A public forum is planned for Wednesday, June 2 focused on  a digital inclusion plan to improve infrastructure, internet speed, connectivity, access to devices, and digital literacy in Monroe County. 

The June 2 forum, which starts at 5:30 via Zoom, is hosted by ​the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, along with members of the County Digital Advisory Team. The event will review and seek feedback on initial findings of a digital inclusion survey. To receive the Zoom link, RSVP by emailing Meagan Niese at meaganniese@cfbmc.org.

​More information about this initiative is available here.

The City of Bloomington is holding a public forum on Thursday, May 13 to review the reconstruction of West First Street from South Fairview to South College. The project is part of the broader redevelopment of the Bloomington Hospital site, which the city is acquiring later this year.

The forum runs from 6-7 p.m. via this Zoom link. Click here for the project's website. For more information about the overall hospital site redevelopment, click here.

The City of Bloomington has opened its 2021 Community Survey to the general public, with a May 5 deadline to respond. It asks a variety of questions related to issues that affect quality of life, the economy, public services and more.

This is the third survey administered for the city by the National Research Center Inc. (NRC). Similar surveys were done in 2017 and 2019. 

Click here to take the 2021 Community Survey.

Mayor John Hamilton has formed a task force to solicit and review proposals to rename Jordan Avenue south of 17th Street. The group will also explore other options to rename that road north of 17th Street. The public can submit suggestions here.

Task force members are:

• Cedric Harris, Indiana University Director of Bias Response, Division of Student Affairs
• Tim Mayer, former City Council member and current South Jordan Avenue resident
• Elizabeth Mitchell, journalist, filmmaker, and historian of Bloomington's African-American community, 42-year city resident, and community volunteer (co-chair)
• Tom Morrison, IU Vice President, Capital Planning and Facilities
• Glenda Murray, Monroe County Historian, community volunteer, and retired IU staff
• Alex Tanford, IU Professor Emeritus of Law, Maurer School of Law (co-chair)
• James Wimbush, IU Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs

On Tuesday, April 27, elected leaders for Monroe County and the City of Bloomington will meet separately to discuss spending priorities for funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Monroe County will be receiving about $29 million, while Bloomington will get $22.7 million.

The Monroe County Council and Monroe County Commissioners will meet at the end of a work session, which starts at 5:30 p.m. via this Zoom link. The Bloomington Council's meeting with Mayor John Hamilton on the same night begins at 6 p.m. via this Zoom link.

Details are still forthcoming on how these ARPA funds can be used, but the intent is to bolster local municipalities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The City of Bloomington's Trades District parking garage, located near 10th Street and the B-Line, is opening on Saturday, April 17 with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. 

The new structure has 350 spaces with ground-floor commercial/retail space. It includes a public art installation, Aurora Almanac, by artist Esteban Garcia Bravo.

Click here to learn more about the Trades District garage.

Friends of Lake Monroe's Maggie Sullivan briefed Monroe County Council on the development of a watershed management plan at ​the council's March 23 work session.

The project is creating a plan of action for addressing water quality goals by identifying problems and solutions with the watershed, a 440-square-mile area around Lake Monroe. Built in 1964 as a reservoir, Lake Monroe is the largest lake in Indiana and the primary water source for this region.

​Click here to watch the presentation on CATS.

The City of Bloomington Utilities has launched a two-year reconstruction project of the downtown stormwater infrastructure, called the Hidden River Pathway. CBU and its contractor, Milestone Contractors LLP, will be reconstructing 1,829 feet of culverts, along with some sanitary sewers and water mains.

Work has begun at the downstream connection to the existing culvert on Washington Street between Smith Avenue & 2nd Street, and a section of Washington Street will be closed for about two months. From there, work will continue at various locations along the route highlighted in red on the map (see below). 

More information about the project is available here.

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. 

Andrew Cibor will be the new City of Bloomington Engineer and will lead the city’s new Engineering Department. The hire was made by Mayor John Hamilton.

The new department will include transportation and traffic engineering operations, which are currently housed in the Planning and Transportation Department.  Cibor previously served as the city’s transportation and traffic engineer from March 2015 through August 2018. He has served as the City of Asheville, North Carolina City Traffic Engineer since September 2018.

Cibor will start his new position on Jan. 11 and will receive an annual salary of $101,418.  ​