City of Bloomington, Illinois Committee of the Whole Meetings, 18 Feb 2019

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From YouTube: February 18, 2019 - Committee of the Whole City Council Meeting

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February 18, 2019 - Committee of the Whole City Council Meeting
http://www.cityblm.org

View meeting documentation:
http://www.cityblm.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/10098/17

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A

We're going to go ahead and call the meeting of the city of Bloomington committee to the whole of the whole to order, madam clerk, would you please call the roll Oh.

B

Alderman Bray we're here: alderman mappy, yes, alderman saige, here alderman melambe, alderman burger here, alderman painter here, alderman Schmidt, here alderman black aldermen Hallman, clear winner here.

A

Thank you very much at this point, we're going to move to public comment and again in public comment. We you have up to three minutes to speak about anything that you would like it is our policy not to respond if you do want immediate answers or if you want to engage in dialogue, you are certainly welcome to the open house that we have I have, and sometimes members of the council come the city manager and some others are sometimes there.

A

We can try to get you answers on the spot or try to solve problems on the spot if we possibly can and that's 4:30 to 5:30 before regular City Council meeting. So there will be one that's Friday, but again at this point we have three people who have signed up for public comment. Each has three minutes apiece. We start with hope, terre des Tirana I.

A

Sorry, if I butchered that.

C

I'm just talking to regards for the Bridgeville gambling here in Bloomington, and it's wanting over a few points about how research shows it would not be in the best interest of the community, starting off with its associated with a more rapid onset of gambling problems gambling after one point or one year, compared to three years with people using virtual gambling versus other forms and then its best piece of sensory simulation and allows people to place bets every five seconds, which means they can go through a lot of money.

C

A lot faster and then college students are already at a higher risk for gambling addiction having a 69 percent higher increase, and these machines are exploiting people's vulnerability to addiction, no purpose other than financial gangs, because they're, actually not using skill based games or things such as joysticks to target younger generations and then not to coach disclose to the public. Is this thing called virtual, real mapping and what it is is old, gambling machines?

C

Everything has the same weighted of how often things I'll go, and this means that losing symbols are disproportionately given a high frequency on the play line, meaning that people think they're getting closer and closer to actually having a payout in a reality, they're just trying to trick them into spending more money, and then virtual gambling available in bars to other environments where they usually are where people are able to drink alcohol leads to higher spending and more risky play, which is really discharging them when they are drinking to spending more money.

C

So this can also lead to a higher increase in gambling addiction and Carmody to alcoholism, and one of the key issues that this gambling addiction is Bloomington already has issues with availability to mental health resources. So if we do allow this to go through and more addiction does become prevalent, they're not going to have as many resources to go to for treatment.

A

Thank you very much. Thank you. Next Robin well, I was key.

D

So as she said, we researched it today and we would like to continue the moratorium for the virtual gambling and in our research one case of addiction that really stuck out to us was Kate's asal job a 36 year old mother of six, who most people would never guess, was a recovering gambling addict. She told her the world her story and a CNN special in 2016 describing the struggle she faced while addicted to slot machines that are all otherwise known as the crack cocaine of gambling.

D

Her story portrayed how gambling addictions can severely impact the quality of one's life and showed the side of it that most people don't see when looking at Maddux, one quote from her story that really stuck out to us was in 2012 aged 32 I almost took my life, I sat for eight hours crying on the stool, the sounds of other machines. All around me just staring at the machine that it just swallowed.

D

The last money I had access to the no balance on the screen was too much for me to bear completely alone and feeling like there was nowhere to run. My brain was trying desperately to figure out how to kill myself in such a way that my body could be kept alive in order to keep what my unborn baby be delivered to term as nursing students, we have seen firsthand how addiction affects people and, although the physical symptoms may vary, the economic and social consequences are all the same.

A

Thank you very much, thank you. Last but not least, Donna Bolin.

E

I'm Donna Bolin living more those are kind of hard act to follow, but I'm going to talk about the same thing. The machines themselves are not really going to affect any addiction. You can go on a computer and do the same thing. So to me, that's not really a valid argument. The social issue I tried to find online when the ordinance was actually passed.

E

Locally. I know for the state's the lowest best in 2009 following the recession, and the idea was to raise money for the state, build, provide jobs and built infrastructure similar to the Tiger grants on the federal level.

E

Anyway, it didn't work out for the state. According to the article that Karen sent out but locally, it's listed under the ordinance of amusement, not gambling. It does provide money to the city without any fiscal cost to the city.

E

Financially, I'm not sure that it is any different than spending money on any other form of entertainment. If you want to limit or curtail the terminals or the use of the terminals, I might suggest doing a amusement tax on the user rather than penalizing the business owners. That's just my thoughts. Okay! Thank you. Thank you.

A

Donna, okay: we move next to consideration of approving the committee of the whole minutes from January 22nd 2019. Is there any? Is there a motion or there any corrections to the minutes, move approval I'm assuming by Alderman Scott black? Is there a second several seconds? A second I see of the light so I'll give the second Kim Bray, all of them Kim Bray any discussion Corrections, seeing none. Actually, we can go ahead and just vote.

A

A

Motion carries 8 to 0. There are no nays to announce madam clerk. We move right along then to the presentation by connect transit annual reporting, as requested by the administration. There is a brief introduction of Insurance over to our city manager, mr. Gleason and then Isaac thorne, general manager of connect transit, and then we will have a council discussion on connect, transit issues. So mr. Gleason Thank.

F

You, mayor and council Issac is the general manager for connect transit. They do this as an entity yearly and also in the audience. You got board chair, Mike, mccurdy and other connect. Transit staff, Isaac I'll turn it over you right now.

G

Very council allowing.

F

G

This presentation tonight.

G

So, let's talk about a couple projects that we're working on. Currently the better bus stops campaign is a three year campaign to improve 157 bus stops. These bus stops have been identified as needing improvement based on need, so passenger data number of people were picking up at the bus stops. The plan is to improve these bus, stop locations with shelters benches or just 88 Landing concrete landing pads for passengers. The shelters in the seating are both in those pictures and the presentation.

G

This is a huge need for the riders and improvement for their convenience and riding the bus network. Well, the other projects were working on are electric buses and purchasing electric buses and installing slower infrastructure connect.

G

Transit was awarded 7.5 million in federal grants over the last two years to purchase 12 electric buses and install solar infrastructure connect will start replacing buses in late 2020, we'll get three buses a year for I'm sorry, four buses a year for three years and then we're also going to installing a solar infrastructure that bette process or construction will start in late May. That will help us reduce our energy costs that our current administration location and also help charge the buses. These will be zero-emission, electric buses.

G

Now one of the final projects we're working on, we still have plans to build a downtown Transfer Center myself and staff has been working with city staff on looking at locations to see if they'll work. Our next steps in this process will be to hire a consultant.

G

So you do a site analysis or what's called alternative site analysis of all the locations in downtown or possible locations in downtown Bloomington they'll also do a environmental review process as well as do conceptual drawings and then we'll be able to determine our site location and also start planning to you go out for grant funding for that for the state and federal government and it's one of the one voice projects on that trip.

G

So this graph is the presentation of our ridership. Over the last 10 years, we've increased year-to-date, the ridership has increased eight and a half percent one hundred two thousand trips, and over the last ten years, ridership has increased thirty-seven percent or 828 thousand trips in the last ten years. Creek connections ahead the largest increase in 2012 and 14, which I'll show you on the next slide.

G

That's due to sustained gases or high gas prices, not sustained high gas prices of over $3 a gallon gas prices do affect ridership, typically when they're above $3 in writer small increase, but they fall below $3. It typically decreases 2018 17, we've able to kind of buck that trend and we've seen an increase in ridership I also say to you that for FY 19 this year, we've had seven straight months of increased ridership, which is it's been phenomenal compared to our peers, Ruislip yeah, Riteish, middle area, large street, increasing 12 and 14.

G

That was due the gas prices at 362 in 2012 and $3 and 36 cents and 2014, which I'll show you on the next slide. 2012. We had a 21 point, one four: seven percent increase and over 25% increase in 2014 16 17 gas prices did go down. We did see an increase, though in FY 18 and ridership I can.

A

Ask you it's just a very quick pleasure for clarification as we're looking at this. What do you mean by Peters then, because you have regional peers of national period.

G

So all the regional peers are actually transit agencies located here in Illinois, so the Peoria Springfield Champaign, Rock, Island, Decatur, Danville and then national peers are all across the United. States closer appears that we select it based on population, similar population of bloomington-normal, but also being university or college towns. Thank you. Yep.

G

See over the last 18 months, connect has vastly outperformed peer agencies in terms of ridership. We are up about nine and a half percent. Our peers are down roughly ten to eleven percent.

G

And thanks to the community and council, we were able to provide Sunday, ridership or Sunday service back in August 2016 reason I'm, showing this graph is every year starting 2000s, 2016 or every month of every year.

G

We better increase in the ridership, except for generally had a slight decrease that could been due to weather, but every month we've had an increase in ridership on Sunday, typically with Sunday ridership you're gonna see half the amount of ridership on Sundays, you do on Saturdays and we're also up over that or we're doing about 66% of what we do on Sundays. So it's it's been great. There are a lot of positive feedback from the community regarding Sunday's service and how appreciate they are to have it.

G

So a couple of frequently asked questions that I know you get and we get that are located. These answers are also located on our website, but our frequently asked questions, so one of the first ones are is why does transit use such large buses, and this graph outlines all of our routes and the boardings per hour? We have on each one of those routes. Nine of the routes up there have over 40 boardings per hour. Some have almost 120 some have just over a hundred boardings per hour.

G

We standardized, we started standardizing a fleet back in 2016 to 40-foot buses. Due to this reason, the 40-foot bus holds 43 people and, as you can see in that these, these routes, these nine routes they have over 40 boardings per hour, there's 18 buses on these just these knobs.

G

So when we pick up passengers, if we have a wheelchair we're losing, we pick up a passenger or a customer in a wheelchair, and we get them onto the bus, we're actually losing seats, we're down to 40 seats. If we have two wheelchairs we're down to 37 seats. This is a overcrowding issue that we see on some of these routes.

G

Primarily, these nine routes are most popular at the highest ridership, so we standardized due to the number of passengers we had during weekdays and also because the cost of inventory parts inventory it's a lot easier to standardize your fleet and reduce your cost. That way, then, to have a 30, 35 and 40 foot bus.

G

Then the next last frequently asked question that we also receive a lot about his can public transit fee per place for pride, sharing, Connect transit? Do the rider survey last April and 69% of our customers use connect transit five to seven days a week. However, they also use ride-sharing service is also once or twice a week.

G

May studies show that customers use ride-sharing for social events between 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. and are more likely to use public transit on fewer cars and spend less on transportation, providing direct door-to-door service it's expensive. We know this because connect mobility is an ad, a paratransit service that goes curb to curb. We pick up 350 customers a day 7 to 8,000 per month, and we average 3 boardings per hour that service cost us. It goes anywhere in the community cost us $30 $36 per trip because it is door-to-door.

G

It is no different for ride-sharing companies to have to go door-to-door pick up people. That's why we're seeing a trend with ride-sharing to go to a pooling and as basically the same same thing as uber coming to your door or let's coming to your door? They're gonna come pick you up on it. Maybe a curb drive! You! A few blocks drop you off, you're, going in somebody else's vehicle.

G

It's it's pulling transits most effective when it's running along a straight line and picking up mass number of people and dropping them off at a transfer center where they get onto another bus.

G

Connect transits average operating cost per trip is for fixed jobs around $4. The efficiency of fixed route bus network lies in the fact that they're more there are many passengers using the same vehicle to travel along this basic Civic panel, so public transit, it's much more efficient, however, I believe that ride-sharing does play a mobility part in our community and it's used by people, whether that be late at night or for certain engine instances, but it is still available and worthwhile any questions.

A

Questions of mr. thorn, all the woman Tama.

H

Thanks for this update, I just have one question: you I think this was asked the last time you did a presentation and gone for my head when you talk about ridership.

H

Is that, but is that each time a person gets on a bus is that person counted or from when they get on the bus they actually make it to there.

G

H

G

Passenger trips, so all agencies across North America count trips or ridership as passenger trips, so it goes back to fixed route transit. It's not designed to run directly from your house to any location. If you were to do that, you'd have to have a lot more money and resources to run such direct service it'd be very costly and extremely inefficient.

G

That's why we go back to fixed route trans, it's more efficient, because the runs are on a straight path where people are actually walking out to it, getting on the bus and going to a destination where they may have to transfer, but there's walking involved with with using public transit.

A

All the woman smitten and black first.

I

Of all, thank you very much for the listening sessions that you're going to be holding, or maybe they started already. I've had a couple of requests. I guess that they also be at different times of the day. I think they tend to be later in the day and.

G

I

Can get to so if you could do that, so when I hear feedback and of course, I hear the big bus question and part of that has to do with some of the smaller streets, particularly in the west side, where people think if we had smaller buses, then you could we or you know, sort of reschedule or reroute your buses and make it more convenient and then people would that your ridership would even go higher I, don't know what to say to people when I hear that that's absolutely right trying to get down West Olive, Street, West, Grove Street, it's not always gonna, be easy.

I

Even for a single car yep.

G

The other side there's definitely certain areas throughout the community that it's very hard to get a bus down. It also, sometimes is because there's parking a lot on both sides. That's.

H

Right and it's.

G

Just not safe for a large bus to be traveling down when it comes to using smaller bus like a connectability bus and fixed route transit I mean they're, just not designed to do that. They only hold 14 passengers once you get a wheelchair on there or two wheelchairs on there. It takes up with immediately two to four seats pill, / wheelchair and it's just again. When you start going down get you stop moving down direct paths of streets and you start making left's and rights.

G

More accidents usually typically occur, and it's a lot less efficient and more costly for the system running that kind of service. There doesn't say: there's not to mean that it's not a place for that. There are certain areas that we do go down still to this day, that we feel that are deemed necessary. We to try to avoid as much as possible yeah.

I

I think I, you know I'm likely to hear say from a mom who said she lives on all the street and so she's. You know she's kind of equidistant from where she has to walk and she's got two kids and a bunch of groceries. So she's got a walk and you know so I get that question. Why? Why don't? They have a smaller bus that can take me to the bigger bus yeah.

I

One other question that I get a lot is about the location of bus stops, in particular, being called to my attention and I think that you don't have control or- and maybe this is a chance for you to explain that a little bit. When is that the Westside Walmart, because you you I as I, understand it, can't get into the parking lot? And that's not you, that's not on you. The other one is that OSF Hospital, where you go up the drive and the stop is not at the door.

I

It's like halfway up the drive and then, if you're going to the hospital, you have another bit of a leg to go to.

G

Get there so I'll talk about West, Market Street there, a Walmart first, we just last fall improved into structure. At that stop. We have two shelters there.

I

That's very helpful: yeah.

G

Yeah it's one of our most busiest stops in the system with 400 passengers a day going there, typically from downtown Bloomington Alwine route. To get to that location. We do didn't install infrastructure at that, stop, making any compliance landing, pads there and to shelters. We did work with Walmart's one of the reasons why we did get out of the parking lot. It's a very long story, but we need to work with the Walmart and Walmart management at the time.

G

It's again going into parking lots, not not safe when you're driving in you know to 4 ton bus in there and then there's also vestry ins constantly going in and out for those buildings so going from the doors it's just not safe. For us to do in terms of ourself again, we worked with them a couple years ago, installed: shelters on OSF Drive.

G

One of the issues, though we still do have, is on the east one side with OSF and Isla mall and that's a very, very dangerous intersection that we are still working on getting some kind of obsessed tree inside pedestrian markings and flashing lights, that notify people that there are pedestrians walking across the street. Here it's that's been our biggest issue and I heard from customers about Eastland, Drive and I've shared that with them that we are working on some sort of solution to. Let people know that this is pedestrian crossing.

G

We do drop-off around a hundred fifty passengers a day on Eastland Drive there around Isla, mall yeah.

I

Well, thank you very much for continuing to ask the public for input. Yep.

G

I also want to say to you last time: we did community engagement, we did do a afternoon and we was not well attended, however you're the second individual that has told me that would like to see an ad for new one. So we are going to be adding that back in we do more community engagement and we're also going to do a Facebook live event as well. They'll stay on Facebook, our Facebook page that informs people about the changes that we're proposing, throw like a community engagement stuff, but on Facebook.

G

So people can watch that video at any point in time. They can't make a meeting.

A

J

Them in black, thank you, Thank You, Isaac, so I have a couple of questions. So one of the one of the challenges that I've experienced and to Karen's point I have a lot of people to that, will provide me feedback about routes and and this council doesn't decide on bus routes and and some people wish that we did but I think we've gotten away from kind of this, like you know, compromise from.

J

Let's move it over once tree kind of thing to be more scientific approach and your staff has been wonderful at helping people and with individual concerns. Are those tracked or reviewed those suggestions for different routes? How is that feedback categorized? There's.

G

So there's two different processes. Obviously somebody calls in and complains. We detract those through our internal software and buy in time magical plane where the phone we log those and then through the community engagement process. We have people, write on comment cards and all those comments go directly to the board and the board packet before they vote on the matter. So two different ways: I gotcha.

J

If you go back to the slide, where you're showing the different ridership on each of the routes yeah, it was yeah that one. It just seems to me at a quick glance that you, you got like two outliers here and you know kind of pretty much even elsewhere and if I'm, generally speaking, just doing some some back of the envelope math I'm, seeing about 60 different passengers per hour during the weekdays, so so to me that what I'm hearing is that we're basically turning over a bus and a half per hour of riders.

J

So that isn't a fair way of thinking about that. Okay, looking at this graph, is there any desire to kind of smooth this out so that we don't have ones that are so low and then ones that are so high that.

G

These brows- really, these are all geographically placed throughout the community. There.

K

G

Certain areas that have higher density or trans propensity, such as their their income level, and there are social demographic information that tends to take transit more often than people that maybe live elsewhere in the community and so the green red lime, aqua, yellow, pink red bird express routes. Those are always are going to have very high ridership, due the fact of where they're at within the community and then the likelihood of people taking transit in those okay. Those areas so.

J

Like the level of service, though, for the first day, though, the ones that are that are higher isn't lower for the average rider, even though that in some cases is double or triple and I, think even you could argue quadruple and then the other one.

G

Correct and then also a part of that as we're going to add frequency to those routes, so 7 making a 30-minute route, we're going to make it a 15-minute route, because we know more and more people are going to use it in that area. So, for instance, one of the proposals we have that's going to the board in March and we're getting communication sessions now for is adding frequency to the Lima route between downtown Bloomington and Walmart.

G

Just on that segment, adding 15-minute service because we know riding the line route just did this too two weeks ago, is entirely packed, leaving downtown Bloomington, it's stopping a long market, almost at every stop until it gets to Walmart the gorge. The passengers get off there. It's the same way, coming back from Wall, going back to downtown Bloomington. So there's obviously a large needing that on that long.

G

That stretch of the route and that's what I won't add frequency, because we leave that by a the frequency, will have more ridership, typically in transit, more frequency, it's freedom for people, because they can go out more often gotcha.

J

And I'm sorry, my last question is uh so I heard there was a conversation going on about a fare, increase, I think to a buck 25. Are we anticipating or what type of decrease in ridership we're going to see for that 25 percent increase yeah.

G

Typically, what we pull this information from the tcp TC BRP report? What's a transportation cooperative research project they.

L

G

Reports on these types of issues, and typically when you see an increase of you, know twenty five percent you're going to see a decrease of seven percent, they're. Being very, very conservative with that number. However, connect transit has not increased fares in 12 years, and even though we've only had three community engagement sessions right now, we've not heard too much feedback regarding the increase in fare been more focused on any discontinuation of service or more questions about what service are you adding?

G

There's, not much information in regards of the fare increase, and that might be because we're adding a fare equity portion to that, meaning that anybody that's low or fixed income that can't purchase a discounted 30-day pass.

G

They can we're going to be putting in a mobile ticketing app where they can pay just like they're, paying now $1 for that month and as the month goes along, they paid $1 every day or four dollars each day once they get to $36, it caps them at that. That's the 30-day pass price and they have unlimited rides until the end of that 30-day period. That might be because we're not hearing because of that fare, equity portion, I'm, not sure, but so far I've not heard much about that and.

J

Just this is my own opinion. I, don't know if rail stands on this, that I'm more concerned about seeing ridership go up so anything that we do, that would may impact ridership. Perhaps that could be absorbed elsewhere. You know, I'm always reminded have these conversations with people who need connect, transit, the most aren't going to be here advocating for themselves and so I very concerned about a decrease in ridership for what is and I think operationally a marginal increase in revenue just would.

A

Clarify if you were even these out, wouldn't that mean more transfer points and make it more difficult for the people who are on the Aqua Line or some of the others. Yeah.

G

Again, I think really. These routes, where they're located and looking at the density of their location, is going to depend on where they're at in terms of ridership in transit. We have what's called a frequent service route in a coverage route and right now we're split 6040 on that cover. Job typically goes to areas that aren't as dense as maybe downtown Bloomington. They may be on the east side of Bloomington and normal north side of normal, where it's not as dense as downtown and uptown mm-hmm.

A

I just meant that the if you were to try to even these out that would mean somebody that you'd have a large number of people. Who'd have to transfer to another bus. If you were to cut that back all the one mathy and then know a long way, Thank.

M

You Isaac I just wondered if you could give us an update. We voted to allow for digital signage on the back of the buses and I haven't really heard much about it. I've seen it on a few buses and I wonder if you could give us an update. What's going on with that appreciate.

G

The council doing that and, unfortunately, the vendor that we had doing it. It's no longer doing it in transit at all. They pulled out of Nashville and they pulled out of connect transit. We only we had a one-year contract with them. We got about six months, it wasn't taking off like they wanted, or we wanted. Obviously they they were providing all the hardware for free and is basically giving us 50% of the revenue. So it was a great deal for us. However, it was not working out for them.

G

If we wanted to go about this again. Most advertising agencies around want us to purchase the hardware which makes sense, but I don't want to. We don't want to spend that capital to get in to determine whether or not we're gonna get any revenue from did.

M

They leave the existing hardware because they did it took what they took all the hardware out of the buses again, so.

G

We actually helped install it, we uninstalled cuz, it is owned by them. Yeah.

M

G

Were just sharing the revenue at fifty percent? Okay,.

M

So there's a possibility. We look at it in the future again, but we need a vendor or a sales institution or somebody. Okay, thank you, yep all them.

A

No long boy thank.

K

You I think and sorry I was late, so I hope I didn't miss this. The answer to my question but I, have this son frequently asked questions and it's one of the frequent comments that I hear about is empty buses. So I, you know I'm sure you know, there's a science to it right because I have seen it throughout town at any given point in time. You might see a bus that's empty, but then you go to a different location.

K

You see a bus, that's full, so I just thought I would give you the opportunity to explain the science behind all of it. What.

G

What you're seeing this is a graph basically of weekday passengers per hour, so this Monday through Friday. Obviously, throughout the day you are going to see. Variances of you may see a bus with only two people on that and maybe 12 o'clock in the afternoon, but typically in the mornings between our peak hours of people traveling to work, so you might travelling in their car and people going home from work. We're gonna have these. These averages around 60, as I said before.

G

None of these routes have averages above 40 boardings per passenger hour or per hour. So, but there are going to be times when it's leaving the transfer station, it could be empty or coming into the transportation, it could be empty and it fills up with people transferring from other buses throughout the day and then again going back to you. There are certain routes that we do run or not. They don't have the density in certain locations where they may run.

G

For instance, the blue has an average of less than 40 boardings per per hour on the weekdays and there's some other routes, such as the tan or olive that has lower boardings per per hour. But majority of our ridership comes from the nine routes that have over 40 boardings per hour during the week.

G

Hopefully, I answered your question.

A

All the woman brain.

N

Thank you, Mary Renner, Thank, You, Isaac, just double back a little bit on the downtown Transfer Center and the site analysis that's to be conducted. Can you share a little bit about your process, what you're, envisioning and then at what juncture? You'll be bringing us into that next sure.

G

So, like I said the meeting with staff, we identified a few locations that may be possible areas for the consultant to look at the the reason for hiring the consultant it's needed if we are going to apply for federal or state funding, and the reason why it's me is because you have to have all your environmental review requirements done. You have to make sure it's not a historic area.

G

All these check marks at the FDA or Federal Transit Administration and say they don't know I, don't want to see before they're gonna ever give you money to actually build a constructus, Transfer Center and what the consultant is going to do is they're gonna. Look at our routes. What our needs are as far as how many buses do. We want to fit this Transfer Center, it's just site, location, gonna, be big enough to you.

G

Use this land and they're also going to look at how our routes are. Morons are currently out on Front Street and wherever location we choose how our routes going to get there.

G

Is that going to mess up our timing and we have a 30 minute route and we move it five minutes away from current transfer location in second I, make it a 35 minute route, because that that'll hurt us and we'll have to try looking at buying ways to fix that and then lastly, they're also going to give us conceptual designs of the possible transfer center at that location.

G

So and that's going to take about six months, but then there's also a public process or public input process where we have to go out to the public and get their feedback. I think what my thought would be.

G

You would you take this I would say this to the correct answer board on the final site before I did that I would or after I did, that would come and talk to the council about this site location, but we are working with city manager, Tim, Gleason and staff on these locations on and if they're going to be desirable for the city and working with their economic development here in downtown. Thank.

N

You appreciate that details Thanks thank.

A

You very much we appreciate it and thank you, mr. Gleason. Thank you to our staff. Thank you to connect transit and the connect Transit board, Mike, mccurdy and others who are here with us. Thank you. We move right along to our presentation of the FY 2020 budget. Review. Number two excuse me overview number two, as requested by the administration finance department, so we have a brief overview. Barra City, Manager Scott wrapping and we have budgeted the 15 minute council, discussion and so I were going to turn this over to mr. police Thank.

F

You, mayor and council, this is round 2 of our budget discussion. The first one Scott go ahead and come on down. First discussion was that committee the whole in January. This is a second and the budget is taking shape. You know we're we're still a ways from the finish line. Definitely have council input on some of the things that we're going to share tonight.

F

We're seeking counsel and foot you'll see on some of the items, the one and done type of projects that you'll see that still is open to council input as we discuss this but time's running short sort of we've got. The proposed budget will come before council on February 25th, so a week from tonight, something that we've done this year and it was a combination of the requests from you guys we're not printing the proposed budget. We know it's going to change, there'll be a couple of printed copies, but the link will be available to everybody.

F

That's gonna save us a little bit more than three thousand dollars, so it's a little bit different, but that's that's the logic behind it.

F

The last three slides are going to be mine and, at this point, I'm going to turn this over to Scott. This presentation is also going to be linked to the the item that the interim City Clerk, Leslie Yocum, will put on the site either this evening or tomorrow morning, for everybody to view Scott.

O

The OL budget time again seems like it was just yesterday last year going through this, so the last discussion was focused primarily on how we were reviewing 2020 last year, so two million dollar deficit and how we were arriving at being balanced tonight.

O

Numbers are going to be more 2019 budget versus 2020 budget, so the Delta is between those two is it's kind of more the format that occurs in the budget books and we're going to try to kind of mirror the the same presentation format that are using in the monthly finance directors report, so that we get maybe start getting some consistency and the reporting that you guys are seen as opposed to you know they just there's been a lot of different, looks I think.

O

As far as what we present, we have to present different things sometimes, but getting down to this stage, I think if we kind of look at those major tax revenues and then the income statement that summer income statements for the general fund, that's that's the statement we go over every month, you start kind of seeing some of the same categories. The same numbers. It'll start showing a little bit more hope. Hopefully that's the hope so, but first of all we're gonna start with a highlights.

O

So all about the budgets are balanced: citywide were at 220 1.6, that's a pretty significant increase over 2019 11 and half million it's five and a half percent I'm gonna skip down going out of order a little bit capital projects 39 point 1 million increase of 12.5 million over 2019. So you can see that the citywide budget, the primary increase, is related to the capital projects mostly related to water and motor fuel tax got some significant projects going on in those those funds. General fund balanced at one hundred and five point: eight million.

O

Almost on six, it's just a 1.6 million dollar increase over 2019. As we discussed last time. It's balanced. We took a more realistic look at. You know that vacancy savings number incorporate that into the budget. We have some revenue increases.

O

You know, let's see, cost controls, don't want to forget those that we I think we have a pretty good cost control environment here at the city. So oh and we've incorporated a half million dollars worth of cash for equipment so that that's another recurring theme I wanted to bring out. We want to wean ourselves off that Catholic equipment lease and the only way to do that is because we got to start fighting the way out.

O

So we have a half million dollars associated with that and we've we actually found a million dollars for the one and done projects in the capital improvement plan. General fund fund balance. You know at this point in time we're working in 2020, but we project all the way out the end for fund balance. This is really being driven by our surplus that we're projecting for 2019, because we balanced the budget for 2020, so basically we're kind of showing using all the cash.

O

So that's why it says: penny and FY 2019 surplus right now we're looking at you know, I. The last report I did is a million and a half, it fluctuates million half to 1.9, but I'm. Coming back to the million half you know looking out the window, you see this snow and ice budget just exploding on us right now, we're already 150,000 dollars over budget we're snow and ice. Looking back through history, I think I mentioned this to last finance directors report.

O

We've had overages of three hundred thousand dollars in snow and ice back in 2014 to like being way under budget in other years. So it's one of those items. We just can't control that much so.

A

That's just assists adjusting our general fund balance we're going to dramatically exceed what our ordinance suggests, which is 15%, which would be about fifteen million dollars we're going to have over 20 million. Yes,.

O

Sir, we ended 2018 at nineteen point four, so very healthy fund balance at that point. So adding on that's.

A

A very likely we'll hit worst case scenario, we'll hit twenty million right.

O

I will I will comment that one of the things we may address at the end at the end of this year, if we have that surplus is whether or not we want to take an additional bite out of that capital equipment lease and pay cash for the equipment that we purchased this year and of going down the capital equipment lease route you know towards into the summer, because what we do is we pay cash during the year and then we do the lease afterwards. We don't want to do the lease a head of time.

O

We were burned in the past, I guess by doing the least and not purchasing all the equipment, and then we were paying interest on the least that we didn't utilize, 1.9 million dollars for cash for equipment. I almost skipped that so not only in the general fund that we use a half million, but one point: four million dollars in enterprise funds, paying cash for equipment.

O

So this is where we're going to we're going to replicate the format from the finance directors meeting, so major tax revenues first and then we'll go into the income statement, property tax levy, so you can see I've got. We've got the 2019 budget.

O

2020 proposed $1 change, percent change, I'm only going to highlight a couple here, but that one probably stands out to you guys, because you know we only increased the levy by two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars partially part of that was the library the other was for the city related to the eav increased. So the rate stayed the same, but we recognized some increases there. The Empire Street TIF that is beginning to realize some property tax.

O

The county handles that for us we don't levy for that, so that wasn't part of our levy, presentation and what you approved in December, so that that will go into the TIF and for 2020. We've were transferring a hundred and thirty thousand of that to capital improvements for the streets to reimburse the general fund for streets and then the rest will stay in the TIF pending additional projects there Home Rule have been talking about this, a lot that that's trending, favorably I'll.

O

Take this opportunity to, though, that to remind you home, roll every dollar that comes in 10%, McLean, County, Health 10% goes to streets, so you know when we have a half million dollar increase. You know, part of that. That's going out to other other areas, other projects and not projects, but just just keep in mind. We have that occurring with the home roll sales, tax state sales, tax decrease due to 2019 trends and 20 FY 19 budget adjustment.

O

What that means is when we budget of 2019, we were looking at 2018 I mean we take in the count. You know ten years, ten, ten plus years of history, and we use that to put some seasonality into the months we we budget those by month. Even though we put one number into the system, 2018 was an exceptional year we found out. There was some anomalies that hit so we we did forecast that as a potential trend in 2019 2019 is not doing as bad as it seems during the finance directors.

O

The report I do, but we need to take that budget down to more reasonable level. Right now, utility tax decrease primarily due to telecom trends. The telecom portion of utility tax has been coming down a couple hundred thousand dollars a year. Ever since we initiated the tax increase in 2016, so that that is a concern. It's just continuing to head down just food and beverage. You know that's been trending favorably, so increase over prior year. Seventy thousand dollars any questions on that schedule.

A

Do you know go ahead Scott? Thank you.

O

So once again, the general fund is balanced. We incorporated the half-million dollars for for cash for equipment, approximately 1 million dollars for capital projects. This is the revenue portion of the statement we review every month. We split it into 2, slides just to make it easier to see and run through the numbers. Very briefly, I wanted to highlight the use of fund balance, the increase in the BCP, a seven hundred seventy five thousand dollars so they're they're, improving HVAC and the roof system there.

O

Those are restricted funds they're, not in part of the nineteen point, four million dollar general fund fund balance, and then we were needing to utilize three hundred thousand dollars from the utility pension reserve. Those are also restricted dollars, so the tax levy for police and fire pensions is not enough to cover the contributions for the year, so we're dipping into that into that reserve and, as I've mentioned in other presentations, our assumption is that reserve will be depleted by 2022 or 2023.

O

It's highlighting briefly the investment income increased due to rising rates. Everyone's aware that interest rates are going up when we did the 2019 budget, we weren't sure that that was gonna be trending upwards, so we're seeing a significant increases to do that.

O

Expenses, the benefits that that's a large decrease eleven point: five million down to ten point, six, a significant decrease in IMF, our IM RF and health insurance. I am our ref rate- came down the health insurance was a spousal exemption, had a primary impact on that skipping down to capital expenditures.

O

You can see that we had zero, budgeted in 2019, typically with the general fund for capital projects, we do a transfer to the capital improvement fund, so that number would be in transfers out, but for the BCP a since those are restricted funds and we're paying cash for equipment. We're having the one point three month, three million dollars reflect and capital expenditures this year, other intergovernmental expense increase to five hundred twenty two thousand due to public safety, pensions and then the reduction in a transfer out reduce capital improvement transfers.

O

A lot of this has to do with. We did transfers in a capital improvement plan last year for projects that weren't executed, specifically the new fire station. So this year we were able to include the use of fund balance in the capital improvement fund for capital projects that reduced the amount of money. We needed to transfer out to hit that $1,000,000 objective.

O

Citywide budget citywide were balanced, thirty, nine point: 1 million dollars in capital projects material changes over her last year. The rate increases that were approved, went into effect, I mean they went into effect for 2019, but we had the automatic rate increases for sewer storm and solid waste. That is part of what's driving the capital project, increase the four million dollar increase and use of fund balance due to those large projects, so border fuel tax and water they've been accumulating fund balance over time.

O

Large projects plan for the year, coinciding with that is this intergovernmental revenue increase of seven point. Five million increase related to Locust Colton CSO project dollars are being borrowed for that from the state, so those were reflected in an intergovernmental revenue. Even though they're borrowed that's a source of cash.

O

Did you wide expenses again, you can see in benefits. This is just a reflection of why don't we just discussed contractuals significant decrease 1.8 million budget adjustments in the insurance funds and reduction in bloomington-normal advantage. These were just cumulative added up to a large decrease over prior year capital expenditures.

O

Here's where you can see all the capital projects budgeted. Fourteen point: two million dollar increase over the 2019 budget.

O

I'm going kind of fast, but there's a lot of detail here.

O

Capital projects, the general fund I've, listed some of the specific items, the approach we took. We, we polled the departments to prioritize the capital projects. We we place, especially a large emphasis on trying to address the facility maintenance needs. So you can see a lot of the first few line items here: kitchen, remodel unforeseen major facility, repairs, space and security, modifications, bc, PA tuckpointing, that's almost nine hundred twenty five thousand dollars in continuing to upgrade and update and maintain our facilities.

O

It's a primary concern around the city, so we try to address it with this with this budget this year. The other comment: I'll make is five million dollars in streets and alley and sidewalk programs I commented on this last time. Typically we're at the four point, six four point: four to four point: six between the sales tax and the other one local motor fuel tax, but this year we had we had cat. We had fund balance that rolled forward. So that's how we came up with the five million dollars.

O

Enterprise funds I'm just going to do the totals here: waterfront projects, nearly eleven million dollars, sewer fund, 4.4 million stormwater one point: seven I consolidated all the projects under 1 million dollars into other miscellaneous projects. That detail will be available when we send out the link to the budget books you'll be able to see all the details every one of those funds.

O

Enterprise funds continue the enterprise the arena is an enterprise fund. Arc-Flash is a public safe there as a safety issue. The lighting improvements were out of compliance as far as the aisle and stairway requirements go, so that addresses that motor fuel tax, nearly fourteen million dollars police firing range Lodge, building repurposed those are from drug enforcement funds, so so those are not being funded by the general fine.

O

So a roll pretty fast through that the budgets are balanced. We have strong goals for capital infrastructure, maintaining our facilities, but we have tremendous needs for addressing other capital around the city. Everyone is familiar with the pool issues, things of that nature, so I'm going to turn it over there city, money manager, Gleason. Now for that, thank.

F

You Scott next slide, Phil that it's my responsibility to share with Council. Some of the other sources of revenue that might be up for consideration could be an ongoing revenue stream that we recover. I could be, you know just for FY.

F

2004 and not offering an opinion on the return on investment and anything that's on the screen before Council, but just simply showing that our economic development council contribution is $100,000 annually and mirrors that of the town of normal. The Bloomington Normal advantage be an advantage. Our contribution is one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Town of normals is zero and then lastly, Convention and Visitors Bureau, the CVB. Our contribution is four hundred and seventy-five thousand.

F

$1,000 is a contribution that is made through the CVB for the visitors, the visitors center downtown, so even reducing that number of 50,000 you're. Looking at a true $425,000 contribution to the CVB town, a normal is at one hundred nine thousand, currently the CBB actually in the past, and it's not this way now. Nor is it for the town of normal was tied to the hotel-motel tax.

F

It is not any longer and then roughly our numbers on hotel-motel tax, new city of Bloomington, about 1.7 million town of normal, about 1.2 1.25 million just to share those numbers as well. I'm.

A

Just if I could just ask on these, uh we uh we hear questions, front I, think probably all of us from from business leaders about especially the economic development council and the question would be you know: what do we get from it being advantages and taking off that's a different type of program kind of Visitors Bureau? Is you I'm glad?

A

You mentioned the fact that fifty thousand dollars of that is operating capital for the downtown route, 66 visitor center as part of their deal we and I think I can speak and I shouldn't speak for all of them black who's. Also in the CVB week, I think I've got an answer when people ask me about the CVB for that question. I, don't know that um what kind of answer I have for the EDC and.

F

I'm gonna leave that up to you guys to we.

A

Do we have an escutcheon later, but I just you know as just as a preppin, maybe.

F

Prep discussions EDC is in transition, but that board is actively pursuing recruitment for the executive director. You've got Mike O'grady that has served as the interim for a little bit more than a year. I believe be an advantage again. Its major investment and your comments mayor. It's it's positive that it's it's taking off, I think some that I've learned in the community had some I, don't want to say hesitation but they're. Glad saying that it's taking off as well CVB they've done crystals done an excellent job.

F

They have quite a bit in reserves for that entity, but they've got those dollars covered for conventions that are scheduled and planned out to 2022. So I have to have that money covered again large contributions, Phil. It's my responsibility to share with Council that this is a possibility. It could be a one and done on the revenue side, where you know you reduce funding and we plug it into some of the needs that we have as a city, which may not be a suggestion that it's a something that we'll see in FY 21.

F

It just might be for FY.

F

2004 consideration of council next next slide the something else that I feel that I've got. The responsibility to do is consideration of funding streams for multi-year capital projects. You know when we talk about those things that are going to require a ongoing revenue stream in order for us to fund it's exciting. If we get to that day where council you know has has a challenge of prioritizing those multi-year projects, this is completely different than the one in Dunn's that Scott Rathbun was just sharing that we know the FY 2008.

F

However, Council carves it up at the end of the day, we know that we have this revenue that we'll be able to cover some of the one and done type of projects. This is different and there's a number of things that we could have talked about. We could have talked about sales tax, which could have talked about property, tax or utility tax, but it was pretty clear from this council that those aren't items that really are up for consideration.

F

The ones that may have risen to that level that would be considered is a local motor fuel tax. Currently we're at 4 cents if we increased an additional 4 cents which we would be allowed. I know that I've shown once it equates to five hundred and seventy five thousand dollars for census. 2.3 million dollars, public works director, Jim karch, he's I, think shared with Council in the community in the past that our target number on road repair is about six million dollars in the budget portion. That's got Rathbun walked through.

F

We have projected for FY twenty five million, so it's not hitting that number that our public works director believes that we need to be hitting in order to stay right at that sweet spot where we're doing just enough to be on schedule to keep her head above water. If you will now what I would say and it's in parentheses and again. Ultimately, this is counsels decision, but if we were to do something like this and I feel this way about any new funding streams or the budget in general I actually enjoy this conversation.

F

I know that Scott Rathbun is our finance director, but I'm a numbers guy and when we talk about being stewards of the taxpayer dollars I enjoy having these monthly conversations and then the budget conversation where we explain to the community how we're using their dollars. So when we're talking specifically about new potential revenue, I think it would be very important for council to consider dedicating or pledging that to a certain type of project and I.

F

You know believe that that potentially gives the community assurance that it's not just being lost in the pot of money that Public Works uses towards road repair, so of a 2.3 million dollar number I think some of the money could be used to hit that six million dollar mark, but maybe it's 1 million in road preservation, which is a strategy of Public Works, but we attach actually type of road road work to any new revenue.

F

And then, if there's any remaining, maybe it's an investment in the downtown sidewalk to sidewalk type of road work and then economic development opportunities. I think is another area that any additional funds out of the local motor fuel tax could be used. For, let's say we have the opportunity. The a business is going to come to town and as a part of the economic development package. They say we want you to build our stub road. You know up to up to the business, that's being considered. You know just an opportunity like that.

F

Obviously comes before council for consideration, but it's it's a it's. A dollar amount that we might be able to use for economic development discussions again totally council's decision on that video game incur. If.

A

I could just clarify that that is earmarked. We know future council can take that money and do anything other than streets infrastructure repairs unless.

F

It came before council and they undid what you guys do. Potentially you could even attach a sunset provision to any new revenue as well. Thank you, the other one is the video gaming terminal fee. Currently we have a moratorium and that's going to be discussion item here in a little bit, but we have a moratorium that ends on March. First completely separate a moratorium. We have about 250 video gaming terminals, the town of normal has an annual fee of $200 per I, just throw a number out and again it's not a recommendation.

F

This is for council to consider $500 per video video gaming terminal fee times. 250 equates to a 125 thousand dollars of revenue as an ongoing revenue stream. That council could dedicate to a new capital project. If you so choose one thing: the staff is considering on the video gaming terminal fee is we have different types of businesses? You have the not-for-profit profits like a VFW, you also have the 24-hour truck stops and then you have your taverns.

F

One thing that staff is looking at is if those could be carved into different fees for the video gaming terminals. If this is something that council would actually even consider so again, not a recommendation on my part, but do feel that it's my responsibility to you know throw out that menu of revenue options. You know if we were to consider multi-year new capital projects that the existing budget just would not be able to touch and then. Lastly, next steps review the economic entity contributions.

F

Secondly, review the potential capital, improvement projects and potential new funding sources, and then the FY 2008 schedule is next week. Is the proposed budget presentation on the 25th proposed budget public hearing on the 11th and the final out budget adoption targeted for April, 8th and we've still got Scott, that's close to the podium. If mayor council have any questions for us, we'll take those questions. Mayor.

I

I'll be back in just a moment, but let's open it up for questions and comments.

I

I'll be mathy.

M

Scott just to clarify for people who might be watching this and not be understand what we're talking about.

M

When you talk about the cash for equipment, we have been doing an annual lease for capital equipment purchases every year and one of the reasons I approached you on this months ago, and you said you already had a plan which made me happy is because the interest payments on those leasing, the leases that we've been signing, have been steadily going up and I think that the one we just signed in October the interest payments were had gone up to like $275,000 on it.

M

So moving away from that old-style plan, where we lease that equipment every year is going to potentially save us a lot of money in every interest on every bond every year that correct. That is.

O

Correct as well as the the way the capital lease works, we begin the debt service the following year. So during the budget process it takes a little the focus off the equipment purchases because you're not paying for it until the next year. So that's another reason and I wanted to wean ourselves off that not only from a cost standpoint, but just to put the focus on that on that cost component of the budget during the current year and.

M

If we were have you looked at what the total savings would be if we can get away from all those cash or purchases for each of the, because each of the bonds is each year, is a separate bond right or separately separately, so release I have.

O

Not done that in total, but for next week I'll have that number. Okay, thanks.

A

I

Want to express some concern, I guess about the local motor fuel tax increase, certainly get your point and the opportunities that are there, but I'm worried about what Springfield's gonna do and do we have any sense of what what balls might be in the air there and and how you know. We could end up with something that you know where people really are driving around Bloomington and potentially normal.

F

I've heard some of those same comments coming out of Springfield I'm, not in a position to say it's likely or unlikely, but I have heard those same comments. That Springfield is considering this at the state level know that our local dollars in in you know I know all of you know this as well, but it's more so for the community. The local motor fuel tax would be targeted for city of Bloomington roads that are not currently covered by the state motor fuel tax that the city receives.

A

And I think it's the the the figure is roughly thirty percent of the people who pay that tax are not Bloomington residents. It's still approximately the same I've heard that number as well Marilyn other comments. Again. This is not the final one. Oh excuse me alderman black thank.

J

You I just wanted to point out here: I've seen a couple ways: we've gone about going about the budget cycle and this is really the one that calls out the best that I've seen is some of these donations or fund transfers or grants that gets wrapped into our whole 220 ish million dollar budget correct right.

J

So so when people say that the city's budget has increased a certain amount, a couple million dollars- and you know from last year some of that may be captured in an increased revenue, but also some of its captured in terms of either grants that are received by the city or donations. I can think in the case of the BC PA.

J

That is correct, yeah cool you know and as we as we go through this, you know I'm sure, there's gonna be more numbers coming, but I'll be very curious about FTEs I've heard FTE counts thrown all over the place over the last few years and you can measure that a lot of different ways but I'd love to see like a graph or some numbers of you know, year-over-year just FTEs and then maybe way we parse it out by summer help or moved and not you know and included, because that does impact us and and that helps create a clearer picture for the public yeah.

O

There are two FTE exhibits, one in budget book, one one above budget book and I'm, not sure that how far they go back doing this rememory right now, but well I.

J

Just hear a lot of people that will talk about the way the numbers have heavy they're gone up or gone down, depending on their political persuasion and just nice to help have a really clear. You know perspective on that. Thank you.

A

In the comments all the Milan points sure.

K

I, you know I I, think some of the concepts and ideas that were presented, especially by C manager, Gleeson, were intriguing, I, think there's a there's, an element of really taking matters into our own hands as as a city and not wait for things to happen to us.

K

So the departing, that's intriguing to me is please, on the economic development front, know where we would be really taking charge if so to speak, but I I also would like to so I'm, certainly open to entertaining the discussion because of that, but I I'd like to hear more details down the line. So, for example, when we're talking about reducing our contribution to certain economic entities, you know I want to see what you know. What that looks like in terms of what we can do with that money.

K

Are we going to be able to to be more effective? You know, for example, if we were to do that, so those are the things that I would be looking at. If we're talking about increasing motor fuel tax, then what does that mean?

K

In terms of you know, the kinds of projects that we're going to do and I know you've alluded to some of them, but I I'd like to see more detail down the line, because of course that would come with you know nobody likes to increase taxes but I, but I think you know there. There may be some interest, you know on the part of the public if they see some clear return on the investment. So those are the things that I'm looking for. Thank you.

F

Actually, a quick response to that. You know when we're talking about new revenue and actually isaacs thorn thorn with the connect transit presentation that we heard earlier. You know some of the challenges in the West and neighborhoods. You know it's. The roads, I get it, but also you know we could use some of the local motor fuel tax money is investment into some of the bus-stop areas to improve the pathway to the actual bus stops.

F

One thing to your comment- and I should mentioned this before because I'm a firm believer in this as well, where, if you know, find a very prominent location on our webpage that has pictures of how we are using this project money. You know for doing a local motor fuel tax project somewhere in our community I, even like the idea of signage, you know so that the community as it drives by, can see how we're using their dollars we're not going to win everybody over.

F

Obviously, if council chooses to do something like this, but it's my experience that the community appreciates you know identifying doing a better job of telling our story and how we're using their dollars so point taken. Thank.

A

You, anyway else, okay, thank you very much and thank you. Mr. Resnick.

A

Next, we're going to move to presentation of the 2018 accomplishments and I'm going to turn this over to mr. Gleason, and we have up to a 15-minute council discussion. Mr. Gleason.

F

Thank You, mayor and council, this is exciting, at least to me. I think I, just didn't mention in the last discussion about telling our story and council is faced with many challenging decisions to make, and we, as municipal government, do not do a good job of telling our story of sharing the different things that we've done as a community. You guys will see this unless I'm directed never to do this again, you guys will see this every February and it's going to have just a quick overview of the accomplishments.

F

You know for the prior year, so what I did is I asked council not-quite Scott bring it back some and you're wanting to get out of here so and I'm gonna I'm I'm, not gonna, read it word word for word, but the this was a task a couple months ago, three months ago.

F

Maybe that I gave the department directors told them this day was coming and they did a good job of you know highlighting the different things that they feel that they accomplished, and this wasn't necessarily locked into a five million dollar project by at a department director that felt something that they change. You know a function within their office that really transformed things or made things. You know way better, that's the kind of stuff that I want to hear about that's kind of stuff that I wanted to share with the community.

F

So it's not necessarily those high-dollar items. You know that might be a little bit more glamorous and some of the stuff that you're gonna see in this report. This report is going to be easily accessible. It's not a PowerPoint!

F

It's just like what you see before you with the handouts and those were provided to members of the audience as well, but tomorrow this will be a quick link on our web page, so that anybody in the community can look at some of the stuff that we're doing rather than read the message from the you know from me: I I think.

F

The thing that I want to highlight on this page is you guys stressed when I was hired and started July of last year that the partnerships and the relationships with you know our other partners in the region, the town of normal McClain County. You know some of the funded entities. It was critical and heard that loud and clear and firmly believe as you do, that when we work closer together with the partners in the region, the winds that come they're going to be even greater if we pull together.

F

So that's really what I wanted to share their next page Scott. First one is administration and again I'm not going to read all of these, but I'll just hit. Some finance directors report is something that we started and really do enjoy that and have received a fair amount of positive feedback from you guys, but also members of the community. You know that high level 30,000 of you look at taxpayer dollars the revenues and expenses cost was reduced and staff efficiency increased through consolidation of water apartment and Public Works.

F

This is going to be an ongoing savings of about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. There's been other smaller reorganizations. So even though we've got an FY 20 budget that is lining up, you know pretty well and do not and I know you guys, don't think this, but the community can rest assured that we've and you know in these- you know what we will call may be a good upcoming fiscal year pushed even harder back at the department directors to scrutinize.

F

What your true needs are, what your spending is, and you know that's part of the reason that FY 20 to be quite honest, is looking as positive as it is, is because that push back and the directors I say push back. The directors welcomed that as well and I'm. Very pleased with some of the ideas that they come up with again, they might be small, but they really set a tone within the organization that were always self evaluating.

F

We've got a solid credit rating we could improve, but we're in pretty good shape and also we're identified. It's one of the greenest cities by insurer five next city clerk. This is one that just a quick overview.

F

You talk about a reorganization possibilities, that's probably going to be reorg number four, that's going to come before council in April and interim city clerk. Leslie Yocum has done an excellent job. Up to this point, so really appreciate working with her in the bottom right circle.

F

Look at that when we talk about FOIAs, look at what that so the City Clerk's office has has pushed out in in terms of required responses to a FOIA is almost 1500, so a fair amount of staff time to meet those requirements and we are transparent as an organization procurement procedures necessary for completion of Bloomington, Municipal, Code codification. That's something that Leslie and her team have done a fair amount of work, and that's going to be something that we will see in FY 26th.

F

We have community development and quite a bit has happened there. We have the wayfinding signage, that was a three year process, several meetings and the team that was looking at the after the council with your approval a couple of weeks ago that will be realized as a project that's completed in 2019.

F

The second bullet item City Council, with Wessling talking about a partnership trying to accomplish something with economic development we entered into the MOU, stands for Memorandum of Understanding and we're trying to market the property. That's in the 800 block of North Main, the former Mennonite Hospital. Electrolux, that's been talked about quite a bit the last one the department assumed oversight of the John F scott Healthcare Commission. This was something that council heard how the monies are being expended as grants.

F

I think it was last council meeting next finance, here's one where eleven point: eight million dollars in debt, which will save I'm. Sorry, a refinance nearly eleven point: eight million dollars in debt- that was a consolidation or review of two separate bonds, and it's just taking that time to find opportunities, and this is one where it's going to save us: a million dollars over the term of both of those bonds and that's the approach that Scott Rathbun takes to the areas that he's responsible for and it turned into, a million dollar savings for the community.

F

One of the bullet points down a little bit further below the water cashiers were absorbed into the finance department as part of assuming the entire utility billing part of that is efficiency. A part of that is customer service, where we're trying to just have one counter space where a resident of the community can go and take care of multiple items that they might have to for the city of Bloomington GFO, a distinguished budget presentation award for the FY 18 budget. This is one that Patti Len and Scott Rathbun and the former interim city manager.

F

Steve Rasmussen get credit for this as well, so that was an excellent job in their part. Finding us reviewed payment processing methods, implementing new procedures of electronic funds, transfer an electronic built collection resulting in time savings for staff. This is an area and the technology side that we're gonna ramp up and we're gonna see even more in calendar year 2019 next fire.

F

This is one that fire implemented. A new records management system allows for information sharing with the town of normal and provides enhanced reporting capabilities, we're close to being fully staffed in the fire department. That's something that chief Moore is shared. That has not happened. You know, I, think in the time that he's been fire chief and I, don't know how far back it goes, but we're getting a little bit closer.

F

The outdoor warning, siren activation system, that's something given my past experience, that's near and dear to me, and it was upgraded with new Motorola radio system next HR.

F

This is one that they implemented: a diversity enhancement group initiative to focus on ways to improve diversity, recruitment across the city and then also on the second bullet point you talked about. The city has realized and over overall 10% reduction in medical insurance benefits, premium amounts due to positive claim, experience decrease, independent enrollment amounts and ongoing membership in the IP and BC. This is one that you know in regard to this. In regard to the benefits, Council has been very clear and the direction given a staff and I think staff has responded in providing.

F

You know scrutiny of the benefits that we currently offer trying to strike that healthy balance, where an employee, which truly is our greatest resource as an organization and to the community, is compensated in a way that is appropriate, but not to extremes and HR has done an excellent job of I think delivering that to Council and the community. Next I ask look at that on the right: they delivered office 365.

F

We were OBM notes prior to and during the project over 3.6 million emails and 170,000 calendar entries were migrated and that totals 768 gig of data.

F

That's one that I'm very proud of was a part of Scott's prowess and his team did an excellent job and then they're constantly trying to improve their customer service and have done an excellent job there as well. Hiya staff worked with police and fire personnel, along with the vendor Tyler technologies to upgrade the computer, aided dispatch, Public Safety call management system which is critical for the public safety.

F

Folks, next legal, we can't forgive Jeff Jergens and his team legal, successfully integrated procurement into the department, streamlining several processes, also integrated contract administrator administrator into the organization department, providing additional review and oversight and then also legal, helped draft contracts, negotiated agreements to address legacy and outstanding development issues and policies.

F

The library they had a holiday today, so Jeannie's not here, but we're going to talk about her and the couple of the accomplishments and there's several. The Illinois Prairie Community Foundation awarded the library with a five hundred dollar grant for a bingo for books, program gifting, a free book to low income students served by Western, Avenue community center and then also couple down from. There is the partnerships that they have ongoing partnerships that they have with both district 87, and you know five very active with both school districts.

F

Next parks, J Tesla, is the director and number of things. If you see in the bottom right, north american river otters, rarely reproduce and zoos, but we did I, don't know if J was playing Barry, White or something, but you know something something good happen at the zoo, and so there you go J, but a lot of great things come out. Our parks, G does does an excellent job and also the biggie I think we celebrated this past summer, department celebrated its fiftieth anniversary next.

F

Police, this is one that police in 2018 issued 85 body-worn cameras. That's a council action that you guys took in the fall and it was approved and it's something that is now implemented throughout the department.

F

It's you know it's it's the time that we live in in society and it's an excellent tool that council approved and made that investment to protect the officers and also protect the community. You know when you've got video and audio. It really does tell you know. The majority of the story captures that so that was excellent.

F

Work on the part of the police department, ultimate council approval by you, guys, police officers work very closely with the Boys and Girls Club, and then also if we go back up to the middle during 2018, the department made a concerted effort to increase social media followership.

F

It's my understanding, according to chief wheeler and I'll, get into this after this presentation. When we talk about crime and some of the upcoming things, I would I believe that we as a community are more aware of the crime. That's occurring because of this effort that you see in bullet point number. Three by the Bloomington Police Department, and that's a good thing, you know being as transparent and trying to be as open as we possibly can, is a great thing for the community Public Works Jim karch there he is back there.

F

Staff proposed eliminating a 1.1 million dollar subsidy from the general fund to the solid waste fund, with solid waste fee and service changes that council approved last year. So we realized that as well. The engineering division began, testing, drones, so cutting-edge stuff. It's very interesting to use them for design development of engineering projects and then also the department partnered with McLean County to reduce congestion crash is at the intersection of Towanda, Barnes Road and an Ireland Grove Road, and then also you know on the right there.

F

It talks about how many lane miles we are actually responsible for in the city of Bloomington and it's 800, a big number and far more to come in 2019 I promise. What I did is I really wrote rolled through this very quickly.

F

Again, it's going to be attached to the website, so anybody in the community can reach out and look at this, but I don't want to go so quickly that if there are questions the entire department director staff is here and if council wants to call any of them up for additional information, because again, I went through this very quickly and I want to give them the opportunity to speak to any questions or comments that council might have. Thank you thank.

A

You mr. Clavin Thank You staff. Thank you. Department, heads everyone for all the great work that you've done. I asked I think we deserve a round of applause.

A

Now, questions all them and mathy what.

M

Kind of chief wheeler I just want to say that whoever's doing Facebook for the police department right now is hilarious, so yeah it is okay right, he's doing a great job, I, look at it every day and I'm cracking up laughing so.

A

And it's educational right, any other comments on the city, manager's update and they say. Thank you. I think this is a great tool, not just for the council to remind us. Sometimes if we get bogged down in the day to day the week, do we be month-to-month. We don't always realize how much we've been accomplishing through the staff and so appreciate this to the staff, and certainly thank you so much for this appreciate it all. The woman, Schmidt I.

I

Just want to add on to that I think we need to recognize how much transition we've been through in 2018, and that makes this especially you know, really a powerful statement of excellent work and we're all grateful. You're.

A

F

Already Ramesh, if I did not, while the department directors you know brought this data forward, Communications Manager Nora is the one that is responsible for the document that everybody just did seem. So she did an excellent job and I I would have been remiss if I had not mentioned I know, but she's watching.

A

K

For story, and to that point I would say it's: it's a really nice document. It's a lot easier to digest. I would say particularly for our citizens. You know who may not necessarily know where to go where to find information a lot of times. You know our information is buried into pages and pages and pages of stuff. So this is good. Thank.

A

You next we move to city manager's report, Thank.

F

You, mayor and council, real quick with some of the the recent crime concerns I wanted to share a couple of things to the council into the community. Chief wheeler is going to be having the Bloomington Police Department, biannual or I'm sorry bimonthly presentation and that's going to be on February 27th we're exactly as Ecklie Osborn room over at the police department and and then. Secondly, the annual Bloomington Police Department staffs the crime stats. That's a presentation that will be before council at the council meeting on March 11th.

F

So, given some of the recent discussion, I want to make sure that everybody more so the community was aware that it's going to be a public discussion both at the 27th at the Chiefs meeting within the crime, stats presentation, meeting on March, 11th and upcoming agenda items. What we've got coming up for February 25th is the finance director report, business registration, that's an item! That's going to come before.

F

Council I suspended it, but the full authority comes before this council to resend and if that is in fact, approved, we'll make a staff short order of the turnaround. Because never in question was the tremendous value from an economic development perspective, but even more so a public safety perspective, the data that were collecting in this business registration. So it's an opportunity to improve on what was put out and if council does in fact approve to rescind that will have a turnaround fairly quickly.

A

And you meant the $50 fee well,.

F

Again, that's something: that's something that Maria really pressed me hard. You know with the graph I interview, but if this comes back in front of council, maybe the recommendation not to charge a fee on the upfront on the front end- and there are us I- mean very real staff costs, but the true value is the data again and then a penalty. If somebody does not comply on the initial and the renewal, you know going forward. So yes, thank you so much March 11th.

F

We have the annual crime statistics, presentation and then also trades, a representative that everybody's familiar with Mike motika oversees a program not in our town, he's going to provide counsel about a 5, 10 minute presentation on March, 11th and then also you'll, see if anybody's. Looking at the packet, we had the zoning ordinance adoption that was going to come on the 25th of February. That in fact is going to be moved to March, 11th and really the biggest reason is just to answer.

F

Any remaining questions you know gives us a couple extra weeks to make sure that we're on firm ground, because this has been an overwhelming task- I mean for any community, and this is several months in play, and we want to make sure that we cross the finish line and have covered all the bases in terms of questions or comments, so that'll be on March 11th that'll. Do it for me mayor. Thank you. Thank you. At.

A

This point I'm going to turn it over to all the woman Johnny painter, who has a proposal to continue the moratorium on video gaming and she has a presentation approximately three minutes, and then we have about a five-minute council discussion and that is to see whether or not there is a sufficient support to bring this for an actual vote. All the woman Peter thank.

L

You I'd like to propose that we permanently stop the proliferation of gambling terminals in Bloomington because of the very poorly written. Let's legislation, it's not the cash cow that we were promised. As a matter of fact, it's a revenue drain. It's also interesting to note that video gambling is illegal in Chicago. They figured this out right. At the beginning, our 30% tax rate is much lower than most other states. Casinos in Illinois are taxed at 50% and casino gambling supports Illinois schools.

L

As video gambling has proliferated, it has cut into the profits of casinos, thus starving our schools of much-needed funding. Let's clarify exactly what text after everything has been wagered and one what's left over is text last year that amounted to nearly 16 million in Bloomington 30% of that amounted to approximately 4 million 800,000. The state got 25% of that about 4 million and Bloomington got around 800,000.

L

800,000 barely covers the cost of regulating these machines and the social cost think curr after taxes. The money leftover is split around 5050 between the establishments and the terminal companies. Last year, in Bloomington, that was approximately eleven million five and a half million dollars each. Admittedly, local bar owners and fraternal organizations do put a portion of their profits back into the local economy. However, as I stated before, a huge amount is wagered at two local truck stops and most of that, money is fed back into the corporations or it drives away.

L

I'm also aware that some local establishments have become dependent on this income for various reasons and I, don't intend to pull the rug out from under them. However, going forward, we must find a better way to grow and enhance our local economy, because this is just a loser.

L

In 2017 Illinois had a shortfall of over 83 million due to video gambling and that's rising every year we can't fix the problems of our state, but on the local level, we can actually begin to fix our own situation, which is why I would like to extend this moratorium indefinitely. Thank you. Okay,.

A

A

Although Manilla long way so.

K

Just just a process question so what happens from here? What.

A

Would happen would be if there is sufficient support to put this on the council agenda, then it would come to a vote, presumably at the next council meeting. Okay, so that essentially, what we're looking for is an informal up or down, not necessarily it's more on. Do we discuss this right? It doesn't mean that if you say we want to discuss this and for the detail that you necessarily would support it I, you know it just do we move this forward? Is that a fair statement? Mr. Jergens.

K

Okay, all right: okay,.

A

K

It goes so March 11th that would.

A

Be do we have we talked about with the March 11th 2015 either next, the next meeting of the meeting after sounds like it could be febrile. Okay,.

H

I would like to see us have a discussion about this before we start talking about an ordinance well.

A

That that's the question do. Do we have a cut discussion? Okay, yeah, that that's really all we have. Are you in favor of discussion that.

H

Yeah yeah I I just wanted to clarify that we weren't talking about an ordinance for the moratorium, but we'll have a discussion. A discussion.

A

About the moratorium of the ordinance purely Oh, aldermen, okay,.

J

Yeah I'm interested in proceeding on this conversation, but there's two pieces to the the automatic request form tripod to continue the moratorium. The second is disgusted note. The number limit we want to allow is that part of it too. Are we putting that in the backburner at this point in time, I'd.

L

Like to put it on the back burner, okay I mean it may come forward with the discussion. That's why I put it down there.

J

Okay, cuz I, some of the feedback that I've gotten is that perhaps at some point in time in the future. If we were to limit the number that we allow, you know, I, don't know how many terminals there are 250 250, you know we say 250 and then somebody wants to get rid of theirs. You know what is that we'd have to figure out some sort of mechanism. Does that number go? Does it become free market to somebody? Can you know buy that license or those are things that I think we get to sort.

A

Out the substance of it, we would talk about right, okay, okay, so, but you know just for for talking about it. All the woman Schmitt I.

I

Think I still need a little bit of clarification about where we're headed here. So the the proposal is to vote on continuing the moratorium on video gaming right, but I also am hearing people say we need a lot more conversation. We need we heard about differential fee tonight, which is some feedback I've gotten.

I

So what are we actually saying that we're supporting here we supporting a boat that says we will have a moratorium or are we filling in some blanks? You, the.

A

I

Of an ordinance.

A

We are just as I understand you all along panic. Return to weigh in on this I mean to cut that off, but just legally we're just saying do we want to put this on an engine? Okay talk! Yes, that's all we're saying! Yes, yes, okay! All the woman, Burgas, okay,.

P

Now you've confused me. No, not you Karen I appreciate what you brought up, but I thought I understood what what the proposal was and now I'm, not so sure, because my concern is, we have expressed I. Think many people counsel have expressed a problem and we're looking potentially for a solution to that. I would be concerned I'm very supportive of just further discussion of our concerns about video gaming. I feel like it's too soon in the process to say we only have one potential outcome there.

P

So if it was a conversation focused solely on whether we continue a moratorium, I would prefer to broaden it to look at all the potential, maybe not everything under the Sun, but at more potential options to solve the problem that we have is that acceptable yeah.

L

I am curious, though, what what do you mean by that? What give me some ideas? That's what you have in mind. Sure.

P

And I think some of them were discussed here. We can look at more restrictive zoning, so we limit where these facilities can go. What kind of Cecilia's can have video poker? We could look at a limitation on the total number of video poker machines that are allowed in the community.

P

We could look at higher fees to disincentivize the proliferation I'm, not sure, what's most effective, but I'm curious to find out, because I would like to know more about what is the scope of the issue we're looking at, so we can make sure whatever action we take accomplishes what we would like to see accomplished. Okay,.

A

So and I, don't think that you tell me if I'm wrong, but based on the at least the intent I, don't I, don't think that those things would be out of order.

L

No, not at all, okay.

A

All the woman bright I.

N

Like this idea, I would like to suggest that we have a moratorium that will sunset come March first, so maybe we need to take this in two bites, the first bite being. Do we extend the moratorium and get that on an upcoming agenda so that we don't put on they don't sunset the program or the plan that we have at this time, and then we plan forward for the you know for the other details, because that's I think that that.

A

Will endure Annabeth.

N

Potentially right I think.

L

That would be a good idea yeah, because yeah Amelia has quite a few questions and concerns and I think that would take up quite a bit of time for discussion, so yeah I, I think start out by extending the moratorium and then discuss it further. Okay,.

N

So then we could probably put that on the agenda on.

A

The 25th meeting.

N

The 25th to vote to extend the moratorium and then go further and agree that a future agenda item would have this kind of work. We.

A

Would separate the conversations and I think.

I

Clarifying question here you talking about 30-day extension or I mean: are you taking.

N

A tiny, tiny block around that yeah I might want to hit the appetite of the group as to win that the next conversation would.

A

Any other, oh and.

K

I had a similar question to what Karen was was asking, because I was actually thinking even a little longer than 30 days, not knowing what it would take to to kind of put all those details together. You know because I know it seems to me like it's developing into a more complex conversation and in order.

A

It is and as we get into the weeds, but it really.

B

A

I, take it that's a yes for having a conversation right and then with our loss of water. What the council decides, the council could decide or to vote on a an extension right.

K

But what I was what I was saying is that I would like you know for maybe Jeff to to weigh in in terms of the amount of time that the moratorium, because they're the ones who are going to do the background work in terms of trying to figure out what all the options are right. You know the the license, the fees and the locations and and all those things I would assume that you'd have to do some background.

K

Some research and a month might not be enough right, there's so much stuff going on I, don't know I.

F

Think what I would ask is and I think what I would ask if, if there was an extension of the moratorium, that could be an agenda item on the 25th if we tentatively scheduled the fuller discussion on the 11th or the 18th of March 18th being the next committee as a whole I think staff would be prepared, obviously we'll replay this discussion to make sure that we capture you know some of the comments and questions that have been raised by counsel and then we'll sort of take it in directions.

F

You know as well based on what we learn when we start to dive into this, so I guess I'm asking for clarification, an ordinance to continue the moratorium and that's an ordinance item. That's on the 25th and then maybe you know through a tentative date of March 25th to have a fuller discussion has occurred in the past, but then the decision being an agenda item on March 25th. The fuller discussion will target the 11th in case there's follow-up for the 18th okay.

F

That was a question.

A

If actually can it, we can go to the maker of the motion and is that acceptable? Okay,.

Q

All of them sage, and thank you Tim for clarifying that, because I think that that helped me a little bit and Johnny I, just I just want to be sure that that I'm connecting these two key dots, what you're, suggesting or what I think is being suggested is we will have a conversation and a vote at the next meeting. So, regardless of what may or may not come up in the conversation that we're going to have on 25th, we will vote on the 25th. We.

L

Will vote for the moratorium to be extended? Okay, okay,.

F

Thank you with with no conversation on the 25th, so extend the moratorium on the 25th. Only we are prepping a staff for the fuller discussion for March 11th, okay,.

A

Thank you and okay, so there would be business we're assuming it a million I'm. Just that was your one of your questions and concerns is that there are other options. On the I mean there are difficulties, as we know, with a moratorium, just an absolute moratorium on anything right and you kind of highlighted some of those all the woman's right. I just.

N

Want to make mention that we're entering the spring break era and if we want to engage our constituents and also make sure that we have our staff fully staffed to study this. We might want to push this the timeline back just a little bit when it comes to our greater or larger discussion and our study and maybe go into April for our study and our discussion. And then our vote.

N

F

Meeting is first council meeting in April would be Monday April, 8th.

A

Okay and just to clarify just as before the record, this did come up. There were some members of Liquor Commission that wanted to talk about this on the Liquor, Commission and I. I said at this point: I think this is a public policy issue that is likely to be addressed by the council, so it was not discussed at the Commission, although we do always ask if somebody has, if they're getting that go type a license if they are going to have any intention of putting in video poker machines.

A

It's a question: that's asked for the record anything else. Okay, I think we have an option for an item to come forward for a possible vote which would extend the moratorium only a week from today. Okay, all right! Thank you very much at this point. Is there a motion to adjourn move by all the woman helmet? Is there a second second by all the woman Schmitt, and he excuse me all in favor signify by saying aye we're adjourned. Thank you.