- Seeing that we have a quorum and at 630 I'm gonna go ahead and call to order this Session of the Bloomington
- Common Council here on January 7th. Will the clerk please call the roll? Councilmember Flaherty rough
- Rollo Piedmont Smith Stasburg here Haley here Zulik here
- Rosenberger here. Sorry here. Thank you Thank you so much before I do the agenda summation I would like
- to start by paying tribute to longtime Perry Township trustee Dan combs who passed away this week He
- first took office in 1986. So he served the Perry Township for almost 40 years, which I think is pretty
- amazing overseeing the operations and administering aid
- from the township to thousands of residents. So if you could join me in a moment of silence in his memory,
- that would be great. Thank you. Thank you so much. Condolences go out to his friends and family.
- Um, this evening we have just a few things on our agenda. It is our organizational meeting. Um,
- so we will be, uh, doing a whole bunch of, um, elections and assignments and appointments and things.
- Uh, but we'll start off with kind of the normal reports.
- First from council members. We don't have a report from the mayor and city offices. We don't have a
- report from council committees So then we will go straight to reports from the public That will be the
- first opportunity for the public to comment on items not on our agenda After reports are done. We will
- have election of officers every year at the organizational meeting the president vice president and
- parliamentarian Potentially swap around and so we will do that after that
- Council members might switch up seats according to the newly elected president's assignments then we
- all have assignments to council committees if the new president is prepared to do so and then appointments
- to various boards and commissions and
- That councilmembers belong on after that. We do have some legislation for first reading this evening
- We have ordinance 20 2601 amending title 20 the unified development ordinance with regard to affordable
- housing incentives and payment in lieu provisions Then we will have ordinance 20 2602 also amending
- title 20 the unified development ordinance with regard to qualifying standards for PUD subsections and
- That also should change AMI numbers as well, I believe. And then Ordinance 20-26-03 to amend Ordinance
- 20-25-40, which fix the salaries of appointed officers, non-union, and AFSCME employees. There are changes
- to the AFSCME employee salaries based on new negotiations that completed late last year.
- And then we do have one resolution tonight that we will actually discuss resolution 20 2601 update updating
- membership requirements and program funding for the Jack Hopkins social service funding committee of
- the council. After that we will have additional public comment if there are members of the public who
- want to speak to items not on the agenda this evening. We will have any notes on council schedule and
- then we will adjourn.
- So going back to the beginning starting with councilmember reports I'll go ahead and start down here
- on my right tonight with councilmember Flaherty Just want to say a thank you to council leadership that
- is outgoing Councilmember Sasberg Piedmont Smith and daily. Thank you for your service in those roles
- this past year I think you did a great job. I appreciate it. Thank you Councilmember rough Just want
- to Repeat what?
- Councilmember Flaherty said about thinking leadership Thank You councilmember Rallo Also like to note
- the passing of Dan combs I first knew of him when I moved to Bloomington as a writer for the HT As carp
- combs and I think it was the Bloomington Herald telephone back then Before they changed their name around
- 1989 He was a local sage had wit humor wisdom and
- He was a great Lamentonian person of kindness, and he was an advocate always for those in need as Perry
- Township trustee, a real public servant. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Piedmont-Smith. Yes,
- thank you. I, too, am more in the passing of Carp Combs.
- dedicated public servant and I still have on my desk the report from the All the things that the Bloomington
- town Perry Township offices did in the wake of the tornadoes last year and I will follow up on that
- in his honor But I wanted to state a few other things just reflecting on the direction of our country
- Yesterday, of course was the fifth anniversary of a violent insurrection at the US Capitol and
- just like December 7th, 1941, the date of January 6th, 2021, should live in infamy. Donald Trump incited
- thousands of his followers to attack the seat of our government based on lies about the 2020 election,
- which Joe Biden did win. Adults, please tell your children and tell future generations about the illegal
- attack by this misguided, violent mob. Don't believe what WhiteHouse.gov tells you or what any
- mega textbooks may try to make future generations believe. This was an attempted coup by Donald Trump.
- As we start the new year, I again feel compelled to call out the second Trump administration for violations
- of the US Constitution and of international law. Killing sailors in international waters due to a suspicion
- that they are carrying illegal drugs, that's a violation of international law.
- Killing, kidnapping a foreign leader to take over a foreign government, yep, that's a violation
- of international law. Going to war against Venezuela and running Venezuela, well, that sounds like war
- to me, which is a power that only Congress has, and of course, violation of international law.
- What's next, Colombia, Greenland, where does it end?
- And then there's ICE shooting a woman in the face when she's trying to turn around in her car, a clear
- violation of human decency and a cause for outrage. We cannot let these events go past without expressing
- our total disdain for what is happening to our country. I don't recognize the U.S. anymore. I mean,
- I pledge to uphold
- the Indiana Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, it's being trampled on every day. I will keep speaking
- out and using whatever small leverage I might have to fight back. That's all I've got, thanks.
- Thank you. Down to the other end with Councilmember Asari. Thank you, Councilmember Rosenberger.
- Thank you, Councilmember Zulik.
- Thank you. Thank you councilmember daily. I Also just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the passing
- of my trustee Dan Combs I did not know him. Well, I had only just recently been getting to know him and I
- kept saying to myself that he is somebody that I can learn a lot from and had a lot of wisdom and lived
- experience to pass on and I kept telling myself I need to get to know him better and I really regret
- that I didn't have that opportunity and that time. But I am in awe of his body of work and just all
- of the outpouring of emotion and support for him and so my condolences go to his family of course and
- everybody who loved him and admired him
- and just thank you for the time that we had with him. Thanks. Thank you. And I just want to announce
- at the end of last year, I mentioned I was gonna do constituent meetings a little bit differently this
- year and I'm gonna do them by appointment. So I have started adding that to my public calendar. Right
- now there is a Tuesday during lunchtime, one Tuesday a month from 1130 to one where people can sign
- up and make 15 minute
- Individual appointments with me and I'm also going to add a weekend Virtual option. I just haven't quite
- decided on which time yet or which weekend of the month But you can access that on my my public calendar
- from my council page So and if anybody has any problems with that, you can you can email me And I also
- just want to thank councilmember Piedmont Smith for the words that she shared earlier
- So that wraps up councilmember reports So now we're going to with no reports from the mayor and city
- offices and no reports from council committees move on to reports from the public So if there are any
- members of the public who would like to share anything with us about items not on the agenda You can
- if you're in chambers make your way to the podium And then you'll have up to three minutes If you're
- online, you can raise your hand using the reactions tab or you can send a chat message to the host Let's
- go ahead and start here in chambers. If you haven't already signed in please do that
- And state your name for the record and you'll have three minutes. Thanks Chamber of Commerce, I don't
- know if it's our time away, but there is a new year sheen here to the council and its representation
- I want to thank this body for its seriousness of what it brings to the role the deliberation and long
- thinking of this council demonstrates matters to the business community each year the chamber develops
- its legislative priorities, this would be 2026
- Based on our long-term commitments and member survey feedback through our annual survey that consists
- of Them telling us local poly decisions that have real day-to-day impacts on businesses and their employees
- And there were some clear themes on the top of that First it's not going to surprise anybody but housing
- availability and affordability Employers struggle to attract or retain talent when housing is limited
- or unaffordable predictable zoning timing
- permitting, and infrastructure matters as much as policy intent, both residential and commercial entities.
- The Chamber supports continued collaboration on this increased supply while maintaining thoughtful planning
- standards. The second is workforce participation and readiness. The barriers of workplace do affect
- those who can show up. Access to childcare, transportation reliability, cost of living directly impact
- that workforce participation. Employers in value partnership with the school
- The city and service providers alike continued coordination is essential for long-term instabilities
- as we do a less with less Third not just anybody surprises the community safety and public order. This
- is one of the most consistent and complex Concerns our members always bring up dominated the qualitative
- text businesses want compassionate responses paired with accountability and
- There's a strong support for better coordination between public safety the courts and service provider
- and the goal is progress We want fewer interactions and better outcomes for everyone but across all
- of these areas our Members emphasize one principle that the city should take heed with its predictability
- of their services and process Clear timeliness transparent expectations and responsive departments build
- confidence encourage local investment that predictability benefits employers residents residents and
- the city and
- The chamber's role is to bring an aggregated business input and work collaboratively towards solutions
- that strengthen Bloomington We view this council as a partner in that work. I want to thank you for
- your service We look forward to continuing dialogue and partnership in the coming months and I leave
- you with our 2026 priorities with the council staff. Thank you very much Thank you
- I don't see anybody else in chambers who looks like they would like to make a comment. Has anybody raised
- a hand on Zoom? OK, great. Seeing no other public commenters, we will wrap that up then with a reminder
- that there is another section at the end of the agenda if anybody changes their mind and wants to comment.
- That means that we are on to number four election of officers. So at this point I will take nominations
- from council members either as a slate of officers or as individuals. And if we have more than one person
- for each office then we'll vote individually. So does anybody have anybody want to nominate anybody?
- Councilmember Ruff. Councilmember Asari for president of the council for 2026. Councilmember Zulek is
- vice president and I'm really hoping that Courtney Daley, Councilmember Daley will continue as parliamentarian.
- Thank you. We have a motion and a second for councilmember Asari as president Zulek as vice president
- and daily as parliamentarian Are there any other nominations from the floor? All right seeing none That
- is what we have do any council members have any questions for councilmember Asari councilmember Zulek
- or councilmember daily about the positions councilmember Piedmont Smith
- Love to hear from each of the nominees how they would serve the council in this coming year Councilmember
- sorry, would you like to start? And thank you. Thank you for the question because I think the the way
- that it's formulated gets at the exact Impetus
- here, which is that the role of the council president is to serve the other members of the council to
- make sure that we can do our jobs as best as possible, as smoothly as possible, that our meetings run
- crisply, succinctly, that the views of the minority are respected and aired, that we have a respect
- for order and all of those type of things. So I am obviously those things.
- I will say that I think that we can do a lot to improve in terms of both our communication amongst ourselves,
- and so I'm very keen to look at ways to
- minimize barriers to us communicating as a council, keeping us also aware of what's going on in the
- rest of the city, I think is a core function of the president. So to update other council members on
- the decisions that the mayor is making or things that are coming down the pike in terms of legislation.
- And generally, just maintaining a wonderful work environment, which also, I think, applies to our staff.
- So just making sure that this is a place where you all want to come on a weekly basis for 17 hours,
- you know? And hopefully less than that. But that's, broadly speaking, would be my goals. Thank you.
- Councilmember Zulik? Thank you.
- the role of the vice president is a little bit different in that it is Primarily in place to offer seconds
- and support for the president when needed I am really looking forward to working with our staff my work
- schedule got changed up a little bit so I will be
- hopefully in the office a little bit more and being able to offer that support to our staff, which I
- am very much looking forward to. And then just something that's really important to me is I want to
- center our focus on how council can re-center the people of Bloomington at the center of our political
- universe. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Daly. Thank you for the question.
- Some of you may remember I was I had to be fairly strongly encouraged to take on this role last year.
- I was hesitant. I didn't have the confidence in it But councilmember Stossberg, thank you for
- Believing in me and asking me to step up, I'm very glad that I did. Because over the course of the year,
- I've come to really enjoy the work. And I saw that as helping our meetings move smoothly, fairly, and
- in accordance with our rules. And so as we head into another busy year, I think there might be some
- benefit in keeping things consistent so that everyone here can focus on the work that we were elected
- to do. So I'd like to continue to approach the role in a similar way, neutral,
- prepared focused on supporting the council as a whole I'm hopeful that I can make more scheduling meetings
- this year depending on you know, if They're they're going to change days and times so It might fit better
- with my schedule this year fingers crossed and so I would just really appreciate support. Thank you
- Thank you Are there other questions from council members for the three nominees? I
- Seeing none. I think probably we can do a voice vote on this as long as there's As long as after the
- vote it appears that there's an obvious conclusion so all of those in favor of Having the councilmember
- Asari as president council members who look as vice president and councilmember Daley as parliamentarian,
- please say aye Aye, are there any opposed? Are there any abstentions?
- All right. Thank you very much. Congratulations and thank you the three of you for your service So at
- this point in our meeting now now we shift so councilmember Asari You will take my seat and Do you Stossberg?
- Yes, may I have a moment? sure I wanted to thank you for your leadership in this past year and
- I think you are a very hands-on leader. You did a lot of work trying to facilitate communications. And
- if that's my phone, I apologize. How rude. But I wanted to present you with this ceremonial gavel to
- commemorate your service in 2025. Thank you very much.
- Thank you. I forgot that this was a thing. So this was a surprise thing. Thanks for keeping the surprise
- alive, y'all. Thank you. So going back to what I was saying, Council Member Asari will take my seat
- and Council Member Zulek will take Council Member Piedmont-Smith's seat. Council Member Asari, do you
- have plans for how we're all supposed to sit this year? Because that's up to you. Okay, great. Why don't
- we just switch for now and then you can tell us all from the middle.
- But I'd be happy if any of you have any objections to this we can entertain them but Starting from the
- right to the left Councilmember Flaherty staying where you are then councilmember Stossberg and Piedmont
- Smith then presumably councilmember Zulek and then Then councilmember to my left councilmember daily
- Rallo rough Rosenberger any objections All right
- seeing none. Might be easier.
- Rallo rough. If you have an objection to being rough Rallo, I mean.
- So Thank you all so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you At this time we're gonna move to item Five
- which is assignment to council committees and I am prepared to do that But we should There are a handful
- of these that we that we still need to I think that have run out give me one second
- As you know, many of the committees serve full terms. There are sort of four-year terms. And so many
- of those we don't need to motion to continue. But there are some of these committees that need to be
- reappointed. And so beginning with the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, I'd be happy to
- entertain a motion.
- because this is supposed to be done by council member motion. Am I correct, council attorney Lainer?
- Are you referring to appointments to boards and commissions or to council committees? Yeah, I'm supposed
- to do committees. I'm sorry, let's go to committees first. Sorry, smooth start here. Let's start with
- committees. So council committees, I would like to first start with Jack Hopkins.
- I'm keeping the appointments as they are, but changing who the chair is, so that'll be Councilmember
- Daley, Councilmember Ruff, Councilmember Rallo, and then myself, and appointing Councilmember Daley
- as chair. And we'll be talking later about the resident appointments, so we will hold on those. For
- committee and council processes, I'd like to appoint Councilmember Piedmont-Smith,
- Councilmember Stosberg, Councilmember Zulek, and Councilmember Daley, and Councilmember Stosberg as
- Chair. For the Sidewalk Committee, I'd like to appoint Councilmember Rosenberger, Councilmember Ruff,
- Councilmember Zulek, and Councilmember Daley. For the Fiscal Committee, oh, sorry, and Chair is Councilmember
- Rosenberger. For the Fiscal Committee, I'd like to appoint Councilmember Piedmont-Smith,
- Councilmember Flaherty, Councilmember Rallo, and Councilmember Stosberg, and keep Councilmember
- Piedmont-Smith as Chair. Did I mention the Chair of Committee on Processes? Yes. Good, okay. And then
- interview committees, keeping them the same. Interview Committee A, myself, Councilmember Rosenberger,
- and Councilmember Stosberg, and I will
- Appoint myself as chair for interview committee be Councilmember rough Piedmont Smith and Daley with
- councilmember rough being chair interview committee see Councilmember Zulik Rallo and Flaherty with
- councilmember Zulik being chair President sorry I'm having trouble remembering the exact details. My
- recollection is when we
- This is with respect to interview committees. When we were introducing the plan of each committee member,
- it was all nine council members, having a handful of board's commissions to which they are directed
- as a liaison, our goal was to align the committees to the maximum extent possible so that you are on
- the committee that is interviewing for appointments to the commissions with which you liaise. And I
- think I was supposed to switch to committee B
- Which is different than what you just said, so that's that's my question Good point and happy to make
- that change Okay, but does does anybody have any issues with with changing councilmember Flaherty on
- to be? I forget who I was supposed to swap with The plan was for myself and councilmember Flaherty switch
- sounds good So in which case we're going to make count interview committee B will be rough
- Daily Flaherty and interview committee C is Zulik Rallo Pete Monsmith and Chairs of B is rough chair
- of C is Zulik Any other Concerns Comments Please President sorry, could you repeat the
- Fiscal committee. Mm-hmm membership for the fiscal committee. It's Councilmember Piedmont Smith councilmember
- Flaherty councilmember Rallo councilmember Stasberg with you as chair. Thank you And my reasoning there
- if you're if you're curious I have removed myself from it because I think the one of our goals for the
- fiscal committee is to get as much participation as possible in the budget process and councilmember
- Flaherty always has
- brilliant insight into the budget process. I think I will be able to be involved anyways, meeting with
- the mayor and deputy mayor frequently. So I think that sort of gives us a broader spread of input into
- the budget. So that was my thinking there. Any other things? OK. Seeing none, I'm going to move on to
- appointments to boards and commissions. I'll entertain.
- Any motions? We should start with the BDC if that is okay with everyone. So to remind everyone here
- for the appointments of boards and commissions, the BDC is a one-term office, so is Downtown Bloomington,
- Inc. And so those two need to be reappointed. The term for Economic Development Commission was cut in
- half, and so I
- Councilmember Flaherty's term on that. So we also need to reappoint somebody to Economic Development
- Commission. So starting with with those and then the other ones are for our four-year appointments,
- but Starting with those are there any motions? Council president, sorry be appointed to the Bloomington
- Economic Development Corporation board
- Second and attorney later. Are we okay to do this in a batch or do we need to do each one? individually,
- I Think that you could do them as a slate And I also move that Councilman council vice president Sidney
- Zoellick may be appointed to the downtown Bloomington incorporated board I Might move this is okay with
- you all and as the chair shouldn't be moving but it's okay I
- I'd like I would suggest that all of these stay the same unless anybody has a has a concern with that
- So that would be that would be me staying in at the BDC Sid Councilman Zulik on downtown Bloomington
- incorporated I can remain on Economic Development Commission and both for the city in the county and
- then Councilmember Rosenbarger for the be you EA
- I move that all of the previous Suggested council appointments be solidified for 2026 We have a motion
- and a second can I do please um for those that are four-year terms, oh You don't need to reappoint.
- So it's just those three so strike the Rosenberger from the from the proposal so we
- Economic Development Commission city and county it says also a four-year term. I thought they ended
- in 2026, right? Oh, it's just the just the county one. Yeah the city so we have to do the city but not
- the county so we're Appointing the motion to be clear. Sorry myself to BDC the city and and Zulik to
- stay at DBI and
- We had a motion and a second Can I can I call connect? Can I just do a voice vote on this or would you
- like to do a roll call? Let's do a voice vote all those in favor. I Any opposed That passes any abstentions,
- okay moving on to the next one we have appointments to
- Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Transportation Commission. The Plan Commission
- is a four-year term, so there's no one to appoint there. The MPO is supposed to be the president, but
- I would like to ask that Councilmember Stossberg continue to serve in that role as the delegate of Council,
- and then I'll accept any motions for Transportation Commission.
- to reappoint Councilmember Flaherty to the Transportation Commission. We have a motion and a second.
- All those in favor of keeping Councilmember Flaherty on the Transportation Commission? Aye. Any opposed?
- Any abstentions? All right, that also passes. So we have Stasberg, Stasberg, Flaherty on transportation
- and planning. Moving, please.
- To actually take a vote for the Metropolitan Planning Organization, I Don't think so. I think I think
- I think that it is by assigned go ahead As in their bylaws is if the designated representative Is unable
- to serve an alternate representative may be appointed by the same
- Department board commission, etc And in such cases the regular designee shall not be required to submit
- a proxy statement for each meeting Otherwise, I mean I think that councilmember sorry could just submit
- a proxy for every meeting or if we vote then he doesn't need to do that Okay, so so whatever you all
- whatever you think would be easier. I think Let's vote for then As Berg be reappointed to the
- metropolitan planning organization We have a motion in a second all those in favor. I have any opposed
- any abstentions excellent Moving on to CDBG appointments. These are also one-year terms. I'll entertain
- any motions. I
- Moved to appoint councilmember daily to citizens advisory committee for community block community development
- block grants social services and to appoint councilmember Rosenbarger for physical improvements We have
- a motion or their seconds second We have a motion in the second and all those in favor Anyone opposed
- abstentions
- That also passes to remain as is. Then we have appointments to the tax advisory boards, namely this
- is the Food and Beverage Tax Advisory Commission and the PSLIT for which we need four council members.
- I move that Council Member Zulek be reappointed to the Food and Beverage Tax Advisory Committee
- Council members daily Piedmont Smith Rallo and rough be appointed to the PS lit committee Second we
- have a motion and a second All those in favor aye Any opposed? All right Then we have the utility services
- board which has no designated term length and so serves at the
- of the council currently, Council Member Flaherty has been serving in that role. Are there any motions?
- I move that the Common Council reaffirm its appointment of Council Member Flaherty. Second. We have
- a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Yay. That solves that. Fantastic.
- Does that solve, is that all of the appointments we have to do? What are we missing? Where is that?
- Sustainability and environment. Okay, so we next have appointments to sustainability and environment.
- This is project 46 advisory committee, the Bloomington commission on sustainability because waste reduction
- district board of Monroe County and the environmental resources advisory council.
- Councilmember for 30 This briefly, um, I I had given up my seat on the advisory committee near in q4
- of Last year for the project 46 because I was not able to attend the meetings consistently there there
- a bit lengthier often in person always during the workday and I just Missed like three in a row or something.
- So I felt like I was not functioning in that role due to work constraints
- And so I don't feel able to continue service in that particular seat in 2026. Also, just to note, I
- don't know if it qualifies exactly as an appointment, but similar situation with the city's climate
- action team, which is an internal body that meets bimonthly to support implementation of the climate
- action plan. It's run by Assistant Director for Sustainability, Sean Mia.
- I had been serving that role for the last couple of years and then with increasing responsibilities
- at work have found myself in a similar situation where I've missed several meetings in a row, don't
- feel like I'm doing a great job in that particular role and would be supportive of someone else taking
- it on if they're able. Noting that, I'm also happy to take on something else that meets in the evenings
- as a trade of sorts. I'm not trying to shirk responsibility, just practical reality. So that's all I
- have, thanks.
- That the appointment to the waste reduction district of Montero County is per councilmember term. So
- we don't need to vote on that through that Council member Stasper I think that councilmember rough is
- in the first year of a two-year term on the environmental resources advisory council So I don't think
- that that one needs a vote either. Is that does that sound correct to other people? Doesn't specify
- on the sheet. So I don't know that attorney Lainer. I
- Do you know the, it may be a moot point after we vote. I don't know the answer to that. That's what
- I had on my organization sheet last year when I was doing this. That's okay. Yeah. Okay. I don't know
- where it came from. Okay. So, so then, so then we all, we, we need to, um, is anyone interested in being
- on project 46 advisory committee? Self self nominations. Anyone please.
- I'm willing to do it if nobody else wants to do it and I can probably also Meet with the internal climate
- committee as well I'm gonna put my name in for the internal climate action team, but not project 46.
- So Yeah, that would be that would totally be fine with me we have some self nominations comments or
- other self nominations and
- the environmental resources advisory council, you can always reaffirm Councilmember Ruff's appointment
- for the following year. Councilmember Ruff, are you happy to continue to serve there? All right.
- Any motions? I have a question. Oh, please. Councilmember Rallo, are you still willing to serve on the
- on BCOS? Because I think that you're at the end of a two-year term, but you've been doing it for a really
- long time.
- someone else is compelled to be on it and That would be for a two-year a two-year appointment, right?
- Okay, any motions we have a couple of I think everybody has said what they'd like to be on any motions
- please counselor Pema Smith I move that councilmember Stossberg be appointed for the project 46 Advisory
- Committee and
- that Councilmember Rallo be re-appointed as ex officio member of Commission on Sustainability, that
- Councilmember Ruff be appointed to the Environmental Resource Advisory Council, and that Councilmember
- Piedmont-Smith be appointed to the city's internal climate action team. Second. We have a motion and
- a second. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Abstentions? That also passes. Is that the end of the
- list? Okay.
- Are there any others that we're forgetting to appoint people to? Jobs we need to give people Okay, any
- final comments on this before we move on All right, excellent So with that we'll move to a legislation
- for first reading. Are there any motions? 20 26-01 be introduced and read by the clerk by title and
- synopsis only
- May the clerk please read. Oh, there's been a motion in the second. Are we okay to take a vote on this?
- Yes. We are, yes. Okay, all those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Awesome, may the clerk please read. Ordinance
- 2026-01 to amend Title 20 of the Bloomington Municipal Code regarding response to Resolution 20.
- 25-12 related to amending the affordable housing incentives and payment in lieu provisions. The synopsis
- is as follows, ordinance 2026-01 amends title 20, the unified development ordinance in the following
- manner. It increases the maximum impervious surface coverage allowance for single family detached and
- duplex residential lots in the R1, R2, R3, and R4 zoning districts for owner occupancy
- Occupancy projects using the affordable housing incentives to it increases the maximum impervious surface
- coverage Allowance and decreases the landscape area for projects that meet tier two affordability standards
- and three increases the dollar amount of an eligibility for payments in lieu of providing housing I
- Move that ordinance 2026-02 be introduced and read by the clerk by title and synopsis only
- second.
- Ordinance 2026-02 to amend Title 20 of the Bloomington Municipal Code regarding response to Resolution
- 2025-17 related to amending the eligibility subsection, the qualifying standards for plan unit development
- subsection and defined term section of Title 20. The synopsis is as follows. This ordinance amends Title
- 20, the unified development ordinance in the following manner. One, it reduces the area median income
- eligibility percentage requirements for incentives
- 20.04.110C2. Two, it revises the qualifying standards for plan unit developments in 20.02.050B3.
- And three, it eliminates the definition of workforce housing from defined terms in 20.07.010 Title 20,
- the Unified Development Ordinance. I move that
- Ordinance 2026-03 be introduced and read by the clerk by title and synopsis only second There's a motion
- and a second all those in favor. Aye Any opposed? May the clerk please read Ordinance 2026-03 to amend
- ordinance 2025-40 to fix the salaries of appointed officers non-union and ask me employees for all the
- departments of the city of Bloomington Monroe County, Indiana
- for the year 2026. The synopsis is as follows, ordinance 2026-03 amends ordinance 2025-40, the 2026
- appointed and AFSCME employee salary ordinance to align with the approved 2026 work agreement between
- local 2487 CBME, AFSCME and the city of Bloomington and makes other amendments to formalize the salary
- ordinance with city pay policy.
- Thank you, that concludes legislation for first readings. We're now going to move to legislation for
- second readings and resolutions, which we have one thing. I move that resolution 2026-01 be introduced
- and read by the clerk by title and synopsis only. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor?
- Aye. All those opposed? May the clerk please read. Oh, that's to be introduced.
- Oh no, she moved that she read it. May the clerk please read. Sorry. Go ahead. Sorry. Resolution 2026-01
- to update membership requirements and program funding conditions of the Jack Hopkins Social Services
- Funding Committee of the Common Council. The synopsis is as follows. This resolution sponsored by council
- member Stossberg updates membership requirements and program funding conditions of the Jack Hopkins
- Social Service Program Committee.
- Move that resolution 2026-01 be adopted All right councilmember Stasberg do you have a presentation
- I Don't have very much to say besides what is in the memo but last year there
- were some incidents that made us have to look up the Jack Hopkins documentation to get clarity about
- various responsibilities. And we realized that the documentation was spread out in various
- funding resolutions over a number of years. And so to just kind of make it cleaner and easier to document,
- I decided that it would be easier to have it in one.
- one place and in one resolution instead of scattered all over the place it does make one change and
- that is about the appointment of resident members which prior to now had just been the responsibility
- of the chair and that was actually the thing that kind of sparked this because our resident members
- need to have experience in social services and so that
- Sometimes often would necessitate a conflict of interest Paperwork to be signed and so last summer it
- was like a wait who needs to sign that for council and let's go back to the documentation and figure
- it out where all the responsibilities are and so The change in here is to have the chair Recommend
- appointments to the whole council. So then the council as a body is
- makes those decisions enabling the council president as representative of the body to sign that paperwork.
- And so that is the change. And we kind of decided on that change, we talked about putting it into interview
- committees, but it just takes longer to process through interview committees. So we figured we would
- kind of meet that difference by having the recommendation come from the chair. And due to timing, I'm
- hoping that the new chair for next year, council member Daley feels prepared with those recommendations.
- hear from her about that part before we decide on this for sure. We did advertise residence appointments
- that were needed and so there are several applications and onboard and I've looked at those. It seems
- like there are several people who have some qualifications. So yeah, I guess that's it. Oh, and I guess
- the other thing that it also clarifies the term date because accessibility requirements now
- Require term dates on things and there weren't really term dates anywhere. It was just kind of assumed
- so That's what it does. Thanks. Thank you so much. Does anyone have any questions for the sponsor? Seeing
- none does anyone want to speak in favor of this Not yet Anyone want to speak against Great, we'll go
- to public comment then are there any members of the public who'd like to comment on
- Resolution twenty twenty six oh one if so, please make your way to the podium or if you're online you
- can Raise your hand Has anyone done so online Is there anyone No one all right coming back to the council
- again, there's any would like to make comment on this councilmember daily. Yes, I'll make comment because
- councilmember Stossberg asked for my
- Thoughts on it as chair Which I'm very excited to be chairing. Thank you. Appreciate the support. I
- I think yeah, this makes perfect sense. I I know we have some good applications in onboard. I haven't
- sat down to Make those decisions yet to fully evaluate. I'll have those ready for next week But yep,
- I support this. So thanks for bringing that forward. It sounds very common sense Councilmember Zulek
- Thank you. I'll just thank council member Stasberg and say that anything that streamlines where information
- can be found is critical at this juncture in time. So thank you very much for doing that work. And I
- look forward to, I don't know, affirming appointments when it comes to the full council. Any other comments?
- All right. Seeing none, happy to entertain a motion.
- Oh, we already have a motion. I'm sorry. Um, and do we need to do this by roll call or can we do this
- by those? Okay. So, um, dear clerk, will you please, um, call roll, um, resolution 20, 20, 601. Yes.
- Stasberg. Yes. Piedmont Smith. Yes. Zulek. Yes. Sorry. Yes. Daily. Yes.
- Rollo? Yes. Ruff? Yes. Rosenberger? Yes. That passes 9-0. All right. We are now moving to an additional
- period of public comment. We have a maximum of 25 minutes for this. You can comment on anything that
- was not on the agenda. So is there anyone online who would like to comment? Raise your hand, and we
- will recognize you. Yay. We have someone online.
- Please state your name if you would like to and go ahead. You'll have three minutes My name is Kevin
- Keough. I'm a Bloomington resident a retired accountant and Currently an IT auditor. I want to acknowledge
- upfront that I've raised this issue before I understand understand it may sound repetitive I continue
- to raise it because I hold this conviction strongly and because I believe it directly affects transparency
- and good governance and
- I'm speaking tonight about the timeliness of the city's annual comprehensive financial report, the ACFR.
- From both a citizen's perspective and my professional experience, the ACFR for a prior year should be
- completed before the next rudge of process begins. For the year ended just in December 31st, 2025, that
- means before August 1st, 2026. At the November 19th, 2025 Fiscal Committee,
- The former controller was asked whether there was any way the upcoming 2025 ACFR could be completed
- earlier than September 30th, 2026. The response given was no. Separately, we were told the 2024 ACFR
- would be completed and published by December 31st, 2025. As of today, that still has not occurred.
- Why this matter is straightforward. The ACFR is the city's audited financial foundation. When budgets
- are developed without finalized audit results, decisions are made without the best verified information,
- and citizens are left waiting to understand how their tax dollars are actually being managed. I looked
- at a peer community, the city of Fishers, Indiana. They completed and published their 1231-24 ACFR by
- July 31, 2025.
- That demonstrates that earlier completion is not impossible. It is achievable with the right processes
- and expectations. I am not here to criticize individuals, including the former controller. I am respectfully
- asking the council to treat the ACFR timeliness as a governance priority, not simply a staff deliverable.
- My request is simple. Please set clear expectations.
- So future ACFRs are completed before the budget cycle starts, consistent with best practices and peer
- communities. Thank you for your time and service to the community, and I guess a memorable closing line.
- Some issues are worth repeating, not because they are loud, but because they are foundational. Thank
- you so much. Thank you, Mr. Keough. Is there anyone else online who would like to make a comment?
- Anyone in council chambers? All right. Well, seeing none, we should talk about council schedule, but
- I don't have it in front of me. We have a next meeting next week. Is that in any other updates to council
- schedule meetings upcoming that should be mentioned, things you'd like your colleagues to know? Please,
- Council Member Piedmasz-Meth. Well, I just wanted to remind the chairs of the interview committees that
- we have a lot of work to do.
- I expect we'll be hearing from them and work with Deputy Clerk Crossley to schedule some meetings.
- Any others. All right. All right. So we will see you all next week. This meeting is adjourned.