Bloomington nonprofit to focus on arts, tech, housing
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Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton on Friday announced plans for a new 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The mayor’s office said City of Bloomington Capital Improvements Inc., or CBCI, will advance initiatives related to three areas: arts, technology and jobs, and housing.
The city said the CBCI would oversee multiple projects involving city ownership of land and buildings that don’t involve core municipal services but “provide great added value and benefit to the city.”
Such projects include the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and the Waldron Arts Center, the Trades District, including The Mill coworking space and the planned federal EDA-funded Tech Center, and the new downtown Hopewell neighborhood at the site of the former Bloomington Hospital.
The city said all of the initiatives are currently maintained across multiple city departments.
Hamilton and Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael issued a memo to members of the Bloomington Common Council detailing the launch of the nonprofit, as well as a draft of bylaws to “ensure transparency and accountability for this new entity.”
Click here to read the full memo and draft bylaws.
In the memo, the mayor said the amount of staff it would need to continue management of the initiatives in the coming years is not sustainable in the long-term.
“For the next five or more years, the level of activity needed to maximize the public value to be realized in all these areas will continue to increase,” the memo said. “Our city government staff, at its current level, is not in a position to maximize the opportunities each of these projects offers to our community.”
The mayor said his administration intends to work with the city council, a new nonprofit board, and partners to complete the organizational steps, and consider funding options and potential property transfers to the new organization.
“The City prioritizes high-quality opportunities and services for residents, including the vibrancy of community and culture with our jobs, arts, and housing,” Hamilton said in a news release. “Activating this nonprofit will let us pursue very significant opportunities with the focus and attention needed to help maximize our community’s opportunities and potential.”
The city has filed paperwork with the state to establish the nonprofit and said the next steps include appointing a new CBCI Board of Directors, obtaining a federal Employer Identification Number, preparing bylaws and a draft 501c3 application to guide the launch, and a conflicts of interest policy.