county planning staff are asking residents to participate in focus groups in the coming months. The focus groups are organized into these topics:
Click here to sign up for a CDO focus group. Get more information about the CDO process here. The Bloomington-Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMCMPO) is seeking feedback on using the area's transportation system and ideas about how to improve the transportation experience. Responses to a short survey will help inform the BMCMPO's Metropolitan Transportation Plan, which is looking ahead to 2045. This survey will be open through July 2020. Click here to take the survey. Click here to learn more about the MPO's transportation planning efforts. NOTE: The following op-ed was co-authored by Ann Birch, President of the League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County, and Mary Morgan, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy for the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. A version was published in the May 20, 2020 Indiana Daily Student. The COVID-19 crisis gives all of us a compelling reason to invest in our democracy—when could this be more important than in times of national emergency? Here’s what you can do to make sure your voice is heard: 1) Be aware. By now, all Monroe County registered voters should have received an absentee ballot application. If you want to vote by mail, no excuses needed, this is your chance. You can also apply for your ballot online at the Indiana Voter Portal. You have until May 21 to get your application in. You can still vote in person both on Election Day and during early voting. Early voting starts on May 26 at Monroe County Election Central, 401 W. 7th St. – check their website for hours. With the continued need for protection against COVID-19, your polling place on Election Day (June 2) may have changed, and new rules will be in place to minimize the chance for contagion. Find your polling place at the Indiana Voter Portal. 2) Be informed. Several nonpartisan guides give candidate information and enable comparison between candidates on issues. The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce provides a voter guide for local candidates, state legislature candidates, and District 9 congressional candidates. The League of Women Voters voter Vote411 website includes questions and answers on issues for federal and state races and links to candidate information for local races. Just go to the site, enter your address, and under “Find What’s On Your Ballot,” click Explore Now. In addition to these two resources, the Concerned Scientists at Indiana University Bloomington organization has queried District 9 congressional candidates on science topics. Check out the CSIU website to read the responses. 3) Be counted. This is a census year. When you respond to the census, you are helping to direct billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities for schools, roads, and other public services. In addition, census results are used to determine your political representation at all levels of government. If you’re an IU student, have you counted yourself? Getting students to count themselves and their roommates at their off-campus apartments, not at their parents’ homes, has been challenging. Go to the Census 2020 site to fill out the questionnaire. It’s important. And it’s easy. On June 1, the City of Bloomington will launch a revamped website for public input on the redevelopment of the Bloomington hospital site. Consultants hired to develop a master plan – Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – will be meeting with stakeholders later this month. They'll also host an online "town hall" on June 16 at 6 p.m. Details about all public engagement efforts will be posted on the hospital redevelopment site starting June 1. Wednesday, May 27 is the kickoff for the overhaul of Monroe County's zoning, known as the CDO (consolidated development ordinance). Party down, right? Consultants hired by the county – McBride Dale Clarion – will give a presentation to the County Plan Commission starting at 5:30 p.m. On the 27th you can join the Zoom meeting here . Check out the county's CDO site for more information. Need to learn more about candidates in the June 2, 2020 primary election? The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce is helping inform voters with a new resource site. The Chamber's guide to the 2020 Primary Elections includes videos of one-on-one interviews with candidates in local, state and federal races, and candidates' written responses to questions from the Chamber. You'll also find links to campaign websites and social media for the candidates, if available. This year, there are competitive primary races for Monroe County Council at-large seats, Monroe County Circuit Court, the Indiana legislature and the District 9 U.S. Congressional seat. All registered voters can vote by mail in the primary. Click here to apply for your ballot online. Any registered voter can vote by mail in the June 2 primary, following an action by the Indiana Election Commission in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically voters must provide a reason for voting absentee, but that requirement has been waived. To vote by mail, follow these steps:
Click here to see who's running in the primary. Some Bloomington councilmembers who've been holding monthly constituent sessions at city hall have pivoted to Zoom, an online videoconferencing platform, in the wake of changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Isabel Piedmont-Smith (District 5) will hold a constituent session on Saturday, March 28 from 11-noon. Click here to access the meeting via Zoom. Additional details are on her Facebook page. Sue Sgambelluri (District 2) plans to hold a Zoom session for constituents on Saturday, April 4 at 1:30 p.m. Details will be forthcoming on her Facebook page and website. Assuming the stay-at-home directive is still in place, Matt Flaherty (At-Large) will hold a constituent hour via Zoom or other online platform on Saturday, April 18, with details to be announced on his Facebook page. To reach your elected officials directly, get contact info on the Chamber's Elected Officials Directory. The Indiana Election Commission approved moving the state's primary election from May 5 to June 2, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has effectively shut down the state, nation and many parts of the world. The commission, at its March 25 meeting, also ordered that any registered and qualified Indiana voter can vote using an absentee ballot by mail. Normally, voters must provide a specific reason for absentee voting. These actions were enabled by Gov. Eric Holcomb's declaration of a public health disaster emergency effective March 6, 2020, in response to the pandemic. Read the Election Commission's order here. More information on absentee voting is on the Monroe County Election Central's website. |
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