Page last updated on February 17, 2023 at 5:43 pm
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 new welcome signs to be located at city limits.
Welcome signs are found at the edge of towns and cities of all sizes, greeting visitors and residents. In addition to welcoming visitors, Bloomington’s new signs will also feature city accomplishments.
Beginning February 20, the Streets Division will start installing the new signs across the city, each with its own message promoting Bloomington. A special thanks to Freddie Love, Danna Workman, Joe VanDeventer, and the entire Streets team for their hard work assembling and installing these new signs.
Transcript
John Hamilton:
Hello, I'm Mayor John Hamilton
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
And I'm Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael. And the elephant in the room today is this giant sign that we have between us. It looks giant indoors. Not really that giant. What's this about, Mayor?
John Hamilton:
Well, thank you for asking. We are going to be putting up, in Bloomington, city limit signs that welcome you to the city in a bunch of places around the city. Signs like this will be going up soon to welcome you into Bloomington.
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
Why didn't we already have these?
John Hamilton:
That's the right question, right? Most of us who travel around, you see these at cities. I'm not sure. When I first became Mayor, I wondered about this, and I will have to say I was a little sensitive. I didn't want to be, "Hey, let's put these up."
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
You didn't want to be that guy, yeah.
John Hamilton:
But now, I think this being my final year, I think it's the right thing for me to do, welcoming people to the city of Bloomington. And then we add a little information. We do put the Mayor's name underneath, which will change as mayors change, and then other messages too, right?
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
Right. That's what I was going to say. This is the Bloomington version of this, which is other communities would leave it here, but we're a little extra. So each one of these signs is going to be unique. Right?
John Hamilton:
Okay. I mean, I do know some cities would say Class A soccer champions or whatever, do that. So we get the chance to put those up, and some of them will say, "Everyone is welcome here." Some may say, "Bicycle gold level city" or "A parked gold medal winner." And those signs can change over time, keep a little fresh. Really, you think about IU has done some significant gateway work, and I think it's a little swagger for our city. Got to say we're proud of what we do here and who we are. And we want you to know you're arriving into Bloomington.
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
So these are located at entry points to the city, around the city.
John Hamilton:
All around the city, about 11 total, we think. Three of them, I believe, are state controlled. That takes a little longer to get their process, but you should see these coming up soon. And maybe we'll even have suggested contests in the future about what the tagline ought to be.
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
One last thing, these signs, we actually make these signs. So this is not a big, huge, expensive project. This was-
John Hamilton:
Our own people.
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
Something we managed internally for the most part.
John Hamilton:
Our own people make them, put them up. It's a very frugal and efficient way, but it's a nice way to say, we want you to know you're joining our city. Welcome. Enjoy your time here, and take notice-
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
And here's something cool about us.
John Hamilton:
Yeah, exactly.
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
Exactly.
John Hamilton:
That's a little more information for folks about what you'll see at the city boundaries over the coming days.
Mary Catherine Carmichael:
Okay. Thank you, Mayor. I'm Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael.
John Hamilton:
Mayor John Hamilton. Thanks a lot.