Mayor’s state of city address reiterates sketch of New Year’s Day local income tax proposal; more info possible at March 5 city council event

Bloomington’s mayor, John Hamilton.
Bloomington’s mayor, John Hamilton.
Former city councilmember Andy Ruff and Bloomington’s mayor, John Hamilton.
Bloomington’s city council president, Steve Volan.
Bloomington’s mayor, John Hamilton.
ALS interpreter Kathleen Bennett had 49 chances to sign “Bloomington” during the mayor’s speech.
The Buskirk-Chumley Theater marquee as it appeared on Feb. 20, 2020.

Last Thursday’s “state of the city” speech by Bloomington’s mayor John Hamilton focussed on the 2020s as a “make or break decade,” in light of the challenges posed by climate change.

The news out of the speech was a planned public meeting  about the topic of a possible increase to the local income tax to pay for climate action initiatives.

The meeting is to be hosted by the city council on March 5 at The Mill starting a 7 p.m. Additional details on the meeting weren’t immediately available from the mayor’s office.

City councilmember Matt Flaherty sent a message to The Square Beacon Friday morning saying that the agenda for March 5 is still in the works. The primary focus will be public engagement and gathering input from the community, Flaherty said. Continue reading “Mayor’s state of city address reiterates sketch of New Year’s Day local income tax proposal; more info possible at March 5 city council event” →

$800K in federal community development fund allocations OK’d by Bloomington city council

Plot of CDBG funding history from city council resolutions.
Doris Sims, director of Bloomington’s HAND department. (Screen grab from CATS))

At its regular Wednesday meeting this past week, Bloomington’s city council approved allocations for $800,000 worth of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.

Doris Sims, who’s director of the city’s  HAND (Housing and Neighborhood Development) department led off the presentation to the city council on the resolution.

The amount awarded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development could turn out to be more than $800,000. If additional funds turn out to be available, the resolution approved by the city council allocates the extra money based on a priority ranking of programs that were not fully funded, or funded at all, in the basic allocation. Continue reading “$800K in federal community development fund allocations OK’d by Bloomington city council” →

Non-consensual towing companies in Bloomington now need a license

 

Councilmember Jim Sims was sponsor of the non-consensual towing ordinance.
Max Stryker, a tow company operator, addresses the city council on Feb. 19, 2020.
City attorney Mike Rouker answers a question at the city council meeting on Feb. 19, 2020.
The proposed new ordinance on non-consensual towing would require signs similar to these, which are already in place.

Beginning July 1 this year, companies that tow vehicles that are illegally parked on private property in Bloomington will need a license from the city to provide the service to property owners.

Bloomington’s city council voted unanimously at its regular Wednesday meeting to enact the new law.

Highlights of the law include a $350 annual license fee for tow companies that do non-consensual tows. Those companies can’t charge vehicle owners more than $135 for basic towing, $25 for use of a dolly, and $25 per day storage, to retrieve their towed vehicles.

Companies also have to offer vehicle owners the chance to pay 20 percent of their fees and sign a payment agreement for the balance.
Continue reading “Non-consensual towing companies in Bloomington now need a license” →

Bloomington city council creates standing committees on 5–4 vote

Dave Rollo.
Sue Sgambelluri
Jim Sims and Steve Volan.

At Wednesday’s regular meeting, after about two hours of deliberation, Bloomington’s city council voted 5-4 to establish eight new four-member standing committees.

Wednesday’s vote means that after a first reading of a new local law, the council will now have the option of referring the legislation to any of the standing committees for further consideration. And as one consequence of local code, a standing committee can meet twice on a referred proposal, before it has to report back to the full council. Continue reading “Bloomington city council creates standing committees on 5–4 vote” →

Transit board tees up March 17 vote on new routes for fall, including one that could go outside Bloomington

cropped 2020-02-18 BT board IMG_7322
Bloomington Transit board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020 (Dave Askins/Square Beacon).

On Tuesday night at its regular monthly meeting, Bloomington Transit’s board got a briefing from general manager Lew May on recommended staff adjustments to proposed new routes.

The board is expected to take a vote on the changes at its March 17 board meeting. The changes are planned to be implemented in August this year. Continue reading “Transit board tees up March 17 vote on new routes for fall, including one that could go outside Bloomington” →

$500K placeholder OK’d for master planner of hospital site redevelopment

At its regular meeting on Monday, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) agreed to an amendment of the project description for the redevelopment of the hospital property at 2nd and Rogers streets, owned by Indiana University Health.

A $500,000 placeholder for a master planner was one addition to the project review form approved by the board. The other was an increase of the total project cost, from around $6.8 million to $10 million, to cover the cost of possible infrastructure improvements. Continue reading “$500K placeholder OK’d for master planner of hospital site redevelopment” →

Bloomington to seek plan commission OK for parking garage design without extra land

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The view eastward along 4th Street from the northwest corner of the lot where the 4th Street parking garage previously stood. Feb. 17, 2020. (Dave Askins/Square Beacon)

Bloomington is still reserving the right to appeal its unsuccessful eminent domain action to acquire additional land to replace the 352-space parking garage that stood downtown at the corner of 4th and Walnut streets.

But in three weeks, at the plan commission’s regular monthly meeting on March 9, Bloomington will present a design for a replacement garage that does not include the additional land, according to a news release issued by the city late Monday. Continue reading “Bloomington to seek plan commission OK for parking garage design without extra land” →

Redistricting question served up to state legislators, talk turns again to local issue

New map of county council representation in Monroe County.
Plot of current councilmember home addresses on district map of Bloomington.
cropped 2020-02-15 panel IMG_7281
State legislators representing the Monroe County area appeared at an update hosted on Saturday by the League of Women Voters and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.  From left: Rep. Matt Pierce, Rep. Peggy Mayfield, Sen. Mark Stoops, and Rep. Jeff Ellington. (Dave Askins/Square Beacon)

On Saturday, the League of Women Voters and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce hosted the second in a series of three events tied to the General Assembly’s session calendar, which concludes in mid-March this year.

Like the first such event, held in late January, the idea of re-districting at the local level got some airtime. Continue reading “Redistricting question served up to state legislators, talk turns again to local issue” →

Next week’s agenda: Will a majority of Bloomington city council support standing committees?

Councilmember Jim Sims.
Councilmember Ron Smith.
A shot of the city hall conference room, where the city council’s work session was held.
Council president Steve Volan.

At a work session held Friday afternoon, city council president Steve Volan and other councilmembers heard again from city staff about Volan’s proposal to establish several four-member standing committees.

The proposal—which is a resolution, not a new ordinance—will appear on the council’s agenda next week (Feb. 19) for a third time. It was first heard on Jan. 8, postponed until Jan. 29, then put off again until next week.

The smaller standing committees would replace the “committee of the whole” in the regular legislative process.

Under Volan’s proposal, the standing committees would also play an oversight role for departments in the administration.

First introduced on Jan. 8, Volan’s initial proposal met with resistance from city department heads. Volan has since clarified that he means “oversight” in the sense of “inspect or examine.” Volan says the standing committees are not meant to exercise oversight in the sense of supervisory authority.

Volan’s proposal has also met with some opposition among the same councilmembers that voted 9–0 on Jan. 8—their first public meeting of the year—to put him in the president’s chair. If the council gives the standing committee resolution a final vote next Wednesday, the tally could be a 5–4 or 4–5 split. Continue reading “Next week’s agenda: Will a majority of Bloomington city council support standing committees?” →

Tow me the money | Up for possible vote next week: Bloomington ordinance regulating companies that remove cars parked illegally on private property

Bloomington’s city council will have a proposed non-consensual towing ordinance back on its regular meeting agenda for continued consideration next week, on Feb. 19.

The proposed new local law establishes a licensing regime for companies that remove vehicles parked illegally on private property. An annual license would cost $350 a year.

On Wednesday, after three and a half hours of deliberations by the city council, in its guise as the committee of the whole, some likely differences emerged between the version of the ordinance that will be enacted, compared to the legislation that was first introduced on Jan. 15. Continue reading “Tow me the money | Up for possible vote next week: Bloomington ordinance regulating companies that remove cars parked illegally on private property” →