Common Council Regular Session

Bloomington Common Council-Regular Session Minutes Bloomington Council Chambers, City Hall, Bloomington, Indiana Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 6:30pm Call to Order [6:30pm] Council President Isak Nti Asare called the meeting to order. 1.​ Roll Call: (*indicates participation via Zoom) [6:30pm] Council Members: Isak Nti Asare At-Large, Council President Courtney Daily District 5, Council Parliamentarian Matt Flaherty At-Large Isabel Piedmont-Smith District 1 Dave Rollo District 4 Kate Rosenbarger (absent) District 2 Andy Ruff At-Large Hopi Stosberg District 3 Sydney Zulich District 6, Council Vice President City staff, officials, and guests present: Nicole Bolden City Clerk Lisa Lehner Common Council, Administrator/Attorney Kari Bennett Common Council, Deputy Administrator/Attorney Anna Killion-Hanson Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND), Director Matt Swinney HAND, Program Manager Cody Toothman HAND, Program Manager Sharr Pechac Human Resources, Director Jackie Scanlan Planning and Transportation, Assistant Director Kerry Thomson Mayor 2.​ Agenda Summation [6:30pm] Asare summarized the agenda. 3.​ Approval of Minutes [6:31pm] Zulich moved and Daily seconded to approve the minutes of September 03, 2025, September 17, 2025 and September 24, 2025. The motion was approved by voice vote. 4.​ Reports [6:32pm] 4.1.​ Councilmembers: Piedmont-Smith noted the recent passing of Lee Williams, the founder of the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. She spoke about Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Bloomington’s celebration and events. Stosberg summarized the Plan Commission’s petitions of the Trades’ District hotel, a subdivision off of North Dunn Street, and the Hopewell Planned Unit Development. Ruff mentioned his and Rollo’s upcoming constituent meeting. January 14, 2026 4.2.​ The Mayor, City Clerk, City Offices, and City Boards and Commissions: There were no reports. 4.3.​ Council Committees: Asare noted that he was switching the chair appointments for two council committees, making Piedmont-Smith the chair of the Committee on Council Processes and Stosberg the chair of the Fiscal Committee. He clarified that the Budget Task Force was discontinued. Daily moved and Rollo seconded to make the following resident appointments for the Jack Hopkins Social Services Funding Committee: to appoint Katherine Ntiamoah, and to reappoint Camryn Greer, and Eddy Riou. The motion was approved by voice vote. 4.4.​ Public: Kevin Keough spoke about financial reports and data. 5.​ Appointments to Boards and Commissions [6:43pm] There were no appointments to boards and commissions. 6.​ Legislation for First Reading [6:43pm] There was no legislation for first reading. 7.​ Legislation for Second Reading and Resolutions [6:44pm] 7.1.​ Resolution 2026-02 To Approve Recommendations For Distribution of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds for 2026 Daily moved and Zulich seconded that Resolution 2026-02 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. Daily moved and Zulich seconded that Resolution 2026-02 be adopted. Anna Killion-Hanson, Housing and Neighborhood Development department (HAND), Director presented the legislation and summarized the purpose of and regulations for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). She gave examples of applicants, projects, and the process. She discussed the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) and allocations by type. Matt Swinney, HAND, Program Manager, summarized the physical improvement grants and projects for 2026 as well as contingency plans. Cody Toothman, HAND, Program Manager, discussed the social services projects for 2026. He noted the contingency plans, too. The contingency plans were required because the CDBG calculations were not yet final. Killion-Hanson gave final comments on the success of the CDBG funds since fiscal year 2005-2024 in Indiana and Bloomington. There were council questions about the composition of the CAC, recruitment needs, decrease in funding, the timeline for grant recipients, federal requirements, and the administrative costs. Terry Amsler commented in favor of the CDBG. 2 January 14, 2026 Daily spoke about having served on the CDBG social services program. Rollo discussed the incremental cuts to CDBG over time, and ways to cover community needs. Asare expressed interest in streamlining different grant programs across the city and reaching out to legislators. The motion to adopt Resolution 2026-02 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 7.2.​ Ordinance 2026-03 To Amend Ordinance 2025-40 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 Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-03 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 Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-03 be adopted. Sharr Pechac, Human Resources Director, presented the legislation. She noted that the agreement had been voted on and passed by 82-7 in December 2025. Pechac summarized the updates and highlights of the agreement. There were no council questions. There were no public comments. Piedmont-Smith and Stosberg thanked all for their work on the agreement. The motion to adopt Ordinance 2026-03 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 7.3.​ Ordinance 2026-02 To Amend Title 20 (Unified Development Ordinance) Of The Bloomington Municipal Code – Re: Response To Resolution 2025-17 Related To Amending The Eligibility Subsection, The Qualifying Standards For Planned Unit Development Subsection, and Defined Terms Section Of Title 20 Daily moved and Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-02 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 Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-02 be adopted. Jackie Scanlan, Planning and Transportation, Assistant Director presented the legislation and briefly noted Resolution 2025-17, which directed the Plan Commission to prepare the legislation. The directive was to include an Average Median Income (AMI) requirement, adjust the minimum qualifying standards for affordability applicable to Planned Unit Developments (PUD), and more. She gave examples. There were no council questions. There were no public comments. Stosberg noted her work on the legislation and thanked all for their work. The motion to adopt Ordinance 2026-02 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 3  January 14, 2026 7.4.​ Ordinance 2026-01 To Amend Title 20 (Unified Development Ordinance) Of The Bloomington Municipal Code – Re: Response To Resolution 2025-12 Related To Amending The Affordable Housing Incentives and Payment-In-Lieu Provisions Daily moved and Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-01 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 Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-01 be adopted. Scanlan presented the legislation in response to Resolution 2026-12 which directed the Plan Commission to assess the incentive structure and payment-in-lieu as well as consider additional incentives for affordable housing and increase in the qualifying standard for developments utilized in payment-in-lieu procedures. She gave additional information and detailed examples. There were council questions about impervious surface, storm water service, and cases of significant rain. Mayor Kerry Thomson spoke about a proposed change which sought to make the legislation feasible for owner-occupied as well as rental. She noted that lenders would not lend on deed restrictions like permanent affordability. There was council discussion on the proposed change and options for council. Stosberg moved and Zulich seconded to postpone further consideration on Ordinance 2026-01 until the next regular session on February 04, 2026. Stosberg withdrew the motion to receive public comment. Christopher Emge, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the legislation. Stosberg moved and Zulich seconded to postpone further consideration on Ordinance 2026-01 until the next regular session on February 4, 2026. Rollo commented on the down side of streamlining things like PUDs which often resulted in units primarily for students instead of mixed use housing. The motion to postpone Ordinance 2026-01 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 8.​ Additional Public Comment [8:21pm] Steve Volan commented on the recent passing of Lee Williams, a promoter of live music. Volan gave a brief history of the Lotus Festival. 9.​ Council Schedule [8:24pm] Bolden noted upcoming interview committee meetings for board and commission appointments. 10.​ Adjournment [8:25pm] Asare adjourned the meeting. 4 January 14, 2026 APPROVED by the Common Council of the City of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, upon this day: 29 of July, 2026. APPROVE: Signature of Isak Nti Asare, COUNCIL PRESIDENT ATTEST: Signature of City Clerk Nicole Bolden Clerk’s Note: The above minutes summarize the motions passed and issues discussed rather than providing a verbatim account of every word spoken. Bloomington Common Council meetings can be accessed on the following websites: ●​ Community Access Television Services1 (CATS) ●​ City of Bloomington YouTube2 Background materials and packets3 are available on the Common Council website. 1 https://catvstv.net 2 https://youtube.com/@citybloomington 3 https://bloomington.in.gov/council/meetings 5