 We are proud to congratulate Galen Cassady, General Manager and co-owner of Uptown Cafe, on his appointment to the Capital Improvement Board (CIB) — a critical body guiding major public investments in the expansion of the Monroe Convention Center.
Rooted in Local Business and Community Galen's connection to Bloomington runs deep. Uptown Café, founded by his father in 1976, has been a cornerstone of Kirkwood Avenue for nearly five decades. What began as a family venture has become one of downtown's most enduring institutions. It is known for its hospitality, local flavor, and welcoming atmosphere. Step inside Uptown and you'll witness its role as a true community crossroads: where city council members grab breakfast, business leaders hold informal meetings, and local fixtures are greeted by name. As General Manager, Galen has championed not only his business but also downtown vibrancy and thoughtful urban planning. His leadership helped navigate evolving street uses — including expanded outdoor seating during seasonal closures — always to create an inviting, economically healthy downtown environment.
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 This legislative session is a quick one, and the State Chamber is strategically mulling over which priorities are possible and how to maximize impact. The State Chamber’s agenda is derived from pillars and strategies in their economic plan, the Indiana Prosperity 2035 (IP35). Based on their annual survey, stakeholders are focused on the regional economic development, education, and streamlining construction efforts. Highlighted policy efforts are in work-based learning, local government modernization, providing more childcare options, decoupling or conforming with OB3 (aka the One Big Beautiful Bill), and cutting red tape in housing and the environment.
The Indiana Chamber's Top 8 Bills
 I’ve been thinking a lot about momentum lately or as the late-great Congressman Mo Udall dubbed it, “The Big Mo”.
Not the buzzword kind, but the real kind—the real McCoy that shapes how a community sees itself and how the outside world sees us. The kind that encourages someone to visit for the first time, to come back for the tenth, or to take a leap and build a life here. That’s why the success of the IU football team this season matters so much—We want the storybook sequel that lives beyond the falling confetti, cheering fans, and the Hoosiers' first National Championship. Yes, this run has brought excitement. Yes, it’s created packed restaurants, watch parties, alumni gatherings, and a jolt of energy downtown. But the real value of this moment goes far beyond a single game or weekend. It’s about narratives. And Bloomington needs a new one.  Economic competitiveness does not happen by chance. It is built over time through consistent investment in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and the systems that support a skilled workforce.
Chambers of Commerce often engage on tax policy through the lens of growth, investment, and long-term economic competitiveness. Businesses also depend on fiscal stability and predictability. Oklahoma’s experience with tax reform offers a cautionary lesson—not because tax reform itself is flawed, but because the structure of how it is implemented matters (Pew Charitable Trusts; National Conference of State Legislatures). For Indiana lawmakers, the takeaway is straightforward: tax policy only strengthens competitiveness when it is fiscally sustainable. What Happened in Oklahoma Beginning in the mid-2000s, Oklahoma enacted permanent income tax cuts while relying heavily on oil and gas revenues to balance its budget. During periods of high energy prices, this approach appeared manageable. When prices fell, revenues collapsed. The tax cuts, however, remained in place (Pew Charitable Trusts; National Conference of State Legislatures). This mismatch created structural budget instability. Oklahoma faced recurring shortfalls and relied on one-time fixes rather than long-term solutions. From a business perspective, this matters. Employers make investment decisions based on certainty. Fiscal volatility introduces risk and limits long-term planning.  While overall crime rates remain relatively stable, businesses continue to experience frequent nuisance behavior—such as trespassing, loitering, and repeat disruptions—that drives increased calls for service and strains public safety resources.
These incidents may seem minor in isolation, but over time they create real costs: lost business, employee turnover, higher insurance premiums, clean-up bills, and a sense that public spaces are less welcoming. Property owners need clearer tools. One practical, underused tool available to commercial property owners is the Criminal Trespass Authorization form through the City of Bloomington Police Department. Why this matters Under Indiana law, police can only issue a trespass warning or take enforcement action if the property owner has granted authorization. Without it, officers are often limited in what they can do—leading to repeated calls with little long-term resolution. By completing this form, property owners:
This is not about criminalizing hardship or asking police to conduct routine patrols (the form explicitly notes they cannot). It is about giving law enforcement the legal authority they need when a call is made to address repeat trespassing.  As the year closes, I'm proud of how the Chamber has elevated the business voice while engaging directly with our community's toughest challenges—housing and homelessness, public safety, economic development, and infrastructure. Our approach remains consistent: show up, ask hard questions, and advocate for solutions that strengthen both people and place.
This work is powered by the growing engagement of our Advocacy and Legislative Councils. Over the past several years, both have expanded in size and participation. Members come prepared, stay engaged, and offer practical insights that ensure our advocacy reflects the real-world experience of our members. I want to recognize A. John Rose and John West, long-serving chairs of the Chamber Advocacy Council (CAC). Their leadership, institutional knowledge, and steady guidance have been invaluable in shaping our efforts and maintaining the Chamber's credibility. One lesson continues to emerge: effective collaboration rarely leaves everyone fully satisfied. Some of the best examples of government working properly are moments when all parties walk away a bit uncomfortable, but confident the process was grounded in the public interest.  Why the Mayor’s Homelessness Report Matters for Bloomington’s Economy
Last month, the City of Bloomington released a comprehensive report outlining its current approach to homelessness, public safety, and encampment management. The mayor's report confirms what local employers have experienced: public disorder, unsafe conditions, and unpredictable enforcement create real costs for businesses and the broader community. Disruptive behaviors, vandalism, aggressive panhandling, open drug selling, public intoxication, and human waste have a real impact on how downtown, parks, and neighborhoods look and feel. Families decide whether to picnic at the park or shop downtown based on those experiences. Business owners weigh whether to expand, relocate, or invest. Visitors evaluate whether to return (pp. 27). A Shift Toward Economic Reality The most significant aspect of the report is the City's explicit recognition that homelessness policy and economic vitality are deeply connected. The report identifies visible public disorder as a factor in business confidence, visitor behavior, and long-term economic vitality (pp. 28–31). These are not just cosmetic problems. We must protect Bloomington’s quality of life, our public health, and our economic health (pp. 27). This framing aligns with the Chamber's long-standing position: compassion and accountability are not mutually exclusive. A community that fails to maintain safe and accessible public spaces undermines both its social and economic foundations. Progress Driven by Advocacy The report reflects progress made through sustained advocacy by the business community. Several elements directly address concerns raised by Chamber members over multiple years:
Legislators’ Key Priorities:
 The City of Bloomington has officially approved a significant water-rate increase that affects every customer class—residential, commercial/industrial, institutional (including Indiana University), wholesale utilities, and irrigation users. The Bloomington Common Council passed the ordinance on September 30, and will now proceed to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) for final review and approval.
This update summarizes the impacts on businesses, the justification provided by the City, and considerations for Chamber members—including Cook Medical and Indiana University, both of whom have expressed opposition or concern. What Passed on 9/30 According to the B Square Bulletin report, the City Council voted on Sept. 30 to approve the drinking-water rate increase, sending the measure to the IURC for final action. This aligns with the structure shown in Ordinance 2025-35 and supporting documents in your packet. Key Approved Rate Changes (per Ordinance 2025-35)
Impact on Businesses Large Commercial & Industrial Users
Why the City Says the Increase is Needed Per Crowe LLP and Stantec’s studies in the rate-case packet:
Next Steps: IURC Review (2025–2026) Ordinance 2025-35 now advances to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC).
 Bloomington loves a good streetscape redesign. We also love a good debate. And right now, the City’s College–Walnut Corridor Study is giving us plenty of material for both.
The City’s goal is clear: transform Bloomington’s original 1950s-era highway pair into vibrant, walkable, economically strong corridors. We’re on board with that vision. Who doesn’t want safer streets and stronger business districts? But as with most big ideas, the devil’s in the details — and in this case, in the parking counts, traffic patterns, and memories of other Very Big Projects That Got Complicated (hello, Route 7). At our December Advocacy Council meeting, the Chamber dug into the City’s two design alternatives — the One-Way Pair (the system we all know and sometimes love) and the Two-Way Conversion (the concept that’s generating the most eyebrow raises). Here’s where we landed. The One-Way Plan: Familiar… but with a Parking Diet The one-way option keeps College and Walnut flowing as they do now but adds upgraded trails, new green space, more loading zones, and the kind of placemaking that actually helps businesses. But — and this is a big but — it removes a lot of parking. Between 3rd and 7th Streets alone: 143 spaces → 82 spaces. That’s not a haircut; that’s a buzz cut. For businesses that rely on lunch-hour turnover, short-term parking, or downtown drive-up customers, those lost spaces matter. Still, the concept improves safety without fundamentally rewriting the corridor’s DNA — and there’s some comfort in that. The Two-Way Proposal: Interesting Idea, Thin Data The City’s two-way idea splits the corridor personality in two:
On paper, it brings one extra parking space downtown. Yes — one. Bloomington businesses are not likely to erect a monument in its honor. The bigger concern? We do not yet have strong, Bloomington-specific data showing that converting two major, high-traffic arterials into two-way streets will improve safety, reduce conflicts, or support businesses long-term. Cities nationwide have had mixed results, and Bloomington’s unique traffic conditions — special event surges, IU game weekends, trucks making deliveries to older buildings with narrow loading options — raise legitimate questions. The Chamber’s position right now isn’t “no.” It’s “show us.” And preferably with charts, peer-city case studies, and a simulation or two, we can actually understand without a PhD in traffic modeling. A Quick Word About the 7-Line Look — we all appreciate bike infrastructure. Bloomington should be a leader in multimodal mobility. But it’s also fair to acknowledge that the 7-Line’s rollout created a deep well of community-wide skepticism about large transportation redesigns. That doesn’t mean we reject big ideas. It just means Bloomington is still recovering from a project that looked great in renderings but felt over-engineered in reality — and the public wants assurance that we’re not repeating that experience on an even larger corridor. Deliveries, Events, Mobility: The Practical Stuff Matters Our members raised recurring concerns:
What the Chamber is Doing Next The Chamber is coordinating with the City to host a structured public meeting — not an open house, not a comment box, but a real presentation with:
Bottom Line We support the City’s push for safer streets and economic vitality. We support the vision. We support the goals. But on the two-way conversion? Let’s just say we’re holding our applause until we see more than a sketch and a parking count of +1. Bloomington has big dreams — and when we do big right, we do it really right. But residents and businesses deserve confidence that this project won’t become another example of admirable intentions meeting avoidable complications. Before Bloomington changes the direction of two major streets, we need clear data, transparent engagement, and real-world operational answers. And we’ll keep working to make sure our business community is informed, heard, and central to that conversation. |
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