City Council - Regular Meeting

Bloomington City Council meeting uh for Monday, April the 27th. Uh at this time, we would ask if you would please stand for the pledge of allegiance and then remain standing for a moment of silent prayer and reflection. Clerk would call the role, please. Council member Currant here. Council member Mosley here. Council member Montney

here. Council member Dannenburgger here. Council member Strada here. Council member Ward here. Council member Lee here. Council member Scott here. and Mayor Brady

here. Thank you. Next, we'll move to uh the recognition and appointments. And first off, the proclamation. We have several proclamations tonight that we want to honor individuals or organizations. The first being a proclamation and recognition of Brandon Holtz um who was our outstanding representative at the Masters tournament this year for this fine city. And Brandon and our director of golf Jason Windgate is here tonight. And if Jason and Brandon would come forward and Mr. Windgate, if you would do the honors of uh reading a little bit of the many accomplishments of Mr. Holtz.

Thank you, Mayor. Bloomington native Brandon Holtz earned the chance to compete in the Masters, the most prestigious tournament in golf, by winning the US Mid Amitter Championship last September in Arizona. One of six amateurs in the star-studded Masters Field, Brandon shot 81 in the first round and 78 in the second at Augusta National Golf Club. His father, Jeff, served as his caddy. Brandon, 78, was highlighted by three birdies, including two straight on the 15th and 16th holes. A 39year-old real estate agent, he did not make the cup for the final two rounds, but gained valuable experience playing with and against the best golfers in the world. He played practice rounds with two of golf's elite players, Tommy Fleetwood and Jordan Speath, and played in the tournament with two-time Masters champion, Bubba Watson. Brandon was joined by family and friends at the Masters, including his wife, Elizabeth, and their young children, Baker and Millie. The US mid-a amter victory also secured Brandon a spot in the US Open which will be played in June at Shinikok Hills Golf Club in New York. Like the Masters, the US Open is amongst golf's grand slam events. His brother Brent will be his caddy. Brandon played golf at Bloomington High School, helping his team to second and third state finishes, but his first love was basketball. He was an all-state guard on highly successful BHS teams and earned a basketball scholarship to Illinois State. He played for the Redbirds from 2005 to 2009. His basketball career over, Brandon turned his focus and competitive fire to golf. He played professionally on many tours for several years, but regained his amateur status in 2024.

He won the Bloomington Normal Metal Play and Baseball Championships in 2025. Thank you. Therefore, I, Dan Brady, mayor of Bloomington, joined by the Bloomington City Council, do hereby proclaim and recognize Brandon Holtz for his exemplary performance in athletics and especially in the world of golf. And with that, how about a nice round of applause for Bloomington's own Brian Brandon, yes. If you'd like to say anything, you're more than welcome. I know golfers don't talk much, but

Well, we could uh start by uh we didn't have to pronounce the scores of the first and second round, but no, I honestly this uh community uh born and raised here um the outpouring support and um you know, just the phone calls, the emails, the messages uh has been incredible. And you know, kudos to everyone on this board and everyone in this community. Um, it's been a wild journey and I'm not uh this book's not done yet. You know, I got the US Open here coming in a month. So, um, again, I appreciate this opportunity. Appreciate all you guys. Appreciate everybody in this community and and I'm I'm I'm happy to present or present. I'm happy to um you know be the person that can represent this community and and and for everybody else to follow me as well. So, thank you.

Thank you very much.

And I also want to thank uh our famous sports writer Randy Kendrick who put together all the many accomplishments of Brandon for that uh proclamation. Next, we're would like to call to the podium Aaron Duncan, supervising attorney for Prairie State Legal, uh, to accept a proclamation regarding Fair Housing Act. [clears throat] Whereas the Fair Housing Act enacted on April 11th, 1968 enshrined into federal law the goal of eliminating housing discrimination in the United States. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination [clears throat] in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, uh, status, national [clears throat] origin, or disability, and commits recipients of federal funding to affirmatively further fair housing in their communities. The city of Bloomington is committed to the mission and intent of Congress to provide fair and equal equal housing to opportunities for all individuals. Our social fabric, the economy, health, and environment are strengthened in diverse, inclusive communities. The city of Bloomington is committed to affirmatively furthering fair housing in our community. Prairie State Legal Services provides housing legal services within the city of Bloomington. Funded in part by the city's community development block grant, the city of Bloomington is partnering with the Mid Illinois Realers Association to host a housing and resource fair on April 29th u of 2026 at Eastland Mall to provide community member access to housing resources including fair housing information. Therefore, I, Dan Brady, mayor of the city of Bloomington, on behalf of the Bloomington City Council, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as fair housing month in Bloomington and urge residents to support efforts toward equal housing opportunities for all residents and prospective residents of Bloomington. Erin,

thank you, mayor, and thank you so much to the city for continuing to recognize this as an important issue year after year. While our community members may still struggle with issues of affordability and availability, they should not also have to experience housing discrimination on the basis of a protected status without redress. Uh my firm investigates violations of fair housing. We get that information from our clients, but we also do take tips from the community. Uh you can find information about our fair housing hotline at our website pslegal.org. And sometimes that's how we figure out what's going on out there in the community. If somebody is experiencing discrimination, so I encourage you to keep your eyes and ears open. Please let us know. We have the funding for this. And we do want to make sure that everyone has equitable housing here in our community. Um again, just want to echo that we have the housing resource fair that's from 10 to 2 at Eastland Mall on Wednesdays. So please come see us there as well. And thank you for supporting this important work.

Thank you, Erin. If you'd like to step forward, we'll present to you your proclamation. And we thank you again on behalf of the citizens of Wilmington and the council. Next, if Tim Mau with the Franklin Park Foundation would come forward to the podium and to accept a proclamation for Franklin Park. Whereas in 1856, prominent Bloomington citizens David Davis, William Flag, and William Allen executed the deed, conveying to the city a parcel of land known as Franklin Square, named in honor of then Mayor Franklin Price of Bloomington in 1855. Franklin Square was to become the city of Bloomington's first public park. Franklin Square is home to architectural uh designation homes by designed by AF Moratz, George Miller, Al Pillsbury and others. In 1976, Franklin Square was added to the National Registry of Historic Places. And in 1979 was made a local historic district. For 170 years, Franklin Square has been an inclusive gathering place for reflection, recreation, political parades, uh, rallies, and community connection and concerts. Now, therefore, I, Dan Brady, mayor of the city of Bloomington, do hereby proclaim April 25th, 2026 as Franklin Square Day and urge all citizens to celebrate and enjoy the benefits Franklin Square and Franklin Park offer to this community. Dated today's date, April 27th, 2026. Congratulations, gentlemen. We appreciate it very, very much. And if you have some remarks.

Well, we appreciate your help, Mayor Brady, and uh your support in the past, your continuing support, and we offer everybody the opportunity to come and enjoy their first the first city park of Bloomington, Illinois. [clears throat] And if you want to know more about it, there's a website, franklinparkfoundation.org. franklinparkfoundation.org. Check it out. It's got all sorts of photos and history and things we're trying to do on the redevelopment and and the restoration projects and um you can even donate there. So, thank you very much. Thank you very much. We'd like to come forward and receive your proclamation from the city.

My esteemed colleague David Walker who's also on our foundation. So Dave

and uh Tim has kind of been a one-man gang for keeping the park as best we got as best we have it at the present time and got the foundation organized and uh it's uh wonderful to have that kind of uh incentive there and help there and uh we appreciate anything the council can do for us as we continue to look after the well-being of the park. We're have a lot of concern about the property to the west and the old hospital site. It certainly is very close to the park and is of great concern to us. So, we appreciate your interest and help.

Thank you very much. If you gentlemen like to come forward, we'll present to you your proclamation on behalf of the city council and citizens of Bloomington. Thank you. Thank you. Next, our city clerk and our deputy city clerk, Leslie and Panda, if you'd come forward. We have uh our final proclamation this evening, which is uh regarding the office of the professional municipal clerk. which is a timehonored and vital part of local government ex existing throughout the world. The office of the professional municipal clerk is the oldest among public servants. The office of the professional municipal clerk provides the professional link between the citizens, the local governing bodies and agencies of government at other levels. Professional municipal clerks have pledged to be ever mindful of their neutrality and impartiality, rendering equal service to all. The professional municipal clerk serves as the information center on the functions of local government and community. Professional municipal clerks continue to strive to improve the administration of the affairs of the office of the professional municipal clerk through participation in education programs, seminars, workshops, and the annual meetings of their state, county, and international professional organizations. It is most appropriate that we recognize the accomplishments of the office of the professional municipal clerk. Therefore, I Dan Brady, mayor of the city of Bloomington, do recognize the week of May 3rd through May 9th, 2026 as professional municipal clerk week and further extends appreciation to our professional clerk Leslie Smith Yokum and Deputy City Clerk Amanda Stzman for the vital services they

perform and their exemplary dedication to the city of Bloomington and their office. Ladies, thank you. And you have some remarks. Uh, thank you. We are very much a behind-the-scenes department. We're small but mighty. We have four of us and um we just want to thank you for the opportunity to recognize us and all that we do. Thank you, M. Yeah,

I was going to leave it all to Amanda, but I should also just say thank you to her. Um, she's truly the backbone behind everything that we do and the rest of my team as well. And, uh, I always laugh when I hear that proclamation each year because it gets drafted by the International Municipal Clerk's Association. So, we're not drafting our own proclamation for this packet. Um, but we just thank you for the opportunity to serve you and to provide transparency to the community. And thank you both and thank you for all you do. If you would like to receive your proclamation that you did not draft, right? Congratulations.

Thank you all. Next, when uh our clerk uh is ready, we will move to public comment. All right. Uh so, we did receive some email public comment. It was provided to council earlier today. Uh that was from Donna Bolan and Noah Tang. And then uh Mayor, after you read um your statement, we will have five people to speak. We will start with Dave Bentland. And then to follow will be Pastor William Bennett.

Thank you. Public comment is an opportunity for speakers to provide their views and feedback to the city council. It's also an opportunity for the city council to listen and hear diverse points of view to maximize the impact of public comment and show respect for the expressions of all views. Speakers should maintain stability and focus on city issues. Speakers must identify themselves for the record, but are not required to give their addresses. Each speaker is given the floor for three minutes, and the council does not respond or engage in debate. Any speaker that engages in threatening or disorderly behavior will be deemed out of order and their time will be ceased. Um, our first speaker.

All right, we have Dave Bentland. And then to follow will be Pastor William Bennett. Thank you. Great, David.

Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Um, I am here this evening to encourage you to pull consent agenda item 7X and oppose the ordinance that would dissolve the Welcoming America Commission. Bloomington is one of the four municipalities in Illinois that have received the Welcoming America certification. This recognition identifies local governments that have created policies and programs reflecting their values and commitment to immigration inclusion. This innovative program assesses city governments on their efforts to include and welcome immigrants in all areas of civic, social, and economic life. The city created the Welcoming America Commission to take advantage of the tools and resources offered by the National Welcoming America organization, including assistance with research and events to help strengthen the local climate for our immigrant populations. In these political times, implementation and a strong dedicated commitment to these programs, policies, and events are more important than ever. The human relations commission on the other hand is charged with handling cases of discrimination as outlined in the Bloomington city code. The commission also shares responsibility for the June Junth celebration, the Martin Luther King Jr. Awards lunchon and the indigenous people's day observance. All very important. I understand that the human relations commission favors assuming the welcoming commit America commission responsibilities, but more work needs to be done by the human relations commission to fulfill its current responsibilities. as well. For example, in the first four months of 2026, the Prairie Pride Coalition has received three complaints from members of the local LGBTQ plus community who have experienced discrimination within these city limits. In each case, the complainant was unaware of the commission and the local complaint process that was available to them. While the human relations commission does great work, they need to increase the community outreach and awareness efforts before taking on additional responsibilities.

There is stated concern about funding about finding local citizens to fill positions on city commissions. I have also heard anecdotal evidence from citizens who have applied for openings on commissions waited for extended periods of time for a response only to be deemed unqualified to serve. Also, there are creative ways to recruit people for boards and commissions that may not have been exhausted by city leadership. For example, normal Mayor Chris Cous made a personal contact with the Prairie Pride Coalition when a recent vacancy arose on the town's human relations commission. That outreach resulted in a qualified candidate being approved as a commissioner and bolstered the town's efforts to fill boards and commissions with citizens who reflect the rich diversity of the community. I asked the city leadership to redouble efforts to recruit citizens to fill the welcoming America commission. A commission dedicated solely to immigrant concerns sends a strong message that this is a priority in our community. Thank you.

Thank you, David. Thank you. Next, uh next up we have Pastor William Bennett and then to follow will be Theo Edens III. All right. Hello, mayor and city council.

Um, name is William Bennett. I am the pastor of City of Refuge Ministries in Bloomington, Illinois, and I am a former member of the PSCB, which is my reason for speaking here today. Um unfortunately a couple months ago um I became ill and I have a diagnosis that um I had to step away per my wife especially from a lot of different um things that I'm doing within church and um community and one of those things happened to be the PSCB and I had abruptly sent um that team an email but wanted to have some public accountability since um the mayor and the city council are the ones who allow me to be on the board itself. I um was a member from the very beginning of the board since 2017 and unfortunately I'm sorry to the legend Mr. Art Taylor who I have left to be the only so member starting member from that's still on that board. Um but first I wanted to thank the mayor, thank the city council for continually allowing me to be a part of the PSCB. I think it is a great thing that needs to continue. So, I will ask that even while me not being on it, that you will continue to support its efforts because I think it's needed as a part of this community, I've enjoyed working with um Chief Wamsley, Chief Simmonson, and and all the members of the PSCR be I will continue to work within this community as much as possible. when I get healthier because I believe I'm I'm going to be all right and be fine. I like to get back on some boards um to continue to be a vessel within this community to make it um even better than it already is. But simply just wanted to come have some public accountability, say thank you for allowing me to be part of the board and I look forward to working with you guys in the future. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Pastor Bennett. All right, next up we have Theo Edins III and then to follow will be Anthony Andreas.

Good evening. Thank you for your time. About a year or so ago, I did my homework, did my research, and I bought a vehicle, but I didn't buy it in Bloomington, Norma. I bought it in Champagne. I paid state tax. I paid federal tax. Then I get a bill in the mail for $511 and some change for my vehicle. I called the government center and I asked what is this tax for vehicle use tax. I said where's the money go? Nobody knew. I left. I came to the government center asked the same question. Nobody knew. I asked around. Everybody pays the tax but nobody knows where the money goes. So I said, "Why are we paying the tax?" and we don't know where the money go. It doesn't make sense. All I get is history. It's been around forever. That doesn't make it right. I understand that nothing's going to change at this moment. But the people work hard. The people pay taxes on everything else here in town. Why are we getting a mafia like mentality because we didn't buy a car here in town? It just doesn't make sense. So, that's all I wanted. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Next. Right. Next up, we have Anthony Andreas. And then to follow um our last speaker will be Zach Frier. Uh are you Anthony? Okay. All right. Thank you. All right. Uh next up will be Zach Frier.

Thank you. Good evening everyone. Zach Frier. Uh, thank you for the opportunity to speak about agenda item 7R. I want to begin by acknowledging that local businesses need reliable delivery access. Designated loading and unloading areas are essential to a functioning downtown and that concern is valid. Where I disagree is with how the city has chosen to address it. The original proposal included flex lanes, but those have now been removed to create additional delivery space instead of repurposing existing surface parking. Delivery needs can be met by using curbside parking more strategically rather than eliminating flex lanes which serve a wide range of residents. Removing essential flex lanes in order to preserve a handful of parking spots works against long-term economic health, street efficiency, and safety for the entire community. First, safe bicycle infrastructure supports local businesses. Numerous cities have found that customers who arrive by bike, on foot, or via transit tend to visit more frequently and spend more overtime than those who drive. Streets that feel safe and accessible encourage people to stop, shop, and spend time downtown. Protecting bike lanes isn't about discouraging drivers. It's about balancing access to businesses benefit from more customers, not just more parked cars. Second, this change moves us away from where transportation demand is heading. Ebike use is increasing rapidly, expanding cycling access to older residents, commuters, and workers who may not otherwise consider biking. At the same time, younger residents are delaying or opting out of car ownership as vehicle costs rise faster than wages. Providing safe, flexible travel options allows our city to adapt to these shifts rather than react to them later. Third, the reset designated uh street layout reduces flexibility on Main Street. With only one travel lane, removing the flex lane eliminates a critical option for passing and access for emergency vehicles. A design that includes such flex space offers more adaptability, not less, and helps maintain steady traffic flow under real world conditions.

Fourth, bike lanes benefit drivers as well as cyclists. Every person who chooses to bike is one less car, contributing to traffic congestion, competing for parking, or slowing emergency response times. Safe bike infrastructure helps reduce traffic volume overall, making the street work better for those who depend on driving. I encourage the city to reconsider this approach and explore solutions that address delivery needs without eliminating infrastructure that improves access, safety, and efficiency for the whole community. Thank you for your time. Thank you. There's no further public comment.

Thank you very much. Next, we'll move to the consent agenda, ladies and gentlemen. And on the uh consent agenda uh can be approved with one motion. If there are items in which council members uh would like to discuss or have voted on separately, uh please identify yourself now at this time. Jenna Karns, member, please. I'd like to pull items R and item X. Okay. Item R and item X. Are there other members of the council that would like to have any other items pulled?

Yes, I would. I have questions on item M and O. So, items M and item O. Correct. Okay. Right. the remaining items then on the consent agenda. Uh we will move forward if there's a motion. Uh a motion to approve the motion by member Matney. Is there a second? Second.

Second by member Dannenburgger. Uh if you would go ahead and take the vote, please. I'll vote I.

Okay. Thank you. All right. The item passes. No names to announce.

Thank you. Uh next then members uh the council let's go back to the items that were asked to be held from the uh consent agenda and I believe the first was uh letter number M and that was by member Lee. Uh yes, I just wanted some clarity on items M um because they both mention the the same um service provider um and then they both mentioned sidewalks and I just wanted to make sure that it's you know we're not duplicating efforts or you know spending money on similar items. So I just wanted some clarity on that. Um, go ahead,

Council Member Lee. So, it's a good question. I mean, it can be confusing. Item M is for the maintenance contract for street, alley, and sidewalk. And that's intended to be for any work that is beyond what our public works crews are able to accommodate on our streets, alleys, or sidewalks. So, we don't know what work that will be done under. That is a it is a time and material contract. The item O is specifically related to sidewalks and it says curbon gutter because curbon gutter is typically around the sidewalk ramps. But we have 135 sidewalk complaints before you tonight on item O that we'll be addressing as well as additional funding for sidewalks adjacent to complaints. And then we'll also be dealing with sidewalk issues along the resurfacing routes. So

I'm sorry he had it backwards. It's M and O. Thank you for clarifying. I should have brought my computer up. Remember Lee? Yeah, thank you for clarifying that. So, um just they're two separate maintenance uh related items to I guess the same topic of sidewalks then. Is that Yes. I'm understanding. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. That was uh Jim Cart, our director of engineering. Um, any other members have questions regarding that item? I was just going to motion to approve M and O as presented.

Motion by member Montney. Is there a second to that motion? I'll second. Second by member Lee. We go ahead and take the vote on that issue. Sorry, you guys are keeping me on my toes with the and that should actually say M and O there. So, the motion is to approve item 7 M and 7O as presented. I'm not sure why it's not appearing there. Does it say it on there? Okay, perfect. Thank you. All right, the item passes. No nays to announce.

Thank you. Next, we'll move to items that were asked to be pulled from the consent agenda. I believe letter R and letter X, they both from member Yes. Yep. Okay. Right ahead, please.

R. Yes. So, I asked Apple R uh to express my opposition to the proposed change to the streetscape the streetscape plan to remove the flex lane. I believe this change is shortsighted and prioritizes car storage over people. The flex lane supports a downtown that is accessible to everyone, not just those who arrive by car. It allows for deliveries, short-term access, different uses at different times instead of locking the street into just a single purpose. Replacing that flexibility with fixed parking moves us backwards. In my view, the flex lane is already the compromise. We've lost downtown buildings to surface parking lots, which shows that this isn't about a lack of parking. It's about prior. It's a question of priorities. The idea uh so for one, the idea that bike lanes on business 51 can replace bicycle access downtown, I don't believe is realistic. Uh 51 is a high-speed car oriented space and is not a comfortable or safe alternative for many bike riders um trying to reach downtown businesses. I do understand that some business owners worry that customers won't visit without parking directly in front of their doors. However, designing our downtown around around curbside parking, I think narrows who we're serving. It caters to a narrow group of visitors and I think discourages the more active business district that we're looking for that we're we could gain over time. A vibrant downtown along with long-term business success depends on people walking, biking, browsing, spending time downtown and not just pulling up parking and leaving. Investing in flexibility and accessibility will do more for downtown businesses than a few more parking spaces ever could. The decision isn't just about parking. It's about the kind of downtown Bloomington wants to be. And

so for those reasons, I will be voting no.

Yeah, I I will also be voting no on this. Um around a year or so ago, I had the grim honor of speaking at the memorial for um bicyclists who have been killed in our community um and participating in a ride on a rainy day. um from from downtown Bloomington to uptown uptown Normal. And um that reiterates for me the need for us to make our community safer, not only for bicyclists, but also for pedestrians and for people who um are unable to walk. um people who use walkers or people who use wheelchairs already struggle in so many ways to be able to get around in our communities. um the comments that the the conversations we have about sidewalks and and accessibility that that already is so limited and it seems that that in our very car centric society this is a small thing to ask and so I also will be opposing this item.

Any other members? Oh,

just one more one more Thank you very much. One more element to that. So, thinking about this and I understand and appreciate the the request. Um, but housing is such an issue for us. Um, one of the things that we are clearly working on is making downtown a clearly appealing place for folks to invest um in housing. And I like the idea of continued improvements on that that say don't take away from businesses. And from what I've seen, the data doesn't shown that that um that uh creating flex lanes or bike lanes does that. But it also then this would keeping those flex lanes would would continue to promote housing down there as well.

Any other members? Member Mney. So when when the discussions about the streetscape were just beginning a couple of years ago, I invited a number of business owners to meet me downtown to talk about it as I was trying to understand the issues, the implications for businesses and so forth. And um it happened to be an afternoon not unlike the weather we're having right now. Um, and we talked about specifically the issue of parking and I recognize, you know, that there are a lot of folks who would like to advance us toward an environment where we have fewer cars here in our community. However, over these uh during that conversation um to a person, they said if the place we were meeting um would not would not have allowed them to park there, they would have gone on back home. So, I I think that's telling. Um second, um we've had a number of business owners express the need for this change. These are people who have taken tremendous financial risk in order to have businesses here in our downtown. And just since these last 18 months as we've been discussing this investment and making this investment, a number of businesses, small businesses downtown have actually closed. So for me, I will be supporting the business community, the those who are investing downtown to provide these um opportunities for retail, restaurants, and so forth to those very folks that we hope will continue to move downtown as we have growth in our residential population downtown. We're not talking about anything that would impact those who are walking from where they are. Um, I share Council Member Ward's passion for accessibility. Um, this is not about our sidewalks and the opportunity to successfully come in and out of the

businesses. We're talking about a compromise um that was driven by those who have made those investments downtown. Thank you. Thank you. Any other members? Oh, I'm sorry, City Manager Jurgens.

Thank you, uh, Mayor Council. Um, just a couple of comments on this and then I'd like uh Deputy City Manager Billy Tyus to to share in fill in some of the rest and and I certainly hear the concerns. This is why we wanted to bring this to the council to get that direction and and to have this discussion. When I talk to businesses downtown, the first thing they say is how critical it is that we not do the flex lane, that we have the parking and that is something that we are hearing over and over again as as we get kind of get down this further thing. But we also understand the need to be accessible and specifically with bikes. And so that's why I think it's important to hear some of what uh deputy city manager Taius can talk about in terms of what is planned for bicycles with this with what's going on in our downtown and talk a little bit more about kind of what we kind of see as almost kind of a a compromise way there. Uh but I'll go ahead and let uh Billy take it from there.

Thank you. Uh see Mary Jurgens and council members. Uh, and if you'll put the slide up, please. Um, hopefully you all can see that. Uh, mayor and council members, uh, as we've spoken about tonight, one of the features of the downtown streetscape project was a proposed flex lang on the east side of Main Street. Um, both to support bike transportation, as many have talked about today, but also to facilitate downtown deliveries. You've all seen trucks parked in the middle of the street creating issues, etc., etc. uh since approval, as as as a couple of folks have said tonight, uh we've had public meetings and we've had general conversations with downtown uh business owners and other people in the downtown and we've had heard concerns about the the flex lane specifically that it would would create a situation where you eliminate 32 parking spaces in the downtown. Um even though they would be replaced later in other parts of the downtown, there have been significant concerns about that. I say that not to try and convince you, just to say that that's what we've been told uh from people downtown. Um what we're proposing tonight, as the manager said, is a compromise that we don't think compromises the project. Um and we feel as though it accomplishes the things that the flex lane were were designed to do. Um it allows for parking, but it allows for spaces for deliveries as well. um which were the two prime two of the primary reasons for the flex lane. So with this um as I said if you can see the map at the at the the top map is what is currently proposed which would be you know just adjacent to the the the white line would be a flex lane with no parking along Main Street like there would be none there as proposed and there's still conversation to be had. You would have areas that still have parking in what is the flex lane, but you would also have delivery zones uh for trucks that come in and out that allow for trucks to pull in and out. Again, there will be more conversation

to be had as to where, but this is what's being proposed. The other thing, and I know someone mentioned it, is that the I do uh belt buckle project, it will add a bel a bike an actual bike lane, but Jim, correct me if I'm wrong, it will also narrow not narrow the roadway, but it will reduce the number of of of driving lanes, which reduces the amount of car traffic along that roadway. So, yes, it is a highly trafficked area, but part of the design will be to make it slower traffic. Fi and finally with the streetscape project you will see a narrowing of the streets to in fact make the downtown more walkable as well make it more pedestrian friendly. So it's not just about creating parking spaces. We'll also be creating a more walkable downtown as part of the the narrowing of the street with the work that's happening now. Um when our downtown team has gone to downtown stakeholders this has been what they've talked about that they preferred. I understand the the discussion about the flex lane. It's a beautiful design and and we get it, but we were trying to find a way to to to to meet in the metal as best middle as best we could and satisfy a number of unique needs. So, be happy to answer any questions.

Excuse me. Yeah, I have a couple I have a couple questions. Remind me the business 51 project. It would go from four lanes to three. We're going to ask Jim Carson to speak to that.

It's a very good question. Yes, it will be reducing and we'll have bike lanes both northbound and southbound. So, you have east as it goes around the buckle and then back on Madison as well. Um that's been part of the overall design. Uh again from for the ability to accommodate multimmodal needs at statewide that's been an improvement as well. And and it goes from three it would go from four lanes to three. Yes. Okay. And then my other question was it sounded like um um that the that the delivery spaces have not been determined yet and that that would be continuing discussion.

We like this design, but we're we're going to have a discussion about with with folks to see if this is what what you know ultimately works out. But we we like this that what you see on the screen. The folks we've shown like this as well. Um, so that's where that's where those delivery spaces would go. That's where they would go. Okay. And are these I guess I'm just wondering like what happens when our downtown makeup changes over time and those delivery spaces no longer make sense then like then what when then what do we do or are they are you thinking about these delivery spaces and it doesn't matter what's in those businesses? This is where the delivery Yep. would be.

It's a good question. Absolutely. The thing to remember is that this is paint. I mean, and it's it's it's we can realign delivery spaces based on downtown needs. These are the this isn't this they're not pavers. It's they're painted spaces. They're painted delivery spaces. Is that correct, Jim? And so we can realign delivery spaces if the need arises.

Yes. uh question for either one of you uh with that with the uh the layout there. Um my concern I think some people have uh thrown this concern out there is if let's say there's a the delivery zone and someone doesn't what happens if someone decides well I don't want to go down that delivery zone because I have to take everything up a hill there and they choose not to and then they're blocking and there's emergency vehicles because I I like the idea that we can change the paint. We're not putting some type of concrete barrier that's going to be something we have to then dig back up. Um, similar to what I think the town had do done what time when they first did the parallel parking down there. They put these little islands and had to remove them all. Um, so we will not have that. It'll be an area that we can repaint that completely down the whole

We absolutely could. Okay. Could then we will. We

It's a good question. We also will need to work very closely with downtown business owners if there are issues that we're seeing to say, "Hey, there's problems with with trucks not doing not parking where they are designated to park." And then ultimately at some point if it comes to that, it perhaps becomes an enforcement issue. But but before we do that, we will work with downtown businesses to say these are the designated zones. this is what we would this is what tends to work based on what we we've heard from people. Talk to your delivery drivers about not parking in the middle of the street, etc., etc. If ultimately that doesn't change, then perhaps we we do something different. Okay? Because I know right now as I go down there quite a bit, you have the two lanes and it's nice to have the delivery trucks are parking right in that one lane and blocking it and also blocking people getting out of their vehicles or out of their cars to get out of the uh parallel parking. So by removing that then now you're down to even smaller options. These spaces were designed based on our conversations with PE with downtown businesses. they were they were located here and also based on conversations with our engineer who h who had traffic safety in mind as they were proposed putting them in a place that were safe for downtown traffic. So all of those things went to into where they're being proposed.

Thank you. Any other members? Just one more. So when you say so when you say paint that means that we can shift if we need to. Absolutely. Gotcha. Any other members? Member M. I'd like to motion that we approve the item as presented.

There's a motion on the floor. Is there a second to member Monty's motion? I'll second. That was seconded by member Lee. If the clerk then would take the vote. The item passes. I just have two nays to announce. Council member Karns and Council Member Ward.

Thank you. Next, we'll move to another item pulled from the consent agenda which was letter X and I believe member Karns.

Yes. Um, I felt that we should um just take a pause and take this off the consent agenda and have a a discussion about it. I know that um council member Hendricks cannot be here tonight and that was would have been his intention would be would have been to pull this item and so I guess um we've we've gotten feedback from um former or current members former member for former council members about um how these two um C uh commissions came to be. And so I guess one initial thought would be to just take a step back and look at the purposes of these two commissions, the human rights commission. Um we heard how they played two separate roles. And so um I guess I just would like, you know, kind of similar to the um PSCB with the youth uh positions, you know, like what efforts have been made to find candidates serving in this role. I think that there were some valid points made about um you know the two very distinct roles that these play and that you know maybe we consider um taking a moment and tableabling this discussion so that we can have have more consultation or more um talk you know discussion I guess I've said that word a lot but a discussion about um this before we we move forward with the with the action.

Are there other members that have comment? Member Monty?

Sure. And just broadly, the boards and commissions, we have a scale problem with our boards and commissions. We have more boards and commissions than any community that I'm aware of. Um, we continuously seem to struggle with quorums. But I think what's most important also in considering that is this these boards and commissions be with or without that scale cost the community a significant amount of money and in this case it isn't about abandoning the purpose of the welcoming America commission. Um it is about the opportunity for scale so that we cannot have staff assigned to two separate meetings, open meetings act, FOYA compliance and all of the other administrative overhead associated with that and at the same time us struggling to get folks to these meetings. We've had it in a number of the boards and commissions, not just these two examples that we've discussed tonight and the BSCB youth member. um that I saw in the write up with this that by no means were we discounting the intention of that group, but rather we were bringing a proposal that would allow us to more consistently be able to further the mission of both groups through gaining some scale with combining the resources.

Other members, member Scott. Yeah, I I also am loathed to to disregard the recommendations of the commissions that we formed. And so if it is the recommendation of these commissions to go ahead and merge, then I do want to hear that. But I also would like to say I I think there is a opportunity for a larger conversation because I think there are um commissions that are often cancelled for either quorum purposes um that uh could also use another look just to make sure that either we are um assigning the correct work to that commission um or we are being efficient with our with our uh city employees time or um simply we as council members need to be more aggressive about specific specifically targeting and recommending folks to to to come out and apply for these positions.

Member Ward,

um I appreciate the arguments that have been made on both sides about this one, but um what it comes down to for me is supporting the idea of pulling this and tableing it and having some more conversations so that we can get some more information. Um, Council Member Montany um raised the idea that this is costing the city money. I'd like to have what evidence there is for that and and know how much money we're talking about. I I want to be able to compare that and take that into account. We talk about efficiencies a lot and we want to be good stewards, but I also think we have a tendency to throw around statements and slogans saying that that we spend too much money on this and that and I think we owe it to the community to be able to know exactly how much money this is costing us as a community. I also will reiterate my um concern about recruitment. I think that we cast a very wide net with boards and commissions and simply say come on down serve on a board and commission to people in general. And we do not do as a general rule the work that it takes of approaching individual people and saying, "Hey, I think you would do a good job serving on this commission. How about applying for it?" When we do that, it works. people show up and there are commissions that we have have attended to. I'll I'll speak to the the commission on um safe communities that we've we've managed to recruit people in that very way. We've also managed to a while back the PSCB

um was proposing some changes in its makeup and we based in part on grounds of we don't have anybody applying. We got people to apply and at least one of them is still on the commit the PSCB as far as I know. So, so I think we we need to pause and not rush into something and instead actually come up with the evidence that we have for the arguments that we're making in one way or another. Member Lee,

this is just a clarifying question on this item. Um I'm curious is this on the item because we saw an opportunity to provide some efficiencies and streamline um some of our commissions or or is this something that the the members of this committee has recommended um of merging these two committees and therefore that why the item is on the agenda. I I just want some history behind uh this item. Any other members before I discuss a little bit uh towards member Lee's point with a question or comment? Um and and thank you all for your your input. Um all very good input and I I wish that uh on these boards and commissions that we had the magic wand that everyone who we ask to serve will serve and continue to serve. Um but that's not what happens. uh at least in my experience um there's some very very dedicated people and in this particular uh committee the welcoming committee first brought to my attention um towards the first of the year of the lack of meeting now [clears throat] to me if you're going to have individuals that are part of a commission or committee you want them to meet you want them to discuss the issues what may be on their agenda so that's to start. And when that's not happening, that is um a waste of individuals times that are on that committee that do show up that can't make the quorum. It's a waste of time of individuals who may be there for a purpose and think their issue is going to be addressed that night and it's not and it's deferred. And so we I believe owe it to the citizens to make those as efficient and

effective as possible in this particular situation. Um the clerk may have approached me over some information. I believe it was um that when you talk about the welcoming America committee and in 2024 before I was mayor there was eight scheduled meetings. They canceled six. They had no quorum for one. So they ended up holding one meeting. One. In 2025, there were 13 meetings scheduled. They cancelled four. They had no quorum for seven. And they held two thus far. I'm sorry, in all of 2025. when the chair of the human relations committee came to me, Mr. Jones and deputy uh city manager Titus who was in those discussions said we feel that our human relations committee could do more. We wish we had more issues to deal with to help the city. We have members that make the meetings, but we don't have the agenda and the substance in which to um conduct those meetings. And so the discussion began amongst staff, what can we do? And this is not the only committee, but as mayor, I appointed two new members to the welcoming committee. And we still continue to have a quorum problem uh with that particular commission. We have a commission that's asking for more to do. So I thought the first thing to do would be to talk to maybe from historic perspective the individual who was on

council at the time who was really the architect of this idea of the welcoming committee and that was member Donna Bolan. And I reached out to member Bolan probably a month ago now. And while maybe uh as I remember the conversation, she wished the circumstances was different but understood what the issue was and how this might be a remedy to the issue to at least continue what her feeling was about the importance of that issue as we all do. Um and so when conversation came out today in an email, I was surprised that uh former member Bolan uh had some uh change in from the discussion we had. But but that's fine and that's why we're here talking to the the council tonight. But before that, I also had a conversation with the chairman of the welcoming committee who said that's a good idea. We would like to merge. We would like for those people who come to these meetings, even though we can't get a quorum, to at least have some focus and charge on behalf of the city because we take this very seriously as as we all should and do and appreciate. And so myself and the clerk went then to a meeting last week that they were able to hold and an item on their agenda was for this idea to merge into the human relations committee. It was supported by the individuals that were there that made a quorum of the welcoming committee to do this. Now, we're all very intelligent people here on the city council and work very hard on behalf of our constituents, but to ignore the very people that are serving on the committee who tell you by

way of voting, we would like to see this motion passed because we want to continue in some way, shape, or form serving our constituents, which was our initial goal or of our the residents principle was our initial goal. It's why we accepted this appointment to begin with. We want to help. We want to shape policy. We want to be part of that process. And so in doing all those steps, I and others felt that after hearing from committee chairs and members of committees that they should know best, they're the ones on the committee. And so therefore, we felt let's bring it to council and we can have that discussion. But for any of you to think that there hasn't been a lot of discussion already about this, um I'm glad we have the opportunity right now to discuss it and that was the the purpose of you pulling the item, member Karns, which which I understand and respect. But please note that all of these committees and commissions, there are some of the most dedicated people that are doing this out of the goodness of their heart and their time. And I think to have meetings scheduled that continuously never meet. And some people, even though it may be a couple, continue to show up because they're passionate and believe in what they believe in. We owe it to the people of Bloomington to find the most efficient way in which we can keep those committees operating. Maybe they don't have their own heading the way they want. That's none of our fault. What we're trying to do is make sure the efficiency of the committee or the commission is there and that they have a charge and they feel like they have a

purpose not to be continued and discontinued month by month by month by month. So, with that, that's a little of the background that I've been involved with, that your clerk's been involved with, that committee chairs have been involved with, that your city administration has been involved with, and I think it's been pretty extensive as far as that research goes. So, with that, I believe member Karns has a motion.

Uh, well, first I just wanted to say that thank you for giving us the background on that. that is the reason that I pulled this agenda item was so that we could have that public discussion and I um in no way, shape or form was denigrating any conversation or decision or passion or um resolve that the current board member or the current commission members have. Um it was just, you know, it was taking a a beat to have that public this public conversation because those are, you know, that's not something that lifts off the page when you get the packet. that's not that's not a those aren't things that are that we you can read from the agenda and the agenda packet. So I appreciate the opportunity and the time to discuss those things.

Uh member Scott. Yes. So um yeah, I will iterate. Yes, I'm loathed to um disregard the recommendations of folks that we have asked to be on these commissions. And I'll just take the opportunity to say um I too have been on to to one of these two of these meetings have been cancelled because of lack of quorum that there I do want to say that I'm I'm I appreciate the the the desire to go ahead and make these things. I would appreciate the research. Thank you again for sharing that. And I will go ahead and take extra efforts on myself to go ahead and show up to various committees and commissions and all that kind of stuff to make sure that a folks know that they have the support um and that b that we are we are paying attention and that they do matter. Thank you. Other members, member Mney,

I just like to motion that we approve this item as recommended. Is there a second to member Mottney's motion? I just want to say thank you for that background, mayor. Um, that was very helpful and I will second

second by member Lee. Clerk, if you take the role. The item passes. No names to announce.

Thank you. And along those lines, all the members, please at any time help us with nominees for these committees. I know some of you have, but also note some of these committees are more high-profile and more people are interested in certain committees. some of the other ones takes a lot more work to get people uh to come forward. So, I appreciate that. Thank you. Um next we'll move to the um regular agenda and I believe we have a presentation and discussion on the 2025 annual report by the public service and community relations board, the PSCB. And at this time, uh city manager Jurgens.

Thank you very much. And we'd ask uh PSCB, one of the founding members, as was mentioned earlier, R. Taylor, to come up and is going to give this presentation. The chair, Rachel McFarland, could not be here tonight, so uh member Taylor generously agreed to do this. Um he and I uh recently the I had the honor of uh presenting to the PSB and we talked about some of the founding reasons that this this board was created back in 2017 and had a good conversation. So, just want to say I appreciate member Taylor being here tonight and for providing this annual report.

Thank you, uh, City Manager Jurgens, and, uh, I appreciate the opportunity to come before you. Uh, it's been a while since I've been before the board. Uh, so, uh, but as stated and in my report, uh, the PSCB was established in 2017. Uh and uh it serves as a citizens advisory committee to the chief of police and the city manager providing different perspectives on police policy training and improve uh uh police community interactions. To educate the community on avenues available to citizens to make formal and informal complaints. to assist the community and the police in clarifying and improving procedures related to complaints and to asssure that access to these policies and procedures are open and transparent. Uh we also are here to add a a resident's perspective to the evaluation of civilian complaints including the timely and fair objective review of complaints to identify perceived deficiencies in police community and uh community interactions that may that when addressed may result in improved interactions and shared understanding. and to provide fair treatment to and to protect the rights of citizens and police officers. I think we do a fairly good job of that. uh from our original in uh the original intent of the establishment of the PSCB. This annual report is intended to provide a summary of the activities of the public safety and community relations board uh since January uh or including all of uh 2025. This uh annual

report was to be given in February but due to scheduling issues uh it's delayed until now. So and the highlights of this report are to review are a review of the monthly and quarterly meeting notes uh dates uh presentation to and feedback from the community report on complaints received and uh future action items. Um, our monthly meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of every month and the combined quarterly meeting is usually held on the fourth Wednesday of of uh of the month in the in the quarter. Uh, usually uh different different times 3:30 for the uh regular monthly meeting and 6 pm for the quarterly meetings. Uh, and a presentation to and the feedback from the community. Our monthly meetings include reports from the Bloomington Police Department on the number of complaints received in the previous month, year-to- date, and pending investigations, as well as a detailed taser report, which includes all instances in which tasers were displayed or or deployed, and a description of the incident, updates on crime resolutions in uh using the ALPR data which is also reviewed at our monthly meetings. To date, uh for 2025, uh the Bloomington Police Department reported that there were 30 complaints in the calendar year of 2025. Of those six 68,257 calls for service and included in that number 239

instances where force was used or displayed and 99.6% of all calls were handled without the use of force. In comparison to uh previous years uh there were uh there were 30 complaints in 2025. There were 28 in 2024. There were 17 complaints in 2023, 21 complaints in 2022 and 32 complaints in 2021. So we trended up a little bit from uh the previous year. uh the last two or three years. Toppings at topics at our uh at our monthly meetings included include training and recruiting recruiting updates from the Bloomington police uh off for Bloomington police officers, taser and use of force reports from the uh BPD review of the PSCB's roles and responsibilities. PSCB goals which include community outreach and engagement, the complaint review process, traffic stops uh provided by the Illinois Department of Transportation and racial dispar disparities in traffic stops uh and those updates and reports. We review the flock camera systems, automatic license plate uh readers and updates with data. We receive feedback and questions from the community and which are received by the board and the actions taken from those suggestions. Uh, Chief, Assistant Chief Wamsley

brought uh several BB guns for us to see after an officer involved shooting involved involving a BB gun. These guns, which are easily mistaken for real weapons. In 2025, the PSCB had one review, a request for review of a complaint in all of 2025. Action items. Two youth members joined our board in 2025, which were Jacel Lee and Iet Hernandez. Nathan Aurora joined the board but was soon replaced by Ricardo Alvarado. We're considering we were considering a change in times of our monthly meetings including our quarterly meetings to encourage attendance by the board and the community. Um and we have since decided as a board in earlier this year that we were going to keep our meeting times the same. We held eight of the required 12 meetings in 2025. The meetings were cancelled due to a lack of quorum. Our bianual review of complaints by the PSCB. As a as part of our ongoing community outreach and education efforts by the board, the Bloomington Police Department provided provides for the PSCB a compilation of all complaints that are filed at least twice a year. So, we do review all complaints that were filed with the Bloomington Police, even uh except those that are filed for review, excluding those complaints that are

awaiting adjudication and those that may be appealed to the PSCB. This review provides the board an opportunity to ask questions of the Bloomington Police uh policy and procedure and provides more insight to the types of complaints received by the Bloomington Police Department to to review for patterns. And our focus for this year 2026 is community engagement and boards engagement. Our focus in 2026 is for better planning for enhanced community engagement. A subcommittee has been formed to identify topics and calendar for and calendars for the quarterly meetings to discuss for the year. And a different subcommittee was added to review the care for victims report to make recommendations for changes uh to the PSCB processes. And I'm open for questions for anyone on the board, from the mayor, from city manager, or anyone uh else present.

Questions from Thank you very much. Uh Mark or first off, um any questions from members on the council? Member Mutney? Nope. Member Ward Scott. So um just had a conversation about commissions and um engagement and topics and I so grateful that in in a place where the PSCB receives um fewer uh complaints than say would require multiple meetings that you've gone out and you said all right what are the issues that are concerning or what kind of presentations that we can have so we can make sure that we've got open engagement with community um along those lines. lines. What can we as a council do um to to help you out along those lines?

First of all, I want to thank the council for the support that you've given us in the past. um when in 2017 when this board was uh first uh being talked about uh as a result of of the incidences that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri, uh the PSCB was talked about as an inoculation for this community to help prevent an occurrence that like that that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri. And I think that this council was very proactive along with the stakeholders that uh helped uh bring about the creation of the PSCB uh helped to inoculate our community and help us prevent the occurrences of of miscommunication and um uh other means by which the community and the police were disconnected in in that community to to make sure that what occurred there did not happen and could not happen in the city of Bloomington. We've been very successful in our communication efforts uh not only with the community but also with the Bloomington Police Department and great cooperation with them to make sure that the lines of communication and transparency are established and are always open. So, our meetings, uh, we encourage the community to be able to question policies and procedures of the Bloomington Police Department and to question, uh, uh, and to keep the board members accountable for our role in making sure [snorts] that that we communicate any uh, perceived um, issues that may that may arise. This council

has been very supportive in um in helping to make sure that we uh always maintain transparency and that we also are accountable for uh the charge by which uh we were initially established. Uh, Mayor Brady has been visible since uh since he took office and I appreciate his um his availability to discuss um and u city manager Jurgens has uh was there at the beginning of of uh of our establishment. So the support that we received from the city council has been ongoing and I continue to encourage that you do that. Thank you, Mr. Taylor, for this this report um and keeping us up to date on on the doings of the PSCB. I am curious given our conversations about boards and commissions. Um how many openings are there right now on the PSCB that you're aware of? As you're aware, Pastor Bennett recently had to step down and uh uh as one of the as the last remaining original board member, it was tough to see Pastor Bennett uh have to step down for health reasons. So, his position is available right now. Uh to my knowledge, we have two youth members that are uh assigned to the board of which one of them attends regularly. Um and to my knowledge, there are no other openings um except for those that are about to expire uh at the end of this month, as a matter of fact.

That's helpful to know. Thank you. Um, can you say anything about the decision to consider a schedule change and then decide not to? Because as I'm I was in conversation with um a member of the board a while back regarding the possibility of a schedule change and they seemed to think that that would help.

Yeah, the the the conversation Thank you for the question. the the discussion around uh time changes uh more or less were an effort by the board uh as we recognize the fact that we were having quorum issues that um that we may want to consider uh the the 3:30 meeting that occurs uh on on our regular monthly meetings. So, three two of the meetings of each quarter um are at 3:30 in the afternoon and then our quarterly meeting is is at 6 pm to change the time for that monthly meeting. Um but we tabled the issue to bring it to a quarterly meeting to see if the community had conversation or questions about uh meeting time changes. And from the result of our last quarterly meeting that we had uh in March uh that that the meeting times that we that we had maintained at 3:30 in the afternoon, no one saw a reason to change that. And part of the reason I believe that um the the conversation was was was brought to our our attention in the first place had to do with a couple of uh board members who are no longer on the board. So uh that discussion was mute and we decided to keep our meeting times at the at the times that we they've already been established.

That's helpful. Thank you. And then um what feedback and suggestions have you gotten from the community? You mentioned in the report that that you've gotten feedback and suggestions from the community besides the meeting time. I'm I'm assuming there are other feedback and suggestions. There other feedback that um and and this has been an ongoing feedback discussion since the creation of the PSCB to expand our role beyond uh being able to review complaints uh and to be an independent complaint review receptacle. um this bo this this council uh the Bloomington police at the time that the PSCB was established and uh some stakeholders had many discussions around the fact as to whether or not the PSCB would be an independent uh police review board that would require first of all a budget and not only that um to be able to receive received complaints direct from the public without the review of the police department at first. Um that has been an ongoing discussion since the establishment of the PSCB. Um, it has been determined not only by this council, uh, but also in discussion on the board itself that that was not something that the PSCB would be, um, about that all complaints that that occurred to the Bloomington Police Department should have the opportunity for review from the from the source, if you would, uh, and be sent to the Bloomington Police Department for their invest investigation of that complaint and that upon the completion of their

investigation um the any result of uh or issue with the result of that complaint, someone would be able to to have another place for that uh complaint to have at least uh some different eyes. And there in lies the responsibility of the PSCB. uh as we have seen over the over the uh seven or seven and a half years that we've been in existence. Uh sometimes that problem is one that has not found gravity, if you will. that the number of complaints that have been offered to the Bloomington Police Department have not risen to the point where a independent P uh police review board was needed and in discussion with our board as well as uh with the police. We have not seen the need to establish that. That has always been community input from several uh of our stakeholders in the uh that are in the that uh helped establish the board and um and it has not been uh founded in in my opinion and that of the board uh for further discussion. But that that's probably the biggest community input that that we've had. Any other members with questions or comments for Mr. Taylor? If not, Mr. Taylor, anything to close?

Thank you very much. I appreciate having the opportunity to come before the board. It's been a while for me. Thank you very much and congratulations to you and your wife on the nice nomination for uh history makers. Appreciate that, too. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Next, we'll move to uh on the regular agenda uh item number uh B, which is consideration and action on an ordinance amending the Bloomington City Code updating chapter 7 and the schedule of fees creating a festival license as required by the city clerk as requested by the city clerk and Mr. Jurgens.

Thank you very much. I'm going to turn this over to our uh clerk, Leslie Yokum. uh came forward with this uh proposal to help us as we address festivals like the uh I'm not even going to say it because I say it wrong, but outdoor type music festivals. We are not talking about uh kind of the city sponsored downtown events. Uh but I'm going to turn it over to Clerk Yokum to fully describe this.

I'll be brief. So this the idea here is to create a festival license. um it would only apply to outdoor open air events of certain size and so it starts at 300 attendees or anticipated attendees. We've created a tier system. Um so as the number of expected attendees go up um there's more involvement of the city. Um the idea really we have a special event permit um process and the special event permit process is applicable to public rideway. Um the gap here that we're trying to fill is when events like this these large festivals happen on private property um or you know we see things at the interstate center other things like that. You'll see if you look at the code changes um we had a I think it was like circus and carnival license that we really haven't used. we are uh getting rid of that one and folding it into this. Um but the entire preface is um ensuring safety and welfare of our residents and attendees that come in. Um the process will be very simple. It's a $100 application fee and then based on the tiered um number of attendees. There's it goes either a hundred to $300 per day and it just gives our staff the ability to look at safety plans. And so our police, our fire, and even in some instances our building inspectors with stages, things like that um would have the right to look at those uh sizable uh festivals that come to town. And we want them to come. It's going to be very simple and easy. It's not going to be anything difficult. We've exempted city sponsored events like uh city manager Jurgens mentioned. Uh we've exempted uh religious and political assemblies. we've exempted um events that are hosted uh by school local school districts or universities

um and then also like you said the special event pro uh permit and the Bloomington farmers market. So we've had input from all of the staff and um everyone is very supportive of it. Happy to take questions if you have them. Thank you member Ward. I just have one question. I I appreciate the exemption of schools, universities, religious organizations, political organizations. What about nonprofits?

So, nonprofits um would have to apply for these. Um we, you know, one of the ones that I think has come up is the Shakespeare um festival um is kind of a hot topic one that is actually um hosted um and sponsored by a university. Um, so that one would be exempted, but other um there are ones that nonprofits would do that would have to um have this license. And again, it just goes back to the safety. So, we're not um you know, trying to create anything that's difficult for them, but they will have to provide input um and let our uh staff take a look at their plans. I guess what I'm what I'm wondering about is a situation where um a nonprofit is doing a community service like say a backpack giveaway and you have no idea how many people are going to show up but maybe you have 300 backpacks to give away. Um they're going to have to now pay $300 for that. That feels a little bit um

Yeah, I hear you problematic. Um it is anticipated, right? So it's it's your best estimated guess that your attendees um it would be open air and outdoor only, but you you are exactly right. We would um they would have to apply for it. Um a lot of times like with the school one that you know you mentioned with the backpack those are done with the school alliance and they're done in conjunction with a school district or a university um as well a health fair

if it's open air outdoor and it hits the 300 um we're going to you know take uh the application. I will say that we did carve out language too um for the city manager to have some discretion uh to be able to uh limit I think we said submission deadlines and those that are required. Um yeah, he's empowered to make some decisions on whether certain um elements of the application don't apply. Um so if those are ones of concern, we could also look at code edits if necessary. But as it stands right now, it would be all open air uh hitting 300 or more. Um and the other thing too is they are required to provide insurance, health permits and things like that um as well just to ensure the safety of the community.

Is there any mechanism at all for the city manager to wave the fee as it currently stands on a case-byase basis? I'm looking at the language right now. I know we did it for submission deadlines and we could make edits to it to give them the discretion to do it, but I don't think that we did anything with fees. It

mayor. Um, and I was so a couple of things there. One, I would say as opposed to giving the city manager discretion, I would pro probably say, you know, this isn't necessarily about the money. Obviously, this is about the public safety. So, if there is a concern with nonprofits doing it, I I would suggest that we add a provision that ex that would exempt them from from the fee because really at the end of the day, what we really want to make sure is there's a safety plan in place and that we know what's going on with the festival. Um, and then I I don't have the actual ordinance in front of me. Um, but would, you know, some of those things may or may not be, you know, qualify under the definition of a festival. I'm not sure, but probably the safest way would be to just approve it with an amendment that the nonprofit, you know, an exemption of the fees for nonprofits.

Well, at the appropriate time, I'd be happy to make that motion for an amendment. And I think that's an easy edit for it. Um, without going into the language, we can just make uh accept a motion that uh the fees be waved for nonprofits. And we do have language within that um has them validate like their 501c3 etc. Is this the appropriate time? Is there anyone else got a comment question? I move that we amend the um language of the ordinance to include an exemption for nonprofits for the fee.

For the fee. Okay. Got a motion. Second nomination or by member Ward second by member [clears throat] call the vote please. Yeah. It's really fun when you get to talk and run the system. So it should be out there. All right, the item passes. No needs to announce. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next, we'll move uh on the agenda, regular agenda item to number C, which is excuse me, consideration and action on a resolution approving an agreement with Firefly Services for a drone show to be performed in celebration of the United States 250th anniversary. Um, Mayor, the the motion was to amend the proposal. Oh, I'm sorry. that we need a motion now to approve the proposal item B. [clears throat and snorts] I'll move to um approve the item as amended. Now we have a motion. Thank you for the clarification. Second though. I'm still going to second.

And we still have a second now from member Dannenburgger. Now we can take the vote again. All right, the item passes. No names to announce. And I typed it that way the first time. It just wasn't what she said. So, thank you for the second time.

Thank you very much. Next, we'll move to um number C on our regular uh item tonight, which is consideration and action on a resolution approving an agreement with Firefly Services for a drone show to be performed in celebration of the United States 250th anniversary. Mr. Jurgens will begin the conversation.

Thank you. And so that I do not steal much of uh Deputy City Manager Tyus's thunder, I'm going to go ahead and uh throw this over to him. Phil, if you'll put the slide up, please. I'd appreciate it. Um over the past several months, several members of staff in including especially Katherine Murphy alongside the mayor and others have been working on plans for the 250th celebration of of America's independence. Uh if this agreement is approved, it would approve an agreement with um this company Firefly to do a a a synchronized drone u display. Uh I think we probably all have seen something like this from time to time. Um whereas would it would have 300 synchronized drones with audio and animation. It can really do some phenomenal things with this kind of this kind of technology. Um it would have some stock elements but also some customized content uh specific to Bloomington. Bloomington normal. Um the show would be set for, as you can see on the screen, nine o'clock at the Interstate Center on July 2nd. Um there are other activities still being planned. Uh of course we mentioned the drone show. Um there will be other things at the fairground that are still being discussed. Um, you also as part of the overall celebratory activities, there's the annual Celebrate America perform performance set for 7 o'clock at on July 2nd at the BCPA. Um, that's an annual occurrence that most of you probably have attended. Um, we're also talking with Celebrate America about potentially pulling out part of their performance for performances in the 600 block over the course of the weekend. So, that's something that we're having conversations with them as well. And then it also you had an agenda item tonight approving what will be an elevated fireworks performance uh at Miller Park which we do every year but this would be bigger and better in

celebration of the 250th anniversary. Firefly will handle all the production all the permits etc etc. uh uh staff and others have have negotiated or had conversations about cost sharing agreements where the town of Normal has agreed to pay up to $30,000 as part of this and the county has tenatively agreed to pay up to $10,000 and uh that we are we as a staff and the mayor and the manager obviously are seeking uh private contributions as well and uh we're putting together a sponsorship package that could also help defay some of the costs. And so again, this agreement is for the drone show. Um it's it's not like something we've done here before and we're excited about the possibility. So we'd be happy to answer any questions.

Yeah. And I I would just add we're really excited to come together with the town and the county on this. This is to kick off that long holiday weekend. The fourth this year is on the Saturday. So a lot of you know, Friday will be the holiday and this will kind of kick everything off. And just to reiterate um what uh Billy talked about, our hope is really to raise private funds. So this ends up not being any expense to the taxpayers, but somebody had to take that first step in approving the agreement and so that's what this is tonight. Members of council questions. Member Lee.

Yeah. Um so yeah, this is very exciting to hear. Um, I was actually uh privy to see a drone show uh couple months ago and um it was very well done. It was excellent. So, this is exciting. Um I think this will be a big draw for just not Bloomington but outline communities as well. As Jeff mentioned, it's nothing that we've done before. So, um, yeah, I I think this would be a fantastic, uh, opportunity to kind of showcase something that hasn't been done and, um, a great family event, too, um, for for everyone. So, um, yeah, I'd like to make a motion to approve. Any other members with comments before we Okay, motion uh, by member Lee. Second.

Actually, I hate to be a keragen. I want to actually have ask a couple more questions about this. Um I guess I'm I'm needing to here reiterate it. We have commitments for $40,000 so far from other entities.

Yes. So the the town has agreed to uh pay half which would be 30,000. Um and the county has tenatively agreed they're they're hoping to be able to share 10,000. But again, our our real hope is to be able and go go out and get private sponsorships, but that's a worst case scenario. If for for some reason we're not able to to get some private sponsorships, then um then then the county and the town have agreed to help us with the costs. We do think we're going to, you know, we do think this is something getting to $60,000. we don't think is going to be a mountain we can't get to that we can't climb especially because we're gonna be able to put the sponsors names up in within the drone show. So we think that's something that's going to be in addition to just helping the community come together the town, the county, the city, being able to see a company's name up in the drones we think is is going to be appealing to a lot of people.

And what's the what's the deadline for making a decision on this? Um the the deadline for us is is probably now, you know, sooner rather than later because they're booking and they need to get things put into place. Um but in terms of getting the sponsorships that'll really just kick off as soon as the agreement gets approved.

Yeah. I just I find myself listening week after week to conversations about efficiencies and it's it it leaves me feeling a bit unsettled with the idea of spending I mean we this is well on the way to the salary for a year for a police officer um for a whole year. Um and it it just leaves me a bit uncomfortable. I'm as patriotic as the next person and I wonder if there there are better ways to um to show our love for our country. Yeah.

Other members, member Matney, it seems like I recall in previous presentations there being some information about economic impact analysis from this. I think you know there will be concessions, there'll be other activities associated with this that would help draw revenue into the community. Do we have those numbers? Um, so so we are working with visit BN um hoping that they will help us with some of the advertising to get people to come in to our community for this. Uh, but we don't have, as far as I know, we don't have an estimated impact yet on this. other members.

I'd second the motion that was um put forward. Motion. Okay. Seconded to member Lee's motion. Um and before we go for that vote, uh I want to thank Katherine Murphy and all uh the administration that's been working on this since last November. You may or may not remember we started talking about this and the first company we contacted already was booked for this particular weekend and that's where we have ended up with this contact and I think to uh uh city managers Jurgens's credit and others Mr. TAS, we've had a group that was formed of business people, uh, downtown people, school members, uh, board members. We've had a number of people, and it seemed to be an overwhelming interest in this drone show. Um, and working with Celebrate America, working with the Museum of History, things they have planned. I think there'll be a wide variety of uh, events uh, for our nation's 250th birthday uh, right here in Bloomington. So, I'm excited about that. And uh Madame Clerk, if you would call the role or take the vote, I'm sorry.

Bill, can you take down that slide, please?

The item passes. I just have one name to announce. Council member Ward. Okay, thank you. Um, next we will move to um, it looks uh, to be the city manager report or discussion at this time. Thank you, Jurgens.

Thank you again, mayor and council. Um, Phil, if you can go to the next slide. Uh, just a a quick update on the storm cleanup. Um, so far the latest uh, we had today in the city of Bloomington, 169 self-reports of damage. We are we do still have those links on our website. Just go to the to the city website and there are links on there where if you're a business you can report the damage. If you're uh an an individual resident, you can report the damage. Uh we are still collecting those and um are encouraged pe people to report. Uh as of last week, we had picked up 300 over 360 truckloads of debris. Uh really appreciate our public works crews who have been working overtime uh to get that debris cleared up. There's still more that's coming now out of the backyards. So we we are still in that process and we will continue that through May 1st. Um did get a couple of updates during this meeting. The storms have passed us. All of the warnings and watches have been cancelled. a little bit of flooding um but it does not sound like it's widespread or um has been um as much as we've seen in some of the past. I think about they're estimating about a little over an inch and a half of rain that we've received. So I think uh a lot of buildup to this storm. I think we were probably uh pretty fortunate uh tonight. Um and so we will just wait till the next one. Not sure what the damage was in other areas though. So next slide. And also just want to shout out this last weekend as we talked about golf tonight uh for the first time we were the host of one of the AJGA tournaments uh which is uh the uh young professionals golf association and um just want to say that we heard great things from this organization. We hope they're going to be back. We hope this this was the first of many tournaments that they will hold at the den in our

community. We will get the financial impact from this eventually. I don't have it yet tonight, but we had 78 players in this tournament. Uh 16 different states were representative represented representative and three different countries. Only seven of the players were within two hours from the city. So, a lot of different people that were coming in for this tournament and uh the heard great things uh from Jason Windgate who heads up our golf operations. uh really ran a smooth tournament and again we hope this is going to be back in the future. That's all I have.

Thank you very much. Um [clears throat] members of the council uh comments member Karns, member Mosley, member Matney, member Dannosley. Well, you know, happens a lot.

Um, no, I just want to reiterate the uh just uh with Ward Five being affected a lot by the the storm and I know we talked last this past Thursday when we extended the disaster um part of that. I just want to say thank you again for the city for helping with that clean up being fast on that and still getting some people just asking questions and I've been submitting it to the city just to make sure that they're taken care of. There's just certain situations other than cleanup that they're needing help with. So, I've been reaching out to other nonprofits and things like that to so if you have they need help with removing things that they need help with in their in outside their home that the city is not that's not their thing that they do. But so, yeah, I just would thank you again uh staff for uh mobilizing get it done uh as quickly as possible.

And mayor, if I can just add on to that, I forgot to mention that I do think the Red Cross will be on hand in this building on Friday. uh we're working out those those details, but if there are residents that had damage or need assistance, uh we will kind of create a one-stop shop downstairs by the hub. So, more to come on that. That's not confirmed yet, but please look out for those details. Member Scott.

Yes. Um thank you. I got two thanks and a request. So, uh uh we talked about sidewalks before. I was walking around my ward and just I Oh, they're fixing that sidewalk. Oh, that sidewalk over there. Oh, that over there. So grateful for that. And also again, thanks to all the cleanup that's been done in my ward as well. Was walking around last weekend and folks were extremely impressed that they cut up their trees and by 11:00 a.m. it was gone. By cut them up at 8 a.m., by 11 was gone. My request is this. So, uh, data centers have been a big conversation, um, around right now. And I think um I speak for myself. I think that um bunch of the council agree that in order for some for mega data centers to come in we would need requirements around all the externalities talking about water talking about energy talking about noise talking about heat and I do not believe that there is any efforts right now to slip in data centers under our noses. That's that's not how our city government works. Um however folks are getting more and more nervous. So, if we could start to have those conversations about what kind of requirements or moratoriums, I think that that would be extremely helpful right now.

Thank you, member Lee. And member War. Yeah, I'd just like to acknowledge all the students at Illinois Wesleyan University um who right now are going through finals, but on Sunday will be graduating. Um, Illinois Wesleian is one of the jewels of Ward 7 and our city and I just congratulate all those students who will be graduating and wish them well.

Thank you very much members. Um, I believe I have a couple slides to go over for discussion before we uh go into executive session. Uh it's interesting you bring up data centers uh because uh great minds think alike and we're going to have a discussion. We are planning on Wednesday May the 6th from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. That public forum format is going to be similar to what we did at the Bloomington Library back when we had discussions regarding the bridge. uh we are in the process of bringing in trying to bring in a couple uh individuals that are very neutral uh in the process of data centers but to bring knowledge to those about what a data center truly is and what's associated with it. So at this stage um we plan on Wednesday, May the 6th. Uh there'll be more information coming about who those individuals will be, but I think it will be something that um has great potential for the community to talk about data centers and truly what is a data center and what's behind it. So we look forward to that as well and thank you for bringing that up as well, members uh Scott. [clears throat] And next, I believe that on Friday, I don't believe I know on Friday, uh May the 1st at noon, I will be at the Bloomington Public Library discussing the state of the city uh as it will be one year [snorts] um that I've been mayor and I certainly invite all of you to join me uh in our discussion and the community as well. Again, May 1st at noon at the Bloomington Public Library. With that, I believe that we will uh conclude uh the

public portion of the meeting and move at this point to executive session for the council to enter into executive session under section 2C6 of the number five Illinois compiled statutes 120 to set a price for the sale of a lease of property owned by the city. And with that being said, I will need a motion uh to go into executive session and a second. I'll move we go into executive session for the purpose that you just stated. Second. Thank you. That motion was by uh member Ward and seconded by member Strazza. Thank you. And we will take take a vote real quick. Council member Karns. Yes. Council member Mosley. Yes. Council member Montney. Yes.

Council member Dannenburgger. Yes. Council member Strazza. Yes. Council member Ward. I. Council member Lee. Yes. Council member Scott. Yes. Thank you. No action after the close session.

Okay. Uh now that we're concluded executive session, we are back in regular session and I need uh a motion or if all would vote in favor to end our meeting. I move that we adjourn. Are we what? What am I? What do we need to motion? Return to open session. Return to open session and adjourn. Second. Nomination seconded by member Karns and was made by member war. We are uh I There we go. Thank you all. I'll have a