[0:05] HELLO BLOOMINGTON. I’M MAYOR TIM BUSSE, AND THIS  IS THE COUNCIL MINUTE FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 19.  [0:10] AT MONDAY NIGHT'S MEETING, THE COUNCIL DISCUSSED  A NEW APPROACH TO SIDEWALK SNOWPLOWING IN   [0:15] BLOOMINGTON THAT SEEKS TO BALANCE WALKABILITY,  SERVICE QUALITY, AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY.  [0:23] AS I’M SURE YOU ALL KNOW, WHEN IT SNOWS, CITY OF  BLOOMINGTON CREWS CLEAR SNOW FROM ALL SIDEWALKS   [0:29] AND TRAILS IN THE CITY. THAT’S MORE THAN 260  MILES OF SIDEWALKS AND TRAILS AND IT’S A BIG   [0:35] JOB. HISTORICALLY, IT TAKES FROM ONE DAY WHEN  THERE IS A SMALLER SNOWFALL TO UPWARDS OF THREE   [0:41] DAYS AFTER A HEAVIER SNOWFALL. BLOOMINGTON  STAFF USE TEN SPECIALLY MODIFIED SIDEWALK   [0:47] SNOW-CLEARING MACHINES, WITH THOSE MODIFICATIONS  BEING DONE BY OUR CITY OF BLOOMINGTON MECHANICS   [0:52] IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE THE OPERATION AS  EFFECTIVE AND AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE.  [0:57] EVEN WITH THESE RESOURCES AND THE HARD WORK  OF OUR STAFF, IT’S A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE   [1:02] TO REACH THE GOALS OF EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT. WITH THE SCOPE OF THE OPERATION, STAFF REGULARLY   [1:09] HEARS FRUSTRATION FROM RESIDENTS ABOUT HOW LONG IT  TAKES TO COMPLETE ROUTES. BECAUSE UNEVEN SIDEWALKS   [1:15] CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE EQUIPMENT, CREWS DON’T  CLEAR SNOW ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE PAVEMENT,   [1:19] WHICH LEADS TO FRUSTRATION ABOUT THE QUALITY  OF THE PLOWING AND THE AMOUNT OF SNOW LEFT ON   [1:24] THE SIDEWALK. AND WE’VE ALL SEEN THE DAMAGE THAT  A SNOWPLOW OR YOUR OWN SNOWBLOWER, OR DE-ICING   [1:31] CHEMICALS CAN DO TO LAWNS OR OTHER LANDSCAPING. FROM A STAFF PERSPECTIVE, PLOWING SIDEWALKS IS   [1:37] VERY CHALLENGING BOTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY.  IN RECENT YEARS WE’VE SEEN AN ABOVE-AVERAGE RATE   [1:42] OF INJURY COMPARED TO OTHER PLOWING OPERATIONS. SO, STAFF HAS BEEN LOOKING AT WAYS TO IMPROVE   [1:48] WALKABILITY, BETTER ALIGN EFFORTS WITH OTHER  SNOWPLOWING OPERATIONS, REDUCE OPERATOR INJURIES,   [1:55] AND TO BE MORE EFFICIENT WITH STAFF TIME.  AFTER A GOOD AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT,   [2:00] DISCUSSIONS WITH SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES ABOUT  BEST PRACTICES, AND A LOT OF INTERNAL DISCUSSION,   [2:06] STAFF BROUGHT FORWARD PROPOSED CHANGES TO  THE WAY BLOOMINGTON SIDEWALKS GET CLEARED.  [2:10] THE NEW PROPOSAL WOULD REDUCE THE CITY’S SNOW  REMOVAL ROUTES TO APPROXIMATELY 135 MILES,   [2:17] FOCUSING ON MAJOR ROADS, PARKS, AND OTHER CITY  PROPERTY. RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SIDEWALKS THAT   [2:24] DON’T FIT INTO THOSE CATEGORIES WOULD  SHIFT TO ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS.  [2:29] THE PROPOSED CHANGES WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY SHORTEN  THE TIME IT TAKES TO GET THOSE SIDEWALKS CLEAR   [2:34] WHICH WOULD IMPROVE WALKABILITY. IT WOULD FREE  UP STAFF HOURS TO SUPPORT PARK MAINTENANCE AND   [2:39] NATURAL RESOURCE PROJECTS IN THE WINTER MONTHS.  AND THE PLAN IS EXPECTED TO SAVE UP TO $60,000   [2:44] PER SEASON IN EQUIPMENT AND OVERTIME COSTS. IT WOULD ALSO PUT BLOOMINGTON IN ALIGNMENT   [2:50] WITH WHAT OTHER CITIES DO, AND PERHAPS MOST  IMPORTANTLY, IT WOULD PUT BLOOMINGTON INTO   [2:55] ALIGNMENT WITH OUR OWN CITY ORDINANCES. CITY  CODE CURRENTLY REQUIRES PROPERTY OWNERS TO CLEAR   [3:01] SNOW FROM SIDEWALKS ADJACENT TO THEIR HOMES. AS I SAID A LOT OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT HELPED   [3:06] SHAPE THIS PROPOSAL, AND IT’S NOW BEEN VETTED BY  BOTH THE PARKS, ART, AND RECREATION COMMISSION   [3:12] AND THE CITY COUNCIL. STAFF WILL TAKE THE  FEEDBACK THEY HEARD MONDAY AND WILL CONTINUE   [3:16] TO COLLECT RESIDENT FEEDBACK AS WELL, AND THE  PLAN IS TO BRING FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE   [3:22] COUNCIL LATER THIS SUMMER. STAY TUNED. WE ALSO REVIEWED AND ADOPTED PHASE I OF   [3:27] THE MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING ORDINANCE ON MONDAY,  WHICH MODERNIZES RULES FOR DUPLEXES, TOWNHOMES,   [3:33] AND ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS IN BLOOMINGTON. THIS  ONGOING INITIATIVE HELPS SUPPORT A WIDER RANGE OF   [3:39] HOUSING TYPES THAT FIT BETWEEN SINGLE-FAMILY  HOMES AND LARGER APARTMENT BUILDINGS.  [3:44] CHANGES IN THIS PHASE INCLUDE ALLOWING ACCESSORY  DWELLING UNITS TO BE SLIGHTLY LARGER — UP TO 1,000   [3:50] SQUARE FEET — AND REMOVING THE REQUIREMENT THAT  THE PROPERTY OWNER LIVE ON-SITE. FOR DUPLEXES,   [3:55] THE ORDINANCE REDUCES MINIMUM LOT SIZE, ADJUSTS  GARAGE ATTACHMENT AND SETBACK REQUIREMENTS,   [4:01] AND ELIMINATES SOME DESIGN RESTRICTIONS  LIKE MANDATORY GARAGE ORIENTATION AND   [4:05] LANDSCAPING PLANS. FOR TOWNHOMES, THE  CHANGES PROVIDE MORE DESIGN FLEXIBILITY,   [4:10] INCLUDING REMOVING REQUIREMENTS FOR RECESSED AND  STAGGERED GARAGES, WHICH HAVE CREATED CHALLENGES   [4:15] ON SMALLER LOTS OR DON’T TYPICALLY ALIGN  WITH COMMON TOWNHOME DESIGNS AND FLOOR PLANS.  [4:21] THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF ALL OF THESE CHANGES IS  TO HELP LOWER BARRIERS AND INCREASE INCENTIVES   [4:26] FOR CREATING MORE DIVERSE AND AFFORDABLE  HOUSING ACROSS THE CITY. AND OF COURSE,   [4:31] TO DO SO IN A WAY THAT MAINTAINS STANDARDS  AND COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS THAT SUPPORT   [4:36] NEIGHBORHOOD QUALITY AND CHARACTER. THIS IS THE FIRST OF TWO PHASES — THE   [4:41] NEXT ROUND OF CHANGES, INCLUDING OPTIONS  LIKE TRIPLEXES AND COTTAGE COURTS,   [4:45] WILL BE DEVELOPED LATER THIS YEAR WITH  MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC FEEDBACK.  [4:50] ALSO ON MONDAY, I WAS HAPPY TO OFFICIALLY PROCLAIM  MAY 18 THROUGH 24 AS PUBLIC WORKS WEEK IN THE CITY   [4:56] OF BLOOMINGTON. THE PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZES  PUBLIC WORKS SERVICES — INCLUDING WATER,   [5:02] SEWERS, STREETS, PARKS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, WASTE  COLLECTION, AND SNOW REMOVAL — ALL THE THINGS   [5:08] ARE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO THE HEALTH,  SAFETY, AND COMFORT OF THIS COMMUNITY.  [5:13] THE WORK IS ESSENTIAL, BUT FOR THE MOST  PART, THE FOLKS IN PUBLIC WORKS ARE LIKE   [5:18] UMPIRES IN A BASEBALL GAME; THEY’RE AT THEIR  BEST WHEN YOU DON’T EVEN NOTICE THEM. OR AS ONE   [5:23] PERSON PUT IT ON MONDAY NIGHT, PUBLIC WORKS  MAKES NORMAL HAPPEN. THE ROADS GET PLOWED.   [5:30] THE WATER TASTES GREAT. THE STREET LIGHTS COME  ON AT DARK. THE BROKEN WATER MAINS GET FIXED.   [5:35] THE PEOPLE IN BLOOMINGTON PUBLIC WORKS DO AN  OUTSTANDING JOB OF MAKING NORMAL HAPPEN EVERY DAY.  [5:42] PLEASE JOIN ME IN THANKING OUR PUBLIC WORKS  TEAM FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND EXPERTISE,   [5:46] AND TAKE A MOMENT THIS WEEK TO RECOGNIZE THE  CRITICAL WORK THEY DO THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.  [5:51] AND FINALLY TODAY, A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE  WHO CAME OUT TO THE BLOOMINGTON POLICE AND   [5:56] PUBLIC WORKS OPEN HOUSES ON MAY 17. IT WAS  A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO MEET OUR CITY STAFF,   [6:02] CLIMB INTO A SNOWPLOW OR SQUAD CAR, AND LEARN MORE  ABOUT HOW BLOOMINGTON WORKS BEHIND THE SCENES.   [6:08] THE WEATHER WAS BRISK, BUT WE HAD GREAT TURNOUT,  AND LOTS OF SMILING FACES. EVENTS LIKE THESE ARE   [6:15] A REMINDER OF THE STRONG CONNECTION BETWEEN OUR  RESIDENTS AND THE PEOPLE WHO SERVE THIS COMMUNITY   [6:19] EVERY DAY. THANKS FOR MAKING IT SUCH A SUCCESS! THAT WRAPS UP THIS WEEK’S COUNCIL MINUTE. THANKS   [6:26] FOR WATCHING, AND UNTIL NEXT  TIME, STAY SAFE, BLOOMINGTON!