City Council - Regular Meeting

Hello Bloomington, I'm Mayor Tim Busse and this is the Council Minute for the week of June 1st. This week, the Council discussed several proposed amendments to the city charter. Before I get into the details, I wanted to take a moment to explain what a city charter is. A city charter is the foundational governing document of a city, often described as the city's constitution. It establishes the structure of local government, defines the powers and responsibilities of elected officials and staff, outlines how decisions are made and sets rules for key things like elections, finances and public administration. A charter is important because it provides clarity, accountability and stability in how a city operates. It ensures that local government functions according to rules established by the community while helping protect transparency, consistency and public trust. Over the past couple of years, city staff and the City Charter Commission have been working their way through the Bloomington City Charter looking to provide clarity and to make things easier to understand, and in some cases, to have the charter better reflect city operations in the year 2026. The changes are mostly technical in nature, but they are important. For example, one change clarifies that the city budget must be adopted by December 23rd of each year. The old language said that the budget needed to be adopted by the third week of December. That may seem a bit nitpicky, but eliminating that ambiguity helps to clarify things. Other updates would modernize how city payments are made and provide clearer rules for authorizing and awarding certain types of municipal bonds. Again, while these may sound like small changes, they help ensure transparency, consistency, and accountability in how city government operates. The council also approved and supported several transportation grant opportunities that could bring millions of dollars in outside funding to Bloomington. First, the city formally accepted a Safe Routes to School grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation for the Stanley Avenue sidewalk project. The grant will provide more than $400,000 to a new sidewalk connection between Nine Mile Creek Parkway and 84th Street, improving safety for students walking to Poplar Bridge Elementary School. The Council also authorized applications for additional regional transportation funding opportunities. One application would support the 102nd Street Multimodal Improvement Project, which would improve safety for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists between France Avenue and Normandale Boulevard. The corridor serves three schools and has been identified as a priority for safety improvements. Bloomington is also preparing a grant application through the Metropolitan Council for improvements to the Old Shakopee Road Trail. The project would reconstruct and upgrade the trail on the north side of Old Shakopee between Nesbitt Avenue and Bloomington Ferry Road, creating a safer east-west connection for pedestrians and for bicyclists. The project is already identified as a priority in the City's Alternative Transportation Plan. Bloomington is very active in seeking out grants and funding opportunities like this. It's a common sense way to leverage outside resources to improve safety, connectivity, and transportation options throughout the community. Finally today, over the past several months, we've heard directly from Bloomington business owners about the difficulties they're facing in a challenging economic environment. I don't think that's news to anyone. That's why Hatch Bloomington is evolving for 2026. The mission hasn't changed. We're still committed to supporting local business and strengthening our economy. but we're adjusting our approach to meet today's realities. In the past, Hatch focused on helping one entrepreneur launch a business with a single large award. As you know, it's been very successful. Under the new model, Hatch Loves Local, that investment will be spread across several existing Bloomington businesses. That means more local businesses receiving support, more jobs protected, and a greater impact across our community. It's about making every public dollar work harder and reaching more people in the process. These are the shops and the retailers and the small business owners who took a chance. They opened their doors, hired employees and became part of the fabric of our community. When those businesses succeed, Bloomington succeeds. By helping them stay strong, we're investing in the long-term health of our local economy. now this will still be a competition businesses that apply will need to demonstrate how funding will strengthen their operations and benefit the community at its core this redesign is about resilience we're investing in the businesses that are already investing in bloomington helping them continue to grow create opportunities and serve our residents for years to come if you're a bloomington business owner mark your calendar applications open june 10th and to learn more about the program and how to apply visit hatchbloomington.com That will do it for this week's Council Minute. Thank you so much for tuning in. Until next time, stay safe, Bloomington.