[0:00] our educators members of the community and those who promote it i'd also like to thank Mayor Busy who just a week ago

[0:07] sat on the stage at the Alumni Mcamera Center during the chamber's annual meeting and talked about the need for a

[0:12] regional vision partnership and solutions to some of the problems that m municipalities face across the state in

[0:19] our current economic environment today is about Bloomington's future its economic development opportunities its

[0:25] place on the national stage and most importantly service to his to its residents thank you Mayor Busy for this

[0:32] continued partnership come on [Applause]

[0:44] up good afternoon everyone welcome uh I am Tim Busy i have

[0:51] the honor I have the pleasure of serving as the mayor of the city of Bloomington and I am so excited to welcome you to

[0:57] our 2025 state of the city address of all of those honors and pleasures I have

[1:02] as mayor this is one of my favorite such great energy in the room so many supporters so many folks that I haven't

[1:09] seen in too long it's so great to see everybody thank you all for being here uh to our chamber friends to my friends

[1:16] to our city staff to supporters to all the folks watching us on Bloomington's

[1:22] YouTube channel welcome we are so glad to have you here so glad that you're part of this as we get started I want to

[1:28] take just a moment to thank our sponsors you've seen their their name up on the screen throughout lunch and if you

[1:35] haven't had a chance to please seek seek them out talk to them they were out in the hall earlier they're they're at

[1:40] tables around you these folks without these folks without these companies we would not be able to do this uh and I

[1:47] want to say to them thank you for your work and thank you every time I go to a Bloomington event a lot of these names

[1:55] are on the sponsor sheet they've always supported Bloomington and it's greatly appreciated i wanted to call them out

[2:01] specifically i want to thank Bloomington Minnesota Travel and Tourism our friends at Mall of America Comcast the

[2:08] Bloomington Community Foundation Centerpoint Energy Commuter Services HSU

[2:15] Construction Larkin Hoffman Normandale Community College T-Mobile Fiber and XL

[2:21] Energy as I said we couldn't do this without you thank you so very very much

[2:33] we have a number of special guests and elected officials that I would like to say uh hello to and acknowledge this

[2:39] afternoon as well uh I want to acknowledge we have our state representative Julie Green where did Julie end up here where is she stand and

[2:47] wave there she is we have John Pacheco who is our Metropolitan Council representative

[2:53] where is John there he is our Henipin County Commissioner Debbie Gutell is

[2:58] here we have an entire table full of school

[3:04] board members right down here uh Matt Dimmick Tom Bennett uh Mia Maya Olsen

[3:09] Heather Starks and Don Styigraph beth BBE I think was registered as well not here but thank you all to our school

[3:14] board we just so appreciate your work we have the superintendent of

[3:20] Bloomington public schools dr eric Melby is here did a bangup job remembered all the words to the pledge of allegiance

[3:26] well done Dr joyce Esther president of Normanddale Community

[3:33] College we have John Gibbs who is the uh chair of the Three Rivers Park District

[3:38] he is here as well and let's see I think that is

[3:43] everybody oh and we also have uh the new president and CEO of Catholic Charities

[3:49] Jamie Verbug Verb Verbage am I saying that right is it Verbage or something like Jamie Verbage ladies and

[3:57] [Applause] gentlemen my friends the state of

[4:03] Bloomington the state of our city is strong we are continuing to advance the

[4:09] priorities of our community-based Bloomington tomorrow together strategic plan which has a mission to cultivate an

[4:16] enduring and remarkable community where people want to be it is so fitting that at an event like

[4:23] this we celebrate the best of Bloomington and we showcase our wonderful community and so many of our

[4:30] successes we work hard to come up with the theme for this event every year best

[4:35] of Bloomington rose to the top very quickly and it was actually it was unanimous well I should say it was

[4:42] almost unanimous there was one member of the executive leadership team who kept insisting that

[4:47] we somehow include the words orange and jumpsuit into the uh the theme and the

[4:55] answer was no it was just flatout no so we we had to move on from that we know that our neighbors our

[5:02] workers our businesses and our nonprofit organizations they show us the best of Bloomington every single day and you

[5:08] being here today because you're an integral part of building an extraordinary future is an important part of that another important part of

[5:16] that is of course your city council members the folks who I work with every Monday night and who I so enjoy setting

[5:22] the po priorities and the uh the uh the the future for the city of Bloomington

[5:27] we met earlier Dwayne Lman council member district 1 sean Nelson represents district two Lona Delisandro who is here

[5:35] with us today district three council member Victor Rivas in district 4 and our two at large council

[5:42] members Jenna Carter and Saw Mua let's give them a round of

[5:48] applause as I said a great group of leaders their contributions have led to meaningful decisions that move this

[5:53] community moving in a positive direction and I really enjoy working with them so thank you all for being here and

[6:00] speaking of local government I have to tell you folks the future in Bloomington looks bright for the past few years I've

[6:08] had the honor of being the moderator and question asker at the Bloomington Citywide Civics Bee it's an annual event

[6:15] organized by our partners at the Bloomington Public Schools the League of Women Voters in the City of Bloomington

[6:21] every seventh grader in the in our middle schools in Bloomington Valley View Olsen and Oak Grove they take part

[6:27] they're tested on their knowledge and understanding of civics the basics of government at all levels through a

[6:33] qualifying exam and then civics bees at their respective schools we go from every seventh grader in the in the

[6:40] system in Bloomington down to nine finalists who come to Civic Plaza for the final event i quiz these students on

[6:46] several rounds of civics related questions each of them did a fantastic job you're seeing our top three

[6:51] finishers right on the screen there congratulations to Euan McDonald from Oak Grove he took first place caleb Lee

[6:58] from Valley View took second place and Parker Anderson from Oak Grove Oak Grove took home third place let's give them a

[7:04] big round of [Applause]

[7:09] applause now those were our winners and but as I said every student there did just a fantastic job and I'll tell you

[7:16] the questions were not easy i've been doing this for a few years now and the questions are not easy and every time I

[7:23] do it and especially this year I got wondering I wonder how members of the general public would do on these civics

[7:31] questions and then I got wondering I wonder how people who are attending the state of the city address would do with

[7:38] these questions and so guess what we are going to find out

[7:44] we have Amber and Ashley coming around with microphones and we are going to ask

[7:49] three questions that the students answered and answered qu correctly and we're going to see how well everybody

[7:55] knows their civics i didn't prep this with anybody in fact people don't even know they're

[8:01] coming i told staff I wanted to see the terror on people's faces that they might get picked to do this so we are going to

[8:08] uh we are going to do this and we are going to start just randomly i thought we'd start how about if we start with a

[8:16] Carlson thing bo Carlson who is the superintendent of the Three Rivers Park District and Charlie Carlson from

[8:25] Centerpoint charlie's dad and I worked together 40 years ago so I thought that was appropriate they will be our first

[8:31] two you got to stand up guys you can't say no you're eating the deal you're eating the meal you got to stand up and we got to do this got to stand up that's

[8:38] me we're going to ask the question the students are going to help ask the question and then you're going to have an opportunity to answer and then we'll

[8:44] get everybody else's feedback as well uh to see what the answers might be i'm ready so here is your first question

[8:51] my name is Yun and my question is which article of the constitution spells out the powers of the presidency a article 1

[8:57] B article 2 C article 3 or D article 4

[9:03] so you read that very fast the question is what article of the Constitution spells out the powers of the presidency

[9:09] article 1 two three or four charlie what do you think i'm going to go with B

[9:15] Article 2 charlie's going with B Article 2 bo what do you think i'm going to go D article 4 crowd what do you all think

[9:22] what do you think it is all right let's see what the real the

[9:28] correct answer is and the correct answer is B article two good job Charlie thank you shoot

[9:39] let's make sure we bring in a couple of our sponsors here i'm going to go with Andrea Mo from Comcast and Rich Hogy

[9:45] from Mall of America to answer question two here and I don't want any assistance

[9:51] from table five over there okay no assistance from table five you got to stand up got to stand up andrea

[9:57] I got the last one right good well you're Let's see if you can go two for two with with no assistance from the

[10:02] table let's see the question oh goodness hi my name is Caleb and my question is

[10:09] the Hen County Commission consists of how many seats a five B 7 C 9 or D 11

[10:21] b andrea seven andrea's going with seven how about you Rich well I can't choose the same answer so Oh you sure could

[10:27] i'll go with A5 a5 crowd what do you think what is it

[10:34] what is our correct answer and the correct answer is B seven very good Andrea well done you're two for two

[10:40] thank you and for our final question I thought I

[10:46] would you know call out and maybe you know recognize maybe get a little bit even with two guys who have kept me at

[10:52] city council meetings longer than anybody that I know so I'm going to start with Bill Griffith from Lark and

[11:00] Hoffman and Mr mark Bernardson who is Bloomington City Manager for 25 years

[11:09] sorry oh boy this is the toughest question of all

[11:14] three so here we go here's your question hi my name is Parker and my question is

[11:22] a member of the US House of Representatives must be at least blank years old a 30 B 25 C 35 D 21

[11:35] a member of the US House must be how many years old we'll start with Mr bernardson

[11:41] i'm going to say B just for intrigue b 25 is what Mark is saying bill we've

[11:47] rarely had the same answer have we Mark i would say B as well b what do you

[11:54] think crowd b we're going with three b what is our answer and the correct

[11:59] answer is B 25 you both got it right congratulations

[12:06] thank you all for playing i hope you enjoyed your civics lessons today thank you to Euan Caleb and Parker for their

[12:12] assistance and as I said congratulations to all our students are participated special thanks again to uh the League of

[12:18] Women Voters Bloomington Schools and the city community outreach and engagement division they helped organizing the

[12:24] event and also a big shout out to all of the social studies teachers at those

[12:29] three buildings they did an outstanding job prepping their students for that

[12:37] competition back to the best of Bloomington there is much to say about the many accomplishments and the key

[12:44] projects that took place and started over the past year in the city of Bloomington let's take a

[12:50] look 2024 was a remarkable year for the city of Bloomington full of many

[12:56] accomplishments new beginnings and times when we were simply the best as we look

[13:01] back a major focus was shaping the future through key investments in spaces that preserve our natural environment

[13:07] and bring people together the Bloomington Forward projects guided by invaluable community input saw

[13:14] remarkable strides throughout the year the transformation began with the groundbreaking of the Bloomington Ice

[13:20] Garden modernization project ensuring that this 50-year-old community amenity

[13:25] will continue to serve future generations meanwhile the Community Health and Wellness Center is moving

[13:31] closer to reality with design work that shows the possibilities of a facility that will support recreational and

[13:37] fitness activities and community programs that residents throughout our region will enjoy the 9M Creek Corridor

[13:44] renewal project also gained momentum with many community engagement events that allowed residents to take part in

[13:51] its evolving vision looking ahead to 2025 two major park projects Bryant Park

[13:56] and Treadbot Park will soon be realized bryant Park will be home to the city's first fully accessible playground making

[14:03] play more inclusive for all treadbot Park is being reimagined into a bike skills park offering a space where

[14:10] cyclists of all ages can grow and learn economic growth continued to shape

[14:16] Bloomington's identity the inaugural year of the Hatch Bloomington contest showcased outstanding business ideas

[14:21] with Scrambling Egg taking home the $100,000 prize their journey from food

[14:27] truck to brick and mortar at 7828 Portland Avenue South is a testament to

[14:32] the city's entrepreneurial spirit several local businesses also expanded their footprint luro Boots settled into

[14:38] a larger space on Portland Avenue while Europoulos reinvigorated its corner at 90th and Penn with a beautifully

[14:45] renovated space celebrating its popular Greek cuisine several businesses including Waffle Bar Perkup Kitchen

[14:52] Backstory Coffee Clawzone Park Wilderness Inquiry and TKDA joined our

[14:57] vibrant commercial landscape and larger industry leaders like Polar Semiconductor and Skywater Technology

[15:03] will continue to invest in the Bloomington community expanding production through federal chips act funding meanwhile new developments at

[15:10] Southtown signal continued growth for the city bloomington received numerous accolades in 2024 underscoring the

[15:17] city's commitment to excellence once again the city earned the distinction of best in glass for the highest quality

[15:24] tap water in Minnesota an honor awarded by the Minnesota section of the American Waterworks Association the Minneapolis

[15:30] Regional Chamber recognized Bloomington at the Leaders and Innovators Awards celebrating the police department's

[15:36] Bloomington Community Brain Health Services Program in its public safety category and the 9M Creek Corridor

[15:41] Renewal Project for its dedication to sustainability health and wellness remained a central focus based on

[15:47] resident feedback and community data bloomington was honored with a 2024 voice of the people award for

[15:53] transformation in health and wellness from PCO and the international city county management association our arts

[16:00] and culture scene also received national recognition bloomington was named one of the top arts communities in the US with

[16:07] the Minneapolis St paul Bloomington metro area ranking fifth in the 2024

[16:12] arts vibrancy index a reflection of our city's thriving creative energy creative

[16:17] placemaking is an integral part of making this work happen in 2024 unveiling new art boxes the South Loop

[16:24] Community Garden in partnership with Parks and Recreation a CO 19 memorial in partnership with public health and

[16:30] Latino Nature Fest at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center additionally the creation of a

[16:37] citywide creative placemaking plan is underway with engagement efforts including 20 artistled pop-up activities

[16:43] throughout the summer to help shape the plan clear effective and transparent communications continue to be a priority

[16:51] with Bloomington earning state and national recognition for projects such as the Bloomington Forward Education

[16:57] Campaign the corporate report to the community the Bloomington briefing newsletter and Bloomington Today news

[17:02] show as well as a lifetime achievement award from the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators for

[17:09] Communications Administrator Janine Hill recognizing her leadership and outstanding accomplishments in the

[17:15] profession as we reflect on a year of growth achievement and community spirit one thing remains clear bloomington is

[17:22] not just moving forward it is thriving with purpose resilience and a shared

[17:27] vision for the future

[17:33] [Applause]

[17:39] as you saw in the video and as I'm sure you know in November 2023 Bloomington voters approved a new half percent sales

[17:45] tax to provide community investments totaling $155 million the funding is for

[17:51] renovations to Bloomington Ice Garden a new community health and wellness center and enhancing and protect protecting the

[17:57] NineM Creek corridor and Moyer and Central Parks these projects are well underway if you've driven past you've

[18:03] seen that the construction fence is up at Bloomington Ice Garden it closed earlier this month to undergo major

[18:09] renovations to enhance the experience for athletes fans and visitors these upgrades include new rink floors and

[18:15] dasher boards a state-of-the-art refrigeration system and a new roof additionally rink three is slimming down

[18:21] from its Olympic size down to a more typical NHL size rink the improvements

[18:27] don't stop there seating areas locker rooms restrooms and the concession areas are all getting a muchneeded refresh and

[18:34] this fall just in time for the hockey season you are all welcomed back for a big ribbon cutting at Big the Nine Mile

[18:42] Creek Corridor Renewal Project team continues to be busy at work moving into the schematic design phase of this

[18:48] project this is the first phase of design where the details in the project actually start to come to life the next

[18:53] round of engagement is actually next week on March 26th you are all invited where attendees can review the progress

[18:59] and provide comments to help fine-tune the design construction is anticipated to begin next year and it's an exciting

[19:07] time for the new community health and wellness center as well in April the city council will be reviewing schematic

[19:12] design and once that design is approved we'll know specifics about what kind of amenities will be in the new center

[19:19] right now the draft design includes spaces for aquatics indoor play exercise an indoor walking track group fitness

[19:26] classes a cafe and many many multi-purpose rooms that can be used for things like senior programming and other

[19:33] community programming all of this of course as they say is subject to change and pending official approval but it's safe

[19:40] to say that this new center will provide an inclusive gathering space for the entire Bloomington community welcoming

[19:45] people of all ages interests and abilities with something for everyone to enjoy beyond the Bloomington projects

[19:52] for beyond the Bloomington forward projects we continue to have a sharp focus on economic development in

[19:58] Bloomington i'm so excited to announce that in February the city approved its

[20:03] first ever citywide economic development strategic plan you heard that right the

[20:08] first ever citywide economic development strategic plan our port authority will direct the work and guide the plan and

[20:15] it will serve as a guide over the next 5 years to position Bloomington as an economic leader in the region

[20:22] this is a plan for Bloomington's economy we want to make sure that we are engaging those stakeholders that are

[20:28] most invested in the economy we've done a lot of community engagement the city is really here to serve us and so the

[20:34] city can't do its work can't meet its mission can't um solve for some of the issues if they don't hear from the

[20:40] people who live here and the people who work here the plan is guided by a 13 member steering committee these are

[20:46] business owners community members representative of large employers and

[20:51] universities that all have an interest in making sure that Bloomington's economy is strong and growing

[20:57] bloomington is one of our larger cities and they provide a lot to the state and

[21:05] local economy when people come to tour to decide shall I move here shall I come and attend this school it matters to

[21:12] them what they arrive at how it looks how safe and welcoming it feels to them

[21:18] i had a really good experience opening a business in Bloomington i found a lot of the city officials were super helpful

[21:24] very responsive i do think that there are some old procedures and policies or maybe even rules in place in Bloomington

[21:31] that really need to be revamped and I think being on this committee I can hopefully help influence that so that

[21:37] the next businesses that come to Bloomington find it just a little bit easier to navigate it's probably no surprise that we will continue to focus

[21:44] on small business that's been a big priority for the city we're also hoping to really celebrate some of our

[21:49] high-tech manufacturing here in Bloomington including the semiconductor industry we will of course continue to

[21:55] support our hospitality industry as well we'll be looking at developing more

[22:00] intentional relationships with workforce development partners and make sure we have the employees who are ready and

[22:06] trained to fill the jobs of the future here in Bloomington we want to see our Bloomington residents being able to be

[22:11] employed here in industries close to their homes and finally the small business community brings so much

[22:16] richness and authenticity to Bloomington

[22:23] as we move forward with our work with the business community it's important to know what the business community is

[22:29] thinking so last year we sent out a business survey randomly and anonymously to 400 Bloomington businesses the survey

[22:36] showed that the city of Bloomington and our business community partners have a strong and productive relationship some

[22:42] important takeaways from that uh that uh survey communication is of course key

[22:48] and communication between the city and the business community is highly rated businesses also expect value we all do

[22:55] and the survey showed that the value of city services is ranked at the top of the metro area and that acknowledgement

[23:02] of value is even higher when business owners have a full understanding about the city share of their property tax

[23:07] bill respondents rated the business climate as 97% excellent or good they

[23:13] also rated the labor pool high with quality receiving 96% and quantity 95%

[23:19] as excellent or good businesses cited five major reasons for locating in Bloomington customer base space

[23:26] availability proximity to home quality of life and location location location

[23:33] which is just one thing that isn't three things that's just one thing concerns we heard from businesses were no surprise

[23:38] and they're the same concerns I think we all have inflation the cost of doing business taxes and high rent and

[23:45] leases our new citywide economic development plan also acknowledges that a one-sizefits-all fits all approach

[23:52] doesn't really work our entrepreneurs our existing and growing small businesses and our large employers all

[23:57] have different needs and with the expanded resources in our port authority we are doing more to meet those needs

[24:03] for our entrepreneurs Hatch Bloomington is truly the best of Bloomington as the

[24:08] video said and I hope you have heard Hatch is a pitch competition where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas

[24:14] to a panel of judges and to the public the top prize is $100,000 and support to

[24:19] open a brick-and-mortar retail business right here in Bloomington last year the city partnered with our partners at the

[24:24] Minneapolis Chamber and it was a huge success thank you so much to them and our winner as you saw was our friends at

[24:30] Scrambling Egg congratulations to Grant Venheimer and Nick Peterson they make a killer breakfast sandwich the opening of

[24:38] their permanent space a fast casual egg ccentric restaurant in the Town and Country Shopping Center at Portland and

[24:43] American Boulevard is just around the corner be on the lookout for the ribbon cutting grant and Nick were going to be

[24:49] with us here today but of course they're businessmen and the weather is nice enough that they've got their food truck

[24:55] out already so they're not able to join us but congratulate them next time you do see them beyond the winners we want

[25:02] Hatch to be a resource to everyone who participates whether it's refining the business pitch developing the network or

[25:08] getting advice from experts we want the journey to be as beneficial as the ultimate destination we had a great

[25:15] bunch of business ideas entered in last year's contest and two other finalists who made it to the top three include

[25:21] Muna Muhammad founder of Calony Modest uh Calony Activeware it's a modest and

[25:26] culturally culturally sensitive activewear company and Ray Ray Salaban who's the founder of

[25:33] Nunan African Restaurant and Cuisine raina is with us today

[25:38] [Applause] congratulations hatch also provided

[25:45] Bloomington with some great visibility and positioned Bloomington as an exciting place to do business our

[25:50] monitoring service estimated that media coverage reached a combined potential audience of 56.3 million people with a

[25:58] total publicity value of $653,000 now that's on a $50,000

[26:03] investment that's what you call return on investment and folks we are 10 short

[26:08] days away from opening this year's Hatch Bloomington competition mark your calendars for March 31st for more

[26:15] information please visit hatchbloomington.com now you heard in the video about just

[26:20] some of the new business openings over the past years those those ribbon cutings and those groundbreings are one

[26:26] thing that I absolutely love to do as mayor i love meeting the owners and their families and their supporters and

[26:32] I think it's really important to be there and to congratulate them on arguably which is probably the biggest

[26:38] day of their lives opening their own business and to say thank you to them for choosing Bloomington and for opening

[26:44] their business here you know but something about these photos if you take a look when we went through these

[26:50] something stood out to me if you look I'm literally wearing the same outfit in every at every ribbon cutting and

[26:57] they're not all on the same day and if we scroll down a little bit you'd see I'm wearing the same khaki pants now I

[27:03] think this is a staff issue somebody needs to say "Dude get a different shirt." But and to be clear uh I went

[27:09] back last year and I looked what I wore to this event to avoid that very thing so I was not wearing this suit

[27:16] beyond our entrepreneurs uh Bloomington has an exciting mix of small and medium-sized businesses and the city is

[27:22] doing more to assist with their success as well the facade improvement program offers matching grants of up to $25,000

[27:30] to cover project costs for businesses to improve their curb appeal building

[27:35] facade signage sidewalks patios lighting and so much more welcoming Wednesdays is a monthly

[27:41] session that supports startups and entrepreneurs to connect with business resources that are available at no cost

[27:48] and Elevate Henipin offers free advising services and other resources to start a business to take on establish to take or

[27:55] to take an established business to the next level and that's thanks to our partners at Henipin County so thank you so very much to them and the final piece

[28:03] of this economic development puzzle that we've been working on is with our larger employers a few weeks ago I had the

[28:08] privilege of hosting Bloomington's inaugural CEO summit which brought together leaders of our largest

[28:14] companies to discuss econ economic development and collaboration the idea of the summit was to strengthen

[28:20] relationships to drive growth innovation and a stronger future for the city executives from companies like Health

[28:26] Partners Seagate Toro Mall of America they joined us to talk about key initiatives recent developments and

[28:32] strategies to attract talent and retain business attendees shared just how

[28:37] valuable this all was as we all suspected these folks that didn't necessarily know each other and to sit

[28:44] down to talk and to develop those relationships was very beneficial and this is just the beginning we plan to

[28:50] keep this conversation going with future summits and ongoing engagement we have plenty of exciting

[28:56] redevelopment underway in our city in both business expansions and with our housing development let's take a look

[29:03] over the past year Bloomington has experienced notable redevelopment marked by several property renovations and new

[29:10] developments schneiderman's Furniture converted an office building into their newest showroom and retail space luther

[29:17] Hyundai expanded its operation and Waler Toyota completed construction on its new

[29:22] combined dealership and corporate headquarters industrial expansions are underway at Seagate and Six Sensors

[29:29] began construction on a new office building in the South Loop District this year 2024 was another successful year

[29:36] for multif family residential developments with the opening of three major apartment complexes Noble Aror and

[29:43] Oxboro Heights senior apartments construction also began on the Knox Rosalyn and Ever Apartments which will

[29:50] all include affordable units since 2020 the city has seen the addition of nearly

[29:56] 2,900 new multif family units with roughly another 1,200 units currently

[30:01] under construction or in the pipeline of these 4,100 units 875 are affordable

[30:08] housing in 2024 new construction contributed more than $128 million in

[30:14] added assessed value to the city with several projects in the pipeline 2025 is

[30:19] poised to be another strong year for development in

[30:25] Bloomington of course if we're talking about the best of Bloomington we have to talk about our hospitality industry

[30:32] bloomington continues to be number one in hotel occupancy rates compared to a group of peer cities that we generally

[30:38] look at now occupancy rates are not just a vanity thing they are a key indicator

[30:43] occupancy rates directly impact revenue they inform pricing and marketing strategies and most importantly they

[30:50] indicate market demand bloomington is in demand if you'll notice all of those

[30:56] cities that were on the screen there they are much larger than Bloomington they are regional centers many of them

[31:01] are state capitals our partners at Bloomington Minnesota Travel and Tourism do outstanding work promoting

[31:07] Bloomington hotels and our amenities and they work closely with our friends in Minneapolis and St paul to bring in big

[31:12] events and speaking of the best of Bloomington each year Bloomington Travel and Tourism hosts their annual Diamond

[31:19] Service Award this year will be their 27th annual event the Diamond Service Award honors individuals on the front

[31:25] lines of hospitality the service workers like the dishwashers bartenders and shuttle bus drivers people who in many

[31:33] cases are the face of Bloomington for visitors who come to Bloomington and these are the people who contribute to

[31:39] Bloomington's success as a first rate destination our city staff also play an important role in the diamond service

[31:45] awards bloomington health inspectors the city's advisory board of health and the city's environmental health staff all

[31:50] have a hand in selecting recipients of food safety awards now we have looked

[31:56] and there is not another city or region that does this type of celebratory recognition of the service industry

[32:02] people who play such an important role of the success of our hospitality industry if you haven't been before I'd

[32:10] encourage you to go tickets are available the one word that I would use to describe the diamond service awards

[32:15] is joyous it is a lot of fun and you really should experience it if you can folks we are now at the point of the

[32:23] state of the city presentation that over the years has come to be the most highly anticipated part of this presentation i

[32:30] know you've been waiting for it you've been wanting it to happen you've been wondering when it's going to be here

[32:35] that's right folks now is the time for us to talk about the 494 project that's

[32:41] right it's kind of like the inmemoriam section of the Oscars but not as much

[32:47] fun here's the update work is going on here's the update work is going to

[32:53] continue for the next four years now to distract from that reality you'll see on the screen a really cool drone shot

[33:00] looking down at the project and I'm supposed to say something about easy pass lanes or new pavements or bridges

[33:06] but all you're going to remember are four more years and this cool drone shot that's all we've got to remember because

[33:11] really that's what we have to say about it and we will move

[33:19] on switching gears from a business perspective to the work that we do internally at Civic Plaza it's time for

[33:27] me to take a bit of mayor's prerogative and do a little bragging about the outstanding work being done by the men

[33:32] and women who provide first class municipal services to the residents and the businesses of Bloomington let me

[33:40] share with you some of the best of what's happening within our city organization as you might know our city

[33:45] manager of 10 years Jamie Verugi left in December to lead Catholic Charities we are now in the capable hands the more

[33:52] than capable hands of our two assistant city managers Kathy Haden and Elizabeth Tolsman they are sharing the leadership

[33:57] duties of the top position in the interim i want them to stand up so you can all see who they are and meet them

[34:03] there's Kathy there's

[34:09] Elizabeth they are doing fantastic work and we fully will keep you all informed as we move forward filling this

[34:16] important leadership position our finance department is on a run of success and excellence that dates

[34:23] back more than half a century which means it dates back longer than most of our city council members have been alive

[34:29] again this year Bloomington was awarded the certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting for

[34:35] the city's annual report that makes 53 years in a row that Bloomington has received this award that's the longest

[34:41] active streak among Minnesota cities bloomington again received the distinguished budget presentation award

[34:47] for the 29th year in a row and for good measure the city received the award for outstanding achievement in popular

[34:53] annual financial reporting that's 25 years in a row now the Government Finance Officers Association just

[35:00] doesn't hand these things out they are significant awards and they reflect our city's finance department's commitment

[35:06] to transparency high standards and the adherence to the highest principles of government budgeting it's outstanding

[35:12] work that they do now the fact that we're here I think tells me that you all uh enjoy as I do

[35:18] living and working in the city of Bloomington and according to our 2024 National Community Survey we are in good

[35:25] company when asked to rank Bloomington as a place to live 89% of our respondents rated our city as excellent

[35:32] or good overall quality of life here ranked highly too with 84% of rep

[35:37] respondents also saying excellent or good here's a snapshot of other notable areas residents provided high ratings

[35:44] for this community's ability to attract and then to value and respect people of diverse

[35:50] backgrounds no surprise as you saw earlier residents continued to praise the quality of drinking water in the

[35:55] city of Bloomington after seeing a decline in 2023 ratings for street repair rebounded

[36:01] sharply in 2024 which is always a good thing trended upward to 63% positive and

[36:06] it's the highest score that this survey item has ever received when we began since we began surveying continuing a

[36:12] trend seen in 2023 residents shared a more positive outlook on the economy's impact on their family's income in the

[36:18] next six months and I'm happy to report that respondents said the value of the services for taxes paid increased from

[36:24] 56 to 63% of course the lion share of the work

[36:30] the value that comes from all of this comes from the staff who provide those services and I want to introduce you to

[36:35] a few of them let me introduce you to Bernardet Gillespie a building official who has been with the city for 10 years

[36:41] bernardet was recently featured in an article about women in the construction industry in the building safety journal

[36:47] in for women in construction week folks there are only 10 female building officials in the entire state of

[36:53] Minnesota bernardet leads a team that reviews and inspects all buildings for their compliance with the Minnesota

[36:58] State Building Code in 2024 the division performed almost 19,000 inspections more

[37:04] than 3,000 plan reviews and took more than 24,000 calls for inspections and questions great work i know Bernardet is

[37:11] here i think she is here where she There she is stand up and wave

[37:17] Bernardet congratulations on this well-deserved recognition as you all know the

[37:23] Bloomington community continues to place high value on public safety services police fire and public work services

[37:28] they are at the core of what we do as a city and folks our Bloomington Police Department is the best in the state of

[37:35] Minnesota they get the work done as evidenced by overall crime being reduced by almost 8% over the last three years

[37:42] and that work is reflected in the results of the community survey that I talked about nine out of 10 respondents

[37:48] said they felt safe in their neighborhoods and in Bloomington's commercial areas similarly eight and 10

[37:53] respondents reported feeling safe from violent crime and property crime and in addition to doing the job our

[37:59] Bloomington police officers do the job right serving under the core value of

[38:04] respect we just learned that in May Synergy and Leadership Exchange an

[38:10] advocate for character and ethical leadership development will present a 2025 Minnesota Ethical Leadership Award

[38:16] to Bloomington Police chief Hodgeges and Deputy Chief Bitney are here gentlemen thank you for your work and your

[38:22] leadership congratulations on the award

[38:32] so one concerning item in our community survey was the fact that the ratings for the availability of affordable quality

[38:39] mental health care declined 15% from 2023 we recognize this is a need in our

[38:45] community it's a need everywhere and we are responding last year police in collaboration with our outstanding

[38:52] public health staff kicked off the Bloomington Community Brain Health Services Program which serves residents

[38:57] who are in crisis and post crisis the program arranges for immediate appropriate emergency medical care and

[39:04] referrals to Henipin County Social Workers but the key to the program is that they then follow up with postcrisis

[39:11] stabilization through intermediate access to mental health treatment services at no cost and the immediate

[39:18] access to care is critical rather than waiting weeks for follow-up care people in crisis get help within hours to date

[39:26] 74 individuals couples and families have been referred for services and more than 40 referrals who have used the service

[39:32] continue with mental health treatment the program was recognized with an award from the Minneapolis Chamber last year

[39:38] and I'm pleased to announce that this program will receive the Excellence in Innovation Award from the Minnesota

[39:44] Chiefs of Police Association this year

[39:53] c congratulations to our police our public health and to marriage and family licensed therapists Janet Gates and Luke

[39:59] Campbell for initiating this first in Minnesota program so well done our Bloomington Optimist Club

[40:06] Respect for Law Award was presented to police officer Andy Plant this year officer Plant joined BPD in 2020 2004

[40:14] and over the past two decades he's served on several specialty assignments including as a crime technician field

[40:19] training officer honor guard member range officer and a mobile field force squad leader as an honor guard member he

[40:26] attends funerals throughout the state while leading the team in honoring officers who have died in the line of duty officer Plant was also the

[40:33] recipient of BPD's officer of the year award this year congratulations to Officer Plant

[40:42] on the civilian side public safety telecommunicator Michelle Martinson was named the BPD civilian staff member of

[40:47] the year michelle serves as a hostage negotiator communications training officer and a command post operator she

[40:54] uh received multiple nominations for this award and they came in referencing her exceptional dedication and hard work

[41:00] while demonstrating respect in all her interactions congratulations to

[41:08] Michelle our Bloomington Fire Department continues their work to build the combination full-time and paid on call

[41:14] roster they will add 18 firefighters at the end of this month thanks to a federal grant that we really really hope

[41:21] doesn't go away that additional staff will continue to improve our service levels and to better meet the public

[41:27] safety needs for our community and folks they are busy the department responded to nearly 10,500 calls for service in

[41:34] 2024 and to more than 1,000 calls in January of this year alone chief Seal

[41:40] and Deputy Chief Forester are here thank you for your work gentle gentlemen i think Chief for Forester and Chief Seal

[41:46] where was he there he is thank you very

[41:51] much we are proud to recognize Ron Crook as the 2024 firefighter of the year ron

[41:57] started as a paid on call firefighter in 2016 before going full-time as a firefighter and fire inspector in 2022

[42:04] he tackles everything from fire operations and investigations to inspections and community education and

[42:10] I do want to say and I want to I say this with complete respect and and recognition Ron looks like a firefighter

[42:17] doesn't he i mean that's what a firefighter should like let's congratulate Ron he

[42:27] Now the police and the firefighters get all the publicity and love but excellence runs deep in our city staff i

[42:32] want you to meet fleet technician Joe Lizden joe works on everything from small lawnmowers to large specialty

[42:38] equipment now all of our city technicians are fantastic combined they have 169 automotive service excellence

[42:45] certifications which is fantastic as I said but Joe has achieved his worldclass

[42:50] technician certification now since the worldclass technician certification was established 35 years ago only 2,000

[42:59] people out of of out of a quarter million certified technicians nationwide

[43:04] have received this certification joe is here today where's Joe where is There he

[43:09] is there's

[43:15] Joe we received word this week that Joe will be appearing on an upcoming WCCCO

[43:21] Sunday morning show thanks for all you do Joe to keep the fleet moving and for the work you do keeping Bloomington safe

[43:27] thank you so very much our utility crews also deserve a shout out this winter was mild I guess

[43:34] by Minnesota winter standards but it was tough on underground infrastructure with very limited snow cover and temperatures

[43:40] that pinballed from 20 below to 40 degrees and back down to 10 below it really took its toll on the underground

[43:46] infrastructure especially our water manes in January and February of this year utility crews worked on 16 water

[43:53] mane breaks and to put that in perspective during the same time last year we had only seen three water mane

[43:59] breaks thank you so much to these crews for braving sometimes brutal brutal

[44:05] weather conditions in the middle of the night doing the work necessary to make sure that the water works let's give

[44:11] them a round of applause

[44:17] also not only do our public safety personnel have all the right moves when it comes to public service they also

[44:23] take the time to have just a little bit of fun in our online community

[44:29] [Music]

[44:44] yeah this is the police

[44:49] emergency emergency dr [Applause]

[44:55] beat emergency e [Music]

[45:17] in total these Instagram reels were viewed more than 768,000 times they garnered more than 32,000 likes 600

[45:25] comments and were shared 12,000 times uh in fact overall in just six months the

[45:30] city's Instagram has received nearly 1 million views and has attracted more than 52,000 interactions a shout out to

[45:37] our communications staff and uh all of city staff who contribute to this engaging way of just having a little bit

[45:43] of fun in the work that we do well done to our communications

[45:49] team now whether you own your own business live or work in our city you

[45:55] are an essential part of the best of Bloomington let me take a minute let's

[46:00] take a minute to introduce you to some of the innovative talented caring people

[46:06] whose contributions make this community special i've always been interested in art the

[46:13] decision to like officially call myself an artist has come in fits and spurts i'm Jamie Schumacher Kalakaram i am an

[46:21] artist author and mom living in Bloomington i've never had a boring life i love costumes you know it's a big part

[46:28] of it so my name is Rit Feldis found and I'm the founder and director of the

[46:34] Continental Ble Company for 35 years perkup Kitchen is a place for the

[46:39] community to gather meet friends and family and enjoy a unique homemade meal we also own Westside Kirk coffee shop i

[46:47] think that we fell in love with the community we were able to build a really great clientele of people at the coffee

[46:53] shop being raised by my grandmother she was all about making sure I know my family and know my friends but also know

[47:00] my history my name is Chris Peterson i work at Normanddale Community College in the campus store bookstore area so I

[47:05] wanted to give the students opportunity to learn a little bit of history whether it's Hispanic Heritage Month or Black History Month to do a pop-up museum this

[47:12] was my dream from when I was a little to open an arcade place i love claw machines i love everything that I have

[47:19] into this place i'm Andrew Tan i'm a co-owner of uh Clausone Park it's our

[47:24] first business that we actually opened so this is my most recent book it's a children's book it's called Half a World

[47:30] Away i wrote it and did the illustrations i received a loft fellowship they have a really great

[47:35] program for children's literature which is meant to encourage more diversity in children's literature i'm really lucky

[47:40] to get to serve on Bloomington's Creative Placemaking Commission we've got a really great commission here i was born in Grace in Holland one of my

[47:48] friends took me to a studio right away I knew I was going to do that i loved it

[47:53] there is not a classic company who brings all the classic pieces like Swan Lake the Sleeping Beauty bloom is so

[48:00] lucky to have the company not about me but about the company we have professional beautiful dancers most of

[48:07] our staff there are Bloomington residents so we just really love the people and knew that they would be

[48:13] supportive of us coming in this new venture here we are a familyowned local

[48:19] business and we appreciate the support from the community when I hear stuff that they didn't know it just gives me

[48:24] an opportunity to see what I'm going to do next year i think that's one of the big importance of me trying to do what I

[48:30] can for the students you know because I don't know where they're from but I would love to know where they're going

[48:35] clone Park is a place for family and kids and everyone to come out to have fun and good time for entertainment and

[48:42] we are glad to have this in city of Broomton

[48:49] please join me in thanking our notable

[48:57] neighbors with us here today are Jamie Schumacher Kalakamava Chris Peterson

[49:04] Reit Vanhousen Vanderblé and Andrew Tan why don't you stand up and give everybody a wave please

[49:17] now we all know that when uh families are looking for a city to live in uh who the mayor is is pretty well down the

[49:23] list at the top of the list of course is our school system our education system throughout the community and we when we

[49:30] talk about the best of Bloomington we absolutely need to include our Bloomington schools and our institutions

[49:35] of higher learning let's start with Normandale normandale is Minnesota's largest community college the second

[49:42] largest institution in the Minnesota State system with the third largest undergraduate enrollment of any public

[49:48] college or university in the state and is one of the state's most affordable colleges normandale is among a handful

[49:54] of two-year colleges in the nation that are nationally accredited in art music and theater and the nursing program

[50:00] recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of accreditation president Joyce Esther the powerhouse

[50:07] that leads the

[50:15] organization was named a 2024 women in business honore by the Minneapolis St paul Business

[50:21] Journal this January Northwestern Health Sciences University welcomed its largest new student winter term class ever their

[50:28] enrollment now tops 10,000 students the College of Chiropractic continues to graduate the next generation of

[50:34] professionals in the chiropractic field with graduates ranking number two in board scores across the country its

[50:40] fastest growing program is postbalorate prehealth which helps students get enrolled in medical schools across the

[50:47] country and the university was recently awarded a grant by the Minnesota opioid epidemic response advisory council to

[50:53] develop and distribute online healthcare professional continuing education courses they do outstanding work at

[50:59] Northwestern Health Sciences and our Bloomington public schools under the leadership of Super

[51:06] Nintendo Dr eric Melby and our great partners on the school board are a point of enormous pride for the city of

[51:13] Bloomington i will ask you all mark your calendars now april 15th is the state of

[51:18] the schools address i know they would love to see us all there i will certainly be there and looking forward to it washurn Elementary School will

[51:26] become a district-wide early childhood and welcome center this fall housing early childhood and preschool programs

[51:32] currently located at Pond Southwood and different school sites the district is connecting with students with

[51:38] opportunities in the critical semiconductor field through partnerships with Seagate Skywater Polar and TEL and

[51:44] with a collaboration with Henipin Technical College construction is set to begin this summer

[51:50] on new stadiums at Kennedy and Jefferson high schools including new t new artificial turf improved and increased

[51:56] seating and other improvements to provide a real home game experience for our student athletes the new stadiums of

[52:02] course replace Bloomington Stadium which hosted the two schools for more than 50

[52:07] years jodie Carfell is a language arts teacher at Olsson Middle School and she is one of 31 semi-finalists from

[52:14] Minnesota Teacher of the Year jod's a homegrown Bloomington teacher she attended Olsen Junior High and graduated

[52:20] from Jefferson she's been teaching at Olsen Middle School for her entire 30-year career which is also the school

[52:27] she attended as a student now semi-finalists for teacher of the year were selected from a group of 142

[52:33] candidates from across the state including five from Bloomington Public Schools jod is here with us today where

[52:38] is Jod there she is stand up and give away best of luck Jod

[52:48] and Normanddale Hills Elementary music teacher Jeff Zuper also known as Mr z is

[52:53] the recipient of an inclusive educator award for his work to support the inclusion of unique learners the award

[53:00] is given by Intermediate School District 917 which provides specialized programming to member districts

[53:05] including Bloomington public schools jeff was nominated and recognized for fostering an inclusive learning

[53:11] environment for deaf and heart of hearing students let's learn more about Mr z

[53:17] all right okay he's really kind and very funny

[53:23] every single day he includes kids a lot in what he does he's approachable and

[53:28] welcoming you can go like horse feet clap clap clap he's just a wonderful person to be around my name is Jeff

[53:34] Zupford i teach elementary music i've been at Normanddale Hills in Bloomington here for 29 years that's a gratitude

[53:41] matter he creates original songs for Normandale Hills and they truly become a soundtrack for the lives and the journey

[53:47] that our students have as they grow kindergarten through fifth grade mr z received the inclusive educator award

[53:52] from district 917 who is a district that serves a variety of districts to provide

[53:58] paras for kids who have special needs and I was nominated by our DHH interpreter one of the reasons she

[54:05] thought of nominating him is because he has created songs that incorporate sign language you are not alone i know it's a

[54:12] cliche but it was humbling to get that award just because I know so many of the people at Normanddale Hills do that work

[54:18] of inclusion it's a great affirmation to get that but it's also like something that's truly shared and is part of the

[54:24] DNA of Normale Hills the songs a lot of them like talk about how people can be

[54:30] included no matter how they came here or what race they are they're still included no matter what he's the best

[54:37] teacher he always help us he is so kind it's so good to have him

[54:44] [Music] my friends please welcome Mr z and

[54:50] students from Normanddale Hills Elementary

[55:03] good afternoon everybody um we are super glad to be here in this room full of

[55:08] VIPs we are a little sad because we had to miss some school to be here but uh we

[55:14] will do our best um we have this little ritual at Normanddale Hills when we get

[55:20] together as a school which is quite a bit once a month um just to kind of make everyone feel like we're together in

[55:26] this so we're gonna change it up just a little bit but could everybody go like this and to yourself right here where

[55:32] your heart is and say "I am Bloomington." I am Bloomington that was okay i am Bloomington i am Bloomington

[55:40] all right find somebody you came with somebody you know look them in the eye and say "You are Bloomington." You are

[55:46] Bloomington find somebody you don't know do something very unm Minnesota find

[55:51] somebody you don't know and look at him and say "You are Bloomington." You are Bloomington

[55:58] nice um let's give these kids a look everybody just the grown-ups say "You

[56:03] are Bloomington." You are Bloomington and we can say it to them too kids say "You are Bloomington." You are

[56:10] Bloomington and one more big one here everybody say "We are Bloomington." We are Bloomington

[56:17] got a little song for you you and me you and me

[56:24] [Music]

[56:32] wherever you're from wherever you're from or how far how far

[56:38] you belong

[56:44] let these many feet Let these feet

[56:51] we need every voice we need every voice

[56:56] [Music] got that clap everybody three in a row

[57:02] you can do it you and me

[57:10] here it [Music] comes nice wherever you're from

[57:19] you're far belong [Music]

[57:24] [Applause] we're on the same road we're on the same road so let's

[57:31] share you are not alone you are not alone you

[57:37] have found a home where you belong everybody clap that out

[57:45] you and me you and me

[57:51] we belong

[57:58] s here you and me

[58:04] we belong [Music] all right i see the mayor is starting to

[58:09] join in a little bit let's get everybody up let's stretch a little bit come on if you can stand up if you are able

[58:17] the children will lead you let's sing it let's show it you and me we

[58:25] we belong here come the class

[58:31] you and me let's hear it you and me come on grown-ups

[58:38] [Music] just the grown-ups let's hear you and me

[58:44] you and me there it is [Music]

[58:53] everybody big finish you and me last time you and me

[59:02] we belong jazz hands jazz hands on this one

[59:14] take a bow take a bow come

[59:31] on thank you Mr z thank you so very much for the students hope you didn't miss

[59:36] too much class [Applause]

[59:51] and what a wonderful way to wrap up our 2024 state of the city or 2025 state of

[59:57] the city address thank you all so very much for being here thank you for your

[1:00:03] involvement your commitment to and your love of the city of Bloomington thank you so very much everybody have a

[1:00:08] wonderful first full weekend uh of spring thank you much