►
From YouTube: Council Minute August 3
Description
Mayor Tim Busse provides a recap of National Night Out, the City’s testimony at the Burnsville Planning Commission meeting regarding the proposed landfill expansion plus, Bloomington is recognized as one of the most livable cities in the U.S.
A
A
Hello
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
August
1st
I
hope
everyone
had
a
great
time
at
National,
Night
Out
on
Tuesday
evening.
I
know
that
I
did
once
again.
This
year
there
were
more
than
300
neighborhood
parties
across
Bloomington
and
members
of
the
Bloomington,
Police
or
fire
department
got
to
all
of
them.
I
had
the
pleasure
of
visiting
five
different
parties
along
with
police
chief
Booker
Hodges
every
neighborhood
that
registered
was
entered
into
a
drawing
for
free
food
catered
from
our
good
friends
at
farms.
A
The
lucky
winners
this
year
were
on
College,
Heights
Circle
and
as
a
special
part
of
that
party,
David
and
Ed
Fong
met
us
there
in
appreciation
for
the
outstanding
relationship
the
Fong
family
has
had
with
Bloomington
Public
Safety
providers
for
more
than
60
years,
David
and
Ed
presented
a
financial
donation
of
3
200
to
both
the
Bloomington
Police
and
the
Bloomington
Fire
Departments,
a
total
of
sixty
four
hundred
dollars
for
the
sixty
four
years.
That
Fong's
has
been
in
business
here
in
Bloomington.
It
was
a
really
cool
addition
to
a
great
night.
Thank
you.
A
So
very
much
to
David
and
Ed
and
the
entire
flungs
family,
for
your
generosity
and
for
your
support
of
Bloomington
throughout
the
years,
and
thank
you
to
everyone
who
participated
in
National,
Night,
Out
from
our
residents
to
our
public
safety
personnel
to
City
staff
and
our
elected
officials.
It
was
hot,
but
it
was
a
great
time
on
Monday
July,
25th,
council
member
Sean,
Nelson
and
I
ventured
south
of
the
river
to
speak.
At
a
public
hearing
of
the
Burnsville
Planning
Commission,
we
went
to
voice
bloomington's
strong
opposition
to
the
expansion
of
the
Burnsville
landfill.
A
This
has
been
an
ongoing
issue
for
some
time
now
and
I
suspect
you've
heard
at
least
some
Rumblings
about
this.
There
is
currently
an
application
working
through
the
city
of
Burnsville
to
significantly
expand
the
Burnsville
landfill,
which
is
just
to
the
south
of
Bloomington
in
the
Minnesota
River
Valley
Bloomington
is
formally
and
officially
on
the
record
saying
this
is
a
bad
idea
for
all
kind
kinds
of
reasons,
including
waste
composition,
water
and
air
quality,
Wetland
removal,
environmental
justice,
odor
noise
and
the
lack
of
public
input.
A
I
provided
examples
for
the
Planning
Commission.
First,
the
environmental
impact
statement
says
that
the
water
table
around
the
landfill
is
already
interacting
with
waste
during
times
of
flooding
along
the
Minnesota
River.
There
are
legitimate
concerns
that
the
waste
will
harm
groundwater,
the
Minnesota
River
and
potentially,
the
aquifer.
A
Also,
the
current
proposal
would
allow
additional
trash
to
be
placed
on
top
of
existing
sections
of
the
landfill
that
are
unlined,
and
the
environmental
impact
statement
correctly
points
out
that
this
would
be
a
problem
if
there
was
an
ever
an
issue
with
contamination.
Having
a
mountain
of
additional
waste
on
top
of
existing
waste
will
greatly
increase
the
cost
of
dealing
with
that
problem.
A
Now,
it's
true
that
modern,
Technology
and
Engineering
could
probably
help
address
any
problems
that
might
arise,
but
rather
than
creating
the
potential
for
a
problem
and
then
paying
a
lot
of
money
to
fix
it,
I
think
it
would
be
better
to
avoid
the
issue
in
the
first
place,
and
the
biggest
issue
is
indeed
the
biggest
issue
that
I
know
has
caught
the
attention
of
many
people
here
in
Bloomington,
the
expanded
landfill
would
rise
to
1082
feet
above
sea
level.
That's
372
feet
above
the
surrounding
grade
and
389
feet
above
the
Minnesota
River
now
for
context.
A
The
highest
point
in
Bloomington
is
Mount
gilboa
at
the
Highland
Ski
and
Snowboard
area.
It
reaches
a
height
of
1020
feet
above
sea
level.
The
peak
of
the
proposed
landfill
will
be
62
feet
above
the
peak
of
Mount
gilboa.
The
landfill
will
be
so
large.
There
would
need
to
be
red
blinking
lights
on
top
to
reduce
the
chance
of
planes
crashing
into
it.
If
approved,
the
landfill
could
ultimately
expand
to
45
million
cubic
yards.
A
It's
safe
to
say
that
a
landfill
of
that
size
would
become
the
dominant
visual
feature
of
Burnsville
and
of
the
Minnesota
River
Valley.
The
Burnsville
Planning
Commission
took
public
testimony
and
then
tabled
their
discussion
and
a
vote
until
August
8th,
if
approved
it
will
go
to
the
Burnsville
city
council.
For
a
final
decision
now
I
told
the
chair
of
the
Planning
Commission
I
fully
realized.
A
This
is
a
big
decision
and
it's
part
of
what
should
be
a
community-wide
discussion
of
what
to
do
with
our
trash
or,
more
importantly,
how
to
reduce
the
amount
of
trash
that
we
all
produce.
The
elected
and
appointed
leaders
in
Burnsville
have
a
difficult
decision
to
make
and
I
want
to
be
clear.
This
may
be
a
point
of
disagreement
between
our
cities,
but
it's
not
a
point
of
conflict.
A
We
in
Bloomington
have
made
our
position
very
clear
and
I'll
certainly
keep
you
updated
as
things
move
forward.
Finally,
today
the
website
livability.com
recently
ranked
Bloomington
number
36
on
their
list
of
the
top
100
places
to
live
in
the
United
States.
Now
considering
they
evaluated
more
than
2
000
cities
from
across
the
country
and
focused
this
year
on
mid-sized
cities
of
less
than
half
a
million
people.
Number
36
is
pretty
good.
A
It's
interesting
that
the
rankings
were
influenced
by
a
study
that
livability.com
did
of
more
than
one
thousand
adults
from
across
the
country.
In
this
survey
they
asked
very
specifically
what
characteristics
of
livability
are
most
highly
valued
and
which
factors
would
be
most
heavily
considered
if
someone
was
choosing
to
relocate
the
results
really
weren't
surprising.
Their
research
showed
that
a
good
City
needs
a
strong
foundation
and
a
Level
Playing
Field
for
everyone.
That
means
cities
need
to
provide
residents
with
access
to
affordable
housing,
Quality,
Health,
Care,
low
crime
rates
and
a
welcoming
culture.
A
Quality
of
life
needs
like
reputable
schools,
good
infrastructure
and
economic
growth
were
also
rated
highly
and
cities
in
the
top
100
differentiate
themselves,
from
thousands
of
others
by
the
quality
of
their
amenities.
Things
like
Parks,
the
Arts,
Community
event
or
libraries
sounds
like
what
we're
focusing
on
here
in
Bloomington
be
sure
to
check
out
their
website
for
a
full
rundown
of
what
they
had
to
say
about
Bloomington.
But
here's.
A
sampler
Bloomington
is
a
growing
city
with
a
collection
of
enviable
amenities.
A
It
boasts
return
worthy
restaurants,
a
growing
art
scene
and
fun
attractions
like
the
gorgeous
Japanese
gardens,
plus.
The
city
is
committed
to
being
a
diverse
and
inclusive
place
to
live
with
a
full-time
racial
Equity
coordinator
on
staff,
which
is
part
of
the
reason
that
Bloomington
is
one
of
the
best
places
to
live
in
the
U.S.
When
it
comes
to
jobs.
The
city
is
home
to
several
familiar
favorites
companies
like
International,
Dairy,
Queen,
the
Toro
company,
Ceridian
and
Health.
Partners
are
all
headquartered
here.
A
Also
a
perk
take
part
in
everything
from
hiking
and
biking
to
downhill,
skiing
and
fishing
at
Highland,
Lake,
Park,
Reserve,
a
true
Scenic
Oasis
with
prairies
and
a
lake
I
couldn't
have
said
it
better
myself.
That's
a
wrap
on
this
week's
Council
minute,
thanks
for
tuning
in
until
next
time,
stay
safe,
Bloomington,.