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From YouTube: Council Minute July 19
Description
In this week’s Council Minute Mayor Tim Busse discusses Bloomington Forward, the proposal to invest in three major community projects using a local options sales tax, reviews current and future road construction projects and extends an invitation to National Night Out.
A
A
Hello
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
July
17th
no
council
meeting
this
week,
but
I
wanted
to
catch
you
up
on
one
item
from
last
week
and
give
you
a
heads
up
on
a
couple
of
traffic
related
items.
At
our
meeting
on
July
10th,
the
city
council
heard
an
update
on
the
Bloomington
forward
initiative.
Bloomington
forward
is
the
official
name
given
to
the
proposal
to
invest
in
three
major
Community
projects
using
a
local
option.
Sales
tax
we've
been
talking
about
this
for
a
while.
A
Now
and
looking
back,
we
realized
we've
spent
more
than
two
years
Gathering
input
from
residents
as
Bloomington
forward.
This
long-term
investment
plan
took
shape
using
all
of
that
Community
engagement
and
conversation.
The
city
developed
a
159
million
dollar
investment
plan
to
build
a
new
Community
Health
and
Wellness
Center
support
major
Renovations
at
Bloomington
Ice
garden
and
provide
new
amenities
and
habitat
restoration
along
the
Nine
Mile
Creek
Corridor
I've
talked
in
the
past
about
the
need
for
each
of
these
projects.
A
The
bottom
line
is
that
if
our
goal
is
to
make
Bloomington
an
enduring
and
remarkable
Community
where
people
want
to
be,
Bloomington
needs
to
invest
in
key
infrastructure
and
as
I've
talked
about
in
the
past,
a
sales
tax
would
give
us
a
way
to
share
the
costs
across
the
region
with
different
users.
It's
estimated
that
at
least
60
percent
of
a
local
sales
tax
will
be
paid
by
non-bloomington
residents.
If
these
three
projects
were
paid
for
with
property
tax
revenue,
the
cost
would
fall
solely
on
Bloomington
residents
on
Tuesday
November
7th
Bloomington.
A
Voters
will
have
the
opportunity
to
vote
on
the
Bloomington
forward
proposal.
This
is
a
big
decision
for
this
community
and
I
believe
that
all
big
decisions
should
be
well-informed
decisions.
The
city
of
Bloomington
has
created
a
website
to
provide
you
with
details
and
resources
about
the
projects,
so
you
can
make
an
informed
decision
when
you
cast
your
vote.
This
fall.
Please
go
to
the
website
and
take
some
time
with
it.
A
There's
a
lot
of
information
there,
including
videos
and
a
frequently
asked
questions
page
there's
also
a
place
where
you
can
submit
questions
or
feedback
and
again
I'd
encourage
you
to
do
so.
You'll
be
hearing
a
lot
about
Bloomington
forward
between
now
and
November
and
I.
Sincerely
hope.
You'll
make
every
effort
to
be
as
informed
as
possible
on
this
important
question.
Since
early
May
City
engineering
staff
have
been
meeting
with
neighborhoods
throughout
the
city
where
there
will
be
road
work
in
the
next
year
or
two
as
part
of
bloomington's
pavement
Management
program.
Now,
that's
nothing.
A
New
city
staff
routinely
meets
with
neighborhoods
ahead
of
planned
Public
Works
projects,
but
these
meetings
have
had
a
bit
different.
Focus
staff
has
been
meeting
with
residents
and
asking
for
input
on
traffic
or
pedestrian
safety
concerns.
So
that
staff
can
then
investigate
the
issue
and
look
at
ways
to
proactively
address
those
concerns.
A
Part
of
this
stems
from
the
ongoing
conversation
here
in
Bloomington
about
how
to
slow
traffic
down,
especially
in
our
neighborhoods
I've
mentioned
in
the
past,
that
this
is
the
most
common
issue
that
residents
bring
up
to
me
either
in
emails
or
in
conversation
and
I
could
not
agree
more.
We
need
to
slow
drivers
down
and,
as
I've
mentioned,
this
isn't
just
a
matter
of
writing
more
tickets
or
simply
reducing
speed
limits.
This
needs
to
be
a
multi-pronged
approach.
A
That
I
think
is
easiest
to
remember
when
you
break
it
down
into
six
E's
engagement,
education,
environment,
Equity,
engineering
and
enforcement.
All
of
those
factors
need
to
be
considered
as
we
look
at
ways
to
make
our
streets
safer.
If
you
miss
the
meeting
in
your
neighborhood
or
if
you
simply
want
to
contribute
to
the
discussion,
go
to
the
let's
talk.
Bloomington
page,
that's
focused
on
the
topic
of
proactive
traffic
calming
as
part
of
the
pavement
Management
program,
making
the
switch
from
local
streets
to
the
interstate
highways
that
Define
Bloomington
in
so
many
ways.
A
You've
likely
noticed
that
it's
road
construction
season
here
in
Minnesota
we've
had
Lane
reductions
on
494
full
weekend
closures
on
35W
and
the
work
has
caused
traffic
to
spill
into
and
back
up
into
some
of
our
local
streets.
I
wish
I
could
offer
a
ray
of
Hope
here,
but
the
truth
is,
there
is
still
a
lot
of
work
to
do
and
it's
going
to
be
slow
going
for
quite
a
while
ramp
closures
at
494
and
East
Bush
Lake
Road
have
already
started
the
first
one
being
the
East
Bush
Lake
Road
entrance
ramp
to
eastbound
494..
A
That
closure
is
expected
to
last
90
days
to
try
and
lessen
the
traffic
impacts
on
the
local
system.
The
494
project
team
is
working
to
modify
some
signal
timing
along
the
detour
route,
especially
on
West
84th,
Street
and
Normandale
Boulevard
MnDOT
also
mailed
postcards
to
all
properties
located
within
500
feet
of
494,
between
East
Bush,
Lake,
Road
and
Lindale
Avenue,
notifying
people
that
there
will
be
overnight
construction
work
on
494
from
July
all
the
way
through
November
the
postcard
list,
dates
and
times
when
things
could
get
noisy
and
provides
contact
information
for
questions.
A
But
let's
face
it.
The
impact
of
this
work
is
being
felt
well
beyond
500
feet
of
494.
and
we're
in
year.
One
of
a
four-year
project.
I'd
really
encourage
you
to
subscribe
to
the
MnDOT
project,
update
webpage
and
notification
system,
that'll
provide
current
information
and
traffic
and
project
updates,
we're
just
getting
started
on
this
project
and
it's
much
better
to
be
informed.
A
And
finally,
today
we're
just
a
couple
of
short
weeks
away
from
our
annual
National
Night
Out
celebration
here
in
Bloomington
each
year
there
are
more
than
300
National
Night
Out
parties
in
neighborhoods
across
Bloomington,
and
those
parties
are
a
great
way
to
connect
with
your
neighbors
and
our
Bloomington
Public
Safety
professionals.
This
year's
National
Night
Out
is
Tuesday
August
1st,
if
you
haven't
yet
there's
still
time
for
your
neighborhood
to
sign
up,
but
you
need
to
hurry.
The
registration
deadline
is
July
23rd,
so
do
not
delay
I
hope
to
see
you
on
August
1st.