Bloomington honors departing City Manager Jamie Verbie

General Interest
Meeting Date: Date not available
Story generated: Jun 14, 2026
Focus: Bloomington honors departing City Manager Jamie Verbie

The Bloomington City Council recognized Jamie Verbie's decade of service as City Manager with a proclamation at its January 8 meeting. Verbie, who oversaw major development projects and policy advances during his tenure, is leaving to become president and CEO of Catholic Charities Twin Cities.

The council honored Verbie for 10 years leading the city, during which he spearheaded the reimagining of the South Loop neighborhood, championed affordable housing investments, and advanced strategic planning, racial equity initiatives, community engagement, and innovation efforts. In remarks to the council, Verbie reflected on the importance of local government. "Local government is where it happens in this country," he said. "The thing that affects people's lives most directly is where they live, and the fact that you entrusted me to do this work is something that I will be grateful for the rest of my life."

The council also announced a significant staffing change in the planning department. Nick Johnson has been promoted to Planning Manager, effective the week of February 3rd, succeeding Glenn Margard, who is retiring. Johnson, who previously served as Planning Supervisor, has been instrumental in developing and implementing the city's comprehensive plan, small area plans, and zoning code updates since 2015.

In other business, Bloomington Parks and Recreation announced the second annual "Blades and Bites" winter events. These free outdoor skating activities will feature skate rentals, prizes, and food trucks. The first event is scheduled for January 17th at Running Park, with a second event on January 25th at Westwood Park.

The city also unveiled a redesigned look for the Bloomington Briefing, the city's official publication. The January issue features a full-image cover showcasing 9M Creek. Future issues will highlight different natural areas and city amenities, and residents are invited to submit their own photography for consideration in upcoming editions.

This story was created by artificial intelligence (a large language model) based on the proceedings captured in the video below.

Go deeper on this topic

Research related meeting documents and build a brief — without rewriting the story.

Rate this story

Other Topics from This Document

  • Promotion of Nick Johnson to Planning Manager

  • Winter Fête Events: Blades and Bites

  • New Look for Bloomington Briefing Publication

Meeting Analysis
Recognized with a proclamation (no vote details provided)

local government is where it happens in this country right the thing that affects people's lives most directly is where they live and uh the fact that you're willing to do that work is really important and the fact that you entrusted me to do this work uh is something that I will be grateful for uh the rest of my life

Jamie Verbie [0:55]Proclamation for Jamie Verbie's Service
Source Document
Focus: Original document text

[0:00] [Applause]

[0:03] [Music]

[0:04] [Applause]

[0:05] [Music]

[0:05] [Applause]

[0:08] [Music]

[0:11] [Applause]

[0:14] [Music]

[0:16] hello and thanks for tuning in to

[0:18] Bloomington today let's take a look at

[0:20] the latest news in Bloomington Jamie

[0:22] vugi was recognized with a proclamation

[0:25] for his service to the city at the

[0:26] council meeting on January 6th I'm going

[0:29] to read a

[0:31] for Jamie verbie Day Jamie has served as

[0:34] the city manager of Bloomington for 10

[0:36] years and has left to become the next

[0:38] president and CEO of Catholic Charities

[0:41] Twin Cities under his leadership

[0:43] Bloomington reimagined the South Loop

[0:45] through development and creative

[0:46] placemaking made critical investments in

[0:49] affordable housing and led the city in

[0:51] advancing strategic planning in racial

[0:53] Equity Community engagement and

[0:55] Innovation local government is where it

[0:57] happens in this country right the thing

[1:00] that affects people's lives most

[1:02] directly is where they live and uh the

[1:06] fact that you're willing to do that work

[1:08] is really important and the fact that

[1:10] you entrusted me to do this work uh is

[1:13] something that I will be grateful for uh

[1:15] the rest of my life to learn more about

[1:17] ja's accomplishments and to watch the

[1:19] proclamation in full visit

[1:22] blmn youube and watch the January 6th

[1:25] council meeting the city of Bloomington

[1:27] is pleased to announce the promotion of

[1:29] Nick Nick Johnson to the position of

[1:31] planning manager effective the week of

[1:33] February 3rd Johnson will succeed Glenn

[1:35] margard the current planning manager who

[1:38] is retiring after nearly 30 years of

[1:40] service Johnson has been a dedicated

[1:42] member of the city's planning division

[1:44] since 2015 most recently serving as

[1:47] planning supervisor leading several key

[1:49] initiatives including the development

[1:51] and implementation of the city's

[1:53] comprehensive plan district and small

[1:55] area plans and updates to the city's

[1:57] zoning code enjoy the winter month with

[2:00] Bloomington Parks and Recreation winter

[2:02] Fett is happening now and as part of the

[2:04] festivities you can attend blades and

[2:06] bites for outdoor skating food and games

[2:09] this is the second annual blades and

[2:11] bites event and this year there are two

[2:13] opportunities to attend in January the

[2:16] first event is Friday January 17th at

[2:18] running Park from 5: to 9:00 p.m. the

[2:21] second is Saturday January 25th at

[2:24] Westwood Park from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00

[2:26] p.m. both events are free to attend

[2:28] there will be free skate rentals a

[2:30] chance to win prizes and food trucks on

[2:33] site if you'd like to purchase something

[2:34] to snack on to learn more about blades

[2:36] and bites and other winter fet fund

[2:38] visit the link on your screen a new year

[2:41] brings a new look for the Bloomington

[2:43] briefing if you've received your copy of

[2:45] the January issue you'll likely have

[2:47] noticed the full image cover of 9M Creek

[2:50] each month will feature a different

[2:51] Natural Area amenity or things to check

[2:54] out around the city if you'd like to see

[2:56] your photography featured on the cover

[2:58] you can submit a photo photo for

[3:00] consideration at the link on your screen

[3:02] if your photo is chosen briefing staff

[3:04] will notify you and include a credit in

[3:06] the publication that is a wrap on this

[3:09] week's buzz if you would like to watch

[3:11] other stories highlighting people places

[3:13] and projects in Bloomington visit the

[3:15] city's YouTube channel thanks so much

[3:17] for watching

This story was created by artificial intelligence (a large language model) based on the proceedings captured in the video below.

Want to know when new stories arrive?

Enter your email to receive updates.

We will not use your email for any other purpose. You can unsubscribe at any time.