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From YouTube: Council Minute August 30
Description
Bloomington Public Health and Police join Mayor Tim Busse to talk about the opioid crisis ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day, plus your questions about Bloomington Forward answered, including what the tax rate would be depending on how many questions are approved, the impact on Bloomington residents and businesses and when the sales tax would be implemented.
A
Hello
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
August
28th
at
our
council
meeting
on
Monday
night
I
read
a
proclamation
recognizing
August
31st
as
International
overdose,
Awareness
Day.
The
proclamation
underscores
the
toll
of
drug
overdoses
in
our
community,
our
state
and
our
nation,
and
the
importance
of
local
resources
for
prevention,
treatment
and
Recovery,
as
they
are
on
many
significant
topics.
Our
Bloomington
Public
Health
division
is
a
leader
in
the
response
to
this
issue.
A
Bloomington
Public
Health
is
collaborating
with
stakeholders
across
Bloomington,
Edina
and
Richfield
to
address
opioid
prevention,
rapid
response
and
treatment
needs
across
the
three
cities.
This
opioid
work
group
has
identified
key
objectives
and
actions
in
a
new
work
plan
which
was
presented
to
the
Council
on
August
14th
joining
me
today
to
talk
about
this
is
Dr
Nick
Kelly,
the
director
of
our
Public
Health
division
here
in
Bloomington,
thanks
for
being
here
today,
Dr
Kelly
we'll
get
to
you
in
just
a
moment.
A
A
C
You
Mary
International
overdose
awareness
day
started
in
2001
in
Melbourne
Australia,
and
it's
since
grown
globally.
Due
to
really
the
significant
impact
we've
been
seeing
with
overdoses
with
opioids
around
the
world.
Here
in
in
the
Twin
Cities
metro,
we
saw
340
fatal
overdose
cases
in
Hennepin
County
in
2021,
and
here
in
Bloomington,
our
Public
Safety
partners
and
police
and
fire.
They
responded
to
almost
80
overdose
calls
in
2022.
A
That's
a
it's
a
disappointing
and
huge
number.
That's
amazing,
deputy
chief
Klausen,
as
I
mentioned
Bloomington
Police,
are
on
the
front
lines
on
this
opioid
epidemic
issue
and
many
times
have
just
moments
to
respond
in
critical
situations.
Tell
us
about
how
many
times
do.
Bloomington
Police
Officers
respond
to
overdose
situations,
and
what
is
the
typical
response.
B
Yeah
mayor,
unfortunately,
Dr
Kelly
is
correct,
that
we
responded
to
a
large
number
of
overdoses
in
2022,
specifically
77
of
those
and
of
those
we
saw
the
highest
fatality
rates
that
we've
seen
previously
with
19.
this
year.
We
are
seeing
overdose
rates
as
well,
currently
we're
at
a
61
overdoses
with
a
fatalities
in
seven
of
those
cases.
B
What
we
do
to
which
7
out
of
61
is
a
horrible
number,
but
we
also
have
been
able
to
use
Narcan
in
58
of
those
cases,
so
an
officer
will
respond.
What
we
want
is
for
the
public
if
they
see
someone
who's
unconscious
or
someone,
they
think
is
overdosing.
Definitely
to
call
9-1-1.
There
has
been
legislation
passed
back
in
2014
that
offers
limited
immunity
to
people
who
do
seek
help
for
suspected
narcotics
overdoses.
B
So
the
911
call
is
the
first
step
that
most
important
step
to
get
those
medical
First
Responders
to
the
scene
and
then
typically,
we
will
evaluate
if
someone
is
unconscious.
Narcan
is
usually
administered.
So
we've
had
a
good
success
rate
with
that,
and
we
want
to
continue
to
do
that
and
continue
to
educate
people
in
how
successful
Narcan
can
be.
A
Well,
that's
fantastic!
Thank
you
for
your
work
and
be
sure
to
thank
your
officers
for
their
work
on
this
important
issue.
Dr
Kelly,
the
city
was
part
of
a
settlement
and
received
funding
regarding
the
opioid
epidemic.
Tell
us
how
that
money
is
being
used
and
the
work
of
the
the
work
group.
The
task
force,
that's
underway,
yeah.
C
That
is
a
result
in
in
about
3.5
million
dollars
coming
to
the
cities
of
Bloomington
and
Diana
and
Richfield
that
we
pulled
together
a
work
group
of
key
stakeholders,
Partners
our
Public
Safety
Partners,
our
school
district
Partners
across
those
three
cities
to
work
on
how
we're
going
to
respond
and
do
some
Innovative
work
to
address
the
opioid
challenges
we're
facing
in
our
community.
A
lot
of
that
work
is
is
being
driven
by
this
work
group,
a
really
focused
on
some
education,
some
resource
allocation
and
really
supporting
those
systems
there
and
really
making
sure
that
when.
A
C
I
think
one
of
the
biggest
things
to
do
is
is
understand.
What's
going
on,
so
we
have
great
resources
on
our
City's
website.
It's
a
blm.mn
forward,
slash
opioids.
That
is
a
great
place
to
understand
the
resources,
the
data,
the
the
tools
and,
as
deputy
chief
Claussen
said,
call
9-1-1.
If
you
suspect
that
get
help
immediately.
It
is
an
urgent
rapid
response.
That's
needed.
A
This
is
a
critically
important
issue
and
one
that
is
certainly
challenging
in
so
many
ways,
but
it's
reassuring
that
we
have
skilled
and
compassionate
Professionals
in
our
public
health
and
our
Public
Safety
areas
who
are
working
hard
to
save
lives
here
in
Bloomington
and
Beyond
Dr
Kelly,
deputy
chief
Clawson.
Thank
you
very
much
for
being
with
me
here
today.
Thank.
C
A
Now
it's
time
to
answer
your
questions
about
Bloomington
forward.
The
long-term
investment
plan
that,
if
approved
by
voters,
would
support
three
major
Community
projects
for
Better
Health,
Wellness,
Athletics,
Recreation
and
improved
natural
areas
on
November
7th
Bloomington.
Voters
will
consider
a
half
percent
local
option
sales
tax
to
finance
155
million
dollars
in
bonds
to
pay
for
the
projects
as
part
of
a
Citywide
referendum.
A
The
questions
on
this
Fall's
ballot
will
ask
voters
about
the
following
projects:
ballot
question
number
one:
ask
voters
about:
building
a
new
Community,
Health
and
Wellness
Center
to
replace
the
outdated
Bloomington,
Public
Health
and
Creekside
Community
Center
buildings
ballot.
Question
number
two:
ask
voters
whether
they
would
approve
renovating
the
50-year-old
Bloomington
Ice
Garden,
including
new
refrigeration
and
mechanical
systems,
improved
Ada,
accessibilities,
a
new
roof
and
additional
improvements
to
improve
guest
experience
and
ballot.
A
Question
number
three
asks:
voters
about:
enhancing
and
protecting
The
Nine
Mile
Creek
corridor
and
the
Memorial
Central
Park
area
with
restored
Riverbanks
habitat
protections,
improved
trails
and
new
park
amenities
to
support
outdoor
recreation.
If
approved,
67
percent,
that's
two-thirds
of
the
local
sales
tax
revenue
will
come
from
non-residents
According
to
research
by
the
University
of
Minnesota,
by
using
a
sales
tax
instead
of
a
property
tax
to
solely
Finance.
These
projects
non-residents
would
share
in
the
cost
of
paying
for
them
when
they
patronize
local
businesses.
All
of
that
leads
us
to
this
week's
questions.
A
Our
first
question:
does
the
new
sales
tax
rate
depend
on
how
many
questions
are
approved
by
the
voters?
The
answer
is
no.
The
sales
tax
rate
is
the
same.
No
matter
how
many
questions
are
approved
by
the
voters.
The
tax
would
be
0.5
percent
total
if
one
two
or
all
three
projects
are
approved
by
voters
in
November.
If
none
of
the
projects
are
approved,
there
will
be
no
sales
tax.
A
The
sales
tax
would
end
when
the
approved
projects
are
fully
funded.
The
maximum
term
for
the
sales
tax
is
20
years.
If
just
one
or
two
projects
are
approved
by
voters,
the
sales
tax
will
still
end
when
the
project
or
projects
are
fully
funded
before
the
maximum
term.
Next
question:
how
will
the
sales
tax
impact
Bloomington
residents
the
average
cost
of
the
half
cent
sales
tax
for
Bloomington
residents,
will
be
approximately
ninety
four
dollars
per
household
each
year
or
7.86
per
month.
A
The
University
of
Minnesota
analyzed
the
economic
effects
of
a
local
sales
tax
increase
in
several
cities
and
found
that
overall,
sales
growth
for
businesses
would
not
be
impacted,
and
our
final
question
this
week.
When
would
the
sales
tax
be
implemented,
if
approved
by
local
voters,
collections
of
a
sales
tax
would
begin
sometime
in
2024.?
A
There
are
still
steps
that
need
to
be
taken,
including
an
ordinance
that
would
need
to
be
adopted
by
the
city
council,
as
I
mentioned
earlier,
the
tax
would
expire
in
20
years
and
if
the
bonds
for
the
projects
are
paid
off
before,
then,
the
sales
tax
would
expire
earlier.
The
only
way
the
tax
could
be
extended
is
with
legislative
authorization
and
reapproval
by
Bloomington.
A
Voters,
I'll
be
answering
a
couple
of
questions
each
week,
leading
up
to
election
day
so
be
sure
to
tune
in
next
time
for
more
answers
to
your
frequently
asked
questions
in
the
meantime,
there's
much
more
information
on
the
website
bloomingtonforward.org
and
finally,
today
it's
hard
to
believe
that
school
has
started
already.
Where
did
Summer
go.
I
know
that
Normandale
and
Northwestern
Health
Sciences
are
already
well
into
their
fall
semesters
and
Bloomington
Public
Schools
started
on
Monday
I
had
the
opportunity
to
join
superintendent,
Dr
Eric
Melby,
welcoming
students
as
they
arrived
earlier
on
Monday.