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From YouTube: Council Minute January 25
Description
In this week’s Council Minute Mayor Busse provides a recap of Monday’s meeting, including the appointment of Chao Moua to the City Council, an update on the Bloomington Sales Tax and an introduction to the work of the Welcome Bloomington Design Group.
A
Hello
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
January
23rd
at
our
meeting
on
Monday,
the
city
council
voted
to
appoint,
saw
mua
to
the
vacant
at-large
seat
on
the
Bloomington
city
council.
Soon
to
be
council,
member
mua
will
be
sworn
in
on
February
6th
I
am
very
excited
to
have
saw
on
board
and
I'm
excited
for
the
city.
To
get
to
know.
A
I'm
sure
you
remember
the
important
work
the
community
budget
advisory
committee
did
providing
the
city
council
with
budget
and
financial
recommendations
when
the
pandemic
was
significantly
impacting
City
finances
most
recently
saw
was
a
member
of
the
core
planning
team
for
Bloomington
tomorrow,
together
the
long-range
strategic
planning
effort
that
will
guide
the
city's
work
in
the
coming
years.
Professionally
saw
has
more
than
a
decade
of
experience
in
the
corporate
world
and
has
a
master's
degree
in
Business
Administration
from
the
University
of
St
Thomas
saw
and
his
family
have
lived
in
Bloomington
since
2015.
A
the
council
vacancy
came
about
when
Nathan
Coulter
stepped
down
from
the
council
to
serve
in
the
state
legislature.
The
city
council
interviewed
18
applicants
for
the
at-large
seat
earlier
this
month
and
brought
back
five
finalists
for
second
interviews
and
I
will
tell
you
this
was
not
an
easy
Choice.
There
were
many
many
impressive
candidates
with
a
wide
array
of
experience
and
Community
involvement.
A
It
was
difficult
to
narrow
the
group
down
to
five
and
it
was
incredibly
difficult
to
pick
just
one,
but
I
will
say
it
was
a
good
problem
to
have
it
shows
the
quality
and
the
depth
and
the
leadership
of
the
residents
of
this
city.
Thank
you
to
everyone
who
applied
and
please
stay
involved.
The
community
needs
your
input.
A
A
The
sales
tax
approach
spreads
the
tax
out
and
reduces
the
burden
on
Bloomington
folks
now
right
now,
this
is
just
a
proposal.
A
Bloomington
sales
tax
would
need
legislative
approval
and
ultimately,
voter
approval
here
in
the
city.
The
Lively
discussion
by
the
council
had
to
do
with
which
projects
to
include
in
the
local
sales
tax
proposal.
A
We
talked
about
two
options:
option
A
included
a
significant
renovation
of
Bloomington,
Ice
Garden,
the
construction
of
a
Community
Health
and
Wellness
Center,
and
a
renewal
of
the
Nine
Mile
Creek
Corridor
option
b
included
the
ice
Garden
renovation
and
the
health
and
wellness
center,
but
not
the
Nine
Mile
Creek
Corridor
work.
The
council
discussion
focused
on
a
variety
of
items
like
Community
priorities:
the
Urgent
nature
of
the
big
Renovations,
rapidly
increasing
costs
due
to
inflation,
inequities
in
service
and
our
department
of
health
and
programming
of
the
proposed
Health
and
Wellness
Center.
A
After
voting
down
a
motion
to
move
forward
with
option
b,
the
council
unanimously
approved
moving
forward
with
option
A.
It
was
a
good
discussion
and
one
I'm
sure
that
will
continue.
Next
steps
include
submitting
our
resolution
solution
that
formally
requests
legislative
approval
of
a
Bloomington
sales
tax
to
members
of
both
the
house
and
the
Senate
tax
committees.
Then,
over
the
next
few
months,
the
staff
and
Council
and
legislators
will
continue
to
provide
education
and
information
on
the
projects.
A
Bloomington
voters
would
be
asked
to
vote
yes
or
no
on
each
of
the
three
projects
individually
at
the
November
elections,
stay
tuned
for
more
information.
Finally,
today,
on
Monday
night,
the
council
received
an
update
on
the
work
of
the
welcome
to
Bloomington
Design
Group
since
October.
The
welcome
to
Bloomington
group
has
worked
together
to
come
up
with
new
ways
or
to
amplify
existing
ways
that
will
help
the
city
of
Bloomington
create
a
welcoming
Community
for
new
and
current
residents.
A
The
ultimate
goal
is
to
have
an
inclusive,
sustainable
and
creative
program
that
can
be
implemented
in
partnership
with
City
staff
and
community
members
to
create
a
welcoming
City
for
everyone.
The
Design
Group
includes
more
than
two
dozen
members,
City
staff,
elected
officials
and
residents,
and
that
group
shows
a
good
cross-section
of
the
community
on
Monday.
A
Representatives
of
the
group
talked
about
a
comprehensive
welcoming
program
that
they
Envision
and
frankly,
it's
a
bit
unique
many
cities
have
their
own
versions
of
the
individual
programs
or
activities
that
the
welcome
to
Bloomington
group
is
considering,
but
those
activities
are
typically
stand-alone
activities.
Our
Bloomington
initiative
would
bring
these
activities
together
into
a
more
cohesive
and
comprehensive
program
that
would
facilitate
Community
connections
further
the
city's
goal
of
having
an
inclusive
community
and
would
align
with
one
of
the
values
stated
in
our
Bloomington
tomorrow,
together
strategic
plan
creating
a
connected
community.
A
So
we
heard
on
Monday
night
an
overview
of
the
four
ideas
they've
been
working
on
to
bring
their
Vision
to
life.
First
would
be
what
they're
calling
a
bucket
list
a
booklet
distributed
to
new
community
members
designed
to
get
those
folks
out
into
the
community.
It
would
include
a
listing
of
places
to
go
activities
to
participate
in
and
must-see
attractions
in
the
community.
Second
would
be
an
annual
cultural,
fair
that
would
include
Multicultural
performances
and
entertainment,
food
trucks,
crafts
and
multi-generational
activities.
A
The
third
idea
is
to
have
City
staff,
provide
workshops
or
presentations
for
new
residents
and
provide
general
information
about
Bloomington
and
the
services
the
city
provides.
This
would
happen
through
monthly
new
Resident
meetings
that
would
be
held
throughout
the
city
and
quarterly
events
right
here
at
Civic
Plaza.
That
would
show
people
this
wonderful
resource
available
to
them.
A
And
finally-
and
this
is
the
one-
I'm
really
excited
about
very
local-
welcoming
events
and
activities
that
are
neighborhood,
organized
and
neighborhood
specific,
because
we
all
know
that
the
personal
connection
with
your
neighbors
is
just
so
incredibly
powerful
and
Incredibly
valuable.
That's
the
outline
of
the
group's
work
they
plan
to
spend
the
coming
months,
really
putting
some
meat
on
the
bones
of
their
ideas
and
hope
to
launch
the
welcome
to
Bloomington
initiative
in
January
of
2024.