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From YouTube: Council Minute June 14
Description
A decision on Expo 2027 is coming from the Bureau of International Expositions in one week. Mayor Tim Busse talks about the process. Plus, he comments on the property acquisition of the Marriott Hotel along I-494.
A
A
Hello
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
June
12th.
We
are
one
week
away
from
a
decision
by
the
Bureau
of
International
expositions
regarding
Expo
2027.
as
I'm
sure
you
know,
Bloomington
is
one
of
five
locations
across
the
globe
in
the
running
to
host
Expo
2027..
A
The
vote
will
take
place
in
Paris
on
Wednesday
June
21st.
The
general
assembly
of
the
bie
will
start
at
about
9
30
a.m.
Paris
time
which
puts
it
at
about
2
30
in
the
morning
here-
and
my
guess
is
that
after
the
final
presentations
by
all
of
the
candidate
countries
and
the
distribution
of
voting
credentials,
it
will
be
somewhere
between
5
and
6
a.m.
Here
in
Bloomington,
when
the
voting
officially
starts,
the
process
is
one
vote
per
country
in
a
secret
ballot.
A
If
no
candidate
gets
two-thirds
of
the
vote
in
that
first
round.
The
fifth
place
finisher
in
the
voting
will
be
removed
and
a
second
vote
will
take
place.
The
same
scenario
happens
in
the
second
round
of
voting
and
if
it
goes
to
a
third
round,
a
candidate
only
needs
a
simple
majority
to
win.
So
it's
kind
of
like
ranked
Choice
voting.
A
The
last
couple
of
weeks
of
this
effort
have
been
intense,
I've
heard
directly
from
senator
Amy
Klobuchar
and
Governor
Tim
Walls
that
they
have
been
making
personal
phone
calls
to
ambassadors
who
have
ties
to
Minnesota.
President
Biden
is
working
hard
on
this
as
well,
and
the
Secretary
of
State
Anthony
blinken
is
hosting
a
reception
of
ambassadors
from
bie
countries
in
Washington
this
week.
This
is
a
national
effort
with
huge
local
implications,
as
you've
probably
noticed,
I've
been
traveling
quite
a
bit
lately
going
to
meetings
and
conferences
in
support
of
the
Expo
bid.
A
A
The
first
bucket
is
the
short-term
campaign
work
needed
to
win
the
Expo
bid,
and
the
second
bucket
is
all
about
the
big
picture:
long-term
Economic
Development
goals
of
the
city
of
Bloomington.
The
first
bucket
is
the
simple
acknowledgment
that,
in
order
to
win
the
Expo
bid,
we
need
the
support
of
about
80
bie
member
countries.
We
need
their
votes
and,
in
the
home
stretch
of
any
campaign
the
get
out
the
vote
effort
is
critical.
The
most
recent
trip
to
Boston
and
the
bio
International
Convention
was
a
good
example.
The
bio
conference
is
massive.
A
A
Some
people
ask
if
this
is
really
worth
it
and
here's
what
I'll
say
in
the
three
successful
campaigns
that
I've
run
people
appreciate
it
when
you
knock
on
their
door
and
talk
to
them
face
to
face
a
phone
call
or
an
email,
isn't
the
same
thing,
a
person-to-person
connection
matters
and
that's
what
we
tried
to
do.
The
second
bucket
related
to
bloomington's
Big,
Picture,
long-term
Economic
Development
goals,
it's
similar,
but
it's
slightly
different
rather
than
a
transactional
kind
of
thing.
Where
I
would
ask
for
a
vote.
A
This
is
more
along
the
lines
of
Business
Development,
where
I
was
actively
cultivating
a
relationship
that
will
hopefully
pay
off
in
the
long
run.
It's
about
creating
opportunities
for
the
future.
If
you
recall
I've
said
in
the
past
that
the
three-month
run
of
the
Expo
will
be
a
great
Boon
for
the
Bloomington
hospitality
industry,
building
out
the
site
will
be
a
fantastic
jolt
for
every
single
trade
in
the
Minnesota
construction
industry.
A
It's
estimated
that
the
Expo
will
generate
364
million
dollars
in
federal
state
and
local
tax
revenue
and
will
support
more
than
17
000
jobs
here
in
Minnesota.
That
is
all
great,
but
here
in
Bloomington,
we've
always
looked
at
this
as
a
long-term
Economic
Development
opportunity
a
chance
to
build
out
and
develop
areas
that
right
now
are
surface
parking,
lots
that
are
literally
right
next
door
to
NSP
airport
and
the
freeway
and
in
the
heart
of
the
growing
self
loop.
A
I,
truly
believe
that
hosting
Expo
2027
would
be
transformative
for
Bloomington
and
the
entire
state
of
Minnesota
by
this
time
next
week.
We'll
know
if
we're
the
hosts.
The
other
item
I
want
to
talk
about
today
is
a
property
acquisition
that
was
discussed
at
the
council
meeting
last
week.
The
property
in
question
is
the
Marriott
hotel
along
494
right
next
to
where
the
old
Thunderbird
Hotel
was
located.
The
agenda
item
last
Monday
was
a
request
that
the
city
council
approve
up
to
12
million
dollars
from
the
self-loop
Development
Fund.
A
As
one
of
the
funding
sources
for
the
purchase.
There
was
a
spirited
discussion
about
the
process
behind
the
property
acquisition
and
that's
what
I
want
to
talk
to
you
about
today.
You've
heard
me
say
before
the
Bloomington
Port
Authority
was
created
to
deliver
orderly
real
estate
development
and
economic
development
throughout
the
city.
They've
been
doing
a
great
job
for
three
decades,
the
port
of
which
I'm
a
member
has
been
talking
about
acquiring
the
Marriott
property
since
2018.,
and
it's
obvious
why
this
property
is
right
on
the
freeway
and
next
door
to
Mall
of
America
buying.
A
This
property
would
mean
the
opportunity
to
shape
the
development
of
a
very
high
profile
parcel
when
the
Port
Authority
talked
about
buying
the
property.
The
meeting
was
held
in
a
closed
session.
It's
legal
to
do,
and
frankly,
it
makes
sense
talking
about
a
negotiation
strategy
in
public
is
not
good
business
strategy.
A
City
Council
Members
couldn't
be
part
of
that
closed
session
discussion
because
they
aren't
members
of
the
Port
Authority
council,
member,
Carter
and
I
were
in
the
closed
session
because
we
are
members
of
the
Port
Authority.
So
the
Port
Authority
went
into
closed
session
and
talked
about
the
pros
and
cons
of
the
idea.
It
was
a
very
good
discussion
and
ultimately,
the
port
recommended
to
enter
into
negotiations
to
buy
the
parcel
again.
It's
an
idea.
That's
been
in
the
works
for
more
than
five
years.
A
I
do
want
to
acknowledge
that
the
timing
of
the
project
made
the
discussion
more
challenging.
People
wanted
more
time
to
digest
the
details,
but
the
timing
was
critical
and
the
Council
made
the
decision
to
move
forward
with
a
recommendation.
I
also
want
to
point
out
that,
while
this
purchase
could
be
very
helpful
as
part
of
an
expo
site,
I
have
no
doubt
that
the
city
and
the
Port
Authority
would
have
moved
forward
with
this
proposed
purchase
even
without
Expo
2027..