[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!