Common Council Regular Session

In the Council Chambers of the Showers City Hall, Bloomington, COMMON COUNCIL Indiana on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 at 6:30pm, Council REGULAR SESSION President Isabel Piedmont-Smith presided over a Regular Session of 14 February 2024 the Common Council. Councilmembers present: Isak Nti Asare, Matt Flaherty, Isabel ROLL CALL [6:31pm] Piedmont-Smith, Dave Rollo, Kate Rosenbarger, Andrew (Andy) Ruff, Hopi Stosberg, Sydney Zulich Councilmembers present via Zoom: none Councilmembers absent: none Council President Isabel Piedmont-Smith gave a land and labor AGENDA SUMMATION [6:31pm] acknowledgment and summarized the agenda. Stosberg moved and Ruff seconded to suspend the rules to consider APPROVAL OF MINUTES [6:33pm] the minutes for approval. The motion was approved by voice vote. July 26, 2023 – Regular Session Stosberg moved and Ruff seconded to approve the minutes of July August 02, 2023 – Regular Session 26, 2023, August 02, 2023, August 09, 2023, August 16, 2024, and August 09, 2023 – Regular Session February 07, 2024. The motion was approved by voice vote. August 16, 2024 – Regular Session February 07, 2024 – Regular Session Rosenbarger commented about an article related to housing. REPORTS  COUNCIL MEMBERS Asare announced an upcoming constituent meeting on February 24, [6:35pm] 2024. He also commented on the Lunar New Year celebration he recently attended and its relevance to the work of the city council. Stosberg announced her constituent meeting to be held on February 17, 2024. She also discussed the Black Market to be held on the same day. Stosberg reported on the activities of the Plan Commission. Zulich announced a town hall to be held on March 2, 2024 to discuss homelessness. Rollo expressed appreciation to the Mayor and staff for reconsidering the location of police headquarters. He discussed the Weatherstone Greenway, suggested amending the greenway, and asked for the process to be readdressed in the future. He announced his upcoming constituent meeting with Ruff to be held on February 17, 2024. Piedmont-Smith reported that Monroe County had been picked to host a pilot program, Integrated Re-Entry and Correctional Support (IRACS), gave an update on the community justice committee at the county, and discussed proposed pet shop legislation in the state legislature. She announced an upcoming Black History Month event that upcoming weekend. Andrea “De” de la Rosa, Assistant Director of Small Business  The MAYOR AND CITY Development for the Economic and Sustainable Development OFFICES [6:55pm] Department, reported on the Clear Creek Reconstruction project, street closings, and the impact on the city’s outdoor dining program. There was a brief council discussion following the report. Mayor Kerry Thomson gave updates related to the Weatherstone Greenway, the transparent government report produced by Harvard students, and an update on assistance for the unhoused. p. 2 Meeting Date: 02-14-2024 Piedmont-Smith moved and Asare seconded to extend the time for  The MAYOR AND CITY reports from the mayor by 10 minutes in order to allow for OFFICES (cont’d) questions for Mayor Thomson. The motion was approved by voice vote. There was council discussion about the report given by Mayor Thomson. There were no council committee reports.  COUNCIL COMMITTEES A member of the public (declined to give name) and Sam Dove (via  PUBLIC [7:02pm] Zoom) offered comments to the council. Zulich moved and Flaherty seconded to make the following APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND appointment(s): for the Commission on the Status of Children and COMMISSIONS [7:09pm] Youth – Stacey Mecier to be appointed to seat C-2; and for the Historic Preservation Commission – Jeremy Hackerd to be appointed to advisory seat C-4. The motion was approved by voice vote. Ruff moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded to make the following appointment(s): for the Environmental Commission – Mitchell Owens to be reappointed to seat C-3. The motion was approved by voice vote. LEGISLATION FOR SECOND READING AND RESOLUTIONS [7:11pm] Stosberg moved and Ruff seconded that Ordinance 2024-01 be read Ordinance 2024-01 - To Amend by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Title 12 of the Bloomington Clerk Nicole Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Municipal Code Entitled "Streets, Sidewalks and Storm Sewers" Re: Stosberg moved and Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2024-01 be Amending Various Chapters to adopted. Update References to the City Engineer, to Update References to Karina Pazos, Long Range Planner, Planning & Transportation the Comprehensive Plan and Department, presented the legislation. Pazos noted that the Transportation Plan, to Amend legislation made various updates to the city code, including Language about Trees and grammatical and typographical corrections, and added or amended Vegetation in Chapter 12.24, and standards related to trees. Using this Occasion to Make Typographical and Grammatical Stosberg moved and Ruff seconded that Amendment 01 to Updates Ordinance 2024-01 be adopted. Amendment 01 Synopsis: This amendment would replace a reference to the transportation or traffic engineer with a reference to the city engineer, and would make a minor grammatical correction. Stosberg explained that the Amendment was to make some minor corrections to the legislation. There were no public comments on the amendment. Public comment: The motion to adopt Amendment 01 to Ordinance 2024-01 received Vote to adopt Amendment 01 to a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Ordinance 2024-01 [7:19pm] Stosberg asked if the ordinance changed the tree removal process as Council questions: it related to stump grinding and if the cost of that process would be passed on to homeowners.  Meeting Date: 02-14-2024 p. 3 Haskell Smith, Urban Forester in the Parks and Recreation Amendment 01 to Ordinance Department, explained the process applied to public trees and that 2024-01 (cont’d) homeowners followed a different process with that additional expense. Council questions Rollo asked about the process for a notice of violation appeal through the board of public works rather than a fine that could be appealed through the courts. Stephen Lucas, Council Attorney, explained that the ordinance did not change the process but instead updated the information contained in the notice of violation to better direct members of the public. Rollo asked if the board of public works would be in a position to reduce fines or just impose the fines. Lucas explained that the board would retain the authority they already had in place. There was no public comment on the legislation. Public comment: There were no additional council comments. Council comment: The motion to adopt Ordinance 2024-01 as amended received a roll Vote to adopt Ordinance [number] call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. [7:56pm] There was no legislation for first reading. LEGISLATION FOR FIRST READING There was no public comment. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT Stosberg moved and Ruff seconded to cancel the Regular Session on COUNCIL SCHEDULE [7:57pm] February 21, 2024. The motion was approved by voice vote. Vote to cancel Regular Session [7:57pm] Piedmont-Smith noted that the council was invited to a collaboration meeting hosted by the mayor the following week at the regular council meeting time. Piedmont-Smith adjourned the meeting. ADJOURNMENT [7:59pm] APPROVED by the Common Council of the City of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana upon this 06 day of ____________________, _____ March 2024. APPROVE: ATTEST: _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Isabel Piedmont-Smith, PRESIDENT Nicole Bolden, CLERK Bloomington Common Council City of Bloomington