By: Diane Benjamin

Bloomington wants residents to report storm damage at the top of their website: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/

Staff is trying to find out if the area qualifies for federal disaster relief or low interest loans. The emergency declaration was extended to 30 days.

Many City departments were and are working together to help citizens. Calls for service were incredibly high. The emergency response discussion rightfully praised employees who worked long hours to clear downed trees. Bulk pickup fees will be waived for two weeks, put your storm damaged whatever on the curb and get it picked up for free.

I was in town Thursday during and after the storm. What I saw was people helping each other. Citizens were getting fallen trees and branches off the streets. That wasn’t mentioned until Council comments at the end of the meeting first by Abby Scott and then by Mike Straza.

Jim Karch gave an infrastructure presentation. See the interactive map showing 5-year plans: https://cityblm.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/2f7164aa23ec445bb9e235e9c51ec234#

Long term planning allows for better coordination of water, sewer work, curbs etc so new streets don’t have to be torn up for repairs.

If you want to see when your road might get fixed, Click Project Type at the top, then Transportation. Under Fiscal Year chose whatever you want to see. A list by project will appear on the left side of the screen.

That site has a lot of data, more than just streets. Take a few minutes to play with it.

Sheila Montney always asks the questions citizens want to know the answers to. Last night she asked where Bloomington would stand after 5 years with the percentage of roads rated fair or below verses now. Jim Karch stated the needle won’t be moving, just the roads involved. A total of $9 million a year is assumed for each year for roads, sidewalks, etc. Just hit play below.

City Manager Jeff Jurgens announced another restaurant is coming to Bloomington – Freddy’s. Economic Development! He also announced this: