The Bloomington Economic Development Corporation met with regional officials in a videoconference Wednesday to discuss the future of Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Morgan and Owen counties and how the coronavirus pandemic has affected daily life.
Each county gave a short report, and the group talked about how the counties can collaborate to ensure a smooth recovery and how Bloomington is supporting local businesses and nonprofits.
Carol Rogers, co-director of the Indiana Business Research Center, talked to the group about the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state. She said as of yesterday, there were close to 17,000 cases and almost 1,000 deaths. According to a community mobility tool from Google that Rogers used, retail and recreation in Monroe County is down 49%, residential use is up 12% and park used increased by 70%.
Rogers said it’s obvious the stay-at-home order has resulted in unemployment. She said there were 5,448 unemployment claimants in Monroe county from March 14 to April 11. She said the industries most affected are accommodation and food services with 2,648 claimants and manufacturing with 1,855 claimants.
Rogers shared numbers on poverty in Monroe County as well. She said there are 16,328 households in Monroe County that are above the official Federal Poverty Level but below a basic survival income level. That’s 30% of households in the county. The measurement of income was created because the FPL doesn’t reflect the current cost of living, according to the unitedforalice website.
Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton, celebrating his birthday, and Alex Crowley, director of economic and sustainable development, spoke about the City of Bloomington’s Rapid Response Fund and the amount given to businesses so far. The funding came after local businesses petitioned the city for relief funding in response to Gov. Eric Holcomb ordering businesses to shut down.
Crowley said 195 applications have been started and 57 have been processed as of Wednesday morning. He said the average loan amount is $22,751.
Crowley also talked about a list of steps for a three to 12-month pandemic recovery plan once the governor reopens businesses. He said the city plans to implement a videoconference meeting series to address questions from local businesses, develop short-term revenue generation plans to make up for canceled events and prepare for re-closing plans as needed.
