Common Council Regular Session

Bloomington Common Council-Regular Session Minutes Bloomington Council Chambers, City Hall, Bloomington, Indiana Wednesday, February 04, 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 (absent) District 5, Council Parliamentarian Matt Flaherty At-Large Isabel Piedmont-Smith* District 1 Dave Rollo District 4 Kate Rosenbarger 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 Jane Kupersmith Economic & Sustainable Development (ESD), Director Chaz Mottinger ESD, Special Projects Manager Adam Wason Public Works, Director Jackie Scanlan Planning & Transportation, Assistant Director 2.​ Agenda Summation [6:30pm] Asare summarized the agenda. 3.​ Approval of Minutes [6:31pm] Rollo moved and Zulich seconded to approve the minutes of August 06, 2025, September 30, 2025, and October 08, 2025. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 4.​ Reports [6:32pm] 4.1.​ Councilmembers: Zulich reminded councilmembers of their role as liaisons to boards and commissions. Stosberg mentioned her constituent meetings and spoke about the Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting. Piedmont-Smith spoke about community concerns and a petition on the city’s use of Flock security cameras for license plate readings. She did not believe Flock would keep the data safe and believed the city should end the contract with Flock. February 04, 2026 Stosberg spoke about the children that were in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. She noted Liam Ramos who was used as bait to detain his father. Zulich acknowledged the passing of Lee Hamilton. 4.2.​ The Mayor, City Clerk, City Offices, and City Boards and Commissions: Jane Kupersmith, Economic and Sustainable Development (ESD) department, Director, spoke about the 2026 outdoor dining program and the many departments communicating about the program with community members. The administration’s position was to suspend the closure of Kirkwood via the City Engineer. Chaz Mottinger, ESD Special Projects Manager, spoke about the recommendation to keep Kirkwood Avenue open to cars, and expand the parklets. She gave extensive details on plans for strengthening the Kirkwood corridor. Zulich asked if Kirkwood would be closed for Indiana University (IU) home football games, and Adam Wason, Public Works Director said no. Flaherty noted that the intent was to create multiyear certainty for the businesses and community in general. He asked about the decision to suspend the closure and referenced Ordinance 2025-02. Kupersmith said the program was impractical especially with reduced resources and staffing. Zulich asked about impacts on The Beverly, formerly the IU Poplars building, and Kupersmith did not have data. Rosenbarger asked why the administration was doing a study one year after the closure was passed by council for multiple years. Kupersmith said it was due diligence. Mottinger added that she and Cassie Werne, Public Works, Special Projects and Operations Manager, met with multiple businesses and community members to obtain feedback. Asare extended the time for reports for twenty minutes without objection. Flaherty spoke against suspending the closure of Kirkwood to cars and appreciated the work and outreach as well as the proposed creative solutions. Rosenbarger commented on the suspension and believed the reasoning behind it was flawed. Asare asked about next steps; Kupersmith said the guidelines needed to be updated via the Board of Public Works (BPW), and the suspension was not intended to be underhanded. Adam Martinez spoke in favor of the closure of Kirkwood to cars and gave a variety of reasons. Nathan Petri commented in favor of the closure and as an Uber driver, it was safer. Matt Gleason believed it was ideal to keep Kirkwood open to pedestrians. Greg Alexander said it was most important to prioritize pedestrians and gave reasons why. Bob Costello noted the importance of a multiyear program for business owners. Sue Aquila said that the Kirkwood Community Association, a major stakeholder, had not been contacted and spoke against the suspension. Asare extended the time for reports for ten minutes without objection. Collin Nielsen spoke in favor of not having vehicles on Kirkwood. Galen Cassady, Uptown Cafe, said it was ideal to have a more pedestrian friendly Kirkwood. Talisha Coppock, Bloomington Downtown, Inc., thanked everyone for their work. Christopher Emge gave ideas on a permanent closure to cars on Kirkwood and city owned infrastructure on the closed blocks. Stosberg spoke about the lack of stability of closing Kirkwood to cars. Piedmont-Smith said council’s goal was to give stability to businesses’ outdoor dining for multiple years. She urged the continuity of the street closure. Rosenbarger spoke in favor of closing Kirkwood to cars and gave reasons why. 4.3.​ Council Committees: There were no council committee reports. 2 February 04, 2026 4.4.​ Public: Susan Brackney commented on the authoritarian administration at the federal level and the facism present in the nation. She spoke against ICE tactics. She urged council and other elected officials to be prepared. Christopher Emge, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, spoke generally about Bloomington. Greg Alexander expressed disdain for snow covered, and poor quality, sidewalks. He spoke about a recent car-related death on Kirkwood. Paul Rousseau talked about snow covered sidewalks. Vicki Veenker, Mayor of Palo Alto, California, Bloomington’s sister city, noted that she was an IU graduate and congratulated the Indiana University football team on its national championship win. 5.​ Appointments to Boards and Commissions [7:46pm] On behalf of Interview Committee Team A, Stosberg moved to make the following recommendations: ●​ Reappoint Sita Cohen to seat C-1 on the Animal Control Commission. ●​ Reappoint Siddhu McLeod to seat C-2 on the Commission on the Status of Black Males. ●​ Reappoint Wendy Rubin to seat C-1, and Stacy Bruce to seat C-2, on the Commission on Aging. ●​ Reappoint Jo Throckmorton to seat C-1 on the Board of Zoning Appeals. ●​ Reappoint Kathleen Bensberg to seat C-2 on the Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission. ●​ Reappoint Zoe Zollman to seat C-2 on the Board of Housing Quality Appeals. Flaherty asked for information on the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). Stosberg noted that the staff liaison had recommended the reappointment. Flaherty asked that the recommendation for the reappointment of Jo Throckmorton to the Board of Zoning Appeals receive a separate vote with no objection from Stosberg. On behalf of Interview Committee Team B, Ruff moved to make the following recommendations: ●​ Reappoint Andy Koop to seat C-2 to the Digital Underground Advisory Committee. ●​ Reappoint Cee-Cee Swalling to seat C-1, Shayla George to seat C-2, and Patty Moon to seat C-3 on the Commission on the Status of Women. ●​ Reappoint James Sanders to seat C-2 on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Celebration Commission. ●​ Appoint Michael Burton to seat C-2, reappoint Sharon Wainshilbam to seat C-3, and reappoint Karshin Nair to seat C-5 on the Community Advisory on Public Safety Commission. ●​ Reappoint Mitchell Owens to seat C-3 and Shannon Gayk to seat C-4 on the Environmental Commission. ●​ Reappoint Megan Parmenter to seat C-1 on the Utilities Service Board. On behalf of Interview Committee Team C, Zulich moved to make the following recommendations: ●​ Reappoint Randy Cassady to seat C-1 and Deborah Myerson to seat C-2 on the Redevelopment Commission. ●​ Reappoint Dinorah Sapp to seat C-1 and Maria Puscama to seat C-4 on the Commission on Hispanic and Latiné Affairs. ●​ Appoint Christopher Miles to seat C-4 and reappoint Zachary Ammerman to seat C-5 on the Commission on Sustainability. ●​ Reappoint Joseph Shing to seat C-2 and appoint Treyanna Moten to seat C-4 on the Commission on the Status of Children and Youth. Zulich moved and Ruff seconded that the interview committee recommendations be approved. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 3 February 04, 2026 Stosberg noted that there had been only one application for the BZA, but someone had recently applied. She declined to make the separate recommendation for the BZA so that Interview Committee Team A could potentially consider that applicant. Zulich moved and Rollo seconded to approve the following mayoral appointments to the Historic Preservation Commission* (HPC): Jeff Goldin to seat M-4, Karen Duffy to seat M-7, John Butler to seat M-8, and Abby Hanson to seat M-9. *Per Bloomington Municipal Code 2.16, appointments made by the mayor to the HPC are subject to the approval of the Common Council. Zulich thanked the outgoing chair of the HPC, Sam DeSollar for his service on the commission. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 6.​ Legislation for First Reading [7:57pm] 6.1.​ Ordinance 2026-04 To Amend Title 2 of the Bloomington Municipal Code Entitled “Administration and Personnel” to Consolidate and Amend Boards and Commissions Provisions in Chapters 2.02, 2.08, and 2.12 Rollo moved and Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-04 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Clerk Nicole Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. 6.2.​ Ordinance 2026-05 To Amend Title 2 of the Bloomington Municipal Code Entitled “Administration and Personnel” to Allow Discussion at First Readings of Ordinances and to Clarify the Ordinance and Resolution Readings Provisions in Chapter 2.04 Rollo moved and Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-04 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. 7.​ Legislation for Second Reading and Resolutions [8:00pm] 7.1.​ Resolution 2026-03 To Rename Sidewalk Standing Committee of the Common Council Rollo moved and Zulich seconded that Resolution 2026-03 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Rollo moved and Zulich seconded that Resolution 2026-03 be adopted. Stosberg presented the legislation including the reasoning behind the change. There were no council questions. There was no public comment. Stosberg thanked her colleagues for their collaboration. 4 February 04, 2026 The motion to adopt Resolution 2026-03 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 7.2.​ 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 Rollo moved and Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-01 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Rollo moved and Zulich seconded that Ordinance 2026-01 be adopted. Jackie Scanlan, Planning and Transportation department, Assistant Director presented the legislation. She discussed the financial impacts, forthcoming nexus study, and financial losses to the city. Stosberg asked if environmental standards still applied, and Scanlan confirmed they would apply even if Ordinance 2026-01 passed. Flaherty asked if previous versions of the UDO were more stringent on when payments-in-lieu could be done. Scanlan said yes; the previous administration under John Hamilton had prioritized affordable units on site, then units off site, and last payments-in-lieu. That changed in 2022. Piedmont-Smith asked about ensuring that units were owner occupied. Scanlan explained options for enforcement. Rollo asked if the Environmental Commission had weighed in on the legislation and Scanlan said yes. Rosenbarger asked about lot size, structure size, and things like planned unit developments (PUD). Scanlan clarified the restrictions in city code and said staff preferred to update the city code to what was wanted and to not use PUDs. Rollo moved and Rosenbarger seconded to adopt Amendment 01 to Ordinance 2026-01. Rollo presented Amendment 01. Amendment 01 Synopsis: This amendment, sponsored by Councilmembers Rollo and Ruff, revises the impervious surface incentives in the R1, R2, R3, and R4 zoning districts. Flaherty asked why a uniform 80% was used as opposed to tiered percentages, based on the zone. Scanlan said it was for ease of understanding and to encourage the use of the incentive. There was discussion on lot sizes, division of larger lots, and structures that could be built. Scanlan gave examples like Habitat for Humanity’s neighborhood on the northwest side, off the BLine. Additional discussion included permanent affordability, rentals and ownership, deed restrictions, and land trusts. Stosberg asked how subdivision developments worked and Scanlan explained the process and noted things like water detention and tree preservation. Rollo asked about the impact on a quarter acre lot; Scanlan clarified that many of the lots were established and the likelihood of subdividing a home in a neighborhood like Park Ridge in order to build two houses was very low. She further clarified that the legislation was in response to a prior resolution, with the goal of incentivizing affordability. Matt Caldie, Environmental Commission Plan Committee, stated that the committee reviewed the legislation and appreciated the efforts for housing affordability. However, there were concerns with negative environmental impacts like increasing the allowed impervious surface, stormwater issues, the heat island effect, and tree canopy cover and health. He gave additional details. Heidi Brown spoke about the Comprehensive Plan which called for limiting the impervious surface allowed. Jami Scholl spoke against increasing the allowed impervious surface and in favor of locally grown foods. Caldie expressed his conflict between housing affordability and an increase in impervious surface. 5  February 04, 2026 Flaherty spoke about the big picture of adding modest housing, potentially owner-occupied, that might be more affordable than current homes. He noted things like smaller minimum lot sizes. He would vote for Amendment 01. Piedmont-Smith also supported Amendment 01 and commented on environmental considerations though she was less worried about storm water detention. Stosberg said it was important to focus on the intent; to subdivide. She spoke about having a tiered amount of impervious surface space in zoning districts, but different than what was proposed in Amendment 01. She gave detailed examples. Rollo commented that the percent of impervious surface should be defined. Ruff spoke about unintended negative impacts on other homeowners, like drainage and runoff of water. The motion to adopt Amendment 01 to Ordinance 2026-01 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 6, Nays: 2 (Stosberg, Zulich), Abstain: 0. There was no public comment on Ordinance 2026-01 as amended. Rosenbarger asked why the minimum lot size had not been lowered. Scanlan stated there were restrictions on what could be changed. Rosenbarger reminded all that the legislation regarding lot sizes had not been introduced by the council for consideration. She said Ordinance 2026-01 was not effective and would vote against it. Rollo asked if staff was tracking how many units were added to the city and Scanlan said that had been done under the previous administration but not the current one. Rollo asked that it be initiated. Stosberg expressed frustration with the council's lack of understanding of the UDO and gave examples of what would change with Ordinance 2026-01. Piedmont-Smith stated that the UDO needed a full overhaul, and she would support the legislation. Flaherty clarified that hundreds of lots could be subdivided if the lot sizes were reduced, in the R3 and R4, but not through the affordability incentive. He commented on the payment-in-lieu language in Resolution 2025-12, and the ability to compare an affordable unit with a market-rate unit, and the negative financial impact of payments-in-lieu, generally. The motion to adopt Ordinance 2026-01 as amended received a roll call vote of Ayes: 6, Nays: 2 (Flaherty, Rosenbarger), Abstain: 0. 8.​ Additional Public Comment [9:17pm] There was no additional public comment. 9.​ Council Schedule [9:17pm] Council Attorney Lisa Lehner reviewed the council’s upcoming schedule. Stosberg noted an upcoming Fiscal Committee meeting. Zulich stated it was difficult for council staff to draft amendments at the last minute and requested that councilmembers let council staff know of a planned amendment seven days after the first reading of proposed legislation. 10.​ Adjournment [9:20pm] Asare adjourned the meeting. 6 February 04, 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, Common 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 7