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From YouTube: Council Minute February 10
Description
Mayor Tim Busse provides an update on the Parks, Arts and Recreation Work Plan, Lyndale Avenue renewal, Metro Transit route changes and the fire station FBI investigation.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
february,
8th
the
parks,
arts
and
recreation
commission
presented
their
2021
work
plan
to
the
city
council
this
week.
As
always,
the
commission's
work
plan
is
ambitious,
but
they
are
focused
on
the
park
system,
master
plan
and
they're.
Looking
ahead
to
planning
and
implementing
a
number
of
park
projects,
the
park
system,
master
planning
process
is
in
its
final
stages
and
will
be
coming
together
later
this
spring.
A
For
more
than
a
year,
we've
engaged
the
community
on
this
initiative
and,
despite
the
obvious,
covet
related
challenges,
it
has
generated
significant
and
truly
insightful
input
from
thousands
of
residents.
We've
learned
how
bloomington
can
improve
our
parks
and,
what's
important
to
you,
now
we're
putting
your
feedback
to
work.
A
This
kind
of
input
is
vital
to
help
shape
the
final
master
plan
in
january
staff,
introduced
the
vision,
mission
and
guiding
principles
and
reviewed
the
initial
recommendations
for
proposed
new
parking
amenities
based
on
input
received
at
let's
talk,
bloomington
the
city's
web-based
community
engagement
platform.
In
addition
to
feedback
surveys,
the
site
also
contains
information
about
the
master
plan
and
about
the
process
that's
being
used
to
develop
it.
The
parks,
commission
and
our
staff
they're
digesting.
A
All
of
that
information
and
they'll
be
drafting
several
documents
that
will
provide
even
more
detail
on
the
direction
of
the
master
plan.
Our
parks,
arts
and
recreation.
Commission
members
are
doing
a
great
job
to
help
guide
the
process.
I
want
to
extend
my
gratitude
to
them.
They
are
an
important
reflection
of
the
broader
community
and
they
provide
another
important
voice
on
behalf
of
you,
the
stakeholders
in
this
process,
the
users
of
the
system
and
the
participants
in
our
programs
very
soon
you'll
be
able
to
see
those
draft
documents.
A
A
Over
the
past
18
months,
we
have
been
working
on
a
really
important
piece
of
that
effort,
a
plan
to
foster
strategic
redevelopment
along
the
lindell
avenue
corridor.
As
we
heard
from
our
staff
and
consultant
team
this
week.
That
plan
is
nearing
completion.
The
draft
plan
describes
strategies
to
help
guide
and
to
shape
redevelopment
and
to
make
the
corridor
more
attractive,
more
walkable
and
more
sustainable.
The
recommendations
are
rooted
in
the
extensive
community
input
collected
over
the
past
year
through
a
variety
of
events
and
outreach
activities.
The
plan
identifies
actions.
A
The
city
can
take
proactively
to
stimulate
redevelopment,
as
well
as
having
a
plan
in
place
when
opportunities
arise.
Now,
with
large
area
plans
like
this,
it's
important
to
remember
that
redevelopment
will
occur
over
many
many
years,
but
once
the
plan
is
adopted,
implementation
can
begin
right
away,
and
that
means
working
with
private
property
and
business
owners
to
understand
their
future
plans.
It
means
reaching
out
to
the
development
community
to
gauge
their
interest,
and
it
means
having
a
solid
financial
plan
to
take
advantage
of
opportunities
to
be
successful.
A
The
city
will
need
to
strategically
target
resources
to
attract
private
reinvestment
and
we
need
to
build
on
public
investments
such
as
the
orange
line
brt
station,
which
is
scheduled
to
open
later
this
year.
The
plan
recommends
giving
highest
priority
to
the
lindell
avenue
corridor
areas
around
98th
and
86th
street.
A
It
also
recommends
several
improvements
to
the
public
realm
sidewalks
street
trees
and
parks
to
help
transform
the
appearance
and
perception
of
this
aging
corridor
and
to
make
it
safer
and
more
accommodating
to
pedestrians
and
bicyclists
of
all
ages
and
all
abilities
moving
forward
with
the
proposed
enhancements
to
the
physical
character
of
this
corridor.
Along
with
zoning,
flexibility
for
a
range
of
land
uses
are
some
of
the
most
effective
actions
the
city
can
take
to
set
the
table
and
send
a
clear
signal
about
the
city's
aspirations
for
this
corridor,
which
is
the
traditional
heart
of
bloomington.
A
Public
hearings
on
the
approval
of
the
final
plan
are
anticipated
in
march,
at
the
planning
commission
and
in
april
before
the
city
council,
more
information
on
the
lindale
avenue
retrofit
can
be
found
at
let's
talk
bloomington
later
this
year,
metro
transit
will
open
the
new
orange
line,
bus
rapid
transit
route.
The
orange
line
runs
from
burnsville
to
downtown
minneapolis,
with
two
bloomington
stations,
one
at
the
98th
street
transit
center
near
35w,
and
one
in
the
pen
american
district
at
american
boulevard
and
knox
avenue.
The
orange
line
will
greatly
improve
transit
service
in
bloomington.
A
In
addition
to
reliable
and
frequent
service
to
downtown
minneapolis
and
the
other
stations
along
the
way,
the
orange
line
will
open
up
many
transfer
possibilities
and
will
improve
the
reverse
commute
headed
south.
A
little
known
fact
is
that
many
more
minneapolis
residents
work
in
bloomington
than
bloomington
residents
work
in
minneapolis,
the
orange
line
and
the
buses
it
connects
with
will
greatly
improve
transit
access
to
bloomington
jobs.
At
our
last
council
meeting
metro
transit
staff
provided
an
overview
of
several
changes
they're
proposing
to
bus
routes
in
bloomington.
A
The
changes
are
needed
to
make
sure
that
connections
with
the
orange
line
are
optimized
and
that
all
routes
work
together
as
well
as
possible
to
allow
for
transfers.
The
pandemic
has
been
tough
on
transit
metro
transit
reported
that
their
revenue
is
down
by
more
than
50
percent,
while
their
costs
have
gone
up.
Unfortunately,
resources
aren't
available
to
have
a
perfect
transit
system
and,
honestly,
they
never
have
been
still
metro.
Transit
has
prepared
a
plan
that
brings
several
improvements
to
bloomington
bus
routes.
A
Some
of
the
improvements
include
a
new
continuous
route
on
lindale
avenue,
improved
east-west
service
within
bloomington
and
better
transit
service.
In
some
areas
that
have
a
higher
concentration
of
jobs,
metro
transit
is
seeking
public
input
on
the
proposed
changes
through
february
22nd,
and
I
encourage
you
to
learn
more
about
the
changes
and
provide
your
feedback
at
one
of
the
virtual
public
meetings
or
through
the
project
survey
which
is
available
in
english,
spanish
and
somali.
A
And
finally,
you
may
have
seen
yesterday
the
statement
from
bloomington
fire
chief
julie
seal
regarding
the
incident
last
summer,
where
a
rope
tied
into
a
crude
noose
was
found
in
the
locker
of
a
bloomington
firefighter
who's
black
after
the
incident
was
reported.
The
city
of
bloomington
asked
the
fbi
to
take
on
the
investigation
in
the
seven
months
since
fbi
agents
have
conducted
dozens
of
interviews,
sent
the
rope
to
the
fbi's
lab
in
quantico
virginia
for
forensic
examination
and
have
followed
up
on
every
lead
they
could
find.
A
At
this
point,
there
is
no
conclusive
evidence
linking
any
individual
or
group
to
the
incident
for
now
the
city
and
the
fbi
consider
this
case
closed.
Frankly,
I'm
disappointed
that
we
don't
have
answers.
Many
bloomington
residents
have
told
me
how
upsetting
this
incident
is,
and
frankly,
I
couldn't
agree
more.