By Howard Packowitz

Bloomington has mapped out the boundaries for its cultural district, but Grossinger Motors Arena is not part of the district.

The city council Tuesday night unanimously approved a map for what’s described as an “incubator of creativity” and an “economic driver.” However, Cultural Commission Vice Chair Ron Crick said the decision was made to start small, and perhaps include the downtown arena in the future.

“We made the decision to start small so that we could present something that could be successful right away,” said Crick.

“Once you start with the big picture, I think you run some serious risks. That’s not a risk that we decided to take,” Crick also said.

A cultural district map allows the city to seek grants from the private sector and philanthropic organizations, and make it easier for the city to receive state and federal dollars.

“We want to pursue state and federal grants where available because we have all been paying into state and federal taxes, and we would just like some of our money back,” said Council member Jamie Mathy, who also serves on the Cultural Commission.

In other business, the council gave City Manager Tim Gleason the authority to hire police officers and firefighters, a job that had been done in the past by a volunteer commission.

The council also approved settlements in which Lakeside Country Club agreed to pay $3,750 and Killarney’s Irish Pub agreed to a $1,500 fine for not obtaining city licenses last year for their video gaming machines.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]