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From YouTube: Council Minute September 15
Description
In this week’s Council Minute, Mayor Busse provides an update on the preliminary budget and tax levy for 2022, action the City is taking against climate change and the latest on the proposal to manage bulky item disposal more sustainably.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
september
13th,
if
you
are
a
regular
viewer
of
the
council
minute
you'll
recall
that
a
couple
weeks
back,
I
shared
quite
a
bit
of
information
with
you
about
our
budget
discussions
for
next
year.
This
week
we
continued
that
conversation
before
adopting
a
preliminary
budget
and
tax
levy
for
2022..
On
monday
night,
the
city
council
approved
a
preliminary
tax
levy,
increase
of
2.75
percent.
I
say
preliminary
because
we
won't
approve
the
final
budget
until
december.
A
At
that
time
we
can
lower
the
levy
in
december,
but
we
can't
go
any
higher
based
on
the
information
we
have
right
now
that
preliminary
number
of
2.75
percent
is
the
lowest
preliminary
levy
increase
among
the
peer
cities
in
minnesota
that
bloomington
typically
compares
ourselves
to.
We
will
be
holding
community
engagement
sessions
on
october,
20th
and
october
27th
at
those
budget
info
sessions
and
roundtable
discussions.
A
We'll
make
sure
to
remind
you
when
we
get
closer
to
the
meeting
dates
and
I
look
forward
to
seeing
you
there
back
in
2016,
the
city
council
adopted
a
strategic
plan
that
included
sustainability
as
one
of
the
pillars
of
that
plan.
Now
sustainability
is
a
broad
topic,
but
one
of
the
driving
concerns
for
the
council
was
climate
change.
A
The
earth's
climate
is
changing
and
bloomington
is
located
on
planet
earth.
Changes
in
the
earth's
atmosphere
caused
by
greenhouse
gases
are
creating
problematic
weather
trends
like
more
extreme
rain
events
warmer
winters
and
an
increased
likelihood
of
extreme
summer
heat
climate
change
threatens
the
health
of
community
members,
the
environment
and
the
economy.
The
buildings
in
our
community
play
a
big
role
in
the
local
greenhouse
gas
emissions
that
ultimately
drive
climate
change.
The
electricity
and
natural
gas
used
to
fuel
our
buildings
are
the
largest
source
of
greenhouse
gas
emissions
in
the
city.
A
Now,
with
that
in
mind,
bloomington's
energy
action
plan
outlines
a
goal
of
reducing
those
emissions
by
75
percent
by
2035..
Well,
this
week
the
city
council
took
significant
steps
to
meet
this
goal
by
adopting
two
energy
disclosure
ordinances,
the
first
ordinance
a
time
of
sale.
Energy
disclosure
makes
home
energy
performance.
A
point
of
conversation
during
the
buying
and
selling
process
of
any
home.
Now
take
a
step
back
here
if
you're
selling
your
home,
the
city
of
bloomington
currently
requires
a
time
of
sale.
A
A
The
energy
assets
in
a
home
include
the
heating
and
cooling
system,
the
water,
heater
wall
and
attic
insulation
and
the
windows
that
data
collected
will
be
used
to
generate
an
energy
disclosure
report
and
rating.
Now
the
rating
provides
a
simple
way
for
a
potential
home
buyer
to
compare
home
energy
performance
on
a
zero
to
one
hundred
point
scale.
The
rating
scale
has
been
designed
with
bloomington's
existing
housing
stock
in
mind,
so
it's
possible
that
every
home
could
reach
a
score
of
100
through
some
cost-effective
improvements.
A
A
I
want
to
stress
here-
and
this
is
very
important-
these
improvements
are
not
required.
There
are
suggestions
to
improve
energy
efficiency,
but
no
improvements
or
no
upgrades
are
required
of
any
homeowner.
The
goals
of
the
time
of
sale.
Energy
disclosure
are
to
provide
potential
buyers
with
information,
so
they
can
understand
the
home's
energy
consumption
and
cost
prior
to
purchasing
a
home.
A
We
also
want
to
provide
the
city
with
information,
so
we
can
identify
residents
with
high
energy
bills
and
connect
them
with
resources
that
might
help
them
cut
those
costs
and
we're
looking
to
improve
community
health
and,
of
course,
reduce
greenhouse
gas
emissions
staff
is
working
to
roll
out
this
time
of
sale,
energy
disclosure
program
on
april
1
2022
until
then,
they'll
be
working
with
realtors
they'll,
be
training
inspectors
and,
of
course,
developing
and
implementing
a
comprehensive
community
outreach
campaign.
So
everyone
understands
this
program.
The
second
energy
ordinance
adopted
on
monday
night
is
large,
building
benchmarking.
A
Energy
benchmarking
is
the
ongoing
review
of
a
building's
energy
performance
to
ensure
a
building
is
using
natural
gas
and
electricity
as
anticipated
both
over
time
and
relative
to
piers.
Just
like
gas
mileage
helps
drivers
better
understand,
vehicle
efficiency.
Benchmarking
gives
owners
and
occupants
insight
into
a
building's
energy
performance
and
helps
identify
opportunities
to
reduce
cost
and
waste.
The
city's
large
building
benchmarking
program
will
require
annual
tracking
of
energy
use
for
commercial
multi-family
and
public
buildings
larger
than
75
000
square
feet.
A
It
will
also
require
publicly
disclosing
high-level
benchmarking
metrics
once
a
year
there
are
about
200
buildings
in
bloomington
that
meet
the
program's
size
and
use
requirements.
The
city
will
provide
benchmarking,
training,
workshops
for
building
owners
and
property
managers
prior
to
the
first
reporting
date,
which
is
june.
1St
2022.
A
Both
energy
disclosure
programs
demonstrate
the
city's
regional
sustainability
leadership.
Bloomington
is
the
second
city
in
the
state
to
have
time
of
sale,
energy
disclosure
and
the
sixth
to
have
a
large
building
benchmarking
program.
Thank
you
to
the
sustainability
commission
and
to
staff
for
their
outstanding
work
on
these
efforts.
In
addition
to
the
energy
disclosure
ordinances,
the
council
received
an
update
on
a
new
proposal
for
managing
bulky
items
in
a
more
sustainable
way
than
our
current
curbside
cleanup
program.
A
This
past
april
city
staff
and
the
sustainability
commission
asked
for
community
feedback
on
a
proposed
plan
for
handling
bulky
items
in
bloomington.
That
would
reduce
the
amount
of
materials
being
sent
to
local
landfills
and
boy.
Did
the
community
respond
to
that
request
for
feedback
more
than
six
thousand
residents
visited
the
let's
talk,
bloomington
project
page
for
the
proposal.
A
Fourteen
hundred
residents
completed
a
survey
and
more
than
sixty
attended
community
listening
sessions,
staff
reviewed
that
feedback
conducted
additional
research
and
ultimately
developed
a
new
proposal
to
incorporate
what
was
heard.
The
updated
proposal
includes
several
different
components.
The
first
component
includes
holding
a
reimagined
curbside
cleanup
event
every
other
year.
A
Items
collected
during
this
event
would
be
more
limited,
most
notably
small
items
that
can
fit
in
a
standard.
Garbage
cart
would
not
be
accepted.
This
type
of
event
would
maintain
convenience
for
residents.
It
would
continue
to
allow
for
some
reuse
and
recycling
through
rummaging,
and
it
would
divert
those
smaller
items
to
our
regular
garbage
collection
for
disposal
at
the
hennepin
county
waste
to
energy
facility.
The
second
component
is
a
regular
curbside
pickup
service
for
reusable
and
recyclable
items.
A
Only
residents
could
call
to
schedule
a
pickup
for
items
that
may
be
reusable,
such
as
gently
used,
furniture
or
usable
building
materials.
Regular
schedule
for
these
pickups
would
add
to
resident
convenience,
and
it
would
provide
a
second
life
for
a
lot
of
still
usable
items.
The
third
component
includes
an
annual
drop-off
event
for
recyclable
materials.
Here,
we're
talking
about
items
like
electronics,
scrap
metal,
tires
or
small
engines.
A
The
annual
drop-offs
would
be
open
to
all
bloomington
residents
and
an
additional
component
and
here's
one
that
I
really
like
would
include
holding
swap
events
where
residents
could
exchange
certain
types
of
items
like
sporting
goods
or
toys
or
gardening
tools.
These
events
would
promote
reuse
of
these
items
and
provide
a
great
way
for
people
to
find
that
next
size
of
ice
skates
or
a
new
planter
for
the
front
yard.
Again,
these
events
would
be
open
to
all
bloomington
residents.
A
A
I
like
this
new
proposal
because
it
incorporates
what
we
heard
from
you.
It
provides
many
different
options
for
people
to
get
rid
of
items
that
have
outlived
their
useful
life,
but
it
also
puts
a
greater
emphasis
on
reuse
and
recycling
and
keeping
items
out
of
landfills.
The
proposal
was
brought
forward
as
an
informational
item.
At
monday
night's
council
meeting,
the
sustainability
commission
will
discuss
their
proposal
at
the
september.
21St
meeting
they'll
likely
provide
some
recommendations
and
it
will
return
to
the
council
at
the
end
of
the
month
for
further
discussion.
A
That
will
do
it
for
this
week's
council
minute
a
quick
reminder.
It's
an
election
year
here
in
bloomington
and
early
voting,
starts
on
friday
september
17th.
You
can
vote
in
person
at
civic,
plaza
monday
through
friday,
from
8
a.m,
to
4
30
p.m.
The
ballot
includes
both
city
council
and
school
board,
visit
the
city's
website
or
call
the
city
clerk's
office
for
more
information.