City Council - Regular Meeting

and we'll call the meeting of the Bloomington City Council uh to order and we would ask you to stand for the pledge of allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silence. Thank you. United States of America.

Roll call for attendance. Council member Mosley here. Council member Montney here. Council member Dannenburgger here. Council member Strazza here. Council member Ward here. Council member Lee here. Council member Scott here. Coun and Mayor Brady

here. Thank you. Next we'll move to uh recognition and appointments. And I believe we have one acknowledgement to make this evening of an appointment that I've made to the um welcoming America committee. And with us this evening is um Archana uh Nandra Candra. Yes. If you'd stand please so we can all acknowledge you and thank you very much for accepting the appointment. Thank you. Next, we'll move to public comment. And I believe that the clerk will take first public comments of those individuals that are here in person to offer their testimony. And we would just simply like to remind folks that public comment is an opportunity for speakers to provide their views and feedback to the city council. It's also the opportunity for the city council to listen and hear diverse points of view. To ma maximize the impact of public comment um and show respect for expression of all views, speakers should uh remain um civil and focus on city issues. Speakers must identify themselves for the record but are not required to give their address. Each speaker will be given the floor for three minutes and um if in those three minutes there's a degree of difficulty then those three minutes will be revoked. Our first speaker please.

Um if I could if you don't mind if I could read who we received emailed public comment first for the record and then our first speaker speaker who can approach the podium is Robert Mallister. Um, we received emailed public comment from Al Pesh Patel, Andrew Crumb, James B, Cameron Feldman, Lucinda Hayes, Venus Lynn, David and Jennifer O, Daniel Wolf, Jordan Young, James Brown, Jessica Girding, Jeff Talbett, Kathy Wilson, Jamie Beiel, Ameilia Nye, C. Michael White, Annette Scott, Corey Mowglick, Nicholas Grushkow, Denise Gelman, Misty Brown, Susan Tate, Michael Fisano, James Pratt, Brian Post, Tia Gross, and Susan Eard. And as I mentioned, we will start with Robert Mallister.

Okay. Uh, next on our list is Ryan Easley. [clears throat] Hi. Um,ologist live here in Bloomington Normal. Uh, I live in Bloomington. Um, and uh, I'm here to speak on therratum [clears throat] topic. So is a drug and chemical that the DEA classifies as concerning. Um the active ingredient in that is the hep 7 hydroxyragene and uh it is a narcotic by definition since it works on the mu receptor just as morphine fentanyl some of the other narcotics we're familiar with heroin these are all controlled uh I see no reason why would also not be controlled uh it's further concerning that uhratom which is touted as a natural uh occurring leaf that's ground up uh brood steeped into tea or ground up and consumed that way has been synthetically altered with additional seven hydroxy tragine to make it more potent. Uh potency that rivals that of heroin. We've seen increasing deaths across the country and in Illinois. Um I don't think there's much more to say. Thank you. Thank you. Next.

Next up will be Chelsea Leman. Good evening, council members. I stand here today as someone who deeply values bodily autonomy and social justice. I believe that our city should lead with compassion, not criminalization. However, I am here to argue that the most compassionate, equitable, and protective action this council can take is to ban the retail sale of its high potency extracts. This is not about the failed war on drugs. It is about corporate accountability and stopping a predatory industry from exploiting our most vulnerable neighbors. Kratom is currently operating in a legal gray area that I call big pharma 2.0. Companies are marketing these products as safe and natural alternatives to opioids or simple energy boosters. But the reality of what is on our gas station shelves is anything but natural. We are seeing chemically concentrated extracts specifically 70 I can't say it like he can uh with which federal health officials in two 2025 flagged as being significantly more potent and addictive than morphine. These are unregulated unapproved drugs being sold next to candy bars and soda where children's eyes naturally go in the gas stations. I know I have four 10 and under and I am positive that they think gas stations only sell candy and soda. The industry claims that this is a harmless leap, but the data from the last year tells us a heartbreaking story. The death toll. In just the last decade, there have been over two 2,000 fatal overdoses. In Florida alone, medical examiners documented 46 deaths where was the only substance in the victim system. These weren't drug addicts. They were people like a 27-year-old school teacher who thought that she was using a wellness supplement. There's a NICU crisis. Our hospitals are now seeing infants born to mothers who use babies who must spend two months in the NICU being treated

with morphine to survive the tremors and the pain of withdrawal. Emergency surges in 2025. Poison control calls involving spiked by 79% in several states. Twothirds of those using the new 70 extracts required emergency hospitalization for organ failure or cardiac arrest. And then there are the lies to people who suffer from drug addiction. Some individuals use it to mitigate withdrawal symptoms, but from a medical and regulatory perspective, it is not recommended or advised as it often replaces one addiction with another and that one is unregulated and potentially toxic with potentially toxic dependency. True equity means protecting those who are being targeted. These products, often contaminated with lead, nickel, and salmonella due to zero manufacturing oversight, are disproportionately dumped into lower income neighborhoods where people have the least access to health care. It is not compassionate to allow a fruit flavored, addictive gummy to be sold to our youth without a single safety warning. It is not fair to let a multi-billion dollar industry police itself while our neighborhood neighbors pay the price with their lives. A ban on these retail sales is an act of collective care. It is a statement that in this city we pri prioritize the safety of our families over the profit margins of unregulated distributors. Let's lead with actual harm reduction by removing these toxic predatory products from our streets. I urge this council to choose the health of our community over the greed of an industry that refuses to be regulated. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Cameron Salman. Hello, Mr. Mayor, council members. My name is Cameron Feldman and I'm a local business owner. I started selling back in this back at the start of 2012. Having been in the business for 14 years, there are very few with the ground level expertise I have on this topic. I could speak at length on the subject for hours at a time. I could de I could uh I could debate the so-called cratom deaths which without fail always involve another six to eight substances in the unfortunate victim's body. But today due to time time constraints I'm going to give you my testimonial of what I've seen on the ground for 14 years. After millions of dollars in sales and thousands upon thousands of happy customers, I can tell you saves livelihoods and sa saves lives. Yes, it could be said I have my own self-interest at stake here. But I have seen what I But knowing what I have I'm sorry. But having seen what I have seen and knowing what I know, I am now an advocate for all the folks who use most often high functioning individuals. People you may even know, friends, neighbors, colleagues, doctors, nurses, lawyers, construction workers, electricians, moms, dads, grandpas, and grandmas. all who have come back to thank me up and down for finally providing them a means for relief from their individual ailments. Contrary to those aforementioned misleading headlines,ratom is not a party substance. People use it therapeutically for three different

reasons. Chronic pain, chronic fatigue, anxiety, and depression. If there was only if only there was a way to show you all my firsthand experiences over the last 14 years on the ground at the salesfor level, I can promise you we would not even be be having this discussion right now. Simply put, a blanket a blanket ban onratom is a 360 degree loss, meaning a loss for all parties involved. It is a loss of business and jobs. It is a loss of tax revenue for the city. And most importantly, it takes away a livelihoods saving viable day-to-day option for average everyday folks who are dealing with chronic pain, chronic fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Mr. Mayor and members of the council, I ask you from the bottom of my heart, please don't pass a banket, a blanket cratom uh ban. It will hurt your local businesses, constituents, and fellow citizens. and ask yourself a question. Are you really willing to turn thousands of your fellow Bloomingtonites into criminals overnight? Because I can promise you, one way or another, these folks will find a way to get their hands on this miracle of mother nature, which has helped to save their livelihoods and in many cases their very lives. instead find a pathway to preserving the legality of standard cratom while shifting attention to banning the more dangerous and potent 70 as the states of Ohio and Florida have done and which follows in the footsteps of the FDA recommendation last July of 2025. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is CIFA Karichi. [clears throat] Good evening. My name is Sepha. I'm involved in the operation of licensed business which sell leaf crumming only. Um, today I stand in uh opposition of your proposed cring ordinance and respectfully request that you amend the legislation to target concentrated synthetic [snorts] uh sino products. People have used plain credom leaf safely for centuries in south southeast Asia for energy pain relief and well-being with no recorded fatalities from leaf alone. issue arise from the product boost with high level of 70 which came to the market last February and as you can see every problem started happening since last year. This legislation creates a blanket ban that puts safe natural creating products in the same category as dangerous concentrated synthetic products. Businesses like mine do not sell concentrated synthetic product or synthetically enhanced products. So by amending this ordinance to prohibit it the sale of concentrated 70, you could focus on stopping bad actors and avoid the unnecessary closure of small businesses that sell safe and natural products. So Ben will hurt responsible business and consumers. I believe this ordinance will follow should follow the footsteps of Ohio,

Florida and um which they banned uh only. That's all I got to say. Thank you. Thank you.

Next up is Sharon Trowitch. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and City Councilman. Our name, My name is Sharon Troich. I live at 1218 East Empire Street in Bloomington. It is also Illinois State Route 9. My husband Richard and I live directly across the street from Bloomington High School and Bloomington Junior High campuses. We have for over 40 years. As you are aware, ID do is proposing redoing Illinois State Route 9 as it goes through the city of Bloomington. We are very glad that Route 9 is going to be redone. It is greatly needed. As part of the project, IDOT is proposing adding a new sidewalk on the night north side of the street between Towanda Avenue at the east end and Coloulton Avenue at the west. It's only the section that I'm drawing attention to. This is the area that borders Bloomington High and Bloomington Junior High campuses. This section of proposed sidewalk will create a serious health public safety issue. All Bloomington residents who live in this area of Empire on Illinois Route 9 are concerned about this proposed sidewalk. Several of these residents are here this evening. I'd like to acknowledge them if they would please stand. Thank you. This is There is already a sidewalk on the south side of the street in this area from Towanda all the way to Colton. It's on the school side of the property and the highway. Putting a sidewalk on the north side of Empire, Illinois Route 9 will create a tractive nuisance which will encourage and tempt students to cross the state highway

where there is no stoplight or stop sign. It's inherently unsafe. Residents of the street have lost mailboxes many times over the years to high school drivers. We have witnessed cars ending up in our yards and vehicular accidents and near misses with students. One neighbor has witnessed a student being struck by a car. Not only do the public and the students use this area for walking, Bloomington High and Junior High athletic teams use it for practice. They run the perimeter of the campuses and their coaches don't run with them. So, a new sidewalk across the street could be a fun diversion which would be very unsafe. Traffic is very heavy on the street. It includes uh semi trucks, school buses in and out several times a day, young students who have a heavy foot, and we reenact IND500 at 2:15 every afternoon. Students have um been our concern for a long time. We're here and now because we didn't know about this until recently. We were unfortunately given information that no one knew who to contact. ID dot. I did ultimately reach someone very recently. We came to you immediately. This project manager said it is the city's request for this sidewalk. We are asking you to please put us on your agenda at a very soon city um city council meeting because they are moving toward actually getting ready to let their bids on this in the next few months. We want to be able to visit with you about these concerns. We're most concerned about the safety of our citizens and in particular our students. Please let us review this and look at it and please keep our children safe. Thank you.

Thank you. Next up is Craig Gates.

First of all, I'd like to thank all you men and women who are setting our council. I'm sure you hear a lot of complaints sometimes and probably nobody comes by and hits you on the back and say you're doing a good job, but we don't really know what you're doing. And I'm not don't mean that critically. I'm just saying um you seem to be hidden a lot. Uh we don't have a newspaper, local newspaper that covers very much if anything. And u I'm not here to criticize everything, but it just seemed like things are done in secret and us citizens don't hear too much about it. Uh, in 2023, I heard word somewhere that there was going to be a display by IDOT at the Bloomington Junior High, and I happen to live right across the street from that. So, since I could just walk across there, I was concerned. I was interested to know what they going to do with Route 9 because Route 9 needs a lot of attention. So, I went over there and it was a large area from that wall to this wall. Doubled back again. Beautiful layout of exactly what they had proposed to do. What caught me off guard was the fact that they wanted to put a sidewalk in front of my house. Now, I've lived there for 45 years, and as far as I know, they've never had a sidewalk in that side of the street, and I can understand why. There's no need for a sidewalk there. There's no stores on our side of the street. There's no stores up the street for destination for people going there. And if there is, there's a beautiful flat sidewalk on the school side that people do walk on, walk the the kids run as as Sharon said. And there's there's just no reason for it. And as I learned more about it, I found out uh of course on our side where all the houses are are single family houses, um the terrain is not level like over at the high school and the amount of u changes, landscaping changes that's going to take place in our front yard is

extraordinary. There's going to be uh retaining walls in some properties uh higher than your knee, which is going to cause a little safety issue for the people mowing the grass and the people walking in their yards. Uh it's going to change everything. The power company just put new poles out there. That's all going to have to be moved. Um right along my house and two houses, the sidewalks going to be right next to the curb, if you can imagine that. I know down in Florida, they have a problem people being hit where they've done that. And then in in front of my house, it's going to jet back up and go right as far as they can. And a lot of mature trees are going to have to come down and be done away with. And and I think there needs to be more of a public hearing on it and allow us citizens to speak out concerning it because I for the life of me, I I see the work that's going to have to be done. I've been in the contracting business all of my mature life and I see all the work's going to be have to be done and the money spent and I know the city wants sidewalks and yet I know places all around this town that they've never had a sidewalk. Mercer Avenue doesn't have a sidewalk inside the street. At least we got a real nice one on one side. And I would just ask the council to put it on their agenda and let us speak out and it would be a wonderful thing that we would have the assurance that our council members care about what we think. Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Gary Stevens. Good evening, council. It's so good to uh see you again. Appreciate the work that was done on West Locus last street. The morning after I was here before, I saw somebody out there working, so it was great. Got some potholes done. That was great. Thank you very much. Wish to speak to you today about uh item D on your uh consent agenda. There's a cons uh concern here for uh uh financial uh request for an audit of anything down to I believe $50,000. I would just appreciate it if the city would look a little closer. I know the money is not worth as much it used to be in 1971, but uh that was the year that our our pennies were worth a uh about a dollar for today. But also uh another concern I have about this audit is that this audit is going to be down on the uh mental health issues and how much how the money is spent there. But I also think the city needs to look at the e efficacy of the mental health uh work and make sure that our money is being well spent. I've had experience with someone getting uh counseling for over two years and still with all the mental health work she had done, it didn't make a a bit of difference in how she acted. On item F, I'm concerned about the cost of solid waste for the college action center. I'm just asking if this is all waste that the uh city has given to the ecology acting center then why can't they just make money off the waste instead of having to charge the city for

more money to be able to work on it especially for for three whole years three whole years being voted on another uh on item G you have a vote on three different things about Fox Freak and I'm concerned that uh the city has said that the big issue now is the drought and I'm wondering why we're spending $19 million on uh improvements to the road. I know the road uh all the roads would be nice to be improved, but uh when I've been out there on Fox Creek, the only place that I have trouble with is turning from 66 on a Fox Creek. and and a lot of people use the fourlane part is to go real fast and and it just seems like it's just in a big hurry to get another two minutes down the street. So, I appreciate you uh looking at that. And I just want to mention item K talks about the zoning, changing zoning for housing. And I just wonder if this is kind of overregulation. Why can't housing just be all one's own zone and let people have the uh ability to change the kind of uh housing they have?

And I appreciate the talk about credo and the other drugs. I just wish we had a little more regulation on even legal drugs because a lot of people are getting hurt with legal drugs these days. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next up, uh, we have Heidi Sakura, and we'll be switching to virtual public comment from, uh, here on out. Heidi, are you there?

I am. Hi. Um, I am actually a doctor of nursing practice. I'm a resident of Illinois and, um, I'm also volunteer as the chief scientific officer for the International Plant and Herbal Alliance. Um, I have no financial ties toratom, but my goal is to help communities make informed, practical decisions that protect public health. Um, I really understand your concern and unfortunately um, the state of Illinois has only passed a 18-year-old age restriction forratom and has not really put any u appropriate regulations in place. But that's something that you can do as a community and um, and I'm more than happy to help you with that. uh a few points based on what other people had shared. Um I want to make it very clear that naturalratom products um actually um do not recruit the pathway that leads to respiratory depression and that's really life-saving for people um that are using them as a harm reduction tool. So that's one of the most important reasons that um you should really regulate rather than u ban the substance and because you know my concern is that without that option that people um will choose to go back to opioids and even fentanyl that absolutely causes that respiratory depression. Um and um but most people actually use the vast majority for chronic severe pain. And so that's my other concern about taking away, you know, th that option and especially with a possession ban that um there aren't any other, you know, safer options for that kind of pain control that uh people with severe pain have. Um in addition, I want to make it very clear 70 is notratom. So um natural leaf has um a

long history of safe use. 70 is a semiynthetic substance that um that is not a natural product. It is part very trace tiny tiny amount of theratom leaf in the drying process but it's at such low levels that in the natural product it's really safe um and we don't see the um problems with that. Um the FDA in July actually called for a ban on 70 and that was based on an eight factor analysis that showed that it does have um a higher addiction profile and also it can lead to respiratory depression. So that's in complete contrast to naturalratom products. So we do have bad actors out there. We I I really um encourage you to regulate um the bad actors out and um and do the uh the actual consumer protection ordinance that you can do locally. And I did send an email. Um I'm sorry that doesn't seem like you received it. So I will resend that. Um but I am actually very happy to help in any way that I can and I appreciate you taking a look at this important um issue. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. Next up, we have Misty Brown. Misty, are you online? Hi. Can you guys hear me? We can. Thank you.

Okay. Um, I would like to say that, okay, my name is Misty Brown and the ramifications of including possession in your ordinance is astronomical. We have a man named Marshall Price that was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the state of Arkansas for having 200 grams of cratom. Three weeks later, he was murdered in Green County Jail awaiting transport to start his prison sentence. Then we have a case of Shaina Brown in Alabama who was arrested for having 250 grams of she sat in jail for nine months because her bond was $1 million. She sat in jail for nine months until us in the cratom community could come up with enough money to bond her out and hire her a new attorney. Let me tell you why I care. From 2008 to 2019, I lived trapped in FDA approved pain pills, benzo, and muscle relaxers prescribed for my degenerative disc disease. Over 11 years, chronic pain management turned into a full-blown addiction. What began as a dependency slowly became a cycle of misuse, desperation, and shame. In April of 2019, I was dismissed from pain management after failing a required pill count. I was short on my medication and couldn't find what I needed. Cut off from prescriptions, I turned to the streets. And in that desperation, I slipped into cocaine use while trying to find another doctor. By June of 2019, I was in withdrawal and at rock bottom when I watched a documentary called A Leap of Faith. That moment changed everything. The next day, I walked into a smoke shop, showed my ID, and bought holy cratom, not synthetic 70. Cratom quieted the relentless cravings. The voice that kept saying, "One more pill, one more snort, one more escape. Finally went silent. For the first time in over a decade, I felt stable. Freighom gave me the breathing room to heal and allowed me to rebuild my life. I have not returned to pain management over six and a half years. Today I'm a thriving mother, a firsttime grandmother and a

contributing member to society. I am no longer a burden to my children. I am an example of recovery. I will always be grateful that I had access to safe lab tested the holy cratom and that is why I speak out to protect others who are still fighting for their lives. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak. Thank you. Thank you. Next up we have Jennifer Gillis. Jennifer, can you hear us?

Hi. Yes, my name is Jennifer Gillis and 20 years ago, I woke up paralyzed from the neck down. I was diagnosed with transverse myelitis. Although I gained some mobility back, I was left with permanent physical limitations and I became a lifelong chronic pain patient. For years, I relied upon prescription pain medications just to function. However, through no fault of my own, I eventually lost access to those medications and my quality of life deteriorated. I lived in constant pain. I felt hopeless and just I was desperate for relief. In 2019, all that changed when I discovered Holy cram. For the first time in years, my pain became manageable. And because of I can get out of bed, run errands, attend school functions, and live a somewhat normal life even with my physical limitations. My story is not unique. Is a lifeline for many. It provides pain relief without the mental impairment often associated with traditional opioids. Comparing directly to opioids is not realistic and it overlooks both the science and the lived experiences of people who use it responsibly. When Kratom gave me my life back, I decided to use my time and my voice to keepratom legal for those everywhere who are still searching for relief as well as for those who rely on but have no idea it's even at risk to be taken away. I truly believe our stories and our voices matter. I'm asking that you support regulating whole whole leaf cradle like proper lab testing age restrictions at the same time restricting the pro problematic highly concentrated 70 products that are falsely marketed as cratom products. Thank you so much for your time and allowing me to speak on behalf of the chronic pain community.

Thank you. Next up, we have Michael Fisano. And this will also be the last one before we reach our 30 minute time limit. Michael, are you on?

Hello. My name is Hello. My name is Michael Fisano. I'm 40 years old. I've been consuming for over 15 years. I have healthy lab work. I'm healthy mentally, physically. I mainly, it helps me with my chronic insomnia. It's helping me with my joint pain. And now since recently there's been a nationwide shortage on ADD meds, I found it helpful for my ADHD symptoms. Um, and it's been very helpful for to me and I want to echo what the others have said about regulation and the natural credum. I I want I agree with them. But what really concerns me a lot is the possession because this kind of was at a last minute and I feel that there'll be consumers within the area that are drinking their tea, lawabiding citizens that are drinking their tea and to realize that they could get pulled over or just the fact that they are breaking the law by consuming or having this in their possession. So, I'm hoping that we can come to an agreement on regulation, but I'm I'm really really um passionate about that possession. So, I want to thank you. Thank you and give you giving me the time to speak and thank you very much.

Thank you. So, I could call one more because you have two minutes left. So, go ahead and finish out the last of the 30 minutes. Okay. is James Pratt. Are you online?

Yeah. Hello. Can you hear me? We can. Go ahead. Thanks.

All right. Hello, city council. My name is Jim Pratt and I uh have consumedratom for roughly eight years as a way to help me manage my joint pain from years of athletics like running, rock climbing and weightlifting. Uh before I started taking I as a healthconscious individual wanted to make sure that I was taking something safe and I did my homework on this and very quickly came to the conclusion that it was safe after seeing numerous peer-reviewed studies as well as multiple eight factor analyses that determined that there was not a threat to the public health with this. And as was previously mentioned, those are frequently used to determine if substances should be scheduled and what have you. Uh the history of also backs up its safety profile. In 2016, there was an attempt to schedule at the federal level. Uh the DEA um went to the FDA to try and get further information as to what made it dangerous and after being unconvinced by the evidence provided formally rescended their recommendation to schedule. Uh the Secretary of Health and Human Services as well also uh called out the FDA for embarrassingly poor evidence and data and a failure to consider the overall public health. uh this trend of science backing up its safety ofratom uh continued to more uh to these years where in 2024 there was actually a study done by the FDA which was a single ascending dose study forratom where they gave users increasing amounts of to measure the severe adverse events that might occur in these cases. uh only after reaching

12 grams of cratrum or 24 pills which is quite a lot did they come into their first adverse event which was nausea for two users which is a very minor adverse event. So they were able to conclude the study and came to the conclusion that is tolerated at well tolerated at all levels. This likely informed the previously mentioned FDA announcement uh where they wanted to schedule 70 uh in July, but they specifically excluded naturalratom from their recommendation in this in this announcement uh likely due to some of the findings from this scientific study. Uh so I would like or I would urge the Bloomington City Council to consider a similar approach and to focus on the real issue here which is these concentrated synthetics that are out there. Natural cratom isn't the issue and many people rely on it for an improved quality of life. Uh focus on the synthetics and at minimum remove that possession uh ban from the ordinance. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Uh that concludes our 30 minutes of correct comments. That is correct.

And at this point then we'll move forward unless there's any other comments from any members of the council. We'll move forward then to the conclude the public comments and move forward to the consent agenda. The consent agenda is listed under uh number seven on our agenda tonight. Um, is there any members of the council that have a question issue or wish to have any item from that consent agenda pulled, reviewed, or discussed? If not, could I have a motion then to pass the consent agenda and a second? A motion to uh approve it.

I'll second motion by member Strazza, second by member Scott, and take the vote, please. The item passes. No needs to announce.

Thank you. Next, we'll move to uh number eight on the uh agenda this evening, which is our regular agenda. And under our regular agenda is uh letter A which is consideration and action on an ordinance amending chapter 28 misdemeanor of the city code prohibiting the possession, sale, delivery or distribution of cranum or synthetic alternative drugs. Uh and at this point what I would like to do is ask uh member Mosley if you would make some comments since this is a initiative of yours sir and you've done a great deal of work uh and involvement in this issue. So if you would like to have comments before we have a presentation here shortly. Sure.

Please go ahead.

Thank you mayor. Um I also want to acknowledge um our city attorney Chris Spanos and city staff for the work that they've done on this. Um, and I want to start by saying that this ordinance comes from a place of caring for our neighbors and taking residents concerns seriously. Um, this t topic was first brought to me by a concerned Bloomington resident. Um, rather than rushing it forward, I spent the past seven to eight months researching the issue, listening to residents, reviewing public health information, and looking closely at how other cities in Illinois and across the country have responded. What I learned is that is not an ordinary consumer product. It is an unregulated, inconsistently labeled and sold without standardized dosing or meaningful o oversight. Despite having drug-like effects and documented risk, I want to ask something ask some I want to acknowledge something important here. Some people may sayratom helps them. I don't dismiss these experiences, but personal stories don't make something safe or proven. The real concern is that is being sold without regulation, consistent dosing, and oversight. So, people don't actually always know what they're taking or how risky it may be. What we're being asked for tonight is not unusual or extreme. Communities across Illinois and across the country have taken similar actions when faced with some public health concerns. This is a local government doing exactly what we're supposed to do, responding when a credible issue affects the well-being of our residents. This ordinance is not about criminalizing any anyone or limiting a person personal choice. It's about recognizing that personal choices require basic safeguards and rights and right now those safeguards simply do not exist with this product. After months of careful consideration, I believe it is a reasonable and measured step to protect

our neighbors. And I respectfully ask for your support on this ordinance. And with that, I'll turn it back to you, mayor. Thank you very much. And with that, I'll ask our city manager, Mr. Furgens to introduce uh the ordinance presenters so we can all learn more. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you very much, mayor and council. And I invite Assistant Chief Paul Williams to come forward, Dr. Denton to come forward with the uh leave of the council, uh who is very knowledgeable about this and has worked with us on this. And then our corporation Chris Banos, they have prepared a brief presentation that they will go over and then we'll be happy to answer any questions on the orchids.

Thank you, Senator City Manager Jurgens. Um, just I will be brief and let the experts talk. Um, [cough] last summer, late last summer, uh, Assistant Chief Paul Williams, uh, contacted me about possibly putting together an ordinance, uh, for for the regulation ofratomratom. Uh, you say tomato and I'll say tomato. I'm not sure which it is to be honest with you. Um that being said uh through the next following probably four or five months I was researching trying to find out what other other areas were doing so on and so forth read a lot of of uh documentation regarding u some of the risks and problems and then uh about the same time then got the same a similar request from u Mr. Mosley and it all kind of came together there at the end of the year. Um I have been through this process looking at all the various municipalities throughout the state of Illinois that have enacted some form of regulation ofratom and the list is very long. Uh I I stopped counting at about 30. Uh I know there are others that are continuing to come forward with uh similar forms of of regulation. I will tell you that I came across some that are very strict that that uh regulate a number of substances and other THC based um items uh THC infused drinks um things like that. Some of them are very basic and areratom and maybe just one or two other uh similar substances. The the proposal that's in front of you landed somewhere in the middle uh after discussions with BPD and with Mr. Mosley and the mayor and city manager city staff. Uh we thought that that was an appropriate uh recommendation at this time. Um I'm going to turn it over here in a second to uh Assistant Chief Williams to talk a little bit about where this comes from a from a police

enforcement perspective. But before I do that, I want to make a couple things clear. This proposed ordinance does not prohibit THC infused beverages. That's not the intent. Um that may be something to do in another day, but this particular ordinance does not address that. It's uh limited to umratom [clears throat and cough] and some of the other uh synthetic stimulants and synthetic psychedelic hallucinogens. One other point I want to make is that we currently have this it is a nuisance. It's not a criminal code violation. It is a nuisance, a civil code violation. Um, we have it taking effect immediately or suggesting taking effect immediately upon passage and I would recommend that we amend that to make it 10 days upon passage so that we fall within any argument that this was uh didn't give an appropriate notice. And with that, I'll turn it over to uh, Assistant Chief Williams. Good evening. I had prepared a few things to say, but I think everybody has said everything I was going to say. So, I'm going to speak uh just off my cuff. Don't be confused. Nobody's going to prison for possessing this. Um that's not the intent of this. That that's one person said, "Oh, we spent, you know, got murdered in jail or something." That's not what's going on here. This is a dangerous dangerous sub substance and it's not regulated. You can buy one brand and you don't know that what you're getting there is the same as you're getting from a different brand. It affects people differently. Somebody can smoke cigarettes their whole life and never get lung cancer. Somebody else will smoke them and they'll get lung cancer. It affects people differently. It just depends on a lot of things. It depends on whether or not you have other drugs in your system. It depends on how

much other drugs, what kind of drugs. There's a lot of variables. This drug is called gas station heroin. That's what they call it on the street. It's nasty stuff. If you use just a little tiny bit of it, it's not all that bad. I guess you use a little cocaine. If you go to the dentist, nub your tooth, it's not that bad. You fitol, if you go to the surgeon, might use that to kill your pain. It's all white noise. That's not what's going on here. This is a dangerous stuff that is sold, our children can get access to it. Um, and they use it um to substitute for more harsh drugs. And uh it's it's bad stuff. So I took the liberty to make a few things. You know, Mayo says, if you read the the thing on the walk, this com uh compound has not been shown to be safe or treat any medical condition. Straight from Mayo. That was uh in very recent studies. Flip two uh screens, please. Mayo again says uh one more, please. Mayo again says sold as an energy booster and a pain reliever and a general uh ailment remedy. That's what it's marketed as. A lot of states have totally banned this including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. There are some other states that have taken a little bit different approach to that. Um you can buy this stuff in a pill, you can buy it in a powder and mix it into your drink and drink it that way. Uh you can smoke it. Um there's a lot of different ways you can use use it. Flip to my last one, please. Um Cleveland Clinic says repeated use can lead to low-level addiction and opioid like withdrawals. So we've got with us a very highly respected medical person and he can speak to that. But when you do the

research and you look at the most um respected medical people in the field, nobody says it's a good idea to use this stuff. And nobody can tell you how much is the right amount. You know, if you weigh 300 lb, you might be able to use different than if you weigh 100 pounds. It's uh it's dangerous stuff. And um you've heard a lot of things, but I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Denton, and he can probably explain it much more eloquently than I can. Thank you.

Thank you. Um I I've been asked here to be here by Chief Williams and actually Coroner Yodar asked me to come here and and in herstead uh she she wanted to talk to you also. So she she asked me to do this. So I I am here also representing the MLAN County Coroner. Um so I am I am a forensic pathologist. I live in Bloomington in the Fox Creek area. Um, I have been coming to MLAN County doing autopsy since 1998. We moved here full-time in 2007. Um, Mayor Brady when he was corer recruited me here. So, I've been doing a lot of a lot of investigation of of sudden unexpected deaths in the plane county for many years. Um, I I I have come across or is the active substance inratom is called metrogyny. So, um, I just pulled some text. This is this is a standard textbook we all use. pathology of drug abuse is prominently referenced. I can give you some information about it. Is as you've heard a leaf product. It grows naturally in in Southeast Asia. It is regulated in those countries where it grows. It is not it is not a free-for-all. So even those countries that grow it regulate it. Um it can be abused. Um is the main product withinratom. 70% ofRatom is a drug called metrogyny which is difficult to spell but that is the active substance withinratom. It's like marijuana and delta 9 THC. It's the best analogy I can make. There is an active substance within within marijuana plants. Um metragginine is the active substance one of the active substance within that's 70% of it. Um a breakdown product that you've heard about talked about tonight um is 7 hydroxy metroenine also or O call 70. Um actually seven 7 hydroxy metatragginine is thought to be more potent than morphine that is that is referenced here in this book. So a breakdown product of of metrogenine

andratum is actually more potent than morphine in this that your body turns into makes a metabolite. Um there are also other alkaloids in there that we don't know what they do. They have all different kinds of effects. Some affect the serotonin syndrome which drugs like Prozac effect. There's all kind of different things. So only 70% of its metrogyny. The other 30% are also plant alkaloids which are active compounds. Um so you're talking about opioid effects. One of the things that does and is well known at lower doses it has a stimulant effect such as cocaine or like a it wakes you up or keeps you awake. uh Thailand soldiers use it to maintain their alertness during military effects where Thailand uses it that way. Um so at lower doses it's a stimulant at higher doses it is known to be an opioid effect does it does hit the MU receptor and opioids which are what opioids hit. Um so that is that that's a that's a concern that you're having a opioid that you can buy at a gas station. Um so all those countries Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Southeast Asia, they all regulate the sale of cratom not even if it's a plant. Um side effects include dry mouse, urination, loss of appetite and constipation in and patients. Um new users often state that they become just sleepy. Um it obviously and in animal studies it reduces the food and water intake in people. Um and then in uh 2004 metrograine and cratom were placed on the most restrictive level on the Australian national drug poison schedule. So it was basically determined such as no said there's no effect. Um I I went through some of the data um recently. Um this is just from a toxicology report of a person who died. Um metragginine level was very high. That was their cause of death. This is from National Medical Services Laboratory which talks about each drug.

I'm highlighting what they say. Um, or metrograine is an alkaloid found in the plantratom. The region is from Asia Asia. It is an atypical opioid agonist which means it functions as an opioid. You've heard about the opioid epidemic. This is an opioid that's being sold. Um, it can be chewed or brewed as a tea. Um, the leaf extracts can be subject to abuse. Lower doses result in stimulant type effects. Higher doses result in opioid effects. It can cause seizures, psychosis, and liver toxicity. And I believe one of the emails that was sent in for public comment that I that I went through is actually the autopsy report of a 22-year-old that came from Michigan that the mother sent you to review. It shows a a fatal cratom level. Her son used, had a seizure on the floor in front of his girlfriend, and died. That is that is my experience, too. And I did go back and look very very very quickly um this afternoon. In 2001, uh there was one o one metrogyny related death because we don't sayratomratom is like it would be saying like marijuana death. We don't say marijuana deaths. We say delta 9 or whatever substance. So in 2001 there was one 2002 there was one 20 or 23 there was one and 24 there were there were two and last year in 25 there were four. So it's going up. So instead of one a year the last two years they've had two and then four last year. and that's in the regional area since this is a regional more facility that that plane county operates. That's just my experience. Um again short notice I was asked to be here tonight but um and again I believe corner Yoder um echoes my comments. Thank you uh to all of you and members of the council. If you have questions of those on our panel here to ask at this time.

If not, we thank you again for your comments and your expertise. We appreciate that very much. Um this time then we will make a motion if I have a motion to move forward with a vote.

And just a reminder that I think we should amend the the end of the uh whereas clauses to make it effective in 11 days. I'd like to I'd like to move that we approve this ordinance with the amendment of the 11 days adjustment um to the um actual start date. Second. I'll second. Thank you.

Remember Mottney and clerk. You take the vote then electronically, please. The item passes. No names to announce. Thank you. Motion carries then and we will now move forward to uh the finance director's report. Director Rathburn.

Sorry. Go ahead. It's now official.

Official start. Okay. [clears throat] Uh greetings uh mayor, council, community. Um it's been a couple months since we've done a uh a monthly update uh with the holidays and the schedule there in December. Um, tonight we'll do be doing the December financial summary. We're eight months through the year. Uh, in October, I think I predicted that we'd be showing a projection for the general fund. But right now, we're um, we're literally meeting with all uh, department, not all departments, all the major departments related to the FY27 budget. As part of that process, we're reviewing the FY2726 projections. Uh we're literally going through every account uh in the general fund finance reviews compares it to year-to- date to prior year uh what we understand via the um the meetings we have with departments uh making um our proposals and then meeting with those departments to come up with those projections and coming to an agreement. So long story short, we're going to be waiting one month to include a projection column um on the general fund. Um but I'll be making some comments um for that uh this evening as well. Next slide, please. Some general comments. Uh major tax revenues, these are similar to October. Um sales taxes are continuing to perform well. Again, just as a reminder, uh legislative change related to online retail sales from out of state, collecting the local tax component. If you look at home rule sales tax, we're currently $2.8 $88 million um ahead of the budgeted variance. This exhibit uh we manually produce this. Uh we seasonalize um all the months within the calendar or the fiscal year, excuse me, based on history. Uh so we can we can come up with a year-to-ate budget. So home rule 2.8 million ahead is 2.9 million ahead of uh the prior year. State sales tax $1.2 million almost ahead of budget. um

$2 million ahead of uh prior year. The offset to this was really uh related to that local use tax prior to this legislative change. Many of these online retailers um that had this there was a little bit of a loophole were still filing uh state sales tax uh but that was then being distributed on a per capita basis and it excluded our home rule obviously. Uh so we're we're not only uh realizing um our portion of those of that activity, but getting the home rule component as well. We did have some visibility on that going into this fiscal year. We were conservative on uh the home rule and state sales tax as far as doing the budgeting. If you go to the far right column, you go back up to home rule, you can see that we increased the budget just slightly year-over-year and state sales tax year-over-year, but local use tax we took down considerably. uh anticipating that decrease related to that legislative change. I've been talking a lot about uh replacement tax. That's the personal property replacement tax. Um a little bit of history just to recap there. Um that uh really uh increased dramatically starting about FY21 up to its high point FY23 where it reached nearly $6.4 million realized. A lot of questions uh here locally between the county and the city and the town. you know what is going on there. I've talked about how the state uh has admitted they they miscalculated those distributions and they're doing a clawback. Um you can see on replacement tax off to the far right, we actually took the budget down by $1.6 million from FY25. The the budget for FY26 is 2.6 million. In October, I referenced um that the Department of Revenue and IML Illinois Municipal League had projected that um replacement tax would come in um relatively even with pri the prior year and that's where we budgeted uh the FY26

budget at 2.6 million. Um but at the first three payments for the fiscal year, we were $240,000 below our our expectations. So, we were anticipating or we were going to need um a somewhat sizable adjustment. Um well, the payment, the fourth payment we we realized was $215,000 over expectation. The next payment, which isn't reflecting these numbers, was $44,000. So, we're basically on track to reach that $2.6 million budget for the year. So, um that that's good news there. Um the reasoning behind why those first few payments were low and then there was a big catch-up uh gives us some some pause related to those numbers coming in from the department of revenue not to throw anyone under the bus but uh it did rebound you know accordingly and then uh the final uh point the total variance year to date uh through this time frame and again I I forgot to reference we've got six months um of home rule of the state sales tax uh the local taxes we have seven months even though we're eight months through the year so there's There's always a big lag there related to our tax revenues, but we're $3.8 million at the very bottom there ahead of budget based on those time frames. And then as of referenced um in many prior uh meetings, FY26, this current fiscal year, when we balance this budget, we we delayed 3.9 million of equipment, etc. So, these additional tax revenues are are helping us balance out, you know, along with the tax levy that was approved in December, the FY27 uh budget, which we're working on diligently right now and hoping to bring to council sometime in late February or the community. Next slide, please. So, general fund. Um, I'd like to just kind of do a reminder. It's the largest fund of our 30 funds in the city financial structure. Uh, this one gets all the attention because it's primarily funded with tax revenues. Uh, this houses public safety, which is more than

half of the the entire budget, uh, parks and wreck. But I also want to highlight tonight that this this, uh, also houses portions of public works, including snow and ice. So, this weekend and some weekends, um, around Thanksgiving, the snow and ice budget is a variable budget. I'm going to ref be referencing that in the next exhibit. Um it's it's a it's an expense um that we can't control and it's impacted by mother nature as we've all seen here. Um year-to date you can see the trend. We use this annualized trend. It shows 67% that's eight months of the year. This is just another way of reviewing our numbers. But in the prior exhibit I referenced that we only had six months of major tax revenues. So that's extremely less than 67%. So, if you look at our tax line, we're showing $69 million year-to- date um re realized, but only 65% of of the year. That's and I just talked about how we're doing better than budget. So, really kind of those numbers don't don't match out, but it's just the way we're trying to bring some perspective to this exhibit. We're two months behind on sales taxes. So, we're not eight months through the year and that 67 that annualized trend is 67%. So there's there's um nuances to the way we we uh we were showing our numbers, you know, the year to date. And so those all get ted up by the end of the year. It makes it challenging. Uh but this this is one of the ways we just try to like again put some perspective um on these exhibits. Uh I wanted to highlight the investment income line. It's at 90 90% 1.1 million year to date. So that's way ahead of uh what we projected from a trend standpoint. rates have stayed a little they stayed a little higher than what we had anticipated. And also this is showing some of the benefits from uh utilizing our investment advisors who have positioned some of we can't go real long term. It's it's not allowed via our investment policy or even state statute, but we've locked in some of those higher

rates even though rates are starting to climb. So that's been very beneficial for us. And then uh before we get into the next exhibit, the expenditures just want in the revised budget very top line use of reserves um 13.5 almost 13.6 million. We started the year the original budget was 3.3 [clears throat] million use of reserves primarily related to the front and center street uh which is the building is gone now. There's a big hole there but there's progress. Um there's a parking lot across the way. So that was 3.3 million and then $10.3 million um budget amendment that was um adopted by council related to the downtown streetscape and that's how we ended up with 13.6 million in use of reserves. Next slide please. So expenditures are mostly trending. Um I I emphasized on the previous slide you know our public works um and snow and ice. So that's going to impact um our salaries line for for overtime. I I pulled some numbers here just before the meeting this evening. Um for FY25 um snow and ice really most of the u employees the staff are paid out of other departments or other funds and then they when they pushing the snow plow they're getting typically paid overtime. So most of the expenditures related to snow and ice from a compensation standpoint is related to overtime. In 2025 we had $93,000 in overtime related to snow and ice. This isn't up there. I'm just articulating this. 24 we had $78,000 year to date. With the major events that we've had in this fiscal year, we're already at $143,000 in overtime related to snow and ice removal. And that does not include the most recent activity. So, the reason I bring that forward is just there are certain line items within um our financial structure that you know we we can't control. We do our best, but it's going to drive some of these numbers. All the other numbers are pretty much trending. During the levy, we talked about health insurance and some other uh

costs that are really skyrocketing. Now, um without getting into the weeds too much at this point, health insurance is paid out of a internal service fund. Um the employee health insurance fund. We do costing to departments via payroll and that's set up at the beginning of the year based on a rate structure that's put into payroll. So, as payroll is being run every every um period, it's charging the departments for health insurance, but it's not being updated for the actual costs that we're seeing rising during the year. So, we may be bringing forward some adjustments later on and transfer to the health insurance to true that up, but I just wanted to reference that since we did talk about health insurance costs uh during the levy. Right now, it's not showing in the benefits line, but we may be bringing that forward more and more, talking about it more when we do the projections. Last comment about this exhibit. Uh the year-to- date actual when you go down that column, you see the do audited beginning fund balance of 40.9 million. We have um an adjusted use of reserves of 13.6. I just went through the details on that front and center street and the um downtown streetscape. So that would put us at about $28 million, but we know that revenues are coming in better this year. And we've lowered expenses for FY26 because when we went into FY26, we weren't expecting those revenues. Pushed out the equipment. So our reserves should end up better than the 28 million. The 40.9 less the 13 million leaves us about 28. Um so we should end up better with uh those extra revenues and that'll help offset the additional health insurance expenses that we're going to be building into next next year's budget as well. Next slide, please. So enterprise summary th this is um a really high level exhibit. I normally just reference the bottom line where revenues are trending 69% uh versus a 67% which is eight months. So the revenues for most of the major

enterprise funds um are doing well. Um capital projects have been challenging for the enterprise funds. Bids are coming in high um but working around those um with negotiations [clears throat] etc. I wanted to spend one minute just talking about the structure of this exhibit because it's a little confusing. We have the projected beginning fund balance 3.8 mill. I'm going to use sewer as an example. The year-to-ate favorable unfavorable shows 2.9 million, but then we have purchase orders or encumbrances of 4.5 almost. So, it shows a loss of 1.6 million. So, what's going on there? Well, incumbrances, that's not all cash out the door, but uh three lines down from that, we see a budgeted use of reserves of 1.4 million. So, we know we're going to end up the year basically showing a loss in that fund because we wanted to use reserves to u fund those capital projects on the very next line of 2.9 million. So, when you have a budgeted use of reserves, it's not actual revenue. It's just a way of showing that we have the money to balance our budget. But at the end of the year when you strip out the reserves, use of reserves, it's going to show a use or a expenditure basically like a net loss, a net planned use of reserves. So at the end of the year, all things being held equal, a budgeted use of reserves for the sewer fund will show 1.4 million loss for the next slide, please. And again, the reminder that I usually do, uh, all these reports are online. Um, the full budget books are online. There's two two large volumes. Lots of information available there. Next slide, please. Questions, comments, and actually I'm going to do next slide. One more slide. Never talk about this. There's a lot of categories on that income statement that might be a little confusing. So, there's there is a slide online that defines what's in those those categories like other intergovernmental expense or or

other expenditures. ambulance bad debt, insurance write offs, grants, economic development rebates are in other expenditures. So, anytime we approve a development agreement and we're paying rebates, it's going to show under other expenditures. So, that that kind of helps explain some of the categories. I'll go back one slide. Any questions? Now, questions and comments, members of the council from board.

Yeah, if we could go back to slide number five, I'm I'm just curious about something. when you um talk about the the ending fund balances there for all of those and I realize you might not have this like right off the top of your head but how does that compare to recent years are there any things that stand out for you in terms of big differences?

I I don't have those off the top of my head. I I will say that, you know, like because I picked on sewer tonight somewhat um with reserves going forward, we're finding it challenging to keep positive reserve balance for sewer because of some of the larger expenditures for Locust Holton and the East Street Basin and things of that nature. Um the the reserve target for enterprise funds, we don't quite make that as stringent as the general fund where we're, you know, we're looking at at least two to three months of, you know, operating expenditures in reserve. You know, a 15% 10% of sewer if it was say $6 million annually. I'm just doing this from memory. Then that'd be $600,000. So, you know, $1.2 million uh Indian reserve balance would be 20%. That'd be good. We're having challenges keeping that up, but no, I don't I don't have a reference for prior years at this time.

Other members? Yes. Remind me. Would you mind putting up slide two?

So, um just a comment. I really don't um have a question. Just a comment. compared to last year's variance which was up $3 million in sales tax home rule over the prior year and then we're going to see that number again this year. I just want to make a comment that we raised property taxes that exact same amount when we were trending in that direction to recover that same amount of money and increased um spending and the collection of that sales tax. I just again want to make that point because pushing costs on property taxes is continuing to drive up the cost of housing in this community which is also one of our priorities. Thank you.

Any other members with questions or comments? Really?

Yeah. Uh can you explain why the snow and ice removal is considered overtime and then um the Do we have like a set amount? Uh like we're we're kind of safe up to a certain point because if we're up already 143 which is past the previous years um like and and we don't I assume we don't have an unlimited amount to spend towards it but we still have you know a few months of winter left. So, um, just wanted to see one, why it's considered overtime, but then two, you know, how how much of a cushion we have.

Yeah, it's it's not 100% overtime. It's just, you know, that's primarily where it ends up. Um, we have $200,000 that we always budget. I mean, I'm looking saying always, but for 24, 25, and 26, we budgeted 200,000. That's been kind of our standard. Um, I don't have the prior years here printed out, but I think prior to that we we bumped up against that a couple times. Um, I'm I'm expecting that with this event with this period that we'll exceed that $200,000 budget and then what that puts us in the position of just, you know, balancing out through the remainder of the year with expenditures in other categories. So, um, we can't exceed the overall budget for the general fund unless we bring forward a budget amendment to you to you council members. Um, so we we'll have to find it, so to speak.

Thank you. Any other members, questions or comments? Uh, Scott, I believe that you indicated that 143,000 of overtime dollars related to the ICE, weather, emergency service renewals, etc. Was that for 2025? I I didn't get the the year.

No, sir. that that is the year-to- date number for FY26, the current year. Okay. So, as Council Member Lee asked, we have $200,000 budgeted. Um, with this latest event, I I expect that we will uh top the 200,000 and then we will have to find somewhere else. For 25 it was 92,000. 78,000 went how far back? 24. FY 24. Yeah. I just want to make sure it's clear that it's fiscal year versus calendar year because I think he's referencing the 143 is for November and December of 2025, fiscal 26. Correct. Thank you.

And just to clarify those those numbers that you just gave like the 90 and the 70 something that's what we actually spent, right? It wasn't what was budgeted. That's correct. We we budgeted $200,000 in each of those years. Yeah. But that's what we that's what was actually spent. Thank you. Any other members? Anything else to add, sir? Thank you. Uh next we'll move on to um our city manager report. Mr. Cur,

thank you again. Uh just have one slide tonight, but before we get to it, just um want to say again appreciate those coming out from that live on Empire Street and that we're speaking to the council tonight. we will reach out to them. Um, that is on a school route and I I do think there's some ID do requirements there, but we will we will reach out. It is also part of our sidewalk master plan. So, we will have some discussions and and come back and see if if uh perhaps the council wants to make any changes or if that's even possible. Uh, but just wanted to share we will certainly follow up on all of that. Next slide. And just following up on kind of the conversation we were having, uh really want to uh say my appreciation to our public works crews who were out there in some horrific conditions over the weekend and and continue to be out there plowing streets and fighting the um the winds and the um um the the snow piling up. So, want to say my appreciation to them. Uh they've done a great job with this snow event. And then also to our police who are out there handling over 20 crashes, our fire department who was out there handling calls and our water crews who are handling water main breaks in these frigid temperatures. Unfortunately, you know, to to the conversation about overtime, we've had more snow this year and in 2025 than we've had in a lot of years. And of course, it's happening on the weekend, so all of that is overtime. Uh but it it takes a lot to get those streets plowed. And again, with our policy, we don't go into residential streets unless there's two inches of snow. Both the the last two snow events we've had have both been over two inches. So, it's it's required a lot from our public work works crews to to get this done in addition to leads. So, we've also had crews out there uh tackling difficult leaf issues with the with the frozen weather. So, just again want to say uh our appreciation to those crews that are out there in those temperatures and dealing with those conditions. So that's all

I've got. Thank you. Uh members, comments, member Mosley. No, I just want to echo um all of the support um that public works has provided us this weekend. Um I think everyone will say that. Um and then I just want to thank those that came and made public comments as well as um council members and the work that you guys have done for theratom ordinance. Um whether you were for or against it, you know, just appreciate the dialogue. Member Matney, member Danner.

Yes. I just want to thank and thank public works for what they did over the weekend. Um and even this morning I get out early and run and I was out at 5:00 a.m. and all the roads that I run on my board were uh plowed and easy to run on. So I appreciate that. And also I assure the people that going to work appreciate able to travel around and get to place they need to be safely. member Ward.

Yeah, I would I would echo the thanks for the the hard work of our our um people who kept us safe over the weekend. I'll just put it that way. Um yesterday morning, I I got up early to go to church and even by the time I left church, early afternoon, it was like night and day in terms of better. So, thank you. Remember Lee?

Yeah. Uh Jeff, could can you clarify which word um the the school area where Route 9 sidewalk it that affects it's for Okay, thank you. Just wanted to clarify. Um and yeah, thanks for um you know, public works being out in the cold. Um my kids have enjoyed a 4-day weekend due to the cold. Um so yeah, I um can't imagine uh having to work out there in those conditions. Thank you, Scott. Yeah, and I think we all would u echo the comments of thanking our public works, our emergency services personnel for all they've done uh not only through the storms, but what they do all the time. So, we greatly appreciate that. And with that, I believe we will move into executive session at this time. Um, executive session is uh under the motion I'll need here is for the purpose of uh executive session into section 2 C 12 and 21 of the of number five compiled statutes 120 to discuss settlement of claims in the semianual review of close session minutes. Is there a motion to move into executive session? I'll move we move that we move into executive session.

Is there a second? Second. Motion by member Ward and seconded by member Lee. All right. Council [snorts] member Mosley. Yes. Council member Mne? Yes. Council member Dannenburgger? Yes. Council member Strazza. Yes. Council member Ward. Hi. Council member Lee. Yes. Council member Scott.

Yes. Thank you. Uh there will be no action taken um after the executive session closes and we'll just enter to adjourn in open session. Thanks.

Okay. So, is there a motion to go back into regular session, please? I'll move we go back into regular session. I thought we already did. And then adjourn. Thorough. Uh second. Second that. Thank you. Okay. All in favor? Hi.