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From YouTube: Council Minute January 13
Description
Mayor Tim Busse provides an update on the expansion request by Verizon Wireless, the Park System Master Plan and shares his reflections on the events in Washington.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
january
11th.
A
few
weeks
ago,
I
talked
about
a
development
application
that
posed
some
thorny
issues.
Verizon
has
an
office
building
and
data
center
at
old,
shakopee,
road
and
bush
lake
road.
They
applied
for
an
approval
to
expand
the
facility
which
is
considered
to
be
critical,
telecommunications
infrastructure,
meaning
it's
really
important
to
the
backbone
of
cellular
service
in
the
upper
midwest,
because
the
expansion
plans
were
determined
to
be
code
compliant
by
the
staff
and
by
the
planning
commission.
A
The
application
originally
didn't
have
to
come
through
the
city
council
for
approval.
However,
there
is
a
process
in
our
city
code
that
allows
a
decision
of
the
planning
commission
to
be
appealed
to
the
city
council,
and
that
requires
the
city
council
to
act
in,
what's
called
a
quasi-judicial
capacity
to
hear
the
appeal
and
to
make
a
decision.
A
That's
what
happened
here.
A
group
of
residents
living
near
the
verizon
facility
appealed
the
decision
primarily
concerned
that
noise
coming
from
the
cooling
towers
and
the
generators
at
the
facility
is
already
too
loud,
and
that
the
expansion
would
only
make
the
noise
worse.
The
threshold
for
acceptable
levels
of
noise
is
laid
out
in
minnesota.
State
rules
and
cities
are
not
allowed
to
establish
more
stringent
requirements
than
those
state
rules.
The
acoustical
engineer
on
the
project
spent
a
great
deal
of
time,
laying
out
the
process
for
how
noise
levels
are
measured.
A
The
analysis
showed
that
the
operations
of
the
facility
will
not
exceed
the
state
limits
for
noise.
Now
that
clearly
didn't
satisfy
the
residents
who
live
nearby,
sensitivity
to
noise
and
noise
complaints
are
among
the
toughest
code,
compliance
issues
that
we
deal
with
because
of
how
people
perceive
noise
and
that
a
level
of
noise
that's
considered
to
be
bothersome
can
be
very
different
from
one
person
to
the
next.
A
I
think
it's
safe
to
say
that
every
member
of
the
city
council
recognized
that
the
neighbors
concerns
are
absolutely
legitimate.
Living
near
a
noisy
business
or
a
commercial
operation
can
be
very
wearying
for
many.
Many
people,
however,
the
council's
role
in
this
process
is
to
determine
if
the
evidence
supports
the
conclusion
of
the
planning
commission,
that
the
application
meets
city
codes
and
state
laws.
A
In
this
case
it
does
so
the
council
directed
staff
to
bring
a
motion
for
approval
of
the
application
to
the
next
council
meeting.
One
of
the
really
important
conditions
of
approval,
however,
is
that
the
noise
levels
must
be
tested
when
the
expansion
is
complete
to
ensure
it
is
below
the
permissible
noise
level.
Only
then
will
a
certificate
of
occupancy
be
granted.
A
The
council
also
shared
their
concerns
with
staff
that
we
need
to
continuously
review
our
comprehensive
plan
to
make
sure
the
city's
zoning
and
guiding
for
business
and
industrial
properties
are
not
creating
livability
issues
for
residential
neighborhoods
nearby.
This
week,
the
city
council
had
another
check
in
on
the
progress
of
our
park
system
master
plan.
A
This
process
has
been
going
on
for
about
a
year
now
and
it's
vitally
important
for
the
future
of
our
neighborhoods,
the
quality
of
life
in
our
community
and
making
sure
that
the
amenities
in
our
park
system
are
meeting
the
wants
and
needs
of
you.
Our
park
users,
our
parks
and
recreation
department
and
the
consultant
team
working
with
them
have
partnered,
with
our
community
engagement
and
our
communications
divisions.
A
To
make
sure
the
master
planning
process
has
been
transparent
and
has
provided
a
lot
of
opportunity
for
resident
involvement,
as
well
as
input
from
our
major
user
groups
and
other
stakeholders.
The
park
system
master
plan
is
a
road
map
for
planning
and
for
completing
park.
Improvements
for
helping
the
city
plan
capital
improvements
and
to
ensure
that
changes
and
investments
to
the
park
system
fit
into
the
bigger
picture
of
serving
the
needs
of
the
community.
Today
and
in
the
future,
the
park
system
master
plan
will
consider
local
and
national
trends.
A
Community
demographics
facility
needs
current
and
future
programming
needs
maintenance,
long-term
sustainability
and,
most
importantly,
information
gathered
from
the
community.
Ultimately,
it
will
be
the
foundation
for
future
decision
making
for
program
planning
for
budgeting
and
for
park
system
investments.
The
discussion
this
week
focused
on
two
really
important
pieces
of
that.
First,
the
city
council
reviewed
draft
language
of
the
vision,
the
mission
and
the
guiding
principles
of
the
park
system
master
plan.
A
The
mission
is
how
bloomington
park
and
recreation
will
implement.
That
vision
and
the
mission
of
the
bloomington
parks
and
recreation
department
is
to
build
our
sense
of
community
and
enhance
the
quality
of
life
for
all
residents
through
the
management
of
high
quality
parks
and
natural
areas
by
providing
exceptional
experiences
through
innovative
recreation
programs,
art
activities
and
park
facilities
finally
are
the
guiding
principles.
These
are
the
principles
that
will
shape
the
park
and
recreation
department's
actions
and
their
approaches
in
carrying
out
their
vision
and
their
mission.
A
Now
these
principles
will
guide
the
council
and
the
staff
in
closing
that
gap
between
strategies
and
implementation-
and
here
are
some
of
those
guiding
principles.
First,
is
to
be
bloomington
or
be
iconic.
In
a
sense.
That
means
we
need
to
celebrate
the
uniqueness
of
bloomington
through
engagement,
arts
activities
and
creative
place
making
in
the
parks.
A
Second,
we
need
to
be
essential.
That
means
we
need
to
create
capacity
to
endure
and
thrive
and
be
equitable.
That
means
to
prioritize
equity
throughout
the
system,
to
support
all
residents
and
to
celebrate
diversity
and
provide
inclusiveness,
which
means
to
eliminate
accessibility
issues
throughout
the
system,
including
physical,
financial
and
social
barriers.
We
need
to
be
resilient.
That
means
to
ensure
the
long-term
sustainability
of
the
park
and
recreation
system
by
building
economic,
social
and
environmental
resilience.
It
is
an
ambitious
plan
and
I
think
it's
the
right
vision
for
bloomington.
A
We
know
how
much
you
value
our
park
systems.
We
hear
it
every
year
in
our
residence
surveys,
and
I
hear
it
personally
from
people
all
the
time
when
I
talk
to
folks
about
what
they
value
most
about
living
in
bloomington,
the
master
planning
process
is
expected
to
wrap
up
in
early
summer
of
this
year.
In
the
meantime,
there
is
a
lot
of
information
on
the
website
and
still
opportunities
for
you
to
contribute
thoughts
on
the
let's
talk,
bloomington
page
of
the
website,
please
stay
informed
and
be
sure
to
stay
engaged.
A
Finally,
I
know
there's
been
much
said
in
written
already,
but
I
think
it's
appropriate
to
talk
about
the
events
in
washington
last
week.
Like
all
of
you,
I
watched
in
real
time
and
in
horror
as
rioters
and
seditionists
attacked
the
u.s
capitol
building.
The
additional
images
and
stories
that
have
come
out
over
the
past
week
have
been
both
terrifying
and
heartbreaking.
A
A
Anyone
who
was
in
any
way
complicit
must
be
held
accountable.
The
people
who
beat
and
kill
the
capitol
police
officer
must
be
brought
to
justice.
Yes,
we
need
unity.
We
need
to
come
together
as
a
nation,
but
we
simply
we
cannot
give
a
free
pass
to
those
people
who
organized
incited
and
attempted
a
coup
in
our
nation's
capital.
A
Now,
in
these
council
minutes,
I
usually
try
to
keep
my
comments
focused
to
bloomington
and,
yes,
there
are
very
local
applications
to
all
of
this.
We're
now
seeing
the
same
type
of
dangerous
rhetoric
that
led
to
the
attack
on
the
capitol
building
being
applied
locally,
and
it
is
concerning
words
matter.
A
Some
state
elected
officials
are
now
saying
they're
just
asking
questions
about
election
security
when
in
fact
they
are
stoking
the
embers
of
division,
local
organizers
plan,
a
rally
to
storm
the
capital.
They
encourage
people
to
bring
weapons,
and
then
they
claim
they're
in
favor
of
peaceful
protest
groups
are
protesting
at
the
governor's
mansion
and
at
the
private
homes
of
elected
officials.
A
A
The
rioters
at
the
capitol
have
been
told
for
months
that
the
most
recent
presidential
election
was
stolen,
but
there
was
massive
voter
fraud
that
they
needed
to
stop
the
steel,
despite
the
fact
that
there
is
not
a
shred
of
evidence
proving
any
of
these
claims
and
that
courts
all
the
way
up
to
the
united
states,
supreme
court
have
not
found
any
reason
to
doubt
the
validity
of
the
elections.
Those
claims
persist.
We
even
hear
it
here
locally,
while
all
of
those
ballots
cast
in
november
do
indeed
roll
up
to
the
national
level.
A
They
are
cast
locally
right
here
in
bloomington
and
the
election
judges
and
the
precinct
workers
who
attended
hours
of
training
ahead
of
the
election,
who
worked
all
day
on
election
day,
who
ran
an
effective
and
efficient
election.
Despite
the
challenges
presented
by
a
global
pandemic,
who
accommodated
voter
turnout
that
exceeded
85
percent
in
bloomington
those
election
judges,
those
precinct
workers,
they
are
our
neighbors,
our
friends,
the
people
we
see
at
church
at
the
grocery
store
at
the
farmers
market
or
across
the
fence
in
the
backyard
to
imply.
A
You
know
not
even
to
imply
to
say
flat
out
that
these
people
were
somehow
implicit
in
or
directly
involved
in.
Voter
fraud
is
disgusting
and
it's
insulting
this
past
election
day
I
visited
every
single
precinct
in
bloomington
all
32
precincts,
and
I
saw
hard-working
diligent,
thorough,
cheerful,
bloomington
residents
of
all
political
stripes,
administering
that
election
doing
their
part
to
ensure
that
democracy
works.