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From YouTube: June 8 Council Minute
Description
Mayor Tim Busse brings you highlights from the June 8 Council Study Meeting. Bush Lake Beach is slated to open this summer, recommendations are made to continue efforts to reduce tobacco use and the Council spends time discussing efforts to advance racial equity in the Bloomington Police Department.
A
Hello,
Bloomington
I'm
Mayor,
Tim
Boise,
and
this
is
the
cult
a
minute
for
the
week
of
June
8th
the
city
calls
meeting
this
week
was
a
study
session
to
check
in
on
a
number
of
projects
and
studies
of
interest
to
the
community
and
I
want
to
talk
today
about
three
things
that
may
be
of
interest
to
you.
First,
as
we
have
since
April,
we
began
the
meeting
with
an
update
on
the
pandemic
and
its
impacts
on
Bloomington
dr.
A
A
Emerging
infection
infection
data
shows
a
disturbing
disproportionate
impact
on
black
indigenous
and
people
of
color
by
POC
communities,
including
immigrants
and
refugees
in
Bloomington.
This
impact
is
most
pronounced
in
our
black
and
Hispanic
communities.
We
know
that
long-standing
and
systemic
health
inequities
in
by
pop
communities
make
these
groups
more
vulnerable
to
the
effects
of
the
koban
19
pandemic.
Moreover,
by
pop
communities
have
increased
exposure
to
the
virus
because
of
the
higher
rates
of
workers
working
in
low-paying
frontline
jobs
that
are
now
recognized
as
essential.
A
Our
city's
Public
Health
staff
is
working
to
address
these
important
public
health
concerns
by
providing
targeted
health,
education
and
resource
information
to
our
BiPAP
communities
that
are
experiencing
significant
adverse
health
impacts.
Another
pandemic
related
issue
we
discussed
on
Monday
night
was
the
governor's
loosening
of
restrictions.
Last
week,
governor
Walz
turned
the
dial
to
allow
groups
to
gather
in
larger
numbers
for
certain
activities
when
practicing
safe
social
distancing.
For
us,
the
most
immediate
need
is
how
the
governor's
ordered
affects
Busch
Lake
Beach
folks.
We
know
full
well
that
Minnesota
summers
aren't
very
long.
A
They're
sacred
and
people
are
absolutely
itching
to
get
outside
and
enjoy
summer
you'll
remember
earlier
this
spring
we
had
originally
said
that
Bush
Lake
Beach
would
be
closed
for
the
entire
summer.
Our
staff
has
reviewed
the
governor's
orders
and
believes
that
we
can
open
the
beach.
We
have
some
work
to
do
first,
including
testing
the
water,
to
be
sure
that
it's
safe
and
getting
some
extra
porta-potties
set
up,
but
the
beach
should
be
open
by
this
weekend.
Now
we
believe
we
can
open
the
beach,
but
doing
it
safely
depends
on
you.
A
Everyone
still
has
to
observe
safe
social
distancing.
The
beach
won't
have
lifeguards
working,
so
everyone
will
swim
at
their
own
risk,
and
you
should
be
very
cautious
and,
most
importantly,
follow
the
rules.
Folks,
the
rules
are
there
for
your
safety
and,
as
our
public
health
staff
keeps
reminding
me
just
because
something
is
permissible,
does
not
mean
it
is
necessarily
advisable.
The
governor
is
opening
things
up,
but
he's
consistently
reminded
people
that
caution
is
still
the
best
approach.
Public
health
was
also
at
the
center
of
another
policy
discussion.
A
The
council
had
this
week
the
city's
Advisory
Board
of
Health
made
four
recommendations
to
continue
our
efforts
to
reduce
smoking
and
reduce
the
effects
of
secondhand
smoke.
The
Advisory
Board
of
Health
is
a
volunteer
commission
appointed
by
the
City
Council
they've
been
studying
policy
options
related
to
tobacco
and
smoking
cessation
for
several
years
now,
and
they
believe
that
by
doing
these
four
things
Bloomington
will
continue
to
be
a
leader
in
public
health
policies.
First,
the
board
recommends
restricting
the
sale
of
flavored
products
such
as
menthol
and
ecig
arete.
A
Second,
they
recommend
capping
the
number
of
tobacco
licenses
issued
by
the
city.
They
also
recommend
restricting
tobacco
sales
to
specific
locations
within
the
city,
away
from
parks
and
schools,
and
finally,
they
recommend
requiring
that
all
multi-unit
housing
properties
prohibit
smoking
in
individual
rental
units.
The
council
directed
staff
to
prioritize
the
restriction
of
flavored
smoking
products.
All
of
the
research
indicates
that
flavored
products
continue
to
be
the
gateway
for
young
people
to
smoke
and
eliminating
those
products
will
have
a
lasting
impact
on
the
number
of
people
who
start
smoking
in
the
first
place.
A
The
council
also
indicated
interest
in
prohibiting
smoking
and
rental
properties
because
of
the
demonstrated
impact
of
secondhand
smoke
in
general.
The
council
was
supportive
of
all
four
recommendations.
The
Advisory
Board
of
Health
will
be
doing
more
community
engagement
on
this
topic
when
gathering
restrictions
make
that
easier
to
do,
and
they
will
return
to
the
council
later
this
year
for
formal
action.
Finally,
the
council
also
spent
a
fair
amount
of
time
at
the
end
of
the
meeting
talking
about
the
urgency.
A
Our
communities
are
expecting
as
we
address
issues
of
racial
disparities,
especially
in
the
area
of
criminal
justice
and
policing.
My
colleagues
and
I
have
received
dozens
of
emails
and
phone
calls
from
concerned
community
members
wanting
to
know
more
about
the
policies
and
practices
of
the
Bloomington
Police
Department
I
want
to
thank
Bloomington,
Police
Chief
Jeff
Potts
for
his
leadership
on
this
issue,
not
only
for
our
community
but
throughout
the
state
of
Minnesota.
A
Chief
Potts
is
currently
the
president
of
the
Minnesota
Chiefs
of
Police
Association
and
has
been
at
the
center
of
many
of
these
policy
discussions
over
the
past
several
years.
Last
week,
the
chief
posted
a
letter
to
the
community
expressing
his
outrage
at
the
handling
of
mr.
George
Floyd,
while
in
the
custody
of
the
Minneapolis
Police.
He
also
shared
with
the
Bloomington
Police
Department
has
been
doing
over
the
past
several
years
to
build
relationships
with
people
in
our
black
indigenous
and
people
of
color
communities.
A
He
talked
about
the
efforts
being
undertaken
to
ensure
our
hiring
and
training
of
officers
is
meeting
the
highest
standards
of
professionalism
and
he
outlined
the
policies
we
have
in
place
to
protect
our
residents
from
the
kind
of
police
tactics
that
resulted
in
George
Floyd's
death.
The
chief
statement
can
be
found
on
the
front
page
of
the
city's
website
and
I
encourage
you
all
to
please
take
a
look.
A
We
are
fortunate
to
have
one
of
the
most
professional
and
best
trained
police
departments
in
Minnesota.
We
also
know
that
reputation
can
vanish
in
a
heartbeat.
The
future
success
of
our
community
depends
on
the
entire
community
feeling
safe
and
trusting
that
those
who
take
an
oath
to
protect
and
serve
are
following
through
on
that
commitment,
fairly
and
justly
the
City
Council
is
committed
to
engaging
all
of
our
communities
throughout
our
community
to
address
racial
injustice
and
disparities.