Category: City Council

Possible reform of Bloomington boards, commissions gets study by city council committee

Clockwise around the table from right: City councilmembers Matt Flaherty and Isabel Piedmont-Smith; city of Bloomington public engagement director Kaisa Goodman; city council deputy attorney Ash Kulak; and city councilmember Sue Sgambelluri. On screen in the upper left of the frame is Bloomington city clerk Nicole Bolden. he meeting took place in the city council’s “library” room. (May 25, 2023)

On Thursday night, a special city council committee met to move ahead with a closer look at reforming various processes related to Bloomington’s boards and commissions.

Also up for consideration by the four-member committee are possible recommendations on merging some of the city’s roughly 50 boards and commissions.

The committee is hoping to wrap up its work on board and commission reform by the end of the year.

The committee was appointed by council president Sue Sgambelluri at the council’s first meeting of the year. It was the same meeting when she was elected by her colleagues as this year’s council president.

In addition to Matt Flaherty as chair of the committee, Sgambelluri appointed as members the three officers of the council—including herself (president), Isabel Piedmont-Smith (vice president) and Dave Rollo (parliamentarian). Rollo did not attend Thursday’s meeting. Continue reading “Possible reform of Bloomington boards, commissions gets study by city council committee” →

Opinion: Opaque title of Bloomington ordinance misleads residents about trash collection fee hike

Appearing on the Bloomington city council’s May 17 meeting agenda, which was released after 5 p.m. on Friday, is a proposed new ordinance.

City of Bloomington carts for recycling and trash.

The ordinance was given a 32-word title: “Ordinance 23-11 – To Amend Title 6 of the Bloomington Municipal Code Entitled “Health and Sanitation” – Re: Updating and Harmonizing Chapters 4 and 5 of Title 6 of the Bloomington Municipal Code.”

At first glance, this title makes the proposed revision to the law seem innocuous.

However, buried inside this verbose yet opaque title is a major increase in the trash collection fees paid by residents—which is surely controversial.

When the trash collection fee for most of the residents who get the service is proposed to be increased by 75 percent, that should have a clear reflection in the ordinance title. Continue reading “Opinion: Opaque title of Bloomington ordinance misleads residents about trash collection fee hike” →

On 4–5 vote, city council rejects direct oversight of Bloomington traffic calming, greenways program

Bloomington’s city council meeting. (May 10, 2023)
Bloomington city council president Sue Sgambelluri. (May 10, 2023)
Tracy Bee spoke against the ordinance. (May 10, 2023)
Katie Yoder spoke against the ordinance. (May 10, 2023)
Pauly Tarricone spoke against the ordinance. (May 10, 2023)
Greg Alexander spoke against the ordinance. (May 10, 2023)
Bicycle and pedestrian coordinator Hank Duncan (May 10, 2023)
Jack Wanninger spoke against the ordinance. (May 10, 2023)

On a vote split along familiar lines, Bloomington’s city council has rejected an ordinance that would have required council approval for the installation of new traffic calming and greenway projects.

The vote came on Wednesday night just a few minutes before midnight, at a meeting that started at 6:30 p.m. The ordinance, which was sponsored by Dave Rollo failed on a 4–5 vote.

It was a familiar 4-4 split, with Sue Sgambelluri providing the deciding vote to give one side a majority.

Supporting the ordinance were Rollo, Jim Sims, Ron Smith, and Susan Sandberg. Voting against it were Sgambelluri, Matt Flaherty, Kate Rosenbarger, Isabel Piedmont-Smith, and Steve Volan.

The outcome hung in the balance until Sgambelluri weighed in. As council president and chair of the meeting, she was last to offer her view.

Continue reading “On 4–5 vote, city council rejects direct oversight of Bloomington traffic calming, greenways program” →

Bloomington city council jammed up on issue of traffic commissioner’s ouster, still no vote taken

An expected up-down vote on the question of Greg Alexander’s removal from Bloomington’s traffic commission did not take place at Wednesday night’s city council meeting.

The motion for Alexander’s removal—because of Tweets he posted late last year—had been postponed from the council’s March 29 meeting. That postponement had unanimous support from the council, in order to give Alexander at least five business days to respond in writing to the specific reasons listed out in the motion.

On Wednesday, councilmember Dave Rollo wound up withdrawing his motion to remove Alexander.

Since Jan. 18, when the council reappointed Alexander to the traffic commission, Rollo has now made three different motions on Alexander’s removal—and withdrawn each one. Continue reading “Bloomington city council jammed up on issue of traffic commissioner’s ouster, still no vote taken” →

Bloomington city council District 5 Democratic Party Primary: Shruti Rana, Jenny Stevens

The Democratic Party’s May 2 primary election for city council District 5 is a choice between Shruti Rana and Jenny Stevens. There is no Republican candidate in District 5.

This write-up provides specific background on the District 5 city council primary race, as well as general background.

April 20 is the last day to apply for an absentee ballot. Application for an absentee ballot, verification of voter registration, and a preview of the ballot are available through the Indiana secretary of state’s voter information portal.

Early voting started on April 4 at Monroe County’s election operations center, which is located at Walnut and 3rd streets. Continue reading “Bloomington city council District 5 Democratic Party Primary: Shruti Rana, Jenny Stevens” →

Bloomington city council District 2 Democratic Party Primary: Kate Rosenbarger, Sue Sgambelluri

The Democratic Party’s May 2 primary election for city council District 2 is a choice between Kate Rosenbarger and Sue Sgambelluri. There is no Republican candidate in District 2.

This write-up provides specific background on the District 2 city council primary race as well as general background.

April 20 is the last day to apply for an absentee ballot. Application for an absentee ballot, verification of voter registration, and a preview of the ballot are available through the Indiana secretary of state’s voter information portal.

Early voting started on April 4 at Monroe County’s election operations center, which is located at Walnut and 3rd streets. Continue reading “Bloomington city council District 2 Democratic Party Primary: Kate Rosenbarger, Sue Sgambelluri” →

Bloomington puts first installment of opioid settlement money toward downtown outreach, matching grant for substance abuse treatment

At its Tuesday meeting, Bloomington’s city council approved the appropriation of $391,906—to address substance abuse, outreach to the houseless community, and other programs to be determined by the city’s community and family resources department (CFRD).

The money came from the proceeds of a global settlement in a class action lawsuit that was filed against several pharmaceutical companies. More than 2,000 federal lawsuits, including the joint action filed in February 2018 by Monroe County and Bloomington,  were consolidated in the Northern District of Ohio.

The amount appropriated on Monday ($391,906) was the total paid to the city of Bloomington in 2022 through the opioid settlement. That total was made up of $315,334 in restricted funds and $76,572 in unrestricted funds.

The restricted funds have to be spent on treatment, prevention, and care for substance use disorder.

As a part of the opioid settlement agreement, Bloomington is supposed to receive a total of about $1.95 million over a period of 18 years.

On Tuesday, the presentation of the appropriation request was made to the city council by CFRD head Beverly Calender-Anderson. Continue reading “Bloomington puts first installment of opioid settlement money toward downtown outreach, matching grant for substance abuse treatment” →

No gambits played by Bloomington city council: Doris Sims to be appointed to new city nonprofit board

Bloomington city councilmember Dave Rollo.
Bloomington city councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith.
Bloomington city councilmember Susan Sandberg.
Bloomington city councilmember Steve Volan.
Bloomington city councilmember Jim Sims.

Doris Sims is the Bloomington city council’s appointee to the five-member board of City of Bloomington Capital Improvement, Inc. (CBCI)—the new nonprofit recently formed by mayor John Hamilton’s administration.

Sims is former director of Bloomington’s housing and neighborhood development (HAND) department. She retired from that role in early 2021. She’s married to city councilmember Jim Sims.

Support for Doris Sims as the council’s appointee to CBCI was enthusiastic and uniform across the dais at the city council’s Wednesday’s meeting.

But some councilmembers, including Jim Sims, took the occasion to criticize the four-to-one split in appointments that was established in the bylaws for the CBCI board—four for the mayor and one for the city council.

On Wednesday, there was some discussion by councilmembers about the idea of not making an appointment to the board, as a way to express the council’s displeasure at the uneven split, and to leverage a change to the bylaws.

But Jim Sims weighed in against making a political chess game out of the appointment. He put it like this: “[Doris] wants to do this service.” He added, “So anything that we might discuss or lead to, that could cause her to be a pawn in this deal will not happen this evening—at least from my standpoint.”

The vote by the council expressing support for council president Sue Sgambelluri to go ahead and appoint Doris Sims was 6–0–2. Dave Rollo and Susan Sandberg abstained. Kate Rosenbarger was absent. Continue reading “No gambits played by Bloomington city council: Doris Sims to be appointed to new city nonprofit board” →

Committee report on traffic commissioner’s removal to be put in front of Bloomington city council

Referral and Deliberations On February 1, 2023, a motion to remove Greg Alexander from the Traffic Commission was made and seconded. The Council referred the matter to a Special Committee on Council Processes for consideration. The Committee met on February 8, February 20, and February 23. On February 23, the Committee agreed upon the recommendation described below. Recommendation The committee recommended to the Council that the motion for removal on the table be withdrawn and that a modified motion on removal, if desired, be made according to the following guidelines: 1. That substantive due process considerations advise that a motion for removal of an appointed board or commission member for cause should be narrow, specific, and sufficiently clear that city council members, members of the public, and the appointee in question fully understand the specific conduct, statements, or omissions that have led to the proposed removal; 2. That procedural due process considerations advise that the commission appointee in question be given at least five (5) business days to respond in writing to the specific allegations and proposed basis for their removal; 3. Legal precedent with respect to cause for removal advises that a council member making a motion for removal should clarify the relevance of and logical connection between the named conduct and how, specifically, those acts or omissions have diminished the appointee's ability or fitness to perform the duties of the appointment as defined by Bloomington Municipal Code or statute, including any evidence demonstrating this diminished ability or fitness to perform the specific duties.

Four weeks ago, Bloomington’s city council delayed a vote on the question of removing Greg Alexander from the traffic commission—by referring the matter to an already established committee on council processes.

In the meantime, that committee has met three times.

This Wednesday, the question of Alexander’s removal from the traffic commission will again be put in front of the council, but this time with a recommendation from the committee.

The original motion, made by Dave Rollo at the council’s Feb. 1 meeting, described the cause for removal as “…posting obscene and inappropriate statements…” on social media.

The committee’s recommendation is neither in favor or against Alexander’s removal.

If the full council follows the committee’s recommendation, it seems unlikely the question will get decided this Wednesday.

After weighing a recent court case, and considerations of what can count as a cause for removal, due process, and First Amendment questions, the committee’s recommendation is for the motion to be withdrawn.

But the committee’s general recommendation has left the door open for a modified motion on Alexander’s removal. The committee has made three suggestions about a new motion, if some councilmember wants to put one forward. Continue reading “Committee report on traffic commissioner’s removal to be put in front of Bloomington city council” →

Bloomington concedes: Simple tickets can’t be given to scooter companies for bad parking by their users

A part-time temp worker documents an improperly parked scooter at 6th & Walnut streets Oct. 11, 2022
North Walnut Street Feb. 21, 2023 (This scooter was reported to the city and moved out of the ADA ramp by The B Square.
North Walnut Street Feb. 23, 2023. These scooters were reported to the city and moved out of the sidewalk by The B Square.

In late 2021, The B Square reported that no citations had been issued to scooter companies for violating the parking regulations laid out in a local ordinance, which was approved by the city council in July 2019.

When no ordinary parking tickets were issued to scooter companies, that came as a surprise to some residents—given the number of scooters they routinely encountered blocking ADA ramps and sidewalks in the downtown area, or in their residential neighborhoods.

The lack of any citations was especially unexpected, in light of the assurance given by city attorney Mike Rouker on July 31, 2019— the night the city council enacted the scooter ordinance. Rouker said that if scooter parking became a problem, parking fines would be imposed on scooter companies whenever the city saw a parking problem.

In August 2022, The B Square raised a question to Bloomington’s corporation counsel, Beth Cate, about the enforceability of the city’s ordinance that regulates shared electric scooter parking. That email went unanswered.

But last week, six months later, Bloomington’s director of economic and sustainable development, Alex Crowley, wrote in response to an emailed question from The B Square: “[T]he language in the ordinance needs to be tightened up, to give us the flexibility to impose fines on [scooter company] without having to impound.” Continue reading “Bloomington concedes: Simple tickets can’t be given to scooter companies for bad parking by their users” →