![]() The City of Bloomington is hosting a forum on Thursday, March 5 to discuss priorities for a new Sustainability Investment Fund and a possible increase in the local income tax to support the fund. The event runs from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Mill, 642 North Madison St. According to a city press release, the format will include a brief presentation, followed by opportunities to discuss topics with subject-matter experts. Those topics include the city's "comprehensive response to climate change, how the fund might support social equity, and the possibilities the fund could create in areas from transit and other mobility options to sustainable housing and green infrastructure, among others." A light meal will be provided. The city is also asking residents to share comments and suggestions about the Sustainability Investment Fund via this online form. On Jan. 1, Mayor John Hamilton announced a proposal to increase the local income tax by 0.5% for Monroe County residents, raising about $16 million annually – half for the city, half for the county – to be used for economic development purposes. Hamilton proposed using the city's share for sustainability initiatives that have not yet been determined. The tax could be enacted if approved by the majority of the Bloomington City Council.
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![]() March 6 is the deadline to apply for the 2020 Best Places to Work Bloomington. The awards are open to any business with an office in Monroe County and the equivalent of 10 or more employees. Click here to apply. Best Places to Work Bloomington is part of a national awards program. Locally, it is sponsored by Dimension Mill, the Bloomington Herald-Times, and the Bloomington Economic Development Corp. An awards ceremony will take place at The Mill on June 9, 2020. Click here for more information. ![]() February is Black History Month, the perfect time to reflect on our community’s diversity. It’s also a time to challenge ourselves, take a hard look at where we fall short – we’re not as diverse or welcoming as we’d like to believe – and take steps to strengthen those areas. In the past year, the Chamber has made a commitment to supporting the work of black business owners in Bloomington and Monroe County. We’ve started an affinity group that meets regularly to strategize about how to raise up their voices and tackle issues specific to growing their businesses. We also surveyed black business owners to get a better handle on their economic impact. The 27 respondents reported a total of $2.557 million in gross annual revenues, employing nearly 60 workers. In total, they reported 237 years in business, reflecting a depth of experience and the important role those businesses have played in our community’s history. The Chamber is honoring part of that history – and acknowledging the often-uncomfortable legacy we share – by placing an historical marker at People’s Park to highlight the significance of that location. In 1968, an African American student named Clarence “Rollo” Turner led protests against racial discrimination that were met with open hostility in Bloomington. That fall, he opened the Black Market in the location where People’s Park is located today. It sold books, clothing, records, artwork and other crafts made in Africa or by African Americans and acted as a cultural center for black students at Indiana University. On December 26, 1968, the Black Market was firebombed, and the entire store destroyed leaving Bloomington residents to grapple with the brutal and harsh realities of racism. Two Ku Klux Klan members were eventually convicted of the arson. In 1970, IU students began developing the vacant lot into People’s Park, a place for activism, recreation and free expression. The marker, awarded by the Indiana Historical Society, will be placed in People’s Park with a celebration on May 1. We’ll be providing more details about the event soon and hope you can join us. Before then, February is full of Black History Month events: discussion panels, lectures, performances, film screenings and other activities throughout the community. I urge you to check out the calendars for Indiana University and the City of Bloomington to find at least one way to get involved. Our past is still very much present – the things that make us proud, as well as the things we struggle to overcome. I hope you’ll join me in working to build a community that embraces everyone. Note: This column by Chamber CEO Erin Predmore was published in the February issue of BizNet, a Chamber publication in partnership with the Bloomington Herald-Times. ![]() Jane Kupersmith, co-owner of Hopscotch Coffee and Rainbow Bakery, has been hired as the City of Bloomington's Assistant Director for Small Business Development. Kupersmith will be part of the city's Economic & Sustainable Development Department. Her responsibilities include small business and entrepreneurship advocacy as well as retention and recruitment activities for the city. She also will serve as Executive Director of the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association. She has served on the BUEA board since January 2016 as a mayoral appointment. The BUEA provides grants, tax incentives and other support for the "economic, physical and social environment for Zone residents and businesses." For example, the BUEA provided a $1 million capital grant commitment to CDFI-Friendly Bloomington last year. The executive director of CDFI-Friendly Bloomington, Brian Payne, previously held the job now filled by Kupersmith. Kupersmith will retain her ownership in Hopscotch and Rainbow Bakery, but will not be involved in day-to-day operations of those local businesses. Read her January 2020 column in the Herald-Times (paywall): "It's Your Biz: City's new assistant director ready to tackle small business development." ![]() The fate of the Monroe County Convention Center expansion will likely be decided within the next 48 hours. We need your help in ensuring our elected officials work together to agree on a governance structure so that this important project can move forward. The Monroe County Council is poised to consider possibly repealing the Food & Beverage Tax, which funds the expansion, if no concrete progress is made by Friday afternoon. The Chamber supports the creation of a Capital Improvement Board (CIB) as the governance structure for an expanded convention center. We support equal representation between the City of Bloomington and Monroe County, which has been agreed upon by both sides. The county commissioners have begun the process of creating a CIB and could make that final decision at their Dec. 11 meeting. We are concerned that the palpable bitterness and distrust between the county commissioners and city administration could ultimately derail this project. Please contact our Bloomington/Monroe County elected representatives to urge all parties to move forward with this project. Click here for contact information. See below for additional background, as well as information about upcoming public meetings where you can speak in person. Questions? Contact Mary Morgan, the Chamber's Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, at [email protected] or 812-336-6381. Timeline of Upcoming MeetingsHere's a timeline of upcoming meetings and possible actions. For additional background on recent actions, read this article from the B Square Beacon.
![]() Seven candidates for Bloomington City Council answered questions about support for the arts at a candidate forum on Tuesday, Sept. 17 organized by Arts Forward Bloomington. The municipal election is on Nov. 5. The group included candidates in the only two competitive races for council: District 2 candidates Andrew Guenther (R) and Sue Sgambelluri (D), and District 3 candidates Nicholas Kappas (I) and Ron Smith (D). Another District 3 candidate, Marty Spechler (I), did not attend. Others participating were Democrats Matt Flaherty (at-large), Isabel Piedmont-Smith (District 5), and Steve Volan (District 6). Democrat Susan Sandberg (at-large) sent a statement that was read by Sally Gaskill. None of these candidates are opposed on Nov. 5 so they will automatically be seated in January 2020. All candidates expressed strong support for the arts. Many mentioned their own involvement – as patrons or practitioners – and described specific actions they'd support on council to ensure a healthy arts community. For example, both Isabel Piedmont-Smith and Steve Volan, who currently serve on council, expressed interest in including a new performing arts venue as part of the Monroe County Convention Center expansion. ![]() The event, held at the Waldron Arts Center, was moderated by Danielle McClelland, executive director of the Buskirk Chumley Theater. During her opening remarks, Danielle reported that the city's expenditures on the arts totaled $773,928. That figure included funding to maintain the Buskirk-Chumley building and support its programming, as well as grants through the Bloomington Arts Commission and a range of other sources. Click here to see the report on city funding sources for the arts. Click here to watch the forum on CATS. ![]() Brian Payne, assistant director of economic and sustainable development for the City of Bloomington, will be the founding executive director of CDFI Friendly Bloomington, a new nonprofit focused on local community development. He'll begin the job on Sept. 3. CDFI Friendly Bloomington, a 501(c)(3), is a community development financial institution formed in 2018. Its purpose is to provide investments for projects that don't qualify for conventional financing, as a way to catalyze small business growth, expand affordable housing and support community facilities in Bloomington and Monroe County. Four local and regional banks – First Financial Bank, Old National Bank, German American Bank, and Woodforest National Bank – committed a total of $2 million in senior debt financing to CDFI Friendly Bloomington. In addition, the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association (BUEA) and the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission each made $1 million capital grant commitments. In his role at the city, Brian has also served as BUEA's director. Alex Crowley, the city's director of economic and sustainable development, announced Brian's departure at BUEA's Aug. 14 meeting. He noted that in addition to this job transition, Brian recently moved to a new home and celebrated the birth of his daughter, Morrow – named after the county in Ohio where Brian and his wife met while campaigning for Barack Obama. Alex joked that these three major life events are "the trifecta of stress inducement." The city will be searching for a replacement, but that job has not yet been posted on the city's employment portal. CDFI Friendly Bloomington's board of directors includes:
Click here for more information about CDFI Friendly Bloomington. Read a white paper on this project here. ![]() The Bloomington/Monroe County performing arts sector adds over $4 million annually to the local economy and supports more than 160 jobs here, according to a recent analysis commissioned by Cardinal Stage. Gabe Gloden, the professional theater's managing director, presented results of the study at the Chamber Speaker Series on July 18. The analysis focused on three organizations: Cardinal Stage, Buskirk-Chumley Theater, and the Ivy Tech Waldron Arts Center. The economic impact of the entire arts sector would be even greater, Gloden noted. Other key takeaways:
![]() That last data point should be food for thought, Gloden said, as the community thinks about investing in the arts through ticket sales, sponsorships or grants. If there aren't local opportunities for participating in the arts, this community would be losing revenue – including money spent at local restaurants and hotels – to other areas. Exposure to the performing arts also has been linked positively to increased civic engagement, improved academic achievement, social and emotional learning, and development of tolerance and empathy. The study was conducted in the spring of 2019 by graduate students of the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Click here to read the full report. |
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