At their quarterly meeting on Jan. 14, Arts Forward Bloomington held a forum focused on transportation issues that affect local arts organizations.

The group heard from Michael Shermis, the City of Bloomington's special projects coordinator, about current transportation-related activities, including a grant from ADA Indiana used to train people who are elderly or with disabilities how to use Uber.

Beth Rosenbarger, the city's planning services manager, discussed transportation issues in the context of the city's comprehensive plan and transportation plan.

The group discussed what kind of incentives might be offered by local arts organizations to encourage patrons to use alternative forms of transportation when coming to events, rather than driving a car. Ideas included offering free concessions for people who walk, bike or take the bus. The possibility of changing three parking spaces in front of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater into a drop-off/pick-up zone was also discussed.

In general, Arts Forward Bloomington wants to make sure the voice of the arts community is heard on a range of issues affecting the health of that sector.

Arts Forward Bloomington will hold its next forum in April, focusing on space needs for arts organizations. The group's steering committee includes Danielle McClelland, former director of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater; Gabe Gloden, Managing Director of Cardinal Stage; Ken Buzzard, President of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra; Susan Swaney, Artistic Director of Voces Novae and Founder of Sing for Joy! Senior Choir; and Kay Olges, Board President for Windfall Dancers.

Redevelopment of the 24-acre Bloomington Hospital site is taking a step forward with the selection of a master planning team to oversee the project.

Last fall, the City of Bloomington issued a Request for Information (RFI) and received responses from 23 organizations in December. Of those, eight were selected for interviews by a Technical Review Committee on Jan. 16-17. The committee is chaired by former state Senator Vi Simpson and is a subset of the Hospital Re-Use Committee, on which Chamber CEO Erin Predmore serves.

Click here for details about the proposed work of the master planning team. Click here for more info about the redevelopment project.

Here's a timeline of upcoming meetings and possible actions. For additional background on recent actions, read this article from the B Square Beacon.

• Wednesday, Dec. 4: 10 a.m. Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting. Commissioners gave a positive response to Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton’s Dec. 3 letter committing to equal representation on a governing entity. They also gave a first reading for an ordinance to create a CIB. They will likely make a decision about creating the CIB at their Dec. 11 meeting.

 

• Wednesday, Dec. 4: 6:30 p.m. Bloomington City Council meeting. They’re expected to vote on a resolution making a specific dollar-amount request of the Food & Beverage Tax Advisory Commission for tax expenditures for the expansion.

 

• Wednesday–Friday, Dec. 4-6 During this time, the hope is that the mayor and commissioners will work out an agreement on governance. This is what county councilors are hoping will happen.

 

• Friday, Dec. 6 at noon. Deadline set by county commissioners to reach agreement with the city on a timeline for next steps.

 

• Friday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. Monroe County Council meeting. Depending on what the mayor and commissioners have done, the county council might decide to set a deadline for specific action – which, if not met, could lead councilors to consider a repeal of the food and beverage tax.

 

• Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. Food and Beverage Tax Advisory Commission meeting. The FBTAC is expected to consider the city council’s new resolution that makes a request for a total $6 million expenditure for architectural fees.

 

• Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting. Commissioners might take action on creating a CIB or an interlocal agreement about signing a contract with the architect.

 

• Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Bloomington City Council meeting. The council is expected to hold a hearing on the appropriation ordinance for a total of $6 million in food and beverage tax money, and vote to pass it.

​BEAD is a state-designated cultural district that's overseen by the City of Bloomington's Department of Economic & Sustainable Development. It is an area in downtown Bloomington that includes a variety of cultural venues, including the Bloomington Playwrights Project, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater (where the BEAD Info Shop is located), WonderLab Museum, Arts Row and more. Click here to view a walking map of the district.
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For more information, go to VisitBEAD.com.

The City of Bloomington is seeking input on how to redevelop the site of the current Bloomington Hospital, a 24-acre area that the city is buying from IU Health.

The committee that's working on this project got an update at an Oct. 28, 2019 meeting. Click here to see the slidedeck from that meeting. Erin Predmore, the Chamber's CEO, serves on the reuse committee.

Per terms of the agreement with IU Health, the city needs to make a decision by Nov. 21 about whether to keep the Kohr Administrative Building and/or the four-story parking garage, which was built in 1989 and has 480 spaces. The main hospital building  must be demolished. The site is located at West 2nd and Rogers.

​The site will be transferred to the city when the new IU Health Regional Academic Health Center opens in the fall of 2021 along the 45/46 Bypass. Options for residential, retail and office development are being considered.

For additional background about this project, check out the city's IU Health Hospital Redevelopment Site website.

Click here to take a survey about the site redevelopment.

The city's new Switchyard Park will be opening on Nov. 1. The new clubhouse at the Cascades Golf Course will be opening soon as well. It will include rentable space that's available year-round, according to Mary Catherine Carmichael, the city's director of public engagement. She quipped that the previous structure had been "rode hard and put away wet."

Adam Wason, the city's director of public works, reported that "surgical" demolition of the 4th St. garage will begin soon. The next hearing of the eminent domain lawsuit against the city is scheduled for Oct. 7. The city hopes to reach a settlement with Juan Carlos Carrasquel, Wason said. Site plans for the new 4th St. garage won't be reviewed by the Plan Commission until the situation is resolved.

CFC  Properties* has launched a new website for Fountain Square. Two additional event spaces are now available for the public. CFC also is looking for a new tenant in the Wicks Building on the square at 116 W. 6th St.

The Bloomington Cooking School* is offering corporate teambuilding sessions for 8-20 people. Groups can come in a prepare a meal together – then eat it! – while getting to know each other and strengthening their business relationships.

​The city's tree inventory has been released and "the general impression is not good," according to Julie Roberts, gallery director for the Ivy Tech Waldron Arts Center*, who also serves as president of the city's Utilities Service Board. She urged everyone to be observant of the condition of Bloomington's trees. (Read a report about the tree inventory here.)

Mayor John Hamilton and Cortland Carrington III, owner of American Mushroom & Spice Co., were interviewed by Chamber CEO Erin Predmore for the Chamber's 3 Things podcast, sharing their thoughts about the Bloomington Community Farmers Market.

​The mayor talked with Erin about steps the city is taking to make the market more secure in the wake of increasing threats to public safety. Those threats came from escalating tensions between supporters of white nationalists and the owners of the Schooner Creek Farm, and counter-protesters who have been advocating for the removal of Schooner Creek Farm for their ties to white supremacist groups. This tension prompted the city to suspend the farmers market for the first two Saturdays in August.

On Tuesday, Aug. 13, Mayor Hamilton announced plans to reopen the market with additional security measures in place. Read his statement here.

Cortland Carrington described his experiences as a vendor and member of the city's Farmers Market Advisory Council. He talked about the impact of this situation on his business, what he's seen at the market in recent months, and reactions from other vendors to this controversy.

​Click here to listen to 3 Things on Apple Podcasts – or subscribe to 3 Things on your favorite podcast service.

Have an idea for a future 3 Things topic or guest? Contact Erin at epredmore@chamberbloomington.org.

An uptick in downtown graffiti – on both public and private property – is getting attention from city officials, though in some cases their options for addressing it are limited. It's important to deal with graffiti quickly, as that's the best way to deter additional vandalism. 

​The City of Bloomington sends out crews to clean off or paint over tags on public property. You can report graffiti by calling the city's Safe and Civil City hotline at 812-355-7777 or using the city's online UReport system.

What if the graffiti is on private property? Then it's the responsibility of the property owner, and you need their permission to take action. Bloomington's Safe and Civil City staff can help with that – contact them at 812-355-7777  or safeandcivil@bloomington.in.gov. 

Check out the city's "How to Organize a Graffiti Clean-Up" site for graffiti-removal tips.

​Another useful resource: The City of Milwaukee's detailed description of graffiti-removal techniques. The site gives advice on choosing the correct solvent, deciding whether to paint over the graffiti or wash it off, and dealing with graffiti on different types of surfaces, such as concrete, stone, brick, metal or wood.

Seattle's "Red Wagon Paint Out" is another approach. That city provides tips for preventing graffiti, as well as free materials – delivered in a little red wagon – and training for volunteers to deal with graffiti.

Graffiti is unlawful conduct under Chapter 14.36.050 of the City of Bloomington code. It's a violation of Indiana Code 35.43.1.2,  punishable as a Class A misdemeanor if property damage is more than $750 and less than $50,000, or a Level 6 felony if damage is over $50,000.

On the third Thursday of each month, Downtown Bloomington Inc. hosts a breakfast meeting that's open to the public. This month, the event drew about three dozen people who gathered at Graduate Bloomington. 

​The meeting primarily consists of updates from everyone who attends. Here's a sampling from the July 18 session (* = Chamber member):

Curtis Smith, executive director of the Ivy Tech* Center for Lifelong Learning: He highlighted several upcoming events, including Girls Rock Bloomington, a 5-day camp that starts July 22. Campers (ages 8-18) will perform original pieces at a concert on Saturday, July 27. He also announced that he'll be leaving his position soon to take a job in Arizona. Interviews for his replacement are already underway.

Mary Catherine Carmichael, City of Bloomington* Director of Public Engagement: The city's downtown alley improvement project has been delayed, in part because of challenges in coordinating with local utilities, higher-than-expected costs, and the availability of contractors.  

Don Weiler, partner with Bailey & Weiler Design/Build*: Higher costs for materials, coupled with a labor shortage, are driving up prices this season in the building industry. Dan is an incoming Chamber board member.

Jeremy Goodrich, Shine Insurance*: The business recently relocated to the Graham Plaza building at College and 6th. Jeremy also oversees the podcasting studio at The Mill, and he encouraged everyone to check it out.

Betsy Trotzke, Communications and Marketing Director for the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County*: Applications are being accepted for the Community Impact Grants, and a workshop for applicants will be held on Aug. 7. Also, the deadline to apply for a 2020 Lilly Scholarship is Aug. 26.

Trent Deckard, Monroe County Council: Work is nearly finished on the county's Limestone Greenway, a 1.7-mile trail that connects to the City of Bloomington's B-Line and Rail Trail. Trent plans to hold three listening sessions in Bloomington this fall, dates/locations TBD.

Malcolm Abrams, publisher of Bloom Magazine*: The monthly magazine will be launching a Community Awards this year, recognizing local business, charity, the arts and diversity. The awards will be presented at a gala in December.

The DBI's next breakfast meeting is on Thursday, Aug. 15. Sign up for the group's e-newsletter here.

The site plan for the city's new 4th Street parking structure will be considered by the Bloomington Plan Commission at its July 8th meeting. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at city hall, 401 N. Morton, and will include a public hearing on the project. [UPDATE: Commissioners pushed back action on this project until their Aug. 12 meeting. Watch the July 8 meeting on CATS.]

Click here for the 4th St. garage section of the Plan Commission packet. 

​Citing its importance to the downtown business community, the Chamber has supported this project, which replaces an aging structure on the same site. Additionally, the garage will provide parking for an expanded Monroe County Convention Center, which the Chamber also supports.
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According to information provided to the Plan Commission, the new 4th St. garage will be six stories high (75 feet, 8 inches tall at its highest) with 510 parking spaces, 40 indoor bicycle spaces and 10 bike lockers. It also calls for 11,189 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, including office space for city staff, and public restrooms.

Entrances will be from both 3rd and 4th streets. This will require variances from the city's Board of Zoning Appeals. That's because current zoning doesn't allow for vehicle entrances onto 3rd Street, and the proposed width of the 4th Street entrance exceeds the allowable maximum per city code.

The design also assumes that the city will acquire the parcel at the southeast corner of the site, currently owned by Juan Carlos Carrasquel of JuanSells.com Realty Co. While negotiating with Carrasquel, the city has also filed a Complaint for Condemnation with the Monroe County Circuit Court, beginning the process to buy the land through eminent domain. A memo to the Plan Commission states that the city's legal department "has advised that moving forward with a conditional approval is valid."

Click here for additional background on this project.

Other items on the July 8th Plan Commission agenda include final plan approval for the Ridge Group Inc.'s 130 apartment units, part of the Sudbury planned unit development (PUD) on West Ezekiel Drive, and adoption of the city's proposed Transportation Plan.

​Click here to download the full meeting packet.