City details Market Street garage closure, downtown streetscape funding and early fiscal-year revenue trends

City staff told the council Aug. 25 that the Market Street parking garage has been closed and that staff are coordinating downtown tenant relocations and new visitor-parking leases as stage 1 of the downtown streetscape project begins construction. City Manager Jurgens said closing the garage saved an estimated $300,000 to $400,000 in near-term repairs and staff worked to relocate about 200 to 250 tenants to other downtown parking locations. "This saved probably close to 300 to 400,000 in in lieu of putting more repairs...," Jurgens said, adding staff were finalizing leases and security around the closed garage.

The manager said stage 1 construction is under way, visitor parking spaces have been opened and staff are encouraging patronage of downtown businesses during construction. Jurgens also previewed a possible Lovett Foundation grant voting campaign to fund a 10-concert series if Bloomington is selected among top finalists; if the city reaches the top 50 it would receive about $40,000 for concerts.

Finance Director Scott Rathbun presented preliminary fiscal-year 2026 figures through three months. Rathbun said it is early in the fiscal year but noted positive early trends in home-rule sales-tax receipts and local motor-fuel tax; he also reminded the council the city recorded a $10.3 million budget amendment that increased transfers out to the capital improvement fund for the downtown streetscape project. "We increased the budget $10,300,000 for transfers out to go to the capital improvement fund," Rathbun said.

Rathbun cautioned that local use tax has declined due to state-level sales-tax changes affecting online retail transactions and that personal-property replacement tax (PPRT) remains uncertain; he also noted one-time enterprise fund receipts such as a water bond close create temporary year-to-date variances that do not indicate permanent trends.

Why it matters: The Market Street garage closure and downtown streetscape are tangible changes affecting parking, downtown access and public investment. Early revenue trends affect the city's budget flexibility and planning for capital projects.

What happens next: Staff will continue to execute the downtown parking transition, complete stage 1 construction and monitor revenues; the council previously approved the $10.3 million budget amendment for the downtown streetscape and staff said transferring funds to the capital improvement fund allows those funds to earn interest until spent.