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From YouTube: Bloomington Today: April 20, 2011
Description
On this week's episode of Bloomington Today, we'll announce the Bloomington City Council District III appointment, take a look at how park maintenance crews are preparing area sports facilities for the upcoming season, and talk with Robyn Latzke about the Rental Homes for Future Homebuyers Program.
A
Welcome
to
Bloomington
today,
I'm
kailyn
real
thanks
for
joining
us.
The
Bloomington
City
Council
has
all
of
its
members
once
again,
recently
filling
the
seat
for
a
district
3
representative
following
longtime
member
Steve,
Elkins
departure
to
the
Metropolitan
Council
during
the
April
eighteenth
council
meeting
members
voted
on
eight
individuals
who
submitted
applications
to
fill
the
district
3
seat
for
the
remainder
of
the
term
and
the
new
council
member
is
Tim.
A
Busey
Tim
currently
is
the
director
of
University
services
at
the
University
of
Minnesota
and
has
20
years
of
experience
as
a
communications,
professional
primarily
in
the
public
sector,
including
several
years
with
the
League
of
Minnesota
cities.
Busey
along
with
seven
other
applicants,
all
participated
in
recorded
interviews
with
the
City
Council.
There's.
B
Only
going
to
be
one
picked,
unfortunately,
we
can
only
fill
one
seat
and
those
other
people
that
interviewed
by
all
means
do
not
give
up.
We
would
love
to
see
you
back
in
some
sort
of
a
commission
role
or
some
sort
of
a
volunteer
role
within
the
city.
I
think
everybody
that
came
forward
looked
like
they
were
good
people
and
would
be
a
good
asset
to
the
communities.
I
think
we've.
C
A
Can
view
all
the
interviews
on
the
city's
website,
as
the
mayor
announced
during
this
year's
State
of
the
City
presentation
regarding
the
169
I
494
interchange,
it's
happening,
the
kickoff
celebration
of
the
highway
169
I
494
interchange
reconstruction
project
was
held
on
April
14th.
The
ceremony
took
place
at
West
78th
Street
in
a
dyna
at
the
Hellmouth
and
Johnson
pllc
building
the
program
included
speeches
from
local
dignitaries,
a
ceremonial
photograph
well.
C
This
is
a
good
fun
day
because
we've
all
been
working
on
it.
So
long-
and
it's
been
mentioned.
The
hundred
and
seventy-five
thousand
cars
a
day
that
pass
through
this
interchange
and
they
were
doing
it
in
substandard
circumstances
and
conditions,
and
it
was
problematic-
and
it's
been
stated
that
this
is
now
going
to
be
safer
and
it
will
end
up
ultimately
saving
lives
in
open.
A
House
followed
the
ceremony
which
included
information
about
the
project,
layouts
and
images
of
the
future
interchange
according
to
MnDOT.
The
project
will
convert
the
current
expressway
into
a
freeway
by
rebuilding
the
interchange
with
six
ramps
and
removing
traffic
signals,
which
will
reduce
congestion
and
improve
safety.
A
The
city
of
Bloomington
is
proud
to
maintain
several
outdoor
sports
complexes
around
the
city
and,
as
the
snow
finally
disappears
park.
Maintenance
crews
have
a
lot
of
work
ahead
of
them
to
get
the
softball
baseball
and
soccer
fields
up
and
ready
for
the
season.
Thousands
of
people
come
through
these
parks
on
a
given
weekend
in
the
spring
summer
and
fall
for
various
ball
tournaments.
City
maintenance
staff
are
in
high
gear
to
get
these
parks.
Looking
great
after
the
long
winter
we
spent
the
day
at
Dred.
A
D
A
D
Are
highly
visible
areas
you
know
there's
a
lot
of
out-of-town
play
that
comes
through
these
parks,
especially
on
these
baseball
fields
in
the
summertime.
Then
you
know
it's
just
kind
of
a
you
know.
We
want
it
to
look
good
for
them.
We
want
them
to
compare
to
theirs
and
say
wow.
You
know
what
a
what
a
place
you
know.
It's
a
real
nice
place
that
we
wish
we
had.
You
know
those
types
of
things
that
they
and
hopefully
you
know
we
can
learn
from
them
and
they
can
learn
from
us.
D
A
D
Would
be
the
first
one
you
know
when
snow
melts,
we
typically
have
puddles
around
the
ag-lime
areas.
We
didn't
have
a
lot
of
that
this
year.
Oh
you
know.
Hopefully
we
do
a
good
job
dragging
to
level
everything
out
in
the
wintertime,
and
then
you
know
getting
the
grass
up
and
greening
it
up,
getting
it
to
stand
up,
snow,
mold,
dollar
spot.
Those
are
some
types
of
things
that
that
happened.
D
A
Like
to
thank
our
park,
maintenance
crews
for
keeping
our
parks
looking
great,
keep
up
the
good
work.
The
smell
of
outdoor
fires
is
common
during
the
warmer
months
in
Minnesota.
However,
it
isn't
always
thanks
to
camp
fires.
Last
week,
the
city
of
Bloomington
partnered,
with
a
local
prairie
restoration
company
to
administer
some
controlled
burns
to
select
grassy
areas.
This
was
the
scene
at
the
water
treatment
plant
on
April
12.
A
According
to
prairie
restoration
inc,
fire
has
historically
played
a
significant
role
in
the
health
of
natural
landscapes,
particularly
grasslands
by
discouraging
woody
plants
and
non-native
species
from
taking
over
fire
has
proven
to
restore
the
health
of
native
vegetation,
reduces
weeds
and
releases
nutrients
vital
to
new
plant
growth,
while
reducing
the
risk
of
wildfires.
It's
now
time
for
a
short
break
when
we
return
we're
joined
by
housing
and
redevelopment
authority
program,
specialist,
Robin
Watsky
to
talk
about
one
Bloomington
program.
Looking
for
participants,
that's
perfect!
If
you're
a
family
just
starting
out
stay
with
us
for.
G
C
F
E
J
A
K
Buyer
program:
okay:
this
program
is
for
larger
families,
families
between
three
and
six
people.
They
are
it's
single-family
homes
that
the
families
rent
they
can
rent
them
up
to
five
years,
once
they're
in
the
homes
hopefully
they'll
be
putting
setting
aside
a
certain
amount
of
the
rent,
and
that
goes
into
what
we
call
an
escrow
account
and
at
the
end
of
those
five
years.
Hopefully
there's
enough
in
there
for
a
nice
down
payment
on
a
home
for.
A
K
Like
I
said
there,
they
are
three
bedroom
houses,
so
325
or
ms
are
three
to
six
people
have
to
be
in
there.
You
know
we
don't
we
don't
want
to
under
utilize
the
homes,
but
more
than
six
that
that
would
be
too
much
for
a
three-bedroom
house.
So
three
to
six
family
members,
the
people
need
to
have
fairly
good
credit,
we're
looking
for
scores
right
around
500.
They
have
to
have
a
good
rental
history,
no
recent
criminal
history.
K
A
So
there's
some
income
requirements
as
well
right.
Well,
this
isn't
a
new
program
to
to
Bloomington.
This
program
has
been
around
since
nineteen.
Ninety
three,
so
obviously,
there's
been
some
success
with
it
in
order
to
keep
it
going.
Is
there
any
stories
that
stick
out
in
your
head
as
success
stories
for
this
program?
Well,.
K
We've
had
quite
a
few
of
the
people
that
participated
by
homes,
I
would
say,
almost
half
have
actually
gone
on
to
buy
houses
yeah.
So
it's
really
nice
when
they're
at
that
point,
because
they're
so
excited
and
I
did
have
a
family
buy
a
house
in
Bloomington
here,
and
they
did
invite
me
over
so
I
went
over
there
and
they
were
just
so
proud
to
show
it
off
and
it
really
was
a
beautiful
home.
They
were,
they
were
really
excited
about
that
and
I
was
excited
for
them.
Perfect.
K
Right,
there's
there's
a
minimum
rent
that
we
set
and
that
minimum
right
now
was
about
727
anything.
Over
and
above
that,
then
we
take.
We
take
a
look
at
thirty
percent
of
their
income,
so
if
thirty
percent
of
their
income
came
out
to
be
827,
there'd
be
a
hundred
dollars
a
month
going
into
the
same
as
account
that
was
set
aside
for
them.
K
K
A
K
Want
to
give
them
the
whole
kind
of
feeling
of
owning
their
own
home.
So
as
far
as
that
goes,
we
make
them
responsible
for
taking
care
of
the
lawn
so
mowing
the
lawn
watering,
the
grass
they
have
to
clean
up
the
snow
so
shovel
the
driveway
shovel,
the
sidewalks
they
have
to
clean
the
furnace
filters
clean
the
gutters.
K
K
A
K
It's
a
great
way
to
help
people
make
the
transition
from
renting
to
owning
and
then
they're
invested
in
the
city.
So
a
lot
of
times,
if
you've
lived
here
five
years,
you've
got
children
now
that
are
going
to
the
schools
and
and
they
you
know
they
prefer
if
they
can
to
buy
something
in
Bloomington,
that's
not
always
possible
and
it's
not
necessary.
They
don't
have
to,
but
it's
just
really
a
great
program
for
larger
families.
K
A
K
A
H
30
minutes
a
day
of
physical
activity
can
improve
your
health
and
decrease
your
risk
of
heart
disease.
So
start
walking
for
yourself
start
walking
with
your
family
start
walking
with
your
friends
start
a
movement
in
your
community
start
walking
start
something
to
join
the
movement
log
on
to
start
walking
now
org
and
help
start
something.
Now.
E
F
D
A
Welcome
back
everyone,
more
than
one-third
of
the
city
of
Bloomington
is
considered
a
natural
habitat.
There
are
more
than
300
lakes,
streams,
ponds
and
wetlands,
and
when
the
weather,
warms
bodies
of
water
may
need
a
bit
of
help
in
order
to
stay
beautiful.
Well,
thanks
to
a
recent
city,
ordinance
passed
by
the
City
Council
residents
are
now
allowed
to
aerate
their
ponds.
The.
G
Pond
aeration
ordinance
a
lot
gives
residents
an
avenue
to
install
different
types
of
aeration
equipment
in
the
ponds
should
they
desire
in
the
past.
We
have
not
allowed
or
discouraged
residents
from
doing
that
just
for
a
variety
of
different
reasons
and
where
we
were
looking
to
provide
an
avenue
for
residents
to
be
able
to
install
it,
should
they
wish
fountains.
A
G
A
Vegetation
or
LG
can
be
reduced
by
aerating
a
pond
if
you'd
like
more
details
on
the
steps
necessary
to
obtain
a
no-cost
permit
to
aerate
a
pond
on
your
property
contact,
the
city's
engineering
division
of
Public
Works.
That
number
is
952
563
4870
on
april
sixth,
the
best
buy
world
headquarters
was
the
site
of
the
2011
state
of
the
commute
presentation.
L
Services
is
currently
working
with
over
600
companies
in
the
five
cities
we
serve.
Those
cities
are
eden:
prairie,
Edina,
Minnetonka,
Bloomington
and
wonderful,
rich
field,
where
we
are
today
and
of
of
those
600
companies
and
five
cities.
Our
staff
held
a
hundred
and
eighty-seven
onsite
commuter
fairs
last
year
alone
and
assisted
4,400
people
who
are
driving
alone
to
work
with
customized
assistance
to
find
a
carpool
partner.
Try
taking
the
bus
or
with
a
customized
bicycle
route
recommendation
that
level
of
personal
personalized
service
and
assistance
resulted
in
the
reduction
of
over
18
million
miles.
A
Services
offers
various
ways
for
employers
to
offer
their
employees
alternate
transportation,
including
discounted
bus
passes,
carpool
matchup
services
and
customized
bike
routes.
A
panel
of
business
representatives
talked
at
the
presentation
about
their
success
with
the
commuter
program.
One
united
healthcare
worker
on
the
panel
saw
the
benefits
of
alternate
transportation,
almost
immediately
I
really.
I
Enjoy
the
work
that
I
do,
but
my
daily
commute
is
one
of
the
favorite
parts
of
of
my
day
and
that's
not
something
that
everybody
can
say.
But
I
love
getting
the
exercise
in
the
morning.
I
really
enjoy
being
outside
and
going
over.
Some
of
the
the
busier
stretches
of
road
passing
over
like
highway
100
and
seeing
the
stop
and
go
traffic
while
I'm
kind
of
sailing
by
looking
at
the
trees-
and
you
know,
I
enjoy
the
the
feeling
that
I
get
of
having
exercising
at
work.
A
More
information
on
commuter
services
or
to
find
carpool,
matchups
bike
routes
and
other
helpful
alternative
ways
to
get
to
work,
visit,
WWF
or
94
cord
org,
the
city
of
Bloomington,
Edina
and
rich
fields,
have
been
working
hard
to
reduce
substance
use
and
promote
healthy
living
in
area
youth.
Through
the
tri-cities
partners
coalition,
we
were
at
the
April
meeting
as
tri-city
partner
representatives
from
the
three
cities
met
to
discuss
some
current
issues
with
youth,
including
social
host
ordinances
and
upcoming
concerns,
with
the
quickly
approaching
graduations
and
proms.
A
After
meeting
like
this,
one
members
will
then
brainstorm
ways
to
counteract
things
discussed
while
ultimately
seeking
to
keep
youth
away
from
alcohol,
tobacco
and
drugs.
If
you
live
or
work
in
the
communities
of
Bloomington,
Richfield
or
Edina
you're
invited
to
become
a
member
of
the
tri-city
partners
through
working
together,
tri-city
partners
believes
in
creating
a
community
that
supports
youth
in
remaining
drug
and
alcohol,
free
for
more
information
contact,
city
of
Bloomington
employees
and
coalition
members,
Julie
Zamora
or
Denise
Reese.
A
A
A
Well,
that's
all
the
time
we
have
for
today
to
get
more
information
on
city
projects,
parks,
road
construction
and
events
visit
the
city's
website
to
check
out
past
bloomington.
Today's
shows
or
other
city
productions
visit,
bloomington's
youtube,
channel,
accessible
right
from
the
city's
homepage.
Then
so
much
more
is
online
right
now,
at
wwc,
I,
bloomington
MN
us
will
do
you
even
one
better
sign
up
for
you
subscribe
to
have
updates,
sent
right
to
your
email
or
cell
phone.
This
is
bloomington
today,
a
presentation
of
the
city
of
Bloomington
communications
division.
I'm
kailyn
real
thanks.