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The joint City of Bloomington/Indiana University (IU) task force convened by Mayor John Hamilton to recommend new name options for Jordan Avenue has completed its report. Starting in April, the Renaming Task Force reviewed more than 500 names submitted to the City’s website by members of the public to develop their unanimous recommendations for the road’s two sections:
The Near West Side Neighborhood Association (NWSNA), in collaboration with the City of Bloomington Art Commission (BAC), is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an innovative street mural celebrating the diversity and history of the Near West Side.
As the Monroe County Community School Corporation welcomes students back to school August 4, the City of Bloomington reminds motorists to exercise extra caution in school zones.
The City of Bloomington Council for Community Accessibility (CCA) invites community members to a celebration of the 31st anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Saturday, July 31.
One City employee reported a positive result of a COVID-19 viral test in the past week. The employee, who works in the Parks and Recreation Department, received a positive COVID-19 viral test result on Wednesday, July 21. No members of the public were placed at risk of COVID-19 exposure by this employee while working; one coworker was identified as a close contact and notified. (Close contact is defined by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as someone who was within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from two days before illness onset--or, for asymptomatic clients, two days prior to positive specimen collection--until the time the patient is isolated.)
Last night (July 21) around 11:40 p.m., Bloomington Police Department (BPD) officers responded to a report of multiple shots being fired and vehicles fleeing the scene of a residential address in the Crescent Bend neighborhood on Bloomington’s northwest side. No injuries or property damage were reported as a result of this incident, but police found bullets and spent casings in the vicinity. The incident is the third shooting in the area, following incidents July 2 and July 8 in the nearby Crestmont Park playground that resulted in injuries to four individuals.
Results of the third biennial city-wide survey were presented at the July 21 meeting of the Bloomington City Council. As in 2019 and 2017, the randomized, scientifically valid survey conducted in March and April of this year gave residents the opportunity to provide feedback on their general perceptions of the quality of life in Bloomington; to evaluate City programs, services, government performance; and to identify projects or issues facing the City. Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton initiated the effort to conduct the first city-wide survey in 2016 to grow public engagement, increase transparency, establish a baseline of public opinion, and acquire data to inform decisions about resource deployment. A complete report of the 2021 community survey is available here.
As part of Mayor John Hamilton’s Recover Forward initiative, the City of Bloomington is offering a new opportunity for residents to invest in green home improvements with the 2021Bloomington Green Home Improvement Program (BGHIP). The program will provide qualified homeowners with $1,000 rebates and low-interest loans for solar, geothermal, and energy efficiency projects, which also provide federal tax credits if completed in 2021 or 2022. BGHIP helps Bloomington homeowners finance energy efficiency upgrades, reduce their utility bills, and increase the environmental sustainability of their houses, in accordance with the City's goals to improve environmental and economic equity in Bloomington.
The City of Bloomington encourages local artists of color to apply for participation in the Bloomington Black y Brown Arts Festival (BBBAF), taking place Sunday August 8 at the Switchyard Park Pavilion and performance stage beginning at 2 p.m.
In partnership with WorkOne, My Sister’s Closet, and Monroe County United Ministries (MCUM), the City of Bloomington’s Banneker Community Center and Department of Economic & Sustainable Development will host two employability skills training sessions this month. Session 1 will take place on Thursday, July 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at MCUM, 827 West 14th Court (next to Tri-North Middle School), and Session 2 will take place on Saturday, July 24, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Banneker Community Center, 930 West 7th Street.
The City of Bloomington has been recognized by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance as a 2021 Digital Inclusion Trailblazer. First launched in 2016, Digital Inclusion Trailblazers is a public inventory of local government initiatives promoting digital literacy and broadband access for underserved residents.
A Parks and Recreation department employee is the first City worker to report a positive result of a COVID-19 viral test in three weeks.
The Bloomington-Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMCMPO) will hold a Public Information Meeting on Monday, July 19, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. with the goal of gaining public input for development of the Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Members of the public may join the meeting via the following Zoom link:
The City of Bloomington has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the management and operation of the John Waldron Arts Center.
Neighborhood residential parking permits for 2021-22 are now available for purchase online at https://bloomington.t2hosted.com/. A map identifying the zones where a neighborhood parking permit is required for on-street parking in Bloomington is available here.
The City received no reports of employees' having received positive results of COVID-19 viral tests since employee cases were last announced on Thursday, June 24.
