Page last updated on January 26, 2023 at 11:55 am
Each week, Mayor Hamilton, Deputy Mayor Carmichael, and other city employees provide video updates on recent news and key initiatives. Access all of the weekly video updates at bloomington.in.gov/videoupdates.
Join Mayor John Hamilton and Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael as they discuss a new 501c3 nonprofit to benefit the arts, technology/jobs, and housing in Bloomington.
Currently, the City of Bloomington oversees a significant number of major projects that involve city ownership of land and structures that do not involve core municipal services but are vital to Bloomington, its residents, and visitors.
Activating a nonprofit is the best path to realizing the full public value of these projects without detracting from the important core work of city departments.
Projects include arts-sector projects such as the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and the Waldron Arts Center, jobs and technology-sector-related projects such as the Trades District, including the planned federal EDA-funded Tech Center, and major housing opportunities in the new downtown Hopewell neighborhood.
Learn more at: https://bton.in/Sj00F
Transcript
Mayor John Hamilton:
Hi, I'm Mayor John Hamilton.
Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael:
And I'm Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael. Hi, Mayor.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Hello. Welcome.
Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael:
Nice to-
Mayor John Hamilton:
Congratulations.
Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael:
Thank you. Happy to be here. We have a great topic to talk about today, something I'm personally really excited about. We are forming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Why would we do such a thing as a government?
Mayor John Hamilton:
So we are. We are activating this nonprofit kind of partner with the government. So some of you know, we've been doing a lot of things. It was seven years ago I talked about the string of pearls that were these big projects in front of us that we've needed to take on, including the hospital reuse, the trades district activation, the Switchyard Park, which is basically now done and open, and others. And one of the things we've picked up is we've done that over the last few years and our staff have stepped up and we've been using consultants. But as we look over the next few years, that work is actually going to even increase more, building out Hopewell, accelerating trades district and the arts, which we can talk about. So the 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the idea is let's create an entity accountable to the public, connected with the administration, but that's focused on advancing the public interest and those projects. That's the short answer.
Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael:
So these are really good ideas that city government should support, should be a part of, yet a little outside of a traditional core mission of a municipality.
Mayor John Hamilton:
They are. Exactly right. We've been doing them. And all of our departments are hustling and pulling in and we've moved the ball forward. But as we look over the next several years, five plus years, it's going to get more and more active. Building out 24 acres at Hopewell is a huge job. Activating the trades district, doing the arts work that we've inherited, the Waldron. So the idea is that this 501(c)(3), we can kind of hand off some of the work, they need to be resourced, they're going to be a good board, and they can focus on that while we in the city keep doing our core mission, collaborate with them, but kind of have this arm, this engine, that can move it forward.
Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael:
So what's the timeline for this? When do you see this really being active and up and moving and functional and helping accomplish these missions?
Mayor John Hamilton:
So as soon as possible to get it activated. We're doing that as we speak. I do think it'll be a process for potentially it could own land and buildings, which right now, the city or the redevelopment commission owns. That'll involve the city council, right behind us here. It's going to have to be very active in that. Resourcing them with some finances so that they can bring the talent in that we otherwise would have to do in the city.
Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael:
So we're talking consultants and subject matter experts.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Specialty. Yeah. So developing Hopewell is mostly housing, it's vacant land. We don't do that at that scale, but there are people who do and that's who we want to bring in. The arts, for example, we didn't know this would happen six years ago, but we got The Waldron back, we own Buskirk-Chumley, and then we had a big study, community-led, that said, you should really think about an arts incubator, kind of like The Mill, but for artists. So those three things are really a constellation of work that we may want to lean into with the arts too. So this group, they'll walk before they run, but I hope they'll be running, within a year anyway, really running.
Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael:
When will you be appointing board members? I know that you have that obligation as part of this.
Mayor John Hamilton:
I do. Very soon. I don't know exactly when. We're talking to some people. I want to work with city council on that. But I hope January, maybe February, but very soon. And then that group needs to start getting their sea legs and starting to talk. So it's very exciting.
Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael:
Great. Well, brand new 501(c)(3) not for profit being formed in an effort to help the city of Bloomington accomplish its very many goals. Thank you, Mayor Hamilton.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Thanks a lot.