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From YouTube: Council Minute August 9
Description
Mayor Tim Busse talks about park projects in the city including parking lot resurfacing at Dred Scott, previews the upcoming Baby Gear Swap Event and congratulates the first group of Bloom in Bloomington interns.
A
A
Hello,
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
August
7th,
no
council
meeting
this
week,
but
there
are
three
items
that
I
want
to
talk
about.
First
off
today,
a
couple
of
updates
on
Park
projects.
Bloomington
residents
love
their
parks
and
put
a
high
value
on
Parks
trails
and
open
space.
We
see
it
every
year
in
our
residence
surveys.
Our
Park
system
is
one
of
the
things
that
make
Bloomington
special
like
any
public
amenity.
A
We
need
to
take
care
of
our
Parks
Parks
require
investment
to
stay
in
good
shape
and
sometimes
Parks
need
to
be
reimagined
to
meet
the
needs
and
the
desires
of
residents.
A
good
example
of
that
reinvestment
is
very
visible
right
now
over
at
Dred
Scott
playfields,
where
work
is
underway
to
fix
up
four
parking.
Lots
in
the
complex
work
started
this
week
and
Crews
will
be
working
their
way
around
Dred
Scott
over
the
next
few
weeks
resurfacing
and
restriping
parking
lots
that
frankly,
need
a
little
TLC.
A
Those
lights
are
now:
energy,
efficient,
LED
lights,
the
redo
of
the
paths
through
the
park
and
the
renovation
of
four
pickleball
courts
and
the
addition
of
six
more
pickleball
courts.
The
parking
lot
work
is
officially
part
of
the
city's
very
successful
pavement
Management
program
that
program
and
the
nuts
and
bolts
attention
to
the
physical
infrastructure
needs
at
Dred.
Scott
are
great
examples
of
the
maintenance
and
investment
needed
to
make
sure
that
these
highly
valued
City
assets
remain
in
good
condition
for
years
to
come.
A
I
also
mentioned
that
sometimes
our
Parks
need
to
be
reimagined
or
transformed
over
at
Smith
Park.
The
city
is
working
very
closely
with
residents
to
do
just
that.
For
the
past
several
years,
Bloomington
park
and
rec
staff
has
engaged
the
community
to
gather
input
on
a
comprehensive
reimagining
of
what
Smith
Park
could
be,
and
now
very
soon.
The
first
step
in
the
process
will
take
place
as
construction
begins
on
a
new
playground.
A
Staff
had
a
lot
of
one-on-one
conversations
with
residents
and
other
stakeholders
during
in-person
events
at
the
park,
and
they
got
a
lot
of
good
feedback
on
online.
At
let's
talk,
Bloomington
all
of
that
information
helped
guide
the
selection
of
a
challenge
course
to
replace
the
existing
outdated
play
structure
when
I
say
challenge
course
think
an
American
Ninja,
Warrior
style
obstacle
course.
It
includes
challenging
obstacles
for
people
of
different
ages
and
skill
levels,
obstacles
like
ninja
steps
or
a
climbing
wall.
A
This
new
challenge
course
will
be
the
first
of
its
kind
in
Bloomington
this
project
and
the
process
around.
It
are
the
direct
result
of
the
commitment
to
Community
Driven
planning
established
in
the
park
system
master
plan.
The
ultimate
goal
is
to
ensure
that
the
activities,
amenities
and
experiences
in
Parks
meets
the
wants
and
needs
of
our
residents
the
work
to
remove
the
existing
play
structure
to
create
space
for
the
new
challenge
course,
we'll
start
after
the
summer,
Adventure
Playground
programs
wraps
up
later
this
month.
Substantial
completion
is
anticipated.
Yet
this
fall.
A
It
should
be
a
great
addition
to
bloomington's
park
system.
Bloomington's
Solid
Waste
staff
will
hold
a
swap
event
for
gently
used
or
new
baby
gear
at
Moyer
Park
on
Sunday
August
20th
from
10
a.m.
To
noon
this
event
and
all
of
our
city
held
swap
events
are
open
to
everyone
and
all
items
are
given
and
taken
freely.
That
means
you
don't
need
to
bring
anything
in
order
to
take
items
home
swap.
A
Events
are
part
of
the
city's
new
bulky
item
Management
program
and
the
goal
is
to
keep
gently
used
and
new
items
in
use
and
out
of
an
incinerator
or
a
landfill.
It's
also
a
nice
way
for
residents
to
connect.
You
might
recall
that
back
in
June,
Bloomington
was
awarded
a
sustainable
city
award
by
the
league
of
Minnesota
cities.
A
For
our
bulky
item
management
program,
that
program
began
last
year
because
we
heard
from
a
lot
of
residents
that
you
wanted
more
sustainable
options
to
dispose
of
stuff
where
the
end
result
wasn't
contributing
to
a
landfill
for
the
baby
gear.
Swap
there
are
guidelines
for
things
that
will
and
will
not
be
accepted.
The
complete
details
can
be
found
on
the
city's
website,
dedicated
to
swap
events.
I
encourage
you
to
take
a
look.
A
I
also
want
to
let
you
know
that
planning
is
underway
for
bloomington's
second
annual
city-wide
recycling
drop-off
event
that
one
is
scheduled
for
Saturday
September
30th
at
the
Western
maintenance
facility
staff
will
provide
more
details
to
the
council
in
coming
weeks
and
I
can
promise
we'll
share
that
information
with
you
and
finally,
today,
last
week,
I
had
the
pleasure
of
taking
part
in
a
graduation
celebration
for
our
inaugural
class
of
Bloom
in
Bloomington
summer.
Interns.
A
Bloom
in
Bloomington
is
a
youth
Workforce
Development
program
that
match
young
people
aged
16
to
24
with
Summer
internship
experiences
within
the
city
of
Bloomington.
The
goal
of
the
program
is
to
give
young
people
opportunities
to
explore
career
paths,
build
valuable
work.
Experience
and
develop
leadership
skills
12
young
people
participated
this
year
along
with
two
of
our
outstanding
corporate
Partners
here
in
Bloomington
Mall
of
America
and
Larkin
Hoffman
Law
Firm.
Thank
you
so
very
much
to
them.
The
graduation
ceremony
was
a
wonderful
celebration
and
the
interns
had
a
great
summer
experience
but
I'll.
E
E
C
B
D
Been
a
lot
of
research
projects
and
just
meeting
a
lot
of
people
and
learning
a
lot.
One
of
my
bigger
projects
this
summer
is
to
develop
a
Civic
engagement
program
for
a
youth
here
in
Bloomington.
I
also
help
out
with
smaller
projects,
Juneteenth
and
other
Equity
driven
initiative
within
the
city
as
well.