(BLOOMINGTON) – Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton, together with employees from multiple City of Bloomington departments, launched a coordinated and collaborative approach to the maintenance of core city neighborhoods in a gathering in Peoples Park Monday morning.
The “Brighten B-town” initiative is a partnership among three City departments — Parks and Recreation, Utilities, and Public Works — representing a methodical, internally-coordinated and geographically-targeted delivery of upkeep and maintenance services designed for greater efficiency and more visible results. Spanning services the City regularly delivers over the course of the year — including landscaping, painting, pruning and street cleaning — the pilot program establishes an order for simultaneous delivery of those services to specified City zones, so that each zone will receive comprehensive attention within a discrete period. Brighten B-town will coordinate the delivery of the following municipal services by more than 20 employees across three departments:
- Planting trees, shrubs, and perennials
- Pruning limbs and removing dead or dying trees
- Weeding, mulching, removing invasive species, and other landscaping maintenance
- Painting fire hydrants
- Painting curbs with parking indications
- Cleaning inlets, culverts, and ditches
- Marking storm drains with environmental messaging
- Sweeping streets
- Power washing sidewalks, walls, and other surfaces
- Removing graffiti
- Cleaning up and activating alleyways
Ten city zones have been identified for this pilot of Brighten B-Town, with efforts beginning in an area bounded by Indiana Avenue and Rogers Street, and Second and Tenth Streets. Remaining in constant contact with each other, staff from the participating departments will communicate their efforts within each zone so that services are delivered in an efficient and more coordinated order before crews move on to the next zone. As a pilot program, Brighten B-town is establishing protocols that may inform a standard model for delivery of basic City services in the future.
“With all hands on deck in one zone at a time, we’re working smarter to keep Bloomington looking its best,” said Mayor John Hamilton. “I’m grateful to City staff for finding innovative ways to deliver basic municipal services.”
