►
From YouTube: Council Minute December 23
Description
Mayor Tim Busse provides a rundown of the last City Council meeting of the year during which they reviewed an application by Verizon Wireless to expand a data center facility, the results of the City Manager performance evaluation and discussion about the future of Hyland Greens.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
december
21st.
This
week's
council
meeting
was
the
last
meeting
of
the
year.
Let's
get
to
it.
If
you
watch
the
meeting
you
know
we
spent
a
lot
of
time
on
one
topic:
an
application
by
verizon
wireless
to
expand
their
existing
data
facility
at
old,
shakopee,
road
and
bush
lake
road.
This
public
hearing
was
different
than
much
of
what
the
council
does.
You
know.
A
Normally,
I
don't
spend
a
lot
of
time
talking
about
the
process
for
how
the
city
council
works,
but
in
this
case
it's
both
it's
kind
of
interesting
and
it's
important
to
understand.
The
city
council
derives
its
powers
from
both
the
state
statutes
and
the
city
charter
and
therefore
has
several
different
legal
functions.
A
A
A
lot
of
times
you'll
see
the
council
acting
in
its
administrative
or
fiduciary
functions,
doing
things
like
approving
contracts,
passing
the
city
budget
and
doing
other
things
that
keep
the
city
government
moving,
and
sometimes
you
see
the
city
council
acting
in
what's
called
a
quasi-judicial
capacity.
That's
what
we
were
doing
on
this
verizon
application.
So
here's
the
story.
A
There
are
some
land
use
and
building
approvals
that
don't
require
the
city
council
to
take
any
action.
The
planning
commission
has
the
authority
to
approve
things
like
revisions
to
site
plans
and
building
expansions
if
those
plans
are
compliant
with
the
current
zoning
and
if
the
building
codes
are
fine
and
if
they
don't
require
any
exceptions,
the
verizon
expansion
fit
into
that
category.
In
november,
the
planning
commission
unanimously
approved
the
application.
A
A
We
were
very
careful
to
ensure
that
the
time
allotted
to
each
of
these
parties
was
the
same
to
ensure
a
fair
process.
We
also
took
additional
testimony
in
a
public
hearing
before
asking
questions
and
discussing
the
application
among
ourselves.
The
biggest
concern
raised
by
residents
who
live
near
the
verizon
facility
is
the
amount
of
noise
that
will
be
generated
by
the
operations
when
it's
expanded
as
a
data
center.
A
A
In
the
end,
the
council
continued
the
item
to
january
11
to
give
staff
and
the
applicant
time
to
provide
additional
information
that
council
members
requested
in
order
to
make
this
decision
so
stay
tuned
for
more
information.
In
january,
I
mentioned
last
week
that
the
city
council
conducted
a
performance
evaluation
on
the
city
manager.
A
As
a
reminder,
the
city
of
bloomington
operates
as
a
council
manager
form
of
government.
The
city
council
has
one
employee,
the
city
manager,
who's
responsible
for
implementing
the
directives
of
the
council
and
managing
the
day-to-day
delivery
of
city
services.
When
we
do
the
performance
evaluation,
it's
conducted
in
a
closed
session,
but
we
are
required
to
provide
a
public
report
of
that
closed
session.
A
At
the
council
meeting,
I
reported
that
we
evaluated
the
city
manager
in
six
core
areas
leading
managing
and
developing
city
staff.
Financial
management
through
effective
and
efficient
service
delivery,
focus
on
strategic
priorities,
meaningful
and
inclusive,
resident
involvement,
innovation
and
appropriate
risk
taking
and
relationship
with
the
city
council.
A
A
A
Our
next
performance,
evaluation
of
the
city
manager
will
be
in
december
of
next
year.
Over
the
course
of
the
past
five
years,
we
have
spent
a
fair
amount
of
time
evaluating
the
city's
golf
operations.
As
you
probably
know,
the
city
owns
and
operates.
Two
golf
courses-
dwan
golf
club
is
an
18
hole
course,
while
highland
greens
golf
course
is
a
nine
hole,
executive
par
3,
as
well
as
being
a
practice
and
learning
facility
over
the
past
decade
or
more.
The
island
greens,
golf
operation
has
not
performed
well
financially.
A
In
2016,
we
had
a
resident
task
force,
evaluate
options
and,
as
a
result
of
that
process,
we
did
make
some
improvements,
but
it
hasn't
done
much
to
reverse
the
financial
picture.
This
year,
highland
greens
remain
closed,
as
our
concerns
for
the
city's
budget
meant
that
we
didn't
want
to
absorb
more
operating
losses.
Our
community
budget
advisory
committee,
along
with
staff
and
council
members,
suggested
we
pursue
new
ideas
and
partnerships
to
both
maintain
a
long-appreciated
golf
amenity
and
to
relieve
the
city
of
its
financial
strain.
A
Our
city
manager
reported
to
the
council
this
week
that
discussions
have
begun
with
three
rivers
park
district
to
have
them
take
over
operation
of
highland
greens.
As
soon
as
the
spring
of
2021.,
three
rivers
successfully
operates
a
number
of
golf
courses
already
and
has
a
tremendous
instructional
program.
A
The
city
and
three
rivers
park
districts
have
also
worked
together
for
a
long
time
in
partnership
at
highland
lake
park
reserve.
Building
on
that
partnership
offers
a
real
opportunity
to
broaden
the
appeal
of
highland
greens
and
to
grow
the
game
of
golf
in
bloomington.
We'll
share
more
information.
While
we
have
it
so
stay
tuned
on
this
developing
story,
well,
that's
a
wrap
on
this
week's
council
minute.
We'll
see
you
next
week,
when
I
provide
a
year
in
review
of
2020.