Common Council Regular Session

Bloomington Common Council-Regular Session Minutes Bloomington City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street, Bloomington, Indiana Wednesday, September 30, 2025, 6:30pm CALL TO ORDER [6:30pm] Council President Stosberg called the meeting to order. 1. ROLL CALL (* indicates participation via Zoom) [6:31pm] Members: Isak Nti Asare At-Large Courtney Daily District 5, Council Parliamentarian Matt Flaherty (absent) At-Large Isabel Piedmont-Smith District 1, Council Vice President Dave Rollo District 4 Kate Rosenbarger (left at 7:53pm) District 2 Andy Ruff (absent) At-Large Hopi Stosberg District 3, Council President Sydney Zulich District 6 City staff, officials, and guests present: Nicole Bolden City Clerk Lisa Lehner Council Attorney Kari Bennett Deputy Council Attorney Christine Chang Legal Research Specialist David Hittle Planning, Director Jane Kupersmith ESD, Director Rick Dietz ITS, Director Jessica McClellan City Controller Chris Wheeler Legal, Assistant City Attorney 2. AGENDA SUMMATION [6:32pm] Stosberg spoke about Yom Kippur and the Hebrew calendar and then summarized the agenda. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES [6:32pm] There were no minutes for approval. 4. REPORTS [6:33pm] 4.1. Councilmembers Rosenbarger extended condolences to Shawn Sullivan who was shot and killed the previous Friday in downtown Bloomington. Another person, Bobby, was assaulted by two men downtown. She noted the third anniversary of Nate Stratton who was killed by a drunk driver, Madelyn Howard. Zulich appreciated Rosenbarger’s report. She spoke about the Food and Beverage Tax committee meeting the previous Friday, and Zulich was elected chair. She would be presenting the annual report in the near future. Rollo thanked Rosenbarger for her comment. He commented on deer-vehicle collisions in Monroe County. He believed deer management was important for humane reasons as well as safety. He was concerned about tick-borne diseases and the inability to grow food in one’s yard due to deer. Meeting Date: September 30, 2025 Piedmont-Smith commented on violence against unhoused people over the weekend. She echoed Rosenbarger’s comments. The violence was unacceptable and highlighted the vulnerability of some community members. She read from an article by Dr. Margot Kushel for the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative discussing safety, challenges, and more. She mentioned the passing of Barry Lessow who was the longtime director of United Way of Monroe County. Stosberg discussed vaccines, current sentiment on vaccines in the nation, vaccinations while pregnant, and the risk from diseases. She spoke about her personal experience and decisions. 4.2. The Mayor and City Offices There were no reports from the mayor or city offices. 4.3. Council Committees Piedmont-Smith reported on a recent Fiscal Committee (FC) meeting where the 2026 elected officials’ salaries was discussed. She encouraged councilmembers to provide feedback. There was council discussion on the timing of considering elected officials’ salaries. Daily stated she was not in favor of raising salaries, given SB1, but could consider cost of living increases. Rosenbarger noted that extensive work done by the former members of the FC was being dismissed by council. She urged council to postpone the discussion so all councilmembers could be present. Piedmont-Smith believed it was important to have a rational basis for setting elected officials’ salaries. Rosenbarger clarified that Mayor Kerry Thomson had originally supported the FC’s proposal but in the final hour had stated she would not support it. Rosenbarger urged the FC to recognize the mayor’s stance prior to engaging in more work. There was discussion on scheduling a meeting on the topic. Clerk Bolden stated it was key to include all elected officials in the discussion. 4.4. Public Kevin Keough spoke about elected officials’ salaries. 5. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS [7:13pm] On behalf of Interview Committee Team C, Zulich moved and Rollo seconded to appoint Drew Herron to seat C-4 on the Historic Preservation Commission, and to appoint Lynn Hooker to seat C-3 on the Arts Commission. The motion was approved by a voice vote. On behalf of Interview Committee Team B, Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded to appoint Eoban Binder to seat C-1 on the Transportation Commission. The motion was approved by a voice vote. On behalf of Interview Committee Team A, Asare moved and Rosenbarger seconded to appoint Joshua Brewer to seat C-3 on the Board of Housing Quality Appeals. The motion was approved by a voice vote. Asare pointed out the importance of making council appointments in a timely manner to avoid a lack of quorum. 6. LEGISLATION FOR FIRST READINGS [7:16pm] 6.1. Ordinance 2025-32 To Amend Title 20 (Unified Development Ordinance) 9 of The Bloomington Municipal Code – Re: Use Table Amendment- “Urban Agriculture, Commercial” Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Ordinance 2025-32 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Clerk Nicole Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. 2  Meeting Date: September 30, 2025 6.2. Ordinance 2025-38 An Ordinance Fixing The Salaries Of Officers And Employees Of The Police And Fire Departments for The City Of Bloomington, Indiana, for The Year 2026 Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Ordinance 2025-38 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. 6.3. Ordinance 2025-39 To Fix The Salaries of Appointed Deputies and Employees of The Bloomington City Clerk for The City of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana for The Year 2026 Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Ordinance 2025-39 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. 6.4. Ordinance 2025-40 An Ordinance to Fix The Salaries of Appointed Officers, Non-union, and A.F.S.C.M.E. Employees for All The Departments of The City of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana For The Year 2026 Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Ordinance 2025-40 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Stosberg referred all four pieces of legislation to a second reading at the next Regular Session on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. 7. LEGISLATION FOR SECOND READINGS AND RESOLUTIONS [7:20pm] Stosberg passed the gavel to Piedmont-Smith. 7.1. Resolution 2025-17 To Initiate A Proposal To Amend Title 20 (Unified Development Ordinance) of The Bloomington Municipal Code By Restating Resolution 2025-10 Re: Preparation of A Proposal To Amend Chapter 20.04.110 (Incentives) And 20.02.040 (Planned Unit Development (PUD) District) Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Resolution 2025-17 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded to adopt Resolution 2025-17. Stosberg summarized the legislation, its process, and timeline for action by the Plan Commission. There was brief discussion on the delay of the original resolution earlier in the year and what the next steps were. Stosberg explained what had caused the delay. David Hittle, Planning and Transportation, Director, stated that it had been an oversight and staff had put safeguards in place so that it would not occur again. Council staff had worked with Information Technology Services (ITS) to create a calendar to track legislation with timelines or due dates. Council Attorney Lisa Lehner explained Indiana Code pertaining to the issue at hand. There was no public comment. Stosberg hoped the legislation would pass. Piedmont-Smith expressed disappointment that council was taking up the legislation for the third time. She thanked council staff for the legislation tracking. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 7, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 7.2. Resolution 2025-18 3 Meeting Date: September 30, 2025 To Approve The Naming of The Stadium District in The Area Surrounding Miller-Showers Park Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Resolution 2025-18 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded to adopt Resolution 2025-18. Stosberg gave a brief history of the legislation and her involvement, and reasons for supporting the economy in the area. Jane Kupersmith, Economic and Sustainable Development (ESD) department, Director, provided an overview of the legislation. It established a name, a geographic area, and ESD could promote it. She noted that it was not an economic development incentive program, nor did it require participation. There was also no dedicated funding for the district. Kupersmith spoke on the boundaries, the purpose, zoning, and the purpose of creating the district and its name. She discussed the benefits, stakeholder engagement, and the timeline for the district. Stosberg confirmed that having a Stadium District did not rename places within the district such as Miller-Showers Park. There was council discussion on the impact to the residential areas, additional stakeholder meetings especially with areas like Maple Heights, the naming of the district, and unintended consequences like the conversion of single family homes to AirBnBs. Kupersmith said the area contained commercial zones, and dense student housing, and that the Unified Development Ordinance’s (UDO) definitions included the word stadium. Stosberg referenced the city’s zoning map and gave examples that informed the proposed naming of the district and its boundaries. Kupersmith gave more information on the engagement with stakeholders. There was discussion on Indiana University’s stadiums and sports in that area which brought thousands of visitors to Bloomington. Sarah Alexander, Maple Heights resident, spoke against Resolution 2025-18 and noted that the boundaries needlessly included residential areas that could result in more short-term rentals. Greg Alexander gave reasons against a Stadium District and said that the area had always been referred to as a gateway, which prioritized people traveling through over those living there. Chris Emge, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, discussed the development of the idea to have a Stadium District and businesses along the Walnut/College corridor. He spoke in favor of the legislation and redeveloping the area. Aubrey Williams, cofounder of Heartwork Brewing, spoke in favor of the legislation and highlighting the area. There had been many vacant properties. She gave a variety of reasons in favor of developing the area; especially with non-student centric, family-friendly businesses. Gabriel Holbrow, Maple Heights resident, explained that the Stadium District branding would affect the identity of existing neighborhoods. He urged that the residential neighborhoods be removed. Mike McAfee, VisitBloomington, hoped that council would pass the legislation. He looked forward to supporting tourism with partners in the area especially during slower times for businesses. Casey Green, Maple Heights resident, spoke about the importance of words and branding. She said neighborhoods would be impacted. She spoke against placing Bloomington underneath IU by having more IU colors, removing native plants, and having a Stadium District. There was council discussion on liquor licenses and new, locally owned restaurants. Procedural options were considered, including that there were three councilmembers absent. Kupersmith acknowledged the concerns of the Maple Heights residents and agreed that more discussion on the boundary was needed. It was important to have community buy-in. Stosberg moved and Rollo seconded to postpone discussion of Resolution 2025-18 until the next Regular Session. 4  Meeting Date: September 30, 2025 Piedmont-Smith spoke in support of postponing the discussion of Resolution 2025-18, perhaps until after action was taken to make the College/Walnut corridor safer. There was discussion on postponing the legislation. The motion to postpone Resolution 2025-18 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 6, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. (Rosenbarger left at 7:53pm) Piedmont-Smith passed the gavel back to Stosberg 7.3. Appropriation Ordinance 2025-08 To Transfer Funds from The General Fund to The Fiber Connectivity Fund and Specially Appropriate Funds Not Otherwise Budgeted Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Appropriation Ordinance 2025-08 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Daily moved and Rollo seconded to adopt Appropriation Ordinance 2025-08. Jessica McClellan, Controller, presented the legislation which would transfer $250,000 from the General Fund to the Fiber Connectivity Fund (FCF). There were no council questions. There was no public comment. Asare noted that there had been robust discussion at the previous regular session. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 6, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 7.4. Appropriation Ordinance 2025-09 To Specially Appropriate from The General Fund Expenditures Not Otherwise Appropriated Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Appropriation Ordinance 2025-09 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Daily moved and Stosberg seconded to adopt Appropriation Ordinance 2025-09. McClellan presented the key points of the legislation. Piedmont-Smith asked about the loss of expected federal funds and the federal grant that had been rescinded. Rick Dietz, Information Technology Services, Director, said the funding had been for cybersecurity for local governments. The city had continued with cybersecurity services through a government/private entity partnership at a cost of $5000 per year. Dietz explained the grant had totaled $12 million but the current federal administration had rescinded it. Stosberg asked about infrastructure costs at the Indiana University (IU) data center. Dietz said that IU hosted some of the city’s storage at the data center. Asare asked why the costs were not in the budget, and Dietz noted there was an increase in costs; and the cost was included in the 2026 budget. Piedmont-Smith asked about repairing conduits in the 4th Street parking garage that were damaged during the Convention Center expansion. Dietz said the contractor was not at fault so the city would not receive funds for the repairs. There was no public comment. Stosberg appreciated that the city was able to continue funding cybersecurity. She commented that council staff had moved to Showers West in order to collocate, and expressed concern that there were no funds to outfit the offices in council’s budget. Council staff had spent their own money rather than request an additional appropriation. 5 Meeting Date: September 30, 2025 Stosberg called a recess for five minutes until 9:03pm. Stosberg called the meeting back to order. The motion to adopt Appropriation Ordinance 2025-09 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 6, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 7.5. Ordinance 2025-35 To Amend Title 9 of The Bloomington Municipal Code Entitled “Water” (Rate Adjustment) Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Ordinance 2025-35 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion was approved by voice vote. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Daily moved and Asare seconded to adopt Ordinance 2025-35. Katherine Zaiger, City of Bloomington Utilities, Director, introduced Jennifer Wilson, Managing Director, Crowe, LLP, who presented the Revenue Requirements Report including its methodology, key considerations, capital improvement plan, income statement, revenues and expenses, adjusted operating expenses and taxes, debt service, and total revenue requirements. Danica Katz, Stantec, presented the Cost Allocation and Rate Design Report. She explained the test year, rainfall trends, billed monthly water usage and customer class, Automated Meter Infrastructure, and peaking factor comparisons. She described the cost of service analysis approach including revenue requirements by function such as hydrant costs. Additional information was provided on the allocation of public and private fire costs, units of service by customer class, and the cost of service summary which showed a discrepancy of 30.5%. Katz summarized the fixed usage charges by class, monthly fire protection rates in and out the city, capped usage rates by customer class, and current and proposed rates. She gave examples of impacts to bills including small residential usage, general service usage, wholesale usage, Indiana University Master Metered usage, and irrigation. Zaiger explained her own water bill with the proposed rate change. She discussed the combined water and sewer rate study conducted by Crowe, LLC. She presented the capital improvement plan including water treatment plan upgrades, distribution system maintenance, and a new Winston Thomas Service Center. Rollo asked what the length of the bonds, and interest rates, were. Wilson said the current bonds would retire and new debt would fill in the debt service at a twenty year length. She said the interest would be determined at the time of sale but was usually around 5%. There was additional discussion. Asare asked about impacts, by class, and rate shock. Zaiger explained how the rate adjustment was decided by customer class. It was industry practice to avoid rate shock. Piedmont-Smith asked about the capital improvement plan and Wilson explained the bonds would total $54 million, revenues and the operating budget would cover the rest. Stosberg asked if the rate increase was also a result of things costing more and Wilson clarified that in order to fund capital improvements and maintenance, revenues would need to increase. Christopher Emge, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, noted that the organization was neutral on the rate increase but businesses were concerned with their rate increase. Asare asked what other options had been considered for increasing revenue and about contingency plans if there were delays. Zaiger said CBU was tightly managing its water cash balances and a contingency plan would be to borrow from the sewer budget. Rollo asked about expansions and Zaiger said the capital improvement plan was to maintain service at the current capacity; there was no expansion. There was discussion on the longevity of the new service center, current bond total for the water utility, percent of revenue that went to debt service, expected revenue and expenses, shared expenses, customer usages, and improvements to the customer financial assistance program. Council discussed the irrigation customer class which would see the highest increase. Rollo commented on debt at the local and national levels. Asare appreciated the discussion and spoke about the need for the rate adjustment. Stosberg discussed the importance of water and the need for a rate adjustment, and the number of students in the city. The motion to adopt Ordinance 2025-35 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 6, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 7.6. Ordinance 2025-36 6  Meeting Date: September 30, 2025 An Ordinance Authorizing The Acquisition, Construction and Installation by The City of Bloomington, Indiana, of Certain Extensions and Improvements to The City’s Waterworks Utility, The Issuance and Sale of Revenue Bonds to Provide Funds for The Payment of The Costs Thereof, and The Collection, Segregation and Distribution of The Revenues of Such Waterworks Utility and Other Related Matters Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Ordinance 2025-36 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 4, Nays: 2 (Piedmont-Smith, Zulich), Abstain: 0. Stosberg declared the motion as Failed. Clerk’s Note: The Bloomington Municipal Code (BMC) requires a two-thirds majority vote of the members of council to introduce legislation after 10:30pm. There was brief discussion on reintroducing Ordinance 2025-36. The BMC allows any member voting with the majority may move a reconsideration to introduce legislation. Asare moved and Daily seconded to reconsider and that Ordinance 2025-36 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 6, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded to adopt Ordinance 2025-36. Piedmont-Smith asked why the bond was being considered prior to the water case going to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC). Brad Bingham, Barnes and Thornburg, said IURC had to approve bond issuance along with the water case. He gave additional details on the bonds. There was discussion on the inclusion of cost estimates in the legislation. There was no public comment. There were no council comments. The motion to adopt Ordinance 2025-36 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 6, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 8. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT [10:59pm] There was no additional public comment. 9. COUNCIL SCHEDULE [11:01pm] Stosberg summarized council’s upcoming schedule. Piedmont-Smith noted the upcoming Committee on Council Processes meeting. 10. ADJOURNMENT [11:02pm] Stosberg adjourned the meeting. APPROVED by the Common Council of the City of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, upon this 04 _______ day of February ___________________________________________, 2026. APPROVE: ATTEST: _______________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Isak Nti Asare, COUNCIL PRESIDENT City Clerk Nicole Bolden Clerk’s Note: The above memorandum summarizes the motions passed and issues discussed rather than providing a verbatim account of every word spoken. Bloomington City Council meetings can be watched on the following websites:  Community Action Television Services (CATS) – https://catvstv.net  YouTube – https://youtube.com/@citybloomington Background materials and packets are available at https://bloomington.in.gov/council 7