 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
 The City Council unanimously approved to move forward in the first part to designate the Catalent expansion as a revitalization area. Final approval of the tax abatement in exchange for $350 million in investment and 1,000 new jobs will be on March 2nd after a public hearing. Bloomington is competing with Louisville, Madison, and Kansas City. $10 million of this investment will be to develop real property. The Real property would be abated at a rate of 50 percent a year for 10 years, while the larger portion is the personal property, which is 90 percent for 20 years. The impact of the abatement on TIF revenue would not be significant as it is calculated on real property but not personal. The Impact on COB revenue would not be significant. Local taxes are collected is based on the City’s budget. The abatement does not reduce total revenue on a dollar-for-dollar basis, but rather spreads that loss to the other taxpayers. Where the issue comes is how close we are to the state-restricted CAPS which puts a levy on the amount a tax can go up. According to the the City’s Alex Crowley does not believe it will be an issue. The main reservation from the Council was housing, where are these people going to live? Currently, half of Catalent’s 3,212 workforce lives outside the county which Monroe County reaps no financial benefit from. Get involved, contact your City Council representative to voice your opinion.  A group of over 200 people heard from economists and economic development experts at the 2021 Business Outlook Luncheon, co-sponsored by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and the Bloomington Rotary Club. The Nov. 9 event was held at IU Alumni Hall.
Panelists were Kyle Anderson and Jennifer Lynn Rice of the IU Kelley School of Business, Ryan Brewer of the IU Columbus Division of Business, and Jennifer Pearl of the Bloomington Economic Development Corp. Watch a recording of the event here.  Regional Opportunity Initiatives has released a plan designed to build a stronger digital infrastructure throughout Monroe County. The 6-page plan includes five goals with strategies to help implement each goal. Goals are:
Click here to read the full plan.  At their July 21 meeting, Bloomington Council heard a request from the administration to spend a portion of the total $22.1 million that the city will be receiving from the federal American Rescue Act Plan (ARPA). The request for a $3.35 million appropriation breaks down as follows:
Watch the presentation at the July 21 council meeting on CATS here. Read the staff memo here. The council will discuss the appropriation at their July 28 Committee of the Whole meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. via this Zoom link.  The 11-county region known as the Uplands – which includes Monroe County – will be submitting a proposal for funding through the Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI).
The Uplands proposal is being led by Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI) and Radius. They are asking organizations and individuals to provide information on potential projects and programs that have the capacity to grow the region’s economic outcomes through investments in place-based talent, business, and quality of place opportunities. Read more about this initiative here. Submit your project ideas here. The deadline to submit ideas is July 30.  Regional Opportunity Initiatives is collecting data about broadband speeds and mapping those speeds in the community to help get grants and other support to improve broadband capacity. As part of the project, they're asking residents and businesses to take an internet speed test.
The goal of this project is to create an accurate regional map of where internet service is available, where it is unavailable, and what broadband speed residents are currently receiving. Read more about this project and take the test here.  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.  Local Food & Beverage Tax revenues dropped 19% in 2020, according to a recently released annual report.
The 1% tax has been collected countywide since 2018. In 2020, nearly $2.8 million was collected, a drop of about $650,000 compared to 2019. Read the full report here. |
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